Ming Chinese armies were formed around the Wei-suo tradition where military service was an inherited profession. This ensured the availability of a standing army accessible by the Empire at all times, but as Chinese society embraced Confucian values that shunned wars, soldiers were seen as second class citizens. Training camps and military campaigns were run by civilian bureaucrats (scholars) instead of experienced generals. This led to mismanagement of military resources and low morale. Despite all this, the Ming army was still a viable fighting force and was active in quelling rebellions, protecting the borders and fighting pirates with varying degrees of success.

The Chinese employed combined arms tactics. Even at the smallest scale, squads were composed of a mixture of missile and melee troops. This ensured tactical flexibility to suit the ever-changing battlefield situation. These mixed battalions are indicated as “protected” in the game.

The Ming was basically a shooting army and was best suited to fighting their cavalry-based northern rivals like the Mongols and Jurchen. In addition to bows and crossbows, gunpowder weapons were extensively used. These weapons ranged from crude handguns to large artillery pieces. The simplest of all firearms were the antiquated fire lances and handguns. These had poor accuracy and were difficult to reload. Despite these disadvantages, however, they were still used extensively by Northern Ming armies even after the advent of the matchlock. Matchlocks, on the other hand, were more common among Southern Ming armies due to more contact with Western merchants.

The Ming had a staggering arsenal of artillery pieces of both indigenous and Western design. They also employed rocket arrow launchers. These cannons have evocative names Hu Dun Pao (Crouching Tiger Cannon), Wudi Da Jiang Jun Pao (Invincible General Cannon) or Hong Yi Pao (Red Barbarian Cannon).

Cavalry was important, though Northern Ming armies had more mounted troops than Southern Ming armies. These horsemen were mostly armed with bows and melee weapons.

Tribal warriors were often employed in campaigns and were recognised for their fierce charges.

As for personal protection, elite soldiers wore lamellar, scale, and brigandine armour while the regular troops wore padded cloth or no armour at all. Southern troops wore light but sturdy amour made of rattan. In the game, non-elite Ming troops are unarmoured.

Joseon Korean
Joseon Korea also followed Confucian ideals and had a caste system. The population was divided into the yangban (scholarly aristocrats), sangmin (commoners) and cheonmin (lower class and slaves). The yangban held most of the wealth and took on government and military posts. The sangmin were labourers and were subject to conscription.

The Koreans had a long tradition of archery and made use of powerful composite reflex bows. A majority of the population practiced archery, especially the yangban and the sangmin who were aspiring to gain status. But a long period of peace degraded the military’s efficiency and it was considered as a mere rabble when the Japanese invaded in 1592. The best troops were the Northern Cavalry (horse archers) which defended the borders against the Jurchen. Much of the cavalry arm was destroyed by the Japanese during the battles of Chungju and Imjin River. The Sogo system was introduced in 1593 so that the Koreans could build a new professional standing army.

The Korean army was organized into battalions of mixed ranged and melee weapons. The most prominent missile weapon was the gakgung (composite reflex bow). Prior to the invasion, the Koreans did not bother adopting firearms because of the accuracy and speed of their bows. But bows proved to be inadequate against Japanese armour and tactics. They soon learned that the matchlock, though individually slow and inaccurate, could be quite devastating when fired en masse.

The Sogo reform recognised the importance of firearms. In close combat, the Joseon used a variety of polearms in the form of spears and tridents. These are classified as Heavy Weapon in the game.

Like the Chinese, the Koreans possessed several forms of artillery including the famous Hwacha rocket arrow launcher. Artillery was an important factor that contributed to the success of the Korean navy.

Korean soldiers were largely unarmoured except for the heavy mounted troops and generals, who wore brigandine armour.


During the Imjin War, resistance fighters called the uibyeong (righteous army) performed guerrilla raids and provided support during battles. They wielded various ranged and close combat weaponry and were sometimes thought to be better than the regular Joseon troops. Buddhist monks called the sungbyeong also joined the fight against the Japanese and gained a reputation for ferocity and bravery on the battlefield.
