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

The August sun was scorching, and the bluestone pavement in Jicheng was scorching hot. Every step the barefoot people took felt like they were stepping on red-hot iron plates.

Waves of heat seeped out from the cracks in the bricks and stones on the city wall, and the entire city seemed to be roasting on an invisible furnace.

The leaves of the sycamore trees on both sides of the street had already turned yellow and curled up, making a rustling sound in the hot wind.

"Water... give me a sip of water."

In front of a dilapidated temple in the south of the city, a skinny old woman was kneeling on the ground, blood oozing from her cracked lips.

She was holding a child of seven or eight years old in her arms. The child's face was flushed red and his breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

The old woman took off a tattered gourd from her waist with trembling hands, turned it upside down and shook it vigorously - not even a drop of water fell.

The situation in front of the vermilion lacquered gate of the Imperial Palace was completely different.

Twenty imperial guards stood solemnly with spears in hand, their armor gleaming coldly under the scorching sun.

The archers on the palace wall wiped the sweat from their foreheads from time to time, and the arrow feathers in their quivers trembled slightly in the hot wind.

Suddenly, there was a sound of chaotic footsteps in the distance.

"There must be water in the palace!"

A man with a bloody face rushed to the front, waving a kitchen knife.

"The old emperor drinks his own delicious wine, while we die of thirst!"

Behind him followed hundreds of ragged civilians, each with a burning flame of madness in his eyes.

Zhao Feng, the captain of the imperial guards on the palace wall, narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his right hand.

Sima Yi had unknowingly stood on the palace tower, his bright yellow dragon robe particularly dazzling under the scorching sun.

He stared at the incoming crowd with indifference, a cruel smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty?" The commander of the imperial guards, Zhao Feng, looked at the emperor for instructions.

Sima Yi lightly brushed off the nonexistent dust on his sleeves: "I have said that anyone who approaches the palace gate will be killed without mercy."

"Fire arrows!"

With a command, dozens of feather arrows shot out into the air.

The man who was rushing in the front suddenly had three blood flowers blooming on his chest. He looked down at his bleeding wound in disbelief, and the kitchen knife fell to the ground with a clang.

This was followed by the second and third waves of arrows, and the bluestone slabs in front of the palace gate were soon stained red with blood.

A young woman was crying loudly while hugging her husband who was shot by an arrow. Her crying stopped abruptly - a sharp arrow pierced her throat.

"Back off! Back off!"

The survivors fled in terror. A white-haired old man stumbled and fell in a pool of blood. He struggled to raise his head and met Sima Yi's cold eyes.

The old man's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just spat out a mouthful of blood and fell down forever.

Sima Yi turned and left the city wall, ignoring the tragic scene behind him.

The soles of his boots stepped over a pool of blood that had not yet solidified, leaving dark red footprints on the white marble steps.

No one dared to come to the palace anymore, but it was different in other places.

People everywhere in the city started to smash and destroy things.

What’s even more terrifying is that something unexpected happened in the military camp at this moment.

On the training ground of the military camp south of the city, a dozen soldiers surrounded a dry well, trying in vain to swing a wooden barrel up and down with a rope.

The bottom of the well had long been dry, but they still mechanically repeated this action, as if they could create water in this way.

"Don't bother." A bearded old soldier said hoarsely, "I heard there are three jars of clean water hidden behind the general's tent."

The young soldiers' eyes lit up immediately. They exchanged glances and unconsciously tightened their grip on their weapons.

At this moment, noisy shouts suddenly came from outside the military camp.

"The mob is coming! Prepare for defense!" the sentry shouted a warning.

But when the soldiers saw the hungry people coming in like a tide, their will to defend collapsed instantly.

The people were even crazier and more desperate than them, and a soldier suddenly dropped his spear.

"Fuck the military order! I want to drink water!"

Like the first domino falling, more and more soldiers joined the mob.

They turned their spears and rushed towards the officers' tents.

Captain Wang Meng had just drawn his sword when an arrow shot from behind pierced his throat. He fell to his knees, his blood gushing out as the thirsty earth quickly absorbed it.

In the general's tent, guarding general Zhou Yan was writing a letter to his family.

When he heard the commotion outside, he immediately realized what was happening.

He smiled wryly and held the unfinished letter close to the candlelight, watching the paper curl up and turn black in the flames.

The tent door was flung open, and a dozen soldiers with bloodshot eyes rushed in.

"Where's the water? Hand it over!" the leading team leader shouted sternly.

Zhou Yan slowly stood up and straightened his armor: "There is no water here either."

"fart!"

A soldier swung an axe and split open the screen in the inner room, and sure enough, there were three large vats behind it.

But when they rushed over excitedly, they found that the tank was empty, with only some water stains remaining at the bottom.

"I finished it yesterday." Zhou Yan said calmly.

The enraged soldiers rushed forward.

Zhou Yan did not resist, and his sword was not even unsheathed.

In the last moment before he lost consciousness, he vaguely heard someone say, "Go to the granary! There might be water there."

The barracks' granaries were quickly looted.

Some people fought over half a bag of moldy flour, and more people stood in a daze in the flames of the military camp, not knowing where to go next.

On the city wall, Sima Yi watched all this coldly.

The archers behind him shot arrows from time to time, killing the rioters who tried to approach the palace.

There was no expression on the emperor's face, only the slight twitching of his eyes revealed his inner turmoil.

"It's not messy enough..." Sima Yi whispered to himself, "It would be better if it were a little messier."

"Zhao Feng, take a battalion of soldiers out of the palace and attack along the streets!"

"Kill as many as possible!"

Zhao Feng's expression changed drastically: "Your Majesty, this..."

"Execute the order!" Sima Yi left after saying this.

Zhao Feng had no choice but to take his troops out of the city to kill people.

For a moment, the city was filled with blood.

At this time, outside the south of the city, outside the main tent of the Chu army.

The flames rising into the sky cast a red glow on Chu Ning's profile. He stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep.

Jia Yu chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that the city is in chaos, and it has only been two days."

Chu Ning raised his lips slightly: "After I said I would not accept surrender, the morale of the Wei army will definitely collapse."

He paused and asked, "Have you found out anything about the Tang and Han troops' movements?"

Jia Yu said sternly, "Your Majesty, the Han Dynasty is currently engaged in a decisive battle with the Zhou Dynasty and has no time for other matters."

"As for the Tang army, although Li Ji sent a cavalry unit, they were intercepted by General Ma Chao's Canglang Legion and were unable to rush to Jicheng's aid."

Chu Ning laughed loudly: "Very good, pass the order down, attack the city tomorrow!"

"Tell the Jinyiwei in the city to prepare themselves. Anyone who surrenders to our army can wrap their arms with white cloth to save their lives!"

Jia Yu took the order and left.

Three quarters of an hour later, a carrier pigeon flew into a restaurant in the city.

The shopkeeper took down the secret letter, his eyes flashing: "Your Majesty is finally going to take action!"

In the secret room, the Jinyiwei who had been lurking for two years were extremely excited.

"The South Gate will open at 3:15 AM tomorrow!"

In the light of the fire, everyone smiled at each other, as if they had seen the dawn of victory.