Insufficient balance

  Recalling the scene when the prince was ordered to persuade, the three layers inside and outside were tightly surrounded, his face wasn't very good, too many things had happened in recent days, some soldiers had ideas, they blocked the way with the people, asking for "restoration of the palace temple ancestral hall" slogan, and the more they persuaded, the more gathered, and shouted in unison: "If the emperor is not willing to stay, we commoners are willing to lead our children, from under the temple eastward to break the bandits, if the temple below and the emperor go west together, who will be in charge of this vast Central Plains?" Everyone was crying, even the prince's voice was hoarse and exhausted, unable to think of a solution.

  I, who was ordered to rescue the emperor, couldn't help but be surrounded and caught up in it. I silently cursed these hot-headed fools who were moved by the people's pleas and blocked our way. There must have been someone instigating them from behind. If we hadn't had to flee with a large group of people without any supplies or reinforcements, we wouldn't have had to escape so desperately. Moreover, even if we managed to break free, how could those rulers entrust us with their safety and let us take such risks again?

  I am also unwilling to let soldiers force people to disperse, if they are used by others to stir up conflict and cause casualties, it would be a pretext for certain people to take advantage of the situation.

  The troops left behind were also pushing the boat with the current, anyway, someone was willing to go and die for them, and the thieves who stayed behind to block the enemy would be happy to do so. So they allocated a thousand sets of enemy uniforms and equipment, as well as a month's worth of dry rations, and even obtained the title of General-in-Chief of the Insurrectionist Army. The over a thousand war horses captured in the Battle of Luo Valley were also allocated to them.

  They even left behind a brief guerrilla army naming ceremony to encourage them to die, not only pulling the prince on the spot to witness and comfort, but also teaching them to sing a song "Sending War Friends", moving those fools to tears. All of them vowed to devote themselves to the country's difficulties, not daring to forget their duty.

  Of course, on the surface, for most of the soldiers, there is another elaborate explanation. It says that the current temporary retreat is for the sake of a long-term future, and it's more important to escort the country's vital organs and key points to a safe place. They must fight back, but currently, they need to have a spirit of sacrifice and bravery to stay in the enemy's rear for a long time with no support. As a result, there are still many hot-blooded fools who believe it, and under the pretext of supplementing the insufficient military officers, those guys who are called the most vicious are also kicked into the guerrilla army, although some of them look unwilling, their eyes are not very comfortable to look at, but let's talk about it when they come back alive.

  Because those hot-headed fools and blockheads were all dispatched during the division of troops. The remaining ones are mostly those who surrendered or defected to other armies, so they didn't pose a big threat to our westward advance. As for the unauthorized dispatch of guerrilla forces, I will report it afterwards and Grand Emperor has given his tacit consent with "So be it... very good". Perhaps because now the audience is in a vast area, cleared by the rebels. Maybe the existence of this lone counter-attacking army can at least shift the attention of those who are determined to pursue the rebel forces.

  They thought the pursuing troops were like a tide, and it was difficult for the lone army to keep its integrity. Unexpectedly, the general of the staying mobile army, Luo Xian, led his cavalry infantry to bypass the state and county without entering, fortunately avoiding the large troops of Ashina Chong from the enemy. They had already reached the area south of the Wei River, near the Louguan Mountain.

  Moreover, they copied my face-to-face machine's rhetoric such as "beating local tyrants and dividing land" and other guerrilla warfare tactics. They hid their troops in the mountains and forests, using the mountainous areas as a base to carry out activities. In Jinming, Fenglin and other counties, they ambushed and killed newly appointed puppet officials and county magistrates who had surrendered, and plundered many wealthy households that were said to be "rebellious and evil". They obtained a large amount of grain, money and goods, which they distributed widely among the people, gaining the support of many. They also gathered some scattered soldiers from various states and counties who had escaped back to their hometowns, and for a time, their momentum was greatly boosted.

  Fortunately, they still remembered the guerrilla tactics and only recruited some brave warriors who were good at riding horses. They organized them into several teams according to their strengths, with local scholars as guides, and divided their troops to attack from all sides. With light cavalry and fast horses, they successively captured Guannei Road and Jingji Road, scattered the small groups of rebel soldiers and grain teams, and often only burned but did not plunder the transportation teams. The rebel army could not catch up with them, and was led out, and several weak military strongholds were also pacified.

  Luo's ancestors were from Youzhou. It is said that after the gate was closed, there were some measures to compile and train troops, with strict military discipline and precautions against spies. Although they were mostly a motley crew, they were organized and had a clear structure. The guerrilla tactics were well-executed, with multiple camps scattered around, frequently changing locations, using local villagers as informants, and each unit's tasks were unknown to others, preventing leaks. Moreover, whenever there was an action, only a small number of bandits were captured, many counties and villages behind enemy lines were raided and killed, and officials and wealthy families who had surrendered to the enemy were also intimidated.

  However, as the team grew stronger, the pressure of management and logistics also increased. Zeng had previously been dispatched by General Longwu to take charge of the military and civilians in Shangluo, and had coordinated with them on grain and horse supplies, and had also sent someone to pass on the message, but it was already many days late.

