The Recruitment Of Southern Troops During The Late Ming Dynasty

This thesis makes the general assertion that the process of recruitment of the southern troops,who were mercenaries originating from Zhejiang province,during the late Ming.The southern troops were the Ming's backbone infantry regarded as brave and disciplined,they were deployed in the northeast frontier and the Korean peninsula.While they were more expensively consumed than other mercenaries,the southern troops were considered better at guarding the fortifications and fighting the Japanese and thus were in high demand.However,by the late 1620 s,these forces had become weaken,disorganized,and frequently caused problems,including riots.The recruitment of the southern troops,meanwhile,steadily disappeared.In addition to discussion of the abovementioned issued,the impacts of the recruitment on themselves and the local society will be also analyzed in this article.By examining the entire process of such recruitment,my research indicates that the reasons for the decline of southern troops are multifaceted.First of all,the huge military expenditure at war made it difficult for the Ming government to pay their salaries and to meet their special needs.Also,many brave and gifted generals or commanders of the southern troops had passed away by the 1620 s,resulting in inadequate training and chaos for soldiers,who were now composed of rascals and scoundrels instead of rustics and aristocrats.Moreover,change of the opponents was another major contributing factor that acquires attention.The Manchu,a rising power in the Liaodong area,was the formidable enemy they hardly resisted.This study then examines the impacts of the recruitment of the southern troops from Zhejiang province.Many soldiers,seduced by high wages,were unwilling to return to their hometowns and they assimilated into the north,while many others started the long trudge home and subsequently found that farming lifestyle unfitted for them.The country was depopulated and the land was barren by a long-term recruitment,and many veterans lost their livelihood.Although a few of them had gone rogue,which threatened the local stability,others embarked on a new career as traders and thus a vibrant local commercial zone emerged in late the Ming.