Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Ma Chao raised his hand to signal, and Zhang Ren immediately clasped his fists in acceptance, leading his elite troops through the city gates like a black torrent. Soon, banners fluttered from the walls of Chang'an, and a large black banner embroidered with the Chinese character "马" (horse) fluttered, completely replacing the old Han banners.

Wang Yun's back was hunched, his dragon robe stained with dust, but he still forced himself to remain calm. "Prince of Liang, the handover of Chang'an has been completed. When Your Majesty officially ascends the throne in Yanzhou, I will send someone to deliver the seal of kingship, the nine-gift robe..."

"Thank you for your help," Ma Chao interrupted him, his voice steady as a deep pool. He stroked the sword at his waist, his masked gaze sweeping over the tense imperial procession beside the chariot.

Li Ru walked out, his wide black sleeves brushing across Wang Yun's stiff shoulders. "Master Situ, isn't this parting gift a bit shabby?" He suddenly stopped and lifted the purse from the waist of a Bingzhou soldier. The heavy weight of the pendant made him dizzy. "Look at this amount, I'm afraid it must have emptied the national treasury, right?"

Wang Yun's face suddenly changed, his beard trembling with anger: "I've already surrendered Chang'an, what else do you want?!"

"The officials' carriages are too bulky, making them difficult to travel quickly." Li Ru chuckled, his eyes like a hawk. "As for the wolf riders..." He deliberately dragged out the last word, watching Lu Bu's face tense up instantly. "Carrying so much treasure into battle, it would be bad if they were spotted by the enemy."

A sudden burst of laughter erupted from the Xiliang army, overwhelming the Bingzhou Wolf Riders with a wave of despair, forcing them to tighten their grip on their weapons. Liu Xie clutched his dragon robe tightly within his chariot, the young emperor's pale face filled with shock and anger, yet he dared not speak. Wang Yun, observing Li Ru's half-smile, suddenly realized that surrendering Chang'an was only the beginning. The Xiliang people wanted far more than an empty city.

The veins on Lu Bu's forehead bulged violently, and he slammed his Fang Tian Hua Ji to the ground: "Li Ru! You are going too far! Do you really think I am afraid of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry?!" He suddenly pulled the reins of the Red Hare tightly, and with the sound of the horse's neighing as it stood up, the golden sword at his waist was already three inches out of its sheath.

Li Ru waved his folding fan lightly, a hint of amusement in his eyes: "Why do you say that, Fengxian? I'm just trying to lighten the burden for you all." He raised his hand and pointed at the pile of baggage carts, "Don't you think that His Majesty's carriage will go faster?"

Ma Chao didn't answer, simply drawing his sword. The Xiliang cavalry pressed forward, their armor rubbing against each other like thunder on a cold night. Startled, Wang Yun stumbled and grabbed Lü Bu's reins, "Fengxian! No!" He looked up at Lü Bu's sullen face, his Adam's apple rolling. "These are merely material possessions... As long as the mountains remain..."

"Father-in-law!" Lu Bu gritted his teeth, but when he saw Wang Yun's pleading eyes, he suddenly clenched his fists and said, "Take it!"

Li Ru sneered softly: "It should have been done long ago." He waved his hand to signal the Western Liang army to move forward. Amid the creaking sound of the baggage carts being dragged, Wang Yun caught a glimpse of Ma Chao's fleeting coldness - that was not the pleasure of looting, but the confidence of a hunter watching his prey fall into the net.

The Western Liang cavalry pressed forward like a black iron wall, the cold gleam of their spears turning the Bingzhou Wolf Riders' faces pale. With a cold laugh, the Wolf Riders trembled as the spears pressed them, unbuttoning their armor. Gold ingots and jewels fell to the ground, forming a dazzling mound on the blue bricks.

Lü Bu bit his lower lip, tasting rust. His Red Hare pawed the ground restlessly, its hooves crushing a ruby-encrusted belt buckle. The splattering debris slashed across the back of his hand, but it was nothing compared to the stinging pain in his heart.

"Fengxian, bear with me for a moment..." Wang Yun's whisper was torn to shreds by the north wind. The old minister looked at the mess on the ground, his hands under his python robe tightly grasping the cuffs, his nails almost digging into his palms.

Ma Chao reined in Aurora and gazed at Lü Bu's back, stiff as a wooden sculpture. He suddenly remembered Dong Gong's words: "A truly powerful person leaves his enemy without even the right to be angry." He raised his hand to his sword, feeling the lines of his palm mesh with the hilt—it wasn't the joy of victory, but a cold realization. When even the dignity of the enemy can be trampled upon at will, so-called "surrender" is nothing more than fish on the chopping block.

