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

The scorching June sun scorched the golden glazed tiles of the Weiyang Palace, and the heat waves formed twisted ripples above the palace.

Inside the hall, the gloomy air seemed to be frozen, even the hanging curtains did not move.

Liu Che sat upright on the dragon throne, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead, and held tightly in his hand the handwritten letter from Sima Yi, the emperor of Wei.

"Humph!"

Liu Che suddenly snorted coldly and slammed the letter on the table, startling all the ministers in the hall and making them look up.

A cold expression appeared on his face. "I have already declared war on the Great Zhou Dynasty and held back 200,000 of its troops for him!"

"Huo Quji, the Duke of the Protectorate, held back Chu Kuang's army of 100,000 in Maple Leaf City! My Han Dynasty has effectively held back 300,000 troops, and yet Sima Yi is still unsatisfied!"

His voice echoed in the empty hall, filled with suppressed anger.

Liu Che's fingers tapped the armrest unconsciously, and the nails made a dull sound when they collided with the sandalwood.

"Last time, Li Guang led an army of 50,000 and was completely annihilated. They watched us die without helping. Now they still want me to send troops. It's simply wishful thinking!"

Liu Che became more and more excited as he spoke. He stood up suddenly, and the cuff of his dragon robe overturned the teacup on the table, leaving a brown mark on the letter.

The Minister of War was the first to step forward. This old official, nearly sixty years old, had beads of sweat on his forehead, but he still stood straight.

"Your Majesty, if you sit back and watch Wei be destroyed, our dynasty will be next! The Chu army is so powerful, if they continue fighting like this, Wei will be destroyed within three months!"

"Master Zhao is wrong!"

General Ma Yuan of the Zhen Army strode out, his armor making a metallic friction sound in the stuffy hall.

"The Wei Kingdom is destroyed, so what? Is our dynasty still afraid of the Chu Kingdom? We can just join forces with the Tang Dynasty and attack the Chu army from both sides!"

"General Ma, you underestimate the enemy!"

The Minister of Rites retorted hastily, his thin face filled with anxiety: "If the Wei Kingdom is destroyed, even if our dynasty joins forces with the Tang Dynasty, we may not be a match for the Chu Kingdom! Chu Ning is a master of military strategy, and he has many brave generals under his command..."

"Enough!" Liu Che slammed the armrest, his voice filled with suppressed irritation.

"I came here to discuss countermeasures with you, not to have you quarrel! Do you think this throne room is a market?"

He glanced at his ministers and saw expressions of anger, worry, or fear on their faces, which made him feel even more annoyed.

Upon hearing this, all the ministers knelt down, their foreheads touching the ground: "Your Majesty, calm down!"

Liu Che took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

He turned to look at Prime Minister Chen Pin, who had been silent all this time. This civil official, who was nearly sixty years old, had a calm expression and a glint of wisdom in his eyes.

"Prime Minister, what do you mean?"

Chen Pin walked out slowly. His court robes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his back, but he did not look embarrassed at all.

He saluted and said slowly, "Your Majesty, it is impossible for our dynasty to rescue Wei now. The journey is long and requires passing through the territory controlled by Chu. How about..."

He paused, his eyes sweeping over the ministers present: "Why not write a letter to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, asking him to send troops to support the State of Wei?"

There was a sudden burst of discussion in the hall.

Liu Che frowned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the armrests of the dragon throne: "What do you mean by this, Prime Minister?"

Chen Pin raised his head slightly, his eyes gleaming, "The fourth prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Ge, died at the hands of Chu Ning. Whether Li Shiming was seeking personal revenge or forming an alliance between the three dynasties, he should have sent troops."

"If the Tang Dynasty sends troops, it can not only lift the siege of Wei, but also deplete the strength of the Chu army, killing two birds with one stone."

A hint of hesitation flashed across Liu Che's eyes, and a look of struggle appeared on his face:

"If that happens, wouldn't I be violating the alliance? If Li Shiming doesn't take action and the Wei Kingdom is destroyed, Chu Ning's next target will definitely be my dynasty!"

At the end of his words, his voice trembled slightly, revealing the worry deep in his heart.

The hall was filled with noise again.

The ministers argued endlessly with one another.

Liu Che felt a splitting headache, and those sounds were like annoying mosquitoes and flies in June, buzzing in his ears.

He closed his eyes, and the image of Chu Ning's hawk-like sharp eyes and the horrific scene of the rumored Chu cavalry flattening the city emerged in his mind.

"His Majesty!"

Chen Pin suddenly raised his voice, drowning out the clamor in the hall: "I have a plan that may be able to resolve this dilemma!"

Liu Che suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Prime Minister, please speak quickly!"

Chen Pin took two steps forward, his voice steady and powerful, "The reason why Chu dared to declare war on Wei, facing the alliance of three dynasties with its own strength, is nothing more than relying on the Zhou Dynasty to hold back our forces!"

His eyes gleamed with wisdom: "In this case, our dynasty can take advantage of the battle between the Chu army and the Wei state to concentrate our forces and destroy the Zhou Dynasty!"

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the palace.

Liu Che leaned forward, a gleam in his eyes: "What do you mean, Prime Minister?"

Chen Pin continued calmly, "The fall of the Zhou Dynasty would be like cutting off an arm of the Chu State. Even if Chu were to go to war with our dynasty, our dynasty, in alliance with the Tang Dynasty, might not be powerless to fight! This is the strategy of besieging Zhou to save Han!"

The light in Liu Che's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He stood up suddenly, and the cuffs of his dragon robe blew a gust of wind. "Prime Minister, what you said makes sense!"

He turned outside the hall and shouted, "Someone come!"

A guard walked in quickly, knelt on one knee, and waited for orders.

Liu Che's eyes flashed with determination: "Pass on my order, Protector Huo Quji will continue to block the Chu troops in Maple Leaf City!"

"Send four generals, Zhou Bo, Gongsun Ao, Ma Yuan, and Jia Fu, to lead their troops to the front lines and wage an all-out war against the Zhou Dynasty! If we can break through the defenses, we will immediately march into the heart of the Zhou Dynasty."

"As you wish!" The guard took the order and left.

Liu Che breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

He looked at Chen Pin, his eyes full of admiration: "Prime Minister, this is a brilliant plan. While Chu Ning is too busy to take care of other things, we can first destroy the Zhou Dynasty and cut off one of its arms!"

Chen Pin bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty is wise, but..."

He hesitated for a moment and said, "We need to send an envoy to the Tang Dynasty to persuade Li Shiming to send troops to contain the Chu army. Only by taking a two-pronged approach can we ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Liu Che nodded and said, "Just as the Prime Minister said."

He turned to his ministers and asked, "My dear ministers, do you have any suggestions?"

The hall was completely silent, with only the chirping of cicadas outside the window and the faint sound of war drums in the distance as the sounds mixed together.

The June heat wave poured in through the open temple door, carrying with it the unique smell of rust and gunpowder from the battlefield.

Liu Che looked at the letter soaked in tea on the table. Sima Yi's desperate plea for help seemed to be heard through the words.

He sighed softly and thought to himself, "Sima Yi, it's not that I don't want to save you, it's just that the situation forces me to do so."

"Since there is no objection, then let's withdraw from the court!"

Liu Che flicked his sleeves and turned to walk towards the back hall.

His back looked a little thin in the eyes of the ministers, but he also carried an unquestionable majesty.

Walking out of the hall, Liu Che looked up at the sky.

The June sun was high in the sky, so bright that he had to squint his eyes.

He knew that the next battle was not only related to the life and death of Wei State, but also to the future survival of the Han Dynasty!