The decision was made, and the pottery merchant immediately issued an imperial edict, ordering the troops to surround Zhuo County and not attack, and surrounded Zhuo County into an iron barrel formation, and even a fine work of the Han Kingdom would not be allowed to sneak in.

After the order was passed, the soldiers gave up the idea of ​​quickly breaking Zhuo County, and only built one earth wall after another with peace of mind, dug one after another, and surrounded Zhuo County with three layers inside and three layers outside.

At the same time, the Tao Shang ordered Han Xin to go to Liangxiang in person to command a 100,000 army, and formed a confrontation with the 80,000 Han troops heading south.

In view of the previous battle of Weihai, Sun Ce's navy suffered a severe blow and could no longer pose a threat to the Qingxu coast. Tao Shang ordered Zheng Chenggong and other naval generals to lead the Wei Navy to head north again and harass Liu Bei's coastal counties from the sea.

...

Thirty miles north of Liangxiangcheng, the Han army camp.

A small banquet was underway, the wine was filled with fragrance and the atmosphere was pleasant.

At this time, Liu Bei had just received the news that veteran Huang Zhong had led his army to recover Youbeiping County, killed the rebel general Shi Siming, and completely wiped out the last rebel army in the Han Dynasty.

This good news naturally greatly boosted Liu Bei's spirit.

In Liu Bei's view, as long as Zhang Fei and Wu Sangui can defend Shanhaiguan, he will have no worries and can let go of his hands and feet to meet Guan Yu and fight against Tao Shang to the death.

"As soon as the thief dies, your Majesty can finally get rid of the thief with confidence. Congratulations to Your Majesty." Zhuge Liang said while toasting.

Liu Bei laughed loudly and raised his glass and drank it all, making the atmosphere in the big tent easier.

At this time, Ju Su reminded: "Your Majesty, the Taoist thieves have captured Yijing. General Guan only has 20,000 troops, and is afraid it will be difficult to resist Zhuo County. For the sake of this, Your Majesty should quickly order General Guan to lead his army to Liangxiang and wait to meet with our army, so as not to be surrounded by Taoist thieves. After all, these 20,000 troops are also a considerable force for us today."

Liu Bei shook his hand and smiled and said, "Don't worry, Yun Chang still has this knowledge. Maybe he has retreated to Liangxiang at this moment and is waiting for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scout rushed in and rushed to Liu Bei with a piece of silk manuscript information.

Liu Bei drank the wine in the glass and slowly unfolded the silk book. He only took a look and his face suddenly changed.

The ministers watched Liu Bei's expression change and knew something was wrong. They immediately calmed down, and their uneasy eyes shot towards Liu Bei.

"Your Majesty, what did the information say?" Zhuge Liang asked cautiously.

"What else can you see, please see it yourself!" Liu Bei looked annoyed and disappointed, and threw the silk book information on the ground.

Zhuge Liang, Ju Su and others were anxious to get up and pick up the information on the ground. When they opened it, they all changed color.

Every word on the information is like a knife, and it is written clearly:

The Wei army successfully attacked Liangxiang, but Guan Yu's retreat was cut off and he was trapped in Zhuo County.

"Yun Chang didn't retreat to Liangxiang in time. How could he be so negligent that he would be surrounded by the 20,000 troops in vain?" Zhuge Liang shook his head and sighed.

Liu Bei was also so angry that his face turned blue and said angrily: "I had known that he was so incompetent, so I shouldn't have let him go to the palace back then. I lost more than 60,000 troops in vain. Now even the only 20,000 people are surrounded by the enemy. If my great man really perishes, he will be the number one sinner!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhuge Liang and others all changed their colors, and Guan Xing was even more ashamed and did not dare to look up at Liu Bei.

Over the years, even if Guan Yu was defeated repeatedly, Liu Bei was at most a little blame, so he never said such heavy words today.

Everyone knows that Guan Yu really disappointed Liu Bei.

Ju Su sighed, "General Yun was defeated repeatedly and was surrounded by the Wei army. It is indeed a bit disappointing, but at this point, it would be useless to accuse him. As our great general of Han, General Yun still has more than 20,000 precious soldiers under his command. We must not refuse to save him."

"Chief Guan Yun, Guan Yun, Alas"

Liu Bei sighed a long time, and although he was angry, he could only order the army to go south to capture Liangxiang and rescue Guan Yu who was surrounded.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei was just wishful thinking.

Just when Liu Bei arrived in Liangxiang, the Tao Shang had sent Han Xin to command 100,000 elite troops there to be on guard to stop him from going south.

With the abilities of generals such as Han Xin and Huo Qubing, plus the 100,000 troops, it would be easier for Liu Bei to break through the defense line and fight to Zhuo County.

Liu Bei's attacks failed several times and was forced to stand in front of Liangxiang, forming a confrontation with Han Xin.

And in Zhuo County, the siege officially began.

In a blink of an eye, January has passed.

For a month, the Wei army did nothing, just digging trenches and building walls.

Within one month, the Wei army built three earth walls and six trenches outside the city of Zhuo County, cutting off all contacts between Zhuo County and the outside world and surrounding the entire city into an isolated island.

The pottery only digs holes but does not attack the city.

The purpose is naturally clear, which is to compete with Guan Yu in the city and Liu Bei in the north to compete with who has a strong family background and who has more food and grass.

At the beginning of the stalemate, Liu Bei had to transport the precious grain hidden in Jijing's granary to the front line one after another.

The pottery merchant didn't have to worry about food and grass at all.

For several years, although the Great Wei was in a state of war almost every year, Shang Yang's reforms made the Great Wei national strength and economy stronger.