"Enough," Ma Chao said, his voice colder than the blue bricks of the city wall. Li Ru raised an eyebrow and looked at him, but his heart fluttered when he met those eyes—there was no complacency in those eyes, only a coldness that saw through the world. Perhaps in Ma Chao's eyes, these pearls, jade, and treasures were merely bricks and stones used to build the reputation of "King of Liang."

Lü Bu spun abruptly, his iron hoof crushing a gold cake. He watched the retreating Xiliang troops, his nails digging deep into his palms. Today, I've lost gold and silver; tomorrow, I'm afraid even my bones will be gnawed away—the thought entangled his throat like a venomous snake, making him shiver in the cold wind. But he knew that from the moment the gates of Chang'an opened, some things could never be recovered.

Wang Yun practically fell into the carriage, urging the driver to whip him. Amid the crisp clatter of wheels grinding against broken jade, the Bingzhou Wolf Riders stumbled forward like defeated soldiers, their armor askew, their waists devoid of the jingling of gold and jade. Li Ru gazed at their hunched backs, his fingertips tapping the jade pendant at his waist, a glint of hunter's cunning in his eyes.

"Wen You is indeed a man of many talents." Ma Chao rode beside him, the cold light from the broken blade illuminating the mess on the ground. "These treasures are but useless to us in Xiliang, but they have made the Bingzhou Wolf Riders weak in the knees."

Li Ru chuckled softly, his wide black sleeves rustling through the pile of gold ingots in the night breeze. "Your Excellency, do you understand that the true battlefield lies not in swords and spears, but in the hearts of the people?" He bent down, picked up a falling pearl, and crushed it in his palm. "Lü Bu is known as the Flying General, yet he dared not utter a word despite being repeatedly suppressed. The Wolf Riders, seeing this, would think—their proud Marquis Wen is nothing but a coward who tramples even on his dignity."

Amid the shouts of the Xiliang cavalry, the whispers of Bingzhou soldiers suddenly reached the air. Someone kicked away a gold ingot at his feet, muttering, "Following a master like this, sooner or later I'll be stripped to my underwear." Lü Bu turned sharply, only to see the soldiers' hurriedly averted glances. His grip on his Fang Tian Hua Ji suddenly trembled, and he realized, with a start, that Li Ru's blade wasn't just cutting flesh, but slicing through his spine.

"Let's go." Ma Chao suddenly raised his hand, and Aurora slowly stepped forward under the silver-like moonlight. He gazed at the newly hoisted "Ma" banner atop Chang'an City, listened to the fading footsteps of the Bingzhou troops behind him, and suddenly understood Li Ru's deeper meaning: when an army begins to doubt the sharpness of its leader, it is more deadly than cutting off their heads.

The wind blew up Li Ru's wide sleeves. He looked at the gradually shrinking convoy and whispered, "With Gan Ning, Xu Huang and Zhang Liao, three powerful generals, in the front, it will be difficult for the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry to maintain their confidence under a surprise attack." Ma Chao turned to look at him, but found that the smile in the counselor's eyes contained a coldness that was more biting than the cold wind from Xiliang - it was a kind of certainty that treated people's hearts as chess pieces and could be crushed into powder with a light pinch.

The army dragged on in a dead silence. The clatter of the Bingzhou Wolf Riders' hooves seemed muffled by a rag, losing their former fierceness and sharpness. Lü Bu rode his Red Hare, the gold-inlaid scabbard at his waist blanched with bruises from repeated rubbing, the shadow beneath his brow deep enough to conceal the blade. Wang Yun, huddled in the carriage, peered through the slit in the curtain at his commander's pursed lips. The soothing words in his throat dissolved into a sigh—this iron-clad army, once feared by the Xiongnu, now shone with a grayish hue, even the dust kicked up by its horses' hooves.

"Fengxian, wait until we reach Yanzhou..." Wang Yun's words were cut short by Lü Bu's sudden glance. That gaze was like iron tempered by ice, and the old minister realized with a start that the general who once patted him on the shoulder and called him "father-in-law" now had a dark cloud in his eyes.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew up, carrying gravel with it. Red Hare reared up, its front hooves drawing a warning arc in the air. Lü Bu tightened his grip on the reins, only then noticing that the wild grass on the gentle slopes on either side was eerily still in the cold wind.

"No! An ambush!" the captain's cry was cut off by the sound of bowstrings. Two black torrents poured down from the top of the hill, their dark cloaks unfurling in the wind like giant bird wings. They were none other than the Western Liang cavalry, just dealt with in Chang'an. Xu Huang's mountain-splitting axe split the twilight, Gan Ning's broadsword reflected the setting sun, and Zhang Liao's iron spear pointed directly at Lü Bu's throat, its tassel as red as freshly spilled blood.

