Prisoners of war as slaves is the law
In the Warring States period, Qin and Han Dynasties, the fate of prisoners of war was actually no better than dying on the battlefield, because they would become slaves to the defeated side. There is a law on the bamboo slips of the state of Qin unearthed from the Qin tomb in Shuihudi, Yunmeng, Hubei Province: “Kou Jiang thought he was a subordinate minister”. The “bandits” (soldiers of the enemy country) who voluntarily surrendered acted as “subordinates” (state slaves subordinate to the government). And this is not only for the soldiers who surrendered from the enemy country, but also for the soldiers of Qin country who surrendered to the enemy country.
Do prisoners of war who have become slaves have a chance to change their fate? It is not impossible. There are many related contents in the Qin law unearthed from the Qin tomb in Shuihudi. The military Baron law stipulates that you can get your own two-level title in exchange for exemption from being your biological parents who become “ministers and concubines”. Or if the subordinate ministers participated in the battle and had the merit of beheading and should be granted the title of “Duke”, they can return the title of Duke to the government in exchange for exempting their wives from the status of “servant Concubine”.
Those who have been exempted from the status of subordinate ministers and wives and concubines belong to the “common people” level and are still not formal civilians. This law also stipulates in detail that if “Gong Li Chen” has beheaded and can be exempted from being a commoner, he should still be registered as a craftsman registered residence. If this subordinate minister has been subjected to “corporal punishment” (mutilation, nose cutting, foot cutting and other cruel punishment), he should be classified as “hidden official workers” (craftsmen with special centralized residence registered residence). Another “warehouse law” stipulates that two men of the same age and equal physical strength are allowed to redeem for a subordinate minister. This makes it convenient for individuals to redeem their slaves for their ministers. Moreover, this law also stipulates in great detail that a strong labor force can redeem an old subordinate minister, or a small subordinate minister less than five feet tall (Qin Chi is about 23 cm today), or a subordinate concubine.
It was considered normal to enslave prisoners of war, but the massacre of prisoners of war was still considered unacceptable in public opinion at that time. After the war of Changping, Bai Qi was deprived of all his titles by King Zhao of Qin because he had different opinions with the rulers of the state of Qin and complained. Later, King Zhao of Qin wanted to use him again, and Bai Qi said he was ill. King Qin Zhao sent an emissary to “give a sword” to kill himself in vain. Bai Qi took the sword and wanted to cry out, “why am I so guilty in heaven?” But after thinking for a while, he said, “I’m dead. In the battle of Changping, I cheated the soldiers of the state of Zhao with fraud and slaughtered them all. In this case, I’ll die.”
Xin’an tragedy: Xiang Yu “killed” prisoners of war
The war practice of enslaving prisoners of war had a great turning point in the Qin and Han Dynasties, which was directly related to the short and unprecedented brutal war in the late Qin Dynasty.
In 209 BC, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang led the anti Qin uprising. In just a few months, Chen Sheng’s army hit Lintong, directly threatening the Guanzhong region, which has long been the base of the Qin Dynasty. The main force of the Qin army was either fighting against the Huns in the north or fighting in the south. The troops in Guanzhong area were quite empty. Qin II hurriedly announced an amnesty for the “Prisoners” who had originally built the mausoleum of the first emperor in Lishan, issued weapons, and temporarily organized an army to be commanded by Zhang Han, the Shaofu (minister in charge of Royal mountain property and one of the nine Qing Dynasties).
Zhang Han commanded this group of troops hastily adapted by the “Prisoners”, and their combat effectiveness was even higher than Chen Sheng’s army. They not only won the battle outside Tongguan, but also pursued them all the way. Qin II sent General Dong Yi, the long history Sima Xinli P, to assist Zhang Han. At the same time, he recruited soldiers in the central Shaanxi plain to strengthen the strength of Zhang Han’s army. Zhang Han, the Qin army, defeated several anti Qin armed forces in succession. In 208 BC, in the Dingtao war, Zhang Han defeated the Chu army led by Xiang Liang, the leader of the main anti Qin armed forces, and Xiang Liang died. Zhang Han led the troops across the Yellow River to attack the separatist forces that established themselves as kings in all parts of Hebei.
But in 207 BC, the luck of this Qin army came to an end. In the war between Julu (now the southwest of Pingxiang, Hebei Province) and Xiang Yu, the Qin army was defeated and had to turn to defense. Qin II sent a special envoy to interrogate Zhang Han. Zhang Han asked simaxin to report to Xianyang. As a result, Zhao Gao, who controlled the court, was unwilling to meet him. Sima Xin fled back to the army and said to Zhang Han, “Zhao Gao monopolizes power. The general’s military achievements will cause his jealousy. If he loses the war, he will inevitably be executed. Please think about the way out.” So Zhang Han sent people to contact the anti Qin forces about the surrender. The anti Qin armed forces also sent people to persuade surrender.
