In the Qianlong period, the main reasons why the scale of troops used in each foreign campaign or counterinsurgency was controlled at about tens of thousands were as follows:
1. Logistical supply difficulties: During the Qing Dynasty, the northwest and southwest regions were vast and sparsely populated, the natural environment was harsh, and the transportation was inconvenient, and the long-distance operation of large-scale armies was a great test for the logistics support system. Transporting food, weaponry, and personnel requires long distances and is costly. Especially for ancient societies, expeditions that maintained large armies were extremely expensive without the support of modern means of transportation and efficient logistics networks.
2. Financial pressures: Every war requires huge military expenditures, and as the scope of military operations expands, the size of the logistics team means more financial expenditures. Although the national strength was strong during the Qianlong period, in order to maintain the country's long-term stability and economic development, it was necessary to carefully consider the cost of war and avoid the national financial crisis caused by excessive consumption of the national treasury.
3. Professionalization and Elite of the Army: During the Qianlong period, the Qing army gradually moved towards professionalization, focusing on improving the quality of individual soldiers and the overall combat effectiveness of the troops, and striving to achieve strategic goals with fewer elite troops. As a result, Qianlong was more inclined to send a regularly trained and battle-experienced army than simply to pursue numerical superiority.
4. Political and administrative considerations: The Qing Dynasty's increased centralization of power and the weakening of local feudal kings did not allow the possession of large-scale private troops, resulting in a relatively limited number of troops that could be directly mobilized by the imperial court. At the same time, in order to avoid excessive local power, we also try not to concentrate too many troops in a certain area.
To sum up, during the Qianlong period, the imperial court selectively used smaller but more elite troops to carry out military tasks according to the actual situation and a comprehensive assessment of the efficiency and economic bearing capacity of the war, so as to ensure that it could effectively maintain the stability of the frontier and not cause major upheavals in the domestic economic and social order.
