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

Two days later, outside Luocheng, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Amidst the biting cold wind and fluttering flags, the delegation led by Chu Ning finally arrived at this ancient capital.

In the distance, the towering city walls coiled like a giant dragon, and on the city walls fluttered the black flag of the Great Zhou with a golden phoenix, stretching in the wind like a phoenix spreading its wings ready to fly.

Chu Ning was riding on a warhorse, his eyes were deep and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

Just then, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from behind.

Zhao Yu rode up on his horse and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, urgent military information from the Imperial Guard!"

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes: "I guess General Han's deployment of troops last time was effective."

He took the secret letter and unfolded it. It read:

"The danger in Qingcheng has been resolved. Wu Ming led his army to recapture the six cities. The Han army has retreated. Huo Quji has withdrawn his forces. It is now known that the Han army only has 50,000 men."

After reading it, Chu Ning laughed out loud, "What a Liu Che! He actually played a trick on Li Shiming, claiming to send out 100,000 troops, but actually only sending 50,000!"

His laughter gradually faded, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he said in a cold voice: "Send the order!"

"Order Thirteenth Brother to march out in full force and capture the 20,000 Han troops in Maple Leaf City!"

"Order Han Xing to cooperate with Wu Ming and first eat up the tens of thousands of remaining soldiers of Huo Quji!"

"Order Ma Chao and Guan Yun to hold the line. Never allow the Tang army to come to the aid of the Han army!"

Zhao Yu clasped his fists solemnly: "Yes!"

Then he turned and rode away.

Wu Xiuning, who was standing by, looked up with admiration in her eyes. "You big bad guy, your plan is really hard to guard against!"

Chu Ning laughed heartily and rubbed her head with his hand. "Oh? It seems you've seen through my plan? Then tell me, what are the benefits of my arrangement?"

Wu Xiuning wrinkled her nose and puffed out her chest in defiance: "You want to test me? I won't be defeated so easily!"

She counted on her fingers and analyzed seriously, "To deal with the weak Han army, you should adopt the strategy of divide and destroy. Eat them first and weaken the strength of the Tang-Han coalition!"

"You must take a defensive stance against the powerful Tang army and prevent them from rescuing the Han army."

"That way, you can defeat them one by one and avoid being caught in a dilemma of being attacked from two sides!"

These words were so clear and logical that Chu Ning's eyes flashed with admiration. He laughed and said, "Not bad! If you were a man, you might become a powerful general in the future!"

Wu Xiuning pouted and said dissatisfiedly, "Why, you also favor boys over girls?"

Chu Ning laughed: "How is that possible? I'm just impressed by your courage and insight, which is no less than that of a man."

Wu Xiuning snorted coldly: "What's wrong with being a man? Even if I'm a girl, I won't lose to men in the future."

After a pause, she suddenly asked, "How long do you plan to stay in Los Angeles this time?"

Each time she met Chu Ning, the period of time she met with him never exceeded two months, which made her very regretful. She wanted to stay with Chu Ning for a longer period of time.

Chu Ning, of course, understood the implication of Wu Xiuning's words and said with a smile, "We should celebrate the Lantern Festival here this time."

He was ready to make his relationship with Wu Zetian public and to incorporate the Zhou Dynasty into the Chu State, but this could not be accomplished overnight and would take some time.

It is now November, and the Lantern Festival is not until January 1st. In about two months, he feels that the Zhou Dynasty should be completely incorporated into the Chu State.

As long as this matter is handled well, he can bring the empress and Wu Xiuning back to Chu, and they can be together often in the future.

"We have to wait until the Lantern Festival!"

Wu Xiuning's face was filled with excitement. "Then on the Lantern Festival, you and His Majesty can go shopping with me. I'll let you experience the prosperity of our Great Zhou Dynasty."

Chu Ning laughed heartily: "Okay, then you can take me shopping."

As they were talking, the team had already reached the main gate of Luo City.

Outside the main gate of Luocheng, the cold wind blew the snow, but it could not hide the solemn majesty of the city.

In front of the city gate, a guard of honor stood solemnly, with flags waving and melodious music playing.

At the front, a peerless figure stood quietly.

She was a woman wearing a scarlet-gold dragon robe and a Nine Phoenix Rising Sun Crown on her head. Her picturesque eyebrows and eyes were faintly visible between the hanging tassels.

Her skin was as white as snow, her lips were as red as a dot, her eyes were majestic without even being angry, and she exuded an imperial aura that made people dare not look directly at her.

It was the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty - Wu Zhao.

Behind her, civil and military officials stood on both sides. The prime minister in purple robe and jade belt, the military generals in heavy armor, and the civil officials holding jade tablets all stood with their heads bowed, silent.

On the city wall, the golden phoenix flag with a black background fluttered in the wind, and the imperial guards stood solemnly with their spears in hand, their armor shining coldly in the winter sun.

At this moment, the fingertips of this usually calm and composed empress trembled slightly.

Ever since Wu Xiuning disappeared on the front line, she has been restless day and night, has lost her appetite, and has not slept well for a whole month.

It wasn't until she received Chu Ning's message that she finally felt relieved. But she couldn't feel completely at ease until she saw him in person.

As Chu Ning's team approached, Wu Zhao finally saw Wu Xiuning on horseback.

She suppressed the urge to rush forward, maintained her imperial dignity, and raised her hand to signal the musicians to play the welcoming music.

"Welcome His Majesty the Emperor of Chu!" the ceremonial officer shouted.

The musicians immediately played the elegant music of "Nine Guests", with the chimes ringing clearly and the zithers and harps playing in harmony.

All the officials bowed in unison, and the sound of armor clashing was like the sound of gold and jade colliding.

Chu Ning dismounted and walked forward holding Wu Xiuning's hand.

Wu Zhao took a deep breath and spoke first, "Thank you very much, His Majesty the Emperor of Chu, for saving us this time. Otherwise, Xiuning would not have been able to return safely."

Her voice was as cold as ice, maintaining just the right amount of distance—after all, the relationship between the two monarchs had not yet been made public.

Chu Ning smiled slightly: "Chu State and Great Zhou are on good terms. Princess Xiuning is missing, so I will naturally do my best to find her."

Wu Zhao nodded slightly, then turned to Wu Xiuning, her eyes darkening. "Do you realize your mistake? You left the palace without permission and went to the front lines. If it weren't for the Emperor of Chu saving you, would you have been able to come back this time?"

Wu Xiuning lowered her head, her face wrinkled, but she didn't dare to refute.

"Why aren't you talking? Don't you usually love talking?"

Wu Zhao raised her eyebrows in anger when she thought about how she almost lost Wu Xiuning. "I almost made a big mistake by showing off this time. Will I dare to sneak out of the palace again?"

Seeing that the empress was becoming more and more stern, Wu Xiuning secretly looked at Chu Ning for help.

Chu Ning interrupted at the right moment: "Your Majesty, I have come from afar, not to listen to your lecture."

There was a mischievous smile in his eyes. "How about inviting me into the city to welcome you?"

Wu Zhao's eyes moved slightly, knowing that he was helping his daughter out of trouble.

Because she was in front of everyone, she could only suppress her words and raised her hand to signal, "Emperor Chu, please."

As the ceremonial music resumed, the two teams of ceremonial guards slowly merged into the city.

Chu Ning and Wu Zhao rode their horses side by side, their sleeves occasionally touching, then quickly separating.

Wu Xiuning followed behind the two of them, watching them pretending to be distant, and secretly made a face.

The city gate slowly closed behind him, isolating the biting cold wind from outside.

And in this thousand-year-old imperial capital, a turbulent undercurrent game has just begun.