In the previous article, the author talked to you about the Qing Dynasty's garrison in various provinces. For example, in the northwest region, the central plains, and so on, the situation of the garrison is completely different. Today, the author will talk to you about the Liangguang region, which belongs to the jurisdiction of the Governor of Liangguang. During the reign of the Qing Dynasty, more than 97,000 Eight Banner Army and Green Camp Army were stationed in the Liangguang area. With the size of nearly 100,000 troops, the Taiping Dynasty was prosperous, why did the Qing Dynasty station so many troops in Liangguang?
First, let's talk about the specific situation of the Qing Dynasty army. The army of the Qing Dynasty was divided into the Eight Banner Army and the Green Camp Army, and the Eight Banner Army belonged to the main force of the Qing Dynasty army, with a total strength of more than 200,000. Among them, more than 100,000 Eight Banners Army was stationed in the capital and directly subordinate provinces of the Qing Dynasty, known as the Eight Banners of Jingying, which belonged to the elite trump card of the Qing Dynasty. In the early period of Qing Dynasty rule, once there was a large-scale war, basically the elite of the Eight Banners of the Beijing Camp would be drawn to participate in the battle, such as the Shenji Battalion, the Xiao Riding Battalion, the Jianrui Battalion, and so on.
The other more than 100,000 Eight Banner Army are stationed in major cities and regions in various provinces across the country. The Green Battalion Army is responsible for assisting the Eight Flags Army in combat, with a total strength of more than 600,000 troops, nearly 3 times the strength of the Eight Flags Army. Combined with the Eight Banner Army and the Green Battalion Army, the number of standing troops in the Qing Dynasty reached more than 900,000 people. The Green Battalion Army is named after the Green Army Flag and belongs to the Prosperity Auxiliary Force of the Eight Flags Army. In the event of a large-scale war, the Qing Dynasty would draw the Green Battalion Army and the Eight Banner Army to form a mixed force and go to the front line to fight.
The deployment of the Qing Dynasty army was also very exquisite. For example, in frontier provinces, coastal provinces, and provinces prone to peasant uprisings, the number of troops stationed will be relatively large. Because the garrisons in these provinces have clear practical tasks and target directions. Next, we talk about the formation process of the Qing Dynasty's feudal officials. In 1368, after Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, according to the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty, on the basis of the provinces of the Yuan Dynasty, the division was further adjusted.
At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang learned from the lessons of the local organs of the Yuan Dynasty, abolished the local pingzhang government and other official positions, and established a pattern of troikas of envoys, envoys, and envoys. However, in the face of various practical problems, there are often cases of various agencies prevaricating with each other, which is not conducive to management. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty gradually set up inspectors, who were responsible for managing all aspects of the affairs of a certain province or several state capitals.
By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the northern nomadic cavalry continued to move south, and the Wokou invaded all parts of the southeast, relying on the strength of a province or a town, and they were no longer able to cope with the huge challenge. It takes several provinces or towns to fight jointly, but the provinces and towns are all at the same level. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty successively established the Viceroy of Jiliao, the Governor of The Three Sides, the Governor of Zhejiang, and so on. Please note that the viceroy of the Ming Dynasty was not a fixed post, and it was often the case that after the abolition of one viceroy post, another viceroy post was re-established.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty's rule, due to the need to face the two strong enemies of the Northeast Later Jin regime and the peasant rebel army at the same time. It was impossible to cope with relying on the governors of various places, and the Ming Dynasty set up a superintendent, who was personally commanded by the cabinet scholars. In the mid-17th century, the Qing Dynasty gradually established its own rule. It began to further adjust and improve the ming dynasty's official selection system. During the reign of the Qing Dynasty, the governor became the standard feudal governor.
The Qing Dynasty established a total of 8 viceroys, namely: the Viceroy of Zhili, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, the Viceroy of Liangguang, the Viceroy of Huguang, the Viceroy of Sichuan, the Viceroy of Fujian and Zhejiang, the Viceroy of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the Viceroy of Yungui. Among them, in addition to the viceroy of Sichuan and the viceroy directly under him, the rest of the governors administered two or three provinces, such as the viceroy of Liangguang, the viceroy of Liangjiang, and so on. Among the governors, the governor directly subordinate to the governor had the highest status, followed by the viceroy of Liangjiang and the viceroy of Liangguang. Because, the Jiangnan region and the Guangdong region belonged to the tax centers of the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty set up the Governor of Liangguang in the Liangguang region to restrain all the green battalion troops in the Liangguang area. In addition, the General of Guangzhou was established to manage all the Eight Banners Army in the Liangguang area. Both Guangdong and Guangxi have set up a series of civil and military officials, such as inspectors, admirals, envoys, and envoys. The Qing Dynasty only stationed more than 10,000 Green Battalion troops in Henan, Shandong, Shanxi and other provinces, and the number of the Eight Banner Army was very small. In the Liangguang area, the situation changed a lot, and the Qing Dynasty garrison in the Liangguang area was close to 100,000 people.
The first was the Eight Banner Army, which the Qing Dynasty stationed more than 4,000 Eight Banners Army in Guangdong Province, managed by General Guangzhou. The subsequent Green Camp Army, the Qing Dynasty in Guangdong Province, stationed more than 68,000 green camp troops, and more than 23,000 green camp troops in Guangxi Province. The Green Battalion Army alone, totaling more than 92,000 people. Together with more than 4,000 Eight Banners Army, there are more than 97,000 people in total. The Qing Dynasty stationed nearly 100,000 troops in the Liangguang area, as a southern coastal area, in the case of the Taiping Dynasty, why did the Qing Dynasty station so many troops in Liangguang?
First, in some parts of Guangxi, the people's customs are fierce and prone to peasant uprisings. Some of the toastmasters who occupied the local area still disobeyed the imperial court. The Qing Dynasty's land reform was not complete, in order to deter the toast in the Liangguang region and at the same time facilitate the suppression of peasant uprisings in various places. Second, the southern neighbor bordered Guangxi, and the southern neighbors have been looking at the Lingnan region of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty deployed large armies in the Liangguang area, also to deter the neighboring countries.
Second, beginning with the Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, the intrusion of Western colonists into China's southeastern coastal provinces gradually increased, and the Qing Dynasty gradually raised its guard. The Qing Dynasty stationed large armies in several coastal provinces, including Fujian Province, Zhejiang Province, and Guangdong Province. For example, the Qing Dynasty stationed more than 100,000 troops in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. Judging from the distribution of garrisons in various parts of the Qing Dynasty, the number of garrisons in the central provinces and the northeast region was relatively small. The three directions of northwest, southeast and southwest belong to important defensive areas.
Seriously speaking, there was no problem with the Qing Dynasty's garrison arrangement. Whether it was the First Opium War or the later Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the Liangguang region was the first to bear the brunt. However, due to a series of negative problems such as the corruption of the Qing Dynasty's officials, the abolition of armaments, and the closure of the country, the combat effectiveness of the army was rapidly degraded. By the time of the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banner Army and the Green Camp Army had lost their combat effectiveness, and the Qing Dynasty had to rely on regimental training in various places to suppress the White Lotus Sect uprising.
There are many more stories about the Qing Dynasty garrison, and the author will talk to you slowly in future articles.