Chapter 10: Eloquence with a stutter

Cheriji has always been close to Cao Wei. When Cao Cao was alive, Cheriji paid tribute to Xudu every year, but now Cheriji, the Qiang King, is still enthroned by Cao Pi.

Hearing that it was an envoy sent by Wei State, the Qiang people did not dare to be negligent and respectfully invited Deng Ai in.

Deng Ai walked into the camp and sucked his nose slightly. The smell of alcohol and lewd rouge in the tent suddenly rushed into Deng Ai's nostrils. Deng Ai immediately understood what Cherigi was doing just now.

Cherigi looked at Deng Ai and found that the envoy of Wei who was coming in front of him was only twenty-six or seven years old. Cherigi's heart moved slightly. According to Cherigi's understanding of the Han people, being able to hold important positions at such a young age must have been born in those prominent families.

Thinking of this, Cherigi smiled and said, "General Deng, please sit down, come and see the tea!"

The attendant immediately brought tea. Generally speaking, the Qiang people were not used to drinking tea, but Deng Ai was an envoy of Wei, so Cheriji sent someone to cook tea. It was also made of the best tea leaves stolen from the Han people.

Deng Ai was born in a poor family and did not have too high requirements for tea. Moreover, Deng Ai was a little tired after coming from afar, so Deng Ai poured the tea into his mouth in one mouthful and swallowed it but did not taste it. He just felt that it was very quenching his thirst.

"General Deng, I don't know what you are coming this time?" Cherigi asked with a smile.

Deng Ai put down the teacup and said, "I came here for the Guzang City in front of me."

"Guzang City? Does General Deng Ai have a clever plan to help me conquer Guzang?"

"King, I need to go to the city." Deng Ai said.

"Enter the city?" Torrigi nodded: "Since that's the case, then the general will rest here for a day. Tomorrow I will send someone to escort the general into the city.

The east gate of Guzang City.

"General Deng Ai, Guzang Cheng is ahead. Let the general go and call the door!" Qiang general Shao Ge said.

"No need, I'll go by myself. Thank you General Shao Ge." After Deng Ai said that, he bid farewell to Shao Ge and headed towards Guzang North Gate.

The guards in Guzang City saw Deng Ai coming from a distance. Although Deng Ai was only one, the soldiers on the city wall still came to the back of the battlements carefully and became cautious.

"If you come, I will shoot an arrow if you move forward!" the general in the city shouted loudly.

Deng Ai stopped the horse and shouted: "I am Deng Ai, the envoy sent by Wei. I'm here to see General Ma Chao. I dare to ask if you are General Ma Chao?"

The future shook his head: "The general is in the mansion now, I will go and pass it on to you."

"This general, how dare you ask if you are General Ma Dai?" Deng Ai continued.

"The second general is in the South Gate now. You can wait a moment and I will pass it on to you."

"No need to bother the general, I will go to the south gate myself!" Deng Ai said, and ran to the north.

"Hey, wait..." the city guard shouted, but Deng Ai seemed to have not heard it and walked straight north.

"Hmph, why did Wei send such a person? I can't even tell the direction. I told General Ma Dai at the South Gate, but he went north and couldn't even shout. He was such a fool..." The guard at Guzang East Gate said.

Not long after, Deng Ai appeared at the north gate of Guzang City.

"I am Deng Ai, the envoy of Wei. I want to see General Ma Chao..." Deng Ai shouted again.

As a result, the city guards were ready to report immediately, but were stopped by Deng Ai again.

"Since General Ma Dai is not here and you can't make decisions, then I'll go to the south gate to find General Ma Dai." Deng Ai said, and then walked westward.

The same thing happened at the West Gate, and the guard was about to inform him, while Deng Ai made an excuse and headed straight to the South Gate.

In Guzang City.

The General's Mansion is where Ma Chao lives. There is a small schoolyard in this General's Mansion, which is where Ma Chao practices martial arts on weekdays.

"Bang"

The sound of weapons colliding sounded from the small school ground, and two people were fighting. One of them was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing silver inner armor and a bright silver spear in his hand, while the other was a young man in his twenties, shirtless and using a big knife in his hand. The sword and gun were back and forth, and the two were fighting in a similar fashion, but gradually, the middle-aged man who used the gun had the upper hand.

"Father, be careful!" The young man shouted, and the big knife in his hand suddenly rolled straight for the middle-aged man.

"Bang!" The middle-aged man blocked the sword with a spear, then turned sideways, and raised the butt, which hit the young man's abdomen.

The young man took a few steps, then stopped and stood there with a frustrated look on his face, while the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Qiu'er, right, your swordsmanship has been well practiced. I guess even your cousin may not be able to defeat you!"

"But I am still not as good as my father... Father, you were so popular in Liangzhou at the age of fourteen. No one can defeat you and me." The young man said.

