In 1206 AD, Temujin unified the various departments of the Mongolian steppe and established the Great Mongolian State, known as Genghis Khan. From 1211 onwards, Genghis Khan launched a war against the Jin Dynasty, forcing the Jin Dynasty to seek peace and move the capital to Fenjing (present-day Kaifeng, Henan). From 1219 onwards, he led an army to the west and captured a large area of Central Asia. Genghis Khan died in 1227, and his son WoKoutai took the throne, destroyed jin, and began war against the Southern Song Dynasty. Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan, reigned 1260-1294), the fifth great khan of the Great Mongol State, actively adopted the "Han law" (the system of the feudal dynasties of the Central Plains), changed the name of the country to Dayuan, established the capital Dadu (present-day Beijing), and destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279, unifying the whole country.
The reunification of the Yuan Dynasty marks the end of the long-term confrontation between the north and the south and the formation of a unified multi-ethnic state on an unprecedented scale, which is of far-reaching significance in the development process of China's history. In the area ruled by the Yuan Dynasty, dozens of ethnic groups lived, and different economic life such as farming, nomadism, fishing and hunting coexisted. In order to maintain military superiority and national privileges, the Mongol rulers gradually established a relatively complete military system.
<h1>1. The military decisions of the Greater Mongol State</h1>
After Genghis Khan established the Great Mongol State, major military decisions were decided by the Kuritai (Great Gathering) attended by the Mongol nobles.
Kuritai diagram
Kuritai is generally held in the spring, presided over by the Great Khan of the Mongols, the Mongol Emperor (a member of the Genghis Khan family), and the Nagan (officials) of the thousand households in Mongolia, all from all over the steppe to gather, at the meeting, the Great Khan proposed the goal of conquest, the King and Nayan could express their opinions for or against, and finally agreed on the time to start the war, the number of troops sent by each department and the place where the army was assembled, and the Great Khan designated the commanders of the various expeditionary armies. After the end of the Kuritai, King Zong and Na Yan returned to their respective garrisons, informed their subordinates to prepare for the expedition, and summoned their troops to the assembly site on time to participate in the conquest.
After entering the Yuan Dynasty, the system of convening kulitai to discuss the grand plan of the military state was replaced by the system of discussing military and political affairs with the Privy Council as the core. The central government of the Yuan Dynasty set up the Zhongshu Province, the Privy Council, and the Imperial History Terrace, which were in charge of civil affairs, military affairs, and supervision throughout the country. The Privy Council has the right to deal with the general mobilization of troops, small-scale counterinsurgency wars, and the adjustment of border defenses, etc., and at any time directly report the situation of the national military information and military affairs to the emperor and accept the emperor's instructions. In the event of major military decisions, such as mobilizing large armies to go overseas, organizing major campaigns, and deploying the Zhenshu army in zhongshu provinces, etc., the Privy Council first gathered all the officials to agree on a plan, and if necessary, consulted the old ministers and local military officials in accordance with the emperor's will, and then played the emperor.
The Emperor or the Privy Council officials gathered with the principal officials of Zhongshu Province and Yushitai to listen to their opinions; Or directly summon the main officials of the central institutions to the "imperial front" and discuss them together. Participants can put forward opinions on the operational strategy, the choice of combat timing, the reserve situation of soldiers, and other issues, and finally the emperor will decide, issue edicts and decrees, and all departments will make war preparations or military defense adjustments according to the will. Agreed military decisions are carried out by the Privy Council.
When deciding on major military operations, the emperor also often held a Kuritai to gather the Mongol emperors, the Thousand Households, and the ministers of the imperial interior to announce the conquest and reward the soldiers who went on the expedition. If the Mongol soldiers were needed to go out on the expedition, King Zong and Qianhu Nayan obeyed the emperor's orders and returned to their headquarters to mobilize their troops and participate in the conquest.
