page_title: Military of the Ming dynasty
section_title: Wolf troops
hierarchical_section_title: Military of the Ming dynasty / Origins of soldiers / Wolf troops
caption_attribution_description: English: Ming soldiers
context_page_description: The military of the Ming dynasty was the military apparatus of China from 1368 to 1644. It was founded in 1368 during the Red Turban Rebellion by the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang. The military was initially organised along largely hereditary lines and soldiers were meant to serve in self-sufficient agricultural communities. They were grouped into guards and battalions, otherwise known as the wei-suo system. This hereditary guard battalion system went into decline around 1450 and was discarded in favor of mercenaries a century later.
context_section_description: The Ming dynasty sometimes employed "martial minorities" such as the "wolf troops" of Guangxi as shock infantry.
caption: Depiction of wolf warriors.
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