"You bastard Xiliang!" Lü Bu roared, wielding his halberd to meet the enemy. His Fang Tian Hua Ji collided with Zhang Liao's iron spear, sending sparks flying into the corners of his eyes, burning painfully. Only then did he realize that Li Ru's earlier "letting him go" was merely bait. His true killer move lay hidden within those desolate slopes—the stolen gold, silver, and valuables had, in fact, only sharpened his vigilance.

Lü Bu wielded his Fang Tian Hua Ji like a silver dragon emerging from the sea, its tip grazing Zhang Liao's face. Suddenly, the fierce Xiliang general turned his horse and led his cavalry in a cone-shaped attack, charging into the Bingzhou army's left flank. "Rat!" Lü Bu roared, spurring his horse to pursue. As his Red Hare's hooves flew, he heard the screams of his personal guards behind him. Xu Huang's axe split the shield, and Gan Ning's scimitar slit the wolf rider's throat.

"General, watch your flanks!" Wei Xu's cry was drowned out by the clatter of horses' hooves. He brandished his iron spear, attempting to rally the scattered formation, only to see the Western Liang cavalry surge in like a black wave, each charge claiming countless lives. The charge tactics for which the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry had once been renowned were now shattered by the low morale, fragmented into countless small pieces and devoured.

When Lü Bu reached the bottom of the slope, he suddenly sensed something was amiss. Zhang Liao's spear, though steadily retreating, remained a few feet away, as if deliberately luring him deeper. Elsewhere, Xu Huang's axe cleaved Cao Ren's breastplate, while Cao Hong's spear was in peril under Gan Ning's scimitar. Over half of his personal guards had been killed or wounded in the melee.

Lü Bu's eyes raged with anger. He yanked the reins, sending his Red Hare rearing up, its front hooves tracing a sharp arc through the air. The Fang Tian Hua Ji, swirling with the force of thunder, slashed down at Xu Huang. Xu Huang roared, veins bulging in his arms as he raised his mountain-splitting axe to block. The two heavy weapons collided with a thunderous clatter, sending sparks flying and sending both mounts reeling back. Their hooves plowed deep furrows in the mud.

Just as Lü Bu and Xu Huang were locked in a stalemate, Gan Ning's scimitar flashed with a cold light, piercing Lü Bu's ribs like a venomous snake emerging from its lair. Lü Bu reacted with remarkable speed, twisting sideways. The blade barely grazed his armor, but the sharp edge still sliced ​​through the fabric, leaving a bloody mark beneath his ribs. A searing pain instantly spread.

"Zhang Liao!" Lü Bu roared, turning to see the enemy general leading the Western Liang cavalry, weaving through the Bingzhou army like a ghost. Wherever his spear pointed, the wolf riders fell to the ground, their screams echoing incessantly. The Bingzhou army, already demoralized, completely collapsed under this overwhelming onslaught. The soldiers fled in panic, completely unable to resist.

Rage raged within Lü Bu. He brandished his halberd, forcing Xu Huang back, and spurred his horse toward Zhang Liao. But before he could reach him, two more groups of Xiliang cavalry emerged from either side, encircling him. Iron hooves crushed the scattered flags, sending blood and mud splattering everywhere, and the battlefield was thick with the smell of blood.

At this crucial moment, the earth-shaking sound of war drums suddenly rang out in the distance. "Stop your arrogance!" Xiahou Dun's furious roar resounded like thunder. Xiahou Yuan drew his bow, his iron-framed bow drawn into a full crescent. A volley of arrows pierced the air, accurately piercing the Xiliang cavalry surrounding Cao Ren and Cao Hong. Xiahou Dun led the charge, brandishing his iron halberd with gusto, leading the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry like a black torrent.

Seeing this, the morale of Cao Cao's remaining troops surged. Cao Ren and Cao Hong, their eyes red, brandished their weapons, and joined the Xiahou brothers' reinforcements in attacking from both sides. A sharp horn blast echoed from the Western Liang army, and Xu Huang, Gan Ning, and Zhang Liao simultaneously reined in their horses and retreated into the distance. In a flash, the Western Liang cavalry retreated like a tide, leaving behind only a devastated battlefield and the desperate cries of the Bingzhou soldiers.

Lü Bu gripped his Fang Tian Hua Ji tightly, his knuckles whitening. He watched the retreating enemy, his chest filled with unexpressed rage. He raised his head and let out a roar like a trapped beast, the sound echoing in the silent night sky, but he could no longer reverse his disastrous defeat.