The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 521 Only You Have Talent
"You, you, you must tell His Majesty that now is the best time to destroy Wu. There is no time to waste!"

While walking on the road, Deng Ai couldn't help but tell Zhang Hua what he was thinking.

Zhang Hua said nothing and took him into a mansion. This was originally the mansion of a general of Shu State. It was next to the county governor's mansion and not far away. It was empty at this moment and served as a resting place for the eunuchs.

Although the people of Shu lived a miserable life, the wealthy families and ministers here actually lived quite well.

Life is also full of fun.

This general was not a high-ranking military commander, but his courtyard was quite luxurious. There were sixteen rooms inside and outside. The decoration inside the courtyard was of a unique style and did not match the outer wall. It was obvious that the other party had put in some effort to hide the internal decoration.

In just over ten years, Shu changed from a country with fertile land and abundant grain production to a country with a shortage of food and serious shortage of arable land. This was not just because of frequent expeditions.

There is also a big problem, the issue of mergers among large families.

The local faction was annexing land, and the outsider faction was also annexing land. The two even began to compete to see who had more land and who could occupy it faster.

When the localists saw the outsiders, they couldn't help but want to spit in their faces.

You stinky beggar, you come to Yizhou to compete with us for exploiting the people, right?

The people of Yizhou should be exploited by us locals, why should you outsiders have a share?
Jiang Wei maintained a high intensity of combat, which led to serious bankruptcy of the self-cultivating farmers.

When the army went to war, it often recruited self-cultivating farmers, that is, sons of good families. When these people fought or died outside, the self-cultivating farmers basically went bankrupt, and their farmland naturally fell into the hands of the big families.

It was not until the later period that there was a serious shortage of self-cultivating farmers and the long-term workers in the masters' families were also conscripted. The masters then felt that something was wrong and believed that Jiang Wei went on expeditions too frequently!

Jiang Wei had no choice. All the good family boys had been turned into farmhands by the masters of Bashu. If they didn't send them to fight, who else could they send?

The Shu Kingdom also continued the military system of the Han Dynasty at home. Except for retaining some troops, the rest of the troops were temporarily recruited from good families to go to war.

In addition, a large number of civilian laborers are needed when going to war. These people are responsible for transporting food, cooking for the army, clearing the way, and other hard and dirty work.

In later generations, they were called auxiliary soldiers, but at the moment, they were just forced laborers.

The two of them walked into the study.

Zhang Hua gestured to Deng Ai to sit down, and Deng Ai sat in the upper seat without hesitation.

Zhang Hua sat in front of him and stared at the General Zhenxi in front of him.

"General, before you report, I have something to ask."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"Is the General planning a rebellion?"

Hearing this, Deng Ai's expression froze instantly. He stood up unhappily and asked, "What do you mean by this?!"

Zhang Hua continued to stare at him, not afraid of his anger.

He said coldly, "The general is deliberately forcing the Hu and Qiang to rebel and slaughtering them. All the ministers feel that this is no different from killing innocent people to gain credit. I, however, advise Your Majesty that the conflict between Wei and Shu has made the Qiang and Hu extremely arrogant. We should eliminate their evil and then educate them."

"Your Majesty did not blame General Deng for this."

"General Deng then deliberately drove the Qiang people to Liang Province, luring Jiang Wei to attack Liang Province. He then took the initiative to attack Jiang Wei. For his own military merit, he launched a war to destroy the country without sufficient preparation."

"All the ministers said that General Deng was only pursuing his own fame and ignoring the interests of the court."

"Let me advise Your Majesty. I say that the farming season has passed, and all regions have long since begun preparing food and fodder. Since Jiang Wei has fallen for the trick and sent troops, it is time to act. This is a great opportunity, and General Deng cannot be blamed for this."

"Later, General Deng informed His Majesty without further ado and led his troops through Yinping, bypassing Jiange. He acted on his own initiative without even waiting for His Majesty's order."

"All the ministers said that Deng Ai was plotting a rebellion and that if he disobeyed the imperial edict, he could be put to death."

"I still advise Your Majesty. I say that such a strategy must be implemented quickly and the enemy must not be discovered. If General Deng can succeed, it can reduce unnecessary sacrifices in Jiange. If it succeeds, there will be no blame."

"But now, General Deng is in Chengdu, and he actually dares to sit on the throne of the emperor, and on behalf of His Majesty, he rewards the surrendered emperor and crown prince. Even though the Great Wei already has a General of the Cavalry, he still rewards others with the title of General of the Cavalry. General, I want to ask you, is the title of General of the Cavalry of the Great Wei the one that counts, the one conferred by His Majesty, or the one conferred by you?"

"What is your status to sit on the throne?! What is your status to reward the emperor and all the civil and military officials?!"

"Why do you dare to appoint the Governor of Yizhou? And you want all the officials of Shu Kingdom to surrender to you alone?!"

"All the ministers are now suggesting that Your Majesty exterminate your entire clan!!"

"Your Majesty still wants to hear my thoughts, General Deng, what should I say this time?!"

As soon as Zhang Hua finished speaking, a group of armored soldiers rushed in. They stood everywhere, blocking all the entrances and exits. These were elite palace guards, that is, soldiers under Yin Damu.

Deng Ai was stunned at this moment. He looked at the scene blankly and subconsciously took a step back.

"I, I, I am not plotting a rebellion!"

Zhang Hua suddenly stood up, took a step forward, and approached him, "What exactly is the general going to do?!"

Deng Ai quickly explained: "This, this is all, all, all for the sake of serving Your Majesty."

