Reborn in the Three Kingdoms, I stole Liu Bei's uncle

"Mengqi, I have one more thing to tell you when I go to suppress the bandits."

"My lord, if you give me an order, I will obey it."

Liu Yu smiled and said, "You can recruit all the young and strong bandits who are willing to join the army into your guild. I promise you that these people you recruit will all be your soldiers in the future. The limit is 20,000."

"As for how many cavalry and infantry there are among these 20,000 people, I don't care. You decide for yourself. I don't have any horses for now. If you are really capable, you can turn all 20,000 into cavalry. As for food and fodder, don't worry. I will provide enough. For those who are over 20,000, you can send them back to Chang'an. I will use them for other purposes."

When these words were spoken, not only Ma Chao, but even the people present were surprised.

There are at least hundreds of thousands of refugees around Chang'an City now. According to past experience, there are at least tens of thousands of young and strong people among the hundreds of thousands of people. Liu Yu asked Ma Chao to first select 20,000 soldiers from these people to serve as his troops. What a trust he showed.

You must know that at this time Guan Yu was in charge of the defense of the entire Chang'an City, and he had only 20,000 soldiers under his command.

Most of these 20,000 soldiers were those who had just been gathered by Li Jue and others, which made this scale possible.

Before this, Guan Yu led no more than 5,000 troops.

Guan Yu and Liu Bei followed Liu Yu from Pingyuan County.

He killed Hua Xiong, fought against Lu Bu, broke through Hulao Pass, attacked Luoyang, and pacified Chang'an, and established great military exploits.

The situations of Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are similar to that of Guan Yu.

Xu Shu understood these circumstances and secretly admired Liu Yu in his heart.

The lord is indeed a rare outstanding person in the world. He trusts his subordinates. From the moment Ma Chao agreed to join the lord, the lord has treated him as his own.

With such a broad mind and magnanimity, how many people can find such a person in this world, let alone in history books?

The bandits around Chang'an City are not very strong in combat effectiveness. The lord asked Ma Chao to do this task, obviously giving Ma Chao the opportunity to establish a military achievement.

Ma Chao was well aware that Liu Yu was giving away military merits to Ma Chao, but he did not expect that Liu Yu would actually let him choose his own army from among them.

After hearing these words, Ma Chao immediately stood up and bowed his head.

"My lord has placed so much trust in Ma Chao that I cannot repay his kindness even if I die a thousand times."

"Mengqi, get up quickly and stop talking about death. I am still waiting for you to help me support the Han Dynasty."

Ma Chao's eyes were filled with ambition. He seemed to see that in the near future he would become a general commanding 20,000 men.

Twenty thousand people, this is not a small number.

He had been in Xiliang for a long time and knew that although his father and Han Sui both claimed to have 100,000 elite soldiers, he knew that the number of soldiers who could truly be called elite was only 20,000 to 30,000 at most.

This time, Uncle Liu asked him to select 20,000 strong men.

Since hearing the news, Ma Chao's mouth has never closed.

Looking at Ma Chao's silly smile, Jia Xu knew that after Liu Yu's short words, he had completely won Ma Chao over to his side.

Although he was conceited about his ability to read people's minds, judging from the current results, it was obvious that Liu Yu was very good at this method.

With both kindness and severity, in just a few words, Ma Chao understood the boundaries and was able to protect the center.

The next morning, Ma Chao took his 500 cavalrymen to the area around Chang'an City to eliminate the bandits. At this time, Ma Chao's eyes were red and his body was full of strength, as if he had been injected with chicken blood and felt full of energy.

A soldier walked up to Ma Chao.

"General, where do we start our first battle?"

Ma Chao had a smile on his face.

"Why ask? Of course, we start from who is stronger. You are not picking on the weak."

The subordinate looked embarrassed.

"There are currently dozens of bandits in Chang'an City, but I don't know who is the strongest."

Ma Chao stretched lazily and looked at the soldier as if he was an idiot.

"I don't know. I won't investigate. I'll find out who's shouting the loudest and start with that one."

At this time, Ma Chao was full of fighting spirit, and he wanted to lead his troops directly into the bandits' camp, kill them first without them having any chance to fight back, and then take the opportunity to gather his elite soldiers.

……

……

Liu Yu drank a lot yesterday and slept for a long time. He only felt drowsy when the sun was high in the sky.

As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw someone coming to report that Jia Xu came to ask for a meeting and was waiting in the front hall.

Liu Yu tidied his clothes and came to the front hall.

"Wenhe, good morning." Liu Yu greeted casually and motioned Jia Xu to sit down and talk.

"Uncle, the bandit problem has now been dealt with by Ma Chao. I came here today to say goodbye to you. I am going to leave for Hongnong County right away to persuade Zhang Ji to surrender."

Of the things he proposed to Liu Yu, two had already been implemented, and now only the third thing remained to be dealt with.

Only after this is done can Chang'an and Luoyang be connected as a whole. Only in this way can the synergy of the two places be truly brought into play.

Looking at Jia Xu's indifferent expression, Liu Yu felt a little worried.

"Wenhe, although you and Zhang Ji have some friendship, it is all in the past. Whether it is Dong Zhuo or Li Jue, their deaths are related to me. I am worried that Zhang Ji will be angry with you because of these things. Wenhe, will there be any danger when you go there?"

"The deaths of Dong Zhuo and Li Jue were their own fault, not the emperor's uncle. Although Zhang Ji occupies Hongnong County now, his life is not easy. I don't think he dares to do anything to me." Jia Xu's eyes were smiling.

"Even though I said that, I'm still a little worried. Soldiers who make a living on the edge of a knife are easily impulsive. I'm afraid that if Zhang Ji makes a mistake and hurts Wen He, even if I get ten Hongnong counties, it won't make up for it."

Liu Yu's words were sincere and heartfelt. Even though Jia Xu had experienced a lot, he couldn't help but be moved.

Liu Yu pondered for a moment and continued, "How about this? I'll let Shu Zhi bring someone to follow you on this trip. I can't say anything else, but with him by your side, you'll be safe."

Jia Xu waved his hand and said, "Uncle, this time I am here to persuade Zhang Ji to surrender. It would be bad if I brought too many people with me. I will only take one servant with me. I know how to handle this matter. Uncle, don't worry."

Seeing that Jia Xu was determined, Liu Yu had no choice but to agree with his opinion.

Judging from Jia Xu's indifferent expression, he was quite confident, otherwise, according to his character, he would not take the risk.

"Since Wenhe said so, I'll do as you wish. But you have to remember that Zhang Ji should persuade them if he can, but he shouldn't force them if he can't. Wenhe should just come back. After Ma Mengqi has quelled the banditry, I will personally lead the troops to wipe them out."

"I've taken note of what the Emperor's uncle said."

Jia Xu bowed to Liu Yu, took an old servant, and left Chang'an City in a carriage towards Hongnong County.