Standing Armies

[Calthropstu]

I am currently playing in The Jade Regent and a question has come up.

What is the standing army of the country Amieko is trying to reclaim?

For all intents and purposes, it looks as though the person who sits on the throne of the Jade Empire controls an area similar to china. A friend of mine claimed that there was little to no standing army in ancient China, and for a period of time, he would be correct. A large amount of forces were done via conscription. Conscription, however, fell into disuse in the 6th century.

Does the country Ameiko is trying to reclaim use conscription, or does it have a standing army? And if it has a standing army would it have a standing army similar to that of 7th-13th century China?

[Ian Bell]

A better comparison would be feudal Japan. Minkai would not have a professional army in the Roman or Chinese sense, but instead likely personal retainers (samurai), conscripted peasants (ashigaru), and mercenaries (ronin).

That is a gross simplification, but it should get you started.