Wang Yan is also a famous general in the Sichuan-Shu War Zone. Like Wu Lin and Yao Zhong, he is one of the three generals in the Sichuan-Shu War Zone and has made many military exploits.
By taking over Yao Zhong's position, the Xiangyang army, which is mainly composed of Sichuan and Shu troops, will not cause any trouble, and the morale of the army can be quickly stabilized.
In addition, after Wang Yan left, although Wu Lin was the only one left among the three generals in the Sichuan-Sichuan war zone, because of Wu Lin's reputation in the Sichuan-Shu region, it was completely feasible for him to command the remaining armies.
So for now, this is the best solution that the Southern Song Dynasty court could achieve.
Although some people in the Privy Council believed that it was not appropriate for Wu Lin to command so many troops by himself and that Wu Lin's military power should be curbed, when the matter reached this point, Zhao Hao couldn't help but think too much.
So Zhao Hao appointed Wu Lin as the Sichuan Xuanfu envoy to temporarily command the Song army in the entire northern Sichuan region to solve the command and defense problem of the Song army in the Sichuan-Sichuan region.
After this matter was resolved, Zhao Yu could finally order the Privy Council to prepare for the fourth war against Jiangnan West Road. .
When the issues between Yao Zhong and Song Chen are sorted out, the war can be launched.
This time, the peasant army on Jiangnan West Road must be completely eliminated no matter what.
In order to rush to Ezhou as soon as possible to deal with the civil-military dispute, Zhou Linzhi traveled by car during the day and by boat at night, traveling day and night, and finally arrived in Ezhou in early March in the fifth year of Hongwu and the fourth year of Longxing.
After arriving in Ezhou, Zhou Linzhi was welcomed by the local officials. Song Chen led officials of all sizes in Ezhou to welcome Zhou Linzhi, cleanse him from the dust, and hold a grand banquet.
Zhou Linzhi came over with a mission. He didn't drink much, just ate something to fill his stomach, and then began to ask about the specific situation.
At this moment, Song Chen had already taken care of everything in Ezhou, and was waiting for Zhou Lin to come to inquire about the situation. So he told Zhou Linzhi what was written in the memorial, and then took out the account book. Take Zhou Linzhi to the warehouse to check.
When Zhou Linzhi came, he brought a group of accountants with him. The accountants were ordered to check the account books and make statistics on the warehouse to prove that Song Chen was not lying.
Two days later, the inspection work was completed. The specific amount was indeed correct, but there was indeed a big problem with the quality.
"Yao Zhong accused you of colluding with the bandit army, selling good products and giving defective products to the army. Is this true?"
Zhou Linzhi was very unhappy when he looked at the inferior ordnance whose quality was beyond description.
Song Chen looked depressed.
"Ms. sir, I swear to God, these are the things I got, and they haven't been touched at all. The quality of the imperial ordnance has been bad for a day or two. I'm afraid you've heard about it, right?"
This is true. Zhou Linzhi has indeed heard about the quality problems of the ordnance produced by the imperial government's workshops. There are not many good products and many defective products. The army has long complained.
Not to mention these local armies, even the new army outside Lin'an City has encountered such a thing. It can only be said that some people are too dark and cruel.
In this regard, Zhou Linzhi had no better way, because his own hands were not clean, but he had not touched military expenditures.
"In that case, what Yao Zhong said is all false?"
Zhou Linzhi looked at Song Chen.
Song Chen looked bitter, but he didn't forget to give Yao Zhong eye drops.
"Does this need to be said? Everything you see with your eyes can't be fake, right? Yao Zhong is unreasonable and domineering. None of us civil servants look down upon him. He often talks about military achievements gained from fighting on the battlefield. How could he lose to you and other Jinshi? He can say such arrogant words, which shows that this person is not a kind person."
Zhou Linzhi had nothing to say and nodded, believing 70% to 80% of Song Chen's words in his heart.
But the matter was not over yet. After checking the problems in Ezhou, Zhou Linzhi set off for Xiangyang, preparing to meet Yao Zhong and ask him about the situation here.
Although he was not familiar with Yao Zhong, this matter was of great importance. It related to the future and official position of a general and should not be underestimated.
Moreover, Zhou Linzhi did not think that Yao Zhonghui was secretly colluding with the Ming Dynasty.
When the Southern Song Dynasty was so difficult, Yao Zhong also insisted on fighting the Jin army and protecting Sichuan and Shu. How could he be flirting with the Ming Dynasty at this time?
He couldn't figure it out.
But it turns out that sometimes you don’t have to think about things that you can’t figure out, and reasonable explanations will naturally pop up.
The night before Zhou Linzhi arrived in Xiangyang, three of the five large warehouses where Yao Zhong stored ordnance caught fire.
The fire was raging and out of control. By the time the people in the army discovered it, the fire could no longer be contained.
Yao Zhong had fallen asleep at that time, and when he was woken up while rubbing his eyes, the fire had already engulfed most of the three warehouses.
Looking at the three burning warehouses, Yao Zhong was a little stunned at first, but he soon realized that these three warehouses were storing defective ordnance, and most of the defective ordnance was in these three warehouses. in a warehouse.
This was his important weapon against Song Chen.
But now...
These defective products are gone and have been burned. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if it was a natural fire or arson.
Of course, this is not important. What is important is that they caught fire, were burned, and ceased to exist.
Yao Zhong stood blankly on the spot. It was only after a long, long time that he remembered that this was already a dead end situation for him.
It doesn't matter who burned it. What matters is what Zhou Linzhi, who is about to arrive here, thinks.
Zhou Linzhi thought it was important to him who burned it.
And how would Zhou Linzhi think who burned these three warehouses that were under his complete control?
The answer is obvious.
So when Zhou Linzhi saw the three piles of burned waste still emitting black smoke, he was shocked and looked at Yao Zhong in disbelief, with an expression of pain on his face.
"Yao Tongzhi, what is this?"
"Ms. sir, I really didn't do this. I don't know what happened. It started burning last night. The items stored here are all defective ordnance brought from Ezhou. They are prepared to show to you. Yes, so..."
"No more words."
Zhou Linzhi shook his head and said: "The merits and demerits are up to the heart. I don't want to say more, but Commander Yao, these warehouses are under your control. You can do whatever you want. Who else can do it except you?" Do you have this ability?"
Yao Zhong really felt the feeling of a mute eating coptis. He wanted to defend himself, but he didn't know the best way to defend himself.
As Zhou Linzhi became convinced, his transfer order was conveyed in place.
He was removed from the position of commander of the military capital of Xiangyang Prefecture and magistrate of Xiangyang Prefecture. He will be escorted to Lin'an as a culprit and will be questioned after careful examination.
The new military commander of Xiangyang Prefecture and the prefect of Xiangyang is his old comrade Wang Yan.
