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

The night is as dark as ink and the cold wind is howling.

Just when Fan Zhong's Han cavalry was about to encircle Chu Ning's troops, earth-shaking shouts of killing suddenly came from the northwest.

A group of black-armored cavalry came like a tide, and the earth trembled under the feet of their iron hooves.

The leading general was wearing a scarlet battle robe and holding a 10-foot-long halberd in his hand. The halberd blade shone coldly in the light of the torch - it was the famous general of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Xue Huaide!

"Kill!" Xue Huaide roared, his voice as loud as thunder.

The jet-black warhorse under him stood up, kicked its front hooves in the air, and then rushed towards the flank of the Han army like an arrow.

The long spear swept across, and three Han cavalrymen were instantly covered in blood. The head of one of them flew high, drawing a sharp arc in the moonlight.

Fan Zhong's face on the top of the city wall suddenly changed, and he froze the flag in his hand. "Oh no! It's the Zhou army! Archers, turn around! Shoot at the enemy!"

But it was too late. Xue Huaide's cavalry had already penetrated the Han army like a sharp knife.

These Zhou cavalrymen were obviously well prepared. Each of them had a small round shield tied to his left arm, which they raised together when charging. The arrows landed on the shields with clanging sounds, but they could not stop them at all.

Chu Ning's eyes lit up amidst the chaos, and he immediately seized the opportunity: "Turn around! Cooperate with the Zhou army to launch a pincer attack!"

The morale of the Chu army, which was originally retreating, suddenly boosted and they turned their horses around and counterattacked.

Zhao Yu took the lead, his spear as strong as a dragon, knocking down five Han soldiers in succession and forcibly tearing a gap in the enemy formation.

Xue Huaide and Chu Ning's troops quickly joined forces in the chaos.

The Great Zhou commander's robe was stained with blood, but he still retained the demeanor of a Confucian general.

He bowed in the direction of Chu Ning, then pointed his halberd at the city gate: "Zhou army soldiers, listen to my order! Seize the city gate tower!"

Three hundred heavily armored infantrymen immediately formed a battle formation and advanced. They held two-meter-long spears in their hands, forming an impenetrable spear array that stabbed the Han army that tried to stop them and knocked them to the ground.

Fan Zhong was watching from the city wall with bloodshot eyes.

He ripped off his cloak, revealing his fish-scale armor made of fine iron, and picked up the Xuanhua axe leaning against the wall.

"Guards, follow me! Today it's either the fish dies or the net breaks!"

Fifty elite personal soldiers responded in unison and followed Fan Zhong down the city wall.

At this time, there was a melee inside the city gate.

Xue Huaide's vanguard troops joined Chu Ning's cavalry and were fighting with the defenders.

When Fan Zhong led his personal guards to attack, they encountered Zhao Yu leading twenty light cavalry to break through the defense line.

The two warriors looked at each other, and sparks seemed to fly in the air.

"You Chu thief, die!" Fan Zhong swung his axe and chopped it towards Zhao Yu's face with a whistling sound.

Zhao Yu hurriedly blocked the attack with his spear, but there was a loud clang, and a dent was made on the spear shaft made of fine iron, which made his palm numb.

Fan Zhong is worthy of being the commander of Yumen Pass, he has amazing physical strength.

Zhao Yu did not dare to take it head-on, so he rode his horse around and stabbed Fan Zhong's armor with his spear like a poisonous snake.

The two fought like a revolving lantern for more than ten rounds. The shadows of axes and spears intertwined into a net. The surrounding soldiers retreated one after another, leaving a battle circle of about ten feet.

"Chu thief has great skills!"

Fan Zhong praised with a heavy breath, but the axe in his hand did not stop: "It's a pity that I followed the wrong master!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly changed his tactics. Instead of chopping with the axe, he swept the horse's legs like a club.

At the critical moment, Zhao Yu leaped up, tapped the ground with his spear to gain leverage, and somersaulted in the air, landing steadily behind Fan Zhong's horse.

