There is a very interesting phenomenon in the Qing Dynasty, when we look through the historical materials, we will find that there is a Qing generation, whether it is for internal or external use of troops, the scale of the army is not large, rarely more than 100,000. This is in stark contrast to the dynasties.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, hundreds of thousands of people fought wars, almost all the strength of the whole country in one battle. Even after the Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the scale of military use was very large, such as the famous "Change of Tumu Fort", Ming Yingzong personally led an army of 500,000 to conquest.
The Qing Dynasty also established the country with martial arts, but from the Nurhaci period onwards, the size of the army was not very large. During the Guanwai period, the Manchu population was only a few hundred thousand, and in this case, there were naturally not enough soldiers, and they could only work quality.
In the Qianlong period, the country was at its peak, and its politics, economy, and military were among the best in the world. However, we found that the Qianlong Dynasty was extremely prosperous in martial arts, and there were ten major martial arts. But no matter which time the troops were used, the number of troops was only 30,000 or 50,000. So, why did this happen in the Qing Dynasty?
First of all, it should be noted that the Qing Dynasty was the most populous of all the dynasties, and Qianlong reached a population of 300 million in his later years. Even the number of troops was quite large, from kangxi to the Xianfeng Dynasty, it was maintained at about 800,000 people. It can be seen that the size of the army in the Qing Dynasty was not small, however, every time the imperial court used troops, it would not send out hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops, which was mainly for several reasons.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > First, all soldiers must first use the eight flags</h1>
The number of eight flags troops has always been maintained at about 200,000 people, and this number has not changed much. On the surface, this number is also considerable, but readers who understand the history of the Qing Dynasty know that the Eight Banners are divided into two systems, one is the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing, and the other is the Eight Banners stationed in the provinces.
The number of people stationed in the Eight Banners of Beijing is about 100,000, and this unit is an elite division that guards Gyeonggi and maintains the safety of the imperial family. The names of the Horse Riding Battalion, the Forward Battalion, the Firearms Battalion, the Jianrui Battalion, and so on, which are often mentioned in the historical data, are all based in the Eight Banners of Beijing. These troops were either stationed in the city of Beijing or on the outskirts of Beijing, and they could be assembled as soon as the emperor gave the order.
The number of people stationed in the provinces of Baqi is also about 100,000, but it is relatively scattered. Generally speaking, there are only a few thousand people stationed in each province, and there are only a few hundred or even dozens of people in those less important places. The main task of these garrisons in the Eight Banners was to monitor the Han Chinese, to guard the military dangers, and to have little opportunity to go into battle and kill the enemy.
When the state encounters military affairs, under normal circumstances, it is necessary to mobilize the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing, and the Qianlong Dynasty used troops, which is basically the case. However, the total number of the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing is only 100,000, and it is impossible to send out all of them, so only a few tens of thousands of them can be called. Of course, in the case of tight troops, the Green Battalion army will also be mobilized, but the number will not be too large.
The total number of troops in the Green Battalion is as high as 600,000, and it is said that there is a lot of room for the deployment of troops. However, Qing rule has always been like the Green Camp as a dry son, no matter in terms of armament, Feng Lu can not be compared with the Eight Banner Army, moreover, the composition of the Green Camp is also more complex, the overall combat effectiveness is not strong.
In addition, the Qing Dynasty's heaviest military merits, such a good thing as killing the enemy in battle, can never be shared by the Green Camp. Another point is also crucial, that is, the Qing rulers have always regarded the Eight Banners as the foundation of the country, and if a large number of Green Camp troops are mobilized, won't people think that the Eight Banners are useless, and from the perspective of self-esteem, it is also unacceptable.
It was only when it came to the Jiaqing Dynasty that the Eight Banners were not contentious, the battalion was corrupt, and the generals and soldiers were greedy and afraid of death, that they had no choice but to use the Green Camp on a large scale. In the process of suppressing the White Lotus Sect uprising, the Green Camp was the absolute main force.
Second, the burden of military expenditure is too heavy
The Qing Dynasty was different from previous dynasties, and the cost of using soldiers was extremely high. While other dynastic military states only needed to provide grain and grass and supply armaments, the situation in the Qing Dynasty was much more complicated. In addition to the basic supply of food, grass and armaments, there are many financial expenditures.
The Qing Dynasty formulated a system of wartime salaries with soldiers. Taking the Eight Banners Army as an example, in addition to the fixed expenditure of the army, there are two major items: the expedition to carry silver and the salt and vegetable silver.
The silver for the expedition was issued at one time, and this figure was not fixed during the Shunzhi period. After the Kangxi Dynasty, a custom was formed, stipulating that each soldier received 15 taels. 15 twos does not seem to be much, but tens of thousands of people are hundreds of thousands of taels, which is not a small amount.
As for the officers, this number is even higher, and in the last year of the Yongzheng Dynasty, the number of soldiers in the northwest stipulated the amount of silver for officers: 5,000 taels for the generals, 3,000 taels for the deputy generals, 1,000 taels for the counsellors, 200 taels for the battalion commander, 150 taels for zhang jing, 120 taels for the chief officers, 80 taels for the pen-and-post style, and 50 taels for the forward school, the horse riding school, and the military school.
The expedition to salt and vegetable silver also underwent several changes, the Qianlong period formed a custom, the provisions are taken on a monthly basis, the general is 15 taels per month, the general generals range from 10 to 5 taels, and the soldiers are 3 taels. If the use of troops is long, the cost can be as high as several million.
In addition to the above expenses, there are pensions, rewards, etc., and there are many craftsmen and civilians accompanying the army to fight the war, and the number of these people is more than that of the army. Unlike other dynasties, these craftsmen and servants were not requisitioned for free. The qing dynasty law stipulates that ordinary people need to undertake military service, generally to build water conservancy projects, royal projects and the like, but there is no obligation to serve before the army, and if requisitioned, they must be paid. The expenses are enormous, and they would never have come down without millions of taels.
For example, Qianlong used only more than 50,000 troops to use troops against Jinchuan, but this battle was fought very badly, not only taking a long time, but also costing hundreds of millions of taels. It can be seen from this that the expenditure on the use of troops in the Qing Dynasty was very huge, and tens of thousands of people were already overwhelmed, let alone hundreds of thousands.