Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 123

Using the quantity of husked rice obtained as the standard, the total yield of a single colony's hudouA general term for measuring vessels; used here to refer to the total grain volume can be determined.

The grades for yields are:

• Special Grade: Ninety shi
• First Grade: Seventy shi
• Second Grade: Sixty shi
• Third Grade: Fifty shi

In cases where there are no natural disasters such as floods, droughts, or locust infestations, if the yield is less than forty shi, the colony official shall receive a dianA formal penalty or a "poor" rating in an official performance evaluation.

Current System of Military-Agricultural Colonies

The Collected Statutes of the Great Ming states: Following the wars and famines at the founding of the dynasty, the people had no fixed dwellings, agricultural cultivation was completely abandoned, and food supplies and rations were depleted.

Initially, the various generals were ordered to distribute troops for farming in places such as Longjiang; later, WeiGuards and SuoBattalions units were established throughout the realm to create the formal military colony system.

These are overseen by the DusiRegional Military Commission. Each soldier is assigned fifty mu of land as one "share." In other cases, the allotment may be one hundred mu, seventy mu, thirty mu, or twenty mu, varying by region and land quality.

The troops are generally divided with thirty percent assigned to guard the cities and seventy percent assigned to farm grain. There are also alternative distributions such as 20/80, 40/60, or 10/90 ratios These ratios represent the "Defense-to-Farming" balance; in peaceful interior regions, more men farmed, while in dangerous border regions, more remained on active guard duty.