Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

A few days later, in the Tang Dynasty Palace.

The late spring drizzle washed the golden bricks of the Daming Palace shiny, and the copper bells on the eaves made damp tremors in the southeast wind.

The knuckles of Li Shiming's fingers turned white as he held the gold-sprinkled paper. The candlelight flickered on the dragon pattern on his ochre-yellow dragon robe, making the four cinnabar characters "Personally Written by the Emperor of Tang" as dazzling as clotted blood.

"Good job Ji Yingjie!"

Li Shiming suddenly sneered, and the twelve tassels of the Tongtian Crown inlaid with luminous pearls shook violently.

"Chu Ning wanted to decide the outcome in a fight, and he actually dared to agree. Isn't he afraid of being fooled by Chu Ning?"

The gilded candlestick was knocked over by the wide sleeves, and the scalding wax condensed into tears of blood on the rosewood dragon table.

The crimson official robes of the ministers below the steps glowed with varying shades of red under the glazed palace lanterns.

Prime Minister Changsun Wuji stepped out on the green smoke from the bronze crane incense burner. The crane embroidered with gold thread on his dark purple round-necked robe spread its wings as it walked, ready to fly:

"Your Majesty, the Jin Kingdom's tower ships are indeed unique in the world."

His bamboo-like fingers slid across the goldfish bag on his waist: "The Eighteen Docks of Cangjiang River are as solid as a rock, and the distance between the end and the end is hundreds of miles."

"If the Chu army launches surprise attacks from different places from time to time, it will cause trouble for the Jin navy early in the morning."

"If we concentrate all our troops in one battle, we can annihilate the Chu army in one fell swoop!"

At this time, the Minister of Revenue Fang Xuanling suddenly stood up and echoed: "What the Prime Minister said is very true, but the Chu army has a large number of soldiers and horses. If the battle goes badly, the Chu army in other directions can support Cangjiang at any time..."

He suddenly caught sight of Li Shiming stroking his jade belt buckle, and his words stopped abruptly.

"You want Han and Wei to send troops to contain the Chu army in other directions?"

Li Shiming suddenly sneered: "Let Liu Che, that old fox, send out the troops. Who among you will persuade him? That man is no less cunning than Sima Yishao."

Minister of War Li Jing narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Now that the four countries have formed an alliance, they should advance and retreat together!"

"Since Liu Che is difficult to convince, we can first convince Gaoling King Sima Yi. As long as he sends troops to contain the Chu army, our dynasty will support him to ascend the throne and become emperor!"

"Once Sima Yi sends troops, Liu Che will not be able to stay out of it. He will definitely send troops to make a tentative attack on the Chu army."

"By then, the Jin navy can focus on the decisive battle with the Chu army!"

"Of course, in order to get Liu Che and Sima Yi to send troops, Your Majesty can also promise them some benefits."

Changsun Wuji suddenly bowed, the cloud pattern on the jade tablet almost touching the tip of his nose: "Why do you need to grant land? Since Chu Ning has gathered a large number of troops in Cangjiang, the defenses of Yanzhou and Maple Leaf City must be weak."

He said loudly: "If the Han takes Maple Leaf City and Wei attacks Yanzhou, the Chu army will be unable to protect both ends."

Suddenly, a loud thunder exploded outside the palace, and a flash of purple lightning flashed in the rain.

When Li Shiming stood up, the tassels of his Tongtian crown swept across the maidservant kneeling beside the Panlong Pillar. The dragon pattern embroidered with gold thread seemed alive in the candlelight:

"Send the order!"

"In order to fully support the Jin navy and the Chu army in the decisive battle, our dynasty is willing to provide 100,000 dan of grain and 3 million taels of silver!"

"Tell Liu Che and Sima Yi to send troops to attack Maple Leaf City and Yanzhou. It doesn't matter if they can't win, as long as they delay the Chu army."

"Also, tell Sima Yi that as long as he sends troops, I will support him to ascend the throne and become emperor!"

"Oh, and add one more sentence. Whoever captures the city will own it."

In order to create conditions for a decisive battle for the State of Jin, Li Shiming gave it his all.

Not only did he give Jin food and silver, but he also asked the Han Dynasty and Wei to send troops to help.

He knew very well what Sima Yi wanted. As long as he supported him to ascend the throne, Sima Yi would definitely send troops.

