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

At the border in early August, one can already feel the chill of early autumn.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the entire Gobi desert crimson, and the mountains in the distance outlined jagged silhouettes in the twilight.

Li Shimin stood on the dilapidated city wall, the tattered Tang Dynasty flags fluttering in the wind. He looked at the setting sun, his knuckles unconsciously tapping on the mottled bricks.

"Your Majesty, the night wind is getting cooler."

Qin Qiong stepped forward holding a black cloak, but saw Li Shimin suddenly raise his hand, and a piece of gravel shot out from his fingertips, nailing a gerbil that was peeking out from under the city to death in the yellow sand.

"Report——!"

The messenger ran up the gravel steps to the city wall, and his armor made a harsh sound when he knelt on one knee.

"Scouts spotted Chu cavalry thirty miles away!"

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, and the setting sun cast shadows of varying depths on his well-defined face.

He suddenly sneered: "It seems that Chu Ning is not planning to chase after me."

When he turned around, his cloak billowed like a black cloud, and the jade pendant on his waist made a crisp sound when it collided with each other.

"Continue to monitor the Chu army's movements!"

The scout responded and immediately went down to pass on the order.

"General Qin, the battle losses should have been counted, right?"

Li Shiming suddenly looked at Qin Qiong and asked, "Tell me, how much did our army lose in this battle?"

Qin Qiong hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, our army lost about 20,000 men in this battle."

"Twenty thousand!"

When Li Shiming looked up, the candlelight condensed into two cold stars in his eagle eyes: "Tell the soldiers that the compensation for fallen comrades will be doubled."

After a pause, he asked again, "By the way, I asked you to send people to kill all the escaped Scorpion soldiers. Did you get any results?"

Qin Qiong nodded and said, "Your Majesty, no Scorpion soldiers have escaped."

After a pause, Qin Qiong said in confusion, "Your Majesty, I don't understand. They clearly came to help our dynasty, so why kill them?"

Not only did they not help, but they also killed the scorpion soldiers who escaped. This made him very puzzled.

Li Shiming sneered: "The deaths of these people will be blamed on the Chu State. Do you understand?"

"Only in this way can the Scorpion Clan's hatred for the Chu State be deepened."

"After all, the Scorpion Clan has been doing business with the Chu State for a long time. If the Scorpion Clan turns to the Chu State, it will be disadvantageous to our dynasty!"

"This time, Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty has betrayed me. From now on, the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty will never be able to return to its previous state."

"So, I found another person to cooperate with."

His words made Qin Qiong react immediately: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Shiming's lips curled slightly. "Immediately inform the Scorpion Khan of the annihilation of the Scorpion's troops by carrier pigeon!"

"Yes!" Qin Qiong responded and immediately went down to make arrangements.

At the same time, Qingcheng.

Outside the west gate of Qingcheng, the setting sun passed over the Chu soldiers who were waiting in formation.

Jia Yu, dressed in a dark official robe, stood in front of the city gate. Behind him were two rows of armored personal guards, holding long spears like a forest, shining coldly.

Flags fluttered on the city walls, and a large flag with the word "Chu" on a black background and gold patterns fluttered in the wind, as if silently declaring the majesty of this important border town.

In the distance, the sound of horse hooves was like thunder and dust was flying.

The Chu army led by Chu Ning finally appeared on the horizon. The dark cavalry array surged like a tide, and the iron armor shone with a cold dark light in the setting sun.

The war horses neighed and their iron hooves stomped the ground, causing it to tremble slightly.

Jia Yu took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and was about to step forward to salute, but he saw Chu Ning riding his horse to the front of the formation, and before the horse could completely stop, he jumped off.

His battle robe was stained with blood, and his brow was filled with fatigue and coldness.

"His Majesty……"

Just as Jia Yu was about to bow, Chu Ning raised his hand to interrupt him. His voice was low and urgent: "How is the King of Zhao's injury?"

Jia Yu's expression darkened, and he sighed, "It's still the same as before. The external and internal injuries are healing, but the poison from the Scorpion Heart Powder..."

He paused, shook his head, and said, "Although the poison has been suppressed, it is still slowly spreading. His Highness is still in a coma."

Chu Ning's eyes suddenly turned cold, and a hint of fierce murderous intent flashed in his eyes, but he then suppressed it and asked in a deep voice:

"When will Dr. Sun arrive?"

"About three days." Jia Yu replied.

"Three days!" Chu Ning repeated in a low voice, then suddenly emphasized: "As soon as Divine Doctor Sun arrives, take him to see Brother Zhao Wang immediately. No delay!"

Jia Yu responded solemnly: "Yes!"

Chu Ning said no more and strode towards the city gate, followed closely by his personal guards.

His pace was extremely fast, as if every moment of delay would mean a loss of Chu Kuang's vitality.

A mansion in the city.

The medicinal fragrance is strong, but it cannot cover up the faint fishy and bitter smell.

The candlelight in the room flickered, illuminating the pale face with a dark purple hue lying on the bed.

Chu Kuang closed his eyes tightly, frowned, and veins on his forehead were faintly visible. It was obvious that even in a coma, he was still suffering from the torture of the poison.

Chu Ning stood in front of the couch, staring at his brother, his fists clenched unconsciously.

Chu Kuang's lips were dark purple, and the blood vessels on his neck showed spider-web-like black lines. The poison was silently eroding his vitality.

"Brother King Zhao!"

Chu Ning's voice was low, but every word was as firm as iron: "Don't worry, Dr. Sun will definitely be able to cure you."

His voice echoed in the silent room, as if declaring war on fate.

At the same time, on the official road four hundred miles away.

As dusk fell, the dense forests on both sides of the official road were gradually swallowed up by shadows.

Twenty armored cavalrymen galloped past in a green-covered carriage, the sound of horse hooves like thunder, stirring up clouds of dust.

These knights were all elite soldiers of the Chu Imperial Palace. Their iron armor gleamed coldly, and the long swords at their waists trembled slightly as their horses galloped.

Inside the carriage, the genius doctor Sun Simiao held the medicine box tightly, his old face full of fatigue, but still showing determination.

He must rush to Qingcheng as soon as possible, as the life of King Zhao Chu Kuang depends on this trip.

"Hurry up!" The captain of the imperial guards shouted sternly, his voice sounding particularly cold and hard in the night wind.

They had been traveling for two days straight and both the men and the horses were exhausted, but no one dared to slack off for a moment.

The sky had completely darkened, a thin mist rose in the forest, and the moonlight was cut into tiny spots of light by the dense treetops, sprinkling on the muddy official road.

The captain raised his hand to signal, and the team slowly stopped. The war horses were breathing heavily, and white mist was coming out of their mouths and noses.

"Rest here for a while, water the horses, and eat!" The captain dismounted and looked around vigilantly.

For some reason, the forest was eerily quiet. Even the chirping of insects and birds had disappeared. The only sound was the rustling of leaves in the night wind, which inexplicably carried a chill.

The imperial guards quickly dispersed and stood guard. Some fetched water to feed the horses, some munched on dry food, but no one's hands left the hilt of their swords.

Sun Simiao lifted the carriage curtain, frowned, and whispered, "Strange, something seems amiss in this forest."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of a dead branch breaking in the woods.

The captain's pupils suddenly shrank, and he pressed the hilt of the knife with his right hand and shouted sternly: "Alert!"

Almost at the same moment, countless torches suddenly lit up in the darkness.