福建左翼軍──南宋地方軍演變的個案研究

The Tso-i Army in Fu-chien: A Case Study of the Transformation of the Local Armies during the Southern Sung Dynasty

左翼軍是宋廷面對福建地區變亂，在紹興十八年（1148），由虔州土豪陳敏組織地方武力為基礎的軍隊。在宋廷的規劃下，左翼軍同時隸屬於殿前司及福建安撫使，這是宋廷既希望地方軍發揮戰力，又要避免它成為私人武力所設計的，也是它在面臨內外挑戰下，對「強幹弱枝」政策所進行的修正。左翼軍的總部，初期設在福州，紹興二十六年（1156）移駐泉州，端平二年（1235）一度移駐建寧府。為了維護治安，左翼軍也分戍於漳州、汀州、福州等地。總人數約五千人。左翼軍的經費是由福建各地供應，特別是總部所在的泉州，更是主要的支持者；不足之數也有由宋廷支應的。左翼軍雖以維護福建地區治安為主，宋廷也藉平亂、禦侮等名義，調派它參與境外的軍事行動，像紹興三十一年金海陵帝的南侵、張浚北伐、開禧北伐，乃至黑風峒之亂、陳三槍之亂等，左翼軍都曾奉調出征。這是宋廷行使指揮權的表徵，也是中央領導特質的展現。這一來，左翼軍成了隨軍令調動的調駐軍，糢糊了原來維護福建治安的角色，尤其開禧北伐之後，犧牲慘重，實力大傷，反而要倚靠淮軍來敉平福建境內的亂事，顯示左翼軍的戰力已趨低落。泉州既是左翼軍經費的主要支持者，嘉定十四年（1221），知泉州可以節制左翼軍以後，使地方勢力與地方官員的利益結合起來，形成命運共同體，地方性格逐漸強烈。在蒙古滅宋的過程中，由蒲壽庚與左翼軍為主的地方勢力，基於自身利益的考量，與抗元派的士大夫、宗室以及淮兵，對新舊政權的認同，有極大的差異，蒲壽庚等人遂藉左翼軍，來剷除不同政治意見的集團，轉投向新的蒙元王朝，這是南宋地方軍中採取現實的立場，面對變局的一個例子。

Originating from the local military organization of Ch'en Min, a strong man in Ch'ien-chou, the Tso-i Army was founded in 1148 when the Sung court was facing local rebellions in Fu-chien. According to the Sung court's planning, the Tso-i Army would be subordinated to both the Palace Command and the Military Commissioner of Fu-chien. The court hoped that, this way, the local armies would make the most of their military strength; it also wanted to avoid that local armies would be organized by private military power. At the same time, this represented its modification of the policy of ''a strong trunk and weak branches'' when confronted with internal and external threats. In the early stages, the headquarters of the Tso-i Army was set up in Fu-chou. In 1156 it was moved to Ch'üan-chou, and in 1235 it was temporarily transferred to Chien-ning Prefecture. In order to maintain public order, divisions of the Tso-i Army were also garrisoned in places like Chang-chou, Ting-chou and Fu-chou. The total number of men was about 5000. The costs of the Tso-i Army were born by various places in Fu-chien; the most important contributor was Ch'üan-chou where the general headquarters was located. Insufficiencies were, furthermore, made up for by the Sung court. Even though the main function of the Tso-i Army was to maintain local order in Fu-chien, the Sung court also used the pacification of rebellions and the resistance to foreign aggression as reasons to dispatch it to participate in military activities outside the region. For instance, in 1161 when Emperor Hailing of the Chin Dynasty invaded the south, during Chang Chün's northern expedition and during the northern campaign in the K'ai-hsi period, up to the revolt of the Storm Wind Tung (minorities in the south) and the rebellion of Ch'en San-ch'iang, in all these cases the Tso-i Army was sent out on military expeditions. This is a sign that the Sung court was exercising the power of command, this also sheds light on the characteristics of the central leadership. As a result, since the Tso-i Army had become an expeditionary army that could be moved according to military orders, its original function of maintaining the public order in Fu-chien was rendered obscure. Especially after the northern expedition during the Kai-hsi reign, its real power was greatly affected due to the severe losses it had suffered. That it was now necessary to rely on the Huai Army for the pacification of rebellions within the borders of Fu-chien demonstrates that the military strength of the Tso-i Army was on the decline. Since Ch'üan-chou was the main financier of the Tso-i Army, it became possible for the prefect of Ch'üan-chou in 1221 to control the Tso-i Army. Afterwards, local power and the interests of local officials combined and created a community based on common destiny; its local character grew stronger and stronger. In the course of the Mongol destruction of the Sung, the local forces lead by P'u Shou-keng and the Tso-i Army, motivated by considerations of personal gain, and the scholar-officials, the dynastic house and the Huai Army, resisting the Yüan, differed greatly in their sympathies for the new or old political powers. P'u Shou-keng and others used the Tso-i Army to root out those groups with differing political convictions and surrendered to the new Mongol Yüan Dynasty. This is one example of how Southern Sung local armies took a realistic position to face the changing conditions.