Facing the very angry Yao Zhong, Song Chen wanted to show off his self-cultivation.
As a civil servant with a Jinshi background, Song Chen believed that his ability to cultivate one's moral integrity was far superior to that of Yao Zhong, a rough-and-tumble man like Yao Zhong. He was much nobler than him, and of course he had to be more polite.
So he patiently argued with Yao Zhong, not wanting to break up with him.
After all, he was a veteran stationed in Xiangyang, and his army was also related to the security of Ezhou. As a last resort, Song Chen also wanted to maintain a better relationship with him, so that the old guy could hold on for a few more days when the war started. Give him time to escape.
Well, just try to make money without hesitation.
However, Yao Zhong is not such an easy person to fool.
He sneered. .
"I have seen many officials like Mr. Song, and I have heard too much what Mr. Song said. I don't want to hear what you say. I want to see what you do. Mr. Song, my purpose today is very clear. After the ordnance gap in my camp has been filled and this matter has been resolved, I will leave immediately!"
Yao Zhong waved his hand and gave Song Chen a statistical form, asking Song Chen to give all the ordnance to the Xiangyang army according to the contents on the form. He left immediately without delay.
To be honest, facing such a long-established veteran, Song Chen really had nothing to do.
This kind of old hob meat is killed on the battlefield. It's covered in blood. It doesn't have oil or salt. It's not afraid of anything. The Jinshi status is like shit in front of them. They act like scoundrels. .
What's even more hateful is that as border generals, they also have civilian status. At least they are equal in level. Song Chen cannot gain an advantage by overpowering others, which makes him very unhappy.
Normally, Song Chen would be willing to give him something to send him away first, just as spending money to buy him peace.
But it really doesn't work today.
Song Chen looked at Yao Zhong's list of supplies, secretly calculated the amount of supplies he currently had, and felt embarrassed.
If he had come to cause trouble two days ago, there would still be talks, but three days ago he just made a deal with the peasant army, and sold more than half of the originally small quantity of good products to the peasant army, making a lot of money. .
He is happily calculating whether to convert the money into gold and store it or buy land to enrich the family's real estate, making his family richer and richer, so that his family can eat and drink every day and enjoy the glory and wealth.
But now that old guy Yao Zhong came to visit, Song Chen was really depressed.
He definitely can't do this kind of thing to make up for everything, and he can't do it even if he wants to, because the goods are not enough, so he can only continue to cheat.
"Tongzhi Yao, it's not that I don't want to give it. You also know who is making these ordnances. The money allocated by the imperial court has been taken away by officials of all sizes before it is used to make ordnance. What is actually used to make ordnance. It's hard to say whether there is 60% or not.
Under such circumstances, the ordnance sent to me is inherently mixed, and to tell you the truth, as for the ordnance you got, I sent people to select it for a while before I selected the ones sent over. You also want to Understand my difficulties. All the money has been taken away by those people in Lin'an City. It's useless for you to embarrass me! "
It might be possible to fool other people with this statement, but it was really hard to fool Yao Zhong.
He has been in the army for decades, and has suffered more than dozens of losses and deceptions?
From young to old, I have become an expert in being cheated, and I have become an expert in cheating. I am definitely not easy to fool.
It is true that the phenomenon of cheating on Nakha from the imperial court to local governments has been repeated, but the crux of the problem is that no matter how much Nakha wants, the batch of ordnance he has is really too much.
70% are bad, so why fight? Just surrender when the Ming army comes!
Treating national affairs as a matter of course is beyond the scope of the unspoken rules and is unacceptable.
So Yao Zhong shook his head.
"Song Ambassador, I may not know what you know. I have been in the army for more than thirty years. I have seen and heard as much as you. I know all the rules here that you know, and I know those that you don't. I understand, I don’t care so much, I understand you, who understands me?
