본 연구는 15~16세기 對明 使行을 호위하는 중요한 역할을 점하고, 조선조 軍役에서 지속적으로 동원되었음에도 불구하고 그간 학계에서 주목하지 않았던 대명사행 護送軍의 운영 제도를 살펴보았다. 이로써 사행단의 구성원이었던 호송군의 역할을 환기하고, 군사 연구에서 결락으로 남아있던 호송군의 존재를 조명하고자 하였다. 명은 국초 요동의 連山關 동쪽에서부터 압록강에 이르는 넓은 요동일대에 대해 행정적으로나 군사적으로 장악하지 못하였다. 따라서 조선은 의주에서 요동도사가 있는 요양까지 420里 구간에서 조선사행단을 보호할 군인을 파견해야 했는데, 이들이 호송군이다. 호송군은 주로 평안도민에서 차출되었다. 호송군인을 통솔하여 사행단의 안전을 총지휘하는 자는 團練使였고, 그 아래에 하급 무반직인 旅帥와 隊正을 두어 단련사를 보좌하게 하였다. 단련사는 국초 평안도 지역의 형세와 군무를 잘 알고 있는 토착인인 천호로 임명하였지만, 점차 지방에 대한 중앙 행정력이 강화되는 가운데 수령으로 임명하였다가 16세기에 이르면 別侍衛, 甲士 등의 군관에서 주로 임명하였다. 호송군은 사행 호송시에 隊伍를 나누어 호송하였으며, 각기 軍號와 各隊의 칭호를 써서 行伍를 분변하였다. 지정된 군령을 어기면 처벌받았으나, 사행 호송중에 방어를 행하다가 사망 혹은 실종되면 戰死者 예우로 보상받았다. 국초부터 성종대 이전까지는 사행단 파견이 잦아서 북경 사행단만을 위해서 호송군을 1년에 약 420~600여일을 동원해야 했고, 16세기에는 약 280~350일 정도 동원했다. 국초에는 한 차례의 사행에 호송군을 30명 정도 동원하였지만, 세종 중엽부터 북방으로의 영토 확장이 강력하게 추진되면서 여진족과의 갈등이 깊어지자 호송군 수도 수백 명으로 증가하였다. 『經國大典』에 호송군 동원 인수를 규정하였지만, 지켜지지 않은 적이 많았다. 호송군은 국경을 지키는 일보다 고된 일이라고 이해되어, 호송 병력 유지에 대한 조선조정의 고민과 부담은 깊어질 수밖에 없었다.
Ming Dynasty was not able to seize the wide whole area of the Liaodong from east of Yonsan Gateway to the Yalu River during the foundation of a nation. As a result of it, Joseon Dynasty had to send soldiers to protect Joseon Envoy from Uiju County to Liaoyang where Liaodongdosi, the General headquarters, is located for the particular interval of 420 Li(里), who was referred to as "Convoy". This study aims to examine the Convoy System & Its Operation of Envoy to Ming which has not been paid attention from the academic world up to now. Furthermore, we"ve tried to provoke the attention of Convoy"s role that occupied protecting the Envoy to Ming during 15th and 16th Century, and to demonstrate the existence of Convoy which had been missed in the military research. The convoy was mainly recruited from people in Pyongan Province. The person who commanded the safety of Envoy group by controlling the convoy soldiers, was the training envoy, while at the lower public office, there were "Ryeosu" and "Daejeong", the lower military positions, which helped the training envoy. The training envoy was appointed as the native and head of thousand population, who was acquainted with the terrain and military affairs in Pyeongan Province at first, and as the central administrative power to local area was reinforced, it was appointed as "Chief". After then, it was changed as being appointed from the military soldiers such as "Byeolsi-wi" (the Special Military Soldier) and "Gap-sa"(the Soldier with suit of armor). The Convoy soldiers escorted the Envoy by dividing the parade of soldiers and punished when they violated the military rules. However, if they were killed and missing in the course of escort of Envoy, they were indemnified as the respectful treatment of the person killed in war. Since there used to be a frequent dispatch of Envoy from the foundation to the previous Ninth King, Seong-jong, they had to mobilize the convoy soldiers for Beijing Envoy for 420 ~ 600 days in a year, while 280 ~ 350 days in the 16th century. At the beginning, 30 convoys were mobilized at one time of Envoy, but as the territorial expansion to the northern region was carried forward from the middle of King Sejong with the deepened conflict with Jurchen, the number of convoy soldiers increased up to hundreds of soldiers. Though the number of convoy soldiers was regulated in Gyeonggukdaejeon, the code of law to the early Joseon Dynasty, it was not kept on several occasions. Working as a convey soldier was considered as harder than guarding the border, as a result of it, the agony of Choseon government for retaining the military troops of convoy came to appear in a number of different ways.