Study of Institutional Culture in Ancient Tujia Society—Military System Culture (II)
Section 2: The Tujia Army System. From the Song Dynasty through the Yuan and Ming to the early Qing, the central dynasty established a Tujia army composed of Tujia people in Tujia areas, using it as an important armed force to control the region and fight for the court. 1. Formation and Development of the Tujia Army. The 'Tujia Army,' also called 'crossbowmen,' 'righteous army,' 'Tujia militia,' etc...
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Section 2 The Tujia Army System
Beginning in the Song dynasty, through the Yuan and Ming and into the early Qing, the central dynasties established in the Tujia areas a Tujia army composed of Tujia people, using the Tujia army as an important armed force for controlling the Tujia areas and for campaigning in service of the court.
I. The Formation and Development of the Tujia Army
"Tujia army," also called "crossbowmen," "righteous army," "Tujia levies," and so on, took zhai, zha, and zhai as units. Its leaders were held by Tujia people and could be freely inherited, and it was stationed for long periods in Chenzhou, Yuanzhou, Shizhou, and other places at the border between Han Chinese and Tujia. The Tujia army system began in the Song dynasty and was developed and perfected during the Yuan and Ming periods. After gaitu guiliu, the Tujia army system was abolished.
(1) The Formation and Rise of the Tujia Army
Based on the ethnic policy of "using barbarians to control barbarians" and the political intention of making up for insufficient troops stationed in the Tujia areas, the Song dynasty organized a Tujia army in the Tujia areas. The Song dynasty established zhai, zha, zhai, and bao at the camps where the Tujia army was stationed. "A zhai was established at a place of strategic danger and control; a zhai official was appointed to gather the Tujia army and drill them in martial skills in order to guard against bandits." Zhai, zha, zhai, and bao were the organizational units of the Tujia army; zha, zhai, and bao were subordinate to the zhai, and the zhai commanded the army. The leaders of the Tujia army were held by Tujia chiefs and could be inherited. The Tujia armies of various places were subordinate to the various zhou and under the jurisdiction of the Hubei pacification commissioner. The reasons the Song dynasty established the Tujia army were mainly the following three points:
First, to guard against resistance from the people of the Tujia areas, the ethnic policy of "using one minority to control another" was implemented. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty's establishment, it not only failed to complete the task of unifying the northern region, but also had very limited actual rule over the southern region. For a central regime with very limited economic and military power, the only choice for resolving political rule in ethnic areas was to continue the jimi (loose rein) system, that is, using one part of the same ethnic minority to suppress and check another part; using one ethnic minority to suppress and check another ethnic minority. Recruiting a portion of the Tujia people to form local armed forces to guard against possible unrest in the region was precisely the continued application of the jimi policy since the Qin and Han dynasties.
Second, recruiting soldiers to reinforce the government's military strength in the south was the direct reason for establishing the tu army. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty's establishment, the main military forces were deployed in the north, while the forces stationed in the south, including the Tujia areas, were very limited. To make up for the court's shortage of soldiers, recruiting local people to enlist became an expedient measure. In addition, the court's garrison troops in the southern ethnic areas were mostly northerners, who were neither familiar with the southern terrain nor adapted to the southern climate. "The south is hot and humid, with poisonous miasma in the valleys, and one cannot cross the mountain ridges. If Chinese people are used for garrison duty, ten are not worth one." If local ethnic minorities were recruited as soldiers, twice the result could be achieved with half the effort. "Therefore, in ancient times, when barbarians were used to attack barbarians, the strong and weak were evenly matched. Thus the people along the frontier were recruited for use, wasteland was opened for them to cultivate, generous rewards were offered to motivate them. Galloping, shooting, wrestling, and fighting were what they had long accumulated. This saved the county officials' expenses and reduced the labor of transporting provisions. Many spies were sent out, and heavy bribes were used to lure their prominent clans, causing them to attack the south. Compared with using Chinese people, the benefit was tenfold." In view of this, "establishing righteous army local levies in Shizhou and Qianzhong to defend the border frontiers was the key to this dynasty's control."
