Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 134 Catching Ai Ai

Daylight broke, the rain stopped, and another difficult night passed. The air was filled with the fragrant scent of earth and grass, which wafted into the military tent from outside.

Tian Xu opened his eyes; the ten strokes of the military rod on his buttocks were still throbbing with pain.

He sighed, sat up, touched his neck, and found that his head was still on his neck, which relieved him.

He was angry at his own foolish actions.

At this moment, Tian Xu was seething with anger, but he couldn't care less about hating Deng Ai.

It was obvious that the pressure from Zhong Hui was overwhelming, making it difficult for Tian Xu to breathe.

Deng Ai's claim that Zhong Hui would kill all of their Wei army was clearly a lie; Zhong Hui would not do such a thing, nor would he have any reason to.

But Zhong Hui disposed of this faction of generals, including Tian Xu, without a doubt! Killing a few people was no big deal.

This filled Tian Xu with fear, and every day felt like an eternity. Unfortunately, Deng Ai was stubborn and self-willed, and now, because of Liu Shan's matter, he had Tian Xu under house arrest.

How pathetic that you can't even run yourself!

Forget it, I'm tired. Let's just destroy it!
Tian Xu closed his eyes and continued to sleep on the straw mat. He didn't care about the wind and rain outside; if the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up.

He has given up on treatment.

Just as Tian Xu closed his eyes and awaited death, a commotion broke out outside Deng Ai's army camp where he was.

Several hundred soldiers lined up in front of the camp gate, preventing a troop of Wei cavalry from entering. The man in charge was Yang Xin, the prefect of Jincheng, who was quite brave in Deng Ai's army.

When Deng Ai sent troops to pursue Jiang Wei to Yinping, Yang Xin was the one who achieved the most victories, pursued the most aggressively, and jumped the most enthusiastically.

When others beat a drowning dog, it's just a token gesture, but Yang Xin really hits him hard!
"I am acting on the orders of the imperial court to arrest Deng Ai and send him to Chang'an for trial. You will all come with me to Chengdu to arrest Deng Ai. We will not question your past, and you will be rewarded if we succeed. If you do not wish to follow, you may leave, and the imperial court will not hold you accountable."

If they remain obstinate and obstruct the arrest, they will be considered accomplices of Deng Ai and their entire family will be exterminated!

Shi Shouxin, mounted on his horse, looked down at Deng Ai's soldiers. Behind him, hundreds of riders were also watching intently, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

This momentum is unstoppable!

Deng Aijun, who was blocking the camp gate, slowly retreated and made way for the gate, but instead of dispersing immediately, they gathered together and whispered among themselves.

"Is General Yang Xin here? Please come out and speak to me!"

Just then, Qian Hong came out and shouted to the crowd.

Yang Xin, who had been hiding in the back, could no longer keep up the act, so he stepped out from the crowd, clasped his hands in greeting to Qian Hong, and said, "General Qian, didn't you leave the camp? Why have you returned?"

"Being the guide for the imperial envoy, we had no choice but to turn back."

General Yang, listen to what I have to say. The court's intention to punish Deng Ai has nothing to do with us or the soldiers of the three armies.

General Yang, why don't you abandon the darkness and embrace the light, so as to avoid implicating your family?

Qian Hong spoke the truth: The court wants to arrest Deng Ai, not you. Why should you die with Deng Ai?
"Yang is not someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong; it is just that crossing Yinping secretly and conquering the Shu Kingdom was no easy feat."

If the merits of the soldiers are erased because of Deng Ai alone, wouldn't I, Yang, be a sinner?

Yang Xin sighed helplessly, "I said things I shouldn't have said in front of so many soldiers."

Shi Shouxin squinted at Yang Xin and thought to himself: This old man isn't an honest man either. I'll have to teach him a lesson when I get the chance.

Shi Shouxin directly assured them, "The court will only question Deng Ai's rebellion. The merits of our soldiers in overcoming all obstacles and secretly crossing Yinping are all recorded in the merit book. How could they be erased because of Deng Ai's matter?"
I guarantee with my life that what is rightfully mine will be mine! The complete record of merits will be presented to Duke Jin for his decision!

