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

Two days later, a piece of bad news like a bolt from the blue was transmitted back to the capital of the Han Dynasty - Chang'an City at the fastest speed.

This news hit the Empress Dowager Cixi Dugu Jia and her son Liu Xiang, who had just been pushed to the forefront of public opinion.

The messenger was Dugu Jia's secret confidant sent to the Hongdu front. He almost crawled into Changle Palace. He was ragged and covered in dust, with fear and despair written all over his face.

"The... Queen Mother! Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!"

The messenger fell to his knees, his voice trembling so much that he could barely form a sentence: "Hongdu, Kunyang... our army... our main force of 200,000 soldiers has been completely wiped out!"

"what?"

Dugu Jia, who was originally sitting on the phoenix couch and enjoying the brief taste of power, suddenly stood up as if stung by a scorpion. The blood on his well-maintained face instantly drained away, and his phoenix eyes widened.

"You...say that again?!"

"It's true! Queen Mother!"

Xin fell to the ground, weeping bitterly: "Your Majesty Liu Xiu, he... he has been killed in battle outside Kunyang City by the Chu general Ran Ming!"

"Two hundred thousand soldiers, some died, some surrendered, some fled, they're all... gone!"

"The Chu army...the Chu army is about to attack!"

This news was like a cold wind from the underworld, instantly blowing away all the warmth in Changle Palace.

Dugu Jia felt dizzy and his vision went black. He staggered and luckily grabbed the table next to him in time to avoid falling.

She worked tirelessly and even launched a palace coup, just to seize the supreme power when Liu Xiu and Chu Ning were both defeated.

She never expected that Liu Xiu would be defeated so quickly and so miserably!

An army of two hundred thousand was wiped out, which completely destroyed the foundation of the Han Dynasty!

"Queen Mother! Queen Mother!"

A slightly childish voice with a crying tone sounded.

The 21-year-old Hejian King Liu Xiang, who was originally sitting at the bottom, was now pale with fear and trembling all over.

He rushed to Dugu Jia like a frightened rabbit, grabbed her sleeve tightly, and cried incoherently:

"What should we do? What should we do, Mother! The Chu army is coming! Will we...will we die? I don't want to die, Mother!"

Liu Xiang's cowardly, incompetent and irresponsible appearance was like adding fuel to the fire, instantly igniting the rage caused by fear in Dugu Jia's heart!

She suddenly shook off Liu Xiang's hand, turned around and faced her son, whom she had high hopes for, and gave him a crisp slap in the face!

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, Liu Xiang was knocked unconscious and five clear finger marks instantly appeared on his face.

"waste!"

Dugu Jia was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed at Liu Xiang's nose and scolded him loudly, his voice was sharp and piercing.

"Look at you! You don't look like a king at all!"

"With a powerful enemy at hand, instead of thinking about how to repel the enemy and protect the country, you can only whine and cry like a woman!"

"How could I have given birth to such a useless thing as you! How can you be worthy of the Han Dynasty with your condition?"

Liu Xiang covered his face with his hands, tears welling up in his eyes. He was so frightened that he could not speak and could only tremble.

Dugu Jia looked at his hopeless state and felt a huge sense of sadness and powerlessness in his heart.

But she knew very well that this was not the time to collapse!

The Chu army has raised their butcher knife, and the next target must be Chang An! That is, mother and son!

She forced herself to suppress the turmoil in her heart, took a deep breath, and regained her usual cold and fierce expression. She said sternly to the messenger who collapsed on the ground and the palace maids who were equally frightened around him:

"Why are you panicking? The sky hasn't fallen yet!"

"Hurry! Ring the Jingyang Bell, summon all the ministers, and immediately proceed to the front hall of the Weiyang Palace to discuss matters!"

"Anyone who dares to delay will be killed immediately!"

"Yes... yes!" The palace servants crawled and rolled over to pass on the order.

Soon, the heavy and rapid sound of the Yangyang bell rang throughout the entire Chang'an City.

Hearing the bell that represented the most urgent court meeting, all the civil and military officials, whether they were still working in the government office or resting at home, were startled.

They had a premonition that something earth-shattering was about to happen, and they all rushed to the Weiyang Palace as quickly as possible.

In the front hall of the Weiyang Palace, the atmosphere was oppressive, like the calm before a storm.

The ministers whispered to each other, wondering what had happened.

When Empress Dowager Dugu saw Liu Xiang appear in the hall with a frosty face and fingerprints on his face and evasive eyes, the ominous premonition became even stronger.

Dugu Jia did not beat around the bush and directly asked his trusted eunuch to read out the urgent military report that was like an obituary in public.

"In the battles of Hongdu and Kunyang, the entire army was annihilated, and His Majesty... died!"

Every word hit the heart of every minister like a heavy hammer.

When the last few words fell, the entire hall fell into a dead silence, and you could hear a pin drop.

Then, like a pot exploding, panic and despair erupted in an instant!

"Two hundred thousand troops, gone?"

"Your Majesty... passed away?"

"This...what should we do? The Chu army will definitely attack Chang'an next!"

"It's over! It's all over! The big man... is dead!"

Some old and frail ministers could not bear the blow and fainted on the spot.

More ministers were pale and trembling all over, panicking like headless flies, and the entire court was in chaos.

Some people advocated sending envoys immediately to Chu Ning to seek peace and submit, some suggested escorting the Queen Mother and the prince to abandon the city and escape, and some were completely dumbfounded and at a loss.

"Shut up, everyone!"

A cold roar filled with overwhelming anger exploded in the hall like thunder!

Dugu Jia suddenly stood up from the phoenix throne, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he glanced at the group of panicked ministers below, his face full of contempt and anger.

"Look at you! Do you still look like loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty?"

"The enemy hasn't even reached the city yet, and you've already lost your composure and behaved in a disgraceful manner! You've brought shame upon our ancestors!"

Her voice was sharp and harsh, and she scolded him mercilessly: "Seeking peace? Chu Ning has evil ambitions. He wants the whole world!"

"Submit? I'm afraid the heads of you, my mother and I will be his best trophies!"

"Escape? All under heaven belongs to the king. Where can you escape to? And for how long?"

A series of questions made the ministers who made ridiculous suggestions hang their heads in shame.

Dugu Jia took a deep breath. She knew that someone had to step up and take charge of the situation at this moment and give these people a clear direction.

Otherwise, Chang'an City will fall without a fight!

"listen!"

Her voice regained its composure, but with a desperate determination:

"Although Your Majesty has passed away, the kingdom is not extinct! Xiang'er is the direct descendant of the late emperor and the legitimate heir!"

"As long as Chang'an City still exists and the Han flag remains, we still have hope!"