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Early in his rebellious years, Zhu Yuanzhang and each of his allies had military structures and recruitment methods of their own. Zhu himself, for instance, organized his troops through Military Affairs Commissioners (shumi[shi] 樞密[使]), administrators (pingzhang 平章), chief military commanders (yuanshuai 元帥), route commanders (zongguan 總管) and brigade commanders (wanhu 萬戶). Each officer had to care for the weapons and mounts of his own unit.
After his adoption of the title of King of Wu 吳 in 1365, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to regularise the military organization of his forces. At the top were seventeen bodyguards (qinjun zhihui si 親軍指揮司; see bodyguards), each of which constituted of one guard (wei 衛). The route commands (zongguanfu 總管府) were transformed into battalions (qianhusuo 千戶所). In fact, battalions of the regional armies were, according to five-units-method (buwufa 部伍法), organized in units of different size, namely:
| 指揮 | zhihui | 5,000 | brigade |
| 千戶 | qianhu | 1,000 | battalion |
| 百戶 | baihu | 100 | company |
| 總旗 | zongqi | 50 | platoon |
| 小旗 | xiaoqi | 10 | squad |
The system was known as the guard-and-battalion system (weisuo zhi 衛所制).
In 1372, Zhu Yuanzhang's army already consisted of 164 guard units, and 84 battalions. Guard units comprised more than 10,000 troops, but the size was reduced in 1374 to 5,600 troops per guard unit, and defined as 1,120 troops per battalion (Du and Fang 1996: 293). The emperor was protected by 12 guard units, whose size was elevated to 22 by the Yongle Emperor 永樂帝 (r. 1402-1424), and expanded by 4 special units called the Charging Guard (tengxiang 騰驤) during the Xuande reign-period 宣德 (1426-1435). The capital guards were subordinated to the Chief Military Command (da dudufu 大都督府), while those in the provinces stood under the supervision of regional military commissions (du zhihuishi si 都指揮使司, brief dusi 都司) and "itinerant" or branch regional military commissions (xing du zhihuishi si 行都指揮使司, brief xing dusi 行都司). In 1380, Emperor Taizu split up the Chief Military Command into the Five Chief Military Commissions (wujun dudufu 五軍都督府), in order to curtail the power of any central military administration. At the same time, he decided to give up the distinction between the guards (wei) and the battalions (suo) system and replaced the brigades (zhihui) by the unit "guard" (wei):
| 五軍都督府 | wujun dudufu | Five Chief Military Commissions | |
| 都司 (行都司) | (xing) dusi | (branch) regional military commission | |
| 衛 | wei | guard | |
| 千戶所 | qianhusuo | 1000 | battalion |
| 百戶所 | baihusuo | 100 | company |
| 總旗 | zongqi | 50 | platoon |
| 小旗 | xiaoqi | 10 | squad |
The Five Chief Military Commissions were called according to directions (zhong 中, zuo 左, you 右, qian 前, hou 後), but their jurisdiction was not spread over geographical regions. Instead, each of the Commissions supervised several military units in the northern capital Beijing, the southern capital Nanjing, and the provinces. The Central Chief Military Commission (zhongjun dudufu 中軍都督府), for instance, was responsible for the central capital guard (liushou zhongwei 留守中衛) and the "inspired strategy guards" (shencewei 神策衛), the pasture battalion (muma qianhusuo 牧馬千戶所) and the livestock battalion (xumu qianhusuo 畜牧千戶所) in Beijing and the corresponding units in Nanjing, as well as the guards and battalions in Yangzhou 揚州, Gaoyou 高郵, the guard of the Central Capital (zhongdu liushousi 中都留守司) in Fengyang 鳳陽, Anhui, and all garrisons under the regional military commission of Henan (Henan dusi 河南都司). This was clearly an attempt at preventing secession of one region as based on military power.
By the Yongle reign-period, there were 21 regional military commissions (dusi), 2 capital guards (liushou si 留守司), 493 guard-and-battalion garrisons throughout the empire, and 359 defence (shouyu 守御), agro-colony (tuntian 屯田), and pasture (tunmu 屯牧) battalions, with a total number of 2.8 million troops (Du and Fang 1996: 294). With the settlement of dynastic succession, the Ming army went over from a conquest army to a peace-time army residing throughout the provinces (zhufang 駐防) that had to nourish itself and to carry out training in order to retain their fighting forces.
