Yang Ling lit some incense for Lu Wei and looked at his memorial tablet, feeling a little heavy in his heart.
He expected that Wu Zhi might cause trouble.
But I didn't expect that the chaos would become so big.
The craftsman Lu Wei, who had always been a good man, was actually beaten to death by him!
When Yang Ling finished paying his condolences, as soon as he walked out of the mourning hall, everyone gathered around him again.
"General, Craftsman Lu will never die with his eyes in peace!"
"If the general is unwilling to stand up for us, who in the world is willing to stand up for us?!"
Yang Ling was originally worried about Cao Pi's suspicion and didn't want to get involved in the craftsman's workshop.
But thinking of Lu Wei's tragic death and the expectant looks in the eyes of all the craftsmen, he still relaxed!
"If you want to find an explanation for Craftsman Lu, it would be easy!"
Yang Ling looked around at everyone present and asked softly,
"Are you willing to unite as one and fight to the death?"
"We are willing!"
Everyone said in unison.
In the eyes of Wu Zhi and other dignitaries, they are just ants.
It's just that although the ants are weak, they still have the courage to fight to the death!
"That's good!"
Yang Ling nodded heavily,
"From now on, you will follow my instructions and go on strike collectively!"
…
Early the next morning.
Wu Zhi hummed a little tune and wandered to the craftsman's workshop.
Wu Zhi had heard about the fact that craftsman Lu Wei was seriously injured and died after being scolded by a cane, but he didn't take it to heart.
In his opinion, if a mere craftsman dies, he is dead.
When other craftsmen saw Lu Wei's fate, they would probably feel afraid and work better!
However, as soon as Wu Zhi sat down in the hall, he saw several cronies rushing in.
"Great craftsman, something bad has happened!"
"What happened, you are so panicked?"
Wu Zhi asked casually.
"None of those craftsmen came to work today."
"What?"
Wu Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the craftsmen must have felt resentful when they saw Lu Wei being beaten to death, so they united to strike!
"A bunch of despicable people, they really gave him face!"
Although he was scolding like this, Wu Zhi also felt that it was a bit tricky.
Sima Yi has already rushed to Jingzhou and is about to start a war with Liu Bei and Sun Quan.
If at this juncture, the craftsmen's workshop went on strike and the ordnance supply was affected, it would be troublesome!
Wu Zhi thought for a while and ordered to his cronies,
"Go, tell those craftsmen immediately that as long as they are willing to come back to work, their wages will be doubled!"
"Those who are unwilling to come back will be punished as disobeying the government order, and they will be jailed when the time comes!"
"In addition, you should also find ways to recruit other craftsmen!"
Several cronies took the order and left.
According to Wu Zhi's instructions, he first found several prestigious craftsmen and promised them a lot of money, hoping that they would call on others to go back and continue working.
But despite the gossip of his cronies, several craftsmen did not let go.
Wu Zhi was so angry that he directly ordered the arrest of those craftsmen.
As a result, it was like poking a hornet's nest. The craftsmen who were originally on strike all gathered outside the craftsman's workshop and demanded that Wu Zhi be released!
Seeing that the situation was somewhat uncontrollable, Wu Zhi became furious and simply ordered that all the craftsmen be imprisoned.
It's just that it's easy to lock up, but there is still no one working in the craftsman's workshop, and the ordnance cannot be produced.
Although Wu Zhi offered a high reward and wanted to recruit some craftsmen.
But you must know that all capable craftsmen entered the craftsman's workshop early and are now squatting in prison.
The rest were either incompetent or unwilling to come to the rescue after seeing the fate of other craftsmen.
After a few days, Wu Zhi only recruited two or three craftsmen, which was unable to maintain the operation of the craftsman workshop.
When he was worried, Cao Pi sent the eunuch to let him enter the palace.
Wu Zhi did not dare to delay and immediately got up and went to the palace.
Cao Pi was discussing matters with the ministers. When he saw Wu Zhi arriving, he couldn't help but frown and said,
"I just received a letter from Zhongda, saying that the ordnance he requested has not been delivered for a long time. Why is this happening to Ji Zhong?"
"This... Your Majesty, that, the construction period is a bit tight, I hope your Majesty will give you a few more days..."
Wu Zhi hesitated.
Seeing that he looked nervous and spoke insincerely, Cao Pi knew that there was something hidden in this.
Just when Cao Pi was about to ask the other courtiers to retreat so that he could ask questions, he saw Xu Duling Manchong striding in.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
"What's wrong with Xu Duling?"
Cao Pi said doubtfully.
Man Chong glanced at Wu Zhi and then said in a deep voice,
"Your Majesty, today dozens of family members of craftsmen came to the Yamen to beat drums and complain."
"They are suing the great craftsman Wu Zhi, saying that he detained a group of craftsmen without reason, causing the craftsman's workshop to be paralyzed!"
Hearing this, Cao Pi was immediately surprised and looked at Wu Zhi in disbelief.
"Ji Zhong, tell me honestly, what is going on?"
Facing Cao Pi's question, Wu Zhi broke into a cold sweat for a while.
He didn't dare to hide anything anymore, so he quickly told what happened in detail.
Although Wu Zhi's words were all biased towards him, Cao Pi was not a fool, so he could naturally understand the whole story.
"You bastard, is this how you manage the craftsman's workshop?"
Cao Pi's face turned livid and he scolded angrily.
He never expected that after Wu Zhi became the great craftsman, he would act so recklessly and turn the craftsman's workshop into a mess!
"This is all my fault. Please...please forgive me..."
Seeing Cao Pi being so angry, Wu Zhi panicked and quickly begged for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The great craftsman was anxious to do something for Your Majesty, and that's why he caused trouble."
"Yes, the great craftsman is loyal to your majesty, and I hope your majesty will forgive you."
Fortunately, Wu Zhi had a good relationship with Chen Qun, Zhu Shuo and other court officials, and others quickly interceded for him.
"I'll take care of you later!"
Considering the usual relationship between the two and the fact that Wu Zhi was also doing things for him, Cao Pi snorted and did not intend to punish him for the time being.
The most urgent task now is to solve the trouble caused by Wu Zhi first.
"Is there any way you can make the craftsman's workshop operational again?"
Cao Pi looked at the courtiers.
When everyone heard this, they all looked embarrassed.
Now that Wu Zhi has aroused public outrage, many craftsmen would rather be arrested and imprisoned than go back to work.
In such a tricky situation, no one is willing to wade into this muddy water.
Seeing no one said anything, Cao Pi frowned even more.
At this moment, he noticed Jia Xu standing in the corner and asked,
"Is there anything Mr. Wenhe can do?"
Seeing Cao Pi asking him by name, Jia Xu hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said softly.
"Reporting to your majesty, there is a saying that the person who untie the bell must also tie the bell."
"If the general can be invited to come forward, this matter will be resolved satisfactorily!"
As soon as these words came out, the hearts of all the courtiers jumped.
In fact, their thoughts were the same as Jia Xu's.
