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

Outside the east gate, Li Shiming stood on a temporary command platform with a frown on his face.

The tragic scene on the city wall was reflected in his eyes.

The Tang army's fifth wave of attack was repelled again, and the soldiers on the siege ladders fell like ripe fruits.

"Your Majesty, the South Gate has been breached and the Han army is entering the city!" The messenger knelt on one knee to report.

Li Shiming's eyes flashed, and he immediately ordered: "Send a message to the entire army, strengthen the attack on the east gate! We must break through the city wall before dawn and form a siege with the Han army!"

The sound of war drums rang out, and another wave of Tang soldiers rushed towards the city wall shouting.

They pushed the iron-clad siege vehicle, and the battering ram on the roof, pulled by the combined efforts of the soldiers, hit the city gate hard.

Each impact caused the city gate to tremble violently, and dust fell from the door frame.

On the city wall, Zhao Yu, who had come to support the area, wiped the blood from his face and shouted sternly, "Pour kerosene!"

Dozens of Chu soldiers immediately lifted the large pot that had been prepared long ago and poured boiling kerosene into it.

The oil poured onto the siege vehicles and the surrounding Tang army, and heart-wrenching screams suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterwards, rockets were shot down from the top of the city wall. The kerosene ignited as soon as it came into contact with fire, and the area outside the east gate instantly turned into a sea of fire.

"Ah - save me!"

"Water! Bring me some water!"

Dozens of Tang soldiers rolled in the sea of fire, and the air was filled with the stench of burnt flesh.

The siege vehicle was engulfed in flames, making crackling sounds.

Li Shiming clenched his fists so hard that they made a clattering sound when he saw this scene.

"Archers! Suppress the city walls!" he ordered in a deep voice.

The Tang army archers immediately formed a battle array and shot arrows at the city wall like locusts.

Several Chu soldiers who were pouring the second pot of kerosene were shot by arrows and fell from the top of the city wall with screams.

But new soldiers soon took their place and continued to pour death down to the city.

"Your Majesty, the casualties are too great." Li Ji advised in a low voice: "Why not temporarily suspend the attack and wait for the Han army to arrive from inside the city?"

Li Shiming's eyes were sharp. "No, precisely because the Han army has entered the city, the Chu army will surely split up to counter it. Now is the perfect time to break through the city! Send the order, move the armored troops forward!"

Soon, three hundred elite Tang soldiers wearing heavy armor lined up.

They held huge shields in their hands, carried ladders on their shoulders, and advanced towards the city walls, stepping on the corpses of their comrades.

The arrows from the top of the city hit the iron armor, making a crisp sound, but they were difficult to penetrate.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu sneered and said, "Release the rolling stone!"

The Chu army pushed huge round stones down from the top of the city wall and rolled down along the wall.

Although the armored army was well-protected, it was unable to withstand the crushing of the thousand-pound boulders.

Wherever the stones passed, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the iron armor was twisted and deformed, it was a horrific sight.

At the same time, in the street fighting inside the South Gate, the Han army's Minister of War Li Gan was leading 5,000 elite troops advancing through the narrow streets.

The long sword in his hand was stained with blood, and several broken arrows were stuck in his armor.

"Speed up! Take Chu Ning's head!" Li Gan shouted to encourage the soldiers: "Whoever captures Chu Ning alive will be rewarded with a thousand gold and be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"

The morale of the Han army was greatly boosted, and they rushed forward shouting.

The doors and windows of the houses on both sides of the street were closed. Occasionally, a few arrows were shot from the dark, but they were quickly suppressed by the Han archers.

After turning a corner, the road ahead suddenly opened up and a wide intersection appeared.

Li Gan was about to give the order to continue moving forward when he suddenly smelled a strange odor.

"Wait!" He suddenly raised his hand to stop the troops: "There's a smell of kerosene!"

Before he finished speaking, dozens of Chu army archers suddenly stood up on the roofs on both sides of the street, with arrows in their hands burning with flames.

"Shoot!" With the order, rockets rained down on the street.

"boom--"

A wall of fire several feet high suddenly rose from the ground. It turned out that the Chu army had laid hay and wooden boards soaked in kerosene on the streets in advance.

The fire spread extremely quickly and engulfed the Han army's vanguard in a blink of an eye.

"Ah! My eyes!"

"Help! Help me!"

Dozens of Han soldiers instantly turned into burning people, screaming and running around, but instead they brought the fire to more of their comrades.

Thick smoke billowed and heat waves hit his face, forcing Li Gan to retreat again and again.

"Retreat! Retreat to the city gate!" Dare made a prompt decision and gave the order loudly.

However, it was too late. Several iron fences suddenly fell on both sides of the street ahead, blocking the way forward.

The Han troops pouring in from the rear and the retreating troops from the front were squeezed together, and the streets suddenly became a mess.

