Three days later, several groups of people arrived outside Zhen Ding City, ranging from three to five thousand to as few as one thousand.
Zhang Yan, accompanied by Zhang Baiqi and Du Chang, went out of the city to receive them, designated a place for them to stay, and provided them with provisions and rewards.
The ten leaders were Lei Gong, Yang Feng, Yu Digen, Qing Niujiao, Sui Gu, Zuo Xiao, Guo Daxian, Liu Shi, Zuo Zizhangba, and Ping Han. They were familiar with Zhang Yan and respected him as the leader of the Black Mountain Army. They agreed to advance and retreat together.
However, Zhang Yan's subordinates were left depleted of their resources after a winter of heavy snow that blocked the mountains.
Having run out of supplies, they had no choice but to plunder from the Taihang Mountains.
Zhang Yan then invited these leaders to jointly send troops to Zhengding, but they politely declined.
It turned out that they had already discovered that Zhen Ding City had a large army, a strong city, and ample food supplies. The prefect, Gao Lan, was exceptionally strong and had the courage to fight ten thousand men.
Moreover, there are three thousand elite troops from Ji Province in Zhen Ding City.
Sending Zhang Yan's troops to attack Zhengding is like throwing good money after bad—a one-way trip with no chance of return.
But to everyone's surprise, Zhang Yan actually captured Zhen Ding and obtained a lot of food and money.
In addition, with the garrison of Zhending driven away, more than ten counties in Changshan Kingdom, including Quyang, Puwu, Jingxing, and Yuanshi, were in constant fear.
They're like naked women lying in bed, waiting for you to enter them.
Moreover, they can be blood-stained pioneers, paving the way for those who follow.
These dozen or so counties, once the enemy is at the gates, will open their gates and surrender their cities, offering their most valuable possessions for you to take at will.
The ten leaders were incredulous upon receiving Zhang Yan's letter.
Zhang Yan not only wanted to share money and grain with them, but also warmly invited them to come and take these county towns.
After all, Zhang Yan also frankly admitted in his letter that it would be difficult for him to control the entire Changshan County with his troops, because he also had to resist the counterattack from Jizhou.
Inviting them was also a way of getting them to help fight the government troops.
The ten leaders knew that if they accepted bribes, they would be obligated to work for Zhang Yan.
Moreover, a symbol was stamped at the end of the letter.
All ten of their leaders had been leaders of the Yellow Turban Rebellion; they recognized this as the token of the Great Teacher of Virtue.
Even if they still distrusted Zhang Yan or had any concerns, those concerns had now been dispelled.
They then left some people to guard the city, while the others, led by ten leaders, went to Zhen Ding City to participate in the alliance invitation issued by Zhang Yan.
After the troops of the ten leaders arrived one after another, more than 30,000 people were added outside Zhengding City!
During these three days, Du Chang and Zhang Baiqi gathered up the scattered soldiers near Zhengding.
More than 10,000 people were recruited in total!
For a time, the area outside Zhen Ding City was bustling with noise, and there were nearly 50,000 troops stationed there.
Their daily food, drink, and bodily functions are enormous.
Fortunately, the granaries in Zhen Ding City are full, so there is no need for Liu Wei to exchange for grain for the time being.
However, such a situation cannot last long; it can only be maintained for a few days at most.
Otherwise, once the grain supplies in Zhen Ding City run out, and Gao Lan has to write a memorial urging Yuan Shao to send more grain, there will be a famine.
"My lord, the leaders of the ten tribes who have been with me for a long time have all arrived, bringing with them a total of 30,000 people. I have settled them all five miles outside the city."
Soon, Zhang Yan left Zhang Baiqi and Du Chang to talk with the others, and hurriedly went to the prefect's office to report to Liu Wei.
For the next three days, Liu Wei left the matter to Tian Kai to handle, while he himself gathered Zhao Yun, Wang Fangyi, Yan Da, Murong Ping and others to spar in the back garden of the prefect's mansion.
Despite being surrounded by seventeen Yan Yun riders, Zhao Yun remained calm and held out for over a hundred rounds before finally losing ground.
Subsequently, Liu Wei, wielding a broadsword, engaged Zhao Yun, who was armed with a spear, in a foot battle, and they fought once.
The two fought for more than fifty rounds before Liu Wei was finally defeated.
However, during his battle with Zhao Yun, he created his own sword technique, which focused entirely on efficiently killing enemies without any unnecessary delays.
Wang Fangyi was deeply inspired and combined Liu Wei's swordsmanship with Hengdao's own swordsmanship to improve it, and then promoted it to the knights of the guard camp.
The hundred guardsmen benefited greatly.
Naturally, Liu Wei also learned the latest news from Youzhou in these three days.
He was amazed by Liu Bei's ability to rally support. He never expected that Liu Bei's trip back to his hometown would not only recruit Qian Zhaotian Chou, but also add five hundred followers.
Liu Bei was certainly not one to be subservient to others, and Liu Wei already had plans for him.
After quelling the rebellion, Liu Wei planned to send Liu Bei to do something big!
In addition, he ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to deliver a message to Zhang Liao, instructing him not to clash with Gongsun Zan, but also not to leave Yi County.
Two thousand cavalrymen drilled daily near Yi County for Gongsun Zan to see, leaving him completely baffled.
Once Liu Wei has settled things, he will go to Youzhou to take charge and properly control Gongsun Zan.
Now that the leaders of the Black Mountain Army have arrived one after another, it's time to eliminate them in one fell swoop.
"Yes, the 30,000 people they brought, plus your existing 10,000, are enough to build a small town in Youzhou."
Upon hearing Zhang Yan's report, Liu Wei immediately nodded.
According to Tian Kai's plan, it's already quite good that they've managed to bring over one-third of the Black Mountain Army.
The Black Mountain Army claimed to have a million men, but in reality, the number was several times that.
Just like Cao Cao's southward campaign to the Battle of Red Cliffs, he deployed around 150,000 troops, but claimed to have an army of 800,000.
The Black Mountain Army has a force of one million. Based on the current situation, with more than thirty leaders, each commanding between five thousand and twenty thousand troops, the total number of the Black Mountain Army is estimated to be between three and four hundred thousand.
However, this figure of 300,000 to 400,000 is highly inflated, as it includes a large number of elderly people and children. The actual number of people who could actually fight in battle was probably only 30,000 to 50,000.
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