"General, why did you beguile His Majesty into sending out troops?!"
"Emperor Wen issued an edict that we should rest and recuperate while awaiting the right opportunity. Yet now, for the sake of your own military achievements, you have actually beguiled His Majesty into taking the offensive. Does this not violate Emperor Wen's edict?!"
At that moment, several ministers stood before Sima Zhao, giving him a thorough dressing-down.
Sima Zhao's face was scarlet, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Had they not come to tell him, he would not even have known that the army had already marched!!
Clearly, the news of Deng Ai's expedition could not be kept from the ministers for long. The mobilization was immense, officials along the route could send word back, and the expenditure on provisions and logistics could not be concealed either.
The ministers soon learned of it. When they sought an explanation from the emperor, however, Cao Mao tossed out a memorial from Sima Zhao.
In this memorial, Sima Zhao vehemently laid out the benefits and drawbacks, arguing that Jiang Wei could no longer be allowed to plunder and humiliate them with such impunity. They ought to dispatch troops to deal with him!
Sima Zhao's tone was exceedingly sincere, his arguments lofty. He was heartsick over the suffering people of Yongliang, and he also considered Jiang Wei's actions a provocation against His Majesty's authority. He declared that they absolutely had to attack, that they must attack-in short, his position was utterly resolute.
And the handwriting, of course, was Sima Zhao's own.
Naturally, the ministers knew perfectly well that Sima Zhao was merely a tool the emperor had brought out to fob them off. But what could they do? Since they dared not direct their fury at the emperor, they vented it on Sima