Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

South bank.

Ma Chao turned his horse around and looked at Cao Cao who had fainted on the boat, feeling extremely happy.

Although Cao Cao was not killed in this battle, two of his fingers were cut off. Cao Cao was in a very miserable state and suffered a mental breakdown, fainting on the ground.

It is enough to force Cao Cao to this extent.

"Cao, your fate is not over yet. I will cut off two of your fingers first. If we fight again, I will definitely take your head!"

Ma Chao pointed his blood-stained spear at the receding warship and uttered harsh words.

The Qin advisers and generals on the ship had no time to respond to this humiliating and arrogant threat. They just carried Cao Cao into the cabin and urged the warship to sail towards the north shore.

Ma Chao turned his horse around, pointed his spear at the Qin soldiers, and shouted:

"Your fake emperor Cao has already abandoned you and fled. What reason do you have to work hard for him?"

"Put down your weapons immediately and surrender to the Emperor of Han, and I will spare your life!"

"Whoever dares to continue to resist will be killed!"

The thunderous roar drowned out the noisy shouting on the shore and made everyone's scalp tingle.

The Qin soldiers seemed to have just woken up from their dreams. They laid down their weapons in large numbers, knelt on the ground and asked for surrender to Ma Chao and the Han army.

The screams and cries of killing finally died down, leaving only the frightened cries of the Qin soldiers for mercy.

The more than 40,000 Qin troops who escaped from the city were almost wiped out, more than half of them fought to the death, and the rest surrendered.

When Ma Chao looked back towards Chang'an, the Chinese flag had already been raised on the city wall above the East Gate.

The Battle of Chang'an came to an end.

...

By dusk, order had been restored in Chang'an City.

Under Liu Bei's strict control, most of the troops moved their camp outside the city to rest soon after the city was captured. Only about 30,000 troops were left in the city to guard key points and maintain stability.

Of course, the fact that the Han army officers and soldiers were able to avoid disturbing the common people was inseparable from Liu Bei's strict military discipline and clear rewards and punishments.

As soon as the Battle of Chang'an ended, Liu Bei issued an imperial edict to take all the money and silk from the pseudo-Qin treasury to reward the soldiers of the three armies.

The Han army soldiers who survived the bloody battle were naturally excited and went to receive their rewards happily. Who would be so bored as to risk violating military discipline and disturb the people?

Inside the pseudo-imperial palace.

Accompanied by generals Xiao Fang, Fa Zheng and Zhao Yun, Liu Bei slowly walked into the palace gate.

"Xiahou Dun's Northern Camp Army crossed the Wei River and fled westwards first, and our army was unable to catch up in time."

"Ma Mengqi reported that he had successfully intercepted the fleeing Qin army west of Chang'an, annihilated nearly 40,000 Qin soldiers, and injured Cao Cao himself."

"Cao Cao was rescued by Xiahou Dun's troops with warships, and luckily escaped across the Wei River and fled westward."

"According to the battle results reported by the other generals, our army annihilated at least 50,000 Qin troops inside and outside the city."

"Cao Cao fled westward along the Wei River with only 40,000 soldiers and horses. He should have fled to Longyou and relied on Longshan to continue his resistance."

Ma Su, who was beside him, reported the battle results summarized by the generals to Liu Bei one by one.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, generally satisfied with the result, but sighed with a little regret:
"Cao Cao is lucky enough to escape from Meng Qi's spear. It seems that his fate is not over yet."

All the generals were filled with emotion, and were obviously very regretful that Ma Chao failed to kill Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao could be killed in this battle, it would be the end of the Qin State and people's hearts would collapse in an instant.

After all, Cao Pi's prestige was not enough to stabilize people's morale and turn the tide in this situation where the country was about to collapse.

The remaining Qin troops will certainly have no intention of fighting, and countless of them will surrender. Liangzhou and Yizhou will also be captured without a fight.

In this way, the process of Qin's demise was advanced by at least several years, and the soldiers could return to their hometown to enjoy peace and prosperity.

Unfortunately, Ma Chao was just a little bit off and allowed Cao Cao to escape death.

