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

"Xue Shuai's Dragon Gate Formation... has been broken?" Feng Mulan's sword trembled slightly.

She knows what this means.

This means that the last barrier outside the city is gone.

This means that Li Shiming's tens of thousands of troops are about to besiege the city.

This means that these 40,000 remaining soldiers will be trapped in a truly inescapable predicament.

"Your Majesty, we are now..." Despair had already appeared in the eyes of the generals.

Feng Mulan took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She looked eastward, where the morning light was illuminating the sky.

It also illuminated... the Tang army's dragon banner that was rapidly approaching Jianghuai City.

"Issue the order to the entire army."

Her voice was exceptionally clear in the morning breeze: "Abandon the central square, retreat to the inner city, we... prepare for street fighting."

"street fighting?"

"Correct."

Feng Mulan gripped the hilt of her sword, a resolute glint in her eyes: "Jianghuai City still has its crisscrossing streets and alleys, and countless buildings that we can defend to the death."

She paused, then said, word by word, "Even if the city falls, we will make the Tang army pay with ten times the blood!"

With the order given, the Chu army began to retreat into the city.

Outside the city, Li Shiming's army had already completed its reorganization.

Tens of thousands of Tang soldiers lined up in the morning light, like a moving steel forest, slowly pressing towards Jianghuai City.

The final siege is about to begin.

And this decisive battle, which lasted for a day and a night, finally... entered its final and most brutal stage.

The victor is king, the loser is a bandit.

Every brick and stone in Jianghuai City will bear witness to this final blood and fire.

As dawn breaks, the morning light is as red as blood.

Li Shiming reined in his horse and stood atop the ruins of the Dragon Gate Formation, the dragon banner fluttering behind him.

Before them, the remnants of the Chu army were retreating in disarray, and the city of Jianghuai was emerging from the morning mist, seemingly within easy reach.

The Tang soldiers behind him were exhausted, but their eyes burned with the ecstasy of victory.

After several hours of bloody fighting and the lives of 20,000 comrades, this supposedly insurmountable barrier was finally breached.

"Your Majesty, the Chu army is in complete disarray. Should we pursue them immediately?"

Xue Che rode up, his face covered in blood from the fierce battle, but his eyes were as bright as stars.

Just as Li Shiming was about to give the order, he suddenly heard—

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The sound of war drums came from the direction of the Chu army's retreat.

It wasn't the chaotic drumbeats of a defeated army, but rather a steady, deep, and dignified rhythm.

The drumbeats came from afar, from sparse to dense, and finally merged into a deafening roar.

Li Shiming's pupils contracted sharply, and he abruptly looked up.

In the morning mist, a jet-black dragon flag slowly rose.

The flag is embroidered with a golden dragon, which shines brightly in the morning light.

The flag wasn't standing on the city wall or at the rear—it was moving, advancing, pressing towards the center of the battlefield!

Below the flag was a cavalry unit.

All were white horses, all were silver armor, and all were twelve-foot-long spears.

This cavalry force numbered only three thousand, but their formation was impeccable as they marched, and the rhythmic thud of their hooves drowned out all the noise on the battlefield.

Their speed was not fast, even slow, but every step they took forward carried a sense of oppressive pressure, like a mountain collapsing.

At the forefront of the cavalry, on a pure white horse with only its hooves as black as ink, Chu Ning sat upright like a bell.

He was not wearing golden armor, but rather a black battle robe covered with a soft armor with dragon patterns, and the Shangfang sword, symbolizing the emperor of the Great Chu, hung at his waist.

The morning breeze ruffled a few strands of black hair on his forehead, revealing a pair of eyes as cold as stars.

The Emperor of Chu actually led his army to press forward!

"His Majesty!"

Xue Che's expression changed drastically, and his voice trembled with shock: "That...that's Chu Ning's personal guards, three thousand White Dragon Riders! The Chu Emperor...the Chu Emperor himself has come!"

The surrounding Tang generals all turned pale.

It was not uncommon for emperors to personally lead military campaigns, but in the decisive moment of a battle, when his own lines were breached and his army was in retreat, he still dared to lead a mere three thousand personal guards in a counterattack against the enemy lines.

What kind of courage does that require?

How insane!

Li Shiming stared intently at the approaching black dragon flag, his face drained of color, slowly turning ashen.

He got it.

Chu Ning isn't trying to turn the tide or launch a counterattack.

This is... a fight to the death.

We must use the power of the emperor's personal campaign and the desperate fighting of these three thousand White Dragon Cavalry to boost the morale of the routed troops, to thwart the Tang army's newly ignited momentum, and to buy the last bit of time for the defenders of Jianghuai City.

"What a fine Chu Ning!"

Li Shiming spat out these words through gritted teeth, the veins on his hand gripping the sword hilt bulging: "You think coming here in person will change the outcome?"

He turned his head sharply and looked at the Tang soldiers behind him who had just experienced a bloody battle and were still ecstatic about breaking through the Dragon Gate Formation.

He knew that he could not retreat at this moment, not even a single step.

If we retreat, the morale that has just been boosted will collapse instantly, and the fear that has shattered our courage will surge back into our hearts.

At that point, let alone attacking the city, even maintaining a foothold will be difficult.

"Soldiers!"

Li Shiming's voice boomed like thunder, drowning out all the noise on the battlefield: "Do you see that? The Chu Emperor is here! He's brought three thousand men to rescue his defeated army!"

He pointed his longsword forward, directly at the black dragon banner: "He's gambling! Gambling that we won't dare to fight, gambling that we'll be afraid because the emperor is personally leading the campaign, gambling that we'll be scared off by these three thousand men!"

"But—" Li Shimin's voice suddenly rose: "I tell you! He made a mistake! A huge mistake!"

He turned his horse around to face the 70,000 Tang soldiers, and every word he spoke resounded powerfully:

"Today, right here, outside Jianghuai City, I will make you witness with your own eyes how the Emperor of Great Chu will fall to my sword!"

"How can the dragon flag of the Tang Dynasty trample over the dragon flag of the Chu Kingdom!"

"Everyone—"

Li Shimin swung his longsword down fiercely: "Follow me and charge! Whoever captures Chu Ning alive will be enfeoffed as a marquis with ten thousand households! Whoever takes his head will be enfeoffed as a marquis with five thousand households!"

"Roar--!"

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

What's more, this is the emperor himself leading the army in a charge!

The Tang army's elation at breaking through the Dragon Gate Formation instantly transformed into an even more fervent fighting spirit.

The 70,000-strong army, like a flood bursting its banks, charged head-on against the 3,000 White Dragon Riders!

Meanwhile, on the Chu army's side, the retreating soldiers also saw the black dragon banner pressing down on them.

"It's His Majesty! His Majesty has come in person!"

"The White Dragon Riders! Those are His Majesty's White Dragon Riders!"

"His Majesty has not abandoned us! His Majesty is with us!"

Exclamations, shouts, and cries spread rapidly among the fleeing troops.

Those soldiers who had lost their will to fight and only wanted to escape stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the dragon flag that shone so brightly in the morning light.

Xue Huaide, under the cover of his personal guards, was directing his remaining troops to retreat when he heard the commotion behind him and suddenly turned around.

When he saw the black dragon banner pressing forward, and when he saw Chu Ning personally leading three thousand white dragon riders to counterattack the enemy formation, the fierce general was first stunned, and then his eyes flashed with disbelief.