Chang’an 3

The impregnable fortress, Chang’an’s gates opened.

Not from the outside. They were opened from within, by their own hands.

As soon as I noticed signs of the gates opening, I led the cavalry charging out. The well-maintained gates opened without any grating noise, revealing the scenery of Chang’an.

And behind that, the face of the one who directly opened the gates to receive us.

“Who are you?”

“I am the General of the West, Xiahou Mao…”

Is it really Xiahou Mao? I closed my eyes and opened them again, examining his face.

His appearance was unexpectedly decent looking. Rather, he was on the handsome side.

Well, if even Cao Pi accepted him as his brother-in-law, he must have been quite good-looking. Otherwise, would Cao Pi have promoted him?

Hiding my inner thoughts of looking down on Xiahou Mao, I put on a gentle smile.

“Well done, Uncle. The great merit of opening Chang’an’s gates will surely be rewarded appropriately by His Majesty the King of Hanzhong. I promise you in my name.”

Uncle. It was a term of address meaning an uncle figure belonging to the same family even with different surnames.

At these words implying he would be treated as kin, Xiahou Mao seemed to lose his anxiety. A strange expectation could be glimpsed in his expression tinged with relief.

“Since the battle is not over yet, I must be going now. I’ll leave some troops behind, so please pacify the public sentiment in Chang’an with them, Uncle. I will report this as military merit to His Majesty as well.”

“I-I will do so!”

“Bai Yue, I leave it to you.”

Jiang Wei should be sufficient. Since he’s originally from Wei, he should be a bit better than others.

“When the infantry joins, put Xiao Xian under your command for cleanup inside the city, and tell Chong Dan to go to the inner citadel.”

“Understood. Are you heading to the central gate, General?”

Chang’an had 3 gates on each of the east, west, north and south sides. The gate we entered was the small gate on the east side. We needed to open the south where the main force was conducting the siege.

And if we could deal with Xue Xiao on top of that, it would be perfect.

“I’ll leave the rear to you.”

After handing over half the cavalry to Jiang Wei, I rode my horse to open the south gate.

So far, things have progressed better than expected. Though Xiahou Mao was the main target, I actually thought the probability of him really defecting was low.

No matter how incompetent and busy looking out for himself, he’s still Cao Cao’s son-in-law even if rotten.

My true aim was for Xue Xiao to suspect Xiahou Mao upon seeing this, disperse his forces, and cause internal strife inside the city with his own hands.

Chang’an was pushed to the extreme in many ways. Xue Xiao was no different.

In some ways, Xue Xiao was in a much more difficult situation than at Chencang. Chencang was a small city, so it could be defended with few soldiers, and there was no need to worry about the interior.

But Chang’an is different. First, it’s extremely large. It’s hard enough to defend all sides with only 10,000 troops, and managing public sentiment inside the city is even more difficult. Because there are too many people in Chang’an.

The fact that they’ve held out until now despite being besieged and isolated is solely because an outstanding figure like Xue Xiao held the center, nothing more and nothing less. That’s why Xue Xiao’s wavering directly leads to the wavering of all of Chang’an.

The many people of Chang’an I mentioned earlier turn into poison at that moment. With so many people, how could there not be those who want to surrender to us?

Once such people appear, it’s over. It was clear that Chang’an would be practically paralyzed once Xue Xiao’s control slipped.

Of course, it’s true that Xiahou Mao just surrendering outright is much more efficient and effective than relying on such complicated and uncertain methods.

That’s why I greeted him with a fake smile.

I’ve explained at length, but the conclusion is that this is an unprecedentedly good situation.

If we remove Xue Xiao on top of this, there will be no more variables.

‘Xue Xiao, just wait.’

§

“Are you Xue Xiao?”

At the vulgar tone and rough, fierce voice, Xue Xiao turned around.

Opposite him stood a tall, sturdy man with a large blade resting on his shoulder. Though it was his first time seeing him, Xue Xiao seemed to know who he was.

A robust physique that even Xue Xiao, who had not neglected training, could not compare to. He wasn’t wearing the brocade rain cape that every member of the Luanling Army wore without exception.

There was only one such person.

Wei Yan.

The blade personally forged by Liu Bei.

It seemed he wasn’t looking for an answer. As he took a step towards Xue Xiao, Wei Yan lifted the large blade he had been resting on his shoulder.

“If you have any last words, say them now. You won’t have the chance once I arrive.”

“I have no words to leave for an enemy.”

Xue Xiao also drew his sword and took a combat stance.

The outcome was decided. He knew he had failed to fulfill his duty. Nevertheless, Xue Xiao maintained his attitude of fighting to the death until the end.

“I’ll at least take you with me!!”

“Well, if you can.”

The difference between the two was stark. Xue Xiao steeling himself for a fight to the death, and Wei Yan calmly snorting.

And shortly after.

