明代的夜不收军

The Ye-bu-shou Troops of the Ming Dynasty

明代夜不收军制的创制与发展,起于边防、战阵之需要,其实施运行并非因循守旧、一成不变,而是视边防情势变动而不断调整,其分布范围亦因此渐由西北二边推至东南沿海及西南边境,折射出因时变革的精神。史籍中所载夜不收名目繁杂,且执行的任务众多,受此影响,学界多将其界定为刺探与传递情报的哨探或间谍,或是边防中之一般杂役。通过明代边关志书的记载,可以看出夜不收群体实际上也有区别:直属于镇、卫的夜不收,直接听从本官指挥,主要承担侦察事务,有时也会执行主官临时指令,甚至充当贴身侍卫及充作仪仗队;驻守及巡视墩台的夜不收,遇有敌情,传报腹里也是他们的职责所在。

The so called Ye-bu-shou(夜不收,not to be collected even during the night) was a kind of troops established in frontiers of the Ming dynasty.They were mainly used in the northeast border in the beginning and then applied in the southeast and southwest.Previous researches usually identify the duties of this kind of troops as spying,investigating,and communicating.This study finds that they might also function as body guards or guards of honour.