Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

Of course, there was another reason why Chen Zhi trusted Jiang Wei: because he was Jiang Wei.

It's something I should keep to myself; it's not something I should tell outsiders.

Chen Zhi and Jiang Wei sat facing each other and talked frankly, until a quarter of an hour later, Chen Zhi finally spoke:

"General Jiang, tomorrow Chief Clerk Yang will summon all the generals for a meeting. I fear he intends to use this opportunity to instigate them to jointly submit a memorial supporting his command of the army. As an imperial envoy and a minister holding the imperial seal, I cannot stand idly by and watch this happen. What is your opinion on this matter, General?"

Knowing that the crucial matter had arrived, Jiang Wei did not hesitate or make any excuses. He immediately replied, "Jiang Wei only serves the country. Imperial Censor Chen has come on behalf of the Emperor. If Imperial Censor Chen has given the order, Jiang Wei will obey!"

*Slap, slap, slap*

As soon as Jiang Wei finished speaking, Fei Yi's clapping came from behind the screen.

As Fei Yi walked out, he said with a smile, "Boyue is indeed a superior scholar from Liangzhou. With Boyue's help, we will be much more at ease in our work tomorrow."

The moment Jiang Wei saw Fei Yi, he visibly froze, almost jumping to his feet, and then cupped his hands in greeting to Fei Yi: "Brother Wenwei, I am only here to repay the kindness of my country!"

"Come, come, let's discuss the details for tomorrow together." Fei Yi walked towards Chen Zhi and Jiang Wei, and then began to whisper among themselves.

Seeing this, Liu Yin wisely retreated outside the door and kept watch from the outside.

Chen Zhi believed that Jiang Wei was sensible and that Jiang Wei himself was indeed sensible. However, Jiang Wei felt an instinctive discomfort, even aversion, to Fei Yi's presence at this moment.

None of the generals in the Northern Expedition or the ministers in the Prime Minister's office were fools; they were all shrewd and discerning. However, due to their official positions, factions, status, seniority, and so on, not everyone had the same opportunity to gain experience.

Fei Yi was a smooth and shrewd man in the Prime Minister's residence, adept at social maneuvering and able to get along with anyone. His actions—first going to Wei Yan's camp and then quickly returning from there, followed by the falling out between Yang Yi and Wei Yan—make it hard to deny that Fei Yi was involved in the instigation. Having just framed Wei Yan, was he now about to frame Yang Yi as well?

From Jiang Wei's perspective, Yang Yi was stubborn and had a terrible temper. He had no good relationships with anyone in the Prime Minister's residence, except for Fei Yi, whom he trusted and regarded as a close confidant. Ultimately, Fei Yi was a friend to everyone, but Yang Yi only had Fei Yi as a friend.

That's how politics works. Even if you have doubts about someone's character or don't like their way of doing things, as long as you're on the same side, you have to grit your teeth and work together to achieve the appropriate political goals.

After a brief discussion, Jiang Wei asked, "I lead the Tiger Step Army, stationed outside the city and outside the Prime Minister's residence within the city, while Ma Dai is in charge of the troops inside the residence. What should be done with this man?"

Fei Yi smiled and asked Jiang Wei in return, "Boyue, what do you think should be done?"

Chen Zhi's heart also stirred.

It should be noted that there is a background story behind this.

During the Jian'an era, Ma Chao and Han Sui became enemies of Cao Cao, and were defeated by Cao Cao in the Battle of Tong Pass. Ma Chao then led the Qiang and Hu tribes to besiege the Liangzhou garrison that had submitted to Cao Cao. As a result, Cao Cao executed Ma Chao's father, Ma Teng, who remained in Ye City, as well as the entire Ma clan. Upon hearing the news, Ma Chao became even more ruthless and made many deadly enemies of Liangzhou.

For example, Yang Fu, a minister of the Wei Kingdom, suffered five wounds during the rebellion of Ma Chao, and seven of his clan brothers died in battle.

The first to be hit by this great chaos was Tianshui Commandery, where Jiang Wei's clan resided. The Jiang surname was a prominent one in Tianshui, and Jiang Wei's father, Jiang Jiong, who served as the Chief Clerk of Tianshui Commandery, was killed in the chaos.

