After Wu Zhi and his party left, all the craftsmen gathered around and shouted in unison,
"Thank you, General, for making the decision for us. The General truly loves his people like his own son!"
"You are over-praising me. I am very ashamed that I failed to seek justice for Craftsman Lu and allowed Wu Zhi to continue to be at large."
Yang Ling sighed, looking rather regretful.
"The general is serious!"
Lu Wei's son stepped forward with red eyes and said,
"General, we can't thank you enough for standing up for us!"
"Yes, from now on, if the general says a word, we will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"Yes, as long as you ask, General, we will definitely do it!"
Other craftsmen also agreed.
If Yang Ling hadn't valued them, how could they have entered the craftsman's workshop and become craftsmen enjoying the imperial salary?
Not only that, Yang Ling went to fight against high-ranking officials like Wu Zhi for them.
Although these craftsmen come from humble backgrounds, they also know the word loyalty.
Of course they will never forget such a kindness!
…
The news that Wu Zhi was publicly reprimanded for thirty-one times soon spread throughout Xudu City, and he also became a laughing stock.
While people laughed at Wu Zhi, they also lamented that Yang Ling was compassionate and willing to stand up for the people.
His cronies became the butt of laughter, and Cao Pi was naturally disgraced.
Fortunately, the craftsman's workshop quickly resumed operation, and in less than three days, the ordnance Sima Yi needed was produced.
Cao Pi temporarily suppressed his anger and sent people to quickly transport this batch of ordnance to the Jingzhou front line.
A few days later.
Changsha County.
Xiajun County.
Sima Yi went all the way south to Changsha County and succeeded Xia Houshang as the general in the southern expedition.
Not long after he took office, Liu Bei, Sun Quan and others learned that Cao Pi had proclaimed himself emperor and Yang Ling had been transferred, and they immediately organized several waves of counterattacks.
Sima Yi did not dare to neglect and rushed to Xiajun County on the front line in person to take command.
Fortunately, the generals of Cao's army were brave and the soldiers' combat power was amazing. They were able to repulse several attacks by the Sun and Liu coalition forces in succession!
Sima Yi was handling government affairs in the camp when he heard noises coming from outside.
Immediately after the camp curtain was lifted, his younger brothers Sima Fu and Sima Kui walked in.
The two laughed excitedly,
"Second brother, look who's coming!"
Sima Yi was stunned and saw Chen Qun walking in again, smiling and saying,
"Zhongda, long time no see. How are you?"
Among all the courtiers, only Chen Qun was considered Sima Yi's best friend.
Sima Yi was surprised and happy to see his friend suddenly. He dropped the brush in his hand and stood up to greet him.
"Changwen, why are you here?"
"I am here to deliver weapons to you on your Majesty's order."
Chen Qun said with a smile.
"I see. It's been a long and tiring journey all the way to Changwen. Thank you for your hard work!"
Sima Yi suddenly understood.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, they got down to business.
"This batch of soldiers and armor should have been delivered half a month ago, why did it take so long?"
Sima Yi frowned.
"Zhongda, after you left Xudu, a lot of things happened."
Chen Qun sighed slightly and recounted the troubles caused by Wu Zhi after he took charge of the craftsman's workshop.
After hearing this, Sima Yi was so angry that he slapped the table hard.
"Wu Zhi, this bastard, I have warned him before, but I didn't expect that he didn't take my words to heart!"
It was hard for him and Cao Pi to seize the opportunity and take the craftsman's workshop away from Yang Ling.
But he didn't expect Wu Zhi to be so incompetent. He was embarrassed, and Cao Pi was forced to hand the craftsman's workshop back to Yang Ling!
"Now that the matter has come to this, there is nothing to complain about. Fortunately, all the armor and weapons you need have been built."
Chen Qun comforted Sima Yi and handed over the list.
After Sima Yi took it, he looked at the contents of the list and was stunned.
"Why don't you see fierce fire oil?"
Although he had only arrived in Changsha not long ago, Sima Yi had already seen the power of fierce fire oil.
Indestructible when exposed to water, its lethality is astonishing.
Especially the fierce fire oil tank, its power can only be described as terrifying.
It was precisely with the help of fierce fire oil that he was able to defeat the Sun and Liu coalition forces many times.
Therefore, when asking Xu Du for ordnance, Sima Yi specifically asked them to add more fire oil.
Hearing him mention Menghuoyou, Chen Qun sighed again.
"Zhongda doesn't know that this fierce fire oil is not produced by the craftsman's workshop."
"Isn't it made by a craftsman's workshop? Who is that?"
Sima Yi was even more confused.
"Who else could it be? Of course it's the general."
Chen Qun shook his head.
Mining fire oil from Liangzhou and transporting it back to Xudu was a long and expensive journey.
The craftsman's workshop was already extremely expensive, and the court could not increase its expenses.
In addition, Yang Ling also wanted to have a backup plan, so the collection and processing of Meng Huo Oil were all undertaken by Yang Ling.
Fortunately, the Mi family's business has expanded, and several states in the imperial court have its semicolons.
With the power of the Mi family, the cost of collecting, transporting and manufacturing Menghuo Oil has been greatly reduced.
This is why Cao Jun could use fierce fire oil at will when he attacked Jingzhou.
But now that Yang Ling has been deprived of military power, how can he continue to provide Sima Yi with fierce fuel?
"I see."
Sima Yi frowned and asked,
"Then has His Majesty never thought of organizing additional manpower to mine fierce fire oil?"
"It's not that Your Majesty hasn't thought about it, it's just that he doesn't have the ability."
Chen Qun smiled bitterly.
Let’s not talk about how high the collection cost of fierce fire oil is.
If you want to know the collection location, it is located in Liangzhou.
Although Ma Teng has surrendered to the imperial court, his power in Liangzhou can still be regarded as covering the sky with one hand.
He and Yang Ling were son-in-law. Yang Ling was suppressed by Cao Pi, so how could he be willing to help Cao Pi explore oil?
After hearing Chen Qun explain the whole story, Sima Yi felt that it was a bit tricky.
Unexpectedly, I still underestimated Yang Ling's ability!
"No matter what, I don't believe it. Without fierce fire oil, we can't defeat the Sun-Liu coalition!"
Sima Yi snorted coldly.
He is still very confident in his abilities.
Since Yang Ling can defeat Sun Quan and Liu Bei, he can definitely do it.
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot about the real thing!"
Chen Qun slapped his forehead, glanced at Sima Fu and Sima Kui, and then winked at Sima Yi.
The two had known each other for a long time, and Sima Yi understood what he meant with just one glance.
"Shuda (Sima Fu's courtesy name), Ji Da (Sima Kui's courtesy name), you two go and tell your servants to quickly prepare food and wine to entertain Brother Changyou."
"Here!"
After the two left, Sima Yi smiled and said,
"If you have anything to say, Changyou, you can speak directly."
"Before coming, Your Majesty asked me to bring you a secret edict."
Chen Qun said with a serious face.
"I wonder what the secret purpose is?"
Sima Yi also put away his smile and said solemnly.
"Your Majesty has said that I hope Zhongda will launch an attack before the end of the month and strive to capture Jiangxia County within half a month and completely regain Jingzhou!"
Chen Qun whispered.
