How long did it usually take to be a soldier in ancient times?

1. Conscription and military system in Shang and Zhou Dynasties

China had a conscription system in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. At that time, it was stipulated that every tribe member had the obligation to fight as a soldier during the war. The core of the army is composed of royal family and aristocratic children, namely "three families" and "many children"

The backbone is an army composed of civilians. At that time, there were chariots fighting, and each chariot had three combatants, namely, driving, holding the trunk, riding and holding bows and arrows, commonly known as "three soldiers." On both sides and behind each chariot, there are dozens of infantry (disciples) served by slaves. They are both combatants and handymen who serve slave owners.

2. The standing army and its assessment system in the Warring States period.

During the Warring States period, various countries reformed their laws one after another, and the feudal economy gradually occupied a dominant position, and the county system began to be established, and the military service system also underwent new changes. At that time, a standing soldier system had been established. Standing soldiers are the backbone of the army, and they are all selected through examinations. The schedule is quite strict.

Take Wei as an example: when selecting soldiers, candidates are required to wear "three-layer armor", bring a hard bow and an arrow bag with 50 arrows, recite texts, wear an iron helmet and a sword, take meals for three days and walk a hundred miles for half a day. The selected person, the whole family is exempt from tax and corvee.

3. Conscription system in Qin and Han Dynasties.

After Qin unified China, a nationwide conscription system appeared. The conscription system is based on counties, and the county magistrate has the right to recruit and send able-bodied men to fight in a county. At that time, farmers were both the main productive forces and the main source of soldiers. The military service and labor in the Qin Dynasty were extremely heavy: at that time, there were about 20 million people in the country, and 2 million to 3 million people were often conquered by military service and labor.

Han inherited the Qin system. At that time, it was stipulated that men should register with the government at the age of 20. And in accordance with the principle of three years of cultivation and one year of storage, he officially served from the age of 23 until he was 56 years old. During the school-age period, in addition to the annual leisure training, everyone has to perform military service twice in his life, each time for one year. Once in the place, it is called "pawn"; Once in the frontier or the capital, it is called "garrison" or "garrison".

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, people familiar with the situation of ethnic minorities in the north were recruited to form "Hu Qi" and those familiar with Vietnamese affairs in the south were recruited to form "Qi Yue".

3. The world war system in the Three Kingdoms period.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the separatist regime of warlords, there were many docks and castles, and a large number of peasants were occupied by warlords and attached to them (private forces close to slaves). Many able-bodied men became landlords' soldiers, and the national conscription system was seriously damaged.

The "world war system" appeared in the Three Kingdoms period. "Soldier" means that father and son have been soldiers for generations. This kind of military membership does not belong to counties, but is managed by the military government, and is called "scholar" and "military household". Their social status is low, and only when they are released can they gain the status of civilians.

4. Evolution of military system: the military system in the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties.

In the late Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a "military system" in the Northern Dynasty. In the 9th year of Datong (A.D. 543), the Western Wei Dynasty, with the word Wen Tai, recruited Han landlords from all over the country to join the army, and through their affiliation, they brought a large number of private armed forces such as home soldiers and diviners. The Western Wei regime awarded different titles according to the number of troops. This method of centralizing local independent civilian armed forces not only strengthened the military strength of the imperial court, but also gradually combined the soldiers of Xianbei tribe with the feudal military system of the Han nationality, creating the "official military system."

At the end of the Western Wei Dynasty, the government soldiers were led by six generals in the column country, each column country had two generals, one general had two generals who opened the government, and * * * had twenty-four armies. At that time, government soldiers were separated from citizens and were not under the jurisdiction of the county. They only fight wars and don't bear other taxes.

