A Study On Grain Supply Of Qin's Army(306 B.C—210 B.C.)

The ancients realized very early on that the army's grain supply was crucial to the victory and defeat of the war and the future of the country.There is a old sayin:"The troops and horses have not moved,and the grain and grass have been first."As a strategic resource,the importance of food is self-evident.Recently,in the Qin bamboo slips that were newly discovered,there are many records about grain production.These records provides a lot of information to research on Qin's army grain supply.It can be seen from these records that the Qin government has strict regulations on planting,grain storage,and supervision in the early stage of grain production.This guarantees the supply of Qin's army food from the source of grain production.The Period of the Duke Xiaogong of Qin,he had appointed the Shangyang to began the reform that called Shangyang reform,and the Qin State began a large-scale transformation of the Land Allocation System.At the same time,the other six states were also carrying out similar reforms,but the degree of innovation was not as the same as the Qin state.The Land Allocation System has far-reaching effects on the grain production of Qin State.First,it has liberated the productive forces and promoted the increase of grain output.Second,the system of name register under the system of granting land has fixed the people on the land,specializing in production and reducing the flow of people.At the same time,the transformation of production technology,such as the improvement of farming system,the large-scale popularization of iron farming tools and the promotion of ploughing by cow,have further improved the grain output of Qin state.Meanwhile it also Guaranteed the adequate grain supply of Qin's army.Qin State established the country in the original land of the Western Zhou Dynasty.After several generations of monarchy's hard conquest,Qin State gradually expelled the ethnic minorities,and carried out the possession of the Central Shaanxi Plain Agricultural District.After Shang Yang's reform,the Qin State gradually became stronger,the Duke Zhaowang of Qin swallowed the Baba area and developed it,which made the Bashu area has a reputation of the land of the Heaven.The Bashu region became the rear base for the Qin state to provide grain and soldiers in the unified war.Qin State attaches great importance to the storage of grain.Qin state's warehousing administration is not only strict also systematic,it make detailed laws and regulations for each procedure of grain storage and use distribution.By strict regulation to reduce loss of grain in the process of storage.The reason why the management of the granary is so strict is mainly because The grain supply of Qin state's army mainly depends on the supply of granary,so that the Qin government make the strict law to manage warehouse.Qin State's army is divided into three categories:county soldiers,Central Security Army and Frontier Force.In fact,the three military forces of Qin State's army are county soldiers and the three forces can be transformed into each other.They are called different names because of their different station.Qin grain supply presents the characteristics of the grain supply of the soldiers is supplied by the county which it belongs to.It can also be said that Qin army's grain supply is uphold the principle of"responsible for the source of the army."In order to make the grain in the local warehouses supply the army in time,Qin State has enacted various laws and regulations to strictly regulate the transportation of military grain.At the same time,Qin State also attaches great importance to the construction of land and waterways and the breeding of cattle and horses.By improving transportation tools to increase the efficiency of transporting grain.It can be seen that Qin grain supply channels are relatively simple,basically relying on granaries.This kind of replenishment method is extremely unfavorable in wartime,especially army's long-distance marching,the army's grain supply depends on long-distance transfer,and transshipment from county warehouses everywhere will increase transportation costs.In view of this,the rulers of the Western Han Dynasty adopted the methods of recuperate and multiply,reducing the number of troops,"emphasizing agriculture and enhancing the food-grain prnce","freedom of sin" and and Station Farming to ensure the supply of food for the army.