"Don't panic! Retreat in an orderly manner!" Li Gan shouted at the top of his lungs, but his voice was drowned out by the screams of the soldiers and the crackling of flames.

Just then, the sound of orderly horse hooves came from the end of the street, getting closer and closer like thunder.

Li Gan turned his head and saw a group of silver-armored cavalrymen rushing out from the flames. The man in the lead had an upright posture, holding a long spear with a cold and sharp light at the tip of the spear.

"Chu...Emperor of Chu!" a Han army captain shouted in horror.

The Chu Emperor, Chu Ning, personally led his elite white horse cavalry to attack.

He wore a phoenix-wing helmet, silver-scale armor, and rode a white horse like a dragon. In the light of the fire, he looked like a god descending from heaven.

"Kill!" Chu Ning pointed his spear, and the white horse cavalry rushed towards the chaotic Han army like a torrent.

The narrow streets were not conducive to the deployment of cavalry, but at this moment the Han army was crowded together and was unable to organize an effective defense.

The White Horse Cavalry moved like they were in an empty land, thrusting their spears and wielding their sabers, causing the Han army to fall in droves like wheat being cut.

"Form a formation! Form a defensive formation!" Li Gan shouted desperately, but it was of no use.

Chu Ning recognized the Han army commander at a glance and rode his horse straight towards Li Gan.

The white horse was as fast as lightning and arrived in the blink of an eye. The long spear was like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, piercing Li Gan's throat.

"clang!"

Li Gan raised his sword to block, and amid the sound of metal clashing, he took three steps back before he could steady himself.

Chu Ning didn't give him a chance to breathe. He danced with his spear, creating shadows all over the sky, covering Li Gan.

"Li Gan, today is the day you die!" Chu Ning shouted coldly, and the speed of his gun suddenly increased.

Li Gan gritted his teeth and fought back, his sword and spear colliding continuously, sparks flying everywhere.

Although he was a brave general, he was fighting on foot against cavalry and was in an unfavorable environment, so he gradually fell into a disadvantage.

"Protect the general!" Several Han army guards rushed forward desperately, but were stopped by Chu Ning's personal followers.

In the seventh round, Chu Ning changed his spear momentum and used his unique skill "Dragon Raising its Head", thrusting the spear diagonally upwards to hit Li Gan's chest.

Li Gan dodged sideways, but the tip of the spear still scratched his armor, leaving a bloody mark under his ribs.

"Hmph!" Li Gan grunted, and instead of retreating, he advanced, aiming his sword straight at Chu Ning's throat.

Chu Ning leaned back on his horse and narrowly avoided the fatal blow.

In the ninth round, Li Gan seized the opportunity and slashed at the front leg of Chu Ning's mount with a sword.

Chu Ning had anticipated this. The white horse stood up nimbly, and at the same time, the spear fell down like a mountain.

"boom!"

Li Gan raised his sword to meet the attack, but was so frightened by the power of the spear that he fell to one knee.

Chu Ning seized the opportunity and thrust out his spear like lightning, aiming straight at Li Gan's heart.

"Pfft!"

The tip of the spear penetrated the armor and came out from Li Gan's back.

Li Gan's eyes widened, blood oozing from his mouth, but he still held the gun tightly.

"Chu... Ning..."

He gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words, then suddenly summoned up his last bit of strength and threw the sword at Chu Ning's face.

Chu Ning turned his head to avoid it, and the long sword flew past his cheek, leaving a white mark on the silver armor.

He shook his wrist, and the spear rotated inside Li Gan's body, completely crushing the heart of this Han army general.

Li Gan fell to the ground and died, with resentment and anger still frozen in his eyes.

With the death of their main general, the Han army completely collapsed and scrambled to flee towards the city gate.

"Chase! Don't leave any one alive!" Chu Ning pulled out the blood-stained spear and gave the order loudly.

The White Horse Cavalry chased the fleeing Han army like a hurricane, all the way to the south gate.

The Han army outside the city continued to pour in, crowded together with the fleeing defeated soldiers, and the city gate was suddenly blocked.

"Shoot!" Seeing this, the Han army archers on the city wall shot arrows at the pursuers without caring about the possibility of accidentally hurting their comrades.

Chu Ning sneered and swung his spear: "Kill them!"

A group of cavalry charged towards the city wall, and the others chased them out of the city!

All that was left at the city gate were piles of Han army corpses and wailing wounded soldiers.

However, Chu Ning did not chase too far, as he knew that Tang Han's army was still outside. After chasing for one mile, he ordered his men to retreat into the city.

Chu Ning led his troops back to the city, and the Han troops along the way fled at the sight of them.

He climbed up the South Gate Tower that had been recaptured, looked at the Tang army still fighting fiercely in the direction of the East Gate, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Send a message to Zhao Yu, we can proceed with the second step of the plan."

Chu Ning said to the messenger beside him, "Let Li Shiming also taste the taste of failure."