In 1388, Emperor Taizu proclaimed the agro-colony law (junwei tuntian fa 軍衛屯田法), according to which garrisons had to care for their food supply themselves, basically by engaging in agricultural activities in peacetime. The law was applicable for 80 per cent of regional troops, and half of the troops in critical regions (chongyao di 衝要地) and the guards of the princely establishments (wangfu huwei 王府護衛). In 1392, an imperial order fixed the quota of agricultural work at 70 per cent, but only for garrisons in internal areas, not in the borderlands. Some guard-and-battalion units had also the duty to transport tribute grain along the Grand Canal, as so-called "grain troops" (caojun 漕軍).
This system of self-sustainment led to the lack of fighting power of the guard-and-battalion units. During military campaigns, only the best fighters among the units were therefore sent out to war. The Yongle Emperor had special fighting units formed out of this practice, namely the so-called "Training Division" of the Five Armies (wujun ying 五軍營). They had a special status and belonged, together with the Division of the Three Thousand (sanqian ying 三千營), and the Firearms Division (shenji ying 神機營), to the Three Great Training Divisions of the capital armies (jingjun san da ying 京軍三大營).
It can be said that there were practically two military systems during the Ming period, namely the guard-and-battalion system (weisuo zhi) that served as a kind of organizational pattern for military households, the organization of local defence, policing actions, and certain public work, and the division system (yingbing zhi 營兵制) that was applied to create military units ready for combat in war. In other words, weak and older soldiers of the weisuo garrisons cared for supplies, while the young and stronger ones did the fighting in special organizations, the divisions (ying 營).
The difference between the administrative organisation in guards and battalions and practical organisation in other units can also be seen in local and regional units. Their total number amounted to about 1.5 million troops (Du and Fang 1996: 305). In 1402, Emperor Chengzu split off the regional commands of Liaodong, Ningxia, and Guangxi, and thus created a parallel structure of the regular regional military commanders (dusi) and the special provincial commanders (zongbing guan 總兵官). They were not subordinated to the Chief Military Commissions.
| Border regions (bianzhen 邊鎮) | Interior (neizhen 內鎮) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鎮守 (總鎮) | regional command | 總兵官 | regional commander | 鎮守 (總鎮) | regional command | 總兵官 | regional commander |
| 協守 | vice command | 副總兵 | vice commander | ||||
| 分守 | branch command | 參將 | branch commander | 分守 | branch command | 參將 | branch commander |
| 游擊將軍 | mobile corps commander | ||||||
| 守備 | commandant | 守備 | commandant | ||||
| 把總 | squad leader | ||||||
The metropolitan army (jingjun 京軍) consisted of two parts, namely the metropolitan garrison troops (jingying 京營), and the imperial bodyguard (qinjun 親軍, also called shiwei shangzhi jun 侍衛上直軍 "guards on duty"). While the former were responsible for the defence of the capital, the latter had two functions, namely the protection of the imperial palace (huangcheng shouweijun 皇城守衛軍), and that of the imperial family (shiweijun 侍衛軍).
At the foundation of the Ming dynasty, the metropolitan army was organised in one chief military command (da dudufu 大都督府, also called da yuanshuaifu 大元帥府), which was later split up into five chief military commands (da dudufu 大都督府). These "Five Armies" (wujun 五軍) consisted of 48 guard units (wei 衛) with more than 200,000 troops (Du and Fang 1996: 296) that were trained in a larger and a smaller military school (da-xiao xiaochang 大小校場).
When the Yongle Emperor transferred the main seat of the Ming government from Nanjing to Beijing, he decided to have troops selected from relatively close wei-suo garrisons in the Central Capital (Zhongdu 中都, i.e., Fengyang, Anhui), Daning 大寧, Shandong and Henan to take over, in half-year turns, the duties of the capital guard. These troops of 80,000 strength were called "rotation troops" (banjun 班軍). The troops from these garrisons had thus two duties, namely to protect Beijing, and to participate in military campaigns. The complete capital guard units were called the Three Grand Garrisons (sandaying 三大營) and included the Five Guards (wujun 五軍), the Three-Thousand Guard (sanqianying 三千營), and the Firearms Division (shenjiying 神機營).