Great changes have taken place in the system of officers and men in the Sui Dynasty. The name of the military mansion is an ancient title of generals in ancient times, with the ancient general as its leader. Non-commissioned officers began to be incorporated into household registration and engaged in production. During the reign of Yang Di, government soldiers were recruited directly from the people, and men could join the government soldiers when they reached the age of 2 1 year. The soldiers of the National Government were divided into twelve guards. In the third year of Daye (AD 607), a title of generals in ancient times was changed to Yang Yingfu. Sir, it is an eagle flying. Soldiers are called "guards". The garrison system tends to be perfect, and the centralization of military system is strengthened.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were 634 counties in China, all of which were led by Twelve Guards and Six Eastern Palace. Yang Ying House in Sui Dynasty was changed to Zhechong House, and each house was under the jurisdiction of Zhechong Governor. It also stipulates that where a government is established, the people have the obligation to serve as government soldiers. The service age is 20 to 60 years old. Those who are recruited as government soldiers usually work as farmers and coaches during the slack season, and bring their own weapons and food when recruiting. This is actually a military service system in which soldiers and farmers are integrated. Holders of regular service stay in the capital or guard the border; Going out in wartime, the war is over, that is, "the soldiers are scattered in the government and will return to the DPRK."

5. Recruitment system in the middle and late Tang and Song Dynasties.

In the mid-Tang Dynasty, a large number of officers and men fled because they were overwhelmed, which made the government exist in name only and seriously damaged the system of officers and men. In order to supplement the troops, the method of conscription was adopted. In the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (AD 723), officers and men who fled from Pu, Tong, Qi, Hua and other states and regions were recruited as guards, called "long guards", to replace the old system that officers and men were stationed in the guards on a regular basis. In the 25th year of Kaiyuan (AD 727), military towns were ordered to recruit military defense athletes stationed in the frontier for a long time. Those whose families are willing to go with them get fields and houses. Later, they formed border guards, which were controlled by Fangzhen. In this way, after more than 200 years, the government military system has basically ended.

Recruitment system was the main military system in Song Dynasty. At that time, there were four different armies-imperial army, Xiang army, Fan army and Xiang army. The imperial army is the emperor's personal soldier, stationed in the capital, and is the regular army of the Northern Song Dynasty. It comes from the elite soldiers recruited and selected from Xiang Army and Xiang Army all over the country. Xiang Bing is a local army recruited by various states. It has no military training, so it can't fight. It only serves the local government. Fan Bing recruits ethnic minorities on the northwest border to serve as a transit garrison. Soldiers in rural areas are not only recruited locally, but also trained as local defense forces.

6. Tribal military system in Yuan Dynasty

Before the Yuan Dynasty gained national political power, it was a tribal military system. All men in this tribe 15 years old and under 70 years old are soldiers, who dismount and herd cattle and mount horses to attack the war. The "Mongolian Army" established by our own people and the "Tanma Red Army" established after the annexation of various tribes are the main forces. After entering the Central Plains, Han able-bodied men over the age of 20 were transferred to establish the "Han Army" as a local army to defend the local area.

7, the wise stand.

The Ming dynasty implemented the "Wei suo system". Military organizations have two levels: health and research institutes. One government set up offices and several governments set up guards. The commander of the garrison has 5600 troops. There are 1,000 households under guard (1000 soldiers) and 100 households under 1,000 households (100 soldiers). Soldiers have military status, hereditary for the army, usually in the field or garrison. In case of war, the court ordered a general to lead the transferred soldiers to fight in self-defense.

Wei system is a bit like the world military system, and it is similar to the imperial military system in the Tang Dynasty.

8. Tribal soldier system in Qing Dynasty: flag soldier system.

The Qing Dynasty implemented the "flag system". At the beginning of the army, the "flag" was composed of tribes. The flag is an organization that combines military and political affairs. The flag bearer is a peacetime person and a wartime soldier. Therefore, the flag system is the tribal system.

16 15, Nuerhachi compiled Manchu, Mongolian and Han nationalities into eight flags, which were marked with eight colors: true yellow, true self, Zhen Hong, true blue, yellow, white, red and blue. This is the origin of the Eight Banners Army.

After the Qing Dynasty unified the whole country, the "Green Flag Army" was formed on the basis of the Han people (symbolized by the Green Flag Army, also known as "green camp"). The number of soldiers has increased or decreased from time to time, reaching more than 600,000 at most.