From the westernmost Liangzhou to the easternmost Xuzhou, from the north and south Jizhou to the southernmost Jiaozhou, a large area of ​​wasteland was plowed, and millions of farmers were working hard.

The hard work of the people and the destiny of the pottery merchants, the Great Wei Dynasty has been doing well for five consecutive years, and has achieved good harvests for five consecutive years. The new grain in the granaries everywhere is almost overflowing.

It is precisely because of this strong economy that although the Great Wei invested 400,000 troops into Hebei, the supply of food and grass was not difficult.

Liu Bei was completely different. His Han Dynasty originally had only two states, Youman, and the newly obtained Manzhou was located in a cold place. Many areas were undeveloped and their economy was not even as good as Jiaozhou.

When Manzhou lost its economy, the Han Dynasty's economy became worse. Coupled with the damage of the An Lushan rebellion, it was another heavy blow to the Han Dynasty's economy.

As the national strength declined, although Liu Bei's total military strength was less than one-third of the pottery merchants, the pressure on logistics food and grass was more than ten times more than that of the pottery merchants.

Liu Bei was even more worried, Guan Yu, who was trapped in Zhuo County.

The southern line of Han Dynasty was mostly in Yijing. When Guan Yu fled, he had no choice but to burn them all in order not to leave it to the Wei army.

Although Zhuo County is a county seat, the grain storage is limited, and at most he only has 20,000 troops left to eat for three months.

Therefore, less than a month after the siege of the city, the supply of food and grass in the city began to show signs of tightness.

The food and grass can barely support it. If you want to cook firewood, you will not be able to lack firewood. After the city was surrounded, the supply of firewood and grass in the city was cut off.

Within ten days, the firewood in the city was used up, and the military and civilians in the city could only remove the doors and windows, and dismantle all the wood that could be burned to serve as firewood.

It is now autumn, and the weather in the north is getting colder and colder after it falls. I soon feel the chill. Once this portal is opened, in order to save firewood and grass, I dare not make a fire to keep warm. Every household can only spend every night in the cold, and the environment becomes increasingly unfavorable.

Of course, physical pain can barely be sustained, and the suffocation of cutting off information from the outside world is truly desperate.

For a month, Guan Yu had no idea what was happening outside, did not know whether Liu Bei led his army to rescue him, and even did not know whether the Han Dynasty still existed.

He felt like his left eye, he turned blind and fell into endless darkness. The feeling of helplessness was extremely suffocating.

I suddenly saw that the city had been besieged for nearly two months.

The weather became colder and less than one-third of the food and grass in the city. In order to last a few more days, Guan Yu could only continuously reduce the food for his soldiers. This made the soldiers who were frightened and colder, and everyone secretly complained.

Guan Yu's life was not easy, and Liu Bei was restless outside. Seeing that the food and grass in Zhuocheng were about to be exhausted, he had to do everything possible to force the Wei army to withdraw.

Under Zhuge Liang's advice, Liu Bei decided to take advantage of his large cavalry and sent a large number of cavalry generals such as Yan Liang and Zhang Liao to go around the Wei army, trying to destroy the Wei army's food route.

But the pottery was prepared.

After Han Xin commanded 100,000 infantrymen took over the defense of Liangxiang front line, Tao Shang added 10,000 cavalry to the retired 20,000 cavalry and mobilized most of his cavalry forces, allowing commanders such as Huo Qubing, Ma Chao, and Luo Cheng to fully protect the food route.

Under the strict defense of the pottery merchants, the Han army's attack on the grain road was repeatedly frustrated, and after losing thousands of cavalry, it was declared defeat.

After the food and grass were not worried, the pottery merchant was able to trample Guan Yu with peace of mind.

After the siege entered the third month, the Wei army finally began to take action. Hundreds of thunder cannons were deployed at the four gates of Zhuo County, and they began to launch a bombardment on the dead city day and night.

Tens of thousands of stone bombs crossed the city walls and bombarded the buildings in the city.

Houses lacking beams and pillars were easily bombarded. Hundreds of enemy soldiers and civilians were killed by collapsed gravel before they could escape.

After a few days of bombardment, most of the buildings outside Zhuocheng were razed to the ground.

The Han army lacked firewood to keep warm. It was already painful to slept in a house with leaking air at night. Now, even a piece of tiles that sheltered the wind were smashed by the Wei army and could only tremble in the open air.

The bombardment of the stone bomb caused the spirit of the enemy soldiers and civilians in the city to suffer a heavy blow again.

As the siege enters the third month, the most deadly pain finally comes.

hunger.

All the pain is so insignificant in the face of hunger.

In three months, Guan Yu's 20,000 soldiers ate up most of the food and grass, and almost entered the desperate situation of food being cut off.

County government lobby.

Guan Yu's face was extremely gloomy. He stared at the grain book accounts on the table with one eye, and the corners of his mouth were twitching slightly.

"General, the food rations of the soldiers have reached the limit. The little food they eat every day is not even able to pick up weapons. If this continues, the pottery thieves will not be able to get a soldier, and we will collapse ourselves." Wen Chou's tone was already crying.

"There is no food and grass in the army, won't you go to find food?" Guan Yu asked in a deep voice.

Looking for food?

Wen Chou was stunned, with a confused look on his face, thinking that Zhuo County had been surrounded and could not be circulated, where would you ask me to go to find food?

Guan Yu raised his hand and pointed out in a cold tone: "The people in the city must have hidden a lot of food, especially those rich households. You will immediately lead troops to search the house. Anything you can eat will be collected by me, and they will not be allowed to keep a grain of rice."
Chapter completed!