The northern region was a critical border region threatened by Mongol raids. Emperor Chengzu therefore transferred Nanjing troops to the north, thus achieving a strength of 72 guards (wei 衛) with more than 300,000 men (Du and Fang 1996: 297). For defence measures, they could be supported by the troops of eight close garrisons in the metropolitan province Jingji 京畿 (jineijun 畿內軍), with a strength of 280,000 troops, thus a achieving a total strength of 600,000 troops to defend Beijing, and including the rotation troops even as much as 700,000 (Du and Fang 1996: 297).
In 1410, Emperor Chengzu reorganized the capital troops – be they infantry or cavalry units – in to five units, namely the central guard (zhongjun 中軍), the left- and right-wing guards (zuoye 左掖, youye 右掖), and the left and right signal guards (zuosuo 左嗩, yousuo 右嗩). These training and fighting units were also called the "five armies" (wujun 五軍), but had nothing to do with the original wujun organisation that only served to train troops in the capital. The new five armies were also not subordinated to a Chief Military Command but were commanded by a Grand Minister Superintending the Guards (tidu neichen 提督內臣) and two military ministers (wuchen 武臣), who were assisted by two heads of the signals (zhanghao touguan 掌號頭官), one *great garrison quarter master (daying zuoying guan 大營坐營官), and two company commanders (bazong 把總). Each of the five guard units were commanded by one quarter master (zuoyingguan 坐營官), a cavalry commander (madui bazong 馬隊把總), and an infantry commander (budui bazong 步隊把總). Twelve separate, smaller garrisons in the capital (shi'er ying 十二營) stood under a commander (bazong 把總) each. The handheld-weapons unit (weizishou ying 圍子手營) was responsible for the training in the use of arms. The underage unit (youguanying 幼官營) and the dependents unit (sherenying 舍人營) trained future troops, most of which were expected to obtain posts in a hereditary mode. Finally, there were the unit of utmost loyalty (danzhongying 殫忠營) and the unit of efficient righteousness (xiaoyiying 效義營) for voluntary troops and younger brothers who would could expect a fix position. The usual arrangement of these units during military campaigns was that each one of the Five Guards camped separately, with the infantry troops in the middle, cavalry around, and firearms units beyond them. The outer circle were watch-guards (changwei 長圍). The highest command was in the hand of the sovereign, but from the mid-15th century on, a military minister (wuchen) formally took over the field command.
In 1452, the Five Guards were rearranged into ten garrisons (shi ying 十營), and in 1467 to twelve garrisons (shi'er tuanying 十二團營). In 1511, the twelve garrisons were split into two commands, namely the Eastern and the Western Command (dongguanting 東官廳, xiguanting 西官廳). In 1550, however, the original Three Capital Guards (sanying 三營) were revived as the metropolitan army (jingying 京營).
Apart from the Five Guards, the Three Capital Guards included the Three-Thousand Guard (sanqianying), and the Firearms Division (shenjiying). The Three-Thousand Guard consisted of 3,000 cavalry troops of non-Chinese tribes. The size grew later to several ten thousand. They were commanded by two Grand Ministers Superintending the Guards (tidu neichen) and two two military ministers who were assisted by two heads of the signals (zhanghao touguan), 34 commanders supervising the training (jianzao bazong 見操把總), 16 commanders-on-duty (zhangzhi bazong 上直把總), and 4 commanders clarifying the armament (mingjia bazong 明甲把總). The guard was divided into 5 battalions (si 司), headed by company quartermaster (zuosiguan 坐司官). These companies operated according to the principle of labour division to protect the sovereign, transmit commands and crack enemy formations during battle.
The Firearms Division was established in 1407 when the Ming army took over firearms units from the succumbing Vietnamese army (Du and Fang 1996: 298). It was composed of five units that were called like those of the Five Guards (wujunying 五軍營) and commanded by one grand minister quartermaster (zuoying neichen 坐營內臣) and a military minister (wuchen). Each unit was again divided into three battalions (si 司, the zhongjunying into four) with one grand minister supervising the guns (jianqiang neichen 監槍內臣), one battalion commander (basiguan 把司官) and two company commanders (bazongguan 把總官). A special unit under the Firearms Division was the lower garrison of the five thousand (wuqian xiaying 五千下營) that consisted of 5,000 cavalry arranged in 4 battalions (si 司). The chief command of the Firearms Division was taken over by two grand ministers superintending the guards, and two military ministers.
