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

At the end of May, the sun was scorching the vast plains outside Yuling City.

The heat wave distorted the distant view, and even the air seemed to be burning.

Chu Ning was wearing gilded armor and standing on a three-meter-high observation tower. The sunlight reflected a dazzling light on his armor.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the towering Yuling City.

The city wall was five meters high, and the blue-gray bricks and stones shone coldly in the sun. The battlements were densely packed with Wei soldiers, with swords and spears like a forest and flags fluttering.

"Your Majesty, our army's food and supplies have all arrived, enough to sustain us for more than half a month."

Jia Yu was dressed in a scholar's robe, which made him stand out among the officers in armor.

He saluted and said in a steady voice, "The soldiers of each camp are fully prepared and are only waiting for your Majesty's orders."

Chu Ning nodded slightly and glanced at the Chu army ready to go outside the city.

Fifty thousand elite soldiers formed neat square formations, with spears like a forest and shields like a wall.

The war horses snorted from time to time, pawed the ground with their iron hooves, and raised clouds of dust.

The soldiers' faces were filled with fighting spirit, and they were ready to charge towards the seemingly indestructible city at the command.

"Pass the order, let Zhao Yu command the siege!" Chu Ning's voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by the three armies.

"I obey your command!" Zhao Yu knelt on one knee and clasped his fists to receive the order.

As he stood up, his cloak fluttered in the hot wind behind him.

The general, who was in his early thirties, had a resolute face. He jumped on his horse and drew the spear from his waist. The tip of the spear flashed a cold light in the sunlight.

"Attack!" Zhao Yu pointed his spear at the city wall, his voice like thunder.

The war drums suddenly sounded, like muffled thunder rolling across the earth.

The first wave of arrows rose into the sky, and thousands of sharp arrows cut through the sky, making a sharp whistling sound.

Suddenly, screams were heard on the city wall, and dozens of Wei soldiers fell to the ground after being shot by arrows.

At the same time, the Chu army's crossbows made a deafening roar, and huge arrows as thick as arms were shot towards the city wall with a force of thousands of pounds.

Some were nailed deeply into the wall bricks, providing fulcrum for subsequent climbing soldiers; some directly hit the Wei soldiers behind the battlements, nailing them to the city wall.

"Shoot! Shoot!" Wei army general Le Jing ran and shouted on the city wall.

He was wearing black iron armor, and the red tassel on his helmet was particularly eye-catching.

The Wei army archers immediately retaliated, and arrows flew towards the Chu army under the city like locusts.

The charging Chu soldiers raised their shields and formed a tortoise shell formation to advance forward.

Arrows clanged against shields, and soldiers fell from time to time, but the team still advanced firmly towards the city wall.

The ladder troops rushed to the front. Twenty three-meter-long ladders were carried by dozens of strong men and swam towards the city wall like giant dragons.

"Rolling Stones ready!"

Sima Yi stood at the highest point of the city wall, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe that sparkled in the sun.

The Wei emperor had a stern face and eyes as sharp as an eagle. He personally supervised the battle, which greatly boosted the morale of the Wei army.

At Sima Yi's command, the soldiers behind the battlements worked together to push the huge boulder.

The stones rolled down the pre-set slope of the city wall, making a loud rumbling sound.

A huge rock with a diameter of nearly ten feet hit the Chu army formation, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. More than a dozen soldiers were crushed into meat paste.

Screams rang out one after another, but the following Chu army continued to charge, stepping on the corpses of their companions.

Zhao Yu saw it clearly from behind and immediately ordered: "Catapults, cover! Aim at the battlements!"

Twenty catapults fired at the same time, and the burning fireballs drew a graceful arc and slammed heavily on the city wall.

A ball of fire hit the tower, and the wooden structure immediately caught fire.

Thick smoke billowed, blocking out the sky and the sun.

Another fireball hit an arrow tower, and the archer inside the tower fell from a height with a scream.

With this wave of cover, the Chu army's ladders finally reached the city wall.

The iron hooks clung firmly to the battlements, and the soldiers began to climb up like ants.

The Wei army on the city immediately used long poles to push away the ladders, and several ladders fell down with a loud bang, and the soldiers on them were smashed to pieces.

But there were still several ladders firmly placed on the city wall, and the elite Chu army began to climb up.

"Pour the oil!" Le Jing shouted sternly.

Boiling oil poured down from the city wall, and the climbing Chu soldiers immediately let out heart-wrenching screams.

The skin blistered and peeled off instantly, and some people fell and landed on the pile of corpses below the city.

Immediately afterwards, the Wei army threw down torches, and the hot oil ignited when it came into contact with fire, and the city wall instantly turned into a sea of fire.

The burning human figure struggled in the fire, and its shrill screams were creepy.

