To Be Accompanied By
To Have In Tow, To Take Along
transitive verb, ichidan verb
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb.
The kanji itself means obey, but the verb meaning is a bit different. In most contexts, it often just means to be accompanied by someone or to have in tow. To help you remember this, imagine that everyone you're accompanied by obeys you! You're sort of their leader, so you go everywhere with them following in tow.
従える is a relatively formal word that's often used in literature.
Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you know that it's probably going to be the kun'yomi reading. You already learned this reading with 従う. Remember it?
ほう、誰も従えず、一人でここまで来たのかい？
Oh, did you come all the way here alone without anyone accompanying you?
その歌手は三人のボディガードを従えてやってきた。
The singer came with three bodyguards in tow.
二十才の時には、すでに百人の社員を従える社長になっていた。
At the age of twenty, he had already become a company president leading over a hundred employees.