Finally, the establishment of the tu army was also related to the Southern Song government's strategic considerations in resisting the Mongol regime. The Tujia inhabited areas were the necessary route from the Central Plains into the southwest and had always been a contested strategic location, with extremely important strategic significance. "Shizhou externally shields Kuixia and internally winds through streams and mountains. The roads are extremely dangerous and obstructed, and the Man and Liao peoples are intermingled. Those who from Bashu overlook Jingchu constantly take this as a route for surprise attacks." To prevent the increasingly powerful Mongol army from advancing southward, the Southern Song regime attached importance to military deployment in the southwest, stationing heavy troops in Xiangyang and other places, and also deploying considerable forces in Zigui, Songzi, and other places bordering the Tujia areas. Therefore, establishing a brave and battle-capable tu army in the Tujia areas could appropriately strengthen the overall strength of the Song army in resisting the Mongol army's southward advance.
(II) The Development and Growth of the Tu Army
During the Yuan and Ming periods, the tu army in the Tujia areas underwent further development and growth. Not only did the number of tu soldiers increase substantially, but the combat capability of the tu army also improved significantly. Whether in terms of quantity or quality, the tu army in the Tujia areas was a military force that could not be underestimated.
The development and growth of the tu army were first manifested in the increase in the number of tu soldiers and the expansion of their ranks. During the Ming Dynasty, the Ming central government authorized the tusi in the Tujia areas to conscript Tujia people into military service at will, causing the number of tu army conscriptions to rise sharply, ranging from several thousand at the least to over ten thousand or even tens of thousands at the most. For example, in the twenty-seventh year of Wanli (1599), when Bozhou tusi Yang Yinglong rebelled, the forces were divided into eight routes: four routes of Sichuan troops, three routes of Guizhou troops, and one route of Chu troops. "Each route had thirty thousand soldiers, with government troops making up three-tenths and tu soldiers making up seven-tenths." This shows the large scale of the Ming Dynasty tu army. Li Hualong, the commander who suppressed the Bozhou Yang Yinglong rebellion, stated in Volume Eight of his Pingbo Quanshu, "Ordering Shinan to Transfer Shizhou Troops," that the troops called up were: "Shinan Xuanfu Commission tu soldiers 3,000; Rongmei Xuanfu Commission tu soldiers 2,000; Longtan Anfu Commission tu soldiers 500; Sanmao Xuanfu Commission tu soldiers 1,000; Dawang Anfu Commission tu soldiers 500; Zhongdong Anfu Commission tu soldiers 500; Zhongxiao Anfu Commission tu soldiers 500." On this occasion, more than 8,000 Tujia tu soldiers were conscripted in total. In the forty-seventh year of Wanli (1619), Zhou Xiling, a supervising secretary in the Ministry of War, submitted a memorial saying, "For daring to fight, none compare to tu soldiers. In Sichuan's Bochuan, 20,000 can be obtained; in Youyang and Shizhu, 10,000 can be obtained; in Huguang's Yongshun, 40,000 can be obtained. Recently, Shuixi and Yongning have become entangled; why not let them perform meritorious service to redeem themselves?" Thereupon, the various tusi in the Tujia areas rushed to respond to the call-up, "often privately exceeding the official number by a factor of two. For example, when 3,000 were called up, 6,000 would arrive; when 5,000 were called up, 10,000 would arrive."
The development and growth of the tu army were also manifested in the improvement of the tu soldiers' combat quality and the enhancement of their combat capability. In the Tujia areas, the tu army of the Yongshun tusi was the strongest and deeply favored by the court. "The various xuanwei of Yongshun and Baoping inherited wealth and power for generations. Whenever there was a campaign, they would always be willing to lead soldiers with spears at the front. The state also relied on them for punitive expeditions. Therefore, the Yongshun and Baoping troops were known as the elite." During the Jiaqing period of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese pirate scourge was severe. The court's official army generals were incompetent, and the government soldiers were cowardly and afraid of death. The official army's combat effectiveness was extremely poor and could not resist the constant harassment of Japanese pirates, putting the southeastern coastal frontier in grave danger. In desperation, both the court and the public strongly advocated transferring the Yongshun and Baojing xuanwei commissions to lead tu armies to the anti-Japanese front. They repeatedly defeated the invading Japanese pirates and won several major victories in succession. On the battlefield of resisting Japanese pirates along the southeastern coast, the Tujia tu army repeatedly established outstanding merits, until the Japanese pirate scourge was completely eliminated, becoming a rapidly rising elite force in the anti-Japanese struggle and being praised as "first in military merit in the southeast." These examples are sufficient to show that the tu army in the Tujia areas had extremely strong combat capability.
