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

"That's precisely why we can't afford to divide our forces!"

Guan Yun interrupted her, her voice resolute: "Your Majesty, please look inside the city—"

He pointed towards the central square in the city.

There, the shouts of battle still shook the heavens, and the smoke of war still billowed.

Although tens of thousands of Tang soldiers were suppressed by Han Xing and Feng Mulan's troops, they still put up a stubborn resistance, using the terrain of the streets and alleys to engage in fierce street battles with the Chu army.

"General Han Xing is leading his troops in a bloody battle against the Tang army, while our army's Mo Dao team and the remnants of the vanguard battalion are also clearing out the remaining enemy forces in various places."

Guan Yun said in a deep voice, "If we send troops out of the city now, the city will be left with few soldiers, and the Tang army will definitely launch a counterattack!"

"At that point, we'll be pleasing neither side—we won't be able to save His Majesty outside the city, nor will we be able to defend Jianghuai from within!"

He paused, then added, "Moreover, the Scorpion Clan cavalry came with great force, but they only number 30,000."

"His Majesty has the White Dragon Cavalry under the command of Commander Xue. As long as they hold their ground and hold out until we deal with the Tang army inside the city, we can then send reinforcements out of the city and attack from both sides, and we will surely annihilate Helian Hui!"

Feng Mulan remained silent.

She knew perfectly well that Guan Yun was right. But the figure outside the city directing the defenses was the king she served, the most important person in her heart.

Watching Chu Ning get surrounded without helping him was worse than killing her.

But she was a general, a commander, and an imperial concubine.

She cannot act on her emotions.

"Miss!"

Guan Yun knelt on one knee, his voice earnest: "This humble general knows you are worried about His Majesty, but the more critical the moment, the calmer you must remain."

"General Han Xing is fighting a fierce battle inside the city. If we just put in a little more effort, we will definitely be able to completely defeat the Tang army inside the city in half an hour, at most half an hour!"

"At that time, when our army launches a combined attack from within and without, it will be the best opportunity to truly relieve His Majesty's siege!"

Feng Mulan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, the calmness and decisiveness of a commander had returned to her gaze.

"you're right."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority: "Dividing our forces at this moment is indeed a poor strategy."

She turned to face the Chu soldiers fighting fiercely below the city walls, and her voice suddenly rose:

"Issue an order to General Han Xing—I will personally lead the Mo Dao team and the remnants of the vanguard battalion to fully cooperate with him in clearing out the Tang army within the city!"

"Tell him, half an hour—I'm only giving him half an hour! After half an hour, the Tang army must be completely crushed, and then—"

She pointed her sword at the scorpion-shaped banner outside the city: "Follow me out of the city, annihilate the Scorpion Clan, and relieve His Majesty's siege!"

"Understood!" The messenger sped off.

Feng Mulan took one last look at the area outside the city.

She saw Chu Ning's black dragon banner fluttering in the center of the defensive formation, saw the white dragon riding on both flanks, and saw the old general Xue Huaide's silver-white beard and hair dancing in the morning breeze.

"Your Majesty..." she murmured to herself, "Hold on for another half an hour."

Then, she turned around abruptly, her crimson armor gleaming like fire, her voice booming like thunder:

"Guan Yun! Ran Ming!"

"Your subordinate is here!" the two fierce generals replied in unison.

"Follow me—charge into the city and wipe out the Tang army completely!"

"As ordered!"

The war drums on the city walls sounded again; this time, it was the drumbeat of the decisive battle.

Feng Mulan personally led her troops down from the city wall, her crimson figure like a flame, charging into the fiercest battle within the city.

Outside the city, Chu Ning's defensive formation had already clashed violently with Helian Hui's 30,000 Scorpion Clan cavalry!

The bloody battle reached its climax both inside and outside Jianghuai City.

Half an hour later, the final outcome of this decisive battle, which has lasted for a day and a night, will be decided.

