Bai Xiaowen had kept Liu Bei's Army's surrendered generals around. Aside from Yizhou having only recently been pacified and affairs being too busy, there was a deeper reason: Ma Chao.
During the previous Lianyun Plank Road Ambush, Ma Chao had disobeyed Bai Xiaowen's orders and rashly pursued Liu Bei. As a result, Zhao Yun, who had stayed behind to cover the retreat, drove him back, scattering and killing more than half of his two to three thousand cavalrymen.
Feeling deeply ashamed, Ma Chao gathered up the scattered soldiers and startled horses. Fortunately, the three thousand cavalry had not suffered overly great losses.
However, Ma Chao made another grave mistake: he missed the Battle of Jiangyang. He had never been much of a strategist, so how could he have anticipated that Bai Xiaowen would lead his forces in an interception just as Liu Bei and Zhang Fei joined up?
Disobeying military orders and missing a crucial opportunity—burdened by these two offenses, Ma Chao was even more ashamed to face Bai Xiaowen.
Yet when he heard that Liu Bei had been captured, Ma Chao, eager to avenge himself, still took the initiative to request an audience with Bai Xiaowen. Besides accepting punishment for his offenses, he hoped Bai Xiaowen would remember his earlier promise and let him confront Liu Bei over the murder of his father.
Bai Xiaowen was rather eager to see this classic scene unfold.
After making thorough preparations, Bai Xiaowen summoned the three Liu, Guan, and Zhang brothers to the main hall of the Provincial Governor's residence.
"Big Brother! Third Brother!"
"Big Brother, Second Brother!"
"Second Brother, Third Brother!"
These past days, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had been imprisoned separately and had not seen one another.
Now that the brothers were reunited, all three were moved