One of the largest military campaigns of the Ming period was carried out in 1449, when almost the complete capital army of 500,000 was fielded but trapped by the Mongols at Tumu 土木 (west of today's Huailai 懷來, Hebei). But the mobile reinforcement system of the regions surrounding Beijing yielded a force of 430,000 men who could protect the capital when Esen Qaɣan (1407-1454) half-heartedly besieged Beijing. 150,000 elite troops were selected from the capital army and constituted ten field commands (tuanying 團營) commanded by one encampment superintendant (zuoying tidu 坐營提督) and three regional military commanders (duzhihui shi 都指揮使) each. Each field command consisted of platoons (dui 隊) of 50 men led by platoon commanders (guanduiguan 管隊官). Ten platoons were one company commanded by a company commander (bazong zhihui 把總指揮). Two battalions were commanded by a regional commander. The function of military minister grand supervisor (tidu wuchen 提督武臣) was usually taken over by the Minister of War (bingbu shangshu 兵部尚書) or the Censor-in-chief (duyushi 都御史). The troops remaining in the capital were called "old families" (laojia 老家). This organization was abolished in 1457. Emperor Xianzong 明憲宗 (r. 1464-1487) revived the selection of elite troops for military campaigns, but with the name "selected vanguard" (xuanfeng 選鋒). The twelve field commands were divided into three groups of four battalions:
| 四武營 | The Four Battalions of Warriorship |
|---|---|
| 奮武營 | Battalion of Aroused Warriorship |
| 耀武營 | Battalion of Brilliant Warriorship |
| 練武營 | Battalion of Practical Warriorship |
| 顯武營 | Battalion of Manifest Warriorship |
| 四勇營 | The Four Battalions of Bravery |
| 敢勇營 | Battalion of Daring Bravery |
| 果勇營 | Battalion of Decisive Bravery |
| 鼓勇營 | Battalion of Empowering Bravery |
| 效勇營 | Battalion of Striking Bravery |
| 四威營 | The Four Battalions of Authority |
| 立威營 | Battalion Establishing Authority |
| 揚威營 | Battalion Wielding Authority |
| 伸威營 | Battalion Extending Authority |
| 振威營 | Battalion Exerting Authority |
The function of encampment superintendant (zuoying tidu) was usually taken over by an ennobled military minister or a commander-in-chief (da dudu 大都督). In peacetime, the training was supervised by "meritorious" ministers (xunchen 勳臣) or civilian ministers (neichen 內臣, wenchen 文臣), while supervising secretaries (jishizhong 給事中) and censors (yushi 御史) presided military reviews. During that time, the metropolitan army consisted of 380,000 troops, of which 140,000 were elite troops trained for fighting.
The downfall of this system was initiated in 1511, with the peasant rebellions in the region of Hebei. Because the field commands of the capital troops could not suppress the rebellion, the emperor called troops from the garrisons of Xuanfu 宣府, Yansui 延綏, Liaodong 遼東, and Datong 大同 whose cavalry units put down the rebels. Afterwards, 3000 of these local troops remained in Beijing, as the so-called "four external units" (wai sijia jun 外四家軍). They were merged with 3,000 elite troops from the Beijing field commands (xuantuanying 選團營) to the Eastern and Western Garrisons (dongguanting 東官廳, xiguanting 西官廳). In 1514, the Ministry of War (bingbu 兵部) selected 6,000 troops more from the field commands which were arranged in a fore, and a rear garrison (qianying 前營, houying 後營) and added to these 3,000 selected troops from the four guards of the Forbidden City (jinbing siwei ying 禁兵四衛營) and the courageous guard (yongshiying 勇士營), which where all attached to the Western Garrison and trained there (Du and Fang 1996: 300). They were also called "training garrisons of authority and martiality" (weiwu tuanlian ying 威武團練營) and stood under the direct command of the emperor. These new units were seen as the "selected vanguard" (xuanfeng), while the former field commands were practically reduced to the status of "old" stationary troops (laojia) that remained in Beijing. Because the number of troops could not be endlessly, not all posts in the old capital army were occupied, with the outcome that around 1520, of 380,000 nominal troops, only 140,000 posts were filled (Du and Fang 1996: 301).
