The outbreak of pirate insurgency during the Jiajing period prompted the estab-lishment of an independent navy along the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Nanzhili.This military force consisted of soldiers and ships selected from garrisons and recruited from civilians.After the anti-pirate battle in Zhejiang and Nanzhili came to an end,the wartime troops were converted into standing forces.To reduce military spending,the Ming government reduced the number of recrui-ted soldiers,relying on the original garrisons,militia,and archers to provide personnel and re-sources to the new conscription system.Due to the limited capability of the garrison soldiers to en-gage in naval warfare,the navy relied more on recruited soldiers.The proportion of the latter in battalions gradually increased.During the Wanli period,the navy of Zhejiang and Nanzhili com-bined short-term enlistment with selective elimination to maintain a fixed headcount and combat effectiveness.The surplus in garrisons was managed by recruiting the soldiers into the new sys-tem.
Ming DynastyNavyGarrison SystemRecruitmentBattalion System
万方数据
维普
