In addition to the relatively distinctive political systems and unique cultural spirits of the dynasties in ancient Chinese history, their military strength should not be underestimated. The army is the cornerstone of the country, the guarantee of the country, and a necessary mea

Preface

In addition to their relatively distinctive political systems and unique cultural spirits, the dynasties in ancient Chinese history also had military strength that should not be underestimated. The army is the cornerstone of the country, the guarantee of the country, and a necessary means to maintain rule. Therefore, the development and control of the military has been a top priority for the country in all dynasties, and the military system can often reflect the characteristics of a country.

The establishment and characteristics of the government army system

The earliest government army system came from the Xianbei nation. Military strength and a complete logistics support system, the earliest feature of the government military system is that the Xianbei people serve as soldiers, and the Han people farm, one is responsible for fighting, and the other is responsible for logistics. The soldiers can only be Xianbei people, and naturally there are many Xianbei people during the period. privileges.

1, The development of the Fubing system during the Western Wei period

However, with the development of the times, the Fubing system has been very different from the earliest Xianbei period. This has a lot to do with the background of the times. The period when the Fubing system existed is During the period when political power in various places was divided and you conquered me, a large number of people were lost during this period, not only the soldiers on the front battlefield but also the people in the rear. Because of war, famine, and disease, a lot of people were lost, and the people were the guarantee of logistics, that is, As for the guarantee of military food and military supplies, the reality is that although ethnic minority soldiers can stabilize their rule, the soldiers suffer huge losses due to wars all year round. It is difficult to replenish soldiers, and it is sometimes difficult to rely solely on civilian supplies for logistics.

▲ Map pictures of the Western Wei Dynasty

The Western Wei Dynasty Yuwentai period gradually began to change all this. In order to supplement the troops lost in the war, attention began to be paid to the domestic powerful private soldiers and rural soldiers, and these troops were supplemented to make up for the losses of soldiers. . The most famous ones at this time are the twelve generals and the twenty-four mansions of the eight pillar states of the Western Wei Dynasty. Except for the two pillar states who cannot lead troops due to special reasons, the other six pillar states each lead two generals. Each general leads The military establishment of each of the two prefectures in the Western Wei Dynasty was 2,000 soldiers, totaling 48,000 soldiers in the entire army of the twenty-four prefectures. This is not to say that the Western Wei Dynasty only had 48,000 soldiers, but that there were 48,000 government soldiers . It can also be said that there were 48,000 regular troops on standby who could directly participate in the war.

Da Xi Wu commanded 30,000 troops in those years. Although he was a general, it stands to reason that his direct troops should only have 4,000, indicating that there are a large number of auxiliary troops. There were a large number of heroes in the soldiers of the Western Wei Dynasty, such as Li Hu, The descendants of people like Dugu Xin, Zhao Gui, and Yang Zhong are all significant figures in history. In the later period, Yuwen Yong was able to destroy the Northern Qi Dynasty and unify the north. It was inseparable from the imperial army system. It can be said that the strength of the imperial army during this period was very impressive.

▲Yuwentai picture

2. The reason why the military system was strong during the Western Wei Dynasty

During the Western Wei Dynasty, there were continuous wars. At this time, the north and the Northern Wei had just collapsed. The actual power of the Han people in the north was not as good as that of the Xianbei people. At this time, due to the wars, which caused a large number of military losses, the Western Wei Dynasty decided to absorb A large number of local powerful Han troops served as the government army. In order to appease the powerful, they were given official positions, which not only solved the loss of the army but also stabilized the powerful's hearts.

As for the people, the Western Wei Dynasty continued to implement the land equalization system. During the war, what the people wanted most was to live and work in peace and contentment, have land to cultivate, and survive with food and clothing, so the demand was not very great. The government military system is very popular in this context. The country hands the land to farmers, and farmers farm and serve as soldiers for the country. But farmers need to prepare their own weapons and armor. Although it seems very harsh now, the situation at that time was that the Western Wei Dynasty did After giving the land to the farmers, the farmers felt at ease and were willing to defend their homes and country in order to safeguard their own interests. With the land, they also had the concept of defending their homes and country and going into battle to kill the enemy. This was the reason why the military system flourished during the Western Wei Dynasty. important reason.

▲ Pictures of the Western Wei army

3, Characteristics of the Sui Dynasty Fu military system

The Fu soldiers during the Sui Dynasty basically followed the Fu military system during the Western Wei Dynasty, but the names were changed. The Sui Dynasty established 12 guards, each with a general. Two mansions were established under the general, similar to those in the Western Wei and Northern Zhou . The mansions were named Hussar and Cheqi, and their names were General Hussar and General Chachi. However, the Husband and Cheqi generals at this time were not the same as those in the Han Dynasty. There is a big difference, and the name was changed during the Sui Dynasty.

▲Pictures of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty

What remains unchanged for the sergeants of the Fu soldiers is to retain their military status. In addition to being directly affiliated with the military government, due to practical factors, the Fu soldiers can also register with their families and be affiliated to the state or county where they belong. In this way The result is that the soldiers have a stable place to live, and in terms of land, they can not only get land according to the Land Equalization Order, , they do not have to engage in agricultural production during the war, but they also have to go to the capital on time to stay in the capital, and the soldiers and farmers are integrated. With such an organizational form, 's wartime army under this model can reach more than 700,000 to more than 1.3 million troops. The reason why the Sui Dynasty's army was so exaggerated in number during Emperor Yang's conquest of Goguryeo is directly related to the army system.

