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

"The longer it goes on, the worse it will be for us."

Gongsun Yi walked back to the table and pointed heavily at the location of Black Stone Fortress: "We must break this deadlock."

"How do we break this deadlock?" Hu Yanying leaned forward slightly.

Gongsun Yi took a deep breath: "Two paths. One is to gather all our elite forces and break through at all costs."

"If we can tear open a gap, at least some people can be taken out, preserving the flame of the Scorpion Clan."

"The risk is extremely high."

Hu Yanying calmly analyzed: "The Chu army and the Youzhou army outnumber us several times over, and their encirclement is layered."

"Even if we manage to break through, how many people can get out? Two thousand? Three thousand? And the losses will inevitably be heavy, General..."

“I know,” Gongsun Yi interrupted him, “So there is a second way.”

He opened a drawer on the table, took out a blank scroll of silk, and slowly unfurled it: "Seeking aid from the Khan."

Huyan Ying's pupils contracted slightly.

"The Khan still has 50,000 elite royal troops under his command that have not yet been mobilized."

Gongsun Yi dipped his brush in ink, the tip hovering above the silk scroll: "If the Khan can personally lead a large army to our aid, and we can attack from both inside and outside, we may be able to break through the Chu army's encirclement."

"But General,"

Huyan Ying's voice was hoarse: "If the Khan leaves the royal court, the grasslands will be vulnerable. What if the Rouran or other tribes take advantage of the situation..."

"That's better than Blackrock Fortress falling."

Gongsun Yi finally put down his pen, the ink spreading across the silk scroll: "If Black Stone Fortress is lost, the gateway to the northern frontier will be wide open, and the Chu army can drive straight in and threaten the royal court. At that time, it will be a true catastrophe."

He wielded his brush with lightning speed, producing powerful and vigorous characters.

The letter first detailed the battle situation over the past twelve days, including the troop deployment of the Chu army and the Youzhou army, the state of food supplies in the city, and the morale of the troops.

He then analyzed the dangers of the stalemate and finally pleaded with the Khan to make a decision—either allow him to lead his army to break out of the encirclement or send troops to his aid.

"Chief Huyan, what do you think?" Gongsun Yi asked, looking up after finishing writing.

Huyan Ying remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "The General has thought things through thoroughly, but once the letter requesting aid is sent, there is no turning back."

"If the Khan does not come, or is too late to come, the morale of the army will likely be low..."

"Therefore this letter must be sent in secret."

Gongsun Yi blew on the ink to dry it, carefully rolled up the silk scroll, and inserted it into a hollow copper tube:

"Use the fastest carrier pigeons, select the most experienced falconers, and deliver more than one letter."

He took out two more identical brass tubes from the drawer: "Three carrier pigeons, in three separate routes."

“One will take the western route, crossing the Wolf Mountain; another will take the eastern route, circling the White Water River; and the last one will take the central route, but after flying a hundred miles, it will turn northeast to create the illusion of flying towards the Rouran, and then turn back to the royal court.”

Hu Yanying's eyes flashed with admiration: "The General's thinking is thorough."

"This concerns the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, so we must be cautious."

Gongsun Yi handed three copper pipes to Huyan Ying: "This matter is entrusted to you personally. The falconer must be absolutely reliable. If there is even the slightest mistake..."

"I guarantee it with my life." Hu Yanying took the copper tube with both hands and hid it close to his body.

He got up to leave, but Gongsun Yi suddenly called out to him, "Wait."

"Does the General have any further instructions?"

Gongsun Yi walked up to him, took out the wolf-head jade pendant from his robes, and solemnly placed it in Huyan Ying's hand:

"Bring this item to the Khan and tell him that Gongsun Yi is incompetent and has brought trouble to the soldiers and civilians."

"But the people of Blackstone Fortress would rather die in battle than surrender to Chu. I urge the Khan to make a decision soon."

The jade pendant felt warm and smooth to the touch, yet it was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Huyan Ying gripped the jade pendant tightly and knelt on one knee: "This humble general will certainly not fail in his mission!"