This also determined the fate of the Central Plains for the next hundred years.

Helian Hui's 30,000 Scorpion Clan cavalry, like three black tidal waves, swept towards the Chu army's defensive formation in the dawn.

These knights from the grasslands were completely different from the cavalry of the Central Plains.

They did not wear heavy armor, but only light leather armor; they did not carry spears, but mostly used scimitars and lassos.

Many even went barefoot, standing in the stirrups, to better control their warhorses.

Their charge was not conducted in a strict formation, but rather spread out like a pack of wolves, yet within this disarray lay a deadly tacit understanding.

"First team—fire!" Helian Hui roared the order from the ranks.

The more than 10,000 Scorpion Clan cavalrymen at the forefront simultaneously drew their bows.

It was not the straight shot commonly used by armies in the Central Plains, but a projectile shot—the arrows drew high arcs and fell into the Chu army's formation like swarms of locusts.

Even more insidious was that many arrows were tied with strips of cloth soaked in oil. As soon as the arrow left the bowstring, the cloth strips would be ignited, turning into a rain of fire!

"Raise your shields! Defend against rockets!" Xue Huaide shouted from the center of the formation.

The Chu army's shield bearers immediately raised their giant shields high, layering them to form a steel dome above their formation.

The rockets embedded themselves in the shields, their flames licking the metal, but most failed to penetrate. A few rockets that slipped through the net fell into the ranks, but were quickly extinguished by the prepared soldiers.

The first volley of arrows failed, and the Scorpion Clan cavalry had already closed to within a hundred paces.

"Second team—lasso!" Helian Hui gave the order again.

The squadron of over 10,000 cavalry suddenly accelerated, flanking from both sides.

These cavalrymen wielded not swords and sabers, but long lassos—the ends of which were tied with iron hooks, and the ropes themselves were soaked in tung oil, making them exceptionally tough.

Instead of charging the front of the circle, they swept past from the flanks and threw lassos at the shield bearers on the outer edge of the circle!

Crash-!

Hundreds of lassos flew out simultaneously, their iron hooks gripping the edges of the shield.

The Scorpion Clan cavalry galloped at full speed, using their momentum to pull the lasso!

The immense force struck, catching the front-line shield bearers off guard, and dozens of giant shields were forcibly torn apart!

"Spearmen—hold the breach!" the circular formation commander roared hoarsely.

However, the Scorpion Clan cavalry's tactics were extremely ruthless.

Instead of attacking the breach, they pulled down their shields and immediately disengaged, creating an opportunity for the following troops.

"Third team—charge through the breach!" Helian Hui pointed his longsword forward.

The last 10,000 cavalrymen surged forth like a burst dam, rushing straight towards the gaps in the torn shields!

These are the Scorpion Clan's most elite heavy cavalry, both men and horses clad in armor, wielding long-handled battle axes, charging like a moving iron wall.

The Chu army spearmen at the breach desperately thrust their spears, but the Scorpion Clan heavy cavalry's charge was too powerful.

The first row of spears pierced through the warhorses, and the riders fell to the ground, but the second and third rows followed one after another, filling the road with corpses and charging into the inner circle!

Once inside a circular formation, the cavalry's disadvantages turn into advantages.

Within the narrow formation, the Scorpion Clan cavalry wielded their battle axes, indiscriminately hacking and slashing at the Chu infantry who had not yet formed ranks.

Screams, the sound of bones breaking, and the clashing of weapons filled the air, and the interior of the circular formation instantly turned into a slaughterhouse.

"White Dragon Cavalry—Attack!" Chu Ning, in the central army, saw clearly that the Shangfang Sword was aimed directly at the Scorpion Clan cavalry charging into the circular formation.

Three thousand White Dragon Riders, waiting on both flanks, charged out like silver lightning.

Instead of charging the outer Scorpion cavalry, they went straight into the inner circle and engaged in close-quarters combat with the Scorpion heavy cavalry who had rushed in!