Before Liu Shan and the others arrived, several secret letters from Chen Qian had already reached Cao Mao.
Sure enough, just as Cao Mao had expected, Chen Qian described in detail what Deng Ai had done and said that he was bringing him to seek an imperial audience.
As Cao Mao read Chen Qian's secret letters, not a ripple stirred in his heart.
To be honest, any emperor who saw a military commander behave like this would probably want him eliminated. Well, even if he spared his life, he would have him locked up immediately.
After all, Deng Ai's actions were simply too dangerous.
He was practically flinging his attitude in the emperor's face, his achievements feeding his arrogance to the utmost extreme.
But Cao Mao took it well enough. After all, he had long known about Deng Ai's deeds and character. Deng Ai really had no intention of rebelling, and his talents were so extraordinary. Of course, letting it pass without consequences was out of the question, since such behavior could not be encouraged, but killing him over it would be inappropriate too.
When Cao Mao calmly handed the letters to Zhang Hua beside him, Zhang Hua nearly jumped out of his skin.
Clearly, this man with the talent of a king's assistant still had room to improve his composure.
"Your Majesty, this, this!!"
In his shock, Zhang Hua had turned into Deng Ai, unable even to speak fluently.
Cao Mao remained perfectly calm. "Have you only just learned what sort of man General Deng is, Maoxian?"
"I knew General Deng favored unconventional stratagems, and that although he could handle government affairs, he lacked strategies of governance. But I never imagined it had reached this point!"
"Bestowing titles upon an emperor, sitting in the Son of Heaven's seat, this