Emperor Shizong 明世宗 (r. 1521-1566) went back to the original system, but the Three-Thousand Guard was renamed Division of the Divine Pivot (shenshuying 神樞營). The posts of superintendant (tidu 提督) and supervisor of guns (jiancang 監槍) were abolished. The 76 Guards (wei 衛) and the households of the Three-Thousand units were reorganised into 30 garrisons (ying) directly subject to the Three Grand Garrisons (sandaying). The field commands (tuanying) and the Eastern and Western Garrisons were merged with the Five Guards. In addition, 40,000 troops from the provinces of Jifu 畿輔 (i.e., Bei Zhili 北直隸), Shandong, Shanxi and Henan were drafted to refill the Division of the Divine Pivot (shenshuying) and the Firearms Division (shenjiying); 68,000 troops from the border garrisons were likewise distributed to all capital garrisons. The central administration of the Three Grand Garrisons was in the hands of one civilian and one military general called Assistant Director of Military Administration of the Capital Guards (xieli jingying rongzheng 協理京營戎政; usually a Minister of Vice Minister of War, or a Censor-in-chief), and a Supreme Commander of the Military Administration of the Capital Guards (zongdu jingying rongzheng 總督京營戎政; usually a "meritorious" minister), respectively. The number of quota troops (ding'e bing 定額兵) was 140,000, that of reserve troops (beibing 備兵) 146,600, and the number of officers (junguan 軍官) 586 (Du and Fang 1996: 302).
The Five Guards (wujunying) were commanded by one general-in-chief (dajiang 大將) – a post usually taken over by the Supreme Commander of the Military Administration of the Capital Guards and controlling 10,000 troops, two vice generals (fujiang 副將) controlling 7,000 troops each, four assistant generals (canjiang 參將) controlling 6,000 troops each, and 4 mobile corps commanders (youji jiangjun 游擊將軍) commanding 3,000 men each. The Five-Guards corps was divided into 4 battle units (zhanbing ying 戰兵營), four chariot units (chebing ying 車兵營), and two garrison guard units (chengshou ying 城守營), which makes for a total of 60,000 troops. A special officer called quartermaster for reserve troops (beibing zuoyingguan 備兵坐營官) was responsible for the recruitment of new troops to fill vacancies up to a quota of 66,600 troops. Other officers of the Five Guards were one grand officer (da haotouguan 大號頭官), one officer supervising the guns (jianqiang haotouguan 監槍號頭官), 11 officers of the central army (zhongjunguan 中軍官), 4 battalion commanders on campaign (suizheng qianzongguan 隨征千總官), 20 battalion commanders on duty (suiying qianzongguan 隨營千總官), 8 company commanders of selected vanguard troops (xuanfeng bazongguan 選鋒把總官), and 138 company commanders (bazong 把總), with a total number of 196 officers (Du and Fang 1996: 301).
The the Division of the Divine Pivot (shenshuying) and the Firearms Division (shenjiying), each with 6,000 troops, were commanded by two vice generals (fujiang), four assistant generals (canjiang, commanding 4,000 troops each), four adjunct commanders (zuo jiangjun 佐將軍) and four assault commanders (ji jiangjun 擊將軍, each commanding 3,000 troops), making a total strength of 40,000 regular troops (shizu 士卒) and 40,000 reserve troops (beibing). The Division of the Divine Pivot was led by 208 officers, and the Firearms Division by 182. The two units were divided into battle units (zhanbing ying), chariot units (chebing ying, and guards-on-duty (shoubing ying 守兵營), with a total number of 10 units (Du and Fang 1996: 301f.).
The imperial bodyguard (qinjun 親軍) comprised the imperial bodyguard proper (shiwei shangzhi jun 侍衛上直軍), the imperial palace guard (huangcheng shouwei jun 皇城守衛軍), and the two units of the four guards (siwei ying 四衛營) and the courageous guard (yongshi ying 勇士營). The earliest contingent of Zhu Yuanzhang's bodyguard was commanded by Feng Yuoyong 馮國用 (1323-1358). These forces were restrengthened by those of Chen Zhaoxian 陳兆先 (d. 1363) and a company of sons of rich families from Wuzhou 婺州, Zhejiang, to build the "imperial palace forces" (yuzhongjun 御中軍). They were soon renamed personal bodyguard (shiwei qinjun 侍衛親軍) and stood under the command of a chief commander of the personal bodyguard (qianqin bing du zhihuishi 前親兵都指揮使; also called commander of the Capital Guard, liushousi 留守司). He was nominally subordinated to the Chief Military Command (da dudufu), but could only receive orders from the sovereign, also via the Palace Secretariat (zhongshusheng 中書省) and the Ministry of War (bingbu).