Xiang Yu summoned the Ministry to discuss, agreed to Zhang Han’s request for surrender, and agreed that the Qin army would be led by three generals, Zhang Han, simaxin and Dong Yi, and sealed Zhang Han as king Yong and placed in the Chu army camp. Sima Xin was the top general and led the army to attack Guanzhong.
The troops advanced to Xin’an (now the west of Xin’an, Henan Province). Along the way, many officers and soldiers of the anti Qin armed forces were recruited to serve in the former Qin region in Guanzhong, and were bullied by officials in the former Qin region. Now marching with the surrendered Qin army, it is inevitable to deliberately retaliate. These Qin soldiers are treated as “slaves” to make things difficult and bully. The soldiers of the Qin army discussed privately and felt that it would be no good to surrender after being cheated by Zhang Han. And now to attack Guanzhong, if you successfully enter Guanzhong and destroy Qin, you will be lucky. In case you are defeated by the Qin army and taken East by the anti Qin princes, you will never return to your hometown. Don’t say, the family members who stay in Guanzhong, parents, wives and children will be killed. Thus, people’s hearts float. Chu army officers sent to the Qin army for supervision felt this emotion and reported to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu came to Tsing Bu, general Pu and other important princes for discussion and said, “there are a lot of Qin soldiers. They are not satisfied with their intentions. If they don’t listen to the command in the central Shaanxi plain, something serious will happen. It’s better to kill all these soldiers, leaving only senior officers Zhang Han, Sima Xin and Dong Yi to enter Qin.” So he secretly arranged to act suddenly at night, slaughtering all the surrendered Qin soldiers and stacking them in the south of Xin’an city. According to the historical records, more than 200000 Qin soldiers were “killed” this time.
From enslavement to surrender: Liu Bang recruited prisoners of war
Xiang Yu’s brutal act of “killing” Zhang Han, the Qin army, actually reflected that Xiang Yu was acting in accordance with the war rules of the Warring States period, enslaving prisoners of war when he won the war, and slaughtering when he felt that there were too many slaves to deal with. Before that, Xiang Yu attacked Xiangcheng and killed all Xiangcheng defenders. After that, Tian Rong, who attacked the state of Qi by Xiang Yu, was also surrendered first and then killed. To accept the surrender of Zhang Han, the Qin army, was largely forced. Xiang Yu probably intended to destroy Zhang Han, the uncle killing enemy (Xiang Yu is Xiang Liang’s nephew), and his army, but at that time, the Chu army’s own military supplies began to be tense, and there would be risks if it continued, so he decided to accept the surrender of the Qin Army.
On the contrary, the anti Qin armed forces led by Liu Bang abandoned the tradition of enslaving prisoners of war, made efforts to “recruit and subdue rebels”, and incorporated all kinds of enemy prisoners of war into their own troops. When Liu Bang set up the army, he took only oneortwo counties as the base area, with thousands of troops. Attack Dang county (now the east of Xiayi, Henan), “because of the collection of Dang soldiers, five or six thousand people.”. Later, five thousand Chu soldiers were supported by Xiang Liang. After Xiang Liang’s failure, Liu Bang was dispatched by King Huai of Chu to develop westward, “collect King Chen and Xiang Liang’s soldiers”, and attacked Qin junchangyi (now the northwest of Jinxiang, Shandong Province) with Peng Yue. Although he lost the war, Liu Bang also collected Peng Yue’s troops. Attacking Wan (today’s Nanyang, Henan Province) and trying to recruit and surrender, unlike Xiang Yu’s “leaving generals but not soldiers”, Liu Bang retained all the officials of Wan in the Qin Dynasty and took away Wan’s army, implementing the “separation of soldiers and generals”. On his way to the central Shaanxi plain, Liu Bang announced his policy: any official of the state of Qin who could bring 10000 people or lead a county to surrender was called “wanhuhou”. Therefore, it was invincible to enter Xianyang first and destroy the Qin Dynasty.
In the five-year fierce war with Xiang Yu for national control, Liu Bang relied on the policy of recruiting prisoners of war and other local armies to make his army a “coalition” that did not highlight local characteristics, and was able to lose and fight repeatedly. In 203 BC, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu led the army to confront each other in Guangwu (now the northwest of Xingyang, Henan Province). Xiang Yu wanted to duel with Liu Bang alone. Liu Bang accused Xiang Yu of being a sinner with ten major sins and did not duel with the sinner himself. Among the ten major crimes of Xiang Yu mentioned by Liu Bang, “cheating Qin’s son Xin’an 200000” and “killing has been reduced”.
In 202 BC, Liu Bang led his army to besiege Xiang Yu in cuxia (now Southeast of Lingbi, Anhui Province). Xiang Yu “ate as little as possible”. At night, he heard the songs of Chu people everywhere in the Han army barracks. Xiang Yu, who was clinging to the concept of place, was surprised: “have all Han people got Chu? How many Chu people!” He did not expect that the captured soldiers of the Chu army who had laid down their weapons had become soldiers of the Han army.
