How did the Ming guard-post military system support soldiers through farming?

The Ming dynasty military, known as the weisuo or "guard-post" system, supported its soldiers through a self-sustaining agricultural model.12

To avoid burdening the civilian population, the state assigned military units—garrisoned at strategic locations, frontiers, and near the capital—state-owned agricultural lands. Soldiers were expected to alternate between their military duties and farm labor, allowing them to become self-supporting.32

This system was central to the Hongwu emperor's vision of a military that could maintain itself during times of peace. In compensation for their service and the hereditary nature of their positions, these military families were granted exemptions from the labor services typically levied by the state on civilian households. While this arrangement initially provided stability, the system eventually fell into disarray by the mid-16th century as the hereditary troops became increasingly uninterested in warfare.231