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

In front of the Dragon Burial Cliff, the setting sun is like blood.

The hot July wind swirled over the battlefield, carrying a strong smell of blood. Flocks of vultures circled at low altitude, making creepy cries.

Jia Yu rode his horse on the battlefield in search of the Chu Kuang. His horse's hooves trampled over the corpses on the ground, splashing dark red blood mud.

"Your Highness Prince Zhao! Where is Your Highness Prince Zhao?" Jia Yu reined in his horse, his voice echoing across the empty battlefield.

He knows Chu Kuang best, and if he is rescued, Chu Kuang will definitely express his gratitude to him.

But until the end of the battle, Chu Kuang did not show up, which made him feel a little uneasy.

A blood-soaked guard stumbled to his horse's front, pointing a trembling finger at the edge of the cliff: "Sir... His Highness... is dying..."

These words hit Jia Yu's chest like a heavy hammer. He nearly fell down when he turned over to dismount, and the sole of his boot crushed a broken arrow.

"Take me to His Royal Highness Prince Zhao!"

In the center of the flesh-and-blood barrier formed by dozens of personal soldiers, Chu Kuang lay quietly on a makeshift stretcher.

The once majestic armor had long been shattered, the penetrating wound on the left shoulder exposed the white bones, and the knife wound on the right abdomen was still oozing black blood.

The most horrifying thing was his face - his originally rough face now had a strange bluish-black color, his lips were dark purple, and the bulging blood vessels on his neck presented spider-web-like purple lines.

"Your Highness!"

Jia Yu fell to his knees, his face full of disbelief.

He stretched out his hand tremblingly to feel Chu Kuang's breath, and only when he felt a faint stream of air did he breathe a sigh of relief. He turned around and roared at his personal guards:

"Military doctor! Call all the medical officers accompanying the army!"

Zhang Ji, a military doctor with gray hair and beard, ran over being carried by two soldiers.

When the old man saw Chu Kuang's appearance, his pupils suddenly shrank and the medicine box fell to the ground with a "bang".

He first pried open Chu Kuang's eyelids to check his pupils, then used a silver knife to cut open his wrist to draw blood for observation. Finally, when he took Chu Kuang's pulse with three fingers, veins bulged on the back of his skinny hand.

"How is it?" Jia Yu's voice was hoarse and not like his own.

As the old military doctor shook his head, beads of sweat dripped onto the wound on Chu Kuang's chest: "Knife wounds can be treated, arrow wounds can be healed, but this Scorpion Heart Powder..."

He lifted Chu Kuang's collar and saw a purple-black palm print on his chest: "The poison has already invaded the heart meridians. I can only temporarily stop it with golden needles."

Zhang Ji took out a cowhide needle bag from the medicine box, and when he unfolded it, seventy-two silver needles shone coldly.

He first burned the major acupuncture points on Chu Kuang's body with strong liquor, and then moved the needle quickly.

The first needle went into the "Baihui" point three-tenths of the skull, and Chu Kuang trembled violently all over.

The second needle was inserted obliquely into the heart at "Tan Zhong", and black blood gushed out from the needle hole.

When the ninth needle, "Yongquan", penetrated the combat boot, the old military doctor's beard was soaked with sweat.

The most dangerous one was the thirteenth needle, "Juewei". The three-inch-long silver needle was almost completely inserted into the chest cavity. Jia Yu's nails dug deeply into his palm when he saw it.

"Bring me some realgar wine!" Zhang Ji suddenly shouted.

After the medicinal wine was poured into Chu Kuang's mouth, he slapped the patient's back suddenly. Chu Kuang spit out a mouthful of black blood with tiny blood clots mixed in it.

"Get your pen and ink ready!" Jia Yu pulled open the hem of his robe.

When his personal guard handed him the bamboo slips, he bit his finger and wrote in blood: "Your Majesty, please understand: King Zhao has been poisoned by the scorpion tribe's strange poison and his life hangs by a thread. I beg you to send Sun Simiao to come to my aid overnight!"

As I wrote this, a drop of blood blurred the word "线".