Without waiting for the other party to turn around, he shot out his spear like a dragon, and a "backstab" pierced Fan Zhong's back.

"General, be careful!" A personal guard rushed over and blocked the fatal blow with his body.

The spear pierced through the chest of the personal guard, and without losing momentum, it still pierced three inches into Fan Zhong's shoulder blade.

Fan Zhong roared in pain and swung his axe behind him.

Zhao Yu hurriedly drew his gun and retreated, with a puff of blood spurting out from the gun tip.

The battle was now decided.

The main force of the Zhou army entered the city and the Han army was defeated.

Fan Zhong looked around and saw that there were only a few guards left. He couldn't help but laugh miserably: "It's God's will!"

He suddenly squeezed the horse's belly hard, and the warhorse felt pain and charged straight towards Zhao Yu.

The axe was raised high, as if he was determined to die together.

Zhao Yu remained calm in the face of danger, dodged the horse's head and thrust out with his spear.

The shot was as fast as lightning and hit Fan Zhong's throat.

The sharp tip of the gun peeked out from the back of the neck, leaving a trail of blood.

Fan Zhong's eyes widened, his axe fell to the ground, and his burly body slowly fell off his horse.

"General!" Upon seeing this, the morale of the remaining Han army completely collapsed. They either threw down their weapons and surrendered, or were defeated one after another.

The flags of the Zhou army were raised one after another in various places at Yumen Pass, and the shouting and killing gradually subsided.

Xue Huaide ordered his men to wipe out the remaining enemies, while he straightened his blood-stained robe and strode towards Chu Ning who was surrounded by generals.

Under the moonlight, the Great Zhou commander was in his early forties, with a resolute face and sparkling eyes that made him look even more majestic.

He stopped five steps in front of Chu Ning's horse and bowed solemnly, his armor making crisp clash sounds as he moved.

"Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor of Great Chu, for coming personally to look for Princess Xiuning."

Xue Huaide's voice was deep and had the unique sonority of the north.

"After receiving your secret letter, I came all the way here overnight. Fortunately..."

He looked up at the devastated battlefield and said with a wry smile, "Fortunately, I didn't miss the time."

He was very surprised when he received the message from the Jinyiwei of Chu State. He did not expect that Chu Ning would actually take the risk to come here in person in order to find Princess Wu Xiuning.

As an emperor of a country, he was willing to take risks for the princess of his Zhou Dynasty. He is a true hero.

Regardless of whether the rumors are true or not, and whether Princess Wu Xiuning is the daughter of Chu Ning and Her Majesty the Empress, the fact that Chu Ning came here in person to look for Princess Xiuning made him recognize her.

While deep in thought, Chu Ning dismounted from his horse, his black cloak fluttering in the wind.

His expression was as calm as water, and only his slightly trembling fingers revealed his inner anxiety. "General Xue, there's no need to be so polite. Is there any news about Princess Xiuning?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Huaide's resolute face suddenly froze.

He avoided Chu Ning's scorching gaze and unconsciously stroked the patterns on the halberd with his right hand.

This subtle movement made Chu Ning's heart sink suddenly.

"To His Majesty the Emperor of Chu..."

Xue Huaide's voice became low, and the decisiveness and ruthlessness he had shown on the battlefield just now disappeared.

"Three days ago we found the princess's personal maid, and she said..."

At this point, the battle-hardened general began to choke up and down, as if he had something to hide.

Chu Ning suddenly took a step forward and crushed a broken arrow on the ground with his black iron boots.

He reached out and grabbed Xue Huaide's arm, so strong that even the armor groaned under the weight.

“What did she say?”

Xue Huaide took a deep breath and finally raised his eyes.

Under the moonlight, Chu Ning could clearly see the sadness and hesitation in his eyes.

"The maid said that when Princess Xiuning was separated from him, there were at least a hundred Han soldiers besieging her."

As soon as these words came out, Chu Ning's face changed drastically.

Although he knew that Wu Xiuning was good at martial arts, no matter how good he was, he was just a seven-year-old child. How could he break out of the siege of hundreds of people?

This is his biological daughter!