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

Light snow was falling in Chang'an City, and the charcoal brazier in the imperial study was burning brightly.

Li Shiming slammed the Han Dynasty secret letter in his hand on the table, causing ripples on the surface of the teacup:

"Chu Ning is really quick. It seems he is determined to unify the Central Plains!"

His sharp eyes swept over the ministers in the hall, his fingers tapping the letter paper lightly. "Now the Han Dynasty wants me, the Tang Dynasty, to send troops to contain the Chu army in Wei. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

The Minister of War stepped forward first, the jade belt around his waist clashing with a crisp sound. "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable! The Chu army is valiant and skilled in battle. If we attack rashly, we will suffer heavy casualties!"

His gray beard trembled with excitement. "Besides, this is a feud between the Han Dynasty and the Chu State. What does it have to do with the Tang Dynasty?"

"That's wrong!"

The Privy Councilor immediately retorted, pointing his ivory tablet at the sand table: "If Chu Ning truly annexes the Zhou Dynasty, the next target will undoubtedly be the Tang Dynasty! Now is the perfect time to unite with the Han Dynasty to contain Chu!"

The Minister of Revenue suddenly sneered: "It's easy for the Privy Councilor to say, but where will the military funds come from?"

He flipped open the account book and pointed at a line of figures: "Last year, military pay at the border took up 30% of the national treasury. If war breaks out again..."

"The mouse is short-sighted!"

The general of the Zhen army roared angrily, his sword at his waist clashing with his armor: "When the Chu army reaches your doorstep, your silver won't even be enough to buy a coffin!"

There was an uproar in the hall, with civil officials and military officers each arguing with their own opinions.

Li Shiming's brows furrowed ever deeper, and he suddenly slammed his hands on the table: "Enough! Such a commotion in the court is outrageous!"

When everyone fell silent, the emperor's gaze fell on the Prime Minister who had remained silent the entire time: "Lord Changsun, you speak."

Changsun Wuji stepped out slowly, the crane pattern on his purple-gold official robe faintly visible in the candlelight. "I think it's not impossible to send troops!"

He changed the subject: "But we need to agree with the Han Dynasty that if we conquer the Zhou Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will share half of the cities."

The Minister of Revenue frowned upon hearing this: "Prime Minister, what's the point of having those enclaves? Not only is it inconvenient to manage..."

"We don't need the city."

Changsun Wuji took out a scroll of bamboo slips from his sleeve and said, "But I want 30% of the Zhou Dynasty's annual tax."

A meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "I believe the Han Emperor will understand that if he wants the Tang Dynasty to send troops, there will always be a price to pay."

Li Shiming's eyes flashed, and his fingers gently stroked the jade paperweight on the table: "Great idea! Let's do it this way."

He turned to the Minister of War and said, "Send a message to Li Ji immediately and order him to send troops to contain the Chu army!"

Three days later, at the Tang-Wei border camp.

There was a blazing charcoal fire in the central army tent. Li Ji burned the secret letter in the candlelight, and the ashes fell on the sand table.

He looked around at the generals in the tent and said, "Your Majesty's intention is very clear. He wants us to teach the Chu army a lesson."

General Zuo immediately slammed the table and stood up: "I am willing to lead my troops to attack the Chu army camp!"

His rough fingers scratched a mark on the sand table: "When they are least prepared, we will surely attack them when they are least prepared!"

"The opinion of a reckless man!"

The Right General interrupted with a sneer: "The Chu army has scouts all over the border. A strong attack would be tantamount to suicide."

He twirled his beard and suggested, "Why not send light cavalry to attack their food supply route?"

While the generals were arguing, Li Ji's eyes fell on Zhang Gongjin in the corner.

This strategist, known for his wisdom, was staring at the sand table in a trance, playing with a few black chess pieces in his hands.

"What do you think, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Gongjin slowly raised his head and pressed a black piece on the edge of the sand table. "The Chu army's commander, Han Xing, is very cunning. Conventional tactics are unlikely to be effective."

