Research On The Selection Mechanism Of "Contingent Military Service "Personnel In The Qing-Zunghar Campaigns(1688-1735)

"Contingent Military Service"(junqian xiaoli)refers to the wartime recruits both inside and outside the official registers during the Qing,who contributed to the military actions by offering advice,participating combats,and transporting supplies.During the wartime,the Manchu rulers brought the junqian xiaoli personnel into the military system,according to their changing military objectives and available resources.The changing situations the rulers faced defined and decided the selection criteria they adopted.Upon conquering China in 1644,due to the mounting challenges to rule the Han population with limited numbers of Manchu personnel,the Manchu regime began to loosen the criteria for military recruitment,resulting in the decreased emphasis on status and capability.After the regime consolidated the rule,especially after both civil and military official recruitment became regularized,meritocracy returned to the core of the principles of selecting junqian xiaoli personnel.The wars launched during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns toward the northwestern frontiers can thus serve as a window to look at the changes of the junqian xiaoli policies and its relevance to the Qing governance.Because the majority of the Qing-Zunghar campaigns was conducted at the remote borders of Mobei,Northwest,and Southwest,timely delivery of military supplies became the key.In 1696,the shortage of personnel to deliver military supplies forced the Kangxi emperor to allow officials and civilians who had financial resources and were willing to serve in the army to participate,and granted promotions thereafter.During the military campaigns toward Qinghai and Tibet in 1716-1724,the distance of transportation and the harsh geographical conditions further increased the difficulty,forcing the court to further loosen the criteria of selecting military personnel.Thanks to the favorable policies of the court,financial contributions eventually overrode the status and the ability to become the primary criteria for the selection of junqian xiaoli personnel.However,the persecution of Nian Gengyao in 1725 exposed the problems of the junqian xiaoli selection mechanism by merely counting on financial contributions,opening the way for the reform to elevate the qualifications of the military personnel.In 1727,merchants replaced officials to take on the deliveries of military provisions,which allowed the Yongzheng emperor to integrate the previously separate principles of the financial contributions and the ability,thus forging a new military personnel selection mechanism.