Wei Yan, who had come down from the city wall, saw the continent’s only female general in front of him and shouted cheerfully.

“Oh, Rear General!”

“Governor Wei?”

“Hahaha, you were here? I thought you’d be further inside.”

“I sent Chong Dan to the inner citadel. But that is…”

“Ah, you mean this?”

As Zhang Ran’s gaze turned to something Wei Yan was holding, Wei Yan said triumphantly.

“It’s Xue Xiao’s head.”

“Oh my. I was a step late.”

“So the Rear General was also aiming for Xue Xiao. This makes climbing the walls worthwhile.”

Wei Yan had already climbed over the city walls before Zhang Ran secured the south side of Chang’an and opened the gates. His courage in scaling Chang’an’s walls, boasting a height of about 10 meters, was astonishing.

Though the Wei army couldn’t properly counterattack when they heard the gates had opened, it must have been no easy feat.

“You’ve achieved great merit. You must be the top contributor to Chang’an’s fall.”

“Haha, the Rear General is gilding this humble officer’s face. But how could I claim to be the top contributor ahead of the Rear General? It’s all part of the Rear General’s deep and far-reaching plans.”

After giving this flattery, Wei Yan glanced at someone kneeling with their hands tied behind their back behind Zhang Ran. The armor style was similar to Xue Xiao’s. Not a common soldier, but a general.

“It seems the Rear General has also captured an enemy general?”

“I caught Wei Ping.”

Xue Xiao, Wei Ping, Xiahou Mao.

All three generals responsible for Chang’an’s defense had fallen into Shu Han’s hands.

Xue Xiao died and his head was taken, Wei Ping was captured alive, and Xiahou Mao surrendered and became a defector.

It would be a matter for Guo Huai to beat the ground and lament if he heard this situation, having entrusted them. Saying ‘I knew Xiahou Mao was incompetent, but I didn’t know he was such a shameless person!’

But as if Guo Huai’s circumstances were outside their concern, the Shu Han army led by Zhang Ran and Wei Yan smoothly took control of Chang’an after dealing with the three enemy generals.

The sun was setting by the time the Shu Han army occupied Chang’an’s inner citadel, the Mingguang Palace in the north that used to function as the emperor’s palace.

Around when the sun hung on the mountain ridge faintly visible beyond the Guanzhong plain, Zhang Ran looked down at Chang’an from a tower in Mingguang Palace.

Because plundering was prohibited and maintaining public order was prioritized, smoke from cooking fires was rising here and there throughout the capital.

It was a peaceful scene that was hard to believe had been a battlefield until just moments ago.

‘It’s not over yet. There’s still a lot to do.’

After recovering the soldiers’ fatigue and implanting a new order in Chang’an to some extent, the urgent task was to send support to Dongguan.

I don’t know for sure, but there must be a limit to the number of troops Zhao Yun brought. To deceive Wei’s eyes and come up through Wuguan, the numbers couldn’t be large.

They’ve held out well so far, but it’s uncertain from now on.

‘I should send Guo Yi. Zhao Yun is already a veteran of a hundred battles. I’ll delegate military authority to Zhao Yun and place Guo Yi as his assistant, which will be good for gaining experience. I need to take care of Wu Yi’s side too. Would it be right to send Wei Yan?’

Right after thinking of Wei Yan, Zhang Ran shook her head. Wei Yan wasn’t the right choice.

Because the two were so similar in caliber, there might be a power struggle over military authority. It seemed better to leave Wei Yan in Chang’an and go personally instead.

‘It should be safe if I attach the good-natured Fei Yi beside him. Though Wei Yan has a bad temper, Fei Yi is someone who even befriended Yang Yi.’

And it’s not just about passes and strategic points. We also needed personnel to tour around all of Guanzhong to rectify public sentiment and incorporate it into our territory.

‘I can have Jiang Wei and Bu Zhan do that. Then am I going alone to Wugong County where Wu Yi is holding out? It’s been a while since I went without lieutenants.’

Guo Yi to Dongguan, Wei Yan and Fei Yi in Chang’an. Jiang Wei and Bu Zhan in charge of inspecting Guanzhong, and I’ll go to Wugong County personally.

After roughly finishing the role assignments for the future, fatigue belatedly washed over me.

The physical fatigue was bearable, but the mental fatigue was great. This must have been such a big deal.

On top of that, the pressure of being in charge of Chang’an, the core of the Northern Expedition, was not insignificant.

Guanzhong is the land that even Zhang Liang called a “thousand-li golden fortress”. It meant the whole region was no different from a single fortress.

Given the role of occupying such a place with relatively few troops, it was inevitable to have deep concerns even while pretending otherwise.

‘I’ll just close my eyes for a moment…’

Thus Zhang Ran lowered her eyelids amidst the achievements she had accomplished.

But even while she was resting, there were those running with all their might.

They were the messengers heading in all directions.