Three Kingdoms: Mistakenly Becoming Liu Bei's Adoptive Father at the Start

Yuan Shu's troops disappeared on the eastern official road, and before the dust had settled, Liu Bei had already turned back to the city.

Sun Qian followed behind and said, "My lord, with Yuan Shu's escape, Luoyang is temporarily safe. But if Lü Bu comes, we'll need 30,000 men to hold it."

Liu Bei only said two words: "Recruit soldiers."

On the day the notice was posted, long queues formed outside the city.

The warlords of Guandong suffered heavy casualties at the gates of Chang'an, and their defeated troops scattered in all directions.

Those soldiers who escaped with their lives were without food or pay and wandered around.

Hearing that Luoyang was recruiting soldiers and providing food and lodging, they flocked there in droves.

Guan Yu was in charge of selecting the people.

He stood at the city gate, looking at the ragged, defeated soldiers, and there was only one standard.

Those who can handle knives and guns are needed.

It wasn't that he didn't want to choose, but in this chaotic world, only one in ten able-bodied men remained, so how many strong men were there to choose from?

It's already quite an achievement for someone to be able to pick up a weapon.

Over three days, five thousand able-bodied men were selected.

With the original 15,000 troops, Liu Bei's total force reached 20,000, divided into three battalions: infantry, cavalry, and archers.

There are approximately 5,000 veterans among them.

Among them, more than 800 came from Zhuojun. Most of them were old soldiers recruited from Qingshi'ao back then. They had fought hard battles and killed people and seen blood.

The 1,200 men recruited from Anxi County followed Liu Bei in his campaigns across Ji and You provinces, suppressing bandits, defeating the Yellow Turbans, and defending cities.

The three thousand men brought from Pingyuan County were expanded before the campaign against Dong Zhuo. Although they were not as fierce as the previous two groups, they were still well-organized and disciplined, and their orders were strictly obeyed.

15,000 new recruits.

Five thousand of them were defeated soldiers from the Guandong warlords.

In the battle beneath Chang'an, the feudal lords suffered heavy casualties, and their defeated soldiers scattered in all directions.

These people had served in the military and were skilled in using guns, swords, bows, and crossbows. Some had even served as squad leaders or platoon leaders. They could be recruited and put to use immediately.

Their military discipline is poor, so they need to be strictly controlled.

The other five thousand were the strongest and most capable among the refugees.

Those who fled from the surrounding areas of Luoyang came from various prefectures in Hebei, Hedong, and Henan.

Liu Bei sent men to inspect them one by one, selecting those who were sturdy and honest-looking to serve as foot soldiers, trained by veteran soldiers.

The last 5,000 were local young adults from Luoyang.

When Dong Zhuo retreated westward, most of the people inside and outside the city fled, leaving behind mostly poor people with nowhere to go.

These people endured the ruins for months, and when they saw Liu Bei arrive, they had hope for the future and joined the army.

They are familiar with the terrain, which will come in handy for defending the city later.

The troop allocation is as follows:

Two thousand cavalry.

1,500 veterans and 500 new recruits.

All are equipped with double stirrups and high saddle bridges.

Most of the veterans came from the border region of Youzhou and were skilled in archery and horsemanship.

The new recruits were chosen from the defeated soldiers; they were originally cavalrymen, but lacked good horse equipment.

Now that the missing pieces have been added, their combat power has skyrocketed.

Thirteen thousand infantrymen.

Three thousand veterans and ten thousand new recruits.

Veteran soldiers were assigned to various units as squad leaders and platoon leaders, while new recruits were dispersed according to their place of origin to prevent them from forming cliques and causing trouble.

Swords and shields, spears, and halberds each formed their own camps, and they practiced formations daily, training themselves to stand firm, charge forward, and retreat in an orderly manner.

Four thousand crossbowmen.

Five hundred veterans and three thousand five hundred new recruits.

The area around Luoyang is mountainous, and many of the displaced people are hunters, skilled in archery and horsemanship.