Liu Bang’s practice of “recruiting and defeating rebels” shows that he has surpassed that era, and the long-standing concept of tribe has no influence on him. Wang Fuzhi, a thinker at the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, said in his “on reading the general mirror” that “the Han Dynasty began with the death of Bashu and Sanqin, and the division of Jiujiang, Qi and Zhao was used”, saying that Liu Bang was not confined to the separation of the original vassal states, but had a view of “the world”. Wang Fuzhi commented that Liu Bang became an emperor. The first vassal kings were Wu Rui, king of Changsha, and Wu Zhu, king of Fujian and Guangdong, rather than enfeoffing his own children. It was in recognition of these two “contributions to breaking the Qin Dynasty”. Therefore, Liu Bang’s political vision was the “Grand Duke” who “made contributions to the world”.
Prisoners of war as a source of troops: a war convention with Chinese characteristics
In the civil wars of successive dynasty changes, Liu Bang’s prisoner of war policy was extended for a long time and became a “Chinese characteristic” war practice. Almost every successful Dynasty changer is good at recruiting and defeating traitors.
For example, after Wang Mang, the usurper in the late Western Han Dynasty, was eliminated, the armed forces scuffled with each other. Liuxiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, set up troops in northern Hebei today, defeated and incorporated numerous armed groups in Hebei, such as “Tongma”, “Gaohu” and “chonglian”, and became his own backbone force after reorganization. Finally, the whole country was pacified. According to the history, the total number of troops he was surrendered and incorporated should reach more than 1 million! Wang Fuzhi said in “on reading general review” that “those who have been demoted successively refer to being poorer than a few”.
Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty repeated such a story. In the war chaos at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao was originally just a local warlord armed force. In AD 192, he led his army to defeat the Yellow turban army in Yanzhou, Shandong Province, and 300000 yellow turban troops and millions of their families surrendered together. Cao Cao reorganized more than 100000 soldiers into his “Qingzhou army” and became his main force. In the ensuing scuffle, Cao Cao once avenged his father by killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou, and killed prisoners of Yuan Shaojun in the Guandu war. However, in the northern expedition to Wuhuan and the southern expedition to Jingzhou, the campaign ended with surrender and incorporation.
Li Yuan and Li Shimin, the ultimate winners of the war in the late Sui Dynasty, were also masters of recruiting and defeating rebels. In 617, when Jinyang (now Taiyuan, Shanxi Province) started to fight, Li’s entire army was only 30000 troops, only based on a state. He developed in the central Shaanxi plain, defeated and incorporated SunHua and other departments in the central Shaanxi plain. The army expanded to 200000 people, and was able to occupy one side and fight for the world from the East. No matter whether the soldiers were civilians or slaves, “there is no distinction between high and low between arrows and stones; there is no equal difference between merits and honors”! Xue Ju, who ruled the area of Gansu today, was the great enemy of the Tang Dynasty and defeated the Tang army many times. After Xue Ju’s death, Li Shimin was able to defeat Xue Renguo, his successor, and “get more than 10000 elite soldiers”. Li Yuan sent an emissary to warn Li Shimin that “Xue Ju and his son will kill our soldiers as many as possible, and his party will be killed to thank the wronged soul”. However, in the end, the order was revoked, and the head general was killed, “leaving soldiers but not generals”. In the process of fighting the world in the Tang Dynasty, it was more often that “both soldiers and generals remained”. In the early Tang Dynasty, the famous general Li Li Li (10) blew long (3) jueba ? The local people’s Liberation Army and Cheng Zhijie (Cheng Yaojin) were all demobilized generals, who won the final victory of the civil war for the Tang Dynasty.
This method was also widely used when the minority dynasties came to the Central Plains. At the beginning of the rise of the Qidan Liao Dynasty outside the pass, more than 200000 Han troops such as Du Chongwei and Li ShouZhen who came to surrender began to be reorganized into professional forces such as the “crane control army”, “volunteer army”, “Saint protection army” and “Tiger wing army”. The Jin Dynasty of Nuzhen nationality also incorporated Li Cheng and other departments of Han folk armed forces in Shandong and other places as a precursor to the Southern Song Dynasty. Later, after the Manchu and Qing Dynasties entered the customs, a large number of Ming troops were incorporated and adapted into “green Battalion soldiers”.
The historical practice of using prisoners of war as the source of troops in ancient China has greatly reduced the resistance of the change of Dynasty on the military level, and was able to complete the replacement of the imperial dynasty in a fairly rapid time. Some famous cases of dynasty change in history are often completed in less than a generation (20 years). Especially successful ones, such as the above-mentioned Liu Bang, Liu Xiu, Li Yuan and Li Shimin, all “seized national power” in less than 10 years. Whenever one side of the civil war begins to have certain advantages, the phenomenon of surrender and submission of the armed forces of the inferior side will accelerate, and even an avalanche effect will appear, and the winner will win the civil war in an all-round way. But at the same time, the “reaction” of the traditional policy of “recruiting rebels” is also obvious: “loyalty” often becomes an opportunistic choice.