Chapter 8, Background (3)

The reasons and consequences of abandoning Chang'an are as follows: Originally, the six armies of the Northern Yamen, numbering over 100,000, along with the Southern Army's five prefectures, three guards, and the garrison troops from the Guanzhong region, totaled at least 300,000 soldiers. Not to mention defense, there was more than enough manpower to launch an offensive. However, the actual situation was that the Southern Army, with 200,000 troops primarily composed of the imperial guards, was mostly on a rotation of service three times a year, with only one-third of them on duty at any given time. Furthermore, there had been no military engagements in Guanzhong for a long time. Under the leadership of the two great chancellors, Yang and Li, corruption flourished within the military, leading to significant financial losses and misappropriation of resources. Those who were slightly skilled in combat were reassigned elsewhere, and during the three campaigns against the Southern Marsh in the Tianbao era, many soldiers fell in battle, creating vacancies that became opportunities for others to draw salaries without serving, which were not replenished. As a result, many military units had yet to recover. The Northern Army's oversight remained intact, but the formation of the rebel suppression forces led by King Ying and Gao Xianzhi took away the two divine military units. In order to gather forces to resist the rebels at Tongguan, Ge Shuhan transferred the remaining Northern and Southern troops along with local garrison forces from various prefectures and counties, leaving only a small number of troops in the capital to maintain order. Many in the Southern Army were merely filling positions to receive rations, and when news of battle arose, they all fled. Consequently, after the fall of Tongguan, the vast city of Chang'an was left with only 7,000 Yulin troops and 2,000 imperial guards available, in stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands of rebels. No matter how strong the city walls were, they could not hold out. Additionally, many fled during the retreat, leading to the current dire situation. After my efforts to reorganize, I managed to gather over ten thousand troops.

The main composition of the infantry in this era consists of spear soldiers and sword-and-shield bearers. The former is equipped with polearms (spears with a slanted tip), halberds, axes, jian (double-edged swords), and other long-range weapons, while the latter is equipped with various sizes of shields and short-range weapons such as swords, axes, broad swords, hammers, and hooks. They primarily wear armor made of metal and leather, known as lamellar armor. The cavalry mainly wears two-piece armor that connects at the front and back. They are equipped with slightly shorter polearms with hand grips, known as horse spears (also referred to as cavalry spears), which can be thrust into the ground. This gives them a strong impact against nomadic tribes, but their turning and maneuverability are slightly inferior to the quick-firing nomadic cavalry. In the border troops, there are also cavalry units similar to nomadic cavalry, composed of auxiliary soldiers and volunteers, as well as swimming units made up of exiles. During the Tang Dynasty, there was no strict distinction between different types of troops; apart from cavalry, the training received was generally interchangeable. The combat capabilities were average, with differences only in weaponry. Therefore, there were no exclusively equipped units; even an archery unit primarily composed of crossbowmen would be supplemented by a combined detachment of 150 spear soldiers and sword-and-shield bearers for close protection. Similarly, in the combination of stationed cavalry and light cavalry, a small number of highly mobile auxiliary cavalry would be included to serve as scouts and for reconnaissance.