Seeing that Lei Wanche and Lei Chongmao, father and son, still only half believed him, Meng Zhao explained,
"The Yangwu Army under my command numbers one hundred thousand. In addition, I have one hundred and twenty thousand private troops in Liang Prefecture, all elite men, valiant warriors. Yet capable generals and great commanders are in short supply, stretched thin. That is why I need to cultivate more useful talent.
The Lei Family has produced military commanders for generations. In the art of warfare, the first Marquis of Bei Ning was a master of his age. The knowledge has been passed down through every generation, and even now, there are few rivals in Great Yong. My Meng Family greatly admires the Lei Family's art of war.
That is why I hope to temporarily transfer some promising talents into Marquis Lei's household and army for service. First, they may learn advanced methods of troop deployment and formation, broaden their horizons, and improve their own abilities.
Second, I hope they can interact more with Marquis Lei. We will all be one family in the future. Should we ever combine our forces, it will spare us some unnecessary trouble."
Meng Zhao spoke with utter sincerity, but everyone's attention had fallen upon the one hundred and twenty thousand private troops he had mentioned in Liang Prefecture.
This was Liang Prefecture. Not only had he raised one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers there, but they were all elites—two hundred thousand more than the nominal, orthodox Yangwu Army. How could that possibly have been achieved?
Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen were merely astonished, but Lei Wanche and Lei Chongmao, father and son, were utterly shaken.
In terms of military strength alone, Meng Zhao commanded two hundred and twenty thousand troops. These were not weak, starving