明中后期“浙兵半天下”现象考释

An Explanation for the Phenomenon that “Half of the Soldiers Come from Zhejiang Province” in the Middle and Late Ming Dynasty

浙兵多来自处州、绍兴、金华、台州等府,在嘉靖御倭中,经戚继光募练并入援福建剿倭而声名鹊起。至隆庆、万历朝国家多事时,南北边、海、腹里数省纷纷请调浙兵,以至于有"浙兵半天下"之说。其中原因,除浙兵自身优势及浙江人多地狭生存状态下浙人乐于应募外,也和多地主兵未练或练而未得实效有关。数省调用浙兵,造成浙江精壮人口流失、田地荒芜、国课难办、防御困难。因募浙兵费用相对较高,加之后期所调浙兵良莠不齐,易逃、易哗、战力变弱,调募浙兵的省份也受害不小。尽管朝廷曾下令停调浙兵,或限以定数,但碍于后期多事,浙兵依旧被大量调遣。明中后期浙兵招募与管理方式发生了变化,明末浙兵主体也从原来戚继光及其班底色彩较为浓厚的军队向国家普通客兵身份转化。

Zhejiang soldiers were mostly from Chuzhou(处州),Shaoxing(绍兴),Jinhua(金华),Taizhou(台州)and other prefectures of Zhejiang province.Being recruited and trained by Qi Jiguang(戚继光),and then helping Fujian(福建)to resist the Japanese pirates,the reputation of Zhejiang soldiers gradually rose to prominence.From the reigns of Longqing(隆庆)and Wanli(万历),many provinces,no matter in the South or in the North,had asked for the assistance of Zhejiang soldiers,so much so that there was a saying"half of the soldiers come from Zhejiang province".The causes of this phenomenon were not only the advantages of Zhejiang soldiers and the situation of Zhejiang with a large population and insufficient lands,but also the fact that local soldiers in other provinces were either not trained or made no notable progress in training.The invoking of Zhejiang soldiers by many provinces had various adverse effects on Zhejiang province,such as the loss of capable labor force,the devastation of farming lands,the difficulties in collecting national tax and the weakening of defense.Due to the relatively high cost of recruiting Zhejiang soldiers,the deteriorating quality of the soldiers in the later period,and the perennial problems of deserting and mutiny,the provinces which recruited Zhejiang soldiers also suffered a lot in the late Ming dynasty.Although the imperial court had called off the recruitment of Zhejiang soldiers,or limited it to a fixed number,soldiers from Zhejiang province were still dispatched in large numbers to other provinces.In the middle and late Ming dynasty,the recruitment and management of Zhejiang soldiers underwent some changes.The main body of Zhejiang soldiers changed from an army deeply influenced by Qi Jiguang(戚继光)and his crew to an ordinary member of the country’s numerous recruits.