The military system of the Han Dynasty was owned by the state. In the west, it was not until the modern Prussian kingdom was forced by Bismarck that such a system was invented, and we already implemented it in the Han Dynasty. A able-bodied man didn't start military service until he was 23. This law also has its inherent significance. Because I didn't mature until I was twenty years old, I can practice independently. As far as agricultural economy is concerned, it is impossible to produce more, but only to save. The so-called "three years of cultivation and one year of storage" is absolutely impossible to harvest every year according to the general situation. There will always be a famine year in three years on average. If there is a famine, the savings will be finished. If there is no shortage of three years, there should be two years in six years and three years in nine years. Agricultural society will never mature for more than nine years, nor will it be barren for more than three years. A strong man, who has been farming for 20 years, can make a living independently, but if he wants to perform military service for his country, he must consider the family burden. So it was stipulated at that time that from the age of 23, he could have a year's savings to serve the public. This system is not only an economic consideration, but also a moral decision. When we comment on all the systems in history, we should pay attention to the ideas and theories of people at that time behind each system. Politics is an important system in culture, and it will never produce a certain system for no reason. Most of the people in the government in the early Han Dynasty were originally from rural areas and knew well the sufferings of the people, so they were able to draw up this regulation. Modern China people often despise their past political traditions, saying that China did not have a complete set of political theories and a great political thinker. Of course, in China's previous works, there are few books devoted to political theory, and few people are famous for their political thoughts. It's not that China people have no theory or thought about politics. Because most scholars in China have become officials, their political theories and thoughts can already be expressed in actual politics. There is no need to write a book out of thin air and divorced from reality to complete a set of empty theories in his book. Therefore, China's political theory has long been integrated with real politics. Otherwise, why should the emperor and the prime minister separate powers? Why must the official career pass the examination and assessment? Why should the government rent be reduced? Why should we curb commercial capital? Why does national military service not start until the age of 23? Therefore, to study China's past political thoughts, we should pay attention to the past political system. China is by no means a country without a system, and behind every system, there must be some theories and ideas. How can we eliminate them with the words of autocracy and darkness?

There are several types of national military service in Han Dynasty. One is to be a "guard" in the central government, and the other is to be a "garrison" in border counties. One is the original place of employment. It's every citizen's turn to these three kinds, and only the third kind starts at the age of twenty.

There were two central armies in the Han Dynasty: the Southern Army and the Northern Army. The southern army is the guard of the palace, and the northern army is the garrison of the capital. At that time, there were less than 70 thousand troops in both the north and the south. The able-bodied men from all over the country take turns to be guards in the central government for one year. Being a guard is extremely advantageous. The round-trip travel expenses are provided by the central government. When they first arrived, when they retired, the emperor prepared a banquet, usually wearing meals, and did not ask the guards to spend their own money.

Being a garrison is different. You have to bear all the expenses yourself. As for the duration of the garrison, it is only three days. This is another old habit that follows the feudal era. In feudal times, when the country was small, Fang Baili was a big country. If so, it's only 50 miles from the central to the frontier. It's only half a day's journey to the border. If you stay for three days, you will come back in five days. In feudal times, it was not a hard task to defend the border, but it was enough to carry five days' dry food with you. After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he didn't seem to notice this problem and told the people to keep the border for three days. From Huiji (Jiangsu) to fishing? (Jehol), as far as the government is concerned, as long as you serve for three days, this is an old tradition. But it will take more than half a year to go back and forth. How troublesome is it to bring your own clothes and food? The world is unified and the state system has changed, but Qin Shihuang's border defense system has not changed. Perhaps the government was busy, unified the six countries, and was complacent. It didn't pay attention to these details, but it caused great social problems. Move it. The Guangwu revolution, Chen Sheng, started here. People in modern China say that politics in China has not changed for two thousand years. How did this happen? How did this happen? As far as the border defense system is concerned, the Han dynasty has changed. In the Han dynasty, it took only three days to keep the border, but you didn't have to go. As long as you pay 100 yuan every day and pay it to 300 yuan in three days, you can avoid the defense. If 100 people don't go, the garrison fee will be exempted for 300 days. If the government hires another person who is willing to go, he will serve in the garrison for 300 days as soon as he goes. He also got the money, not only enough to spend around, but also a little to settle down. This is a flexible way. According to the truth, everyone should keep the border for three days, even the son of the prime minister is no exception. There was a prime minister in the Han Dynasty who really asked his son to be a soldier in the frontier for three days, which became a much-told story in history.