<h1>2. The military leadership system during the Mongolian period</h1>
After genghis Khan established the country, thousands of households were organized according to decimal systems, and as the basic military unit of the Mongol Army, the names of officers at all levels were determined:
Thousand household chiefs, known in Mongolian as "Minhan Nayan" (Na yan, meaning official, the same below); Hundred heads of households, known in Mongolian as "Zawen Nayan"; The ten fu chang, also known as "brand head", is called "Aerbanayan" in Mongolian. Sometimes there are also fifty fu chiefs, called "Tabin nayan" in Mongolian.
The thousand households of Mongolia, which had been unified and organized, were divided into the right and left wings of the Mongol army, except for a part of which was distributed to the Mongol emperor. Each of the two wings has a chief of 10,000 households (Tu Mian Na Yan), who is in charge of the army of 1,000 households to which the main wing belongs. Under the 20,000 heads of households, the Great Khan of Mongolia appointed a chief of a thousand households as his deputy to assist the chief of 10,000 households in handling military affairs.
When going out to fight, the Mongol Great Khan personally marched, and the Mongol Emperor, the Chief of Ten Thousand Households, and the Chief of a Thousand Households obeyed the direct command of the Great Khan. The Great Khan designated a Mongol emperor or a chief of ten thousand households or a thousand household chiefs as the supreme commanders of the army. The appointee has the right to restrain the other kings and the chiefs of the thousand households who participate in the war, and may appoint the commanders of the divisions of the main army as necessary. The command system of the Han army was relatively chaotic in the early days.
The officers of the Han Army were either called marshals and marshals, or emissaries of jiedushi, left behind, soldiers and horses, and so on. During Genghis Khan's western expedition, he appointed Mu Huali, the head of the left-wing Mongol army, to take charge of the Central Plains Han army, giving him the title of "Taishi, King", but some of the Han army actually obeyed the orders of the Eastern Mongol Emperor (Genghis Khan's brothers).
After Wokoutai Khan ascended the throne (1229), he unified the Han army and was awarded the military post of Han army according to the ten thousand households, thousand households, hundred households, and brand heads. Above the ten thousand households of the Han Army, the Marshal of the Unified Army was established, who was served by the main general of the Tanma Red Army. As the supreme military commander of the region, the appointment and dismissal of marshals were decided by the Great Khan of Mongolia, and marshals of the capital were required to often report to the Great Khan on military information on the front line and the distribution of troops. When the Mongol army went out, Marshal Du had to lead his subordinate Tanma Chi Army and the Han Army to participate in the battle, and accept the dispatch of the Mongol Emperor, the Ten Thousand Household Chiefs, the Thousand Household Chiefs and other front-line commanders appointed by the Great Khan.
<h1>3. Privy Council</h1>
After Kublai Khan ascended the throne, in order to strengthen the centralization of power, the Mongol army was divided into two wings during the Mongol period, and the military leadership system of the Tangma Red Army and the Han Army was established by the Marshal of ten thousand households to the end and the Marshal of the Capital, and the Privy Council was established as the highest organ in charge of the military and political affairs of the whole country in May of the fourth year of central unification (1263). According to Kublai Khan's regulations, the entire army was controlled by the Privy Council, and the military affairs of the imperial court were handled by the Privy Council. After more than ten years of practice, after the national unification, the basic functions of the Privy Council were fixed, which roughly included the following aspects:
(1) Planning for the Military Department. The establishment of a nationwide military town system, the arrangement and adjustment of the armed forces in various localities, the establishment of unified military organs at all levels, and the mobilization of the army to engage in conquest are the main contents of the Privy Council's handling of military and political affairs.
(2) To administer the armed forces. The national military is administered by the Privy Council. Every once in a while, the Privy Council would send officials to various places to inspect the army and check their military status. The military decrees restricting the army and the regulations governing the sick, the sick, the disabled, and the poor soldiers were formulated by the Privy Council and then issued to the Emperor for implementation.
