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

The next day, just as the sky in the east began to turn pale, horns sounded in the Chu army camp.

Fifty thousand troops lined up outside the city, but contrary to their usual practice, they did not launch a charge.

Instead, hundreds of catapults and crossbows were pushed to the front of the formation, lined up in a black mass, like a group of beasts ready to attack.

"put!"

With Zhao Yu's order, the catapult's capstan made a harsh squeak, the huge counterweight box fell down with a bang, and the throwing arm suddenly rose up, throwing the burning fireballs and boulders towards the city wall.

The fireball cut through the morning mist, dragging thick smoke, and crashed into Yuling City like a meteorite.

The bowstring of the crossbow trembled, and a huge arrow as thick as an arm whizzed out and headed straight for the defenders on the city wall.

"boom!"

A fireball hit a corner of the city wall, and the wooden structure exploded instantly, sending sparks flying.

The Wei soldiers defending the city dodged in a hurry, but some were still engulfed by the flames and fell from the city wall with screams.

The huge rocks smashed against the battlements, causing bricks and stones to collapse. Several archers were hit by the flying debris and killed on the spot.

Chu Ning stood on the observation deck, watching all this with a stern gaze.

He was not shaken by yesterday's defeat, but became more calm.

"Your Majesty, the Wei army's catapults are counterattacking." Jia Yu reminded from the side.

Sure enough, the Wei army in the city also adjusted the angle of the catapults and began to fight back.

However, the Chu army's catapults were placed in an open area outside the city and could be adjusted at any time, while the Wei army's catapults were fixed inside the city, had a limited range, and needed to be reloaded after each launch, making them far less efficient than the Chu army.

“Let them smash it.”

Chu Ning said calmly, "We can continuously transport huge rocks from the rear, but they..."

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "The stones in the city will eventually run out."

Inside the city, Sima Yi stood on the city wall with a face as gloomy as iron.

"Your Majesty, the Chu army is trying to wear us out!"

Le Jing gritted his teeth and said, "Their catapults have a longer range than ours. If they keep going like this, our city defense equipment will be smashed sooner or later!"

Sima Yi did not answer immediately, but stared at the dense formation of the Chu army outside the city, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"They are forcing us to leave the city and fight." He whispered, "But I will not grant their wish!"

At this moment, Prime Minister Cheng Yu hurriedly climbed up the city wall with an excitement that was hard to conceal on his face.

"Your Majesty, happy news, happy news!"

Sima Yi raised his eyebrows: "Where is the good news?"

Cheng Yu pulled a letter from his sleeve and presented it with both hands: "The Fourth Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Ge, has arrived at Luoyue Slope and is ready to lead the Tang army to break through the Chu army's blockade and join forces with our army to attack Chu Ning!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Sima Yi's pupils suddenly contracted. He snatched the letter and quickly scanned it.

After a moment, he laughed out loud: "Hahahaha, good! Great! The Tang Dynasty really kept its promise and actually sent a prince to the front line!"

He recalled that the Han Dynasty had stood aside and watched the loss of 50,000 soldiers and horses, and he could not help but snort coldly:

"Compared to the Han Dynasty, I still trust the Tang Dynasty more!"

He looked out of the city, a cold glint in his eyes. "Chu Ning wants to use up all our city defense equipment? Unfortunately, the evolution of the situation is no longer under his control!"

"Order! All troops will take turns defending the city. Be sure to conserve equipment and don't give the Chu army any opportunity to exploit! Also, collect everything in the city that can be used for defense: stones, wood, kerosene, all gathered!"

Cheng Yu bowed and accepted the order, and immediately went down to make arrangements.

At the same time, inside the Chu army camp, a Jinyiwei hurried into the tent and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, urgent news!"

Chu Ning took the secret letter and glanced at it, his face suddenly darkening. "The Fourth Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Ge, has arrived at Luoyue Slope? Why did we only get the news now?"

Logically speaking, it would take at least several days for Li Ge to leave the Tang Dynasty and reach the front line.