Over time the imperial guard was constantly enlarged, and when the Ming empire was founded in 1368, it consisted of the "ten guards for the emperor" (shang shi wei 上十衛), the fore and rear Insignia Guard (jinwu qian-hou wei 金吾前後衛), the left and right guards of the Celestial Water Bearer (yulin zuo-you wei 羽林左右衛), the left and right guard Brave as Tigers (huben zuo-you wei 虎賁左右衛), and the fore, rear, left, and right guards of the Depot (fujun qian-hou zuo-you wei 府軍前後左右衛). The original bodyguard unit (shiweijun), along with the palace guard and the bodyguard proper were step by step subordinated to novel units, namely the Brocade Guards (jinyiwei 錦衣衛) and the Standard-Bearer Guard (qishouwei 旗手衛).
The Brocade Guards originated in the Salutation Guard (gongweisi 拱衛司) which was established in 1364 and obeyed to a commander (xiaowei 校衛). It was later renamed Imperial Procession Guard (luanyisi 鑾儀司) and became in 1369 part of the Bodyguard Command (qinjun duweifu 親軍都尉府) with its five guards. In 1382, the Bodyguard Command was abolished, and with it the Procession Guard. The latter was replaced by the Brocade Guards. It was divided into the southern and northern justice commands (nan-bei zhenfusi 南北鎮撫司) and 14 battalions (suo 所). The Standard-Bearer battalion (qishousuo 旗手所) was in 1385 enlarged to the Standard-Bearer Guard (qishouwei). It was responsible for chariots, paraphernalia and insignia used when the emperor went out. Despite these reorganisations, the commands of bodyguard units and the metropolitan troops could be exchanged, and they also shared some responsibilities.
From the Yongle reign-period on, the imperial bodyguard consisted of the units of the elite guard (jinyiwei dahan jiangjun 錦衣衛大漢將軍), with 1507 persons; the fore guard sabre-bearers of the Depot (fujun qianwei daidao guan 府軍前衛帶刀官) with 40 persons; the red helmet guard (hongkui jiangjun 紅盔將軍) of the Three-Thousands Guard (sanqianying 三千營, later called Divine Pivot Brigade, shenshuying 神樞營) with 2500 men, commanded by 16 company commanders (bazong zhihui 把總指揮; 502 men called bright-armour guards (mingjia jiangjun 明甲將軍) und the command of two company commanders, and 8 elite guard commanders (dahan jiangjun 大漢將軍); the handheld-weapons unit (chadao weizi shou ying 叉刀圍子手營) from the Five Guard units (wujunying) with 3000 men under the command of 8 company commanders; two units of flexible size called meritorious guard (xunwei 勳衛), and guard of cavalier attendants with dependents (xunwei sanji sheren) 散騎舍人 and constituted by younger brothers of the nobility; finally, sabre-bearer guardsmen (daidaoguan 帶刀官) from the standard-bearer guard (qishouwei) and other units with a number of 180. This total number of 8000 persons was reinforced to a total strength of 22 guard units (wei 衛), namely the Brocade Guard (jinyiwei), standard-bearer guards (qishouwei), the fore, left, and right guards of the Celestial Water Bearer (yulin qian-zuo-you wei), the fore, rear, left and right guards of the Depot (fujun qian-hou zuo-you wei), the fore, rear, left, and right Insignia Guard (jinwu qian-hou zuo-you wei), the fore, left, and right guard of Yanshan 燕山, the left guard Brave as Tigers (huben zuowei), the left guard of Daxing 大興, the guard of Jinyang 濟陽衛, the guard of Jinzhou 濟州衛, and the guard of Tongzhou 通州衛. They shared the duty to protect the imperial city and to patrol the capital.