There are satrap and a captain in the county magistrate of Korea, just as there are prime ministers and a captain in the central government. The satrap is the local governor and the Taishi is the local military leader. The local troops are under the command of a captain. All able-bodied men will gather and perform once a year in autumn. This is a big parade called Du Shi, which lasts for one month. Return to your hometown after the expiration. When something happens to the country, it is called temporary, which is a kind of national soldier. According to the geographical situation, all localities also train various arms, such as horseback riding vehicles (cavalry and chariots), shipbuilding (navy and navy), material officers (infantry) and so on.

There are northern and southern armies in the central government, garrisons in the border areas and national soldiers in local areas. Once the country has something to do, the three armed forces can call it.

In addition to military service, the country should also perform military service. This has always been a big problem from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties. Now we will tell it as a historical event. Hard work is the work that every able-bodied man does for the country. It seems that if we want to build an airport and build roads now, we must call migrant workers. Only in ancient times was it purely compulsory. The national able-bodied men are compiled according to the roster, and each person works for the country for one month every year, which means taking turns in the Han Dynasty. If that's the case, it's easier for a farmer to try, for example, to hold an autumn sports meeting, but it's more difficult than serving in the national army in January every year. But if you don't practice your watch (last time), according to the regulations at that time, you can give it to the government 200 yuan instead.

In addition to the above three kinds of military service and one kind of compulsory service, every citizen has to pay population tax, even children. Speaking of which, there is a serious problem. At that time, the government did not arrange a basis for people's lives, and the land distribution in the whole country was uneven. It did not try to make everyone in the country work, but asked everyone to do their duty to the country. It is illegal not to perform the duties stipulated by this government. If they break the law, they will be arrested, and some will act as official slaves, forcing them to do hard work in the government. So some people prefer to sell themselves and be slaves in private homes. At that time, slaves were required to pay population tax, and they had to pay twice as much. But this is borne by the slave owners, not their own business. So there were many slaves in the Han Dynasty. If your descendants don't have a job to make a living, you can still be a beggar and a hooligan, and the government won't care. But it was not allowed in the Han Dynasty. You want to be a conscript, you want to build airports and highways, you have to pay population tax, and your name and address are all in the government brochure. If you don't go, you have to pay. If you can't afford it, it's illegal. You are a beggar, and your name is still on the household registration book. You should still be responsible for the country. So I had to sell myself to others as a slave. Being a slave at that time was not to sell one's freedom, but to sell one's obligations to national laws and regulations. The government wants to ban this trend, so it stipulates that the population tax of handmaiden should be doubled. But the rich raise a lot of slaves, but they can make a fortune. For example, burning charcoal and mining mountains require a lot of manpower. Selling oneself into slavery is like joining this rich group. So slaves live better than ordinary people. This is recorded in detail in Historical Records and Biography of Huo Zhi. This is slavery in the Han Dynasty. It is completely different from the serfs in the western Roman Empire. Most of the serfs in Rome were captured by the war, and the slaves in the Han Dynasty were farmers who plowed their own fields to participate in large-scale industrial and commercial new production gatherings. How can it be compared?

In the Han Dynasty, besides compulsory military service, there were also volunteers among the people who volunteered to join the army. If the country has something to do, you can register freely. This is good for people to join the army. Those are relatively wealthy families, especially those living near the border. They usually practice horseback riding and archery at home, hoping that the country will have something to do, sign up for the army, make meritorious deeds in the war and become an official. This trend is particularly popular in border counties. Take Li Guangjia in Longxi as an example.