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

The night was like a huge piece of inky velvet, covering the bloody battlefield of Hongdu, but it could not swallow up the noise of war.

The Han army lit countless torches and bonfires, illuminating the city walls inside and outside as bright as day. The offensive did not weaken in the slightest as night fell.

The soldiers stepped on the corpses of their comrades and continued to launch wave after wave of futile attacks on the life-devouring beast amid the deafening sound of war drums.

On the city wall, although the Chu army's resistance was still tenacious, the roar of the city defense equipment had obviously become much sparser, and they relied more on bows and crossbows and close-range combat.

The lights were bright in the central army tent.

After repeated persuasion from generals such as Huo Guang, Liu Xiu, who had been supervising the battle for several days and whose fatigue was hard to hide between his brows, finally left the front line temporarily and returned to the tent to rest for a while.

However, the physical fatigue is far less than the anxiety in the heart.

He did not sleep, but took off his heavy armor, put on casual clothes, and paced back and forth in the tent.

On the desk was a defense map of Hongdu City, densely marked with the troop deployments and attack routes of both sides. Everything seemed to be going according to his plan.

Chu Ning is trapped in a jar, and the fall of Hongdu City is only a matter of time.

But for some reason, an inexplicable feeling of unease coiled around his heart like a poisonous snake, tightening more and more, making it difficult for him to calm down.

"What exactly went wrong?" Liu Xiu frowned and muttered to himself.

He repeatedly deduced: surrounded on all sides, with no way out, it was impossible for the Chu army to break out on a large scale. The city's defense equipment had been greatly consumed, and many soldiers had been lost.

Chu Ning’s reinforcements?

The Tang army and the Scorpion tribe in the east are enough to tie down the main force of the Chu army. Even if Feng Anguo wants to come to the rescue, it is impossible for him to break through the numerous passes quietly.

Logically, everything is under control.

But the feeling of palpitations could not be shaken off, as if some fatal crisis that he had not anticipated was quietly growing in the dark.

Just when he was feeling uneasy, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the tent and the guards' whispered questions.

Immediately afterwards, a messenger who looked exhausted and frightened was brought in, holding a thin bamboo tube tightly in his hand.

"Your Majesty! Chang'an City... urgent message from eight hundred miles away, carrier pigeon!"

The soldier knelt on the ground, his voice panting from the rapid running, and raised the bamboo tube high with both hands.

"Chang'an City?" Liu Xiu's brows frowned even deeper.

At this critical juncture, the urgent letter from the capital was no ordinary greeting.

The ominous premonition in his heart instantly reached its peak.

He walked quickly forward, grabbed the bamboo tube, unscrewed the stopper, and poured out a tightly rolled piece of thin silk inside.

The lights in the tent flickered, illuminating Liu Xiu's face as he read quickly.

The next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted, the blood color on his face instantly faded away, and the hand holding the silk cloth trembled violently because of extreme anger!

The few words written on the thin silk were like thunder exploding in his ears:

"The Empress Dowager West, Dugu Jia, launched a coup three days ago, placing the Empress Dowager East under house arrest, seizing control of the Forbidden Palace and the city defenses, and executing high officials. She has already sent secret envoys to Hejian to welcome and enthrone Liu Xiang! The situation is critical, and Your Majesty is requested to make a swift decision!"

"Dugujia!!!"

A roar that was suppressed to the extreme, as if bursting from the deepest part of the chest, like the roar of a wounded tiger, suddenly exploded in the military tent!

Veins popped out on Liu Xiu's forehead, his eyes were red, and he suddenly threw the silk cloth in his hand to the ground!

"You vicious woman! I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted and spared your life! How dare you... How dare you do this!!!"

The huge noise immediately alarmed the generals outside the tent.

Huo Guang, Li Guang, Wang Yan and other major generals all changed their expressions and hurriedly opened the curtains and rushed in.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, what happened?"

"What has made Your Majesty so angry?"

Everyone saw that Liu Xiu's face was ashen, his chest was heaving violently, and he exuded a terrifying murderous aura. The small roll of silk cloth on the ground was particularly glaring.

Liu Xiu raised his head suddenly, his eyes burning with rage, his voice a little hoarse from extreme anger:

"What is it? Look for yourselves! Look at what good things my 'righteous' Empress Dowager Cixi did behind my back while I was fighting bloody battles on the front lines!"

A general hurriedly picked up the silk cloth. Everyone gathered around and took a look. They immediately gasped. The tent was instantly silent, and then an uproar of shock and anger broke out!

"Dugu Jia... how dare she place the Empress Dowager Dong under house arrest and control Chang An?"

"Embrace Liu Xiang? She's plotting treason! She's usurping the throne!"

"Evil woman! Traitor to the nation! Your Majesty, please issue an order immediately. I will personally lead a detachment of light cavalry and return to Chang'an overnight to tear this evil queen and her son into pieces and eliminate the government!"

Li Guang, who had a hot temper, immediately drew his sword and asked for orders in a stern voice.

"No!"

The mature and prudent Wang Yan immediately objected, his face extremely solemn: "Your Majesty, our army and the Chu army are fighting fiercely at this moment, and we have reached the most critical moment!"

"Hongdu's defenses are crumbling, and Chu Ning is trapped. He could be captured at any moment! If we send troops back to reinforce, or even retreat as a whole, all our efforts will be wasted!"

"Not only will we be unable to kill Chu Ning, but we may even be ambushed by the Chu army. The consequences will be disastrous! The national war should be prioritized!"

"General Wang, you are wrong! The capital has been in turmoil, and the throne is in danger. If Your Majesty is shaken at all, what good will it do to win this battle? We must return immediately to quell the rebellion!"

Another general retorted excitedly.

"Stupid! Turning back now would completely expose the Han heartland to the Chu army! If Chu Ning recovers and joins forces with any reinforcements, our army will be in danger!"

"If the country is not recaptured by then and the army is defeated again, it will be truly hopeless!"

There was a quarrel in the tent. Those who advocated returning to quell the rebellion immediately and those who advocated defeating the Chu army first and then turning back each held their own opinions. They argued until their faces were red and no one could convince the other.

However, Liu Xiu, who was at the center of the storm, calmed down surprisingly quickly after his initial extreme rage.

As he listened to the generals' arguments, the anger on his face gradually gave way to an extreme coldness and gloom. His mind raced, weighing the pros and cons of every option.

Return to the army?

It is indeed possible to quickly put down Dugu Jia's rebellion and preserve the throne.

But at what cost?

It is the best time to give up the opportunity to inflict heavy damage or even destroy the elite troops of Chu State. It is to allow Chu Ning, a serious threat, to survive and most likely take advantage of the situation to counterattack, which puts the territory and army of the Han Dynasty at great risk!

How could Liu Xiu destroy his ambition to unify the world for the sake of a woman in the harem and a young child?

Continue to attack the city?

Of course, we can seize the opportunity and eliminate Chu Ning with the greatest possibility.

But the risk is equally huge: if Chang'an City falls completely into Dugu Jia's hands.

At that time, she would hold the young emperor hostage and issue orders to the world. Even if she won, she might instantly turn from an emperor into a traitor. The military morale would suffer a devastating blow, and logistical supplies might be cut off.

This is nothing short of a huge gamble!

Both options come with huge risks and opportunities.