The next morning, Ma Teng ordered the entire army to attack the city. War horses galloped back and forth, and arrows rained down on the city walls.
Running and shooting is one of the signature tactics of the Xiliang Army. It requires extremely high quality cavalry. We cannot say that they are one in a hundred, but at least they are one in a hundred.
The cavalrymen draw their bows and arrows while galloping on their horses, and they must not only shoot far, but also accurately!
While using bows and arrows to suppress the defenders on the city, the Western Liang army divided their troops to fill the moat. The Western Liang army carried sandbags, wood and stones in preparation for building a pontoon bridge.
Amid the deafening sound of drums and the neighing of war horses, the city of Chang'an was surrounded by flying dust that filled the air, as if the end of the world had come.
Zhong Yao, Zhang Ji and others looked solemn. Although Chang'an City was strong, the defenders were too few in number and many were injured by stray arrows. They were not strong enough to guard the city and would be breached by the Western Liang Army sooner or later.
Around noon, the noise outside the city suddenly stopped. The sounds of drums, horses, and fighting died down. As the dust gradually settled, the Xiliang army was seen throwing sandbags and rocks all over the ground and marching westward in an orderly manner.
Zhang Ji was overjoyed and said, "General Cao's reinforcements must have come back just in time."
Zhong Yao also heaved a sigh of relief, stroked his beard and sighed: "God help the Prime Minister!"
Zhong Jin clasped his fists and said, "Ma Teng is retreating, we can take advantage of the chaos to attack. I am willing to lead the troops to meet General Cao and go after the enemy."
Zhong Yao frowned slightly and wanted to refuse, but then he thought that Zhong had committed a serious mistake when he entered Chencang, and it was a good opportunity for him to make meritorious service while serving his sentence. He could then plead for Cao Hong when he entered the city.
At this time, people on the city wall could see dust flying and flags waving in the distance, knowing that reinforcements would arrive soon, so they allocated two thousand soldiers to support Cao Hong.
Zhong Jin was overjoyed and led his troops out of the south gate to meet Cao Hong, ready to chase down the Xiliang army with him and kill the enemy to gain merit.
Three miles out of the city, they saw a large group of soldiers and horses galloping towards them. They were all Cao's soldiers, so they hurriedly urged their horses forward.
“General Cao, this humble general…” Zhong Jin was standing by the road, clasping his hands and shouting. When the leader of the army approached, his face suddenly changed: “You, you are…”
"Haha, General Zhong, how are you?" The man in the lead, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, was Ma Tie.
Zhong Jin was stunned and had not yet reacted when Ma Tie urged his horse to approach him, and his spear shook, knocking him off his horse.
"Kill!" Ma Tie roared and led his troops forward.
The two thousand Chang'an defenders behind were also dumbfounded. Why did their own troops start to attack
They were the soldiers left behind, caught off guard and unable to withstand the ferocious Xiliang army. They were scattered by Ma Tie's charge and fled in all directions.
Zhong Yao and his companions were watching from the top of the city wall when they suddenly saw chaos in front of them. Just as they were wondering, they realized that the cavalry had already arrived at the foot of the city and were rushing into it.
“Oh no, that’s Ma Ma Ma…” Zhang Ji was sharp-eyed and saw that under the flag with the word “Cao” was actually Ma Tie.
He had met with Ma Teng many times, first persuading Ma Teng and Han Sui to reconcile, and then went to Chencang several times to persuade Ma Teng to take office in Xuchang to bring honor to the family. He was quite familiar with the three of them.
Zhong Yao was shocked and hurriedly ordered, "Quickly pull up the drawbridge and close the city gate!"
But the cavalry was extremely fast. By the time the soldiers were pulling the rope to raise the drawbridge, Ma Tie had already leaped up on his horse, drew his sword to cut the rope, and rushed straight to the city gate, killing the panicked defenders.
Boom boom boom—
At the same time, the retreating Xiliang army came back, with horses galloping all over the mountains and plains, rushing towards the south gate, and the sound of killing shook the sky.
"Let's go!" Zhong Yao made a prompt decision, turned around and ran towards the east gate.
Half of the remaining defenders were killed and scattered, and Chang'an City was already in ruins. Although Zhong Yao was nearly sixty years old, he could run very fast.
