How many people were there in an ancient army?

The "Shi Wu" system initiated by Shang Dynasty was later inherited by Zhou Dynasty. The army of Zhou Dynasty also took chariots as the core, and 1 chariot and its subordinate infantry were collectively called "Cheng", which was the smallest establishment unit. According to the book Sima Fa in the Warring States Period, there were 10 soldiers (3 boarded the bus and 7 disembarked) and 20 served in prison. However, some people think that only five of the 20 prisoners are responsible for raising horses, cooking and drinking, and 15 also participated in the fighting. A more consistent statement is that every five times, 1 team is organized and commanded by servants; Every two teams are commanded by "officials"; Each 10 team is made up as a "pawn" and is commanded by the "pawn"; The "division" is staffed by every two soldiers and is under the command of the "division". The division was still the basic unit in the Zhou Dynasty, but the number of divisions gradually increased. According to historical records, the strength of the Western Zhou Dynasty reached 14 division in its heyday.

The military institutions of the Han Dynasty followed those of the Qin Dynasty. The standing army established in wartime is gradually fixed, with the Ministry as the basic unit. The department is under the command of a captain, so it is sometimes called "school". The vacancy of the captain is led by the army Sima. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "five generals" troops of the Northern Army directly under the imperial court were called "five battalions", each battalion should be equivalent to the front, but the establishment quota was only about 1000.

The military system of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties carried out a major reform on the traditional military establishment. It is said that there were six generals in Zhuguo under the emperor at that time, and each general in Zhuguo had two generals (*** 12). Each general has two "Kaifu" (* * 24 Kaifu), and each Kaifu has two "One Pass" (meaning that the ceremonies can be the same as Kaifu, with a total of ***48). These senior officers actually command not many soldiers. Each Kaifu commands an "army" (also called a "regiment"), but in fact there are only about 2,000 soldiers. Each commander commands about 1000 people. The establishment of less than 1000 people is unknown, but it should still be a traditional martial arts system.

Sui and Tang dynasties inherited the system of officers and men, especially the establishment of the system of officers and men in Tang dynasty was very regular. There are offices all over the country, which are organizations and training units, and they are in charge of 1200-800 soldiers, with one team leader in charge of Chong Chong and two deputies in charge of Guo Yi. The government has 4-6 regiments, each with 200 soldiers, with a captain as the main officer; The regiment has two brigades, each brigade 100 soldiers, and the brigade commander is the chief officer; There are two teams in the brigade, each with 50 people, and the team is the chief officer; The team has five fires, each with 10 people and a fire chief. The traditional "martial arts" have been abolished since the Warring States period. There are a large number of Zhechong Mansions in China, with 643 during the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, which were led by the imperial general Wei 12.

There were frequent wars in the Five Dynasties, so whether it was peacetime or wartime. The establishment of the army is the establishment of the battle. By the end of the week, the basic combat troops will be established: 100 people 1 "membership fee", all of which have "dutous"; Five battalions are organized into 1 "battalion" (500 people), and the battalion has "command"; Battalion 5 consists of 65,438+0 "armies" (2,500 men), and each army has "commanders and envoys" or "leaders". 10 unit consists of 1 compartment (25,000 people, developed from the left and right wings in the battle), with "full commander" or directly called "compartment owner"; The total strength of the left and right hatchbacks in a strategic direction is generally around 50 thousand, and the commander-in-chief is an envoy sent by our emperor. This may have developed from Tang Jun's wartime establishment.

The system of the later Zhou Dynasty was completely adopted by the Song Dynasty. In Song Jun, the battalion with a standard of 500 people (generally directly referred to as the "headquarters") is the basic unit, and the number of headquarters is calculated according to the statistical strength, and the mobilization organization is also based on the headquarters, which is generally not divided. Camp under the capital 100 people, with the capital; The establishment below the capital should be a military system, with the names of officers such as the head of the army and the "ten generals" (jurisdiction 10).

After Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Jiangnan area, he began to reorganize the army. It is stipulated that every 10 soldier should make up 1 small flag, five small flags should make up 1 general flag, two military flags should make up 1 100 households, and 10 households should make up 1000 households.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, according to the suggestion of Liu Ji's "Military Health Law", all provinces set up governors to govern the garrison, which is divided into guards and stations. Each health guard has 5600 people and has a command; Wei has jurisdiction over 5,000 households, each with112 people, with 1,000 households; Thousands of households are under the jurisdiction of10100 households, each household 1 12 people, and 100 households; 100 households administer 2 general flags; There are five flags under general jurisdiction.

At the same time, the military strength of Manchu outside the customs grew gradually and began to establish the Eight Banners system. The basic establishment of integration of defense and civilian technologies and the combination of peacetime and wartime is 1 team and 1 person. Several teams form Tatan (village, with Zhang Jing), four Tatans form Lu Niu of 1 (with 300 people as the standard and deputy leader), and five Lu Niu form Gallas of 1. Lu Niu is the basic tactical unit and Gushan is the strategic unit. This establishment was later extended to the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han Army, but it was often insufficient in practice. For example, the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Han Army, less than 300 people can form Lu Niu. After the Eight Banners entered the customs, this establishment system was maintained for a long time.

By the time of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War, the Xiang Army and Huai Army established by Zeng Guofan and others were all brand-new organizations. The basic system followed the compilation created by Qi Jiguang in the Training Record, and then it was revised. Adopt the basic establishment of 10, and add 1 commander and 1 gang members for every 10 combatant to form a "team"; Eight teams form 1 "sentry", with one sentry and one sentry; Four posts (front, back, left and right) form 1 Battalion, and battalion officers personally command six Qin Bing squads. The total number of soldiers in the whole battalion is 500 (Yongzheng 336, Gang Yong 42, Commander 32, Guard 20, Qinbing 60, Qinbing 6, sentry 4 and sentry 4). In addition, commander 180 provides logistics transportation. Battalion is the basic tactical and economic management unit. Later, several battalions (four or five) formed an "army" and established a "unified command", but it was only a military command relationship. Some troops will set up "commanders" as units in the direction of the campaign.