However, the Jinyiwei only sent back the news after he had arrived at Luoyuepo. The delay in between was enough to affect the battle situation!

Seeing this, Jia Yu hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, this Li Ge secretly left the capital without telling the Tang Emperor, Li Shiming. He even deceived the Jinyiwei's spies. By the time we noticed, he had already reached Luoyue Slope."

After hearing this, Chu Ning's expression eased slightly: "So that's how it is. I was wrong about the Jinyiwei."

He pondered for a moment, his brow furrowed. "Li Ge is known for his bravery and strategy. If he leads the Tang army to attack Luoyuepo with all their might, Guan Yun's forces will probably be unable to resist."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yu suddenly chuckled, "Your Majesty, I have a plan."

Chu Ning raised his eyes: "Oh? Tell me about it."

Jia Yu stepped forward, lowered his voice, and slowly told his plan.

After hearing this, Chu Ning's eyes flashed, and then he laughed out loud: "Great idea! In that case, write a letter to inform Guan Yun immediately!"

Two days later, at Luoyuepo.

Guan Yun stood outside the tent, holding Jia Yu's letter in his hand, and a smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Master Jia, this plan is brilliant, but..."

He stroked his beard, a sly glint in his eyes: "I'll have to make some arrangements in advance."

He turned and walked towards the training ground, whispering to his deputy general Zhou Cang, "Pass the order down, the entire army is on alert, but on the surface, they must pretend to be relaxed."

Zhou Cang was stunned: "General, what do you mean?"

Guan Yun narrowed his eyes and said, "When fishing, you have to let the fish bite the hook first."

The deputy general suddenly realized and immediately went down to make arrangements.

The Chu army at Luoyuepo began to quietly adjust their deployment. On the surface, they were still loose, but in fact they were hiding murderous intentions.

Far away in the Tang army camp on the other side of Luoyue Slope, Li Ge was staring at the map with a confident smile on his face.

"Chu Ning thought he could trap us? Haha, soon he will know who the real hunter is."

Li Ge stood in the center of the military tent with his hands behind his back. The flickering candlelight inside the tent illuminated his stern face.

His gaze was like a knife, sweeping across Li Jing and Pei Xingjian. His voice was low and commanding: "Tomorrow at 11:00 AM, the entire army will attack. We must crush the Chu army's defenses in one fell swoop."

Li Jing frowned, clasped his fists, and said solemnly, "Your Highness, the Chu army is occupying a strategic position and their fortifications are heavily fortified. A brute force attack is probably not the best strategy. I believe we should look for another opportunity to fight."

"Fighter?"

Li Ge sneered and suddenly slammed the table, causing the teacup on the table to shatter.

"One and a half months! You've been hiding here for a whole month and a half! Is this the opportunity you've been waiting for?"

Pei Xingjian's face flushed red, and he couldn't help but take a step forward: "Your Highness! Our army..."

Li Jing grabbed Pei Xingjian's arm and squeezed it secretly.

He took a deep breath and bowed, "I am willing to hand over my military command and will be at your disposal."

The tent was suddenly silent.

Li Ge narrowed his eyes and slowly walked to Li Jing.

He stared at the other person's flickering eyes for a long time, and suddenly laughed: "Good! Very good! General Li really knows the big picture."

Pei Xingjian clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

When Li Ge turned around, the scarlet cloak swept across his cheeks, bringing a suffocating sense of oppression.

"Pass the order down. Cook at 3:00 AM tomorrow and attack at 5:00 AM."

Li Ge's voice came from far outside the tent: "I will let the Chu army know what the real Tang army cavalry is!"

When the footsteps faded away, Pei Xingjian suddenly broke free from Li Jing's hand and said, "General! He's playing with the lives of our soldiers."

"Silence!"

Li Jing shouted, looking out of the tent warily. He then lowered his voice and said, "The Fourth Prince is the prince. If you and I disobey his orders, we will be punished by death."

Outside the tent, the night wind howled, as if foreshadowing the brutality of tomorrow's bloody battle.