千里走軍馬──清初軍馬問題探微

The Horse and the Qing Conquest of China

清朝以騎射立國，馬匹為其關鍵軍事資源。然而，滿洲1644年入關前後並未充分籌措入關後的各項軍需事宜，也沒有擬定戰馬供應的全盤策略。終順治一朝，馬匹供應極端困難，影響征服戰爭的進程。為應對困局，清朝一面訴諸權宜之計，允許綠營官兵自備馬匹，一面試圖將馬匹的繁殖、牧養、貿易都置於國家的嚴格管控之中。然而，國家壟斷馬匹市場和供應並未能緩解軍隊馬匹短缺的困境，卻給民間勢力藉機牟利的機會，而清朝的文官武將則是私營馬匹的主力。本文根據清初來自前線、後方的多件奏報中所披露的種種微觀現象及案例，揭示征服戰爭期間，國家在軍馬供應上的困境及應對乏力。而軍官私買馬騾，從中牟利，尤為清前期軍中濫權營私之特質。

Horse riding and horseback archery were essential military skills of the Manchus, and horses were thus indispensable in their ascendance to power. However, the Manchus did not have a workable plan for their logistical needs, including horse acquisition, when they were set to conquer China proper in 1644. Throughout the conquest era, the horse supplies were severely strained, hampering their military operations in conquering the entire territory of the fallen Ming dynasty. In coping with the problem, the Qing state resorted to expedients, such as allowing Green Standard Army personnel to acquire and own horses themselves. Meanwhile, the Qing dynasty tried to place the breeding, possessing, and trading of horses in society under the government’s strict control, including imposing horse bans; the state monopoly of the horse market, however, failed to alleviate the shortages, instead giving rise to opportunities for contraband traders, with Qing officials, civil and military alike, being the leading force in smuggling horses from the northwest borderland. Based on numerous official reports from the conquest era containing an abundance of micro-level information and cases, this article aims to highlight the challenging situation the Qing conquerors faced and their inept response in the early years of the Qing dynasty. It also argues that the military elite dealing with and profiting from horses constituted a unique characteristic of military corruption in the early Qing.