雇佣军 — 'hired troops' — covers both the historical sense (foreign-recruited regiments in pre-modern armies) and modern PMCs (private military contractors like the U.S.-based Blackwater
黑水公司 or the Russian Wagner Group
瓦格纳集团). In Chinese news, the term is heavily associated with conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and carries a slightly seedier connotation than 'private military'.
