Zhuge Zhan's barrage of questions convinced both Chen Zhi and Jiang Wei that they should not let him interfere in this major undertaking too soon.
After giving him a few instructions, they sent Zhuge Zhan away.
Then they began planning the assassination of Cao Mao.
The most important consideration, of course, was the assassin.
His position could not be too low. Otherwise, Deng Ai might simply keep him there, and he would not be entrusted with important duties even if he surrendered.
Nor could his position be too high, or they would be unable to bear the consequences of failure.
They also had to ensure that he was loyal and did not cling to life and fear death. If his feigned surrender became a genuine one, it would disgrace the entire Shu Kingdom.
After sifting through the Shu Kingdom's limited pool of talent, Chen Zhi settled on the most suitable candidate.
Left Gentleman of the Palace Fu Qian.
His rank and title were neither too high nor too low, and his father had been Fu Rong, a great general of the Shu Kingdom.
When Liu Bei had been defeated by Lu Xun at the Battle of Xiaoting, Fu Rong had led his troops to cover Liu Bei's retreat. When a Wu Kingdom general urged him to surrender, Fu Rong cursed, "Dogs of Wu! Since when has a general of Han ever surrendered?"
Then he fought to the death.
Fu Qian excelled in both civil and military affairs and was outstanding in every respect. He was also an upright and loyal man.
Yet the moment Chen Zhi mentioned his name, Jiang Wei objected.
"Not him."
"He has great talent," Jiang Wei said gravely. "I intend to appoint him Hanzhong Inspector and put him in charge of defending Hanzhong. He has important