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

The early sun dyed the Chu army camp bloody.

The crooked "Chu" flag at the gate was covered in mud and made a sound like tearing cloth when it was pulled by the wind.

The defeated soldiers returning to the camp were like a muddy stream breaking through a dam; the sound of armor colliding was mixed with intermittent groans.

The broken gun dragged a winding bloody trail on the mud, and the blood-soaked linen military boots stepped on it, startling a few crows that were pecking at the carrion.

A chestnut horse was kneeling in front of the central army tent, with three feather arrows stuck in its belly, and every whimper was accompanied by blood foam.

The halberd-bearer sat slumped under the flagpole, half of his face covered with dried blood scabs, his one eye staring straight at the broken spears and halberds on the ground.

Suddenly, a captain with a broken leg moved past with a half-broken snake spear. White bones could be vaguely seen in the cracks on the iron heart guard.

"water..."

A young soldier was curled up in the shadow of the camp wall, his left arm still bleeding from the wound that was broken at the shoulder.

The severed hand he held tightly in his arms had turned blue-gray, with the enemy's flesh embedded in the cracks between his nails.

The military doctor staggered over holding a medicine jar, his cloth socks leaving dark red footprints on the mud. Behind him were two civilians carrying a stretcher, their hands stretched out from under the straw mat, still grasping the handle of a knife.

There were bursts of choking coughs coming from the rear camp.

Twenty-seven soldiers burned by kerosene lay on the haystack, their charred flesh stuck to their tattered uniforms.

Someone used his burnt fingertips to pick at the pottery talisman around his neck and chanted "Long live the Great Chu" hoarsely until the doctor stuffed a blood-soaked linen cloth into his mouth.

As the sky gradually brightened, the smell of cooking horse meat wafted from the baggage camp.

Seventeen marching pots were placed on the dying campfire, and the broth in the iron helmets was foaming with blood. The old soldier in charge mechanically stirred the wooden spoon, and a freshly slaughtered warhorse lay at his feet.

When the beast's front hooves were cut off, it used its teeth to rip open the executioner's throat.

Suddenly, the sound of a pottery jar breaking was heard in the central military tent.

Chu Ning stood at the main seat in the tent with a gloomy face, and a dozen generals stood on his left and right.

In the middle, four generals, covered in blood, knelt on the ground.

"Your Highness, our army was careless in this battle. I failed in my duty. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

"I failed to find out the situation of the Tang army, please forgive me, Your Highness!"

"The general will be guilty!"

"The general will be guilty!"

The four generals showed shame and anger on their faces.

The army of the Great Chu has always been invincible. Which soldier has ever encountered such a situation? The four generals took the initiative to ask for forgiveness.

Even Jia Yu stood up at this moment and said in a deep voice: "The Jinyiwei failed to find out that the Tang army had set up an ambush in advance. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

After he finished speaking, Jia Yu slowly knelt down on the ground.

But Chu Ning just gave them a cold look, and then snorted: "Everyone, stand up and talk to me!"

"When something goes wrong, it's not enough to just punish them, but we need to find out where the failure is."

"I will give you three days to figure out who is in command of the Tang army camp."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Jia Yu.

Only the Jinyiwei can do such a thing.

Jia Yu did not hesitate and said in a deep voice: "After our army was ambushed, I have already ordered the Royal Guards to investigate. I believe there will be results."

Just as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard outside the tent.

Then, a Jinyiwei's voice came: "Emergency military information!"

"Come in and talk!" Chu Ning narrowed his eyes, flicked his sleeves and sat down.

The Jinyiwei came into the tent, bowed and saluted, and was about to speak, but was interrupted by Chu Ning's wave of his hand:

"Just tell me what's going on!"

Jinyiwei said in a deep voice: "After our army was ambushed, the brothers hiding in the Tang army realized that something was wrong and immediately began to investigate."

"Finally, they found a scholar in blue clothes named Li Mi in a heavily guarded tent."

"Li Mi?"

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes, a hint of surprise flashed across his face: "What kind of talent does this person have?"

Jia Yu suddenly took over the topic at this time: "I know this person."

"He was able to write at the age of seven and was known as a child prodigy. By chance, he met the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"The Emperor of Tang was amazed at his ability and entrusted him with important tasks step by step, from being a provincial governor to pacifying the frontier."

"No matter whether it is civil or military, this man is not difficult to defeat, so he is highly valued by the Tang Emperor."

"I just didn't expect that the person in the Tang army camp this time was actually this person. No wonder he could predict our army's night attack."

Chu Ning couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard this: "Is there really someone who can write since childhood?"

"Absolutely true!"

Jia Yu said sternly: "This person is extremely talented, a rare talent in the Tang Dynasty. Even the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, Zhangsun Wuji, is not as talented as him."

"Oh?"

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes, and a strange look flashed across his eyes: "I didn't expect you to think so highly of this person. It seems that I underestimated everyone in the world."

"If we want to defeat the Tang army this time, we must get rid of this man first!"

"However, this person is so powerful, it may not be easy to take him down."

It is not difficult to see from last night's battle that Tang army commander Yuchi Gong obeys Li Mi's orders.

If you want to get rid of Li Mi, you must capture Yuchi Gong.

But if he wanted to defeat Yuchi Gong, he had to hide it from Li Mi.

This is an endless cycle with no solution.

"Your Highness, why don't you give me 10,000? I am willing to attack the Tang camp and kill Yuchi Gong!"

A general suddenly stood up and volunteered to fight.

When had the State of Chu ever suffered a big loss? This time it lost thousands of people, and everyone was holding their breath.

Someone took the lead, and someone immediately stood up to echo: "Your Highness, I only need 8,000 people to break into the Tang camp!"

"Hmph, let me handle this matter. I will atone for my sins!"

"No, I must be the vanguard and avenge my brothers who died in battle!"

The four generals who were kneeling on the ground also started arguing at this moment. They wanted to atone for their sins, otherwise they would be sorry for the soldiers who died in the battle.

But the other generals were also filled with righteous indignation and wanted to go to war.

For a moment, the scene was noisy and everyone wanted to be the pioneer.

Chu Ning looked at the generals who were full of righteous indignation and shook his head and said in a deep voice: "This matter is of great importance and needs to be considered carefully."

"Besides, our army has just been defeated and its morale is low. We cannot fight again in the short term."

"Generals, please go down and rest, comfort the soldiers, and I will discuss this matter with Lord Jia alone."

"I'll take my leave!" The generals bowed and saluted, then retreated one after another.

Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered, illuminating the faces of Chu Ning and Jia Yu.

"Tell me, what's your plan, Lord Jia?"

Just now, when the generals were competing for the opportunity to be the vanguard, Jia Yu had been winking at him.

Chu Ning knew that Jia Yu must have a plan in mind.

Sure enough, Jia Yu's face straightened, he took two steps forward, and whispered his plan.

When Chu Ning first heard this, his face became serious.

But after listening to it, his expression gradually eased.

After pondering for a long time, Chu Ning finally narrowed his eyes and a ruthless look flashed across his eyes:

"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb. Since Lord Jia is confident, I will bet with you this time!"

"I'll leave this matter to you to handle!"

"Also, have the troops from the west and east advance quickly!"