"Hahahaha... I didn't like to use swords since I was a child, so I abandoned the sword and used a gun. However, the sword technique of our Ma family was passed down by our ancestor General Fubo and Ma Yuan. It is extremely powerful. Your cousin Ma Dai just learned some basic skills. If this Ma family's sword technique is used well, it is your grandfather Ma Teng!"

This middle-aged man, Ma Chao, said that there was a hint of sadness in his eyes here, and then said, "It's a pity that your grandfather was killed by Cao Cao's traitor. If your grandfather was still there, he would be able to give you some good advice."

"Brother!" Ma Dai's voice sounded, and then Ma Dai hurriedly broke into the schoolyard and said, "Brother, there is someone coming outside, claiming to be an envoy sent by Cao Pi, and he wants to see his brother."

"Cao Pi's envoy? Who is his name?" Ma Chao asked.

"He is a young man, who looks like a twenty-six or seven years old. He is named Deng Ai. He looks like a general, and his martial arts skills seem to be quite weak." Ma Dai said this, and said with a pause, and then said, "There is also that he came alone."

"I came alone! I'm brave enough!" Ma Chao snorted lightly and continued, "Take him into the hall, I'll go there later."

"Father, I'll go with you too!"

"Well, it's good. Wipe your sweat first, put on your clothes and then go over, so as not to say that our Ma family is rude."

In the hall, Deng Ai sat there quietly, his eyes closed, as if he was resting again.

The scene of entering the city kept popping up in Deng Ai's mind, and the defense situation at the city gate and on the city wall kept flashing through Deng Ai's mind. Even Deng Ai was firmly remembered by the shops on both sides of the road along the way.

The city defense situation arranged by Ma Chao was deeply imprinted in Deng Ai's mind. Although it could not be fully displayed, Deng Ai could infer many places. Slowly, a three-dimensional picture of Guzang City's urban defense appeared in Deng Ai's mind.

Just now, Deng Ai went from the east gate to the north gate, then to the west gate, and finally to the south gate to investigate the deployment of the four gates. As Deng Ai expected, the west gate and the defenders of the south gate of Guzang City were much more than the other two gates. When Deng Ai came in from the south gate, he also paid special attention to the defense arrangement of the south gate.

If ordinary people are not able to fully record the defense situation of Guzang City. Similarly, if the people who come here are not engaged in military affairs, it is difficult to see the clues. However, Deng Ai is different. Deng Ai is extremely smart and knows military tactics, so you only need to take a brief look and then slowly think about it to infer the defense situation of Guzang City.

No matter how good the defense is, there will be flaws. So Deng Ai began to slowly recall the situation he had entered the city just now, and began to look for flaws. At this moment, footsteps came from outside.

Deng Ai suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the door. He saw three people coming from afar. The one on the left was Ma Dai whom he had just met, and the one on the right was a young man in his twenties. In the middle was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was handsome and handsome. Even Deng Ai had to sincerely admire him. This middle-aged man was indeed very handsome.

Ma Chao is famously handsome, otherwise he would not have had the nickname "Jin Ma Chao". At this time, Deng Ai had guessed that the middle-aged man must be Ma Chao. Deng Ai hurriedly stood up, took a few steps, and said, "Deng Ai has seen General Ma Chao."

"Sit!" Ma Chao replied lukewarmly. Because Deng Ai was sent by the Wei Kingdom and Ma Chao had a grudge against the Cao family to kill his father, Ma Chao just looked at Deng Ai coldly.

"Your name is Deng Ai, what's wrong?" Ma Chao said with a cold face.

"I am here to save the general!"

"Hmph, look at you who look strong and your martial arts are good. I thought you were a general, but I didn't expect you to be a lobbyist!" Ma Chao's face suddenly became gloomy.

Ma Chao is a man who doesn't like lobbyists very much. Ma Chao suffers a lot from lobbyists. When Ma Chao attacked Cao Cao for the second time, Yang Fu from Liangzhou was a very eloquent person. As a result, with his fair share of words, he made Ma Chao play tricks around, and eventually caused Ma Chao to lose Jicheng, and even implicated Ma Chao in his heart and killed his two sons. So Ma Chao hated lobbyists from the bottom of his heart.

According to Ma Chao's experience, lobbyists usually make alarmist first, for example, if you are in danger and a disaster is coming, it will be a little too long, and then you will be deceived, and then you will look like a savior. So today, when Ma Chao heard Deng Ai's words "come to save the general", a hint of disgust arises from the bottom of his heart.

Deng Ai is very good at observing words and expressions. Although Deng Ai doesn't know that Ma Chao doesn't like lobbyists, looking at Ma Chao's expression, Deng Ai knows that the opening remark he just said was something Ma Chao doesn't like to hear. So Deng Ai quickly swallowed the words he had thought of before, and instead said: "General Ma, I am not hiding it. I am from Tongguan. General Ma has been surrounded by Qiang people in Guzang City for about a year and has no news with Yongzhou. I believe General Ma must not know what the situation of Yongzhou is in the battle. Here are some latest news from Yongzhou. I wonder if General Ma is willing to listen?"

