In the ancient cold weapon period, whether in China or the West, a large part of the time was spent in war. Along with this, there are also various weapon updates and tactics, melee weapons such as knives, guns and spears, long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows, siege weapons such as catapults and ladders, and so on. Compared with the armor, although there are not many styles, it is very important, even more than the sword. For example, China's Tang Dynasty clearly stipulated in the law: the people must not hide the armor privately, and hiding it is equivalent to rebellion, which is a capital crime!
This is very confusing, the sword as an offensive weapon, only during the Yuan Dynasty period on a large scale was prohibited. The rest of the dynasties are basically open-minded, the difference is only limited to some occasions not allowed to wear, and armor as a defensive equipment, successive dynasties have strictly forbidden to hide, otherwise it is a felony, why is this?
First of all, knives, whether military or civilian, are inseparable, kitchen knives and standard sabers, in fact, there is not much difference in essence. Moreover, in ancient times, the imperial power did not go to the countryside, and at the township level, most of them needed to defend themselves against wild beasts or bandits. And in most of the period, the Han people are still very martial, and there are many people who dance guns and sticks, so they are not very forbidden to use weapons.
So why is the armor so harsh?
For example, if a gangster kills people with a knife in the street, even if the officers and soldiers can't serve, as long as the people have the courage, a few people take some long-distance tools, such as shovels, hoes and the like, it is enough to subdue. But if you put on the armor, it is different, the combat effectiveness is not equal, it can be rampaged, and three or five people can't take it at all, which leads to a geometric increase in the cost of law enforcement. If there are hundreds or thousands of people wearing armor and causing trouble, then something big is going to happen.
In addition, many armors are expensive and have always belonged to high-end strategic materials. Jun did not see Tang Taizong's Xuanjia Army, Jin's Iron Floating Tu these heavy cavalry, the strength of the country is only thousands, it can be seen that the cost is really high. Most soldiers can wear cloth armor even if it is good, and even cheaper paper armor, with the whole expensive armor, there is no comparison, so this strategic material must be in the hands of the state.
In this way, ordinary people simply can't afford to buy armor, and there is no place to use it, except for the early Tang Dynasty, when the government military system was in place, soldiers were good at preparing their own weapons and equipment, but they also had to register and make records. If there is, either a rogue thief or a green forest bandit, that is, you are secretly hiding armor, it is equivalent to wanting to rebel, there is no other explanation, this crime only needs to be possible, it is enough to be determined.
In ancient times, the first thing before starting an army was to build equipment, and armor was the most important thing. At that time, most of the cities except for a few dozen servants and a small number of defenders were far away, so you will find that in the early stage of rebellion, it will always be easier to take a few cities, and then it will be picked up by the regular army.
At this point, it is not difficult for us to understand the importance of the armor. In modern times, the armor is also a fully armed body armor, and the United States does not prohibit guns, but it prohibits body armor, which is exactly the same as the above principle. Moreover, there have been many bloody lessons, and bandits in body armor and police have fired at each other, causing a large number of police casualties, which is the reason for the increase in law enforcement costs.
Conclusion: Whether it is from the perspective of the stability of rule, the cost of social governance, or the security of the people, the armor belongs to the category of prohibition of private possession, after all, it is impossible to fight without breaking the defense.