05-25-2006, 04:11 PM
Quote:For all those massed crossbows of the Han, the one arrow that hits the right person, or not, could decide everything. That said, if this technology were to cause a massive Roman defeat, it would have to be capitalized on very quickly. I do doubt that the Romans would have long term trouble against a peasant levy of any sort. In the Roman system, men fought either to protect their own property or to aquire new property. This is a powerful motivation. Each individual soldier, not just the emporer, is both hungry for conquest and has much to defend. What are the Han peasants fighting for? Their next ration of rice? What sort of property were they allowed to own? Since I am largely ignorant of the Han system, this would be my main question. Why does the Han soldier fight?
The western Han had a conscript army, while the Eastern Han had a professional army. The Western Han required that every capable male train in fighting throughout their life until they are too old to. Thus, each day they would use "8 hourse farming and two hours trainning". It is also required that they choose a couple of months during the year to undergo training and nothing else. When they are required on the field, they would undergo more specialized trainning as suited to their background for 1 or 2 years depending on the circumstances. A good soldier can easily be promoted to a general if he plays his cards right, so that is probably their motivation. There are not many records on Han training, so we can only look to past dynasties for an idea of what it was like. The previous dynasty to the Han would be the Qin. The Qin dynasty rewards soldiers for the number of enemies they killed. Killing one enemy means that your entire family can get some tax breaks. Killing more enemies can get the soldier to have free land or to get him promoted to the point where he can actually be a general. By the time of the Eastern Han, these training for the entire male population is not required. Volunteers, or mercenaries, whichever you choose, would be used to fight for the dynasty. There are also soldiers who are in the military because they received the death sentence. However, to do well on the battlefield means that they will recieve an imperial pardon for their crimes(this also applies to the Western Han). But overall, in BOTH the Han and Rome, the soldier fights for the general. The soldier's loyalty to the general is of ultimate importance in order for the army to function right.
Rick Lee