The Tang Dynasty’s imperial military system declined.

Although the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty in which the imperial military system declined, it must be mentioned that the early Tang Dynasty relied on the imperial military system, which played a huge role in foreign wars and was once the cornerstone of the Tang Dynasty’s army. .

1. The peak period of the Tang Dynasty's military system

The Tang Dynasty's military system had many similarities with the Western Wei and Sui Dynasties. The Tang Dynasty's military system had 12 guards, and later developed into 16 guards, including left and right guards, left and right Xiao guards, and The left and right military guards, the left and right mighty guards, the left and right leading guards, the left and right Jinwu guards, etc. have the right to command the Zhechong within the scope of the Tang Dynasty , and also have the responsibility of guarding the capital, similar to the imperial guards of the capital, and the remaining 4 The guards are the left and right prison guards and the left and right thousand cattle guards . These four guards are not as powerful as the other 12 guards, but they have great power and are responsible for guarding the gates of the forbidden palace. The most important thing is to serve as the emperor's guards and the guards around the emperor. His identity, status, and level of trust are not comparable to those of the other 12 guards. It can be said that he is deeply trusted by the emperor, and General Wei is a powerful general who shoulders important rights and responsibilities.

▲Tang Dynasty map picture

Li Shimin During the Tang Dynasty, many famous generals came out under the military system, which can be said to be familiar. For example, Changsun Wuji is the general Zuowuhou of the Tang Dynasty, Yuchi Gong is the general Youwuhou of the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong is the general of Zuowuwei of the Tang Dynasty, Cheng Zhijie is the general of the right Wuwei of the Tang Dynasty, Chai Shao is the general of the right guard of the Tang Dynasty, Hou Junji is the general of the left guard of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Junkuo is the general of the left army of the Tang Dynasty. Almost most of the generals who can fight under Li Shimin are General Wei. The Tang Dynasty established more than 200 military offices in various places to make the local armies obey the central government. The policy of the Tang Dynasty was to emphasize internal affairs over external affairs. Chang'an The army was the most Strong, local governments were unable to form separatist forces to fight against the central government, which shows that the military system was very prosperous during Li Shimin's period.

▲Yu Chigong pictures

2, Tang Dynasty The government military system declined

During the Western Wei Dynasty, the government military system was able to develop very well. On the one hand, the needs of people at that time were small. It was good to have food and survive in troubled times. The most important thing is that in troubled times, the population will definitely decrease significantly. When the population decreases, land will become vacant. This will allow the equalization of land system to develop. With the cooperation of the two aspects, the military system will naturally flourish.

▲Li Shimin picture

But the situation faced by the Tang Dynasty at this time was that land annexation was becoming increasingly difficult to contain, and a large number of farmers lost their land. Don't worry about it in peacetime. However, when the land is taken away, the mentality of the people will change, and they will be unwilling to fight for the country during the war. Although the high-level officials of the Tang Dynasty were aware of this serious situation, they were not decisive and resolute enough when suppressing the annexation issue. Tang Xuanzong period The problem is already very serious. Without land and the government as a backing, the existence of the government-military system would be meaningless. Foreign wars were frequent during the Tang Dynasty, and wars required a lot of logistics, which required the support of farmers. Similarly, wars required a large number of soldiers. Under the government military system, farmers were also soldiers, which also required a large number of farmers. At this time, the Tang Dynasty began to blindly demand from the farmers, which caused too much pressure on the farmers. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, due to the lack of soldiers and other objective reasons, many border guards stayed at the border all year round and were unable to go home for rest. This resulted in a large number of farmers being unwilling to guard the borders, and even Deserters appear.

▲Pictures of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty

In the early Tang Dynasty, due to successive wars, the imperial court and the local government attached great importance to the imperial soldiers. The imperial soldiers were valued, and not only could they take turns to rest, but they also had constant supplies. Many generals started their career as grassroots imperial soldiers. Becoming a general or officer, in other words, only war can reflect the value of the soldiers, and only war can make the Tang Dynasty pay attention to the living conditions of the soldiers. However, as the Tang Dynasty continued to win foreign wars, all regions surrendered, and no large-scale wars occurred for many years. The soldiers were gradually despised. In some places, the soldiers even worked for the princes and nobles unconditionally. Their status plummeted, which made the people mentally poor. It is no longer considered that the fubing system has a future, which is also the reason for the decline of the fubing system in the late Tang Dynasty.

▲Tang Dynasty army pictures

Summary

The existence of the Fu military system conforms to the historical trend. In the context of wars and land equalization, the Fu military system is obviously a very good military system. It contributed to the survival of the Western Wei Dynasty, the strength of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty. It made great contributions to the conquests of the dynasty and the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, and its strong combat effectiveness has also been witnessed by history. However, as time went by, the emperor could better control the military power under the government army system, which could save a lot of costs during war. The government soldiers brought their own rations and armor, which saved the country a lot of burden. Soldiers serve as soldiers in wartime and as farmers in peacetime, which solves the country's food problem and allows soldiers to be self-sufficient. develops and utilizes national resources, has smaller military expenditures, and is conducive to unified national management. However, under this system, there will be a big difference in the quality of soldiers. Once land annexation cannot be contained, it will have a direct impact on the government army system. Long-term military service will cause people to get tired of it and eventually resist it. It is difficult for the government army system to survive in this context.

Reference:

"Ancient Chinese History"

"Illustrations of the World"