The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 324 Puppet General
Deng Ai sat in the carriage, looking at the imperial edict in his hand with a serious face.

There were cavalry leading the way in front and behind the carriage, and it was now heading towards 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 opposed Sima Zhao's going out. He wrote a letter to Sima Zhao, earnestly advising him to stay in the central army and not move around, and that he could take care of suppressing the rebellion.

As a result, Sima Zhao later wrote back to him, saying that there would be rewards and promotions and asking him not to worry.

Deng Ai's face turned dark at that moment.

General Wei obviously regarded his memorial as an attempt to go to Hebei to gain military merit.

Deng Ai did not dare to write another letter and could only watch Sima Zhao leave Luoyang.

He had previously received orders from General Wei to be prepared to provide support and, if necessary, to stop Guanqiu Jian's army.

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 great general who accepted all his advice.

General Wei did not listen to his advice, and he ended up like this, so he couldn't blame anyone else.

Now Deng Ai knows that Sima Zhao has failed, but he is powerless to do anything. What else can he do in this situation?

Are we saying that General Wei was held hostage by the emperor and was calling on the people of the world to oppose the emperor?

Not to mention how ridiculous the reason for the uprising was, just look at Deng Ai's current identity. As the governor of Yanzhou, is he going to lead the soldiers of an entire state to attack the central army?
If General Wei has fallen, then the Central Army must have fallen into the hands of the emperor. What is there for him to fight for?

A joint attack by the central army and Guanqiu Jian would be enough to wipe out Deng Ai's entire army, no matter how good he was at fighting.

So Deng Ai could only pretend that he knew nothing and took a carriage to Luoyang.

Deng Ai sighed helplessly, hoping that the emperor would not make things too difficult for him.

Deng Ai still admired this young emperor very much. Deng Ai felt that if he were to swap places with him, he would never be able to achieve what he has today.

Although Deng Ai came from a prominent family, he grew up in poverty. If it were not for Sima Yi's appreciation, he would probably still be unknown.

Deng Ai cannot be said to be disloyal to the Sima family, but in the current situation, even if Deng Ai wanted to support the Sima family, he was powerless.

It doesn't take too long to travel from Yanzhou to Luoyang, especially if you are traveling at full speed.

Deng Ai soon appeared outside Luoyang City.

From a distance, Deng Ai saw the troops coming to greet him.

Deng Ai knew this person, who was Xun Xu, the former chief secretary under Sima Zhao.

Xun Xu was smiling at this moment. When he saw Deng Ai get off the car, he walked to his side with great enthusiasm and bowed respectfully.

"Mr. Deng! Long time no see. Are you well?"

Deng Ai glanced at this man and immediately concluded that he had defected to the enemy.

Deng Ai knew Xun Xu's character very early on. He was a cunning and ungrateful villain who was always flattering and had no integrity at all.

Xun Xu did not 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 Xun are collectively known as the three most treacherous 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 back into the carriage and immediately began to direct the grooms. Sitting inside the carriage, Xun Xu couldn't help but say, "His Majesty also attaches great importance to you."

"His Majesty, having learned of your arrival, has made preparations long ago and has been waiting for you."

"Your Majesty is now in the General Wei's residence, waiting together."

"His Majesty is also very fond of General Wei. He has rewarded him with a brand new mansion and gifted him with 500 soldiers to protect him."

"I believe that with Lord Deng's talent, if he could fully assist Your Majesty, he would be greatly rewarded. Perhaps even General Wei would not be able to match you!"

Xun Xu's face was full of flattery, which made Deng Ai even more unhappy.

However, Deng Ai did not scold him. Xun Xu kept talking all the way, praising the emperor's merits and the emperor's kindness. His words were trying to persuade Deng Ai to follow him and submit to the emperor.

Deng Ai remained silent. When they arrived at the mansion, an official came and took them in.

"Hahaha, my general is back!"

Cao Mao walked out of the house with a big laugh and looked at this famous general in history.

Deng Ai was not good-looking. Compared with Zhong Hui and others, his appearance could even be considered a bit simple. In any case, Zhong Hui would definitely not like him.

He was not tall and had dark skin. The only thing worth mentioning was his extremely bright eyes.

This was the first time Deng Ai saw the emperor. Although they had never met, the emperor was particularly enthusiastic towards him.

Cao Mao grabbed Deng Ai's hand.

"Mr. Deng, why are you so late?"

Deng Ai was taken aback by this sudden enthusiasm, but he still quickly returned the greeting:
"Ai, Ai, Ai pays homage to His Majesty."