"Cao Cao is a very tough man. He has escaped death many times in his life. It is not surprising that he can escape again now."

"But now Chang'an and Guanzhong have been lost, and Cao Cao only has Liang and Yizhou left. Even if he escapes by chance, he will only survive." "I believe that it won't be long before Your Majesty sees Cao Cao's head and presents it to one of my generals."

However, Xiao Fang had no regrets and just comforted Lao Liu with a nonchalant attitude.

Liu Bei agreed with this and nodded with a smile:
"Your Excellency is right. Cao Cao will be doomed sooner or later. There is no need to rush to kill him today."

"In today's battle, I was able to capture Chang'an and annihilate half of the Qin army. This is already a great victory. I shouldn't be too greedy."

While the emperor and his minister were talking, they had already entered the palace and the main hall.

Liu Bei walked into the hall with his head held high and sat high on the throne.

Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Liao, Gan Ning and other generals quickly came to report and gathered in the main hall.

"We congratulate Your Majesty on recovering Chang'an and returning to the old capital!"

Xiao Fang was the first to leave the class and bowed to Liu Bei with a smile to congratulate him.

"We congratulate Your Majesty on recovering Chang'an and returning to the old capital!"

"We congratulate Your Majesty on recovering Chang'an and returning to the old capital!"

All the ministers were moved and congratulated in unison.

Looking at the ministers who came to congratulate him and looking at the Chang'an City in front of him, Liu Bei was full of vigor and filled with emotion.

Luoyang and Chang'an, the two eastern and western capitals of the Han Dynasty, finally returned to the embrace of the Han Dynasty.

At this point, the Han Dynasty was able to complete its nominal revival.

As for Cao Cao, after abandoning the city of Chang'an and fleeing westward, his Pseudo-Qin had lost its status as equal to the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao was no longer worthy of competing with him for the world. He had become a clown who controlled a corner of the country, fought stubbornly, and struggled to survive.

"Today, I was able to recapture Chang'an and return to the old capital, all thanks to the concerted efforts of all the nobles and the bravery of the soldiers!"

"Pass the order down, hold a celebration banquet tonight, and use all the wine and meat to reward the soldiers of the three armies."

"I want to reward you according to your merits. I want to get drunk with you and celebrate your achievements together!"

Liu Bei glanced at his generals and laughed heartily.

All the ministers were delighted, and the Han soldiers who had survived a bloody battle in the city were all excited.

That night, inside and outside the city of Chang'an, the Han army soldiers sang and danced, drank wine, ate meat, and reveled to their heart's content.

Inside the Golden Palace, Liu Bei was drinking and chatting happily with his ministers.

In addition to old ministers such as Xiao Fang and Ma Chao, the ministers attending the banquet naturally also included surrendered ministers such as Pang De, Jia Xu, and Liu Ye.

Liu Bei raised his glass to each of them, appeasing and rewarding these surrendered ministers to reassure them.

Ma Chao and Pang De also laughed and raised their glasses. All the grudges between them were swept away, and all their emotions were expressed in the wine.

"Wenhe, you persuaded Pang Lingming to surrender for me, and planned the strategy to seize Chang'an. You can be said to have made great contributions."

"I will reward you handsomely!"

Liu Bei, who was slightly drunk, came to Jia Xu with a wine glass in hand and said with a smile.

Jia Xu stood up hurriedly, clasped his hands and said:

"Everything I have done is just to atone for my past sins. Your Majesty does not ask me about my past sins. I am already grateful. How dare I expect Your Majesty to reward me."

Liu Bei waved his hand and said generously:

"The Prime Minister said that everything you did back then was done out of necessity and there is no need to talk about such things again."

"You have made contributions to the country and the Han Dynasty. I have always been clear about rewards and punishments, so how can I not reward you?"

After hearing what Liu Bei said, Jia Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the last bit of worry in his heart was swept away.

So Jia Xu smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said:
"If Your Majesty really wants to reward me, I am old, so I beg Your Majesty to reward me with a retirement and let me live out my days in peace." (End of this chapter)