(3) Selection of officers. The Privy Council is responsible for formulating relevant regulations and implementing the selection, promotion, and appointment of officers, as well as the rewards and punishments of officers.
(4) Provide logistical support for the army. The main thing is to arrange for the army to hoard the fields, to provide food, clothing, and clothing for the border defense troops, and to prepare military supplies for major military operations. The communications and horse administration of the army are the responsibility of the Military Department of Zhongshu Province; the manufacture and storage of weapons is the responsibility of the Wubei Temple, not directly under the control of the Privy Council.
Armoury diagram
The supreme head of the Privy Council was a Mongol nobleman. In the 26th year of the New Era (1289), the Privy Council was also established on the matter of the Privy Council. After that, a system was formed, the crown prince and the privy councillor, the privy councillor was virtual when the prince was vacant, and the privy council was known to be the actual supreme chief of the privy council. Official documents between the Privy Council and the subordinate military offices are mostly signed by officials below the Privy Council Deputy Envoy.
In order to ensure the unity of the military and government in the steppe areas, Kublai Khan appointed a member of the Privy Council to go out of the town to deal with military affairs on the spot. In the northwestern region, where there were frequent wars, the governor of the Testament was sometimes sent to lead the army.
<h1>4. The king of the sect leaves the town</h1>
During the Mongol period, the system of "splitting the land and dividing the people" was implemented. The enthroned Mongol emperors all had thousands of households and fiefs directly under Mongolia, and within the fiefs, administrative, military, financial and judicial powers were integrated. The fiefdom of each king is basically a small independent kingdom. The existence of a large number of feudal fiefs seriously threatened the stability of imperial power. After Kublai Khan ascended the throne, on the one hand, he adopted measures such as collecting troops and controlling financial and judicial powers to restrict the clan kings who already occupied the fiefdoms, and on the other hand, he changed the system of sub-fiefs and implemented the system of the clan kings leaving the town.
Zong Wang out of the town map
Beginning in the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1267), after King Zong went to The Town, he was granted the right to restrain all the local armies by "the Zhenzhi of the army, the reward of the knighthood, the leniency of the punishment, and the undertaking of the system". When there was a war in these areas, King Chuzhenzong was the supreme commander, commanding the armies to fight according to the emperor's orders. The Qi people in the area of The Emperor of the Town were subordinate to the imperial court and set up an official government to take charge, and the King of the Town no longer granted the Mongolian Thousand Households and Fiefs.
After the reunification of the whole country, the system of zongwang leaving the town was further improved. The Mongol kings who left the town were basically limited to the descendants of Kublai Khan. Among the emperors of The Town, the Emperor of the North of the Desert controlled the armies of the thousands of Mongolian households on the steppe and the troops sent by the imperial court to the northern and northwestern regions of the desert to fight and fight, and the other Mongol kings in the north and northwest of the desert were controlled by him. Almost half of kublai Khan's successors to the throne came from the emperors who left the town of Mobei.
The emperor went out of a certain area of the town with the intention of supervising the military and government on behalf of the emperor, and the degree of his power was determined by the holy decree issued by the emperor when he left the town. The emperor who left the town of Mobei had greater power, and accompanied by Privy Council officials, he could randomly adjust the layout of the army and mobilize the army to fight. The other emperors of the town were only granted military command in wartime, maintaining nominal military authority in peacetime, and the army in the town area was managed by the military and political institutions set up by the imperial court, and the conscription and adjustment of the army were carried out by the Privy Council at the behest of the emperor. When the army went out, sometimes several Zong kings went to the same place, still as in the Mongol period, the emperor appointed a Zong king to take charge of the whole army. Zong Wang's departure from the town was to exercise management on behalf of the emperor, and to restrain and supervise each other with local feudal officials, and to form a decentralized political system for the Yuan Dynasty regime.
<h1>Key References:</h1>
"Yanzhu Temple Stele", Yuanwen Class, vol. 2
Yuan Shi Vol. 18 "Chengzong Jiyi"