1
志一百十六
Treatise 116
2
兵十二
Military 12
3
馬政
Horse Administration
4
清初沿明制，設御馬監，康熙間，改為上駟院，掌御馬，以備上乘。 畜以備御者，曰內馬； 供儀仗者，曰仗馬。 御馬選入，以印烙之。 設蒙古馬醫官療馬病。 上巡幸及行圍，扈從官弁，各給官馬。 以副都統或侍衛為放馬大臣，主其事。 上謁祖陵，需馬二萬三千餘匹，東西陵需馬四千三百餘匹，悉取察哈爾牧廠馬應之。 迨乾隆時，每扈從用馬匹輒二萬餘。 嘉慶中，物力漸耗，停木蘭秋獮。 十二年，減額馬之半。 道光九年，如盛京謁陵，額馬視乾隆時，約略相等，計取給廠馬暨各盟長所進，蓋二萬六千餘匹雲。
Early in the Qing dynasty the court followed Ming practice and set up the Imperial Horse Directorate; under Kangxi it became the Superior Stud, charged with imperial mounts for the emperor's riding. Horses kept for the emperor's use were termed inner horses; those assigned to ceremonial escort were called ceremonial horses. Horses chosen for imperial service were admitted and branded with an official seal. Mongol veterinary officers were appointed to treat sick horses. On imperial tours and hunting expeditions, every attendant official and officer received a government mount. A banner vice president or imperial bodyguard was named horse-distribution minister to oversee the arrangements. A visit to the ancestral tombs required more than 23,000 horses; the eastern and western imperial mausoleums needed more than 4,300—all drawn from Chakhar stud pastures. By the Qianlong reign, each imperial entourage routinely consumed more than 20,000 horses. Under Jiaqing, resources ran thin and the autumn hunts at Mulan were discontinued. In the twelfth year of his reign the allotted horse quota was halved. In Daoguang 9 (1829), a Mukden tomb visit required a horse allotment roughly matching Qianlong levels; pasture stock plus gifts from league chiefs totaled more than 26,000.
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順治十五年定軍馬，親王出征，馬四百匹，郡王三百，貝勒二百，貝子百五十，鎮國公百匹，輔國公八十，不入八分鎮國公七十，輔國公六十五，將軍八十，副將軍七十，護軍統領、前鋒統領、副都統皆六十，其下各有差，最少者護軍、領催各六匹。 康熙三十五年，敕出徵兵一人馬四匹，四人為伍，一伍主從騎八匹，馱器糧用具亦八匹。 是歲，征噶爾丹，以兵丁馬瘦，褫兵部尚書索諾和職。 五十一年，覈定軍中職官馬數，大學士、尚書、左都御史十六匹，侍郎以下遞減，經略、大將軍各二十五匹，副將軍以下遞減。 乾隆十六年，八旗牧官馬二萬七千七百餘匹，以萬匹於都城外牧養，熱河千匹，各庄頭二千匹，餘者分畀直隸標營。 圈馬之設，始乾隆二十八年，從都統舒赫德請也。 滿洲八旗，旗養馬二百匹。 蒙古八旗，旗百匹。 洎五十九年撤圈，分給各兵拴養。 嘉慶十二年，諭成親王永星議復圈馬，大學士戴衢亨等會議，立章程十條，圈馬仍舊。 道光末，軍興遂廢，後亦不復籌矣。 同治元年諭曰：「馬政廢弛，積弊已深，以致軍馬罷瘠。 牧廠大臣等應妥實整頓，差功罪以挽頹風，著為令。」 溯自世祖入關，迄於康、乾之際，盛京、吉林、黑龍江、直隸、江南、浙江、廣東、福建、湖北、四川、陝、甘、山東、山西諸省設駐防滿洲營，馬凡十萬六千四百餘匹，惟福建水師駐防僅數十匹。 乾隆季年，定西藏兵制，前藏供差營馬六十匹，後藏二十匹，舊塘四十三，共塘馬二百二十匹，新設番塘二十四，共番馬九十八匹。 黑龍江兵向無額馬，道光十六年，從哈豐阿請，始設置之。
Shunzhi 15 (1658) fixed campaign horse allotments: princes 400, commandery princes 300, beile 200, beise 150, imperial dukes 100, second-rank dukes 80, and so on down the ranks to six horses each for guards and squad leaders. Kangxi 35 (1696) ordered four horses per campaign soldier; four men formed a squad with eight riding mounts and eight pack animals for gear and provisions. That year, during the Galdan campaign, emaciated troop horses cost War Minister Suo Nuohe his post. In Kangxi 51 (1712) official horse quotas were audited: grand secretaries and ministers received sixteen each, with graded reductions below; grand coordinators and commanders-in-chief received twenty-five. Qianlong 16 (1751) the Eight Banners pastured 27,700-odd government horses: 10,000 outside the capital, 1,000 at Rehe, 2,000 with estate managers, and the rest assigned to Zhili garrisons. Corral-horse herds date