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

The city of Jinyang in July was immersed in a sticky dark color, and the flags hanging on the city walls remained motionless.

"Enemy attack!"

A sharp whistle broke the silence, and dozens of torches suddenly lit up on the city wall.

However, Zhao Yu's eight thousand white horsemen had already sneaked to the foot of the city wall under the cover of darkness. Now, with the city gate open, they rushed in with the sound of iron hooves stepping on the suspension bridge.

Zhao Yu, who was rushing in the front, held the silver spear upside down, and the bronze visor worn by his warhorse shone coldly in the moonlight.

The cavalry behind him rolled over the city wall like an avalanche, and the gravel stirred up by their iron hooves caused the torches that fell from the top of the city wall to fly sparks.

"Archers and crossbowmen, form your battle formation!" Cui Haoying's roar was particularly clear among the chaotic army.

This famous general of the State of Jin jumped down from the city wall with his upper body naked, and slit the throats of two Chu cavalrymen with his saber.

Veins bulged on his neck, and the blade swung in a round arc under the moonlight, abruptly interrupting the momentum of the Chu army's vanguard by three feet.

The defenders in the inner city finally woke up from their initial panic. The crossbows on the arrow towers made a teeth-grinding sound of strings being tugged, and arrows poured down like a rainstorm, nailing the charging Chu army and their horses to the bluestone slabs.

Yang Xingye stood on the Drum Tower, looking at the flames rising from the inner city and sneering.

The rebels under his command had already occupied the four gates. When the heavy armored infantry dispatched by Cui Haoying rushed from the military camp, they were greeted by caltrops that covered the streets.

The rebels overturned grain carts loaded with kerosene, and the burning oil flowed through the ditches into the long street, turning the entire West Market into purgatory.

In the thick smoke, Yang Xingye personally cut the iron chains of the suspension bridge leading to the inner city, and watched the elite Jin army clad in iron armor struggling in the sea of fire.

The battle in the inner city has entered a fierce stage.

Cui Haoying's saber was bent, and he was holding the half-broken gun barrel to defend the granary. The guards around him fell one after another, but he still used the bodies to build a barrier.

The Chu cavalry was trapped in the narrow streets and alleys and was forced to abandon their horses and fight on foot.

Zhao Yu's silver spear danced like a dragon in the moonlight, but he could never break through the defense line made of flesh and blood.

Until a loud thunderous sound was heard - Yang Xingye smashed the back wall of the granary with a battering ram.

"General! The east gate has been breached!" The blood-soaked messenger fell to his knees.

Cui Haoying looked back and saw the sky glowing a strange orange-red. It was a long river formed by the torches lit by the main force of the Chu army.

He suddenly laughed wildly several times, tore off his battle robe and wrapped it around his bleeding left arm, then led the last twenty cavalrymen to charge.

The broken spear tip pierced the throats of three Chu soldiers, but broke with a loud clang when it touched Zhao Yu's breastplate.

In the darkest moment before dawn, Cui Haoying's head was held high above the Chu army's banner.

The Jin army, which had lost its commander, continued to fight in the streets. They removed door panels to use as shields and tied kitchen knives to bamboo poles to use as spears.

The bluestone slabs of the city's main streets were made slippery by the blood plasma, and dying war horses were twitching in the rubble.

When the first rays of light broke through the clouds, the surviving defenders retreated to the bell and drum tower, and shot the Chu army that rushed up the steps with arrows until their quivers were empty, and then they rolled down the nine-foot-high terrace holding the enemy.

When Yang Xingye climbed up the city wall on the ground covered with arrows, he saw Zhao Yu's white horse stepping over the last Jin flag.

The July morning breeze swept across the city walls, carrying the smell of blood. The fingers of the corpses, which had not yet cooled down, were still tightly clasped in the cracks between the wall tiles.

In the southeast corner tower, a dozen young soldiers were chained to the crossbows on their beds. They remained loading arrows until their death, their angry eyes staring at the fluttering black flag of the Chu army.

