novelden Chapter 1854 Hesitation
Chapter 1854 Hesitation
On the top of Hongdu City, Chu Ning leaned on the railing and looked into the distance. The cold morning breeze blew on his young face that already showed the majesty of an emperor.
The vast battlefield below has completely turned into a boiling swamp of flesh and blood.
Under the pincer attack of his main force and Xue Huaide's fresh troops, the Han army was collapsing at an unprecedented speed, with corpses strewn all over the ground and fleeing soldiers like tides.
However, his gaze penetrated the chaotic battlefield sharply and locked onto the still standing flag of the Han army's central commander.
He could see that in that area, the remnants of the Han army were still putting up a futile but stubborn resistance.
They tried to build temporary lines of defense, like a lone boat about to capsize in the raging waves, doing it even though they knew it was impossible.
The corner of Chu Ning's mouth curled up into a cold arc, as if everything was under control.
Liu Xiu's reaction was completely within his expectations.
"A trapped beast still fights. Is this the emperor's last bit of dignity?"
He whispered to himself, his voice showing no trace of surprise, only cold murderous intent:
"Unfortunately, you have no other choice. Apart from fighting to the death and gambling your last bit of luck, what other choice do you have?"
This is exactly the result that Chu Ning wanted.
Liu Xiu and his hundreds of thousands of troops were held outside the city of Hongdu, exhausting their spirit and strength, and finally the encirclement was completed with an absolute advantage in military force.
What he wants is not a defeat, but a complete annihilation!
What he wanted was not a victory, but to completely sever the destiny of the Han Dynasty!
Liu Xiu must die here.
Only if this great Han emperor died on the battlefield would the Han army completely lose its backbone, and the huge Han Dynasty would instantly fall apart and fall into civil strife with no leader.
By then, Chu Ning, with the power of a great victory, will be able to march straight into the Han territory that is divided among the warlords with a crushing force and take it into his possession!
This is his real purpose, a big game with the whole world at stake!
Of course, he would never give Liu Xiu any chance to regroup or even make a comeback.
Although the temporary defense lines built by the Han army were crumbling under the fierce attack of Xue Huaide's army, they were still delaying the arrival of the final judgment.
"Humph, dying struggle."
Chu Ning snorted coldly, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
He turned around abruptly and shouted to the messenger who had been waiting for a long time behind him:
"Pass on my orders! Except for the ten thousand men who remain in the city to ensure its safety, all other soldiers will follow me out of the city! We must achieve our goal in one decisive battle, today!"
"His Majesty!"
The chief guard beside him was shocked when he heard this: "Outside the city, there is chaos and the swords are merciless. Your Majesty, your precious body, how can you personally risk it?"
Chu Ning smiled proudly and grabbed the spear leaning against the battlement. The tip of the spear flashed a cold light in the morning light.
"My soldiers are fighting bloody battles. How can I sit on the city wall and watch the battle?"
"Today, I will personally put an end to this war! Open the door!"
The heavy city gate burst open again, and this time, a torrent of powerful water gushed out.
Chu Ning took the lead, holding a spear, his golden dragon-patterned armor shining brightly in the morning sun, like a god of war descending to the earth.
Behind him was the last and most loyal group of fresh troops in Hongdu City. When they saw His Majesty the Emperor personally leading the army to attack, they immediately burst into thunderous cheers and their morale reached its peak!
"Warriors of the Great Chu! Follow me to fight the enemy! Whoever kills Emperor Liu Xiu of Han will be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"
Chu Ning's voice was clear and powerful, and it was clearly heard throughout the battlefield.
The morale boost brought by the emperor's personal presence at the front line is immeasurable!
The Chu army outside the city, whose morale had already been boosted by the arrival of reinforcements, was now like a chicken with its blood injected, bursting out with amazing fighting power.
The new reinforcements that joined the battlefield were like the sharpest knives, wedging fiercely into the defense line that the Han army was trying to organize.
