Which of the following statements concerning the relationship of the imperial court to the provincial military elite is most accurate?
a. In the absence of an imperial military force, law and order broke down, leading both the emperor and high officials to hire provincial lords and their military retainers.
b. The provincial military elite was rapidly subjected to the aristocratic armies of the imperial court.
c. The provincial military elite was kept in check by the continued development of the imperial peasant-conscript army.
d. The emperor created an alliance with the Chinese that permitted him to crush the regional military lords.
e. The imperial court worked with the military elite to fight the growing civil unrest that was due to an unhappy peasantry.
Answer: A