Despite his father and entire clan being in Cao Cao's hands, Ma Chao resolutely rebelled against Cao Cao, even saying to Han Sui, "Now I, Ma Chao, have abandoned my father and take you, General, as my father. You, General, should also abandon your son and take me as your son." This foolish statement not only earned him the contempt and resentment of all the scholars in Liangzhou, but also resulted in the massacre of more than two hundred members of his clan, leaving only Ma Chao and his cousin Ma Dai alive.

To be fair, Jiang Wei's father's grudge could be blamed on Ma Dai, but out of respect for the elders and because Ma Chao held a prominent position, the Prime Minister suppressed Jiang Wei's emotions in private for the sake of unity and propriety.

This also provides a window into observing Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei's eyes were deep, and he remained silent for a long time before saying, "I would like to ask Brother Wenwei to make the decision. However, in my humble opinion, we can simply use a plan to capture them when they are not prepared."

Fei Yi was clearly very satisfied with Jiang Wei's reaction, nodding in approval.

Chen Zhi noticed the restraint and inner turmoil in Jiang Wei's eyes. After careful consideration, he spoke up, "General Jiang, if this man insists on acknowledging Yang Yi, things might change. Logically speaking, Yang Yi ordered him to kill Wei Wenchang without an imperial edict; he shouldn't have obeyed!"

Jiang Wei's expression was cold: "Yes, if this person were here, things might change."

After much deliberation, Chen Zhi sighed, "General Jiang, if Ma Dai is pragmatic tomorrow, we can capture him and bring him to Chengdu to be punished. If he tries to obstruct our important mission, we can kill him!"

"I understand," Jiang Wei said, bowing.

Ma Dai...

Whether he lives or dies depends on whether he knows what's good for him.

At this critical juncture, Ma Dai, who had no powerful backing, few military achievements, and was resented by his colleagues for his ruthlessness, could only hope for the best.

Even if Chen Zhi was kind-hearted, he had no reason to risk making things worse by saving Ma Dai's life.

However, even if Yang Yi himself returned to Chengdu, he would most likely face certain death in the face of Emperor Liu Shan's wrath, not to mention Ma Dai, who had beheaded Wei Yan, the one who had acted as a proxy.

It's simply a matter of whether I die sooner or later, or whether I die by my own hand.

Bringing down Yang Yi was never Chen Zhi's main objective, and it was not a difficult task.

Using the incident of Yang Yi's downfall as a pretext, Chen Zhi sought to reach a consensus with the Prime Minister's office and the generals on the Northern Expedition, form an alliance, and welcome Liu Shan to Hanzhong to take command of the army and assume personal rule. This was the real big thing Chen Zhi wanted to do!

……

The following afternoon, after lunch, Yang Yi had already taken his seat in the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence.

Although Yang Yi had important matters to attend to in the afternoon, he was not at ease at the moment, as he was busy calculating and approving the military supplies and provisions to be allocated tomorrow.

Today is the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. According to the Prime Minister's Office system, military rations for each army are allocated every ten days, and three times a month, on the tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth days. Prime Minister Zhuge's work habits have influenced the entire Prime Minister's Office, including Yang Yi. For many years, he has assisted the Prime Minister in handling military affairs, and doing these things on time has almost become an obsession.

There's no other way; the burden of the imperial army still rests on my shoulders!

Liu Ba has arrived in the east of Mianyang City...

Wang Ping from Nanxie Valley has arrived...

Meng Yan from Chian has arrived...

Deng Zhi from Wuxing has arrived...

In the vast main hall of the Prime Minister's residence, only Cuan Xi and Sheng Bo remained of the six military advisors on the right; the rest were busy with their own tasks. Yang Yi and Fei Yi were both present on the left, and only Yang Xi was the registrar.

After news of Deng Zhi's arrival reached them, Fei Yi left first, claiming he needed to speak with Deng Zhi. Yang Yi, unsuspecting, did not stop him, but simply nodded in agreement.

Fei Yi straightened his robes, stood up, took a deep breath, and looked firmly at the Prime Minister's memorial tablet in the center of the hall before striding out.

The sun was shining brightly outside the hall.