Chinas best dynastic military?

Large powerful horses that can carry soldier with full armor isn't bred in this world until late in the Persian Empire from horses obtained from Central Asia. China only got these horses from the Parthian Empire trading with bolts of silk. So it is only until the Han Dynasty were heavy cavalry was possible. Neither did the Huns nor people in the West are able of such heavy cavalry until the large horses were more widespread. In addition to that, it needed the invention of the stirrup to keep the rider stable. So true heavy cavalry becomes possible for China starting at late Han onwards.

The Song Dynasty may not be militarily the strongest, but compared to dynasties before and after, it is probably the most technologically innovative. The Song is a dynasty more of culture and intellect than of imperial conquest like the Han or Tang, and its military weakness and desperation meant it is always looking for innovative means of warfare.

This is the dynasty that is credited with the invention of gunpowder. Not just gunpowder, but also its sordid uses in rockets, mines, grenades, right even to operational concepts of MLRS, where horse drawn wagons are filled with boxes of rockets tipped with spear heads and flammables.

It is also the dynasty that is the first to have a standing navy where fertile minds worked in a variety of designs. Combined with the uses of gunpowder,. the ships were probably the first in the world to fire rockets. An innovation is the use of a small hand held hull which is powered by a rocket in one end, with flammables or explosives on the other end. It is lowered in the water and pointed to the target by hand, and then the rocket is ignited, sending the miniship skimming on the water surface to its destructive course. That is practically what a torpedo is all about.

I must say I hate the Song goverment. What make them go mad to feed an army of 2.5 million. Most of them are week and in lack of weapon. The Song goverment bribed these bandits and rebel army with money and status. It solve some problem but brought much more. Another problem is the king collected so many guard unit that its number hit 80 thousand. Don't think them high. They just a group of prople who only know how to steal money from goverment and citizens.

You can't accuse Song government too much, because they did not have enough horses, this was a very important difference situation compare with Han or Tang dynasty.

《孙子兵法与三十六计》这部连续剧正在央视十二套热播，下午与晚间都有播映。

the cctv12

i am chinese,i think warring states is great.because many great people like sun zi

I think Qin's Amry is best !

but you must know qin is a kingdom in warring states until qin conquer the six kingdom!

あきのかぜ said:

Some guy watch the Hero and say Qin is the best. After all, could you see they still use bronze and with no gun powder? And though they win the war against Huns. They didn't have strong cavalry. Professor from Xi'an say they find no spears around the clay cavalry. But they find part of crossbow. Also, these cavalry didn't armed with heavy armor and even don't have helmet.
Ming had every thing China should have. Heavy armored cavalry, fast horse archers (they carry bows, swords and spear. they are able to handle every task.) , firegun band, elephant. Thought the goverment is weak, the army strong

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Your right but Ming is 1100s-1300s that is pretty late and the mention of archers disgust me. Ming is an era of corruption, c'mon 9th century had the gunpowder formula been invented by alchemists.

But Qin, that is before Christ by long, what they had is amazing for that time.

IMO the best was Tang era of the silkroad, though with less expansion much more influence to it's asian counterparts, Korea, Vietnam, etc