"Serving His Majesty from the throne?! Rewarding the ministers to serve His Majesty?!"

Zhang Hua took a few more steps forward.

Although he was a general who had just destroyed a country, Deng Ai was now speechless because of Zhang Hua.

Zhang Hua looked at the completely panicked Deng Ai, then glanced outside. He frowned again and sighed, "Given what you've done, if we don't kill you, the imperial power will be damaged. How will we govern the country in the future?"

"You have just performed such a great deed. Considering your contribution, I will not punish your clan."

"There is no need to use swords or knives."

Zhang Hua looked behind him, and immediately a soldier brought out some fine wine, which Zhang Hua placed aside. "This pot of wine is for you, General. Don't worry, your family will not be implicated by this."

Deng Ai's face turned completely gloomy.

As arrogant as he was before, he is now as frustrated.

He really wanted to defend himself and said that he had absolutely no intention of rebelling.

However, he found that he had no way to defend himself. No matter from which angle he looked at it, what he did seemed to be an attempt to replace Liu Bei.
Deng Ai's lips trembled for a long time, and finally, his whole body went limp.

He sat down in his seat weakly, then looked at Zhang Hua in front of him.

"Please, please, please tell Your Majesty that I have absolutely no intention of rebellion."

He looked at the pot of wine and said, "You have accomplished something, but you are proud of it. You deserve this disaster."

Just as Deng Ai reached out to grab the wine jug, someone outside suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty has an order!"

Deng Ai was stunned and looked towards the door.

Then a eunuch walked in and said, "His Majesty has issued an edict, requesting the General Zhenxi to come and pay his respects!"

Zhang Hua was horrified. He stood up quickly and asked, "Why is this happening?"

The eunuch did not give him any explanation. Zhang Hua looked at Deng Ai helplessly and asked, "Why is Your Majesty so partial to me?"

After saying that, Zhang Hua left angrily.

When Deng Ai was helped up by the soldiers, his hands were still shaking slightly.

Deng Ai was taken away from here. The soldiers led Deng Ai into the county magistrate's mansion next door, and then into a study.

When they sent Deng Ai in, Cao Mao, who had just walked out of the banquet, was sitting here.

Deng Ai walked in and suddenly knelt down in front of Cao Mao.

"Deng Ai, Ai, Ai made a big mistake!!"

"Your Majesty, please punish me!!"

"Ai, Ai never wanted to rebel!"

Deng Ai stammered as he began to explain. Cao Mao looked at Deng Ai calmly. He no longer had the energy to brag to the emperors of Shu and belittle Jiang Wei. He was in a panic.

Cao Mao shook his head.

"Shi Zai, I have tolerated you time and again, why do you have to force me to this point?"

"The generals on the front lines already know what you've done. If I don't kill you, where will my dignity be?"

Deng Ai immediately lowered his head and said, "Ai, Ai, Ai deserves to die."

Cao Mao slowly stood up, stared at Deng Ai in front of him, opened his mouth, as if to give an order.

Suddenly, he sighed.

"Sit down for a moment."

"It's only because of your talent!"

Deng Ai was already indescribably excited at this moment. He bowed three times to Cao Mao again to thank the emperor for his kindness.

"You made great contributions in destroying Shu this time, but your subsequent crimes are even more detrimental than your achievements. I now dismiss you from your official position and order you to return to Luoyang to reflect on your mistakes. When you fully realize your mistakes, come back to me!"

Cao Mao spoke.

There is a shortage of talents nowadays, and he did not want to kill Deng Ai because of this matter. As for the damage to the imperial power, haha, after the destruction of Shu this time, the prestige has been epically enhanced. He has risen from an emperor with actual power to an emperor with great power. He is completely a leader of the revival. If he can destroy the Wu Kingdom again, it will be the will of heaven. Even the founding emperor may not be able to compare with him.

What did he have to fear?
This is actually a good thing. It is a good opportunity to remove Deng Ai's military power. From now on, he can just focus on farming. There are plenty of generals to fight against Wu, so there is no need to use such a guy who is so easily out of control.

I will still be able to use him when I farm in the south in the future!
Deng Ai had no idea what Cao Mao was thinking. After such ups and downs, he was left with only fear.

Cao Mao quickly ordered Deng Ai to be sent away, as he had many people he wanted to see.

These ministers of Shu Kingdom are not without talent, they are just placed in the wrong place.

Fan Jian is a clean and honest person who will not go along with corrupt people. Dong Jue is conscientious and careful in his work and will not make any mistakes.

There were also many talented ministers among the other ministers, but Liu Chan did not know how to use them.

Cao Mao had been looking forward to them for a long time.

In addition to these talented people, there are a few people who need special attention.

Such as Qiao Zhou.

Such as Chen Shou.

Well, this young man is going to be well-benefited.

Emperor Taizong Xuan, whose taboo name was Mao and courtesy name was Yanshi, was the grandson of Emperor Wen and the son of Prince Lin of Donghai. He succeeded Emperor Ming after Prince Qi disrupted the government. — Pei Songzhi, Book of Wei
I originally wanted to write a few more chapters, but I had something to do today. Someone from my hometown contacted me and said that they wanted to ask me to write a novel about local history because there are always people who don’t understand history and talk nonsense about the history of my hometown. Of course, this is after I finish it. To be honest, I really want to do something for my hometown, but serious literature is not something I am good at, so I am a little hesitant.

Then today's update was slightly delayed, but don't worry, we will make it up tomorrow!

I also ask everyone to vote for me as I am so hardworking and secluded in writing. I am so suppressed on the monthly ticket list. Thank you all!

(End of this chapter)