from Qianlong 28 (1763), at the request of banner commander Shuhede. Each Manchu banner pastured 200 corral horses. Each Mongol banner pastured 100. By Qianlong 59 (1794) the corrals were dissolved and horses issued for soldiers to keep individually. Jiaqing 12 (1807) the throne ordered Prince Cheng Yongxing to study restoring corral herds; Grand Secretary Dai Yuheng's conference produced ten regulations and reinstated the old system. Late in Daoguang, war ended the practice for good and it was never revived. Tongzhi 1 (1862) brought an edict: "Horse administration has decayed; abuses run so deep that army mounts are spent and thin. Pasture officials must set things right, rewarding merit and punishing fault to reverse the decline—let this stand as permanent law." From the Shunzhi conquest through the Kangxi and Qianlong heights, Manchu garrisons across fifteen provinces mustered 106,400-odd horses—Fujian's naval garrison alone held only a few dozen. Late in Qianlong, Tibet's military horse quotas were set: 60 for front Tibet, 20 for rear Tibet, 220 for 43 old courier stations, and 98 for 24 new Tibetan stations. Heilongjiang troops had no allotted horses until Daoguang 16 (1836), when Hafeng'a's memorial led to their establishment.
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天聰時，征服察哈爾，其地宜牧，馬蕃息。 順治初，大庫口外設種馬廠，隸兵部。 康熙九年，改牧廠屬太僕寺，分左翼右翼二廠，均在口外。 是時，大凌河設牧廠一，邊牆設廠二，曰商都達布遜諾爾，曰達里岡愛，隸上駟院。 尋分設牧廠五，曰大凌河牧群馬營，曰養息牧哈達牧群馬營，曰養息所邊外蘇魯克牧牛羊群，及黑牛群牧營，曰養息牧邊外牧群牛營，並在盛京境。 凡馬牡曰兒，牝曰果，不及三歲曰駒，及壯擇割其牡曰騸。 別其騍騸以為群，率騍馬五配兒馬一，群無過四百匹。 騍馬及羊三年一平群，牛六年，騍馬群三歲以息補耗，三馬而取一駒，騸馬群歲耗其十一。 置牧長、牧副、牧丁任其事，轄以協領、翼長、總管，官兵皆察哈爾、蒙古人充之。 飼秣所需木槽鏇钁鑹杓，每群各二，五年一給之。 總管三年番代。 二十四年，定牧群牲畜歲終彙報增減數目，視其贏絀，以第賞罰。 二十六年，令八旗豢馬，春夏驅赴察哈爾牧放，曰出青，秋冬迴圈，曰回青。 四十四年，將軍楊福請市馬給兵丁，上不許，諭曰：「朝廷屢以太僕寺廠馬並茶馬給各兵丁，故無賠馬之苦。 歷觀宋、明議馬政，皆無善策。 牧馬惟口外最善，水草肥美，不糜餉而孳生甚多。 如驅入內地牧之，即日費萬金不足矣。」 雍正三年，定在廠馬以四萬匹為率。 至乾隆五年，足額外，溢七千餘匹。 兩翼牧廠，共騍馬百六十群，騸馬十六群，令分在兩翼廠牧放。 八年，敕牧界毋許侵越。 先是甘、涼、肅三州及西寧各設馬廠，分五群，群儲牝馬二百匹，牡四十。 尋改甘州廠屬巴里坤。 二十五年，伊犁設孳生馬駝廠，畀錫伯、察哈爾、索倫、厄魯特四營牧之。 三十二年，定牧廠官屬所需馬，視內地驛傳例，按官品給之，不得逾額。 嘉慶中，從都統慶溥言，撤回厄魯特人牧廠。 初，富俊建言，撤大凌河牧廠，分歸東三省，仁宗嚴諭斥之。 迨道光七年，上經杏山東閱馬廠，見河岸馬群壯整。 因諭是間牧廠寬闊，水草蕃滋，馬恃以生息，若輕議裁，則散之甚易，聚之甚難。 再有率為此請者，以違制論。 咸豐四年，科爾沁親王僧格林沁剿捻，檄取察哈爾戰馬六百匹，不堪乘用，奏聞。 上大怒，嚴諭都統慶昀整頓，蓋馬政漸衰弛矣。 光緒九年，太僕寺言兩翼騍馬騸馬一百十四群，並孳生馬五群，駝亦五群，較乾隆時群數大減。 嗣是穆圖善練兵，至黑龍江求馬無良，愀然曰：「地氣其盡乎！」 迨於末葉，厲行新法，舊時牧政益廢不講，豈非時勢使然歟？
Under Tiancong (1627–1636), the conquest of Chakhar opened excellent pastureland where herds multiplied. Early Shunzhi saw a breeding stud founded beyond Daku Pass under the Board of War. Kangxi 9 (1670) placed pastures under the Court of the Imperial Stud as separate left- and right-wing herds beyond the passes. At that time Daling River gained one pasture and the border wall two—Shangdu Dabusun Nur and Daligangai—under the Superior Stud. Five more pastures followed in Mukden territory: Daling River horse camp, Yangxi Mu Hada horse camp, Yangxi border Suluk cattle and sheep herds, black cattle camp, and Yangxi border cattle camp. Stallions were called er, mares guo, animals under three years foals; mature selected males were gelded as shan. Mares and geldings formed separate herds at a ratio of five mares to one stallion, with no herd exceeding 400 head. Mare and sheep herds were