The dust kicked up by the horse's hooves flew between Mi Yang and Deng Ai. When the dust fell, Mi Yang could fully see Deng Ai's face.

At this time, Deng Ai was also surrounded by the Han troops present.

According to contemporary people's aesthetic standards, Deng Ai should be considered decent-looking.

But unfortunately, his dirty demeanor ruined Deng Ai's overall temperament.

Looking at the sincere hope on Deng Ai's face, Deng Ai's pleading words just now echoed in his ears. After dozens of Han soldiers surrounded Deng Ai, Mi Yang did not order them to capture Deng Ai.

Kill them on the spot or kill them on the spot.

At this time, Guan Ping, Zhang Bao and others who were behind Mi Yang had also stepped forward to protect Mi Yang.

Zhang Bao's temperament was even more impatient. He drew out the long knife from his waist and pointed it at Deng Ai in front of him and said: "That thief, how dare you assassinate my general!"

After Zhang Bao finished speaking, he ordered his soldiers to step forward and capture Deng Ai.

But a voice came from behind him, stopping his action.

"Wait a minute."

Zhang Bao looked puzzled when he heard Mi Yang's stop.

After all, judging from Deng Ai's performance just now, his sudden move to stop the driver was indeed a bit like an assassin.

Not only Zhang Bao thought so, but also Guan Ping and others, including dozens of Han soldiers present, thought so, otherwise their reaction would not have been so great.

The sudden scene at the East Gate Recruitment Office has frightened the remaining nearly a thousand young men.

Having lived under Cao Cao's rule for many years, they are well aware of the strictness of laws in troubled times.

According to Cao Cao's law, if an assassin appears in a team, the team will most likely be implicated.

Thousands of young people returning to the south saw that because of the movement here, the Han troops on duty near the east gate were coming here in a steady stream.

In order to prevent some of the people returning to the south from deliberately causing trouble and causing panic, Ma Liang deployed layers of troops outside Xiangyang City.

The sound of countless armors clashing around them sounded, and the thousands of young men all collapsed to the ground in fear.

There was only one thought in their minds at this time, they were going to be killed by this man named Deng Ai!

After Mi Yang stopped Zhang Bao, he drove his horse forward and came to his side.

He said to Zhang Bao: "He is not an assassin."

Facing Mi Yang's determined look, Zhang Bao wanted to remind Mi Yang not to take it lightly.

Mi Yang smiled and continued: "Have you ever seen an assassin in the world who dared to commit murder with bare hands?"

"Besides, assassins are all about surprise. If he wants to assassinate me, he should come straight at me. How can he stop me in front of me?"

"He just wants to recommend himself."

Mi Yang's judgment made Zhang Bao gradually put down the suspicion and vigilance on his face.

In addition to the above two judgments, Mi Yang concluded that the person in front of him was not an assassin, but also because he already knew that the person in front of him was Deng Ai, who was famous in history.

Deng Ai's reputation in history is mixed, but he can definitely be regarded as a man with great ambitions and an ability to bend and stretch.

If you assassinate yourself in public outside Xiangyang City, even if you succeed, you will definitely not be able to escape death in the end.

For people who are flexible and flexible, they will not do this kind of thing.

At this time, Deng Ai, who was not far in front of Mi Yang, listened to the calm judgment in Mi Yang's mouth, and the tension in his heart gradually dissipated.

In fact, when Deng Ai made this move just now, he mustered up great courage in his heart to do it.

If you rashly stop in front of someone like Mi Yang, it is very likely that you will be directly treated as an assassin and be killed on the spot.

But Mi Yang is right in front of him now, and Deng Ai doesn't want to give up such a good opportunity to get ahead.

He was betting his life that Mi Yang would be as wise and decisive as rumored. Now judging from Mi Yang's words, he made the right bet this time!

Deng Ai's palms are now sweaty because of the tension in his heart. He is not as calm as he appears on the surface.

Although he believed that he was a piece of undiscovered talent, he was still young after all and had not experienced any major battles.

At this time, the first Han army to come to the rescue had arrived at the scene. The leading general raised his hands to Mi Yang and said, "General, are there some unruly people causing trouble?"

Mi Yang waved his hand and ordered him to lead the team back to their original posts.

The general looked at the tense atmosphere at the scene. Although he felt strange in his heart, under Mi Yang's order, he could only leave.

After the general left with his troops, the other Han troops who were on their way noticed the departure of the Han troops, so they also gave up on coming here and returned to their original posts to garrison.

This scene made Qian Qianzhuang, who had been paralyzed with fear, finally regain some vitality.

After settling these matters, Mi Yang rode up to Deng Ai.

Before Mi Yang came to Deng Ai, Deng Ai looked at Mi Yang's tall body. He felt that Mi Yang had a vague aura that was oppressing him.

