The ancient Chinese system of "fu bing" originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. "Prefectural soldiers" cultivate farmland given by the state in peacetime, enjoy the ownership of land, are exempt from compulsory military service, and only perform "military service" in wartime. In the Ming Dynasty's "Weishou System", the Weishou soldiers were "hereditary", not only to perform "military service", but also to cultivate fields for the state (Tun Tian).
I. Soldiers of the "Prefectural Military System" have private property and a sense of honor
The "Fu Bing" system was originally a military system that arose from the ethnic minority regime in the Northern Wei Dynasty. In this system, the first "prefectural soldiers" were all nobles among the Xianbei ethnic minorities. The Han Chinese were excluded from the military system and were specifically responsible for farming. When we read "Mulan Poems" now, we see that Mulan's family is such a Northern Wei aristocratic family. At the beginning of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Xianbei were the ruling class. The Northern Wei court's trust in the Xianbei people was much higher than that of the Han Chinese.
Therefore, the "prefectural soldier" system was adopted to reap the loyalty of the nobles by rewarding their land products. At the same time, let them work in the countryside in their spare time and be self-sufficient; in wartime, they should carry guns and defend their families and the country. Because these "government soldiers" have themselves become de facto "small landlords", the survival of the country is closely linked to their own property gains and losses. So they fight harder than ordinary, landless soldiers.
This system developed into the early Tang Dynasty, and the composition of "fu bing" was mainly Guanlong nobles, and some "middle class" people also joined in the later period. However, due to the expansion of the territory of the Tang Dynasty, conflicts with ethnic minority regimes frequently broke out in the middle and late periods, and wars were endless, and many "provincial soldiers" could not return home for many years, so the military was scattered. Coupled with the problem of arable land being robbed and annexed by the clan towns later, the "prefectural military system" was completely disintegrated.
Second, the soldiers of the "guardhouse system" have no private property and no personal freedom
The "Weisuo system" was developed by Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty with reference to the military system of the previous dynasty, and he and the "Fu Military System" have some similarities, but there are also very big differences. First, the soldiers of the "Weishou system" are from "hereditary military households", and one person becomes a soldier, and his children and grandchildren must serve in the military; second, in addition to military service, he must also give the state "Tun Tian". Feeding the health center and the officials of the health center by handing over public food is particularly stressful in itself. The soldiers in the guardhouse were filled by a man of the right age among the military households, and they dragged their families and mouths to a remote place in Tuntian.
However, the grain produced by Tuntian was not in his own possession like the "prefectural soldiers", but was handed over to the officials of the health center, who then paid a small amount of silver on a monthly basis to maintain his livelihood. The military households had already lived like slaves, and what was more, many local princes and nobles in Tuntian regarded the "guards" as their own domestic slaves, and in addition to letting them plant the country's public land, they often pulled them to plant their own private land. Over time, the "guards" either slackened off the battle or fled, eventually becoming displaced people.
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, more than 70% of the military households fled. The entire "guard house system" was completely abolished, and the imperial court had to adopt a new military system instead. In fact, in the early Ming Dynasty, the soldiers brought out by the "Weishou system" were still very strong in combat effectiveness, and they planted public fields (Tun tian) and received grain and wages, because they were professional troops, well-trained, tenacious and brave in combat, and made great contributions to sweeping away the Northern Yuan. However, in later generations, the social productive forces developed and the economy prospered. Seeing that everyone around them is living a good life and living like a slave, it is difficult to work for the country with peace of mind.
epilogue
The soldiers of the "prefectural military system" have their own field property, and the soldiers of the "guard system" do not have their own field property." The prefectural soldiers fight and prepare their own weapons and military food; the guards fight, and the state issues weapons and military food. Early "prefectural soldiers" could obtain a "sense of honor for the nobility". Because at that time, only people who were identified with their identity were eligible to go to war for the country. In the Ming Dynasty, the "guards" were born from "untouchables" and had no sense of honor to speak of.
Therefore, whether materially or spiritually, the feelings brought by the two military systems to soldiers are very different. However, they also have one thing in common, and that is the ending of "collapse".