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

The scorching sun burned the city walls, and twisted heat waves evaporated from the gaps between the bricks and stones.

The hall was as hot as a steamer. The ice in the bronze tripod had long melted, leaving only a pool of turbid water.

Sima Yi sat upright on the dragon throne, with fine beads of sweat oozing from his forehead, sliding down his brow and soaking his collar.

He looked at the ministers in the hall who were bowing their heads in silence, and his fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest, making a dull sound.

"You heard it just now."

His voice was hoarse, as if dried out by the scorching sun: "I want to surrender, but Chu Ning won't even talk!"

The hall was dead silent, with only the noisy chirping of cicadas outside the window, which hurt the eardrums.

The Minister of War moved his lips as if he was about to speak, but fell silent under Sima Yi's cold gaze.

"What Chu Ning wants is not my surrender, but my head!"

Sima Yi slammed the table so hard that the teacup fell over, and the brown tea flowed onto the table.

"Do you think he will let you go?"

No one answered, and everyone understood that they had no choice now.

Because Chu Ning simply would not accept surrender.

Unless they could kill their own emperor, it would be impossible for Chu Ning to surrender.

Seeing that no one spoke, Sima Yi sneered, slowly stood up, and the hem of his dragon robe swept through the dust in front of the steps.

"Defend the city, there is still a glimmer of hope."

He glanced at the crowd and said in a low voice, "I have requested assistance from Li Ji of the Tang army. As long as we hold on for another ten days, reinforcements will arrive!"

The ministers remained silent, but their eyes revealed despair - everyone knew that Jicheng was an isolated city, so why would the Tang army take the risk to rescue it?

Sima Yi looked at their expressions, his anger grew stronger, but he suppressed it and said coldly:

"Everyone, go down and prepare to defend the city. The Chu army... will soon attack the city."

Everyone bowed and retreated, their footsteps chaotic, as if they were running for their lives.

Sima Yi stared at their backs until the palace door closed, then he slowly exhaled.

"Cheng Yu." He suddenly spoke.

Prime Minister Cheng Yu, who was about to leave, paused when he heard this, slowly turned around, and bowed: "I wonder what your majesty wants to do?"

Cheng Yu's official robe was soaked with sweat and stuck to his back, but his expression remained calm.

"You must immediately mobilize a team of elite troops."

Sima Yi lowered his voice, his eyes sharp as a knife: "The number of people does not need to be large, but they must be the most loyal warriors."

Cheng Yu frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, do you want to..."

"Break out." Sima Yi said coldly, "Defending the city is just a pretext. I will not sit still and wait for death."

Cheng Yu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "I understand."

Sima Yi stared at him and suddenly revealed a hint of a sneer: "This group of people doesn't really need to break out."

Cheng Yu was startled.

"Chu Ning is waiting for civil unrest in the city." Sima Yi said slowly: "I want to give him a chance."

A flash of realization crossed Cheng Yu's eyes. "Your Majesty's intention is... to have them feign a breakout to attract the Chu army's attention?"

Sima Yi nodded: "Once the Chu army is lured away, I will find a way to leave."

Cheng Yu took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I will arrange it right away."

He turned to leave, but Sima Yi stopped him again: "Remember, this matter must not be leaked."

Cheng Yu bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After Cheng Yu left, Sima Yi ordered someone to call Sima Zhao.

The young prince walked quickly into the hall, beads of sweat on his forehead, obviously he had just returned from an inspection of the city defenses.

"Father." He knelt on one knee, his voice slightly panting.

Sima Yi looked at him, his eyes complicated for a moment, then he returned to his cold and hard expression: "Zhao'er, are the secret guards still obeying orders?"

Sima Zhao nodded: "Three hundred secret guards, on standby at all times."

"it is good."

Sima Yi whispered, "Gather them immediately and be ready to escort me, your mother, and you out of Jicheng."

Sima Zhao's pupils shrank: "Father, are we really going to abandon the city?"

Sima Yi sneered: "Fool, do you really think that you can stop the Chu army with these tens of thousands of remaining soldiers?"

Sima Zhao gritted his teeth: "But if we break out, the Chu army will surround us tightly. How can we..."

"Who said we should go through the city gate?"

Sima Yi interrupted him, a cold look flashing in his eyes: "The city will soon be in chaos. When that happens, we can disguise ourselves as refugees and sneak out of the city."

Sima Zhao finally understood: "Father, are you waiting for the city to fall into chaos?"

Sima Yi nodded: "Chu Ning is waiting, and I am waiting too."

"I understand, son!" Sima Zhao knew that the matter was of great importance, so he immediately turned around and made arrangements.

Soon, the time came to night.

The night was as dark as ink, and the sultry August wind, carrying anxiety and despair, was wandering through the streets of Jicheng.

On the fifth day of the water outage, the people's lips were cracked and bleeding, and their throats felt like they were stuck with a handful of red-hot charcoal.

I don’t know who shouted first—“There’s still water in the old well in West City!”

The crowd was instantly excited.

Ragged hungry people rushed out of the dilapidated huts, women holding clay pots, men carrying wooden buckets, and children running barefoot on the gravel road.

They rushed towards the legendary ancient well that had not yet dried up, but ran into patrolling county soldiers at the entrance of the alley.

"Go back!" The captain of the county army shouted with his sword in hand, the blade reflecting the moonlight as cold as frost.

"General, please give me some water." An old man knelt down and begged, his dry branch-like hands reaching out to the water bag.

He was answered with a blow to the hilt of the knife.

The muffled sound of the old man's skull breaking had not yet dissipated when the crowd rushed over like a flood.

Kitchen knives, hoes, stones, and even teeth became weapons.

The screams of the county soldiers were drowned out by the crazy roars. Some people lay on the ground licking the spilled blood, and more people stepped on the corpses and rushed to the well platform.

But there was only silt at the bottom of the well.

Lies and despair gave rise to even deeper madness. Someone shouted, "There's water stored in the government cellars," and the hungry people immediately turned around and swarmed towards the wealthy families in the city like locusts.

When the vermilion lacquered gate of the Chen family mansion was knocked open, the owner of the house was ordering his servants to move the last few buckets of clean water into the secret room.

The moment the mob saw the bucket, their eyes instantly became bloodshot.

"Kill them! Grab the water!"

The servant's steel knife knocked down the three people who were rushing in front, but then his knees were smashed by the hoe.

Mr. Chen was dragged down the stairs, his hair and beard were torn off, and a clay pot was smashed to pieces on his head.

Amid the wailing of the women, the mob smashed open the cellar, but found not a drop of water except for moldy grain bags.

"You lied to us... You lied to us!" A young man roared and set the curtain on fire.

As the flames shot up to the rafters, the mob had already rushed to the next house.

The military camp in the north of the city was also not spared.

The morale of the garrison soldiers had long been low. When the mob rushed over with torches, some soldiers took the initiative to open the side door.

"Brothers, the officers are hiding the water!" the rebels shouted hysterically, "Why should we risk our lives while they enjoy the comforts?"

The military camp's granary was looted within half an hour.

Someone stabbed his comrade's throat for half a bag of corn, and more soldiers took off their uniforms and joined the looting team.

For a moment, the entire Jicheng was in complete chaos.

There were cries and shouts everywhere, killings were everywhere, and the entire city was covered in blood!