When Deng Ai returned to the city wall of Jiange, he encountered obstacles.
When Deng Ai shouted at the bottom of the city wall to put down the hanging basket, the soldiers on the city did not move for a while.
Naturally, they knew Deng Ai, but they also saw several people of unknown origin following Deng Ai at this moment.
Even though those people were in rags and looked very poor, the sharp blades in their hands symbolized their extraordinary status.
When Deng Ai went out today, he was not accompanied by these people. When he returned, he suddenly led a few people of unknown origin to the city gate. This would inevitably make people suspicious.
After all, it is known that within a radius of more than ten miles, there is no other army except the Wei army.
The origins of these few people who suddenly appeared are really hard to avoid making people suspicious.
Jiange is where the Ming Gate of Yizhou is located, so they cannot be careless.
Of course, it would definitely be impossible for these few people to capture the heavily guarded Jiange.
But what if they are spies who sneak in and cause chaos within Jiange?
All kinds of suspicions linger in the hearts of the soldiers in the city. They are directly under Liu Feng's troops. Liu Feng does not have a good impression of Deng Ai, and they do not have any full trust in Deng Ai.
Isn’t hunting usually about hunting animals? Why did you bring back some people out of thin air?
The hesitation of the soldiers on the city made Deng Ai furious.
He just wanted to see Zhuge Liang as soon as possible, how could he accept such a delay.
He originally wanted to explain the identities of the people around him, but he thought that the matter was too important to leak the news in advance, so he could only hold back his anger and shouted at the city wall:
"The Prime Minister knew what was going on, so he didn't rush to report it."
After hearing what Deng Ai said, the deputy general Liu Feng who was guarding the city hurriedly walked down the city after handing over the defense to a captain.
It wasn't that he wanted to deliberately embarrass Deng Ai, but Liu Feng had issued a strict order a few days ago to prohibit people from entering and exiting the sword pavilion at will. Under Liu Feng's strict order, he could only be careful.
In addition, Deng Ai's military position was not very high, and he and he were both Zhonglang generals, which gave him the confidence to stick to the bottom line.
Before, Deng Ai could take people out hunting only with the prime minister's tacit approval, otherwise he would not be able to go out.
But if, as Deng Ai said, he brought back these people of unknown origin today, and the prime minister knew about it, then his way of handling it would be another.
At least this matter must be reported, and before reporting it to Zhuge Liang, he must also let Liu Feng know about it.
In the past few days, Zhuge Liang has been discussing military affairs with the ministers who arrived at Jiange.
Some of these ministers have different views on some of his initiatives.
Zhuge Liang is not a dictatorial character. When he saw that there were different opinions within the group, he thought of seeking common ground while reserving differences through discussion.
But just when Zhuge Liang was discussing important matters with the ministers at a key point, the guards outside the tent suddenly came in and reported that Liu Feng had something important to see.
Zhuge Liang frowned suddenly when he heard that Liu Feng had something to ask for.
Although he knew that Liu Feng was resentful towards him, out of the desire to endure for the sake of the country, Zhuge Liang still gave Liu Feng full authority to handle the defense of Jiange.
Now that Liu Feng has something to ask for, the important thing he is talking about is probably about the safety of Jiange.
Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang immediately asked his bodyguard to summon Liu Feng in.
Under Zhuge Liang's summons, Liu Feng quickly came to the tent.
After Liu Feng entered the big tent and saw many ministers there, there was some joy in his eyes.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he reported Deng Ai's "suspicious behavior" on the spot.
After the report, Liu Feng did not forget to emphasize his ulterior motives: "Deng Aiyan brought people of unknown origin into the customs with the consent of the Prime Minister."
As soon as Liu Feng said these words, the faces of everyone in the tent couldn't help but change.
Without this sentence, Liu Feng's previous report would have been normal, but after adding this sentence, the meaning of the matter changed.
The people in the tent were almost all the important officials of the Han Dynasty who had come to the Jiange in the past few days. They were sent by Liu Bei to the Jiange to assist Zhuge Liang.
In terms of their status, Deng Ai's status as a mere lieutenant general was not enough to attract their attention, even if they heard that Deng Ai had made great contributions in the Southern Expedition.
Under this concept, when everyone heard that Deng Ai had brought people of unknown origin without permission to enter the customs, they were inevitably unhappy and hesitant in their hearts.
At the end, Liu Feng specifically stated that Deng Ai's unpleasant and hesitant actions were approved by Zhuge Liang.
Then Liu Feng's purpose was obvious. He specifically transferred the ministers' unhappiness and hesitation towards Deng Ai to Zhuge Liang.
Liu Feng's intention was almost obvious, otherwise he could have had a better way of reporting.
