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

A cool breeze blew through the Imperial Garden, and the scent of hundreds of flowers blooming filled my face.

The emperor in the pavilion suddenly felt a chill on his back and his body trembled slightly.

It was not known whether it was the chill brought by the night wind, or the chilling performance of the civil and military officials just now, but the emperor felt a sense of sadness at this moment.

How sad it is that the imperial court can't even provide food for 60,000 soldiers and horses!

Civil and military officials, as well as the princes, can only shirk their responsibilities and dare not take on important tasks. How sad!

The Great Chu Dynasty, a foundation of several generations, actually nurtured these people. How unfortunate!

At this moment, the emperor felt helpless.

Looking at the military token held in Chu Ning's hand not far away, the emperor sighed and said, "I was too hasty in this matter. I thought that since you, Chu Ning, had already donated food and silver, you would not be able to hold on for long, so I wanted to replace you with someone else to take over.

I never thought that no one in the court dared to take over. I am really disappointed. In this case, the troops on the front line will still be led by you, Chu Ning."

After these words were spoken, the Crown Prince and the other princes breathed a sigh of relief.

They are now afraid that Chu Ning will hand this mess over to them.

Whoever takes over those 60,000 troops will have to face the revenge of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and will also be responsible for the food and pay of the frontline troops. Who would want to take over such a thankless task?

But Chu Ning refused to do it.

"Father!"

Chu Ning angrily put the military token in his hand on the table and said in a deep voice: "I have won this battle for our dynasty and donated all the silver and grain in the Chu Palace!

This is my responsibility as a subject and also as a prince. However, there is no money or food in my mansion now. It is no longer appropriate for me to lead 60,000 troops on the front line.

Without food and military pay, I cannot control them. If this continues, once the Great Zhao launches a counterattack, it will surely invade our dynasty.

Father, please take back this military token!"

You just want the military token, so I will oblige you and hand it over voluntarily.

Now you have no choice but to put the military token here and see how you deal with it!

This move shocked everyone present. No one expected Chu Ning to be so determined.

It seems that the King of Chu really wants to hand over the military command!

Even the emperor was stunned and stood there in a daze.

I thought Chu Ning was just pretending, but now it seems that’s not the case.

Does Chu Ning really not want to command 60,000 troops?

Or, was it true that Chu Ning's family assets were drained and could not support him to continue commanding the front line?

Put yourself in his shoes. If I were Chu Ning, I would not be willing to use my own food and money to support the troops on the front line.

When the emperor thought of this, he frowned and a solemn look appeared on his face.

I thought Chu Ning was just pretending to scare me, but now it seems that Chu Ning doesn't think so at all, and really wants to give up.

I even want to take back the military power from him!

The emperor felt ashamed when he thought of his own actions.

However, this matter must be dealt with eventually and cannot be dragged on. Otherwise, once the soldiers on the front line are without food and pay, their morale will surely be broken.

The emperor narrowed his eyes, perked up, stared at Chu Ning and said in a deep voice: "Among the 60,000 soldiers on the front line, there are also troops you organized yourself. Do you want to abandon them?"

Chu Ning shrugged and said, "Father, I just said that I must take the troops I organized with me. I will be responsible for their food and military pay."

The emperor's eyes lit up, as if he had caught Chu Ning's flaw, and asked, "Really? How are you going to take responsibility? Didn't you say that the Chu Palace has emptied its assets?"

Chu Ning didn't seem to notice the flaw in his words. He pointed at Shen Wanying and said with a smile, "Father, don't forget. I'm going to marry Wanying soon!"

"Once I marry into the Shen family, I will have the power to dispatch the Shen family's food. With the Shen family's food reserves, it will be no problem for me to feed the troops I have assembled."

As soon as these words came out, the prince became excited.

"Eighteenth brother, what you said hits the nail on the head!"

The prince stood up and said loudly: "Since the Shen family can support the troops you have organized, they can naturally support the troops on the front line. It's just a few tens of thousands more. For the Shen family, it's nothing!"

As long as Chu Ning continues to command the troops on the front line, my father will not hand this matter over to others, let alone let others donate silver and food.

The Second Prince reacted and immediately agreed: "Brother Crown Prince is right. Since you, Eighteenth Brother, have the support of the Shen Family, this matter must be handled by you."

The other princes were not fools, so how could they not understand what the two meant? They immediately followed suit.

The ministers at the scene were also afraid that no one would take over the front-line troops, and then the emperor would ask them to provide money and food!

It would be better to let Chu Ning continue to command the troops on the front line. At least in this way, he would not have to donate food and silver, and could save a lot of money!

The ministers followed suit.

"Your Majesty the Prince of Chu commanded this battle well and enjoyed a good reputation on the front line. No one else could have achieved the same results as Your Majesty the Prince of Chu."

"Yes, His Royal Highness Prince Chu is the most suitable candidate!"

"Your Majesty, I think that His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu should continue to lead the troops on the front line!"

"That's right. His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu's fiefdom is in Bingzhou. Of course, the troops there are under the command of His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu."

At once, everyone recommended Chu Ning.

Chu Ning seemed annoyed, his face looked a little ugly, he turned his head to look at everyone and said coldly: "My Lords, are you worried that if you change the leader, your father will ask you to donate silver and food?"

All the ministers either laughed awkwardly or touched their noses, lowered their heads and dared not speak.

"Humph!"

Chu Ning snorted coldly: "I have already paid so much for our dynasty, can't you gentlemen pay a little?

You can't just grab me and take advantage of me, right? If you take advantage of me, the troops on the front line will still need to find someone to lead them, and then I'll still ask you to donate money and food."

Although this makes sense, the ministers don't care.

No one can predict what will happen in the future, they just hope they don't have to pay for money and food now.

Seeing that no one was talking, Chu Ning could not help but frown and look at the emperor: "Father, you see, this is the purpose of all the adults!"

The emperor had a gloomy face and said nothing.

Of course I know what the ministers are thinking, but since you have revealed it, how can I expose it to their faces?

Besides, the troops on the front line are a hot potato now, and no one wants to take over. I am also helpless.

With a long sigh, the emperor stood up and walked to Chu Ning, picked up the military token and stuffed it into Chu Ning's hand, and said in a deep voice:

"Chu Ning, I know you've been wronged, but there's really no one else who's suitable for this matter except you. You just have to work harder and continue to lead the troops on the front line!"

Chu Ning's eyes suddenly turned red.

"Father, do you also want to keep taking advantage of me?"

The emperor glared and pretended to be angry: "How can I be said to be fleecing you when I relieve the country's worries?"

Chu Ning seemed to be frightened by the emperor's momentum. He lowered his head and whispered, "Well, since your father insists, I dare not disobey you. But I have a few conditions that I hope your father will agree to!"

Conditions are Chu Ning’s real purpose tonight!