Complex sentence: Unfortunately, the old Yan Wen was caught by Ma Chao's soldiers, and Ma tried to use the respected elder by forcing the captive to go to the city's front and tell the defenders that no hope would come from Chang'an.
Split into simpler sentences: Unfortunately, the old Yan Wen was caught by Ma Chao's soldiers, and Ma Chao tried to use the respected elder to his advantage. The warlord forced the captive to go to the city's front and tell the defenders that no hope would come from Chang'an.