In a village, Sam was teaching a young man how to use the firearm of the Graywhite Territory, hand in hand.
“That’s right, keep your hand steady, don’t think about whether you’ll hit or not, and retreat to cover immediately after releasing the trigger.”
The young man fired two shots, both of which missed the target.
“Don’t worry, when you’re in a real battlefield, whether you hit or not doesn’t matter that much.”
Sam pat the young man’s shoulder and then started teaching him how to load ammunition, maintain, and repair the firearm.
Such scenes were not uncommon in this village. It wasn’t just young men learning to use firearms; there were also many women and even elderly people.
After all, most of the youth in the Northern Border were conscripted.
The young man’s learning was very serious, not only to protect himself but also to protect his land.
The knights and officials of the local lord had already been driven away by the resistance army. After the last communication with the Graywhite Territory, Isha began to learn from the Graywhite Territory and started land reforms behind enemy lines.
Of course, what she did could not be as meticulous as the Graywhite Territory, and since most of the land belonged to the lord, the resistance army did not have an easy time at the beginning.
At first, the local lord might have turned a blind eye to the activities of the resistance army, but once the army began to impact the lord’s lands, it would face fierce resistance.
During this process, Isha adopted Lind’s suggestion to start with the remote villages of various territories, as these villages had a weaker control by the lords, and the resistance faced less opposition. Soon the resistance army effectively controlled these villages.
Unlike other resistance groups, the one led by Isha did not pillage or harm the people; it even helped trade grain along the way, which earned the resistance considerable fame among the populace.
With the support of small and medium-sized merchants, Isha had already established a foothold in these villages.
Next came distributing weapons to the villagers, organizing counterattacks, and gradually surrounding the lord’s main town.
Although the Graywhite Territory had provided the resistance with many new weapons, attempting to besiege a city was still too ambitious for the resistance. Gradually, a kind of balance formed between the resistance army and the local lords, each going about their own lives without interference.
Some lords, whose reputation was decent and tax collection was not too bad, could still collect a bit of normal taxes, and in the end, these lords begrudgingly accepted the authority of the resistance army, which left them a way out.
The petty lords dared not openly confront the armed resistance army and villagers, while the grand lords also found themselves at a loss against the guerrilla tactics, unless they organized a large-scale encirclement.
Although these grand lords had seen a significant expansion of power under Fang Ge’s command, the price was to provide troops to Fang Ge, so now such a level of encirclement had to be organized by Fang Ge personally.
In the end, these grand lords thought about it: after all, the resistance army only occupied the surrounding villages, mostly small settlements, resulting in minimal land loss. Moreover, the original population of the land had been conscripted by Fang Ge, resulting in low productivity. Therefore, they were reluctant to engage with the resistance army.
In the end, more and more villages formed connections under the guidance of the resistance army, starting to help and support one another, watching over each other.
Isha looked at the villages that were gradually regaining their vitality. According to Lind, this area could already be considered a rear base, even though on the surface, Fang Ge was still in control. In reality, the local lords could no longer collect taxes here, and had basically given up on controlling these areas.
It was also hard to say who the taxpayers were; those lords seemed to have adopted the traditional aristocratic skill of fence sitting—while some even actively reported to the lords when the Fang Ge army was about to enter their territory to encircle, as the taxes collected from the villages under the resistance army were more than before, even if the land itself had not yet begun to yield.
Finally, the resistance army even helped some lords maintain local law and order and punished officials who collected taxes from the villagers multiple times.
The atmosphere among these territories was strangely reasonable.
Originally, according to Lind’s plan, it was not possible to help these lords collect taxes, as this money should have been used by the resistance itself.
But being behind enemy lines, Isha understood the current situation better. The resistance army had the support of the Graywhite Territory and did not lack resources, nor did they need these taxes to sustain their troops. Furthermore, these villages were unlikely to collect much tax but could ease relations with the local lords and reduce pressure on the resistance army. So, Isha chose this strategy based on local conditions.
Of course, this situation was not common; the majority of local lords still held obvious hostility towards the resistance army, but were helpless against them, especially since the resistance army had not truly threatened the foundations of these lords. They believed their foundational strongholds were crucial and thus opted for compromise.
The encirclement by Fang Ge’s army had not ceased.
Even though at the beginning, the firearms equipped by Fang Ge caused considerable trouble for the resistance army, both sides not only had differences in military quality and discipline but also in weaponry, and Isha was able to acquire intelligence about the enemy first each time, so the resistance army did not fall into a clear disadvantage.
However, Isha did not let her guard down. Analyzing the situation, Isha prepared to adapt their tactics. Even though Fang Ge’s army began equipping all their soldiers with firearms, it also meant that after defeating Fang Ge’s army, they could seize more firearms.
Moreover, since it was also produced by the Graywhite Territory, captured ammunition could be used directly by the resistance army, and once they fought, they could resupply on the spot.
As for the firearms captured, the resistance army already had firearms that had grown in the snow, clearly making it impossible for the enemy to regain those, but these firearms could be distributed to the local populace along the way, teaching them how to use them.
Soon, more and more people in the active areas of the resistance army obtained weapons and were no longer fearful when facing regular soldiers.
Under these conditions, Isha finally stabilized the situation for the resistance army.
With firearms, the distinction between civilians and soldiers had disappeared. Moreover, generally speaking, to protect their property and newly acquired land, villagers often exhibited even stronger fighting will than soldiers. Under such circumstances, in some rough areas, Fang Ge’s army didn’t even dare to glance at them.
“Lady Saintess, there is a letter from the governor.”
Layton returned to the village with the patrolling soldiers, bringing along the most recent correspondence.
After reading the letter, Isha let out a long sigh of relief.
“The Beitang Defensive Line has been breached, and the governor’s side is going to launch an offensive.”
“Really? That’s great!”
Layton and the soldiers around him cheered.
Every time the bards and the Golden Merchants brought not only weapon supplies and letters but also many news papers from the Graywhite Territory, the warriors at least knew that there was a place where people could live and work in peace, a place that supported them.
Although many had not yet set foot on the land of the Graywhite Territory, they already considered themselves people from that place.
“But the next encirclement is about to come.”
Isha looked longingly at these villages.