II. Military Activities of the Tu Army
As an important armed force of the feudal dynasty, the tu army in the Tujia areas was controlled and conscripted by the court and participated in a series of military activities organized by the central dynastic court. Its basic duties were reflected in two aspects: first, internally, to suppress ethnic minority uprisings and peasant uprisings in the region or other regions; second, externally, to respond to the central dynasty's conscription and cooperate with the court's official troops in resisting foreign invasion.
(I) Participation in Military Activities Organized by the Dynasty to Suppress Ethnic Minority Uprisings
During the Song Dynasty, the Song court repeatedly dispatched tu armies to suppress ethnic uprisings in Tujia and other ethnic minority areas. For example, from the third to fifth years of Xianping (1000-1002) during Emperor Zhenzong's reign, ethnic minorities in the Shizhou area rebelled against the Song, and "the Sheng Man of Shizhou captured more than four hundred people from Hankou." To quell the rebellion, the Song court sent "Tian Chengjin, leader of the Gaozhou righteous army, to lead tu soldiers in cooperation with government troops in a punitive expedition," and the Shizhou Man were defeated. Another example: in the first year of Chongning (1102) during Emperor Huizong's reign, the Yao people in Chenzhou, Yuanzhou, and other places launched a large-scale uprising against the Song. The Song court's local rule was greatly threatened. To quell the resistance, while transferring large numbers of court troops for suppression, the Song court also "assessed and recruited tu levies from Shizhou and Qianzhou to attack the Chen and Yuan mountain Yao." In the same year, the tu army also participated in suppressing uprisings of ethnic minorities in Luzhou and other places. "Shizhou and Qianzhou are close to the Man. Their young men are fierce and nimble, using wooden crossbows and poisoned arrows, and are agile in battle. The court once organized them into the Loyal and Righteous Army. Later, when the Man of Luzhou, Chezhou, and Shiquan rebelled, they were all used."
During the Ming Dynasty, the Ming court used tu soldiers as tools of war, "using barbarians to attack barbarians," to suppress ethnic minority uprisings in ethnic areas. For example, in the nineteenth year of Jiajing (1540), Miao people such as Hou Dabao of Wuzhai Si rebelled, and the Yongshun and Baojing tusi suppressed them with a thousand tu soldiers. In the same year, the Yongshun tusi "pacified" eleven Miao villages, and the Yongshun and Baojing tusi entered La'er Mountain and "killed or captured" 38 Miao leaders. In the twenty-first year (1542), the Yongshun and Baojing tusi advanced to suppress Ganzi Ping, where Miao people such as Long Musou resisted. In the twenty-third year (1544), Yongshun tusi Peng Zongshun and others suppressed Miao resistance in the La'er Mountain and Leigong Mountain areas, "beheading more than seven hundred and seventy."
(II) Participation in Military Activities Organized by the Dynasty to Suppress Han Chinese Peasant Uprisings and Tusi Rebellions
In the middle and late Northern Song period, peasant Wang Xiaobo of Qingcheng County, Sichuan, launched an uprising against the Song. Subsequently, Li Shun rebelled in Shu, and the Northern Song dynasty's rule in Sichuan was greatly threatened. Therefore, Chang Side was sent to lead troops to suppress them, and "tu armies from nearby prefectures" were ordered to join the campaign. With the cooperation of the tu army, the Song army launched a major offensive against the peasant rebel army, "killing three thousand rebels at Liangshan," and the peasant army suffered heavy losses. After the main forces of Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun were defeated, Li Shun led the remaining rebel forces to fight in the eastern Sichuan region. The Song army again gathered tu armies to participate in suppressing Li Shun's remaining forces that had entered eastern Sichuan. Li Shun's rebel army was defeated again, and its remaining forces, led by Zhang Yu, moved into the western Hubei region. The tu army of western Hubei was ordered to intercept Zhang Yu's rebel army. "The rebels attacked Shizhou, and Commander Huang Xixun drove them off." Zhang Yu's peasant army was completely annihilated.