Because of this, everyone's expressions became unnatural.
They had long heard that Liu Feng had a fierce personality and had long been dissatisfied with the prime minister. However, everyone was still quite surprised when they saw with their own eyes that Liu Feng had no good intentions towards Zhuge Liang.
The ministers in the tent did not misguess Liu Feng's intentions.
After Liu Feng learned about what happened under the gate of Jiange City, an alternative idea emerged in his mind.
According to common sense, Deng Ai brought out Zhuge Liang to endorse him. Regardless of whether this matter was true or false, in order to maintain Zhuge Liang's authority, Liu Feng should bring in Deng Ai and others as soon as possible.
After being brought in, as long as someone is sent to strictly guard Deng Ai and others, even if Deng Ai has ulterior motives, things will still be under control.
Then find a suitable time to report the matter privately to Zhuge Liang for verification. This can be said to be the best of both worlds.
But Liu Feng did not do this.
He knew clearly that these days were the time when Zhuge Liang was discussing important matters with the ministers from Chengdu, so he still wanted to bring this matter out directly on a special occasion. Wasn't it just to make it difficult for Zhuge Liang?
Liu Feng was certain that what Deng Ai said must be a lie.
Liu Feng had been in charge of the defense of Jiange before Zhuge Liang came. He knew very well that within a few dozen miles, there were only Han troops inside Jiange and Wei troops a dozen miles away.
Except for Deng Ai who brought people out to Jiange for hunting recently, no one went out at all. From the report of the lieutenant, it can be seen that those people were definitely not the people Deng Ai brought out during this period.
So aren't the identities of those people led by Deng Ai just about to come out?
It must be Wei Jun.
It is impossible for these people to be the Liangzhou Army hundreds of miles away.
This is not only Liu Feng's judgment, but also the soldiers on the city wall and even the ministers in the tent all inferred this in their minds. Otherwise, their first reaction to this matter would not be suspicion.
Under this inference, regardless of Deng Ai's purpose of bringing these Wei troops into the pass, if this matter was really arranged by Zhuge Liang, he would definitely have given an order to the soldiers on the wall in advance so that they would not stop them. Deng Ai led the Wei army into the pass.
However, Liu Feng did not receive such an order in advance.
From these details, it is enough to infer that Deng Ai's statement that Zhuge Liang had known about this matter was completely false.
The reason why Liu Feng emphatically told everyone this sentence was to let Zhuge Liang expose Deng Ai's lies with his own mouth.
Once Zhuge Liang does this, Deng Ai will inevitably be dealt with by a military judge.
Deng Ai is Mi Yang's confidant. If Deng Ai is dealt with by Zhuge Liang himself, will Mi Yang not have any grudges in his heart when he learns about it in the future?
Although Mi Yang and Zhuge Liang are master and apprentice now, he and Zhuge Liang were also "master and apprentice" before.
Using oneself to save others, Liu Feng didn't think that when his own vital interests were harmed, Mi Yang, who had a similar fighting style to him, would be indifferent to the matter.
After the report, Liu Feng looked at Zhuge Liang with confident eyes, expecting Zhuge Liang to say those words.
However, under the gaze of Liu Feng and even the ministers, Zhuge Liang slowly spoke:
"What Deng Ai said is true. Let him and others enter the border immediately."
Zhuge Liang's answer directly caused a look of disbelief on Liu Feng's face.
Not only Liu Feng felt incredible, but also the ministers present felt incredible.
What Liu Feng could deduce, everyone present had been immersed in the officialdom for a long time, so they could naturally see it.
Because of this, when Zhuge Liang personally endorsed Deng Ai, Liu Feng and other ministers had this reaction.
Among the people in the tent, Liu Feng's face was the ugliest at the moment.
He really didn't expect that Zhuge Liang would tell lies with his eyes open in order not to fall into his trap.
Is this still the noble Wolong he knew?
Almost a moment later, Liu Feng was about to blurt out Zhuge Liang's "lie".
But when he met Zhuge Liang's calm eyes, everything he wanted to say was blocked in his throat by that indifferent look.
"This is an order."
Zhuge Liang's words revealed an irresistible meaning.
When Liu Bei was away, as the prime minister, Zhuge Liang's words were almost equivalent to imperial edicts!
Even though he didn't know why Zhuge Liang would lie to his face, in the face of Zhuge Liang's power, Liu Feng finally turned around and walked out of the tent to deliver the order.
After Liu Feng left, Zhuge Liang was no longer in the mood to continue the discussion.
He asked all the ministers who were discussing the matter to leave for now.
Seeing that Zhuge Liang's expression was not very good, all the ministers got up and walked out of the tent.