His words were absolute and unambiguous.

Yang Xin was overjoyed to hear this!

Whether Deng Ai lives or dies is none of his business; Deng Ai isn't his father!
What Yang Xin really cared about was his military achievements!

If they were all considered rebels because of Deng Ai's incident, after all the military achievements they made in the previous campaign against Shu, would the promised rewards from the court still be valid?

There are no "unspoken rules" to this issue; we must make it clear now, in front of all these soldiers!
Upon hearing Shi Shouxin's assurance, Yang Xin was overjoyed.

He immediately knelt down, kowtowed to Shi Shouxin who was riding on horseback, and said excitedly, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will immediately muster my troops and escort you to Chengdu to capture Deng Ai!"

"Good! General Yang is a man of great principle, and the court will not forget your loyalty! After returning to Luoyang, I will definitely inform Duke Jin and let him know about the loyalty and bravery of General Yang and his soldiers!"

Shi Shouxin, mounted on his horse, made a bold and confident promise.

Upon hearing his shout at the camp gate, the Wei soldiers immediately yelled in unison, "Capture Deng Ai and you'll be rewarded!"

"Arrest Deng Ai!"

"Arrest Deng Ai!"

"Arrest Deng Ai!"

The noise within the camp grew louder and louder, one wave after another.

Qian Hong looked at Shi Shouxin with complicated emotions, and sighed inwardly: "Heroes have always emerged from among the young, and this is absolutely true."

This person, with keen insight and adaptability, selected the most important one from a series of contradictions and used it to break the deadlock.

Given time, it will surely soar to great heights!

As Qian Hong was pondering this, Shi Shouxin looked at him and instructed, "General Qian, go and take a walk around the military camp. Call up all the generals you can, and we'll go to Chengdu together to capture Deng Ai!"

"The last general takes command!"

Without saying a word, Qian Hong spurred his horse and charged into the camp.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xin gave a wry smile. This so-called "court envoy" who hadn't even introduced himself was certainly no ordinary person.

If all the generals were ordered to arrest Deng Ai, then everyone would be in the same boat, which would be equivalent to the generals in the army collectively reporting Deng Ai.

If something really goes wrong in the future, everyone must stand up and shoulder the burden together.

This guy is amazing!
Yang Xin suppressed his ulterior motives and dared not underestimate the young man on horseback any longer. He suddenly realized that his scheme had probably been discovered by the other party.

Instantly, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at Shi Shouxin again.

Before long, generals from the counties of Longyou, such as Wang Qi, the prefect of Tianshui, and his subordinate Duan Zhuo, arrived at the camp gate.

Deng Ai's order forbidding the army from entering Chengdu stemmed from his desire to avoid disturbing the people and to maintain a good reputation.

However, at this moment, it has become a major blunder. Without this order, Yang Xin, Wang Qi, and Duan Zhuo would all be staying in wealthy households within the city, making them somewhat difficult to capture.

But now, these people are all in the military camp. Shi Shouxin arrived unexpectedly with several hundred light cavalry, and could use the prestige of the imperial court to snowball his advantage and win over these generals.

Inside a tent in the main camp, Tian Xu quietly pulled open a corner of the tent flap, and then he saw that the soldiers guarding the door had already left.

The entire camp was empty, as if the army had already set off.

Just then, Tian Xu saw Qian Hong riding over on horseback, right in front of him, and neither of them had time to hide.

Qian Hong laughed heartily and asked, "General Tian, ​​the imperial court has sent an envoy to arrest Deng Ai and claim the reward. Are you going?"

Is there such a good thing?

Tian Xu shouted excitedly, "Go, go, go! I'm coming right now!"

At this moment, his buttocks no longer seemed to hurt, and his heart was filled with passion.

"Head to the camp gate, we're on our way to Chengdu to arrest them!"

After saying that, Qian Hong turned his horse around and headed towards the camp gate.

……

Inside the Taiji Hall of the Chengdu Imperial Palace, Deng Ai sat on the "dragon throne," his brows furrowed.

The rain stopped, but no one from the military camp came to report the situation to him. Deng Zhong and Shi Zuan had gone out on business and had not yet returned.