This made Deng Ai's breathing become a little short.

Mi Yang ordered the horse's head to line up with Deng Ai's, then he lowered his body and asked in a curious tone: "Aren't you afraid of death?"

Facing Mi Yang's questions, Deng Ai saw that Mi Yang, who was still out of reach in the legend before, was now three feet away in front of him, and he began to feel excited.

"Afraid."

Deng Ai's answer made Mi Yang let out a light sigh.

"If you're afraid, why are you doing this?"

Mi Yang continued to ask.

Deng Ai took a deep breath, raised his head to meet Mi Yang's clear eyes, and replied firmly: "Because Ai wants to follow the general and make contributions."

Deng Ai's answer made Mi Yang laugh.

"Just now you said you had a plan for me. Tell it. I will listen carefully."

Mi Yang's tone was sincere, and his tone sounded like the sound of nature to Deng Ai's ears.

Over the past few years, many dignitaries came to pay homage to Chen Taiqiu outside Xiangcheng.

However, under Deng Ai's self-recommendation, those dignitaries never gave him a chance to fully explain the strategy he had in mind because of Deng Ai's stuttering.

Now Mi Yang gave him this opportunity.

Infected by Mi Yang's sincere tone, Deng Ai suppressed his excitement, and then he said in Mi Yang's ear:

"In the first battle of public security, the general made outstanding achievements and became famous all over the world. He has been worshiped as a general."

"According to Ai's expectation, when the population exchange between the two armies of Han River is completed, the general will be arranged by the King of Hanzhong to leave the town."

"Among the two states of Jing and Yi, the general has the greatest reputation in Jingzhou. It is very likely that the King of Hanzhong will arrange for the general to go out to control a certain county in Jingzhou."

"But Ai thinks that stealing is a plan for the general's future. The general cannot guard Jingzhou and should take the initiative to request to go to Dongsan County."

Deng Ai's stuttering problem still exists. When he starts to speak at length, the stumbling feeling in his speech is even more difficult to ignore.

If this fell into the ears of others, they might interrupt Deng Ai before he could finish speaking a few words.

But Mi Yang was different. Faced with Deng Ai's verbal confrontation, his face never showed any sign of impatience.

He did not rush Deng Ai, but patiently waited for Deng Ai to organize his words and continue speaking.

Mi Yang's performance made Deng Ai feel warm in his heart.

This kind of warmth was something he had never experienced from an outsider before.

When Mi Yang heard Deng Ai's suggestion that he leave the three counties in the east of Zhendong, the expression on his face changed.

Most people could guess what Deng Ai said before, but his last suggestion made Mi Yang take it seriously.

Because of his concern, Mi Yang no longer sat on his horse and listened condescendingly to what Deng Ai said.

He jumped off the horse, looked at Deng Aiping, and stretched out his hand to tell him to continue talking.

After Mi Yang dismounted, Deng Ai, who was immersed in his own world of strategy, did not realize that it was an act of disrespect for him to look at Mi Yang levelly.

He squatted down directly and started to use the stones on the ground under Mi Yang to plan for Mi Yang on behalf of Dongsan County.

As soon as Deng Ai squatted down, Mi Yang also squatted directly opposite him, watching him use the stone as a command to guide the mountains and rivers.

In the past years, because Deng Ai lived in poverty, he often used stones instead to decorate the terrain of military formations.

So those inconspicuous stones seemed to have turned into flexible military fortresses in his hands.

"Last year the King of Hanzhong sent troops to Hanzhong, ordered General Liu and others to seize Shangyong and other counties, and finally ordered General Guan to attack Xiangfan in the north."

"Ai found out that the intention of the King of Hanzhong was to build a Northern Expedition front line from Hanzhong to Xiangyang relying on the Han River to completely complete Zhuge Gong's Longzhong strategy."

"This year, the King of Hanzhong's intention has been achieved."

"Under the connection of the Han River, the three strategic locations of Hanzhong, Dongsan County, and Xiangyang have been connected into one."

"Because of the Han River, the three important places are closely related to each other and connected with each other."

"Compared to Hanzhong and Xiangyang counties, although Dongsan County is located among the mountains, it is the hub of the entire Han River defense line."

"If the three eastern counties are lost, the connection between Hanzhong and Xiangyang will be cut off immediately, and they will be unable to respond to each other and achieve the effect of the joint Northern Expedition."

"Although Dongsanjun does not directly face powerful enemies from the north, due to its special geographical location, the generals stationed in Dongsanjun can either bypass Hanzhong and attack Yongliang in the north, or they can directly go east along the river and attack Wanxuzhi in the hinterland of the Central Plains.
To be continued...