"Thank you for your concern, sir." Ding Hui replied softly:

"These are just flesh wounds. It doesn't matter. You don't need to worry about it. The skin is rough and the flesh is thick, so it can hold up."

"Oh, it's all thanks to you." Zhao Zhongtian sighed, shook his head and said:

"If you hadn't sacrificed your life to hold back the Long army and allowed the army to withdraw into the city smoothly, I don't know how many more people would have died."

In today's battle, the main force of the Wu army had just withdrawn into Shouchun City, and the two infantry soldiers behind them had already arrived. The dense numbers of spears in southern Xinjiang made Zhao Zhongtian's scalp numb. If he had entered the city half an hour later, the Wu army would have suffered losses today.

Disastrous, even the entire army was wiped out.

"The general is a soldier, and fighting on the battlefield is his bounden duty. You don't need to praise me."

Ding Hui slightly raised his painful arm and said:

"The top priority is that we should still consider how to fight the next war.

According to the report from the defenders at the top of the city just now, the Long Army has laid a siege outside the city, with a strength of no less than 80,000, and tens of thousands of elite infantrymen.

Sir, our battle to defend the city should not be easy."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhongtian frowned and asked:

"How many soldiers are there in the city that can fight?"

"There are about 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers, and there are still some wounded among them. After all, we can only collect 40,000 veterans who can fight."

"Alas~"

Zhao Zhongtian sighed again, his face full of distress. If he hadn't lost nearly 20,000 people today, he would still have the capital to fight the Long Army.

Zhao Zhongtian thought for a while before speaking:

"With 40,000 people defending the city, the Long Army will probably not be able to capture it for a while. The most important thing right now is food and grass. How long can the food and grass in the city last?"

Ding Hui smiled bitterly:

"Seven days at most."

Zhao Zhongtian's eyes were shocked:

"How is it possible? There are only seven days? So few?"

Ding Hui smiled bitterly and said: "The Long Army burned down some of the granaries in the city when they abandoned Shouchun City, and the food from our rear has not been transported because of the scorching summer heat.

We originally planned to replenish food on a large scale in autumn, but who would have thought that we would be surrounded by the Long Army all of a sudden."

“Damn, it’s really raining all night when the house is leaking!”

Zhao Zhongtian couldn't help but cursed: "That's it, just seven days. When the food is gone, the war horses will be killed. After the war horses are killed, they will eat wild vegetables and tree bark. You can delay as long as you can. I will leave the city defense arrangements to you."

.

Remember, you must keep sending people out to ask for help from Wuzhou!"

"promise!"

…

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Within three days, Shouchun City was surrounded by the Long Army, with three floors inside and three floors outside.

Ding Hui, who was in charge of the war on the front line, sent more than a dozen waves of elite troops to break out of the encirclement in an attempt to send a letter asking for help. However, they were all blocked by the Long Army, which cost hundreds of elite lives in vain.

The Long army seemed to know that there was not much food and grass in the city, so they adopted a strategy of besieging Shouchun City without attacking it. They even dug several trenches to block horses outside the wide city, hoping to trap the Long army in the city to death.

.

As time passed day by day, the food in the city was finally eaten for eight days despite frugality. The morale of tens of thousands of soldiers was getting lower day by day. Complaints began to spread among the army. On the ninth day, Wu Jun

Finally the slaughter of the war horses began.

By this time, not many soldiers in the city were willing to fight, and their minds were full of thinking about where to find something to eat.

The morale of the army is weakened.

Zhao Zhongtian, wearing a bright red official robe, was inspecting the military camp in the city with a sad expression on his face.

It was night, and the light was not very bright, but the sadness in Zhao Zhongtian's eyes could not be hidden.

The soldiers sat scattered on the ground. When Zhao Zhongtian came over, no one even stood up to salute. All of them looked sallow and very weak. They could only rest against the wall tiles and stones, for fear that they would not be able to sleep as soon as they came down.

Zhao Zhongtian moved with difficulty among the crowd, looking around, his expression becoming increasingly ugly:

"How can we fight if the soldiers are so weak? What have they been eating these two days?"

Ding Hui, who was following him, said in a deep voice:

"Sir, except for the defenders on the city who can get some dry food and horse meat, the others can only cook some wild vegetables and tree roots to satisfy their hunger."

"How can this be done?" Zhao Zhongtian frowned deeply:

"If the Long army attacks the city in a large scale, how can Shouchun be defended with only the soldiers on the top of the city?"

Ding Hui's mouth was bitter: "The general knows, but there is no other way. We can only try our best to ensure that there is a relatively strong army on the front line. If the Long Army attacks the city, let them go first."

Hold on for a while.

And judging from the movements of the Long army outside the city, it seems that they have no intention of attacking the city and only want to kill us."

"Alas~"

Zhao Zhongtian sighed slightly and asked, "Hasn't the letter for help been sent out yet?"

"No."

Ding Hui shook his head:

"The Long Army's encirclement is too tight, and our people really can't break out.

However, since our contact with the rear has been cut off for so long, His Majesty will definitely know that something happened in the Shouchun area and will definitely send reinforcements, so you don’t need to worry too much."

The closest thing to Shouyan Road should be the soldiers and horses on Wuzhong Road. In the past two months, Zhou Jiaqing has personally been in charge of Wuzhou City. The only ones who can save Zhao Zhongtian and the others are Zhou Jiaqing's soldiers and horses.

"It sounds easy, but it's not that easy~"

Zhao Zhongtian said worriedly: "It will take at least four or five days from the time we lose contact until His Majesty knows the news. Even if His Majesty is decisive and immediately gathers reinforcements, the journey from Wuzhong Road to Shouyan Road, which is hundreds of miles, can be reached in two or three days.

of.

Judging from the time, it will take about a month for the reinforcements to arrive outside the city at the earliest.

If there was enough food in the city, it would be easy to hold on for a month. But now it has only been ten days, and the soldiers have begun to eat tree bark to satisfy their hunger, so how can they hold on for a month?

Ding Hui, do you think we should break out?"

Zhao Zhongtian had a desire to retreat in his heart. He felt that Shouchun City could not be defended. He even felt the breath of death. If he was not careful, he might even die here.

Ding Hui hesitated for a while before replying:

"Sir, if four or five days ago, the soldiers could still try to break out when they were physically strong, but the current military morale is no longer enough to support us in a battle with the Long Army~"

Ding Hui could see it clearly. At first, everyone could eat half full, and they were not afraid of the Long Army when they went to the battlefield. But now they really can't beat them, especially the Southern Xinjiang Spear Formation outside the city. They will become the soldiers of the Wu Army.

Nightmare.

Zhao Zhongtian looked sad:

"Oh, what you said makes sense, so we can only hope for reinforcements~"

Zhao Zhongtian looked up at the night sky with somewhat dazed eyes. He had never expected to be in such a dangerous situation. Can he escape from the heavy siege of the Long Army?

"boom!"

"Boom boom!"

At this moment, several violent explosions sounded in the city, and some soldiers could even feel the ground shaking slightly under their feet.

Zhao Zhongtian and Ding Hui's faces turned aside for an instant, and only one thought came to their minds:
Chapter completed!