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

The scorching sun illuminates the flags outside the tent.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the continuous military camps, casting a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

Inside the tent, Li Jing stood with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at the military deployment on the sand table.

"According to the time, His Highness the Fourth Prince should have already engaged the Chu army."

He murmured softly, his finger lightly tapping on the position of Yu Lingcheng, his brows furrowed.

In this battle, the fourth prince Li Ge personally led nearly 80,000 elite troops to cooperate with the Wei army from inside and outside, intending to wipe out Chu Ning's main force in one fell swoop.

If successful, it would not only save the Wei Kingdom from danger, but also expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty and make an unprecedented contribution.

However, Li Jing felt vaguely uneasy.

"Chu Ning is a cunning man. Your Highness is young and impulsive. If he acts on impulse..."

He shook his head, forcing down the worry in his heart.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the tent, and then a personal soldier stumbled in, his voice trembling:

"General! Something happened!"

Li Jing's heart tightened. Before he could ask, the curtain of the tent was suddenly pulled open, and a figure covered in blood staggered in.

"General Pei?" Li Jing's pupils suddenly shrank, and he could hardly believe his eyes.

Pei Xingjian, the famous and brave general of the Tang Dynasty, was in a miserable state at this moment.

His armor was torn, his battle robe was soaked in blood, his face was covered with bloodstains, and his eyes were filled with deep despair.

"thump!"

Pei Xingjian fell heavily to his knees, his voice hoarse, "General Li! We've fallen into a trap!"

Li Jing trembled all over and hurried forward to support him: "What's going on?! Where is the Fourth Prince?"

Pei Xingjian raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, his voice choked with sobs: "Guan Yun... Guan Yun's 60,000-man army wasn't defeated at all, it was feigned defeat!"

"They deliberately lured our army into pursuit. By the time we arrived at Yuling City, Chu Ning had already secretly mobilized Ma Chao and Guan Yun's troops to ambush us!"

"Our army thought victory was certain, but who knew... who knew..."

His voice was trembling so much that he could hardly speak. Finally, he punched the ground hard, and blood seeped out from between his fingers.

"The entire army was annihilated! Only I and a thousand remaining soldiers... escaped!"

"boom--"

Li Jing felt a buzzing in his head, his vision went black, his body swayed a few times, and he almost fell. He suddenly grabbed the table and managed to steady himself.

"What about the Fourth Prince?" He spoke with difficulty, his voice so dry that it didn't sound like his own.

Pei Xingjian lowered his head, his shoulders shaking violently: "Your Highness was captured alive by the Chu army."

"boom!"

Li Jing could no longer hold on, his eyes went dark, and he fainted.

"General! General!"

Pei Xingjian was shocked and rushed forward to support him, shouting outside the tent: "Military doctor! Call a military doctor!"

Half an hour later.

Li Jing slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred, and he could hear the low voices of the generals.

"Your Highness's greed for merit and reckless advances led to this defeat!"

"This matter has nothing to do with General Li. We would like to jointly report this to His Majesty!"

"That's right, the responsibility lies entirely with His Highness the Fourth Prince!"

Li Jing coughed violently, struggled to sit up, his face as pale as paper: "Shut up!"

The generals fell silent immediately.

"As a subject, how can I speak ill of Your Highness?" His voice was low, but it revealed unquestionable majesty.

Everyone lowered their heads and dared not say anything more.

Li Jing took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"The first thing we need to do now is to find out the Fourth Prince's situation."

Pei Xingjian stepped forward, clasped his fists, and said, "I left spies along the way during our retreat. If there's any news about Your Highness, I'll report it back immediately."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a burst of hurried horse hoofbeats sounds outside the tent.

"Report!"

A spy stumbled in, holding an exquisite brocade box in his hand, his face pale:

"General! This is terrible! The Chu army... the Chu army has murdered the Fourth Prince! They've even sent his head to our court!"

"what?"

Li Jing stood up suddenly, and his vision went dark again, but he held on and did not fall down.

Pei Xingjian hurried forward, took the brocade box, and slowly opened it.

A bloody head was lying in it!

"Your Highness the Fourth Prince!" Li Jing's voice trembled, and his eyes instantly turned red.

Li Ge in the brocade box had his eyes closed and his face was pale, no longer as vigorous as before.

Li Jing clenched his fists tightly, his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood dripped.

"Chun Ning!"

He raised his head suddenly and said in a cold voice, "Immediately send someone to send the head back to Chang'an. At the same time, send someone to negotiate with the Chu army and demand that they return your body!"

After a pause, he took a deep breath, suppressed the grief in his heart, and gave the order in a deep voice:

"Retreat! Retreat to our borders and do not set foot in Wei again!"

The generals obeyed the order solemnly and quickly left the tent.

Li Jing was the only one left in the tent.

He slowly knelt on the ground, kowtowed deeply towards the brocade box, his voice choked with sobs:

"I feel ashamed of your majesty and the tens of thousands of soldiers who died in battle."

The night wind howled, as if mourning this tragic defeat.

Two days later, in Yuling City.

Chu Ning sat high on the main throne in the City Lord's Mansion, tapping the armrest lightly with his fingertips, looking at the Tang army envoy standing in the hall with a playful expression.

The envoy was dressed in the official uniform of the Tang Dynasty and had a solemn expression. Although he was in the enemy camp, he was neither humble nor arrogant. However, there was a hint of fatigue and grief between his brows.

"Tell me, why did your General Li Jing send you here?" Chu Ning narrowed his eyes slightly, speaking in a leisurely tone, as if he was just chatting.

The envoy took a deep breath, bowed, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I have come here on the orders of General Li to request the return of the body of His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince of the Great Tang."

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows, half smiling, "Oh? Li Ge is dead. Is a corpse worth sending someone to ask for it?"

The messenger's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "Your Highness is the Crown Prince of the Great Tang. Even if he is defeated and dies in battle, his soul should return to his homeland."

"General Li has ordered his entire army to withdraw to the Tang border and promised not to participate in the war between Wei and Chu as a sign of sincerity."

"Withdrawal of troops?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Chu Ning's eyes, and then he burst into laughter, "Great! What a great Li Jing! He's a decisive man!"

He stood up, pacing with his hands behind his back, his tone tinged with admiration, "I had thought that with Li Ge's death, your Tang army would be furious and swear revenge."

"I didn't expect that Li Jing could suppress his anger and withdraw his troops directly. This really makes me look at him with new eyes."

The messenger remained silent and just lowered his head slightly.

Chu Ning stopped and stared at the messenger with burning eyes, then suddenly smiled and said:

"Well, since you are so understanding, I am not a heartless person. You can take Li Ge's body back with you."

Upon hearing this, the envoy's tense expression finally relaxed slightly, and he bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor of Chu."

Chu Ning waved his hand, a meaningful smile on his lips: "However, when you go back, please tell Li Jing a message for me."

The messenger looked up with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Chu Ning spoke slowly, his voice low and clear: "Tell him that if one day the Tang Dynasty can no longer accommodate him, the door of our Chu State will always be open to him."

The messenger's pupils shrank slightly, obviously not expecting Chu Ning to say such a thing.

But he quickly calmed down, bowed respectfully, and said nothing more.

Seeing this, Chu Ning smiled with satisfaction, then waved his hand and said, "Come here, hand Li Ge's body over to the Tang envoy and send him out of the city."

After the envoy left, Chu Ning sat back in his seat, his eyes flashing with a deep light.

"Li Jing is a useful talent."

He muttered to himself, then chuckled, picked up the wine cup on the table and drank it all in one gulp.