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

Two days later, Chang'an City, the Tang Dynasty Imperial Palace.

The late autumn wind blew the fallen leaves and swirled around the towering palaces.

Inside the Golden Palace, the flickering candlelight illuminated the faces of the ministers, some solemn and some pensive.

Li Shiming sat upright on the dragon throne, holding a gold-embossed secret letter in his hand, his eyes deep.

He slowly raised his eyes, glanced at the ministers in the hall, and then spoke in a deep voice:

"My dear ministers, the Han Dynasty has suffered defeat on the front lines, losing tens of thousands of men. Now Liu Che wants our army to help them drive back the Chu army within Wei territory!"

His voice was not loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

The hall was instantly silent, with only the flickering candlelight illuminating the different expressions of the ministers.

Li Shiming continued, "Ultimately, the Wei Kingdom will be divided equally between the Tang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall exploded.

An elderly civil servant stepped forward first, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, this is a matter between the Han Dynasty and the State of Chu. Why should our dynasty get involved?"

Before he finished speaking, a general snorted coldly and retorted, "That's not true! If we sit back and watch the Han Dynasty be destroyed, won't the Chu Kingdom eventually attack us anyway?"

Another minister frowned and said, "Humph, Liu Che is clearly trying to drag our dynasty down with him. Don't pay any attention to him!"

"absurd!"

An armored general slammed the table in anger and shouted, "Don't you gentlemen understand the principle of 'the lips and teeth are cold,'" he said. "The Chu State has already annexed the lands of the six states. If it destroys the Han State, how can the Tang Dynasty remain unscathed?"

"But if we rashly send troops, wouldn't that be exactly what Liu Che wants?"

"Do we have to wait until the Chu army reaches the city before we regret it?"

The ministers argued endlessly, and the hall was filled with noise.

Li Shiming's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes.

Finally, he slammed the dragon table and shouted coldly, "That's enough! Shut up! Do you think you can get anything out of arguing like this?"

In an instant, the hall fell silent.

All the ministers were silent and lowered their heads.

Li Shiming took a deep breath, suppressed his irritation, and his gaze finally fell on the Prime Minister Changsun Wuji, who had been silent all the time.

"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Zhangsun Wuji slowly stepped out, his expression calm, and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, I believe we should join forces with the Han Dynasty!"

His voice was not loud, but it was resounding, attracting everyone's attention.

"No matter what, we can't sit idly by and watch the Chu State grow stronger!"

Zhang Sun Wuji's eyes were sharp as he continued, "Besides, taking over Wei would also be beneficial to our dynasty!"

He paused, his tone becoming more resolute: "Some time ago, our dynasty lost tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the State of Wei, causing our army's morale to be low."

"If we don't win a victory, our army will remain in a state of low morale!"

After these words were spoken, many generals nodded secretly.

Zhang Sun Wuji continued, "Furthermore, by joining forces with the Han Dynasty this time, our forces will be several times greater than theirs, allowing us to crush the Chu army within the Wei territory!"

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a cold smile: "Even if the Chu army is powerful and can conquer Wei in just a year, they can't hold on to it. In the end, they will only be making wedding dresses for our dynasty!"

After listening to this, Li Shiming nodded slightly, glanced at the ministers, and asked, "My dear ministers, what do you think?"

An old general stepped forward first, clasping his fists and saying, "Your Majesty, I agree with the Prime Minister! The Chu State's wolfish ambitions, if not curbed, will become a great threat in the future!"

Another counselor nodded and said, "That's right. Instead of waiting for Chu to grow stronger, it's better to strike first!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I also agree!"

Soon, all the ministers in the hall expressed their opinions, and no one objected.

Li Shiming saw this and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. He then said in a deep voice, "Since everyone agrees, then let's settle this matter!"

He raised his hand and waved, shouting, "Come here, write and write!"

Soon, the eunuch respectfully presented the imperial calligraphy and silk. Li Shiming picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and quickly wrote a reply.

The content was very simple - agree to Liu Che's request, but require the Han army to send 100,000 troops!

The Tang army, commanded by the renowned general Li Ji, had already stationed over 100,000 troops on the Wei border. This elite force, combined with the Han army, would sweep across the Wei border with lightning speed.

Li Shiming put down his pen and looked outside the hall with a deep gaze.

The autumn wind is bleak, blowing up a fallen leaf.

The war is coming!

Two days later, Weiyang Palace of the Han Dynasty.

The night was deep, and the candlelight in the hall flickered, illuminating Liu Che's gloomy face.

He held Li Shiming's reply in his hand, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and finally he snorted coldly:

"It seems that Li Shiming really wants to join forces with our army to deal with the Chu army, but he actually wants me to send out 100,000 troops!"

He slammed the letter down on the table and sneered, "The implication is that he wants the Duke of Protectorate to lead the troops outside Maple Leaf City."

In the hall, Prime Minister Chen Pin narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said: "Since it is a two-pronged attack, our army should naturally send troops."

He paused, a sharp look flashing in his eyes. "However, Li Shiming wants our army to send so many people. I'm afraid he wants us to be the vanguard of the charge."

Liu Che's face instantly turned gloomy, and his fingers tapped the table unconsciously.

If he agrees, his elite troops will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

If you don't agree, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to destroy Chu will be missed.

After a long silence, he looked up at Chen Pin and asked in a deep voice, "What do you think, Prime Minister?"

Chen Pin raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a sneer: "We can agree to them, but in reality we will only send 50,000 people and declare it to the outside world!"

He stepped forward and lowered his voice, "After all, the defense of Maple Leaf City is also very important. Once all the troops retreat, the Chu army can attack into the heart of the Han Dynasty from there."

Liu Che's eyes flashed, and after thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded: "Okay, I will reply to Li Shiming right away, and ask the Protector of the Country to make arrangements."

He picked up the red brush and wrote a reply on the brocade, his handwriting as sharp as a knife.

When the ink dried, he smiled coldly and handed the letter to the eunuch standing beside him.

"Send a message to the Protector of the State. Five days from now, 50,000 troops will march to the border of Wei!"

As the candlelight flickered, his shadow was stretched out very long, and reflected on the wall of the temple, like a tiger ready to pounce.

Then, he looked at Chen Pin and asked, "Prime Minister, where is Chu Ning now?"

Chen Pin pondered for a moment before saying, "Several days have passed. Chu Ning should be arriving at the Zhou Dynasty capital soon."

"He was riding a horse after all. If it weren't for Wu Xiuning, he might have been even faster."

After a pause, he suddenly said, "Your Majesty, are you taking advantage of Chu Ning and the Great Zhou Dynasty reminiscing about the past?"

"That's right!"

Liu Che narrowed his eyes, a murderous intent flashing across his face: "As long as we destroy the more than 200,000 Chu troops stationed in Wei, Chu's strength will surely be greatly reduced!"

"Then I will join forces with Li Shiming to take him down!"