rebalanced every three years, cattle every six; mare herds replaced losses at one foal per three mares, while gelding herds counted an annual loss of one in eleven. Herdsmen chiefs, deputies, and hands ran the herds under assistant commandants, wing commanders, and superintendents—all Chakhar and Mongol personnel. Each herd received two sets every five years of troughs, augers, hoes, sickles, and ladles for feeding. Superintendents rotated on a three-year term. Kangxi 24 (1685) required year-end reports on herd increases and losses, with ranked rewards and punishments based on surplus or deficit. Kangxi 26 (1687) ordered banner horses driven to Chakhar for summer grazing (chuqing) and returned to corrals in autumn (huiqing). Kangxi 44 (1705) General Yang Fu asked to buy horses for the troops; the emperor refused, noting that stud and tea-horse allocations spared soldiers the burden of replacing mounts themselves. Song and Ming debates on horse policy had produced no lasting solution. Pasture beyond the passes is best: rich grass and water multiply herds without draining the treasury. Drive them inland to graze and ten thousand taels a day would not cover the cost. Yongzheng 3 (1725) set the pasture horse quota at 40,000. By Qianlong 5 (1740) the quota was met with 7,000 horses to spare. The two-wing pastures held 160 mare herds and 16 gelding herds, distributed between them for grazing. Qianlong 8 (1743) forbade encroachment on pasture boundaries. Earlier, Gansu, Liangzhou, Suzhou, and Xining each established pastures of five herds holding 200 mares and 40 stallions per herd. The Ganzhou pasture was soon reassigned to Barkul. Qianlong 25 (1760) established an Ili breeding pasture for horses and camels, tended by Xibe, Chakhar, Solon, and Oirat camps. Qianlong 32 (1767) set pasture officials' mounts by rank on the interior courier model, with no excess permitted. Under Jiaqing, at banner commander Qing Pu's urging, the Oirat pasture was withdrawn. Earlier Fu Jun had proposed abolishing the Daling River pasture and dividing it among the northeast provinces; the Jiaqing emperor rebuked him sharply. Daoguang 7 (1827) the emperor inspected pastures east of Xingshan and saw sturdy, well-formed herds along the river. He warned that these broad pastures with rich grass sustained the herds—cutting them would be easy to propose but ruinously hard to reverse. Anyone who rashly proposed such cuts again would be charged with violating regulations. Xianfeng 4 (1854) Prince Senggelinqin of Horqin, fighting the Nian, requisitioned 600 Chakhar war horses—they proved unrideable, and he reported it. The emperor was furious and ordered banner commander Qing Yun to set things right—horse administration was clearly in decline. Guangxu 9 (1883) the Court of the Imperial Stud reported only 114 mare and gelding herds plus five breeding horse and five camel herds—a sharp drop from Qianlong levels. Later Mutushan, drilling troops in Heilongjiang, found no sound horses and mourned, "Has the land's vitality run out? In the dynasty's final years, zeal for reform left the old pasture system neglected—is that not simply how the times had turned?