It is not difficult to guess Liu Feng's intentions, but one is a prince with military power, and the other is a prime minister with military power. No one wants to get involved in the political struggle between these two people.
But the ministers from Chengdu did not want to get involved in this kind of thing, but Yang Yi, Ma Di and others who were Zhuge Liang's confidants were quite aggrieved.
"The Prime Minister has a big heart and wants to tolerate each other for the sake of the country, but the son of a borer doesn't think much of it. The Prime Minister should take precautions early!"
The son of a worm comes from the Book of Songs, and usually refers to a stepson or adopted son. Although this sentence seems a bit contemptuous, it is actually a neutral pronoun in the world, with neither praise nor derogation.
This sentence was said by Yang Yi.
The aloof and arrogant Yang Yi, after seeing Liu Feng's sinister intentions today, even though he wanted to defend Zhuge Liang, but concerned about Liu Feng's identity, he simply called Liu Feng his son.
Not only Yang Yi thought this way, but even Ma Di suggested to Zhuge Liang: "The Prime Minister might as well write to Your Majesty about today's matter and let Your Majesty make a decision."
After saying this, Ma Su inadvertently added:
"It's Deng Ai's fault for what happened today. If it weren't for his words, why would the prime minister bother today?"
Ma Su was a respected person and did not say the word "liar". As a confidant of Zhuge Liang, he naturally knew that what Deng Ai said was completely false.
Unlike Yang Yi, he wanted to shift the conflict to Deng Ai, and his intention was also obvious.
After listening to the words of his two confidants, Zhuge Liang did not show any anger. His expression remained very calm.
He first said: "He doesn't understand Zisheng, and you don't understand how to endure for the sake of the country.
If you want to achieve great things, you must first take the overall situation into consideration.
Taking the overall situation into consideration not only means tolerating the intentional actions of others when necessary, but also means not being too pedantic about personal reputation when necessary. "
Zhuge Liang's words were not only to dispel the resentment in Yang Yi and Ma Di's hearts, but also to explain his answer just now.
After saying this, Zhuge Liang defended Deng Ai again:
"Deng Ai is not a reckless person, but he is also loyal to Zi Sheng.
Although I don't know why he suddenly brought several Wei soldiers into the pass, but he didn't want to rashly reveal the identities of those people, so he must have something important to report.
What he said was also an act of helplessness. "
In Zhuge Liang's view, Deng Ai is really not to blame for this incident.
Many things could have been tacitly stated, but Liu Feng insisted on doing the opposite. I am afraid that even Deng Ai did not expect that Liu Feng would take such a selfish approach to his words.
After saying these words, Zhuge Liang asked Yang Yi and Ma Di to retreat first. He was now very interested in the Wei soldiers brought by Deng Ai.
Zhuge Liang guessed that Deng Ai might bring him some unexpected good news.
Yang Yi and Ma Di saw that Zhuge Liang didn't seem to want to pursue the matter too much. After they looked at each other, they both turned around and retreated out of the tent.
The figures of the two fell into Zhuge Liang's eyes. Thinking of how aggrieved they were for him just now, a look of thought quietly appeared on Zhuge Liang's face.
He just said something that he did not directly say to Ma Su and Yang Yi:
You don't understand His Majesty, but he does.
As long as Liu Feng does not commit an unforgivable crime, Your Majesty will not deal with him easily.
Do you really think that Your Majesty released Liu Feng from confinement just to let Liu Feng garrison the sword pavilion?
Some words can be seen through, but they can never be said.
In this world, the surname is Liu after all.
It's just that there are some things that you really need to be prepared for early. Today's incident sounded a wake-up call in Zhuge Liang's heart.
Zhuge Liang did not wait too long in the tent. Soon after, Deng Ai came to Zhuge Liang with the few "Wei soldiers".
Zhuge Liang was originally sitting in his seat, wanting to know what Deng Ai's purpose was for bringing these Wei soldiers into the pass.
But the first words out of Deng Ai's mouth immediately made Zhuge Liang lose his indifferent expression.
"Prime Minister, these sergeants are all from Liangzhou, and they have a secret message from the general to report to the Prime Minister."
Deng Ai's words clarified the identities of these sergeants.
Even Zhuge Liang had not guessed that these sergeants were from Liangzhou.
How did they get here?
What the leader of the sergeants said next made Zhuge Liang stand up from his seat:
"The general has something to say: Yizhou reinforcements can enter Liangzhou from Dingjun Mountain!"
Zhuge Liang:!
This kid actually thought of going together on his own?
After being shocked, Zhuge Liang couldn't help laughing.
This boy is truly his beloved disciple.
Thousands of words condensed into four words:
I'm so sorry.
(End of chapter)