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Kill! Kill Liu Xiu!"
The Chu army responded internally and externally, and the offensive was like a tsunami, with each wave rising higher and higher. The Han army's already shaky front was instantly riddled with holes.
The screams, the clashing of weapons, and the neighing of war horses combined into a melody of death.
Han soldiers fell in large numbers, the makeshift flags were constantly cut down, the officers' desperate shouts were drowned out by the Chu army's cries of killing, and the defeat had turned into a catastrophic massacre.
Amidst the chaos, Huo Guang, covered in blood and with torn armor, struggled to knock down two Chu cavalrymen who tried to approach him, and rushed to the flag of the central army.
The resistance here was the most intense, but also the most tragic. More than half of the emperor's personal guard battalion had been lost.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Huo Guang rushed to Liu Xiu's horse, his voice hoarse and urgent, his face a mixture of blood, sweat and endless anxiety.
"We can't hold on any longer! Chu Ning has come out personally to kill us. The Chu army is too powerful, and our entire army is collapsing! If we don't break out, it will be too late!"
Liu Xiu's eyes were red at this moment, staring at the "Chu" imperial flag that was getting closer and closer in the distance, and the long sword in his hand trembled slightly due to the force.
When he heard Huo Guang's words, he turned around suddenly, his eyes filled with rage and unwillingness:
"Break out? I am the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. How can I escape from the battlefield? I will live and die with my soldiers! I don't believe it..."
"His Majesty!"
Huo Guang almost shouted to interrupt him, and in his haste he ignored the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects:
"This is not the time to act rashly! As long as there is life, there will be no shortage of firewood! If you die in this battle, it will be exactly what Chu Ning wants!"
"By then, our army will be leaderless, and the Han Dynasty will fall apart in an instant!"
Seeing that Liu Xiu was still gritting his teeth and remained unmoved, he suddenly lowered his voice, his tone extremely sad:
"Your Majesty! Have you forgotten the message sent by carrier pigeon from Chang'an City?! The Empress Dowager West, Dugu Jia, has usurped power, placed the Empress Dowager East under house arrest, and intends to establish Liu Xiang as emperor!"
"If anything were to happen to you here, how could that vicious woman let go of such a godsend opportunity? She would definitely ally with the scoundrels in the court and quickly seize control of the situation!"
"And Chu Ning, after killing you, will never stop. He will take advantage of the civil unrest in our Han Dynasty and march straight in!"
Huo Guang's voice was like a hammer, hammering at Liu Xiu's heart: "By then, with the powerful Chu invading from outside and the treacherous empress usurping power from within, the four hundred years of foundation of our Han Dynasty will be destroyed in an instant!"
"Your Majesty, are you willing to do this? You must leave now, not to escape, but to preserve the last hope of the Han Dynasty, to return and settle accounts with the rebels, and to restore order!"
These words were like cold water poured over his head, instantly extinguishing most of the anger in Liu Xiu's eyes, and replacing it with extreme struggle and deep pain.
Didn't he know that everything Huo Guang said made sense?
But when he looked at the soldiers around him who were still fighting for him, and at the arrogant Chu Ning in the distance, the pride of an emperor and the bloodiness of a soldier made it difficult for him to make the decision to escape.
What's more, the army has been completely entangled at this moment, so how can it be easy to break out?
Liu Xiu's face was terribly gloomy, and the knuckles of his fingers holding the reins turned white from the force.
He stared at Chu Ning's battle flag in the distance, then looked around at the extremely tragic battlefield, and then thought of the shocking changes in Chang'an City and the terrible future described by Huo Guang.
Time seems to freeze at this moment.
Every second of hesitation means the sacrifice of more loyal soldiers and a slim chance of breaking through.
Should he die in battle here, preserving the emperor's dignity, but handing over the country to others?
Or should he endure humiliation and risk his life to break out, to win a glimmer of hope for himself and the Han Dynasty?
The tremendous pressure and boundless humiliation almost crushed the young emperor.