Chương 366: Taking Chang'an, Liu Ce Arrives Outside the Allied Forces Camp

The Imperial Guards quietly pulled the bolts off the city gates, sending a signal to the Youzhou army outside the city.

Li Ji made a decisive move, ordering Qin Qiong to lead the vanguard cavalry and charge into the city gate!

Qin Qiong's double maces gleamed coldly in the night, slaying the guards and opening all the city gates!

The Youzhou army swarmed in!

The Xiliang soldiers in the city had no time to react.

Some were still sleeping when they were trapped in their blankets.

Some were cut down as soon as they picked up their weapons.

You either surrender on the spot or get hacked to death.

......

Just as Li Jue was about to escape through the north gate, he was caught red-handed.

A dozen soldiers rushed forward, pinned him to the ground, and tied him up like a rice dumpling.

Fan Chou didn't escape either; he was dragged out of bed and taken prisoner with his bare bottom exposed.

In less than a day, Li Ji had completely captured the entire city of Chang'an!

Upon entering the city, Li Ji immediately issued the following orders:

"Soldiers are strictly prohibited from harassing civilians; anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

They also sent people to appease the people, opened the granaries to distribute grain, and confiscated the homes of the remaining members of the Western Liang regime.

They returned all the property looted by the Xiliang soldiers to the people.

The people of Chang'an were so excited that they knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying:

"Thank you, General! Thank you, Prince Yan! You are living bodhisattvas!"

Li Ji smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Don't thank me, thank the Prince of Yan. The Prince of Yan said he wants to make sure that all the people in the world live a good life."

...

The day after capturing Chang'an, Li Ji summoned Qin Qiong.

He pointed to the map and said:

"Shubao, the western part of Chang'an is Xiliang. Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the remnants of Dong Zhuo's forces are all there. They might take advantage of the chaos to attack."

Qin Qiong nodded and said, "General, you mean..."

He looked at Qin Qiong and said solemnly:

"You will lead ten thousand elite cavalry to guard the Sanguan and Chencang line in the west. You must stop the invasion from Xiliang!"

Qin Qiong immediately clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, patting his chest and guaranteeing:

"General Li, rest assured! With me, Qin Shubao, here, not a single hair on the Xiliang soldiers will be able to set foot in Guanzhong!"

That very day, Qin Qiong led ten thousand cavalrymen straight to the western border.

Upon arriving at his destination, he first reinforced the defenses of key strategic passes such as Sanguan and Chencang.

They built fortifications, stockpiled grain and fodder, set up beacon towers, and wove their defenses into a dense network.

Sure enough, a few days later, Dong Zhuo's remaining Xiliang troops arrived.

Hearing that Chang'an had fallen, this group of people wanted to take advantage of the chaos to loot, so they gathered tens of thousands of troops and marched over aggressively.

Without saying a word, Qin Qiong picked up his double maces, mounted his yellow horse, and led his cavalry straight out!

He charged ahead, plunging into the enemy ranks, his double maces flashing up and down, and with one strike he took down the enemy's commander!

The iron cavalry behind them charged forward, their battle cries shaking the heavens!

In less than an hour, the invading enemy army was completely wiped out!

Later, Ma Teng and Han Sui also heard the news.

They thought Qin Qiong was outnumbered and wanted to take advantage of him.

After discussing it, the two decided to take advantage of the chaos and led tens of thousands of cavalry to attack.

The results of it?

They had barely arrived at the pass when Qin Qiong and his iron cavalry launched a fierce attack!

Qin Qiong's double maces could kill anyone he struck, and his iron cavalry could bring down anyone they charged.

Ma Teng and Han Sui were beaten so badly they fled in disgrace, leaving behind nearly 10, 000 corpses.

After this battle, Ma Teng and Han Sui of Xiliang were both terrified.

Only then did they realize that the Youzhou army was not to be trifled with. And that Qin Shubao was a veritable god of war reincarnated.