The core of the imperial guard, the guards of the Forbidden City (jinbing 禁兵, jinjun 禁軍), were the four guards (siwei 四衛) and the courageous guard (yongshiying) commanded by an Superintendant-Director of the Imperial Horses (yuma jian dushi 御馬監提督), which means that they were subordinated to the twelve eunuch-led Directorates (shi'er jian 十二監). It was originally constituted by carefully selected men from all garrisons throughout China and by loyal Mongols. In 1431, the brigade of the Celestial Water Bearer (Yulin sanqianhu 羽林三千戶) with 3,000 troops was created to replace it. Two years later, the left and right Charging Guard (tengxiang zuo-you wei 騰驤左右衛) and the left and right Militant Guard (wuxiang zuo-you wei 武驤左右衛) were established, the soldiers of which were selected from the horse-breeding sections of all guard units, and members of the fore inspired guard (shenwu qianwei 神武前衛). They stood under the command of four quartermaster-commanders (zuoying zhihui 坐營指揮). The personnel of these two new guards (with four units) was exchangeable with the courageous guard, and with the creation of two more special units, the Four Guards, and the Courageous Guard, which were subordinated to the Western Command (xiguanting), the eunuch institutions disposed of a military body of its own, distinct from the twenty-two bodyguard units of the emperor. It could take over guard duties in the palace, the capital or in institutions belonging to the imperial household, but the eunuch guards could also take part in military campaigns. Yet nominally, all guard units were subordinated to the Ministry of War.
The differentiation between troops selected for military campaigns (xuanfeng, in the service-related garrison system, ying 營), and such remaining at home (laojia, according to the household-related guard-and-battalion system, weisuo 衛所) was also valid for all guard units.
During the early Ming period, military households (junhu 軍戶) existed from whose male population soldiers were recruited. The military households were hereditary ones, which means that the progeny had automatically the duty to serve as troops – this was the hereditary military system (shijunzhi 世軍制). Even if the system remained until the end of the Ming period, it was gradually overshadowed by the enlistment system (mubingzhi 募兵制), where persons more or less voluntarily joined the army to become professional soldiers. These two recruitment systems corresponded to two different types of garrisons, namely the Guards-and-Battalions system (weisuo zhi 衛所制) and the garrison system (yingbingzhi 營兵制).
The early army of Zhu Yuanzhang, the rebel, consisted of troops contributed by himself and his followers. They were called "comrades in conquest" (congzhengbing 從征兵) and were given defined regions to guard (liushu 留戍). Troops of vanquished enemies that changed side and supported the cause of Zhu Yuanzhang were called "newcomers" (guifubing 歸附兵). Most of them had been troops under the Yuan dynasty or of other warlords and rebels. A third type of troops of the pre- and very early Ming era were delinquents who were convicted to by penal military service on a hereditary basis. They were known as "degraded and committed troops" (zhefabing 謫發兵), "soldiers by grace" (enjun 恩軍, as the death penalty was commuted to military service) or "eternal soldiers" (changshengjun 長生軍). While the first two types constituted the core part of Zhu Yuanzhang's army in the early phase and after the foundation of the Ming dynasty, convicted soldiers became more important after the dynastic consolidation. A fourth type of troops were "supplementary soldiers" (duojibing 垛集兵) which were drafted as one person from every three households (one "bunch" duo 垛). During the recruitment process, households with many male persons (zhenghu 正戶) were preferred over such that were not so blessed with men (tiehu 貼戶). Households from which a man (zhengjun 正軍) was drafted were spared labour service (yaoyi 徭役), while the other two households had to pay a compensation fee (junfei 軍費). If the soldier died, the other two households had to produce a person for replacement. From the Yongzheng reign-period on, the three households had to produce draftees in turn. The draft system was used to fill vacancies in the strength of military garrisons where the three other systems did not yield sufficient troops. To a certain extent, the process of supplementary troops was thus also a kind of hereditary system of recruitment.
In the hereditary system with "military households", only one man usually served as a soldier (zhengjun), while other males were his reserve (ciding 次丁, yuding 餘丁). The household registers of military households were compiled and administered by the garrison and the regional military commission (du zhihuisi 都指揮司), and copies were submitted to the Chief Military Command (dudufu 都督府) and the Ministry of War. The same data were collected by the local civil administration of the village defence organisation (lijia 里甲), the district, and the prefectural administration and handed over to the military administration for counter-checking.
