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

In the Chu army camp, the night breeze was cool and the candlelight was flickering.

Chu Ning sat upright at the desk, picked up a black jade chess piece with his slender fingers, and gently placed it on the chessboard.

On the opposite side, Jia Yu frowned slightly, with the white piece in his hand hanging undecided, as if thinking about how to break the deadlock.

"Your Highness, this move caught me off guard." Jia Yu smiled slightly, and with the white piece placed, he actually turned the tables.

A hint of approval flashed in Chu Ning's eyes. Just as he was about to make another move, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the tent.

"Report——!"

The curtain was opened, and Zhao Yu walked in quickly, bowed, clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, the troops we sent to attack Liu Che and Sima Yi... were defeated!"

Chu Ning's fingertips paused slightly, but the black piece was still firmly held between his fingers, his expression unchanged.

"Defeated?" Jia Yu frowned. "How did you fail?"

Zhao Yu said in a deep voice: "Sima Yi and Liu Che's personal soldiers fought desperately, and our army will not be able to capture them in a short time!"

"Afterwards, the Tang Emperor Li Shiming personally led his army to rescue us. Our army was outnumbered and had to retreat."

There was silence in the tent for a moment, only the flickering candlelight, reflecting Chu Ning's deep eyes.

After a moment, he chuckled, the black piece fell, and said lightly: "As expected."

Zhao Yu was startled: "Your Highness, are you not surprised?"

"It was just a test."

Chu Ning raised his eyes, a sharp light flashing in his eyes: "It would be best if we can kill Liu Che and Sima Yi. If not, we can also find out Li Shiming's attitude."

Jia Yu nodded: "Now it seems that the Tang Dynasty has finally chosen to stand on the side of Wei and Han."

"good."

Chu Ning tapped the chessboard with his fingertips. "Although Li Shiming sent troops to rescue Wei, in order to save face, he will still follow the document and pretend to attack the border of Wei."

Zhao Yu frowned: "But if this happens, the three dynasties will definitely join forces to deal with us!"

"so what?"

Chu Ning raised the corners of his lips slightly: "Since Li Shiming wants to act, let him do it."

"We just need to keep our troops in place and let the Tang and Wei armies play out this drama on their own, depleting their food supplies and exhausting their troops."

Jia Yu pondered and said, "Your Highness wants to... temporarily avoid the limelight?"

"Exactly."

Chu Ning stood up and stood with his hands behind his back: "Pass the order down, the entire army is ready to withdraw to Jinyang City."

Zhao Yu was shocked: "Your Highness, if we withdraw our troops, the 50,000 Tang troops here might take the opportunity to attack the city!"

Chu Ning's eyes turned cold. "It's okay. Han Xing's 100,000 troops have already arrived in Jin State. 50,000 will stay in various places, and the remaining 50,000 will arrive in three days."

Zhao Yu still had concerns: "But if the Tang army takes advantage of these three days to launch a surprise attack..."

"Li Shiming won't."

Chu Ning said calmly, "Since he has chosen to put on a show, he won't rashly tear his face apart, not to mention..."

He turned his gaze to the chessboard, tapped the black piece with his fingertips, and spoke in a firm tone.

“The real victory or defeat is not in a moment.”

Hearing this, Jia Yu looked at the chessboard thoughtfully, and suddenly smiled: "Your Highness, you played this game very well."

Chu Ning's lips curled slightly: "Pass the order, return to Jinyang in three days."

The night wind blew through the tent. As the candlelight flickered, the black and white pieces on the chessboard crisscrossed, just like the general trend of the world, which all depended on the thoughts of the chess player.

Three days later, at dawn, dust and smoke were billowing outside the Chu army camp.

A group of black-armored cavalry came like a tide, with flags fluttering and swords and spears like a forest.

The leading general, wearing heavy black iron armor and with a long sword hanging from his waist, was none other than the military god of the Chu army - Han Xing.

"General Han Xing pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Han Xing dismounted from his horse and bowed in salute.

Chu Ning stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes swept over the 50,000 troops behind Han Xing, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:

"General Han, thank you for your hard work along the way."

