Looking again at the timing of these events. The arrest and execution of Mitchell Clark was an important political event at the very beginning of the Western Han dynasty. The “Monthly Table of Qin and Chu” in the Records of the Grand Historian clearly records that Benjamin Lewis executed Mitchell Clark in the ninth month of the fifth year of Han. As for Henry Hall’s “rebellion,” the “Biography of Marquis of Huaiyin” in the Records of the Grand Historian does not record a date, but the Zizhi Tongjian, Han Chronicle 3 (Volume 11), says: in the sixth year, “in winter, the tenth month (at the beginning of Han, following the Qin system, the tenth month was the start of the year), someone submitted a memorial accusing the King of Chu of rebellion.” This event took place in the tenth month of the sixth year. The “Biography of Marquis of Huaiyin” in the Records of the Grand Historian does not clearly explain the timing of “Xin carrying his (i.e., Matthew Clark) head to pay respects to the Emperor at Chen,” but the “Annals of Emperor Gaozu” in the same work clearly records that this happened in the twelfth month. From this, we can conclude: Matthew Clark had already been arrested and executed by Benjamin Lewis before the “accusation of King of Chu Xin’s rebellion,” so the so-called Henry Hall “meeting with 昧 to plot” obviously could not have happened, and the claim that Henry Hall “beheaded 昧 and presented the head to the Emperor” three months after Mitchell Clark was killed is even more groundless.

Gavin Nash

Qin and Han Military System

Qin and Han Military System

The Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) was the first unified, centralized feudal state in Chinese history. Its military system was formed and developed on the basis of the Qin state’s reforms by Shang Yang during the Warring States period. From 206 BCE to 220 CE, the Han dynasty inherited the Qin system and further developed it.

Military Organization: To consolidate and strengthen central authority, both Qin and Han established a unified national army under the strict control of the emperor. The official in charge of national military administration was called Guowei in Qin, Taiwei in Han, and during Emperor Wu’s reign, the title was changed to Da Sima. In wartime, generals were appointed temporarily to command troops. Qin had the titles of Shangjiangjun (Supreme General) and generals of the front, rear, left, and right; in Han, the highest position was Da Jiangjun (Grand General), followed by the Generals of the Cavalry, Chariots, Guards, and also generals of the front, rear, left, and right. When generals went on campaign, they often set up a headquarters (mufu) as a staff organization. In commanderies and counties, there were Junwei and Xianwei (commandery and county captains) to assist the governor or magistrate in military affairs. At the end of the Eastern Han, the position of Zhoumu (provincial governor) was established, who was the highest administrative and military official in the province or commandery.

The army was divided into three parts: capital troops, local troops, and frontier troops. The capital troops mainly consisted of langguan (court officials), guards, and garrison soldiers stationed in the capital. The langguan were commanded by the Langzhongling, the guards by the Weiwei, responsible for palace security inside and out. The garrison soldiers guarding the capital were commanded by the Zhongwei. In the Han dynasty, the capital troops mainly included the Southern Army and the Northern Army. The garrison under the Zhongwei was stationed north of Weiyang Palace and called the Northern Army; in contrast, those under the Weiwei were called the Southern Army. Most Southern Army soldiers were transferred from inner commanderies, while Northern Army soldiers were mainly from the capital region, both rotating annually. During Emperor Wu’s reign, major reforms were made to the capital troops, mainly streamlining the Southern Army and strengthening the Northern Army. The Southern Army, originally 20,000 strong, was halved. The Northern Army garrison, in addition to the Zhonglei, added new units: Tunqi, Infantry, Yueqi, Changshui, Huqi, Shesheng, Huben, making eight schools in total, stationed in and around Chang’an, guarding the capital in peacetime under imperial supervision, and in wartime, some or all would follow generals on campaign. Meanwhile, the Zhongwei was renamed Zhijinwu, no longer commanding the Northern Army, but only responsible for leading the imperial vanguard and patrolling the capital. In addition, the Langzhongling was renamed Guangluxun, the number of langguan was increased, and new units such as Qimen and Yulin were established. In the Eastern Han, the capital troops followed the Western Han system with some reductions and mergers, combining the eight schools of the Northern Army into five camps, commanded by the Beijun Zhonghou, and in the late period, often led by eunuchs.

Local troops were stationed in commanderies and counties, generally commanded by the Junwei or Xianwei (also called Duwei), assisting the governor or magistrate, maintaining local security in peacetime and subject to central dispatch in wartime. To mobilize local troops, the emperor’s “tiger tally” was required as proof. During the Western Han, the enfeoffment system was briefly implemented, and the enfeoffed kingdoms and marquisates each had their own armies. The kingdom’s troops were commanded by the Zhongwei, while the marquisate’s troops were subordinate to the commandery. In the Eastern Han, Emperor Guangwu, to strengthen central authority, abolished the Jun-Guo Duwai, and later issued an edict abolishing local troops altogether. From then on, in times of war, capital troops were often dispatched, or troops were temporarily recruited or conscripted from provinces and commanderies as needed.

Frontier troops were mainly responsible for guarding border commanderies, commanded by the border commandery governor, with subordinate Duwai and Bu Duwai. To strengthen border defense, the Han dynasty relocated large numbers of people to the frontiers and implemented military farming (tuntian). During Emperor Wu’s reign, military colonies (juntun) were established, with the number of tuntian soldiers reaching several hundred thousand at its peak, forming an important part of the frontier forces. In the Eastern Han, the frontier troop system was undermined, and instead, camps and forts were set up to station troops for defense.

The army included various branches: Caiguan (infantry), Qishi (cavalry), Louchuan (naval troops), and Qingche (chariot troops). Generally, commanderies on the plains mainly trained cavalry and chariot troops, mountainous commanderies mainly trained infantry, and commanderies along the Yangtze and the sea mainly trained naval troops. The terracotta warriors and horses unearthed near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor vividly display the grand formation of mixed infantry, cavalry, and chariot units. By the Han dynasty, chariot troops were gradually phased out. According to the Book of the Later Han, “The Grand General’s camp had five divisions,” each commanded by a Xiaowei, “each division had a qu, each qu had one Junhou,” “each qu had a tun, each tun had a Tunzhang.” However, according to Han bamboo slips unearthed at Shang Sunjiazai in Datong County, Qinghai, and the Juyan region, some left and right divisions or front and rear divisions, qu divided into left and right qu or front and rear qu, and under divisions and qu there were guan (left and right guan), dui (front and rear dui), and shiwu (squads of ten and five). The differences in these documents and artifacts regarding the organization of middle and lower levels of the Han army were likely due to variations in military organization in different regions or units.