After the Qiang people surrounded Guzang City, there was basically no news from Yongzhou, especially in the past year, Ma Chao had not received any news from Yongzhou. Now Ma Chao didn't know that the Xianbei and the Xiongnu army had been wiped out, nor did he know that Liu Bei was dead, nor did he know that A Dou had ascended the throne now.

Deng Ai's words really aroused Ma Chao's interest. Ma Chao was indeed eager to know the news about Yongzhou. However, after looking at Deng Ai's calm and composed appearance, a hint of uneasiness arose in his heart. Deng Ai, as an envoy of Cao Wei, seemed so comfortable that Ma Chao felt that the situation in Yongzhou might be very bad.

Ma Chao took a deep breath, prepared for the worst news, and then asked: "How is the current situation of the war in Yongzhou? Have the Xianbei and the Xiongnu retreated?"

"Haha, the coalition forces of the Xianbei and the Huns did not withdraw from Yongzhou." Deng Ai had a successful smile on his face.

Ma Chao may have expected this answer a long time ago, so he was not surprised too much. Instead, he asked: "What about my master?"

"Is General Ma talking about Liu Bei? Liu Bei is dead!" Deng Ai continued.

"What did you say?" Ma Chao stood up suddenly. At this time, the first thing Ma Chao thought of was that Liu Bei was defeated and died by the Hu people.

Suddenly, a cruel smile appeared on Ma Chao's face, then pointed at Deng Ai, and said, "I didn't expect that Cao Pi would send you here to spread rumors and disrupt our morale! The person came, pushed him out to me, and killed him, and hung his head at the city gate to serve as a warning to others!"

More than a dozen Liangzhou soldiers, who were like wolves and tigers, rushed in immediately and headed straight for Deng Ai. Deng Ai was not panicked at all. Instead, he said, "General Ma, listen to me again. After listening, he will kill and cut him. I, Deng Ai, have no complaints!"

"Okay, just say what your last words are!" Ma Chao waved his hand and signaled the person rushing in to withdraw.

As the saying goes, when the two countries confront each other, Deng Ai is an envoy after all. In the hearts of the ancients, killing the envoy is a manifestation of indifference and timidity. In Ma Chao's opinion, benevolence and righteousness are not important, but if Ma Chao is timid, Ma Chao will definitely turn against him. Therefore, if he really kills Deng Ai, it will also damage Ma Chao's reputation if he says it. Without any necessity, Ma Chao does not want to kill Deng Ai, the envoy.

Seeing that his life was temporarily saved, Deng Ai breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "General Ma, what I just said is true. I think General Ma misunderstood the story of the matter. The reason why the Hu army did not withdraw from Yongzhou was because they had completely wiped out."

"What did you say?" Ma Chao showed an incredible expression on his face.

"The allied forces of the Xianbei, the Xiongnu and the Jie people have been wiped out." Deng Ai repeated.

"So you're serious?"

"No silence!" Deng Ai nodded with certainty, and then said: "Zhuge Liang led reinforcements out of Qishan, arrived at Tianshui, and then broke into Weishui. The 300,000 Hu people were all flooded by the water and wiped out the entire army."

"Great drowning! Hahaha...Great drowning!" Ma Chao laughed.

"General Ma, it is a fact that the Hu people were wiped out. And what I said just now is true, and it is true that Liu Bei is dead!"

Deng Ai's words immediately interrupted Ma Chao's interest. At this time, Ma Chao also believed that what Deng Ai said was true.

"What's going on?" Ma Chao asked.

"That's right. According to the news we found out, Liu Bei died of illness in Chang'an after defeating the Hu army. When I came, Prince Liu Chan had ascended the throne." Deng Ai said.

When Ma Chao heard the news of Liu Bei's death, he was stunned. Although Ma Chao felt that Deng Ai was from the enemy and his words were unreliable, intuition, Ma Chao could feel that Deng Ai was not lying.

"Your Majesty, he really went..." Ma Chao murmured to himself.

For Ma Chao, these things came too suddenly. Among the five tiger generals, Ma Chao followed Liu Bei for the shortest time, and his relationship with Liu Bei was far less profound than the other four. So when he heard the news of Liu Bei's death, Ma Chao did not feel much sadness. However, Ma Chao felt indescribable in this matter, with a hint of hesitation, a hint of sadness, a hint of uneasiness, and a hint of confusion about the future.

"Liu Bei is dead, what should I do?" This sentence suddenly rang in Ma Chao's heart.

Deng Ai saw that the time was almost right, and then said, "General Ma Chao, there is one more thing I want to tell you. In fact, after Zhuge Liang flooded the Hu army a few months ago, he sent people to support Liangzhou, and the commanders occupied Jincheng in just ten days."

Deng Ai's words made Ma Chao come to his senses. He heard that reinforcements had occupied the city, and Ma Chao looked a little happy on his face. Jincheng was not too far from Guzang. Ma Chao even felt that reinforcements were just a short distance away.
To be continued...