Han Xing stood up and said solemnly: "Your Highness, I have been ordered to mobilize the troops. Although most of the 50,000 soldiers are new recruits, they have been training day and night and can form a battle formation to fight the enemy!"

"Oh?"

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows slightly: "Then I want to see with my own eyes the results of General Han's training during this period!"

Han Xing clasped his fists and accepted the order, then turned around and strode onto the high platform outside the camp.

He pulled out the command flag from his waist and waved it violently!

"Array-!"

The first formation - sharp arrows break the army’s formation!

Ten thousand elite soldiers moved upon hearing the order and gathered together quickly like an iron stream.

The front row of shield soldiers held up huge shields, and there were long spears like a forest in the back. The formation was narrow in the front and wide in the back, like an arrow ready to be shot.

"Change the formation!" Han Xing waved the command flag again.

The second formation - the Goose-step encirclement formation!

The army formation suddenly split apart, and the left and right wings spread their wings like wild geese, quickly encircling the enemy and forming a siege.

Shield soldiers are in the front, archers are in the back, and sword and shield soldiers are interspersed in between, capable of both offense and defense.

"Change again——!"

The third array——Iron Wall Chain Array!

The army formation suddenly shrank, with shield soldiers stacked up layer upon layer like a solid wall. Long spears pierced out from the gaps in the shields, shining with a cold light.

The formation is as solid as a mountain, and even a cavalry charge can hardly shake it.

There was a flash of admiration in Chu Ning's eyes and he nodded slightly.

He is worthy of being called a god in training soldiers. He can train the recruits to such a mature level in just over half a year.

Seeing that the prince was satisfied, Han Xing waved his flag again and shouted, "Disperse!"

Ten thousand soldiers dispersed in an instant and returned to their original formation as if they were moving their arms and legs. Their movements were uniform and there was no chaos at all.

Chu Ning stepped forward, patted Han Xing on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Not bad, in such a short period of time, you have trained the new soldiers to such a level. General Han has lived up to my expectations."

Han Xing clasped his fists and said, "I will not slack off!"

Chu Ning turned his gaze towards the direction of the Tang army camp in the distance and said calmly, "I will leave this place to you."

Han Xing said solemnly: "Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will defend this place to the death!"

Chu Ning nodded slightly, and then said: "Remember, you can't take the initiative to fight with the Tang army, but if they start first..."

"I will fight back with all my strength!" Han Xing said in a deep voice.

Chu Ning pondered for a moment, then suddenly whispered, "There is one more thing you need to remember."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"The commander of the Tang army, this man is called Pei Xingjian, and his archery skills are extraordinary."

Chu Ning's eyes turned cold: "You must stay two hundred steps away from this person, don't be careless."

Han Xing's pupils suddenly shrank when he heard this.

Two hundred steps?

The bow strength of ordinary soldiers is only seventy steps, while that of elite archers can reach eighty steps. Even for the best archers in the army, a hundred steps is the limit.

But the prince actually asked him to stay 200 steps away from Pei Xingjian...

This person's archery skills are so terrifying? !

Han Xing took a deep breath and clasped his fists solemnly: "I will remember this!"

Chu Ning nodded with satisfaction, then he got on his horse and said to Zhao Yu, Jia Yu and others beside him:

"Let's go back to Jinyang."

Han Xing bowed and clasped his fists, saying loudly: "Farewell, Your Highness!"

Fifty thousand Chu troops shouted in unison, shaking the sky.

Chu Ning spurred his horse and whipped the horse, leading his personal troops to slowly leave.

Han Xing watched the prince's back until the dust cleared, then he slowly stood up and looked solemnly in the direction of the Tang army camp.

"Pei Xingjian..."

He murmured in a low voice, then shouted sternly: "All troops on alert! Archers take turns on duty, scouts double patrols, anyone who sees the movement of the Tang army, report immediately!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, Chu Ning, who was riding back to Jinyang, had a frown on his face and looked thoughtful.

Matters on the front line were handled properly, but unexpected problems arose in the governance of Jin.

If he had not received the news from Yang Xingye, he would not have been so anxious to return to Jinyang City.