This chapter analyzes Qiu Jun’s advice for building the Ming army into an effective force capable of defending a vast empire. It begins with an introductory analysis of some of his army-building proposals, such as emphasizing the importance of military matters, rejecting the staging of unjustified wars, maintaining a relatively small but highly trained army, restoring the ancient system of training farmers into paramilitary troops, respecting the military and its members while upholding the principle of civil supremacy, conducting military examinations to recruit officers and training cadets in military academies, and stressing the significance of firearms. The chapter ends with a tentative discussion of his influence on the expansion of the Ming military during and after Qiu Jun’s time. It further argues that some of Qiu’s suggestions, especially his objection to wars of aggression and expansion, are still relevant more than five centuries after his death.