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

On the wall of Xunyang city.

Jia Yuan looked at Gongsun Ao's determined eyes and knew that he could no longer persuade him. He could only clasp his fists and say:

"I obey your command!"

After saying this, he walked down the city wall, looking back every few steps.

Outside the city, however, the scene inside the Chu army's central tent was quite different.

The lights were bright, and two generals, Ran Ming and Zhao Yu, came together. The blood on their armor was still wet, but they looked energetic.

"I am Ran Ming (Zhao Yu), the humble general, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty!" The two men bowed.

Chu Ning was standing in front of the sand table. He nodded slightly when he heard this, his eyes still fixed on the model of Xunyang City.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Generals. The offensive was fierce and effective. Return to camp tonight so that your men can have a good meal and rest."

Bald Ran Ming touched his shiny forehead, his face full of confusion, and asked in a muffled voice:

"Your Majesty, why don't we take him down tonight? While those bastards are stunned, we can sneak up on them at night and maybe even capture the city!"

Chu Ning couldn't help but smile when he heard this. He looked up at him and said, "If you can think of a night attack, then why can't Gongsun Ao think of it?"

"This person is no mediocre person. He must be on high alert right now, waiting for us to fall into his trap."

He walked into the tent and said with conviction, "Today's fierce attack has achieved its goal. We have not only explored the strength of their city defenses, but also greatly depleted the defenders' manpower and will. More importantly, we have found several weak spots in their defenses."

"Tomorrow is the time to capture the city! Therefore, you must conserve your energy tonight so that you can fight for me tomorrow to capture the city!"

When Ran Ming heard that the city could be captured tomorrow, his eyes lit up immediately, like a hungry tiger seeing its prey, and he excitedly patted his breastplate:

"Your Majesty, rest assured! Tomorrow, I, Old Ran, will be the first to reach the top of Xunyang City! I will take this credit for your majesty!"

Zhao Yu, standing by, smiled faintly. His tone was calm but filled with unquestionable confidence: "General Ran, the outcome of this first landing is still uncertain."

The two looked at each other, but instead of feeling any tension, they both burst into hearty laughter.

The sound of fighting spirit echoed in the big tent, as if taking the city tomorrow was already a sure thing.

Chu Ning looked at his two powerful generals, and a calm smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, as if everything was under control.

His gaze once again turned to the vague outline of Xunyang City outside the tent. The night was dark and murderous intent was lurking.

The next day, at noon.

The shrill sound of the horn once again pierced the autumn morning sky, more urgent and violent than yesterday!

The gates of the Chu army camp were wide open, and the black torrent surged out again, carrying a resolute murderous intent, rushing towards the already scarred Xunyang City.

There was no unnecessary probing, and the battle entered the most brutal stage from the very beginning!

Outside the east gate, Zhao Yu, wearing silver armor and a white robe, stood in front of the formation, holding a spear.

His face was stern and he gave orders with confidence.

The Chu army's infantry phalanx carried more ladders and rushed towards the city wall fearlessly under the cover of dense arrows and catapults like a moving steel forest.

Today's offensive was clearly focused on the sections of the city wall that were most severely damaged by crossbows and catapults yesterday, especially the gap that was barely blocked with sandbags, which became the main target of attack.

"Crossbowmen, hold down the battlements! Swordmen and shieldmen, protect the ladders! Reach the camp first, advance!"

Zhao Yu's orders were concise and efficient.

The Chu army soldiers were like sophisticated war machines, executing orders efficiently.

The rain of arrows was even denser than yesterday, making it almost impossible for the Han army on the city wall to raise their heads.

Countless ladders were set up again, and the brave soldiers climbed up madly with sharp blades in their mouths.

Simon, the battle is even more brutal!

The bald general Ran Ming completely gave up the command. He roared like a mad giant bear, and actually carried a huge shield himself, mixed in the first batch of charging teams, and rushed straight to the city wall!

"My men! Follow me! Kill all the bastards! Whoever gets the treasures and women in the city will own them!"

Ran Ming's roar was like thunder, which greatly stimulated the ferocity of the Chu soldiers.

They surged towards the city walls like a tide, and their attack was extremely wild.

Ran Ming was extremely powerful. He held up a shield with one hand to block the rolling logs and rocks, and brandished a heavy spear with the other hand. He climbed up the ladder in just a few steps, with incredible speed!

"Stop him! Stop that Chu general quickly!" The Han army captain on the west city wall shouted in horror.

Several Han army spearmen stabbed at Ran Ming together, but he pushed them away with his huge shield. Then he swept his spear across, and the terrifying force directly swept two Han soldiers off the city wall!

Ran Ming took the opportunity to roar, and actually jumped up and successfully stepped onto the top of the city wall!

"Your grandfather Ran Ming is here! Prepare your death, you bastard!"

He laughed wildly, waving his spear like a windmill, instantly stabbing and knocking down several Han soldiers around him, and forcibly tearing a bloody gap on the top of the city wall!

More Chu soldiers swarmed in through the gap, and the defense of the west city wall suddenly fell into great chaos.

Gongsun Ao ran around like a firefighter, giving orders at the top of his lungs, and personally wielding his sword to kill the Chu army that was climbing up the city wall.

His eyes were bloodshot and his armor was covered in blood. He could no longer tell whether it was the enemy's or his own.

Under his leadership, the Han soldiers also burst out with their last courage and engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Chu army that climbed the city wall.

Every inch of the wall was fiercely fought over, corpses piled up like mountains, and blood flowed through the cracks in the wall like streams.

The battle lasted from early morning to afternoon, and the brutal fighting never stopped for a moment.

Although the Han army's resistance was heroic, under the continuous attacks of the Chu army's absolute superiority in manpower and powerful long-range firepower, its manpower was rapidly depleted, and emotions of fatigue and despair spread like a plague.

Finally, around noon, a huge roar and the deafening cheers of the Chu army came from the direction of the east gate!

The East Gate was breached!

Zhao Yu commanded the soldiers to use a huge battering ram, and after countless impacts, they finally broke the already damaged East Gate gate!

The Chu army soldiers, as fierce as wolves and tigers, rushed into the city from the open east gate like a flood that broke through the dam!

Almost at the same time, bad news came from the West Gate. Under the leadership of Ran Ming, the spearhead, the West Gate garrison finally collapsed completely, and a large number of Chu troops poured into the West Gate!

"General! The east gate has been breached! The west gate can't be defended either! The Chu army... the Chu army has already entered the city!"

A captain covered in blood crawled in front of Gongsun Ao and cried out in tears.

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Ao's body shook violently and his face turned as pale as paper in an instant.

He looked around and saw that the city was filled with cries of killing and flames rising into the sky. The black flags of the Chu army kept appearing in the streets, and his soldiers were retreating and falling down.

It’s over... Xunyang City was broken.

Deputy General Jia Yuan led a group of personal soldiers to rush to Gongsun Ao and said urgently:

"General! The situation is hopeless! As long as there is life, there is hope! Retreat from the north gate quickly! It will be too late if you delay any longer!"