Ma Tie rushed into the city and did not bother to pursue the enemy. He first led his troops to control the South Gate and let the soldiers and horses enter the city. Ma Teng ordered Ma Xiu to take over the other three gates, and he led his troops straight to the palace.
The Western Liang army rushed into the palace, looting and killing everywhere, with cries and shouts everywhere. Some of these soldiers were Qiang people, who were even more brutal. When they saw a woman, they would drag her into the room in groups of three or five, laughing like jackals.
Zhang Ji took his family out through the back door and prepared to escape through the north gate. Just as he reached the door, Ma Xiu and his soldiers arrived and blocked their way.
Zhang Ji said: "I negotiated peace with Han Sui for your father to avoid a fight, and I also praised General Ma's merits. He was appointed as the Minister of Justice and one of the nine ministers. Why do you repay kindness with hatred?"
Ma Xiu raised his gun and cursed: "Zhang Ji, you are a thief. You have deceived my father and me many times. You are sweet-mouthed but treacherous. How dare you talk nonsense here? If we had come to Xuchang years ago, I'm afraid you would have been beheaded long ago. The culprit is you, a villain."
Zhang Ji sighed helplessly: "Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor, I am willing to accept my fate, please let my family go."
"If my father, son and I go to Xuchang, will Cao Cao spare my life?" Ma Xiu laughed fiercely and waved his hand, saying, "Shoot!"
Without further ado, the Xiliang army fired arrows at Zhang Ji and his family, killing them all. A pile of corpses fell at the city gate.
Ever since Sun Qian arrived in Chencang and analyzed the pros and cons for them, Ma Xiu felt scared every time he thought of Zhang Ji's earnest advice. If he had taken a wrong step before, he would probably have been doomed.
When he encountered the instigator, he showed no mercy and waved his hand, saying, "Throw him to the mass grave to feed the wolves."
By evening, Ma Teng had captured Chang'an City. He issued a notice to reassure the people and reward the troops.
In the Weiyang Palace, Ma Teng celebrated his success with all the generals and officers. Chang'an was the capital of the Han Dynasty. Taking over this capital was of great significance and everyone was excited.
Ma Xiu sighed, "Liu Qi was far away in Jingzhou, but he was able to predict the capture of Chang'an, all thanks to that brocade bag."
"This is Zhou Yu's plan to take Lujiang. I am not unaware of it, but I just don't want to use it!" Ma Teng raised his wine glass and snorted, saying disdainfully: "Liu Qi is just repeating what others have said. What's the point of talking about this?"
Ma Xiu and Ma Tie looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. This old man was very concerned about his reputation and always acted stubbornly.
Ma Tieyan said: "But Liu Qi contributed half of the credit to our capture of Chang'an, so we must remember this favor."
"That's true. If Liu Qi hadn't contacted us first and personally attracted Cao Hong to send out his troops, how could we have succeeded?"
This time, Ma Teng nodded seriously and said with emotion: "This man's ability may be better than Liu Xuande's. There is hope for the revival of the Han Dynasty!"
Ma Tie also enjoyed the fight and laughed loudly, "Liu Qi gave us such a great gift. If we don't thank him, people will laugh at us Xiliang people for not being grateful. The foals at Tianshui Horse Farm are pretty good this year. Why don't we give him a batch?"
"Of course!" Ma Teng nodded without hesitation, "Jingzhou is in great need of war horses. From now on, our Xiliang horses can be sent from Wuguan to Nanyang to help Liu Qi. Together, we can march out of the Central Plains and defeat Cao Cao."
Speaking of Cao's troops, Ma Xiu put down his wine glass and reminded them, "Cao Hong will come back to help in a day or two. Cao Cao will not give up easily. There will be a fierce battle in Chang'an. Send someone to inform my elder brother and ask him to lead the troops to support us."
"Mengqi is guarding Xiliang, don't leave easily!" Ma Teng waved his hand and said with a smile: "The thief Cao has led his troops to Huainan, why should we be afraid of Cao Hong? If the thief Cao arrives in person, it won't be too late to dispatch troops."
Ma Tieyan asked, "Why not ask Han Sui to come and help?"
Ma Teng sneered and said, "Although Han Sui and I have made peace, they are not our own troops after all. Guanzhong was taken by my father and I, why should we share it with outsiders?"
The two brothers thought the same thing, so they ended the banquet early and ordered the soldiers to step up vigilance and wait to fight Cao Hong.