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

The destruction of Jin State shocked the world!

Everyone thought that the walls of Jinyang City in Jin State were high, and even if they couldn’t defend it for three months, they could at least defend it for a month!

Who could have thought that in less than half a month, Jinyang City fell into the hands of the Chu army.

The news of the destruction of Jin State spread throughout the world in the following days.

The first person to receive the news was, of course, the Tang Emperor Li Shiming.

Because Chu Ning took the initiative to give the information about Li Shiming.

Inside the Taiji Hall, the candlelight flickered, making the golden dragon patterns on the hall pillars look ferocious and moving.

The military newspaper in Li Shiming's hand had been crushed into pieces, and his knuckles turned white from the force.

His eyes were fixed on the urgent news from Jin - the State of Jin was destroyed, the Emperor of Jin was beheaded by Chu Ning on the execution ground, and his head was hung at the gate of Jinyang for three days for public display.

Princess Jincheng fell into Chu Ning's hands and has been taken to Jinyang City. At the same time, the Chu army's 10,000 white horse cavalry has approached the border of the Tang Dynasty.

"boom--!"

The jade pen holder on the imperial desk was swept down fiercely and broke into several pieces.

Li Shiming stood up suddenly, his dragon robe billowing like raging waves. All the memorials, inkstones, and paperweights on the desk were blown away, and ink splattered on the pillars of the hall, as glaring as blood.

“Chu Ning——!”

This roar made the candles in the hall tremble. Changsun Wuji, Hou Junji, Fang Xuanling and others all bowed their heads and stood in silence, even breathing very lightly, for fear of angering the might of heaven.

Li Shiming grabbed the bronze beast statue on the table and smashed it hard against the pillar of the palace. The sound of metal clashing was deafening.

His chest heaved violently, and the anger in his eyes almost burned through the dome of the hall.

"My princess... my Jin State..."

His voice was as deep as thunder, and every word was as sharp as a knife.

"How dare Chu Ning insult me like this!"

There was another loud bang, and the imperial desk was kicked over by him, the legs of the desk broke, and wood chips flew everywhere.

The guards outside the palace moved upon hearing the sound, but were stopped by the chief eunuch in front of the palace door - whoever went in at this moment would be seeking death.

Changsun Wuji lowered his head and caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye that Hou Junji's fingers were trembling slightly, and Fang Xuanling didn't even dare to twitch his beard.

They had never seen the emperor so furious. Even after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shiming had never lost control like this.

Finally, Li Shiming finished venting his anger, and the rise and fall of his chest slowed down a little, but the murderous intent in his eyes had not subsided.

He turned slowly and swept his eyes across the ministers like a knife.

"say."

Just two words caused the temperature in the hall to drop sharply.

Changsun Wuji took a deep breath, stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. The Chu army is powerful right now, and Princess Jincheng is still in the enemy's hands. If we rashly send troops, I'm afraid the princess's life will be in danger."

Li Shiming stared at him coldly without saying a word.

Changsun Wuji continued with a stiff face: "I think it is better to pretend to agree to Chu Ning's conditions and order the front-line army to temporarily withdraw 20 miles in exchange for the princess. When the princess returns to Tang safely, our army will reorganize and prepare for war and destroy Chu in one fell swoop!"

Hou Junji frowned slightly when he heard this, but ultimately did not dare to refute.

Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment, then stepped forward to agree, "Lord Changsun is right. Besides, Wei and Han are also eyeing Chu. Your Majesty can write a letter to explain the interests involved in detail.

They will definitely take the opportunity to send troops to Yanzhou and Maple Leaf City. When the Chu army is attacked from both sides, our army will march south again and we will be able to win the battle in one go!"

Li Shiming was silent for a long time, and finally slowly closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were already cold.

"it is good!"

His voice was low, but like thunder hidden behind the clouds.

"Send an order, order Pei Xingjian to retreat twenty miles."

"Also, send a secret letter to Wei and Han, telling them that if they do not increase their troops to attack Yanzhou and Maple Leaf City, I will stand idly by if Chu attacks them in the future!"

A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"As for Chu Ning's life, I will take it myself."

The night wind outside the hall suddenly blew, but the candlelight in the Taiji Hall suddenly became brighter at this moment, illuminating Li Shiming's stern face, like a killing god coming to the world.

Three days later, at the Wei Imperial Palace.

Sima Yi leaned against the dragon chair, tapping the secret letter on the table with his fingertips, with a hint of sneer on the corner of his mouth.

"Li Shiming actually has times when he needs help?"

He sneered and threw the letter on the table: "Let me help him contain the Chu army? He has a good plan."

All the ministers in the hall were silent, and no one dared to respond rashly.

Prime Minister Cheng Yu frowned, and after a moment's silence, he finally stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."

Sima Yi raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Oh? What do you think, Mr. Cheng?"

Cheng Yu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "The Chu State destroyed the Jin State, which showed its ambition to swallow up the world. Chu Ning is an ambitious person and is definitely not someone who is willing to live in peace in a corner.

Now that Jin has been destroyed, its troops will surely target the next neighboring country—and our Great Wei will bear the brunt of it!"

Sima Yi's expression was slightly tense, and the rhythm of his knuckles tapping on the table gradually slowed down.

Cheng Yu continued, "If the Tang Dynasty sits idly by and allows Chu to annex our Wei territory, then the Chu cavalry will march straight into the heart of the Central Plains, and no one will be able to stop them!

Rather than sit and wait for death, it is better to take advantage of the fact that the Chu army has not yet consolidated the Jin territory, unite with the Tang and the Han, and attack from three directions, making it difficult for them to defend both ends! "

Before he finished speaking, the Minister of War Zhong Hui came out and echoed: "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right! Yanzhou is the gateway to the northern border of Chu. If our army can capture Yanzhou, it will not only cut off the Chu army's route to the north, but also form a siege with the Tang Dynasty!"

The ministers spoke up one after another, and there was a lot of discussion in the hall. Sima Yi's eyes swept through the crowd and finally fell on Zhang He, who had been silent the whole time.

"General Zhang, what do you think?"

Zhang He clasped his fists and saluted, saying in a steady voice: "I think this battle is feasible. Although Chu Feng, the defender of Yanzhou, is brave, his troops are scattered. If our army launches a surprise attack, the chances of victory are very high."

"Besides, General Xu's troops are already there. If you give me some more troops and cooperate with General Xu, I will definitely be able to capture Yanzhou!"

These words coming from the always conservative Zhang He were beyond everyone's expectations.

All of a sudden, all the officials looked at Zhang He.

Zhang He sighed: "Now that the Chu State has been destroyed, the next target must be our Wei State!"

"If we don't do what the Tang Dynasty says, once the Tang Dynasty lets us go, with our current military strength, we will not be able to deal with the Chu army at all."

"Besides, the Chu State has been recruiting soldiers for the past six months. I believe they will have more soldiers available for battle later."

"All we can do is cause them trouble and let the Tang Dynasty take action against them!"

Sima Yi narrowed his eyes, rubbing the armrests of the dragon throne with his fingertips for a long time, and finally sneered:

"Okay! Since all the nobles think he should be beaten, then let's beat him!"

He slammed the table and said in a stern voice: "Zhang He, I order you to lead 30,000 elite soldiers to set off immediately and attack Yanzhou together with Xu Fang!"

"remember--"

A cold light flashed in his eyes, "In this battle, I can only win, not lose!"

Zhang He knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and accepted the order: "I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust!"

Outside the palace, dark clouds covered the city and a storm was about to sweep across Yanzhou.

At this moment, the Han Emperor Liu Che also received a letter from Li Shiming.