An hour later, two carrier pigeons flew out of the Tang Dynasty capital and headed towards their respective destinations.

A few days later, Wei State, Qingzhou Palace.

The twelve carved lattice doors of the Golden Throne Hall cut the late spring sunlight into pieces, sprinkling them onto the gilded dragon pattern on Sima Yi's deep purple python robe.

He repeatedly rubbed the Vermilion Bird seal on the lower right corner of the letter with his fingertips. The four characters "Willing to Follow the Orthodoxy" outlined by Li Shiming in cinnabar were beating in his palm like a burning fire.

"Three years..."

The sound of his Adam's apple rolling startled the green smoke from the bronze Qilin incense burner.

At this moment, the candlelight in the store flickered, and the purple gold crown reflected in it was slightly distorted.

"Come here, please invite all the adults to come here to discuss matters!"

The jade sceptre hit the bronze lamp tree so hard that the white cranes under the eaves flapped their wings and fled away.

When the twelve ministers in scarlet robes filed in, Sima Yi noticed that General Xu Fang's black iron wristband was still stained with dust from last night's training ground.

"The Emperor of Tang used the excuse that our dynasty had sent troops to help me take the throne."

He deliberately turned over the letter to let the Vermillion Bird pattern on Li Shiming's private seal flow in the morning light.

"We will send troops to Yanzhou in three days. General Xu, I want you to lead 50,000 Northern Army soldiers as the vanguard."

Xu Fang's face changed drastically: "Your Majesty, although there are only 30,000 Chu troops stationed in Yanzhou, the terrain of Qingyan Pass..."

"Xu Fang!"

The jade sceptre left a deep mark on the rosewood table, and the privately cast jade seal that slipped from Sima Yi's sleeve just covered the Yanzhou mark on the map.

"Do you think what I want is to capture cities and territories?"

He suddenly laughed quietly and grabbed the twelve-chapter patterned robe hidden on the desk: "Chu Ning is in Cangjiang right now preparing for a decisive battle with the State of Jin. What we have to do is just to put on a good show for Li Shiming."

The ivory tablet of Wang Yan, the Minister of War, made a clacking sound: "But if the State of Chu counterattacks..."

"Don't worry, the Chu army only dares to defend now and dares not to counterattack. Our mission is to delay them and prevent them from going to Cangjiang for support."

Sima Yi turned around and looked at the Minister of Rites beside him: "Pick an auspicious day, I will ascend the throne and become emperor!"

Minister of Rites Cui Hao's eyes widened, and he said quickly: "Your Highness, the ritual objects for the coronation ceremony still need to be prepared, and the auspicious day needs to be carefully selected."

Sima Yi nodded slightly: "I'll leave this matter to you!"

"Also, send a letter to all the other nations, saying that the Wei Dynasty is the legitimate ruler and is the one who receives the mandate from Heaven."

He suddenly turned around and said, "Minister Cui, one month from now, do you think this day is still auspicious?"

Cui Hao's hands holding the tortoise shell trembled violently, and the yarrow made three crisp sounds in the incense: "The hexagram shows that the arrogant dragon will regret, so it is better to change to..."

"What a shameless dragon!"

Sima Yi suddenly snatched the tortoise shell and threw it into the charcoal basin. The cracks exploded blood-red in the flames.

"When Emperor Wu was expanding the territory, you corrupt scholars also said that the stars were not favorable."

He rolled over the ashes with his black boots embroidered with golden dragons: "Decree: One month later, the throne of Lord Haotian will be set up in front of Wuji Palace, and the Eight-Legged Dance will be performed, and the Nine-Bestowing Ceremony will be prepared!"

When the bell for the end of court shattered the projection of the sundial, Sima Yi stood alone in front of the display stand of crown and robes.

Twelve jade tassels fell in front of his eyes, and his face was full of satisfaction.

He had been waiting for an opportunity to ascend the throne and become emperor, but he had never waited for it.

Now the Tang Dynasty is willing to support him to ascend the throne and become emperor. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

If you miss this opportunity, you don’t know when the next one will come.

Therefore, he would never give up such a good opportunity.

Furthermore, he only sent troops to contain the Chu army, not to engage in a decisive battle, so it was not harmful to the Wei State.

Now it depends on whether the Han Emperor Liu Che will send troops!

If Liu Che also sends troops, Chu Kuang’s troops will not be able to reach Cangjiang!