A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

After the battle ended, Ma Wu forcibly incorporated Wang Kuang's army into his own forces.

These soldiers originally thought that after the court's victory, they could return to their peaceful lives.

However, unexpectedly, even after being incorporated into the imperial court, they still had to join the army.

According to Ma Wu, they were all rebels and traitors, and rebellion was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

Now that he has forgiven their past transgressions and allowed them to join the army, it is already the greatest favor he can do for them.

Some people mustered up their courage and asked what would happen to their family land and their families. They also asked if, after joining the army, they would receive military pay and rations like the regular army in the Han Dynasty.

"Land? What land? Aren't all your land in your own hands?"

"These are spoils we seized from the rebels. What's it to you?"

"As for your families, the court is currently establishing fiefdoms, and they can go out with those families. Naturally, someone will be willing to allocate new land to them."

"And supplies and pay? Don't forget who you are. You are rebels and insurgents. Letting you live is the greatest favor we can do for you. You still want supplies and pay?"

Ma Wu drew his Han sword. "Come on, who wants it? Step forward!"

Ma Wu looked around, but not a single soldier dared to step forward.

Ma Wu nodded in satisfaction, "It's not that I didn't give you a chance, but none of you had any objections."

Upon returning, he will truthfully report the current troop numbers and request military equipment and provisions from the imperial court.

These weapons and provisions are now hard currency; reselling them to powerful families who have gone abroad to establish their own fiefdoms can bring in huge profits.

Especially since this is a risk-free business, with enough weapons and provisions to arm an army of 10, even if it requires bribing officials and dividing the profits, he will still get an astronomical sum.

Many of the soldiers who were coerced dared not speak out against their anger.

On the other side, Kunyang.

Liu Yan and Liu Xiu led 3 troops to the border of Kunyang.

They sent out a large number of scouts to gather intelligence on the situation in Kunyang.

After a thorough investigation, they confirmed that Wang Feng's army had not yet arrived in Kunyang.

So they led all their troops into Kunyang City.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiu dispersed and hid the grain they carried in different places outside Kunyang City.

After joining forces with Kunyang City, Liu Yan and Liu Xiu's army reached 5.

Only the 30,000 troops they brought were elite soldiers from seasoned battle teams; the remaining 20,000 were county soldiers, whose combat strength was slightly weaker.

There are also a large number of able-bodied men in the city who can help defend it.

However, the ownership of these troops was extremely dispersed, with 10,000 of them belonging to their brothers.

The other two elite troops were commanded by four captains, two of whom were well aware of the brothers' abilities and were willing to accept their command.

The other two were close to Commander Ma Wu, and their relationship with him was originally good. However, as their military achievements have increased recently, their relationship with Ma Wu has deteriorated, and their relationship with the two captains has also become worse.

Getting them to obey Liu Xiu and his brother's orders unconditionally was practically a pipe dream.

Fortunately, before setting off, Liu Xiu happened to capture a suspicious-looking person and obtained some extremely useful information from him.

With this information, Liu Xiu was confident that he could get the two men to hand over their military power.

That night, Liu Xiu gathered everyone together and explained the pros and cons to them.

"Our army is currently outnumbered and lacks generals, while the enemy outside the city has a large number of soldiers and generals. Only by concentrating all our strength and uniting as one can we have a chance of victory."

"If we are still fighting amongst ourselves at this time, we will definitely not be able to defend Kunyang City."

"Once the city is breached, ordinary people still have a chance to surrender and live, but you and I will only face death."

Liu Xiu scanned everyone around him, finally fixing his gaze on the two captains who were close to Ma Wu.

These two are the most unstable factors. Wang Feng's army is not far from here. He must quickly gain their approval or directly strip them of their military power.

"You're just lucky, what right do you have to lecture us?"

"We are directly under Marshal Ma's command, how dare you lecture us!"

The two captains looked grim, knowing that Wang Feng outside commanded a massive army of 40.

They only have 5 men here, a 1 to 8 ratio of fighting strength. How are they supposed to fight?

Unlike the other group, they don't have a powerful figure with a destiny bestowed upon them.

Unlike the third group, they did not have the support of the most prestigious families in the Han Dynasty.

They weren't even the main force of the imperial court; they were merely a detachment of the main force.

What they were about to face was the main force of one of the two largest rebel armies in the entire world.

A full 40 troops.

Even if there are 40 pigs, killing them is not so simple.

Not to mention an army of 40.

"I think you two are well aware of why Marshal Ma sent you here and what his intentions are."

Liu Xiu directly exposed the deepest wounds in their hearts, causing their expressions to change.

They opened their mouths, but said nothing.

Lies never hurt anyone; the truth is the sharpest knife.

"And all the things you've done behind the scenes, even killing you wouldn't be too much of a punishment."

"Since you have nowhere else to go, why not hand over your military power, change your ways, and listen to what you've gotten your hands on? You'll be able to live a life of luxury for the rest of your days."

Liu Xiu's eyes were like knives, piercing straight into the hearts of the two men.

The two men felt a chill run down their spines and exchanged a glance. How did Liu Xiu know about that matter?!

Liu Xiu's cunning was so deep; what a terrifying intelligence network!

If they refused, the two felt a chill in their hearts.

"Report! Wang Feng's army has arrived ten miles away and is about to set up camp."

This battle report became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"We are willing to relinquish our military power, and we ask that the general keep his word."

In the end, the two men chose to back down and relinquish their military power.

Liu Xiu's lips curled up. "Of course. With all of you generals as witnesses, a person without integrity will not go far."

"You're not worth risking your reputation for."

The two nodded helplessly, their only hope being that Liu Xiu would keep his word.

"Ma Yuan, Feng Yi, you two come and take over these two troops."

"Jia Fu and Wu Han, you two will be their deputies."

"Deng Yu, you are in charge of mobilizing grain and rations and conscripting able-bodied men to assist in defending the city."

Ma Yuan, Feng Yi, Jia Fu, Wu Han, and Deng Yu were talents discovered by Liu Xiu during these wars. Ma Yuan, in particular, was born with superhuman strength and wielded a pair of golden hammers weighing a total of 320 jin.

It was the heaviest weapon in the world that Liu Xiu had ever heard of, apart from the Fangtian Halberd of the Loyal and Martial King.

Ma Yuan could wield it with such ferocity that a mere graze would cause injury, a single touch would be fatal, and a single smash would turn it into mincemeat; he was incredibly brave.

If it weren't for the Wei family next door producing another freak capable of wielding a halberd, Liu Xiu felt that Ma Yuan could compete for the title of the most powerful general in the world.

Unfortunately, they can only compete for second place now.

"Yes, ma'am."