This system ensured a constant and guaranteed flow of troops into the Ming army, but it had also substantial shortcomings. The whole system was inherited from the Mongols, a steppe people whose whole male population was seen as "professional" soldiers. But the system's application to the sedentary and highly differentiated society of China transformed soldiers practically into slaves. This was all the more serious in a society where civilian scholarship was highly esteemed and the business of war rated as unworthy. Regarding the "soldiers by grace", military service as a penalty for the misdoings of ancestors was utterly unfair, and deprived capable men of their chances to engage in civilian business. Finally, the fighting spirit of men condemned to do military service cannot be rated as the best. On top of this comes the use of troops for public construction work, courier service or the transport of grain barges along the Grand Canal.
The outcome of the whole system was a high number of deserters throughout the Ming period, and grew over time. Statistics from the time show desertion quota of 50 and even up to 80-90 per cent (311). In order to remedy the problem, the household register helped to either search and arrest (genbu 跟捕) the deserted man (goujun 勾軍) or to replace him (goubu 勾補) by another male person from his household.
Another solution was the increasing reliance on enlistment (mubing).
The enlistment system originated in two military emergency cases, namely the dynastic war between the xxx Emperor and , the eventual Yongle Emperor, the Jingnan War 靖難; and the Tumi Incident, when the Mongols threatened to conquer Beijing. After the settlement of the Tumu Incident, the enlisted troops were transferred to regular garrisons and – forcibly – made regular, hereditary soldiers in order to replace the great number of deserters.
Official advertisements (bangyu 榜諭) for enlistment of troops specifically included slaves, refugees (wangming 亡命), and convicted persons to voluntarily join the army, but in fact, these social groups only constituted a small number among the recruits. The greatest part of enlisted troops hailed either from military households, where "supernumerary" men (yuding) not obliged to serve listed voluntarily, or from the common populace.
Regularly enlisted troops (mubing) from among the common populace were given military pay and monthly rations of grain. Yet enlisted troops originating from military households (muminzhuang 募民壯) were trained and nourished by the garrison to which their brothers belonged as hereditary soldiers and were only given pay (in the shape of two bolts of fabric from which they could tailor their uniforms) and 4 dou 斗 of rice when they were dispatched for a military campaign. Their basic military equipment was provided by the state, but for everything else they had to pay themselves, even if their household was spared 5 dan 石 of tax grain and labour service. Because the enlisted troops hailed from the military households of the local garrisons, they were also known as "local troops" (tubing 土兵).
In the coastal provinces, the custom to recruit troops for local defence against pirate raids was widespread. Some of these militia enlisted voluntarily, but others were drafted according to the self-defence system (baojia 保甲). These early institutions of self defence were called "volunteer brigades" (minbing wanhufu 民兵萬戶府). The system was intensified in 1494 by the "Rules for Fillings Ranks by Enlistment" (qianchong minzhuang fa 僉充民壯法). It stipulated to produce "volunteers" according to a quota geared to the size of the prefecture. The forcibly enlisted troops of each village were trained and their household received tax waivers. In fact, this system imposed new types of labour services on the common populace, and degraded a system of voluntariness (jishen 及身) to a more or less hereditary one, in other words, an enlistment system to a draft system. Wealthy households were allowed to buy off the military service obligation.
The recruitment regulations (mu tubing tiaoli 募土兵條例) from 1437 stipulated an annual pay of 5 liang of silver per person (315, 318) and promised promotion to officers (and reinstalment of dismissed officers) who had recruited a certain number of troops. In later years, when more and more troops were enlisted, the pay rose to 1 liang per month or even 18 liang per year (318), which constituted a substantial burden on the state treasury. Of the 4-5 million liang of revenue, 2-300,000 liang were due for military payment of the enlisted troops (318).
Enlistment was very urgent for the border regions of the north, but also in the coastal provinces. In the sixteenth century, some provincial governments also requested to stop the regular payment to hereditary troops for military campaigns and instead use the money to pay enlisted troops. Gu Qiyuan 顧起元 stressed the advantages of enlisted soldiers over hereditary ones: The garrisons could enlist young men from the native place and for service close to their home villages, reduce causes for desertion, gather them quickly, dismiss old and sick persons without having to care for them, and it was possible to bring young, strong and unemployed men into the army and avoid that they become bandits.
The reasons why the central government did not abolish the hereditary troops by enlisted troops were the that hereditary troops served as the backbone of the whole army, that they nourished themselves by the agro-colony system (tuntian) and that some powerful military leaders like Li Chengliang 李成梁 or Qi Jiguang relied on enlisted troops as a kind of "personal army".