In the sixth month of the seventh year of Shaoxing (1137), a peasant uprising broke out in the Jinghu region. "Since the Jingkang era, bandits had entrenched themselves in Jinghu, and the area under Lizhou was especially affected." Tu armies from Chenzhou and Yuanzhou were ordered to participate in suppressing the rebel army. "Xiang Sisheng of Cili County, long known as a Xidong returnee to civilization, protected the territory and brought peace to the people. He prevented the bandit party from plundering, and Sisheng eventually killed the Hu bandit Lei Dejin. He ordered the government troops to pacify Liu Zhi and others, while Peng Yongjian, Yongzheng, Yongquan, Yongsheng, and Si together offered assistance to the government troops, pacifying more than forty stockades and devoting themselves wholeheartedly to loyalty. They should be granted additional rewards."
In the eleventh year of Hongzhi (1498) of the Ming Dynasty, Mi Lu, wife of Long Chang, the tu magistrate of Pu'an Prefecture in Guizhou, gathered followers with camp commander A Bao and Dai'er and others to rebel against the Ming, calling herself "Invincible Great King." In the fourteenth year of Hongzhi (1501), she had more than ten thousand followers and attacked the Ming army at garrison farms and guard stations, capturing the supervising eunuch Yang You and killing Provincial Judge Liu Fu, Regional Commander Li Zongwu, and many others. The Ming dynasty sent Minister of War Wang Shi to mobilize tens of thousands of government and tu troops in eight routes. The tusi of Yongshun, Baojing, Youyang, and others in the Tujia areas all led tu armies to join. "In the fourteenth year of Hongzhi, 5,000 Youyang troops were called up to assist in suppressing the Guizhou rebel Mi Lu." The Baojing tusi, because it "had just received orders, was exempted from the next year's court audience," and the Yongshun tusi also "had merit in the campaign." Thereafter, the tu army in the Tujia areas also participated in some military activities to suppress rebellions of other tusi.
(III) Participation in Military Activities Organized by the Dynasty to Resist Foreign Invasion
In the late Southern Song period, facing the southward advance of the Mongol army, the Song dynasty strengthened its garrison in Sichuan and the Tujia areas. "In the third year, intelligence reported that the Great Yuan army was massing at the river. Gong predicted they would certainly go through Shizhou and Qianzhou to Huguang and Hunan. He requested 100,000 shi of grain to supply military provisions and stationed 3,000 men at Xiazhou... with 10,000 elite troops stationed at Songzi as reinforcement. The Great Yuan army invaded the river from Sui. Gong secretly ordered Liu Quan to resist the enemy." At the same time, tu armies were transferred to resist the Mongol army's attack. In the first year of Jingding (1260) during Emperor Lizong's reign, the Mongol army attacked Shizhou. The tu army fought fiercely with the Mongol army, and finally Shizhou city was breached. "Xiang Chen of Daozheng Township in Shizhou still did not submit and died heroically in Shizhou city."
During the Ming Dynasty, Tujia tu soldiers participated in the anti-Japanese pirate wars many times, making tremendous efforts and sacrifices to resist foreign invasion and leaving countless moving stories, demonstrating lofty patriotic spirit. As Japanese pirate intrusions grew more severe, tu soldiers were summoned into the anti-Japanese war. Peng Mingfu, grandfather of Yongshun tusi Yinan, and Tian Shijue, father of Rongmei tusi Tian Jiuxiao, were both over eighty years old yet did not shrink from hardship, accompanying the army on campaign and directing battles. In battle, tu soldiers charged into the fray, advancing wave upon wave and bravely killing the enemy. Many officers and soldiers, such as Peng Chi and Tian Feng, even sacrificed their lives. This patriotic spirit of dying for the motherland and courageously resisting foreign aggression was the fundamental reason why the Tujia tu soldiers were able to achieve victory in the anti-Japanese pirate struggle.
III. The Decline and Fall of the Tu Army
In the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong (1761), the Qing court completed the "replacement of tusi with regular officials" (gaitu guiliu) in the Tujia areas. The Qing dynasty adopted measures such as appointing circulating officials, stationing troops, compiling household registers, and establishing the baojia system, implemented a tax system identical to that of Han Chinese areas, and established local administrative organs identical to those in Han Chinese areas—prefecture and county organizations. This broke the previous situation of tusi ruling their own territories independently and ended the tusi system's more than eight-hundred-year rule over the Tujia areas. Related to this, the tu army in the Tujia areas gradually declined and was ultimately replaced by the Qing dynasty's garrison troops. We can analyze the specific reasons for the decline and fall of the tu army in the Tujia areas from three aspects.
