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

After hearing Changsun Wuji's plan, Li Shiming was slightly stunned at first.

Then the corners of his mouth slowly rose, outlining a playful and ambitious smile.

"Excellent! Prime Minister, this plan is exactly what I want! This way, our Tang Dynasty will not be passively assisting, but will instead be the one actively seeking profit!"

He walked back to the imperial desk, drumming his fingers on the tabletop, his eyes gleaming with the glint of an emperor's mind:

"Dugu Jia is now like an ant on a hot pan. In order to save the lives of her mother and son and the shaky throne, she will cling to any glimmer of hope!"

"Ceding a state may be painful, but compared to the destruction of our nation and our race, it's nothing. She'll most likely agree!"

"Okay! Let's do it!"

Li Shiming immediately made a decision: "Prime Minister, you must immediately draft an imperial edict and send it to the eastern camp at an expedited speed of 800 miles and hand it over to Li Jing!"

"Order him to take into account the actual situation on the front lines and seize the opportunity when the Chu army may split up and look west. Increase the intensity of the offensive and ensure that sufficient pressure is put on the Chu army. However, he must also be cautious to avoid advancing alone and causing unnecessary heavy casualties!"

"I obey your order!" Changsun Wuji bowed and accepted the order.

"As for the reply to Dugu Jia..."

Li Shiming's eyes flashed. "I will write it myself! This will also let her understand that aid from the Tang Dynasty is not so easy to obtain!"

He spread out a piece of imperial silk with dragon patterns printed on it, picked up the red brush, pondered for a moment, and then began to write.

In the letter, he first mourned the death of Emperor Liu Xiu of Han and expressed sympathy for the Han Dynasty's plight.

He then changed the subject and pointed out that the Chu army was powerful. Although the Tang Dynasty was willing to help, sending troops to contain them was extremely risky and would cost countless money, food, and troops. There was a lot of opposition in the court.

Finally, I reluctantly proposed that if the Han Dynasty was willing to cede the "Heluo" state bordering the Tang Dynasty to show its sincerity and compensate for the possible losses of the Tang Dynasty, then I would ignore the opposition and strictly order Li Jing to attack with all his strength to break the siege of Chang'an.

After writing the letter, Li Shiming stamped it with the emperor's seal, blew the ink dry, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

This was a deal, a take-adventure deal, but he did it as a matter of course.

"Send a carrier pigeon to deliver this letter to Chang'an City as quickly as possible and hand it to Dugu Jia personally!"

Li Shiming handed the letter to Zhangsun Wuji and said firmly, "I am waiting for her reply."

Changsun Wuji took the letter with both hands and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will make all the arrangements!"

As the messenger rushed out of Chang'an with the emperor's secret letter, the huge war machine of the Tang Dynasty began to operate more secretly and efficiently around the sudden change in the situation in the Central Plains.

A game over the Han Dynasty's legacy quietly unfolds between Chu, Tang, and the dying Han court.

A few days later, in Chang'an City, inside Changle Palace.

The high pressure and anxiety of the past few days have cast a heavy shadow under Dugu Jiafeng's eyes, but she still forced herself to stay awake and deal with the mountains of military and political affairs.

The people in the city were in panic, rumors were spreading, and the preparations for defending the city were complicated, and each one made her exhausted.

At this moment, a trusted eunuch came in hurriedly, holding a small bamboo tube, with a hunched body, and said in a strange voice:

"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Tang Dynasty via carrier pigeon."

Dugu Jia's spirits lifted, as if he saw a glimmer of light in the darkness. He immediately reached out to take the bamboo tube, unscrewed it impatiently, and took out the thin silk rolled inside.

Liu Xiang also came over nervously and watched eagerly.

However, as he read the contents of the letter, the expectation on Dugu Jia's face quickly disappeared, and was replaced by an uncontrollable anger!

Her fingers trembled slightly due to the force, her face turned from pale to blue, and finally she slammed the piece of silk on the table in front of her!

"Asshole! Shameless as hell! Li Shiming! You're such a scoundrel! You actually took this opportunity to blackmail me!"

Dugu Jia could no longer maintain the dignity of the empress dowager, and she started cursing like a shrew in the street. Her voice was sharp and piercing, echoing throughout the palace.

Her chest heaved violently as she pointed at the letter and angrily said to Liu Xiang, who was shrinking his neck in fear:

"Look at this! Look at what nonsense Li Shiming is saying!"

"He actually... he actually wants us to cede Heluo Province to him! Only then will he order Li Jing to increase the offensive!"

"Heluo Province! That's the heartland of our Han Dynasty, a strategic point connecting the east and the west, and a land of abundant resources!"

"This is blatant blackmail! He's kicking someone when they're down!"

Liu Xiang was so frightened by his mother's sudden rage that he trembled all over and almost slipped off the brocade cushion.

He timidly picked up the crumpled letter, glanced through it quickly, and his face turned pale.

Although he was cowardly, he also knew what ceding land meant. It was a great shame and humiliation, a loss of sovereignty and humiliation of the country!

"Mother... Queen Mother... How can I agree to this?"

Liu Xiang's voice was filled with tears: "If I cede this territory, how will I face my ancestors in the future?"

"Don't agree?"

Dugu Jia suddenly turned around and glared at him, his eyes as fierce as a female leopard: "If you don't agree, do you think Li Shiming will be kind enough to help us?"

"He's sitting on the sidelines watching the fight! He's just waiting for us and Chu Ning to fight to the death so he can take advantage!"

"If we can't even show this little bit of sincerity, he will immediately stand aside and watch, and may even turn around and divide our Han Dynasty with Chu Ning!"

She grew angrier and angrier as she spoke, and fiercely kicked the table. "Damn it! It's like a tiger in plain land being bullied by a dog! When my late emperor was still alive, how could Li Shiming dare to do this?!"

After venting his anger, Dugu Jia forced himself to calm down.

She took a few deep breaths, walked to the window, and looked at the gloomy sky and the heavily guarded palace walls outside the window, her eyes changing constantly.

Reality was like a cold shackle, firmly fastened around her neck. She had no choice.

After a long time, she turned around, her face filled with cold determination, as if the previous loss of composure had never happened.

She walked to the desk, spread out another piece of silk, and said in a calm but unquestionable tone:

"Promise him."

"Mother!" Liu Xiang raised his head in surprise.

"Right now, nothing is more important than protecting Chang'an and saving our lives!"

Dugu Jia interrupted him, his voice cold: "Even if the territory is lost, there will be a chance to take it back in the future."

"But if he loses his life, then everything is gone! Just give Heluozhou... to him!"

"As long as it can lead to Li Jing's fierce attack on the eastern front, tying down Chu Ning's main force and giving us a chance to defend Chang'an, all this will be worth it!"

She picked up her pen and began to choose her words, preparing to write a reply.

However, at this moment, Liu Xiang suddenly spoke again timidly, raising a question he had been worried about for a long time:

"Mother, I...I have something else to worry about."