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順治初，陝西設洮岷、河州、西寧、庄浪、甘州茶馬司，及開成、安定、廣寧、黑水、清平、萬安、武安七監，歲遣御史一人專理之。 七年，喀爾喀、額魯特來市馬，諭令自章京監察之販客及賈人，與不系披甲者，概不許購，違者鞭一百，馬入官。 蒙古攜馬來京，不許商販私買，胥役私購者罪之。 康熙七年，裁茶馬御史，以馬政歸甘肅巡撫。 三十四年，諭遣師中等往蒙古諸旗購馬，歸化城、科爾沁各二千匹，餘定額有差。 乾隆十二年，禁朝鮮買馬。 二十五年，敕烏魯木齊市易哈薩克馬百三十餘匹歸巴里坤。 旋以五吉等言，選哈薩克所易馬撥往巴里坤，遂停購買。 阿桂言伊犁易來哈薩克馬漸成大群，敕書嘉予。 二十八年，定江寧、浙江、福建駐防馬匹出口採買例。 三十二年，以伊犁易哈薩克馬累積至多，擇巴里坤善地牧放。 尋烏里雅蘇台馬缺，亦以哈薩克馬換易之。 陝、甘營馬，例調自伊犁轉補，道遠耗時。 咸豐四年，用賡福請，由伊犁、塔爾巴哈台隨地變價，令各營自購。 七年，並敕山東缺額馬，亦就近買補雲。
Early Shunzhi, Shaanxi established five tea-horse offices and seven supervisorates, with an annual censor dispatched to oversee them. Shunzhi 7 (1650) Khalkha and Oirat horse traders were told that only armored soldiers under zhangjing supervision might buy—others faced 100 lashes and confiscation. Mongols bringing horses to the capital could not sell to private merchants; yamen runners who bought privately were punished. Kangxi 7 (1668) abolished the tea-horse censor and placed horse policy under the Gansu governor. Kangxi 34 (1695) sent Shi Zhong and others to buy horses in Mongol banners—2,000 each from Guihuacheng and Horqin, with graded quotas elsewhere. Qianlong 12 (1747) banned Korean horse purchases. Qianlong 25 (1760) ordered 130-odd Kazakh horses bought at Urumqi sent to Barkul. Soon afterward, on Wuji's advice, selected Kazakh trade horses went to Barkul and purchases ceased. Agui reported that Kazakh horses traded at Ili were forming large herds; the throne praised and rewarded the achievement. Qianlong 28 (1763) set rules for Jiangning, Zhejiang, and Fujian garrisons to buy horses through export trade. Qianlong 32 (1767) sent accumulated Ili Kazakh trade horses to good Barkul pasture. When Uliastai ran short, Kazakh horses filled the gap there too. Shaanxi and Gansu garrisons routinely drew replacements from distant Ili—a slow, costly route. Xianfeng 4 (1854) Yong Fu's memorial let garrisons sell Ili and Tarbagatai stock locally and buy replacements themselves. Xianfeng 7 (1857) extended the same local-purchase rule to Shandong's horse shortfall.
