Deng Ai sat on the carriage and looked at the edict in his hand with a serious face.
There were cavalry in front and behind the carriage clearing the way, and it was heading in the direction of Luoyang.
After Deng Ai received the emperor's edict and Sima Zhao's order, he knew in his heart that General Wei was probably in danger.
Deng Ai had previously objected to Sima Zhao going out. He wrote to Sima Zhao and urged him to stay in the central army and not move around. He could leave the counter-insurgency work to himself.
As a result, Sima Zhao later wrote to himself, saying that there would be rewards and promotions, so that he should not worry.
Deng Ai's face turned dark at that time.
General Wei obviously took his petition as a wish to go to Hebei to gain military merit.
Deng Ai did not dare to write any more letters and could only watch Sima Zhao leave Luoyang.
He had previously received orders from General Wei to be prepared to respond and block Guanqiu Jian's army if necessary.
At that time, he knew that Sima Zhao was going to take action against Luoyang, but now these two orders, well, General Wei failed.
Deng Ai suddenly missed the general who could accept all his advice.
General Wei didn't listen to his own advice, and it's no one else's fault for his current fate.
Now Deng Aiming knows that Sima Zhao has failed, but there is nothing he can do. In this situation, what else can he do?
Can we say that General Wei was held hostage by the emperor and called on the people of the world to oppose the emperor?
Not to mention how absurd this reason for raising an army is, considering Deng Ai's current status, as the governor of Yanzhou, does he want to lead a state's soldiers to fight against the Chinese army?
General Wei has fallen, so the Chinese army must have fallen into the hands of the emperor. What else is he going to fight for?
A single attack between the Chinese army and Guanqiu Jian could wipe out Deng Ai's entire army, and it would be useless even if he could fight again.
As a result, Deng Ai could only act as if he didn't know anything and rode a carriage to Luoyang.
Deng Ai sighed helplessly, hoping that the emperor would not embarrass himself too much.
Deng Ai still admired this young emperor very much. Deng Ai felt that if he were replaced by him, he would never be able to reach this point.
Although Deng Ai came from a wealthy family, he had been poor since he was a child. If it weren't for Sima Yi's appreciation, he would still have no reputation at this moment.
Deng Ai cannot be said to be disloyal to the Sima family, but in the current situation, even if Deng Ai wants to help the Sima family, he is powerless.
Going from Yanzhou to Luoyang, especially at full speed, doesn't take too long at all.
Deng Ai soon appeared outside Luoyang City.
From a distance, Deng Ai saw the people coming to greet him.
This person, Deng Ai knew, was Xun Xu, the former chief minister under Sima Zhao.
Xun Xu was smiling all over his face. When he saw Deng Ai getting out of the car, he walked up to him with great enthusiasm and bowed respectfully to him.
"Mr. Deng! Long time no see, are you okay?"
Deng Ai glanced at this person and immediately concluded in his heart that this person had surrendered to the enemy.
Deng Ai had known Xun Xu's character for a long time. He was a cunning and unjust villain. He usually flattered and had no faith at all.
Xun Xu couldn't get along with most of the ministers under Sima Zhao, but he was very friendly with Jia Chong and others.
Xun Xu, Jia Chong, and Feng Zu were called the three most traitorous ministers of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Deng Ai didn't like him, and his expression was a little cold.
Xun Xu didn't care about the other party's attitude. He smiled and said: "General Wei has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come with me."
He personally helped Deng Ai get into the carriage again, and then began to direct the grooms to move forward. Sitting in the carriage, Xun Xu couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty also attaches great importance to you."
"Knowing that you are coming, His Majesty has made preparations long ago and has been waiting for you."
"Now, His Majesty is waiting in General Wei's mansion."
"His Majesty also loves General Wei very much. He rewarded him with a brand new mansion and five hundred soldiers to protect him."
"I think that with Duke Deng's talents, if I can fully assist His Majesty, I will receive a great reward. Maybe even General Wei can't compare with you!"
Xun Xu's face was full of flattery, which made Deng Ai even more unhappy.
However, Deng Ai did not reprimand him. Xun Xu kept talking eloquently along the way, praising His Majesty's merits and love. He was trying to persuade Deng Ai to follow him. Submit to Your Majesty.
Deng Ai remained silent. When they arrived at the mansion, officials came and took them inside.
"Hahaha, my general is back!"
Cao Mao walked out of the house laughing and looked at this famous general in history.
Deng Ai was not good-looking. Compared to Zhong Hui and others, his appearance could even be considered a bit crude. Zhong Hui would never like him anyway.
He is not tall and has dark skin. The only thing worthy of praise is his extremely bright eyes.
This was the first time Deng Ai saw the emperor. Although he had never met him, the emperor was particularly enthusiastic towards him.
Cao Mao took Deng Ai's hand.