For a moment, Deng Ai didn't know what he should do.

Zhong Hui had an army of over 100,000, which was a huge obstacle that kept Deng Ai from breathing.

Whether to send troops or not is a very difficult decision.

Just then, Deng Zhong rushed in and shouted to Deng Ai, "Father, there's been a mutiny! The military camp outside the city has mutinied, and the mutineers are heading towards the palace!"

He was out of breath and didn't explain himself clearly, leaving Deng Ai still completely confused.

"Speak slowly."

Deng Ai frowned slightly, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"Father, there's no time to explain slowly, the rebel soldiers are already heading this way."

Deng Zhong turned pale with fright. Just as he was about to say something more, he heard a commotion outside the palace.

Deng Ai naturally heard the commotion.

He hung his sword at his waist, ignoring the terrified Deng Zhong beside him, and walked straight out.

Before Deng Ai could even leave the palace, while he was still in the square in front of the Taiji Palace, the palace gates were opened, and a troop of cavalry, followed by countless infantrymen, surged into the palace like a tide.

Deng Ai was taken aback, and then his face darkened.

He saw Qian Hong in the crowd.

Also present were Yang Xin, Wang Qi, Duan Zhuo, and even Tian Xu.

At this moment, Deng Ai seemed to have become all alone.

The mutinous soldiers surrounded Deng Ai. They parted to make way for him, and Shi Shouxin walked up to him. Behind him, besides Meng Guan, Zhao Lun, and others, were several of Deng Ai's generals.

The group approached Deng Ai.

To the uninformed, one might mistake Deng Ai's generals for Shi Shouxin's underlings.

"Deng Ai, I, Shi, have been ordered by the imperial court to arrest you and bring you back to Chang'an for questioning. Do you know your crime?"

Shi Shouxin looked at Deng Ai, whose beard was white and whose face was weathered, and questioned him.

A pang of reluctance stirred within me.

At this age, why not enjoy your retirement instead of making a fuss?

"Deng led his troops across seven or eight hundred miles of barren land, secretly crossed Yinping, forced Liu Shan to surrender, and conquered the Shu Kingdom, thus making a great contribution to the country!"
May I ask, what crime has Deng committed?

Deng Ai glared at Shi Shouxin with eyes like lightning, and asked him a question with a straight face.

Whether you are guilty or not, it depends on the court and the Duke of Jin.

Even if all the merits you mentioned are true, they cannot offset your sins.

Guards! Seize Deng Ai and his son and escort them to Chang'an so that they can recount their merits and demerits to the Duke of Jin in person!
As for the others, they will not be held accountable!

Shi Shouxin shouted. Hearing this, everyone present, except for Deng Ai and Deng Zhong, breathed a sigh of relief.

The extremely robust Zhao Lun stepped forward, grabbed Deng Ai's shoulders, and swiftly bound him tightly. Meanwhile, Qian Hong stepped forward to tie up the ashen-faced Deng Zhong.

Deng Ai's personal guards stood by as spectators, offering no resistance and acting as if they hadn't seen anything.

Shi Shouxin glanced at Deng Ai, whose face was full of dissatisfaction, and couldn't help but sigh silently.

Even now, this guy still doesn't understand where he went wrong. It seems he has only himself to blame for this predicament, and he has no one else to blame but himself!

He was filled with mixed emotions, but this was not the time to celebrate; there were still many things to finish that needed to be done.

When doing something, one should see it through to the end.

A smile flashed across Shi Shouxin's face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Gentlemen, you should lead your troops back to the main camp first. I will be right back."

The Grand Commander's troops have already set out and are expected to arrive tomorrow.

Shi Shouxin looked at Yang Xin, Qian Hong and other generals, and used Zhong Hui's banner as a shield to intimidate them first.

"Understood, we will return to camp and reorganize our soldiers."

Qian Hong and the others stepped forward to receive their orders, and then, beaming with joy, led their troops away from the palace grounds. It was impossible for them not to be happy; a catastrophic disaster had been averted, and their previous military achievements were still recorded and valid. What reason did they have not to be happy?
Only after Deng Ai's troops had all left did Shi Shouxin breathe a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)