(I) The strengthening of the Qing dynasty's centralized power and the intensification of local administration deprived the tu army, as an armed force system, of its political basis for existence
In the early Qing period, the rulers worked diligently to govern well and adopted multiple measures to strengthen centralization, gradually establishing powerful military forces and a military control network. Relying on their powerful military strength, they pacified the Three Feudatories and recovered Taiwan, bringing national power to its peak.
After "gaitu guiliu," among the original 19 tusi jurisdictions in western Hubei, except for the Rongmei tusi, which was made into Hefeng Prefecture, the original jurisdictions of the other 18 tusi were all unified under Sinan Prefecture, governing six counties: Enshi, Xuan'en, Lichuan, Xianfeng, Laifeng, and Jianshi. In western Hunan, Yongshun Prefecture was established, governing four counties—Yongshun, Baojing, Longshan, and Sangzhi—and Guzhang Ting. In Guizhou and Sichuan, Youyang Zhili Ting, Shizhu Zhili Ting, and the counties of Xiushan, Qianjiang, Pengshui, and Songtao were established. The completion of the restructuring of local administrative organs in the Tujia areas meant that the Tujia areas were incorporated into integrated political rule, and also meant the strengthening of the Qing court's rule over the southern ethnic areas. Under the historical background of the Qing dynasty's implementation of nationwide integrated rule, the tu army, as a local auxiliary military force, gradually lost its practical significance for existence.
(II) Abolishing the tu army was also a need to adapt to the adjustment of ethnic relations
The establishment of the tu army was, in a certain sense, an appendage of the tusi system and one of the important policy resources that allowed the tusi system to be preserved for a long time. At the beginning of the Qing dynasty's establishment, the Qing court clearly recognized that the tu army system had become a major obstacle to developing and improving ethnic relations. On the one hand, the court regarded it as a hidden danger and constantly thought of abolishing it; on the other hand, the people within the tusi jurisdictions repeatedly petitioned the authorities, "urgently crying out, all saying 'gaitu.'" They demanded the abolition of the tusi and the abolition of the tu army. "The two tusi of Sangzhi and Baojing in Hunan tyrannized their regions. Han, Tujia, and Miao people all suffered. The Tujia people from time to time poured into the interior, urgently crying out, all willing to gaitu guiliu."
(III) The Qing dynasty's opening up of the "Sheng Miao" areas deprived the tu army of its direct basis for existence
As an armed force of the feudal dynasty for "using barbarians to control barbarians," the tu army had long been used to control Miao areas. As it was said, "The tusi of the Ming Dynasty were most important, for they were relied upon to guard against the Miao." "Yongshun restrained the Zhen Miao, and Baojing restrained the Gan Miao. Each year both had to undertake and report acknowledgments to the ministry." In the early Qing, the court established garrisons in western Hunan, and the Miao people still "undertook" obligations to the tusi of Yongshun, Baojing, Wuzhai, and Ganzi Ping. The contradictions between the Miao people and the tusi and surrounding Han landlords became acute, and the Miao people voluntarily petitioned for "gaitu guiliu." Thereupon, the Qing government decided to open up the "Sheng Miao" areas. From the forty-first year of Kangxi (1702) to the eighth year of Yongzheng (1730), it adopted a policy centered on military suppression, first suppressing and then pacifying, and completed the opening up of the "Sheng Miao" areas in western Hunan, establishing the three ting of Qianzhou, Fenghuang, and Yongsui. At the same time, from the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728) to the eleventh year (1733), the Qing dynasty opened up the "Sheng Miao" areas within Guizhou, successively establishing six ting in the Guizhou Miao areas: Bazhai, Danjiang, Qingjiang, Guzhou, Dujiang, and Taigong, also known as the "Six Xinjiang Ting."
Thus, with the completion of gaitu guiliu, the tu army also withdrew from the stage of history. After the tu army in the Tujia areas was abolished, the Qing dynasty transformed the military organizational system of this region. In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (1735), Shinan Xie was established in the Shizhou area, governing the left and right battalions, with one deputy general and one zhongying dusi qianshi; the left battalion had one shoubei, two qianzong, four bazong, four external qianzong, and three additional external wei; the right battalion had one shoubei, two qianzong, five bazong, five external qian bazong, and two additional external wei, stationed separately in various places, with a quota of 1,477 soldiers. The garrison troops were stationed directly at the original tusi office sites to prevent resistance from remnant tusi forces.