Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

At this point, the three armies had coordinated perfectly, completing the entire plan:

First route: Liu Ce and Li Jing trapped all the warlords of the Guandong coalition in Suanzao, and none of them escaped. The coalition camp was in complete chaos, with infighting and quarrels every day, and morale plummeted.

The second route: Xue Rengui and Su Lie trapped Dong Zhuo at Hulao Pass, making escape impossible. Dong Zhuo's several attempts to break out were all repelled, leaving him only able to cower inside the pass and curse.

The third route: Xu Da and Li Ji captured Luoyang and blocked Hangu Pass, cutting off all of Dong Zhuo's escape routes. With the Imperial Seal in hand, the treasury sealed, and his family captured... Li Jue and his men in Chang'an were powerless to save him.

Now, all that's left is to wait for the catch to be made.

Inside the central command tent.

Liu Ce listened to the battle reports coming from all directions, and his smile was so wide that his eyes disappeared.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Liu Ce looked at the dense markings on the map and couldn't stop smiling.

"Pharmacist, when is the best time to put these dumplings in the pot?"

Li Jing smiled and said, "My lord, the dumplings are all made. It's up to you when you'd like to eat them."

Liu Ce stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said slowly:

"Let them panic for a few more days. Once they've panicked enough and are completely desperate, then we'll make our move. By then, they won't even have the will to resist."

Guo Jia laughed and said, "My lord, this is a brilliant move. Even a cornered beast will fight back; pushing them too far will only make things worse. Let's starve them for a few days and let them fall into chaos on their own. Then we can take them down without shedding a drop of blood."

Liu Ce nodded, leaned back in his chair, and thought smugly: It'll be here soon...

Liu Bei stood aside, watching this scene, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

This is Liu Ce, the Prince of Yan.

When they strike, it's with overwhelming force.

In his eyes, all the feudal lords in the world were nothing more than dumplings in a pot.

When and how he fishes is entirely up to him.

He recalled his past ambitions and dreams of restoring the Han Dynasty, and suddenly found them somewhat laughable.

To restore the Han Dynasty?

The person before me is the true hope of the Han Dynasty.

He secretly made up his mind again:

I'm going to work for him for the rest of my life.

...

For three days straight, there had been no peace in Dong Zhuo's tent at Hulao Pass.

On the first day, Dong Zhuo smashed seven wine jugs, kicked over three tables, and cursed until his voice was hoarse.

The next day, he smashed two bronze tripods and poked seven or eight holes in the tent, scaring the maids so much that they knelt on the ground, too afraid to even breathe.

On the third day, he started cursing at thin air, cursing Liu Ce, then Li Ru, then himself...

Since being surrounded by Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang, Dong Zhuo hasn't had a full night's sleep.

During the day, he was in a frantic rush, and at night he had nightmares. He dreamt that Liu Ce had chopped off his head and hung it on the city wall of Luoyang as a warning. He woke up screaming in fright, covered in cold sweat.

That day, he was sitting in his tent, drinking alone and thinking about how to break through the encirclement, when suddenly...

The soldier scrambled in, crying and shouting, to report:

"Prime Minister! Something terrible has happened! Xu Da has captured Luoyang! The imperial palace and treasury have all been seized! General Dong Min has been captured alive!"

The wine jug in Dong Zhuo's hand crashed to the ground with a "bang," splashing wine all over his trouser leg.

His fat face instantly turned a deep liver color, his lips trembled, and he was about to utter a curse...

A second soldier rushed in and said:

"Prime Minister! It's over! Hangu Pass has fallen! Reinforcements from Chang'an are blocked outside the pass and can't get through! General Li Su is dead!"

"What?"

Dong Zhuo roared and jumped up, his fat body shaking the ground inside the tent three times.

His fat body trembled like a leaf, and with a wave of his hand, he overturned the table in front of him, scattering wine, food, bamboo slips, cups, and plates all over the floor with a crash.

He spat all over the tent and said:

"Liu Ce... ah... ah... ah... I'll never forgive you!"

His face was flushed, his neck was thick, his eyes were wide open, and his veins were bulging as he said:

"My Luoyang! My gold and silver! My beautiful women... all gone!!!"

He paced back and forth in the tent in anger, his fat belly bouncing.

He walked to the tent post, suddenly drew his sword, and with a "crack," cleaved the thick tent post in two! The tent roof shook, and a lot of dust fell.

He roared, his eyes red:

"Send the order! The entire army breaks through! Return to Luoyang! I'm going to chop that brat Xu Da into mincemeat!"

Li Ru, who was standing next to him, turned pale and quickly rushed over to pull him back.

"My lord! This is unacceptable! Xue Rengui and his 50,000-strong army have surrounded us outside Hulao Pass like an iron barrel! The trenches are everywhere... barricades are everywhere, and cavalry patrol daily! We simply cannot break through!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo seemed to have lost his mind and slumped into his seat.

The rage just moments before instantly turned into despair.

His lips trembled as he muttered to himself:

"It's over... Luoyang is gone, Hangu Pass is gone... I'm like a turtle trapped in a jar..."

After muttering to himself for a while, he suddenly slammed his fist on the table and cursed:

"Liu Ce! You son of a bitch! If you've got the guts, fight me for real! What kind of hero ambushes like this? When I was slaughtering the Qiang people in Xiliang, you were still wearing diapers!"

As he continued cursing, he stood up again and smashed everything he could in the tent.

The table was smashed, the candlesticks were smashed, the wine pot was smashed, and even the beloved painting of a tiger descending the mountain that hung on the wall was torn down.

The Xiliang soldiers outside the tent were terrified; everyone knew...

The old fat thief has been driven to the brink and gone mad.

But even if you're crazy, life still goes on.

In the following days, Dong Zhuo's subordinates began to have their own thoughts.

Some wanted to secretly run away, some wanted to surrender, and some wanted to kidnap Dong Zhuo for wealth and power.

Li Ru said to Dong Zhuo, "My lord, we must think of a way! We can't just sit here and wait to die!"

Dong Zhuo glared at him and said, "A solution? What solution do you have? You better think of something for me!"

Li Ru said with a bitter face, "I... I can't help it..."

Enraged, Dong Zhuo smashed another wine pot.

Meanwhile, Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang, located outside the pass, had already secured Hulao Pass tightly.

Su Lie then dug several more trenches around the city gate, each trench being one zhang wide and one zhang deep.

Behind the trench, the ground was covered with barricades, their spikes pointing outwards, densely packed together.

They even blocked up the places where the rats burrowed.

Xue Rengui led his cavalry to challenge the enemy below the pass every day, his voice so loud that it could be heard even inside the pass:

"Dong Zhuo, you old traitor! Come out and face your death!"

"Dong Zhuo! Your Luoyang is gone! Your gold and silver are gone! Your women are gone! What are you still defending?!"

"Listen up, Xiliang soldiers inside! Those who surrender will have plenty of food every day! Those who resist will be wiped out after the city falls!"

......

In less than three days, over a thousand Xiliang soldiers surrendered.

Dong Zhuo was completely trapped.

...