Ming-Mongol Wars

SteelBird said:

Well, I don't know much about these histories. However, watching from movies, when generals were fighting on a one-to-one basis, the soldiers were cheering for their own generals. If one side's general lost or killed, the soldiers of the winning side will flood over and kill the other side's soldiers. I also read that battles before the Warring-States period were mostly cart battles (车战). Both sides of the conflict usually have an appoint of where and when the battle will take place.

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Chariots where used long past the Warring States period. The Han empire still extensively used chariots until the end of its existence.

Warring State period were the true Feudal period in China that are conceptually similar to European feudalism. This social order deteriorated as importance of peasants in warfare and economy rose, and finally was gone for good after imperial traditions took root. At the early periods of Warring States (Spring and Autumn and before that) battles were pre-arranged in declaration of war, and chosen at time and location of connivence---usually on a plain at the boarder, in either spring or autumn, when the climate is nice, and avoiding the busy agricultural periods (like seeding and harvesting). War, pretty much was a statement of honour.

In those "golden days" of Chinese feudalism, war scales are rather limited. Chariots were manned by aristocrats (family clan members, scholar officials, generals etc). One chariot is followed by a team of 70 or more peasant soldiers (basically armed peasants). Slaves were deployed as canon folders and screens. Chariots lead charge, peasants follow behind, and their task were to protect the chariot, and un-lodge the chariot wheels from pot-holes etc when required. Usually 3 person per chariot: one aristocrat, who most often will be shooting arrows, one driver, and one guard with a long pole Ge. Those on the Zhou King's chariot will be all aristocrats. The peasants following each chariots are fiefs serving their own lord on the chariot. Each aristocrat is responsible for the well being of their own men (and slaves). Lesser aristocrats follow there own masters and lords. There is also a specific code that no one should attempt to shoot or harm a head of a state, irrelevant to status and hostility in a battle.

All of this were pretty much wiped away by the later stages of Warring States, when states were pretty much doing total war against one another, and mass peasant and slave armies will hack away anything in front of them, irrelevant to who they are.