As the carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew towards the sky, the setting sun was swallowed by dark clouds.

Jia Yu looked at the darkening sky and suddenly knelt on one knee. "Send a message to the Jinyiwei to escort Divine Doctor Sun to Qingcheng for 800 miles. Anyone who is stopped will be killed without mercy!"

"Clean up the battlefield immediately and minimize the damage!"

"Vanguard, follow me and take His Royal Highness Prince Zhao back first!"

The returning team marched all night long holding torches. In the light of the torches, Chu Kuang on the stretcher looked like a bronze statue.

Jia Yu personally led the way, and whenever he encountered a bumpy road, he ordered the soldiers to slow down. A soldier accidentally kicked a stone and was immediately whipped twenty times.

When they arrived at Qingcheng at dawn the next day, they learned that King Zhao's life was hanging by a thread, and the city gate guard was terrified.

When the injured Ma Chao learned of this, he ignored his own injuries and came to ask, "Master Jia! Is His Highness really in such a serious condition?"

Just as he finished speaking, he saw black blood dripping from the edge of the stretcher when Chu Kuang was carried in.

Jia Yu sighed: "Now we can only rely on whether Dr. Sun can arrive in time and whether he has a way to save us."

Ma Chao's face changed drastically when he heard this: "Your Majesty will be back in two days. If something like this happens, neither you nor I can escape responsibility."

Jia Yu's face turned grim. "We were careless this time. We didn't expect Li Shiming to have contacted the Scorpion Tribe long ago and arranged an ambush of 30,000 cavalrymen!"

"This matter is my fault. The Imperial Guards didn't even have any information. I will personally apologize to His Majesty!"

But Ma Chao shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, please make the final decision on this matter. How much did our army lose in this battle?"

He brought the Xiliang troops from Xiliang, and what he was most concerned about was the battle casualties.

Jia Yu sighed deeply, "In this battle, we lost 23,000 Xiliang cavalry and 2,000 infantry!"

"However, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao also killed more than 10,000 Tang soldiers!"

"Of the thirty thousand Scorpion soldiers, sixteen thousand have been wiped out."

Although both sides suffered similar losses, we should not forget that the Chu army was the pursuing party this time. Moreover, Chu Kuang was badly injured. If he died, this battle would be a huge loss!

Ma Chao's expression darkened immediately. "We were indeed careless in this battle. If we had known this would happen, we shouldn't have let Prince Zhao go in pursuit!"

Jia Yu looked helpless: "Everything will be discussed after His Majesty returns."

"Your Majesty will arrive the day after tomorrow." Ma Chao suddenly lowered his voice. "What do you think... Your Majesty's next plan will be?"

They both fell silent.

At this time, the scorching sun was burning the border wasteland, and the Tang army's cavalry was galloping towards the border like a black torrent.

Li Shiming rode on horseback, wearing golden armor with dragon patterns, which shone brightly in the sun, like a god of war.

His slender fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, his eyes looked deeply into the distance, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

Qin Qiong rode closer and whispered, "Your Majesty, although our army suffered some casualties in this battle, Chu Kuang was poisoned and I'm afraid he won't survive!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shiming's eyes flashed with a cold light, and then he chuckled, "Over half of the Scorpion Tribe was killed or wounded in this battle. With the Scorpion Khan's violent temper, how could he swallow his anger?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had already seen the future battle situation: "And Chu Ning...if Chu Kuang really gets hurt, he will be furious. At that time, the Chu army and the Scorpion tribe will have a bloody battle to the death!"

Qin Qiong nodded and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is wise. This is a plan that kills two birds with one stone!"

Li Shiming waved his hand calmly: "Pass on my order, the entire army will withdraw to the border. Without my order, no one is allowed to set foot in Wei territory!"

"Yes!" Qin Qiong clasped his fists and accepted the order, then rode his horse to deliver the message.

Li Shiming looked at the smoke and dust gradually disappearing in the distance, his smile growing deeper.

"Chun Ning..."

He murmured softly, with a hint of amusement in his tone: "I want to see how you deal with this situation."