"Mr. Deng, why is it so late?"
Deng Ai was startled by the sudden enthusiasm, but he still responded quickly:
"Ai, Ai, Ai, pay homage to Your Majesty."
Deng Ai stuttered.
Cao Mao took his hand and walked into the inner room together. Sima Zhao was expressionless. He was sitting on the side with a numb face and dull eyes.
"I pay my respects to General Wei!!"
Deng Ai bowed to Sima Zhao very loudly, without even stuttering.
At this moment, Xun Xu's face turned pale and he quickly looked at the emperor.
Xun Xu was originally caught in Tingwei's prison for participating in Gaorou's rebellion. Fortunately, his majesty saw his potential, took him out of prison, and gave him many jobs.
These tasks are basically related to Sima Zhao, because Xun Xu knew Sima Zhao very well, so he became a good expert in monitoring Sima Zhao.
Xun Xu has no sense of morality at all. He clearly received great kindness from Sima Zhao, but at this moment, he suddenly changed and became Cao Mao's confidant.
Cao Mao had previously given him a task to help regain the forces under Sima Zhao.
And Deng Ai is one of the very important talents.
But in Xun Xu's view, this Deng Ai was really stupid, too stupid.
You are loyal to Sima Zhao, there is no problem at all, any king likes loyal people, but now you are calling yourself a minister in front of the emperor.
This is really stupid. No matter how small-minded the emperor is, your title is enough to send you away with Sima Zhao.
Where in the world are there loyal ministers like you?
Your political sense is simply hopeless!
Xun Xu cursed in his heart, but Cao Mao was just stunned for a moment, then smiled and sat next to Sima Zhao.
"General Wei, look, Governor Deng is back now, and we can entrust him with important tasks."
Sima Zhao forced a smile and nodded towards Deng Ai.
Cao Mao took Sima Zhao's hand and looked at Deng Ai, "Deng Gong, the reason why I asked you to come to the temple this time is actually for the war in Yongliang."
"Jiang Wei has invaded Wei Dynasty for many years, causing huge losses every year. I really can't watch him be so arrogant."
"Now that the General of Chariots and Cavalry has died of illness, this person thought that there was no one in the Wei Dynasty, so he invaded again. Fortunately, Duke Chen stopped him in time."
"I want Jiang Wei to calm down for a while and not to disturb me from handling major domestic affairs."
"General Wei recommended you to me, saying that you are a rare talent in the world. I am going to let you assist Duke Chen and lead the army to defeat Jiang Wei."
"I wonder what you think?"
Deng Ai glanced at Sima Zhao and then at Cao Mao, but said nothing.
When he was so silent, Sima Zhao became anxious.
He hurriedly said: "How dare you be rude to His Majesty?"
Sima Zhao understood Deng Ai's loyalty to Sima Zhao, but you can't do this in front of the emperor, let alone say that I have failed now.
Even if I succeed, you can't ignore the emperor like this in front of him.
This is the Emperor of Wei!
You want to send me away too, right?
Sima Zhao was not afraid of death, he was just afraid of bringing down the clan, or so he thought.
Deng Ai seemed to understand something, and then he saluted the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to defeat Jiang Wei for Your Majesty!"
Cao Mao laughed and quickly asked him to sit aside.
"General Wei, you really have a lot of talents under your command. With such a fierce general, why not let him join my command? What do you think?"
Sima Zhao nodded, "That's how it should be."
Xun Xu also quickly added: "How much does your Majesty value General Wei? General Wei, Your Majesty even rewards and promotes the generals under your command. You should be grateful!"
Sima Zhao glared at Xun Xu. He believed that he had great trust in this person. The two had a very deep friendship. He did not expect that at this time, the first person to turn against him would be Xun Xu! !
If I had known this, I should have killed him in the first place.
Sima Zhao had a dark face. At this moment, he finally realized all of Cao Mao's feelings.
He had no way to communicate with outsiders, and his every move was monitored. The emperor issued orders in his name, and he didn't even know about these orders.
The most hateful thing is that the emperor will hold his hand and gather the people who command him in his name.
Sima Zhao was also helpless.
This feeling of powerlessness was so torturous that Sima Zhao was made depressed. Every day was a torment, and his days felt like years.
Cao Mao spoke again and said: "Actually, I value Duke Deng's political ability more than military affairs. Duke Deng is good at farming and stabilizing the people. In fact, Duke Deng is the best candidate to be the chief agricultural officer, and he can even be the third official."
"I hope Mr. Deng will take care of himself, don't show off, and don't take risks. You don't have to go to war, but the governance of the place will be inseparable from you!"
After Cao Mao finished speaking, he looked at Sima Zhao next to him.
"Does General Wei think so too?"
Sima Zhao's face was full of bitterness, but he still nodded.
"Yes, yes, that's it."