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貢馬昉於國初，歸化城土默特二旗，每歲四時貢馬百匹。 順治十三年，吐魯番貢三百二十四匹，嗣減令貢西馬四匹，蒙古馬十匹。 康熙八年，以邊外蒙古貢馬，沿途抑買，諭嚴禁之。 三十年，諭土謝圖、車臣俱留汗號，貢白駝一、白馬八如初，自餘毋以九白進。 三十五年，喀爾喀蒙古獻駝馬，多不可計，感聖祖破噶爾丹，得歸原牧地也。 四川各土司例貢及折徵馬，各營少者一、二匹，最多十二匹。 甘肅唐古特七族西喇古兒例貢馬匹，各營最多者八十二匹，少者遞減至二、三匹。 乾隆元年，諭四川土司折價馬每匹納銀十二兩，通省營馬改從驛馬例，納銀八兩，永著為令。 三十年，哈薩克沁德穆爾等獻馬。 敕其餘馬赴伊犁，毋於喀什噶爾諸地貿易。 尋令沙拉伯爾游牧之哈薩克，與沙拉伯爾一體貢馬。 嘉慶元年，停葉爾羌進馬。 十六年，諭烏里雅蘇台將軍等貢馬及備用馬選取之。 又諭伊犁進馬，材具佶閒，足供御用，令正備貢各五匹，有私帶者，以違制論。 道光二年，從那彥成奏，青海屬玉樹番族歲納貢馬，據丁口數，依二十壯丁貢馬一匹例，按數遞裁。 涼州屬番族歲仍納馬一匹。 初內外蒙部多貴戚，每征伐，爭先輸馬、駝，漢、唐以來所未有也。 康熙初，察哈爾親王、郡王、貝勒等，聞三籓叛，各獻馬匹佐軍。 道光九年，章佳胡圖克圖捐馬百匹，收其半。 二十三年，察哈爾蒙旗捐馬千九百七十匹。 咸豐初，哲布尊丹巴等捐馬千匹，喀爾喀土謝圖等二千匹，錫林果勒盟長等三千匹，帝以其多，卻之。 嗣聞已在途中，令擇善地牧以待用。 自是三音諾顏部等，以軍事輸馬、駝，旋捐馬二千一百，錫林果勒盟等千二百，或留或否。 七年，各部落蒙古王等捐馬六千四百匹，詔納之。 時粵、捻擾畿東，利於用騎也。 同治間，黑龍江將軍德英於呼倫貝爾各城勸捐軍馬。 光緒初，豐紳托克湍辦海防，時昭烏達盟郡王捐馬六百匹，因請踵行推廣勸諭，以助軍實雲。
Tribute horses date to the dynasty's founding, when Guihuacheng's two Tumed banners gave 100 horses each season—400 yearly. Shunzhi 13 (1656) Turfan sent 324 horses; later its tribute was cut to four western and ten Mongol horses. Kangxi 8 (1669) forbade forced purchases of Mongol tribute horses along the route. Kangxi 30 (1691) let Tushiyetu and Tsetsen khans keep their titles and the traditional one white camel and eight white horses, but ended other "nine white" gifts. Kangxi 35 (1696) Khalkha Mongols sent countless camels and horses in gratitude for defeating Galdan and restoring their pastures. Sichuan chieftains' tribute and commuted horse levies ran from one or two per garrison to twelve at most. Gansu's seven Tangut Xilar Gu'er tribes gave up to 82 horses per garrison, down to two or three. Qianlong 1 (1736) set Sichuan chieftain horse commutation at 12 taels per horse and provincial garrison horses at 8 taels on the courier model—permanent law. Qianlong 30 (1765) Kazakh leader Qinde Mu'er and others presented horses. The throne ordered surplus horses sent to Ili, not traded at Kashgar or elsewhere. Kazakhs pasturing at Shalabuer were soon required to tribute horses on the same terms as Shalabuer itself. Jiaqing 1 (1796) ended Yarkand's horse tribute. Jiaqing 16 (1811) ordered the Uliastai general and others to select from tribute and reserve horses. Another edict fixed Ili's excellent tribute horses at five principal and five reserve; private extras would be punished as violations. Daoguang 2 (1822) Nayancheng's memorial cut Qinghai Yushu Tibetan tribute by household count at one horse per twenty able-bodied men. Liangzhou Tibetan tribes still gave one horse a year. Early on, Mongol nobles across inner and outer