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

"We can't retreat..." Ran Ming gritted his teeth: "Retreating means death!"

He knew that if they retreated now, the routed soldiers would block the city gates, preventing the follow-up troops from entering, while the troops that had already stormed into the barbican would be slaughtered by the Tang cavalry and a hail of arrows.

The only way to survive was to charge forward, break through the three thousand cavalry, and reach the inner city gate on the other side.

Although there must be heavy troops guarding it, it's still better than being a sitting duck in this barbican.

"Brothers of the Vanguard Battalion!"

Ran Ming suddenly ripped off his tattered leather armor, revealing a bare upper body covered in arrow wounds and knife marks, dripping with blood.

"Do you see that Tang flag?"

He pointed his spear at the opposite side of the barbican, where there was a large banner embroidered with the character "Tang," and under the banner was the commander of this cavalry.

"Do you dare follow me and cut down that flag?!"

The surrounding soldiers were stunned for a moment, then their eyes blazed with a crazed light.

They are all veterans who have crawled out of piles of dead bodies. At this point, being afraid of death is useless, so they might as well take a gamble!

"dare!"

"Alright!" Ran Ming grinned, his mouth full of blood. "Then stick close to me!"

He no longer formed ranks or defended, but instead held his spear horizontally, charging straight towards the densest area of ​​Tang cavalry like a raging tiger.

"Protect the general!" the guards shouted as they followed.

This small team of just over a hundred people actually managed to carve out a bloody path through the chaotic battlefield.

Ran Ming's spear danced in a blur of silver light, and wherever it passed, men and horses fell.

He specifically targeted the cavalryman's legs, severing them with a single spear thrust. The warhorse neighed and fell to the ground, and the rider was immediately followed up with another spear thrust the moment he fell.

But the Tang army had far too many cavalry.

People kept surrounding them, and spears came from all directions.

Ran Ming suffered several more wounds, the heaviest of which was a spear that pierced his left shoulder, with the spearhead protruding from his back.

He roared and snapped the spear in two, then plunged the broken spear into the attacker's throat.

"General! Your wound!" The guard's eyes widened in horror.

"I won't die!" Ran Ming spat out a mouthful of blood and continued charging forward.

They were getting closer and closer to the Tang banner.

Fifty steps, thirty steps, twenty steps...

The Tang general guarding the flag clearly noticed this reckless squad and mobilized more cavalry to surround them.

Ran Ming's personal guards fell one by one, and when he rushed ten steps to the flag, only three people remained by his side.

On the other side, at least thirty riders stood ready.

"come!"

Ran Ming roared hoarsely, his voice as broken as a gong: "Cowards of the Tang Dynasty! Thirty of you are going to fight me, and you don't even dare to come up?!"

His blood-soaked, mad-like appearance actually made the Tang cavalry opposite him hesitate to advance for a moment.

But at this moment of stalemate, a rapid gong sounded from the city wall.

It wasn't the Chu army sounding the retreat; it was the Tang army!

The Tang general guarding the flag changed his expression and looked up at the city wall.

The messenger was frantically waving a flag—a signal for an emergency retreat.

"What's going on?" Tang Jiang asked in astonishment.

Unbeknownst to him, at that very moment, beacon fires had already been lit at the south gate of Jianghuai City.

Taking advantage of the bloody battle at the East Gate drawing away the main force of the Tang army, Feng Mulan's 30,000 Xuanjia Iron Cavalry have quietly landed at the South Gate using the navy's warships and are now launching a fierce attack on the South Gate!

Guo Ziyi made a misjudgment.

He assumed that the main attack direction of the Chu army was at the east and west gates, so he transferred his most elite troops and most of the reserves to the east and west gates.

Although the South Gate had strengthened its defenses, it was still in grave danger against Feng Mulan's well-rested and powerful army.

Therefore, the garrison at the East Gate received orders to immediately return to reinforce the South Gate!

"Retreat! Return to reinforce the South Gate!"

Although the Tang general was unwilling, military orders were absolute.

He glared fiercely at Ran Ming, then turned his horse around: "Retreat!"

Three thousand cavalrymen retreated like a tide, withdrawing into the city through the inner gate of the barbican.

The archers on the city wall also stopped firing and quickly withdrew.

The barbican, which had been filled with the sounds of battle just moments before, suddenly fell silent.

All that remained were corpses scattered on the ground, broken weapons, dead warhorses, and Ran Ming, who was teetering on the brink of collapse but still managed to stand.

He leaned on his spear, panting heavily, and with each breath, blood gushed from the penetrating wound in his left shoulder.

The last three guards beside him helped each other to their feet, their faces covered in blood, but they were all smiling.

"General...we...won?"

"Win my ass..."

Ran Ming grimaced, which aggravated his wound, causing him to wince in pain: "This is... they succeeded at the South Gate..."

He looked up towards the direction of the inner city gate.

Although the Tang army retreated, the iron-clad inner city gate remained tightly closed.

Moreover, one can imagine that there must be layers of defense behind the door.

But at least they survived in this fortified city.

Moreover, it bought the most precious time for Feng Mulan at the South Gate.

"Clear the city gates..." Ran Ming's voice trailed off, "...to welcome... the follow-up troops..."

Before he could finish speaking, everything went black, and he collapsed forward.

In his final moments of consciousness, he heard the cries of his guards, the shouts of the reinforcements rushing into the barbican, and the deafening battle cries coming from the direction of the south gate in the distance…

Then came endless darkness.

But he knew that they had won this gamble.

In Jianghuai City, one of the city gates had already been breached by their desperate efforts.

The rest is up to Feng Mulan, Han Xing, and His Majesty.

He can take a short rest now.

Inside the Jianghuai City Commander's Mansion, the candlelight flickered violently in the night wind, casting distorted and swaying shadows on the map of northern Xinjiang on the wall.

Guo Ziyi stood in front of the sand table, his knuckles white from gripping the wooden carving representing Jianghuai City so tightly.

On the sand table, three small red flags have been planted at the positions of the east and south gates—marks of the Chu army's victory.

At the west gate, the red arrow representing Han Xing's army is slowly advancing, with only the last dotted line remaining between it and the city wall.

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder as they approached, and before anyone could even announce his arrival, Li Guangbi burst in.

The deputy commander, known for his composure, was now covered in blood, his helmet nowhere to be found, his disheveled hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, and his face filled with panic.

"Commander!"

Li Guangbi knelt on one knee, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows: "The South Gate... the South Gate has been attacked!"

"Tens of thousands of Chu cavalrymen landed silently using naval warships. Feng Mulan personally led the charge, catching the defending troops off guard. They have already broken in!"

Guo Ziyi's hand holding the wooden carving trembled.

Li Guangbi continued his report, speaking so fast he could barely form sentences: "The East Gate has also fallen!"

"That madman Ran Ming used siege engines to break through the outer city gate. Although our army blocked it with the barbican, news of the attack on the south gate came, and the garrison at the east gate was forced to divide its forces to return to reinforce. Ran Ming took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce attack, and the inner city gate was also breached!"

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot: "The West Gate is currently under fierce attack by Han Xing's 100,000-strong army. Han Xing himself is at the forefront of the battle, and the offensive is relentless."

"Although the defending troops fought desperately, they are also in dire straits!"