He placed down several more chess pieces in succession. "How about dividing our forces into five groups? Today we attack the eastern border, tomorrow we disrupt the western border. This will tire the Chu army out and make it difficult for them to understand our intentions!"

Li Ji's eyes lit up and he suddenly laughed out loud: "What a great strategy of combining the real with the fake!"

He suddenly drew out his command arrow: "Pass the order, cook at 5 a.m. tomorrow, and all camps will attack according to the plan!"

Outside the tent, the wind and snow were getting stronger, and the war horses were neighing anxiously.

The black flags of the Tang army fluttered in the strong wind, and a great battle that would determine the fate of the Three Kingdoms was about to begin.

The next day, at dawn.

The mist outside Qingcheng had not yet dissipated when the Chu army sentries on the city wall suddenly heard the dull sound of horse hooves coming from afar.

He squinted his eyes and saw dark shadows in the morning mist. Then, one after another, the flags of the Tang army pierced through the mist and appeared in his field of vision like ghosts.

"Enemy attack!"

The sentry roared and rang the alarm bell, and the dull bell instantly tore through the tranquility of the early morning.

Ma Chao, the general of the Chu army, jumped up from the city wall and rushed to the city wall without even fastening his armor.

He pushed away the soldier in front of him and leaned over to look. He saw the dark mass of Tang troops outside the city surging in like a tide, with ladders and battering rams looming in the army formation.

"Prepare for battle! Archers, take your positions!" Ma Chao shouted sternly, his voice booming on the city wall.

The first wave of arrows rose into the air from the Tang army formation, and the black arrows blocked the morning light like a swarm of locusts.

The Chu army's shieldmen immediately formed a formation, and the sound of arrows piercing the wooden shields continued.

"Release the rolling log!" Ma Chao kicked the soldier beside him away and pulled the trigger himself.

A huge rolling log crashed down from the top of the city wall, breaking a ladder that had been placed on the city wall in half. The Tang soldiers on the ladder fell into the moat with screams, splashing scarlet water.

Deputy General Ma Ji, holding a spear, shuttled back and forth between the battlements.

He seized the opportunity and pierced the throat of a Tang soldier who had just appeared with his spear, and blood splattered on his iron-blue face.

"General, something's wrong!"

He panted as he approached Ma Chao: "Although the Tang army's attack is fierce, it seems that their number is less than 10,000!"

Ma Chao was startled when he heard this. He swung his sword to chop off a stray arrow and squinted his eyes to look outside the city.

Sure enough, the follow-up troops of the Tang army were slow to arrive, and the first ones to climb the city were all lightly armed infantry, and there was no sign of even heavy armored cavalry.

In the afternoon, the Tang army suddenly called off the battle.

They left behind dozens of corpses and several broken siege engines, and retreated cleanly like the receding tide.

On the city wall, the Chu soldiers looked at each other in confusion and even forgot to cheer.

Ma Chao kicked away the broken arrow at his feet, his brows knitted into knots. "What are the Tang army thinking? They dare to attack Qingcheng with only 10,000 soldiers?"

Ma Ji wiped the blood off his face and said in a deep voice, "The Tang army has been making frequent moves since the Lantern Festival. I think they may have other intentions."

He lowered his voice and said, "General Han Xing is in charge of all defense in Wei. Why don't we report this to him for the final decision?"

Ma Chao stared at the dust raised by the retreating Tang army outside the city, and suddenly his pupils shrank - he noticed the messy horse hoof prints deliberately left by the Tang army when they split up.

This is to lure them out of the city to fight!

"Prepare paper and ink!"

He spun around, his armor clattering. "I'm going to write a letter to General Han myself! This is no ordinary siege!"

The setting sun made the bloodstains on the city wall even more glaring, while on the distant horizon, beacon fires from four other cities were rising into the sky one after another.