With the captured bows and crossbows, and practicing shooting daily, they could become a formidable force in time.

The remaining two thousand supply and auxiliary soldiers were mostly old and weak, and were responsible for managing provisions, feeding horses, and repairing equipment.

Guan Yu looked around and said to Liu Bei, "The soldiers are good soldiers, but there are too many new recruits. We'll have to train them for a few months."

Liu Bei said, "Grind it slowly. As long as there's enough grain to eat, we can always grind it up."

Zhang Fei grinned and said, "Those two thousand cavalrymen, no need to be worn down. Just take them out and they're ready to chop people down."

Zhang Fei is right. What Liu Bei cares about most are the two thousand newly formed cavalrymen.

Two thousand cavalrymen, all equipped with double stirrups and high saddles.

The stirrups were made of sheet metal wrapped around hardwood, and each pair was tested.

A fully armed soldier stood on the stirrups, the stirrup straps taut and the stirrup rings motionless.

Zhang Fei personally tested it; with both hands off the saddle, he hung from the stirrups and swayed, yet the stirrup rings didn't break.

"Father is truly a genius! How did he design such a thing?" Although he had seen it many times, Zhang Fei couldn't help but praise his father every time he saw this horse tack.

Zhang Fei now admires Liu Liang to the point of complete deference and has long since regarded his teacher as his godfather.

Zhang Fei jumped off his horse, patted the stirrups, and glared at them, saying, "With this thing, new recruits can charge on horseback in three days! Before, it would take three months of training!"

The Gao'an Bridge is particularly exquisite.

The bridge is five inches higher than a regular saddle, with upturned front and back, perfectly positioned to catch the rider's thighs and hips.

Wrapped in leather and lined with thick hemp, the rider feels as if he's embedded in the saddle.

Even if pierced by a spear during a high-speed charge, they will not easily fall off their horses.

Guan Yu returned after a test ride, dismounted, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

"This saddle is good. Before, when charging, I had to grip the horse's belly tightly with my legs, and my legs would be weak after thirty miles. Now, with my feet in the stirrups and my waist against the saddle, my hands are completely free, and I can concentrate on using my gun."

Liu Bei stroked the saddle bridge, recalling the scene when his adoptive father drew up the blueprints.

Back then, in Anxi County, my adoptive father said that this set of equipment could triple the fighting power of the cavalry.

He took his adoptive father's words as gospel and instructed the craftsmen to follow them.

Now that all two thousand cavalrymen were fully equipped, he truly understood what "doubling" meant.

Two thousand cavalrymen lined up in formation on the training ground, their banners waving and exuding a murderous aura.

Liu Bei ascended the platform to inspect the troops, and rows of cavalrymen galloped past him.

The sound of horses' hooves pounding the ground was like muffled thunder.

Long spears stood like a forest, their cold light gleaming.

The cavalrymen sat firmly on their horses, and even when the horses suddenly turned, their bodies did not sway.

Guan Yu said from the side, "Brother, these two thousand cavalry can be used as the equivalent of five thousand."

Zhang Fei grinned and said, "More than five thousand! If we encountered Lü Bu's three thousand Bingzhou cavalry, I dared to charge them head-on!"

Sun Qian, standing to the side, exclaimed in disbelief, "My lord, are all these horse tack really left behind by Master Zishan?"

Zhang Fei immediately became agitated upon hearing this: "Sun Gongyou, what's wrong? Don't you believe my godfather?"

"Not at all! Not at all!" Sun Qian blushed and hurriedly explained, "Sir, your talent lies not in governing the country or in military strategy, but in these practical things. A single stirrup or a single saddle can transform a cavalry unit. Such a remarkable person is one in a hundred years."

Liu Bei seemed completely ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, simply watching the cavalry gallop back and forth across the training ground, kicking up clouds of dust, and muttering, "I wonder how my adoptive father is doing in Chang'an?"