  These were the school officers who came to report to me in detail, and at that time, although some unstable factors had been released earlier, I still made some preparations in the Jingnan Army. They were all people who had benefited from the chaos of war or whose families had received care, and when needed, they could assist Luo Xian in "taking care of" some troublesome things on his own. This new school officer was one of them, so I didn't have to worry about credibility issues. And under my guidance, he appropriately revised and processed the words.

  Although the above are only small victories, they have been highly praised by the old emperor, and it seems that this lone army has a taste of counterattacking the capital. The political significance of boosting morale is far greater than its military effect, so all necessary funds, supplies, and personnel will be provided as needed.

  Under the vast imperial grace, all members of the Jingnan Army were promoted one level, and even the Longwu Army was rewarded with merits. And these matters were arranged, which all fell on my direct superior's head.

  As a modern person, I have also heard and am familiar with some allusions to the advantages and disadvantages of guerrilla warfare. In response to the expansion of the Jingnan Army's guerrilla warfare, it is possible that many problems will gradually be exposed, such as the lack of qualified officers, new recruits who are brave but lack proper training, and the increasing difficulty of keeping actions secret. After convening a military council and discussing these issues with various generals, some arrangements were made, including sending some elite troops to provide support. These included some veterans from under Chen Shi's command who had years of experience fighting bandits in the mountains, as well as some soldiers from under Xie Zhen's command who were skilled in cavalry warfare. There were also some specialized training personnel, totaling around 200 men, who were sent along with a large quantity of weapons, armor, and supplies to the front lines of the Jianmen Army in Shangzhou, where they would await further instructions.

  However, in recent days, the military affairs have been handed over to me, and the granaries of Hanzhong Prefecture and the surrounding areas have almost all been moved by my Longwu Army. I took the imperial edict and went to find Cui Yuan, the deputy governor of the province who is currently the richest, to demand money, goods, and people. It's said that they brought enough supplies for three months when they came out. My attention has been focused on them. This Shu region is indeed a rich and prosperous land.

  The Dao of the Tang Dynasty was the prototype for the provinces of later generations, which were divided according to natural geographical trends. The scope of jurisdiction is extremely vast, such as the Hebei Dao, which refers to the area north of the Yellow River, and can extend as far as the Outer Xing'an Mountains, Sakhalin Island, and Lake Baikal, including the entire Northeast China and a large part of North China today.

  Therefore, the Shu Road of the Tang Dynasty was also a big road. According to the geographical maps and records at that time, it included the vast areas of present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Hubei, Yunnan, and Tibet. Under its jurisdiction were one prefecture, one capital protectorate, thirty-eight states, and one hundred eighty-nine counties. In addition, there were dozens of loose reins states and guest states that were not fixed. The land was rich in products and had a large population, owning the granary known as the Heavenly Treasury and many mines, which made it quite prosperous. It was also the only southern road to set up a jiedushi (military governor).

  Jiannan Jiedushi, westward to Tubo, southward to pacify the hundred barbarian tribes, governs You, Wei, Peng, Gong, Ya, Li, Yao, and Xi eight states' border troops and Tianbao Army, Pingrong Army, Kunming Army, Ningyuan Army, Chengchuan Army, Nanjiang Army six major military towns. Yang Guotian etc. garrison fifteen, Xin'an etc. city thirty-two, Qiongwei etc. town thirty-eight (Tang system, soldiers stationed on the border are divided into four levels: army, garrison, city, and town; this town is not that town, same as encampment and stronghold)

  The administrative office of the Sword South Jiedushi was located in the Chengdu Plain, the central capital of the five most prosperous and affluent regions in the world - Yizhou, with 39,000 troops under its direct jurisdiction, supplying 2,000 horses per year, 800,000 pieces of clothing, and 700,000 stones of military rations.

  Mentioning the Jiedushi, one has to mention the Tang Dynasty's unique system of dispatched officials. The so-called "dispatched" refers to officials who are outside the normal administrative system, specially appointed and have a special nature, similar to the role of an imperial envoy in later dynasties. They do not have a fixed term, but generally serve for a much longer period.

  Although the Tang Dynasty had already appeared in the prototype of the provincial administration of later generations - the administrative division of the Dao, there was no fixed official system, but rather according to local actual needs, the central government dispatched various named officials, such as those with "envoy" names. Special commissioners were responsible for certain aspects of the job or specific affairs at the Dao level, and their powers and terms were not fixed, depending on the need to be dispatched and summoned.

  Just like me, being appointed as the Left Gold Armor Guard Zhonglang is equivalent to my original official rank and title (equivalent to military rank, all commanders of the Imperial Guards are under the Gold Armor Guard), while being appointed as Longwu General is my current position and mission, also known as a duty officer. There is another duty allowance for duty officers. The deployment of the army's headquarters, the overall accommodation of the guards, belongs to the dispatched officer, which is considered a temporary grant of authority. In addition, there are other part-time jobs that can receive monthly allowances, such as Dongnei Gongfeng and Sanqi Changshi. As well as unpaid temporary officials like Siyan and Sima, etc.