From then on, they never dared to easily lead troops to invade again.

Qin Qiong led his troops to guard the border, making the defense line impregnable and completely securing the western gate of Chang'an.

...

This is the sour jujube area.

The Suanzao camp had been besieged for almost half a month and had long lost the prestige it had when the feudal lords held their alliance.

For the feudal lords trapped inside, these past two weeks have been nothing short of hell on earth.

The camp walls are broken and collapsed. The flags that were once proudly displayed when the camp was set up are now hanging crookedly, and some have simply fallen to the ground and no one cares.

The soldiers were so hungry they were seeing stars. Even those on guard duty had to hold onto the wall to stay upright, otherwise a gust of wind could blow them over.

The soldiers in the camp fought tooth and nail every day over half a bag of rice.

Today Yuan Shao's troops robbed Yuan Shu's grain, tomorrow Yuan Shu's troops attacked Kong Rong's men, and the day after tomorrow Kong Rong's troops and Liu Dai's troops got into a brawl... It was utter chaos.

In contrast, Liu Ce's Youzhou army camp...

That's so impressive!

The tents were neatly arranged, row upon row like blocks of tofu.

The soldiers were all in high spirits, with meat and grain at every meal. When they had free time, they would run drills outside the camp, their shouts of battle deafening, a stark contrast to the miserable state on the other side.

In Liu Ce's words, "This is a five-star resort, and across the street is a slum."

Early that morning, the camp gates were wide open.

Liu Ce rode out slowly, riding his black horse, wearing black gold armor, and twirling a whip in his hand.

Behind him followed a host of military generals, including Li Jing, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Zhang Liao, each one imposing and awe-inspiring.

Behind them were ten thousand elite cavalry, their armor gleaming, their swords and spears like a forest.

The large contingent stopped not far from the Allied forces' camp.

The feudal lords in the camp had already received the news, and they all stubbornly stood on the wall.

But they looked utterly miserable; their armor was crooked, their faces were pale, and their eyes were sunken, making them look like a group of refugees.

Only a burning anger remained in his eyes, the last bit of pride holding him back.

Liu Ce reined in his horse, looked up and glanced at the people on the wall, and couldn't help but laugh.

He raised his voice and shouted, so loudly that the whole camp could hear him:

"Everyone! How have you been?"

"Back then at the alliance meeting in Suanzao, everyone was pounding their chests and shouting 'Support the Han Dynasty and kill Dong Zhuo!' They were so full of themselves, tsk tsk..."

He paused deliberately, then raised his voice and said:

"Why do you all look so wilted, like frostbitten eggplants, after just two weeks?"

The wall fell silent instantly.

There was a moment of silence.

Then Yuan Shu was the first to lose his temper. He leaned against the wall, pointed at Liu Ce, and started cursing, spitting as he spoke:

"Liu Ce, you traitorous minister! Our righteous army is rightfully raised to purge the court of corrupt officials! But you, instead, are hoarding troops and blocking the court's righteous army; you are the real rebel!"

"My Yuan family, which has held high office for four generations, will never bow down to a brat like you!"

As soon as he spoke, the alliance leader Yuan Shao's face darkened, and he coldly snorted, maintaining his air of superiority:

"Prince of Yan! As a member of the Han imperial family, instead of supporting the royal family, you besiege loyal officials. Aren't you afraid of being condemned by the people?"

"Retreat immediately! Otherwise, we'll fight to the death, and you won't come out unscathed!"

Kong Zhou, Zhang Miao, Liu Dai, Qiao Mao... these cowards also joined in the cursing.

It's nothing more than the same old trope of "traitors and rebels," "insubordination," and "a terrible death."

But their voices were weaker and weaker; some were out of breath after just a few shouts, while others swallowed hard while shouting. Anyone with eyes could see it...

They were so hungry they had no confidence left.

The two people on the wall stood by with their arms crossed the whole time, watching coldly without uttering a single curse.

One was Cao Cao, and the other was Sun Jian.