You let soldiers hold this kind of steel sword and wear this kind of armor on the battlefield? I really admire you if he doesn't kill you first. Besides, if people in the Ming Dynasty say they go south, they will go south. I understand you. The Xiangyang army is finished. The Xiangyang army is finished. How can you, Ezhou, survive alone? "
Facing this stalker, Song Chen was a little impatient.
The outcome has little to do with me.
If I can't defeat the Ming army, why won't I run away?
Or do you think I will be the only one who will run away then?
There are always those who are not afraid of death. The Ming army may not be able to fight back. Why should I be anxious?
If there was a ranking list in this era of people who would never die until they reach the Yellow River, Song Chen would definitely be on the list.
No matter what, it is absolutely impossible to prevent me from making money!
"Tongzhi Yao, I've said this. It's useless for you to ask me now. I need time."
Song Chen didn't want to continue arguing with Yao Zhong.
And Yao Zhong didn't want to continue arguing with him.
"No need to bother, I'll take people to the warehouse now!"
Yao Zhong gave the order, and the fifty cavalry accompanying him immediately followed Yao Zhong and went to the warehouse to get their own weapons.
Of course, this is just a show. If we really want to cause trouble, we can't bring only fifty people.
Yao Zhong mainly wanted to exert extreme pressure and put huge pressure on Song Chen to make him compromise and allocate at least part of it to the army. Otherwise, he would not be able to quell the resentment of the soldiers in the army.
However, Song Chen really had something on his mind and felt guilty, so he quickly stepped forward to stop Yao Zhong.
"Yao Zhong! Don't go too far!"
Seeing his anxious look, Yao Zhong's suspicion was immediately confirmed.
This guy really had something up his sleeve, and Bao Buqi had done something bad, so he was so anxious.
Speaking of which, it is true that some of the gossip I heard recently is incomplete...
Yao Zhong's eyes sparkled.
"Recently, I have been hearing that some people have secret dealings with the bandits on Jiangnan West Road. Ambassador Song, are you aware of this matter?"
Seeing Yao Zhong's angry face, Song Chen panicked and tried to calm down.
"Is there such a thing? Then I must investigate it carefully, Commander Yao, please go back, and leave the rest of the matter to me to investigate! I will definitely get to the bottom of it!"
"Hmph! What a clever word!"
Yao Zhong sneered and said: "Today I am here to help a group of Song envoys to find out where the great rat of this country is!"
With that, Yao Zhong was about to leave the Governor's Mansion and head towards the storage area.
Song Chen was so frightened that he quickly stepped forward to intercept him. The subordinate officials around Song Chen also hurriedly stepped forward to intercept him.
Are you kidding? Everyone has a share in this kind of thing. When you sell something and make money, everyone gets the rain and dew. Everyone can get the money. Everyone must contribute to this common cause, and isn't this the time?
So the civil servants rushed forward to stop Yao Zhong. Yao Zhong couldn't help but insisted on going to the warehouse to find out.
Both parties were pushing and pushing each other, and gradually the anger started to rise.
Yao Zhong pointed at Song Chen's nose and cursed.
"The Henan Corps of the Ming Dynasty has an army of 100,000 people just north of Xiangyang. It may launch an attack at any time. The ordnance you have given to the army is less than 30% of good quality. If you use this kind of ordnance to fight against the 100,000 Ming army, you are not afraid that our army will be completely annihilated. Did the Ming army come to you to ask for ordnance?"
Song Chen was also furious, pointing at Yao Zhong's nose and scolding him.
"The imperial court has its own arrangements for how to allocate ordnance, and we have our own arrangements. As the governor of the capital, you should go back and lead the troops. This is what Jinshi should do! It is not what you roughnecks should do! Give them all to me return to!"
Yao Zhong hated it the most that these Jinshi looked down upon his status as a warrior. His achievements were obviously achieved with his life and sword, but they were all stained with blood. How could they not be as good as the Jinshi's ten years of hard work?
In anger, he lost his mind, clenched his fist as big as a sandbag, and punched Song Chen hard in the face.
