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

The raging fire illuminated the sky of Yong'an City red, and the billowing black smoke rose into the sky like a ferocious black dragon.

The 5,000 Han Dynasty imperial guards led by Li Li were forced to stop three miles outside the city. The scorching waves of fire were blowing in their faces. The war horses neighed restlessly and pawed the ground with their front hooves.

"Damn it! This must have been set by the Chu army!"

"Chu Ning, as the emperor of Chu, you actually did such a thing."

Li Li pulled the reins hard, and the muscles on his dark face twitched.

He was wearing black iron armor, his eyes were bloodshot under the helmet, staring at the burning city in front of him.

The firelight danced on his sinister face, making it look even more ferocious.

"General, what should we do now?" Deputy Commander Wang Xiuqi rode forward, his voice filled with anxiety.

His young face was red in the firelight, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, not sure if it was because of the heat or nervousness.

Li Li gritted his teeth, his fists clenched until they crackled. "What else can we do? Let's put out the fire first!"

"Why not take a detour and chase them?" Wang Xiuqi suggested tentatively, "The Chu army shouldn't have gone far yet. We should be able to catch up now."

"detour?"

Li Li turned his head suddenly, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and scared Wang Xiuqi so much that he took a half step back involuntarily.

He pointed to the towering mountains on both sides. "Look at these mountains! They're steep cliffs, ravines crisscrossing. We're all cavalry, how are we going to get around them?"

Wang Xiuqi shrank his neck and dared not say anything more.

Li Li snorted coldly, turned around and shouted to the entire army, "Put out the fire immediately! Once the fire subsides, immediately pass through the city and pursue them!"

He raised his voice, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "The 3,000-man Chu army is exhausted. If we can catch up with them and take Chu Ning's head, it will be a great achievement! Then everyone will be rewarded!"

Upon hearing this, excitement suddenly appeared on the tired faces of the imperial guards.

They dismounted one after another, some used their helmets to scoop water, some used clothes to put out the flames, and some even shoveled soil to cover the source of the fire.

After two hours of hard work, the fire was finally much smaller, but the entire city had been reduced to scorched earth, and the air was filled with a pungent burnt smell.

"Go!" Li Li took the lead and led the cavalry through the still smoking ruins.

The horses' hooves trampled over the charred beams, sending up a shower of sparks.

Occasionally, on both sides of the street, you can see corpses that have been burned to charcoal, still maintaining the posture of struggle in life, which is shocking.

After leaving Yong'an City, Li Li did not stop for a moment and sped along the official road.

As the sun set, they entered a rugged mountainous area.

The night wind at the end of September howled with a biting chill. The soldiers' teeth were chattering with cold, and their hands holding the reins were frozen blue.

"General, the brothers can't hold on any longer."

Wang Xiuqi rubbed his red, frozen hands, his voice trembling, "Why don't we camp in this valley? The scouts have spotted the Chu army's horse hoof prints. They must be resting up ahead. In this awful weather, they can't possibly be marching at night."

Li Li looked around and saw the exhausted looks of the soldiers, and a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

The towering rock walls on both sides of the valley did block some of the cold wind, making it a great place to camp.

Finally, he sighed and said, "Forget it. Let's set up camp here and continue the pursuit at dawn tomorrow."

"The general is wise!" The soldiers cheered as if they had been pardoned, and their cheers echoed in the valley.

Soon, hundreds of tents were set up like mushrooms in the valley, and bonfires were lit one after another, bringing some warmth to the cold night.

In the big tent in the center of the camp, Li Li tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He put on his clothes and sat up, staring at the flickering candlelight with a frown.

As the commander of the most elite imperial guards of the Han Dynasty, he was well aware of the power of the White Horse Cavalry - those were all death warriors trained by Chu Ning himself, and each of them could fight ten men at once.

Even if we catch up with the Chu army, can we really kill Chu Ning successfully?

"No, we can't take the risk!"

Li Li muttered to himself, suddenly stood up, walked to the desk, and started writing quickly.

After finishing writing, he shouted outside the tent: "Someone come!"

A personal guard came in and knelt on one knee. "What are your orders, General?"

"Immediately send this letter by carrier pigeon to Yumen Pass and hand it over to General Wu."

Li Li handed the sealed letter to his personal guard, his eyes gleaming. "Tell him that if he finds any trace of the Chu army, do not alert them and contact me immediately. Then we can attack them from both inside and outside and annihilate them in one fell swoop!"

"Yes, sir!" The personal soldier took the letter with both hands and hurried out of the tent.

At the same time, on the cliff above the valley, pairs of cold eyes were staring at the Han army camp below.

Zhao Yu crouched behind a rock, trembling with excitement. "Your Majesty, this is brilliant! They've indeed set up camp here!"

Chu Ning raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a playful smile.

The night wind blew the strands of hair on his forehead, and his handsome face looked particularly cold under the moonlight.

"After chasing for so long, they should be tired."

He whispered, "Besides, we deliberately left behind horse hoof prints and campfire embers to make them think we were just ahead."

At this point, Chu Ning narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Pass the order down, the entire army rest."

"Tomorrow at 11:00 AM, launch the general attack."

He slowly drew the sword from his waist, the blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "I want these five thousand Han soldiers, and they must come and never return!"

If you want to escape from pursuit, the best way is to kill the other party!

Zhao Yu excitedly clasped his fists and accepted the order, then quietly stepped back to convey the command.

The White Horse Cavalry lurked silently behind rocks and in bushes, like a pack of wolves waiting for prey.

As the night deepened, the Han army camp gradually became quiet, with only a few scattered campfires still burning.

The soldier on night watch hunched his neck, stamped his feet to keep warm, and kept his eyes half-open and half-closed, completely unaware of the dark shadow looming on the cliff above his head.

The candles were still lit in Li Li's tent.

He stood in front of the military map in his outer robe, his fingers moving along the possible route of the Chu army, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

An inexplicable uneasiness spread in his heart, but he couldn't tell the reason.

"Report!" A hurried voice suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Come in." Li Li's heart skipped a beat.

A scout hurried in and knelt on one knee: "General, a suspicious fire has been detected ten miles to the west!"

Li Li's eyes flashed: "Can you see who it is?"

"It's too dark to see clearly, but the fire is moving very fast, not like an ordinary merchant."

"Hmph!" Li Li slammed the table. "Pass the order down. Strengthen the vigilance. At dawn tomorrow, immediately pursue westward!"

The scout took the order and left.

Li Li walked out of the tent, looked at the night sky to the west, and sneered: "Chu Ning, you can't run away!"

What he didn't know was that just above the cliff he was looking up at, Chu Ning was looking down at the entire Han army camp with cold eyes, like a god looking down at ants.

The night wind howled, as if playing a prelude to the coming massacre.