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

In the city of Chang'an in late October, the cold wind blew the withered yellow leaves around the palace walls.

On the stone steps in front of the Golden Throne Hall, the guards were wearing heavy armor, and the white breath they exhaled condensed in the cold air.

Inside the hall, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly, but it could not dispel the chill that enveloped the hearts of the ministers.

Two days later, the battle report from the front line was finally delivered to the palace.

When the urgent military report was presented to him by the eunuch tremblingly, Liu Che was discussing state affairs with his ministers in the main hall.

He frowned slightly as he took the expedited letter.

As his eyes moved across the paper, his fingers began to tremble uncontrollably, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.

"Three hundred thousand soldiers were actually fooled by Chu Ning. He even broke through the encirclement and found Wu Xiuning. The front line lost tens of thousands of soldiers!"

Liu Che's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, and every word seemed to be burned by anger.

He suddenly jumped up and swept the teacup on the table to the ground. The sound of porcelain breaking exploded in the hall.

The palace maids and eunuchs who were standing by were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, not daring to even breathe.

Liu Che tore the battle report into pieces, and the scraps of paper fell like snowflakes.

Veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes burned with terrifying rage: "Gongsun Ao, what on earth do you do for a living? You have failed me!"

His roar echoed in the hall, shaking the dust off the beams.

"Someone come!" Liu Che shouted sternly, "Immediately issue an order to escort Gongsun Ao to the capital!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a commotion in the hall.

An elderly civil servant stepped out first, the hem of his official robe fluttering as he walked quickly:

"Your Majesty, please reconsider! General Gongsun has rendered tremendous service to the Han Dynasty, suppressing the rebellion of the Western Qiang. If it were not for the general's efforts, our Western borders would still be in turmoil!"

Immediately afterwards, an official who looked like a military commander also knelt on the ground, his armor making a dull sound as it collided with the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to guarantee with my life that General Gongsun is not one to fear a fight. There must be something hidden behind this defeat. Chu Ning is cunning and treacherous. No one can guarantee victory against him."

Another minister, his beard trembling, said, "General Gongsun has guarded the northern border for over ten years. Foreign tribes are terrified and dare not come south to graze their horses."

"If we severely punish a meritorious official for a momentary mistake, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of the soldiers!"

Liu Che turned his back to the ministers, with his hands on the table, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.

He could feel a throbbing in his temple and a buzzing in his ears.

The ministers' words came into his ears word for word, reminding him of the scene when Gongsun Ao rescued the emperor in the hunting ground - when the out-of-control tiger pounced on him, it was Gongsun Ao who stood in front of him without hesitation.

At this time, Prime Minister Chen Pin slowly stepped out.

His face was resolute, and the purple robe made him look even more calm.

He did not speak immediately, but bowed deeply first, and waited for Liu Che to turn around before saying in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, based on my humble understanding of General Gongsun, he will certainly take the initiative to apologize."

Chen Pin's voice was low, but it carried a force that could not be ignored. "However, the most urgent task right now is to figure out how to handle relations with the State of Chu and the Great Zhou Dynasty."

He raised his eyes, his gaze piercing: "This time, Chu Ning personally led the expedition to Wei State and conquered it. Now, Chu State has occupied the lands of the six states."

There was a sudden sound of gasps in the hall.

Chen Pin continued, "The Great Zhou Dynasty is on good terms with the Chu State, and the Queen of the Great Zhou Dynasty obeys Chu Ning's orders. If they join forces, their next target will definitely be the Han Dynasty!"

These words were like cold water poured into hot oil, and the court instantly exploded.

One civil official stamped his feet anxiously: "Now that Chu is so powerful, how can we compete with it?"

His voice was sharp and inflected.

"Yes, why not send someone to the State of Chu to negotiate peace?" another minister suggested, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"If peace talks had worked, the State of Wei would not have been destroyed." A general next to him retorted coldly, his hand unconsciously pressing on the hilt of the sword, his knuckles turning white.

An elderly counselor stroked his beard, worriedly saying, "Humph, there's no way Chu Ning will agree to peace talks at this time."

"Then we can't just sit and watch the Chu State and the Zhou Dynasty join forces to deal with us, right?" Someone shouted this, and everyone echoed it.

Liu Che watched this farce coldly, and the anger in his heart was gradually replaced by a deep fatigue.

These ministers who usually appear to be righteous and upright are now noisy and behave like ordinary people without any manners.

His eyes swept across the faces that were either frightened or angry, and he suddenly felt nauseous.

"okay!"

Liu Che slammed the table so hard that the brush on the pen holder jumped up and said, "What a disgrace to be making such a commotion!"

His voice was not loud, but it immediately silenced everyone.

"Chu State hasn't declared war on our dynasty yet, and you're already acting like this. If they really declare war on us, won't you be scared to death?"

A sarcastic arc appeared at the corner of Liu Che's mouth.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" The ministers hurriedly bowed, their foreheads almost touching the ground.

Liu Che took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions churning in his chest.

He turned to Chen Pin, who had remained silent the entire time, and said in a softer tone, "What do you think, Prime Minister?"

Chen Pin took a step forward, his eyes swept over everyone in the hall, and finally stopped on Liu Che's face.

He said slowly, "The news of our dynasty's defeat will surely reach the Tang Dynasty as well."

He paused, as if weighing his words. "The most urgent task is to unite with the Tang Dynasty and see if we can first send troops to attack Wei and force the Chu army out of Wei territory."

A young general couldn't help but interject, "But wouldn't that be the same as declaring war on the State of Chu?"

Chen Pin smiled faintly, a smile that sent chills down one's spine. "We are precisely declaring war. Only in this way can the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty exchange their resources, and our joint efforts against the Chu State will be more successful in the future."

He turned to Liu Che and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, if we open up the road from Wei to the Tang Dynasty, there will be no need for the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty to take a detour."

"And once the Tang Dynasty joins us in taking action, it will be tantamount to declaring war on the Chu State. By then, the Tang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty will be in the same boat."

Liu Che's eyes narrowed slightly, and a sharp light flashed in them.

The power of Chu State was growing day by day. Now that Chu State had annexed Wei State, it had indeed broken the balance among the seven states.

"it is good!"

Liu Che suddenly slammed the table and stood up, his eyes gleaming with determination: "Just do as the Prime Minister says!"

He turned to the table, spread out a piece of snow-white rice paper himself, picked up the red brush and dipped it in ink.

"I will write a letter to Li Shiming right now!"

As the red brush moved on the paper, Liu Che's thoughts drifted far away.

If Chu Ning had been able to kill the other party in Chang'an City when he was still a prince, perhaps the situation today would not be like this.

The tip of the pen suddenly stopped, and a drop of ink spread on the paper like blood spreading on a battlefield.

A sinister gleam flashed in Liu Che's eyes. He wrote the last few words forcefully, then threw the pen heavily into the pen washer, splashing a dark red splash of water.

Outside the hall, the autumn wind howled, blowing up dead leaves all over the ground, as if foreshadowing the coming winter.