He got up and disappeared into the night outside the door like a ghost.

Gongsun Yi stood alone in his study, listening to the distant sound of the night watchman's drum—it was already past midnight.

He walked to the window and looked towards the direction of the Chu army camp to the south.

The lights there were sparse, indicating that most of the soldiers had already gone to bed.

Meanwhile, under the night sky further south, the bloody battle on the Jianghuai Plain was still raging, its extent unknown.

"Chu Xuan, Su Tingmei..." Gongsun Yi murmured to himself, "You are waiting for news of Chu Ning, and so am I."

He closed the window and blew out the oil lamp.

The study was plunged into complete darkness.

At the top of the highest tower in Blackrock Fortress, three specially trained homing pigeons were quietly released.

They hovered briefly in the air before flapping their wings in three different directions, quickly disappearing into the deep night as if they had never existed.

After flying thirty miles, one of them suddenly turned and flew swiftly towards the northeast, towards the Rouran.

However, if someone keeps tracking it, they will find that after flying a hundred miles, it quietly turns around again, and its final destination is still the Scorpion Clan Royal Court.

In this siege, someone finally made the first move, seeking a change in the game.

Meanwhile, the Scorpion Khan, far away in the royal court, will receive these three letters of appeal for help from the Jedi in a few days.

At that time, the battle situation in northern Xinjiang may see new changes.

Inside the Chu army camp, the central command tent was brightly lit.

It was already past midnight, but Chu Xuan still hadn't removed his armor.

He sat at his desk, deep in thought, facing a huge sand table depicting the northern frontier.

The landscape on the sand table is incredibly lifelike. Black Stone Castle is surrounded by dozens of small red flags, like a flying insect trapped in the center of a spider web.

The curtain was quietly lifted, and a dark figure silently slipped in.

The newcomer was dressed in a black flying fish robe; he was none other than Shen Lian, a commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When he knelt on one knee, even the sound of his nail plates rubbing together was barely audible: "This humble servant greets Your Highness."

"Speak." Chu Xuan didn't even raise his head, his finger slowly moving across the hilly terrain surrounding Blackstone Fortress.

"A quarter of an hour ago, the sentries from the west, east, and north directions simultaneously sent back urgent reports."

Shen Lian's voice was deep: "We discovered that Black Stone Fortress released three carrier pigeons, which flew out in three different directions."

"Two of them flew to the northwest and northeast respectively, while the last one had a strange flight path. It first flew to the northeast, and after a hundred miles, it suddenly turned due north."

Chu Xuan's finger stopped on the sand table representing the location of the royal court: "It's a letter requesting aid from the Scorpion Khan."

"This humble servant also makes this judgment."

Shen Lian looked up: "Three carrier pigeons must be Gongsun Yi's distress signal."

"Your Highness, should we order sentries to intercept them along the way? The archers are already in position, and the last one can be shot down within half an hour."

The tent fell silent for a moment, with only the flickering candlelight.

Chu Xuan finally raised his head, the candlelight casting interplay of light and shadow on his face.

He did not answer immediately, but instead got up and walked to the tent entrance, lifting a corner of the tent flap.

Outside the tent, the night sky over the northern frontier was filled with low-hanging stars, and the outline of Black Stone Fortress stood silent in the darkness like a giant beast.

"What does Mr. Su think?" Chu Xuan suddenly asked.

From the shadows, Su Tingmei's voice drifted over: "The fact that the carrier pigeon has been sent means that Gongsun Yi has reached a point where he has no choice but to seek help, which is a good thing."

Chu Xuan lowered the tent flap and turned around with a cold smile on his face: "That's what I thought too."

He walked back to the table and tapped his finger heavily on the location of the Scorpion Clan's royal court on the sand table: "Send a carrier pigeon there."

"Not only must we make them fly over, but we must also make sure that the Scorpion Khan knows clearly that his most elite 40,000 troops are trapped in Blackstone Fortress and cannot move."