Deng Ai had a slight stutter.

Cao Mao took his hand and walked into the inner room. Sima Zhao was sitting in a side seat with a blank expression on his face, his face numb and his eyes dull. "Your Highness, I pay my respects to General Wei!"

Deng Ai bowed to Sima Zhao in a very loud voice without even stuttering.

At this moment, Xun Xu's face turned pale and he quickly looked at the emperor.

Xun Xu was originally arrested and imprisoned in the Tingwei Prison for participating in Gao Rou's rebellion. Fortunately, His Majesty saw his potential, took him out of prison, and assigned him a lot of work.

These tasks were basically related to Sima Zhao. Since Xun Xu knew Sima Zhao very well, he became an expert in monitoring Sima Zhao.

Xun Xu is a man with no sense of morality at all. He had obviously received great favors from Sima Zhao, but now he suddenly turned into Cao Mao's confidant.

Cao Mao had previously given him a task, asking him to help regain the power under Sima Zhao.

And Deng Ai is a very important talent among them.

But in Xun Xu's view, Deng Ai was really stupid, too stupid.

There is absolutely no problem with your loyalty to Sima Zhao. Any king likes loyal people, but you are calling yourself a subject now, and in front of the emperor.

This is really stupid. If the emperor was a little more narrow-minded, this title of yours would be enough to send you and Sima Zhao away together.

Where in the world can we find a loyal minister 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 has returned now. We can entrust him with important matters."

Sima Zhao forced a smile and nodded towards Deng Ai.

Cao Mao took Sima Zhao's hand and looked at Deng Ai. "Lord Deng, the reason I asked you to come to the imperial court this time is actually because of the war in Yongliang."

"Jiang Wei has been invading the Wei Dynasty year after year, causing huge losses every year. I simply cannot bear to see him act so arrogantly."

"Now that the General of Chariots and Cavalry has passed away, this man has thought that our Great Wei is helpless and has invaded again. Fortunately, Lord Chen stopped him in time."

"I want Jiang Wei to be quiet for a while and not disturb me while I attend to important domestic affairs."

"General Wei recommended you to me, saying you are a rare talent. I intend to have you assist Lord Chen and lead the army to defeat Jiang Wei."

"What do you think?"

Deng Ai glanced at Sima Zhao, then at Cao Mao, but said nothing.

His silence made Sima Zhao even more anxious.

He quickly said, "How dare you be so disrespectful to His Majesty?"

Sima Zhao realized Deng Ai's loyalty to him, but you can't do this in front of the emperor, let alone now that I have failed.

Even if I succeed, you can't ignore him like this in front of the emperor.

This is the Emperor of Wei!
You want to send me away as well, right?

Sima Zhao was not afraid of death, he was just afraid of bringing trouble to his clan. At least that's what he thought.

Deng Ai seemed to understand something and saluted the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, am willing to defeat Jiang Wei for you!"

Cao Mao laughed and quickly asked him to sit aside.

"General Wei, you have so many talented people under your command. How about letting such a powerful general join my army? What do you think?"

Sima Zhao nodded, "That's right."

Xun Xu also hurriedly added: "Your Majesty values General Wei so highly. General Wei, Your Majesty has also rewarded and promoted the generals under your command. You should be grateful!"

Sima Zhao glared at Xun Xu. He had believed he trusted him immensely and that they had a deep friendship. He had never imagined that at this moment, the first person to turn his back on him would be Xun Xu!

If I had known this, I should have killed him.

Sima Zhao's face was dark. At this moment, he finally understood all of Cao Mao's feelings.

He had no way of communicating with outsiders, his every move was monitored, and the emperor issued orders in his name, but he didn't even know about these orders.

The most hateful thing is that the emperor would hold his hand and gather and command his troops in his name.

Sima Zhao was equally helpless.

This feeling of powerlessness was so torturous that Sima Zhao became depressed. Every day was torture and he felt like the days were long.

Cao Mao spoke again, "In fact, compared to military affairs, I value Lord Deng's ability to govern more. Lord Deng is good at cultivating farmland and stabilizing the people. In fact, Lord Deng is the best candidate for the position of Minister of Agriculture, and he could even be one of the Three Dukes."

"I hope Lord Deng can take good care of himself, don't try to be too arrogant, and don't take risks. You can choose not to fight, but governing the region is absolutely indispensable to you!"

After Cao Mao finished speaking, he looked at Sima Zhao beside him.

"Does General Wei think so too?"

Sima Zhao's face was full of bitterness, but he still nodded.

"Yes, yes, that's right."

(End of this chapter)