They returned to Córdoba Province where Bustos attempted to take control of the province, against the will of Paz and others who intended to reach the northern border that was threatened by the Spanish and other Royalists. Paz, already a General, was separated from the army and sent to Santiago del Estero, where he spent two years away from politics. In 1823, he went to Catamarca Province to give instruction to some 200 soldiers, whom he had already led in battle in Salta Province, calling them the "Hunter Battalion" ("Batallón de Cazadores"), and he would again command during the war against Brazil.