Treatise on Armament Technology: Military Logistics and Provisions

...the land is the foundation. By honoring the three seasons for farming and utilizing one season for military training A traditional concept where agricultural work took priority in Spring, Summer, and Autumn, while military drills were conducted in the Winter when the fields were fallow, the soldiers will devote their full strength to the land while at home, and possess surplus grain when they are deployed. This is what is meant by the saying: "When the army is raised, it defeats the enemy; when the army is stationed, the nation grows wealthy."

Requirements for a Standard Military Colony

A total military colony unit comprises sixty qingA unit of area equal to 100 mu, roughly equivalent to 15 acres or 6 hectares of land. The distribution of crops and seeds is as follows:

Outside of the main colony lands, fifty mu are designated for vegetables. The harvest from this land is intended for the autumn banquets and the kitchen's needs.

• Forty mu are for turnips, using five heA small unit of volume; 1/10th of a sheng, roughly 0.1 liters of seed per mu.
• Ten mu are for radishes, using two sheng of seed per mu.

The aforementioned seeds should be planted in accordance with the local soil and traditional farming practices of the region.

Labor and Rations

Each colony unit is assigned sixty dingAn adult male subject to labor service or military duty. The rations for these men are calculated as follows:

• Daily ration per man: 2 sheng of rice.
• Daily total for one colony: 1 shiAlso called a "dan," a large unit of volume equal to 100 sheng; roughly 100 liters and 2 douA unit of volume equal to 10 sheng; roughly 10 liters.
• Monthly total: 36 shi.
• Yearly total: 432 shi.

Each colony is also provided with sixty head of oxen.