Zhao Yu's eyes were bloodshot, and he personally led his soldiers to rush towards the city wall.

"Follow me!" He roared, abandoned his horse and rushed towards a ladder on foot, holding a shield in one hand and a gun in the other.

Arrows whizzed past him, and one arrow grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody mark, but he was completely unaware.

On the city wall, Le Jing saw Zhao Yu and immediately mobilized archers to concentrate their shooting.

A rain of arrows covered Zhao Yu's position, and his personal soldiers fell one after another, but Zhao Yu was agile and blocked most of the arrows with his shield, and finally rushed to the bottom of the ladder.

"Cover the General!"

Seeing this, the Chu army's archers immediately concentrated their firepower to suppress the Wei army on the battlements.

Zhao Yu seized this opportunity and climbed up the ladder as agilely as a monkey.

He was wearing heavy armor, but it did not affect his flexibility at all. He climbed to the top of the ladder in just a few breaths.

The battlements were just around the corner. Zhao Yu suddenly leaped forward and swept his spear across, knocking two Wei soldiers who were stabbing with spears off the wall.

He landed steadily on the city wall and was immediately surrounded.

Wei soldiers rushed in from all directions, with spears like a forest and swords flashing like snow.

"Come on!" Zhao Yu laughed wildly, and his spear danced with a silver light.

Wherever the spear pointed, blood splattered. He was like a tiger among a flock of sheep, and wherever he passed, the Wei army fell to the ground.

More than a dozen elite Chu troops also successfully climbed the city wall and formed a circle around him to resist the surging Wei army.

Seeing this, Le Jing immediately led his personal guards to attack.

The two fierce generals met on the city wall, their swords and spears clashed, sparks flying.

Le Jing wielded a nine-ring broadsword with great force and heft.

Zhao Yu's spear was as agile as a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.

The two fought for more than ten rounds, with no clear winner, and the surrounding soldiers did not dare to approach.

At the same time, the Chu army's siege vehicles finally advanced to the city gate.

The behemoth was covered with soaked cowhide to protect it from rockets.

The twenty strong men in the car began to bang on the city gate with huge battering rams.

Boom!Boom!

Every muffled sound caused the city wall to tremble slightly.

"Guard the city gate!" Sima Yi shouted from the city wall.

The Wei army immediately poured stones and kerosene from the city wall, and the Chu army around the siege vehicles suffered heavy casualties, but the subsequent soldiers continued to advance and provide cover for the siege vehicles with shields.

The battle on the city wall became increasingly intense.

Although Zhao Yu was brave, the number of Chu troops climbing the city wall was limited after all, and they gradually lost their strength under the human wave tactics of the Wei army.

A Wei army archer seized the opportunity and shot Zhao Yu in the right shoulder with an arrow.

Although he was protected by armor and was not injured, the huge force still made Zhao Yu groan and his spear almost slipped out of his hand.

Seeing this, Le Jing slashed Zhao Yu in the face with his sword.

At the critical moment, Zhao Yu dodged sideways and swept the gun across, hitting Le Jing in the waist.

Le Jing staggered back and was protected by his personal guards.

Zhao Yu knew it would be difficult to capture the city today, so he gritted his teeth and ordered, "Retreat!"

The retreat horn sounded, and the Chu army attacking the city retreated like a tide.

The remaining Chu troops on the city wall tried to retreat along the ladders, but most of them were intercepted and killed by the Wei army.

Under the desperate protection of his personal soldiers, Zhao Yu jumped from a broken battlement and fell into the moat. Fortunately, he was rescued by the Chu army that came to support him.

As the sun sets, its blood-red afterglow illuminates the battlefield littered with corpses.

Thousands of corpses were piled up under Yuling City, and the water in the moat had turned red.

Crows began circling over the battlefield, waiting for the feast to begin.

Inside the Chu army camp, Zhao Yu knelt on one knee. The arrow wound on his right shoulder had been simply bandaged, and blood seeped through the bandage.

"I failed to capture the city, please forgive me, Your Majesty!" His voice was hoarse and his face was tired.

Chu Ning helped his beloved general to his feet and shook his head, saying, "The Wei army was well prepared. The city walls are strong. It's not your fault."

He gazed at the towering Yuling City in the distance, his brow furrowed. "With Sima Yi personally in command, the morale of the Wei army is high. It looks like this battle will become a war of attrition."

As night fell, a bonfire was lit in the Chu army camp.

The groans of the wounded soldiers came one after another, and the medical officers were busy treating the wounded.

Chu Ning stood outside the tent, looking at the starry sky in deep thought.

Tomorrow, he will change his strategy and use catapults and crossbows to continuously deplete the defensive power of the Wei army.

This siege has just begun.