"Send a message to His Highness immediately. The four city gates have been taken. Please enter the city and go to the Jin Palace!"

At Zhao Yu's command, the Chu army, led by Yang Xingye, immediately headed straight for the palace.

At this moment, Chu Ning outside the city also noticed the Chu army flag erected inside the city.

In the early morning sun, the Chu army's flags looked so dazzling.

"Yang Xingye really lived up to my trust!"

Chu Ning smiled and nodded, "Ji Yingjie thought Yang Xingye could be trusted, but he didn't know that the so-called rounds of attacks were just for me to make Yang Xingye trust him."

In fact, the middleman in the initial business relationship between Chu and Jin was Yang Xingye, the son-in-law of Jin.

However, the eldest prince Ji Yinghao took over later, which led to less business dealings between the two sides.

But, in fact, the relationship between the two has not been severed.

Especially after Ji Yinghao was killed, Yang Xingye contacted him more frequently.

When attacking Jinyang City this time, he knew that the city was easy to defend but difficult to attack. In order to sacrifice less people, he persuaded Yang Xingye to be an insider.

And the final result made him very satisfied.

Jia Yu at the side couldn't help but smile when he heard this: "Your Highness's eloquence and charm are unmatched!"

"Although Yang Xingye was not valued before, he is the imperial son-in-law after all. Our army's fierce attack on the city this time can be regarded as a chance for him."

He paused, looked at the situation in the city, and gestured with his hand: "I don't know the time. Since our army occupies the city wall, why don't we go into the city and take a look?"

"That's exactly what I meant!" Chu Ning laughed and rode his horse towards the city.

Jia Yu and the soldiers behind him immediately followed.

At this time, the Jin Palace.

The bronze bells on the eaves of the palace remained motionless in the heat.

Ji Yingjie walked barefoot over the fragments of memorials on the ground, and smashed the bronze candlestick in his hand heavily onto the jade steps. The flying sparks ignited the hanging gauze curtains.

"Yang Xingye is such a slave! I will kill all his clans!"

The nearly hoarse roar caused dust to fall from the caisson, veins bulged on the young emperor's forehead, and his bright yellow coat was already soaked with cold sweat.

The palace maid on duty huddled behind the Panlong Pillar and trembled, watching the emperor throw the entire box of jade seals onto the gilded screen.

The collapsed screen revealed half of the "Jinyang Landscape" on the back. The ink marks Yang Xingye presented three years ago had not yet faded.

Ji Yingjie was suddenly stunned, his fingertips dug deeply into his palm, and blood dripped along the Nine Dragons Pearl Belt into the cracks in the blue bricks.

"Your Majesty!" When the Grand Tutor pushed open the palace door, the jade belt hook on his waist was tilted.

The old man's beard was stuck together by sweat, and he was holding a crown with its tassels torn off in his arms: "Now is not the time to get angry. The most urgent thing is to break out immediately!"

Ji Yingjie turned around and grabbed the old minister's collar, his eyes bloodshot: "Break out, is it too late now?"

He pushed the tutor away violently, stumbled and knocked over the gilded incense burner, and the hot incense ash made the dragon robe sizzle.

The Grand Tutor fell to his knees and banged his forehead heavily on the altar: "Your Majesty, it's still not too late to break out now, but if you delay any longer, the Chu army will surround the palace!"

"We still have 20,000 soldiers in the city. As long as we gather them all together and break out to the east, we will definitely be able to break out!"

"Break through the east gate? Why?" Ji Yingjie asked with a gloomy face.

"There are Chu cavalry in the north, and it is difficult for us to break through. After breaking through the east gate, we can take a detour to the north!" The Taifu explained hurriedly.

Ji Yingjie hesitated for a moment, and finally said fiercely: "Immediately organize the troops and break out!"

At three quarters past the hour of Chen, three thousand iron cavalrymen of the Jin State Imperial Guard emerged like a black tide, their horses' hooves wrapped in cotton cloth stepping across the bluestone imperial road.

Ji Ying rode his horse to the front. He wanted to set an example and lead the troops out of the encirclement!