banners vied to supply horses and camels for every campaign—something unseen since Han and Tang times. Early Kangxi, hearing of the Three Feudatories' revolt, Chakhar princes and beile rushed horses to support the army. Daoguang 9 (1829) the Zhangjia Khutuktu donated 100 horses; the court accepted half. In the twenty-third year of his reign, Chakhar Mongol banners donated 1,970 horses. Early in Xianfeng, Jebtsundamba donated 1,000 horses, Khalkha Tushiyetu 2,000, and Xilin Gol league chiefs 3,000—the emperor declined them as excessive. Learning they were already en route, he ordered good pasture found to hold them until needed. Thereafter Setsen Khan banners and others supplied horses and camels for the war effort; soon came donations of 2,100 horses and 1,200 from Xilin Gol—some accepted, some refused. In the seventh year, Mongol princes of various tribes donated 6,400 horses, and an edict ordered them accepted. At the time Guangdong and Nian rebels were ravaging the capital region, and cavalry was urgently needed. During Tongzhi, Heilongjiang general De Ying urged military horse donations across the Hulun Buir region. Early Guangxu, while Fengshen Tuoketuan managed coastal defense, a Zhaowuda league prince donated 600 horses and asked that the encouragement be extended broadly to bolster the army.
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驛置肇自前漢，歷代因之。 清沿明制，設驛馬，為額四萬三千三百有奇。 各省驛制，定於康熙二年，凡齎奏官驛馬之數，各籓馬五匹，公、將軍、提督、督、撫三匹，總兵、巡鹽御史二匹，從兵部侍郎石麟請也。 邊外之驛，定於九年，凡明詔特遣，及理籓院飭赴蒙古諸部宣諭公務，得乘邊外驛馬。 三十五年，征噶爾丹，設邊外五處驛站，用便車糧運輸。 又從理籓院言，自張家口外設蒙古驛。 其大略也。 驛傳在僻地者，僅供本州縣所需，亦曰遞馬，額不過數匹。 沖繁州縣，置驛或二或三，額馬至六七十匹。 驛差大者，皇華使臣，朝貢蕃客，餘如大臣入覲、蒞官、視鹺、監稅皆是。 若齎奏員役，呈奉表冊，其小者也。 要者，如星馳飛遞，刻期立赴之屬。 若閔勞恤死，允給郵傳，其散者也。 驛政弊壞，張汧嘗極言之。 越數誅求，橫索滋擾，蠹國病民，勢所必至。 已定例諸驛額馬，每年十踣其三，循例買補。 咸豐中，粵氛孔熾，湖、湘境為賊據，劫失驛騎，焚毀號舍，往往有之。 各州縣或買馬填補，或賃馬應差，其有失驛未設，即雇夫代馬。 甘肅舊設馬額六千餘，亦以軍興廢弛。 光緒九年，軍務既平，驛遞漸簡，所留馬視前減三分二，而驛政亦無所妨。 十一年，新疆南路設驛。 是時，綜通國驛站歲費，約三百萬餘金。 二十九年，劉坤一、張之洞條陳新法，謂驛站耗財，不如仿外人之郵政。 郵政遞信速，驛政文報遲。 弊由有驛州縣馬缺額，又復疲瘦，驛丁或倚為利藪，因致稽延。 請設驛政局，推行郵政，俾驛鋪經費專取給郵資，即三百萬歲耗可以省出矣。 時韙其言。 已而驛馬漸裁，嗣是驛遂廢不用。
Courier stations date to the Former Han dynasty and were continued by every dynasty thereafter. The Qing followed Ming practice and maintained courier horses at a quota of 43,300-odd. Provincial courier regulations were set in Kangxi 2 (1663): feudatory princes received five relay horses, dukes and governors three, regional commanders and salt censors two—at the request of Vice Minister Shi Lin of the Board of War. Frontier courier rules were set in Kangxi 9 (1670): imperial envoys and Lifan Yuan missions to Mongol banners could use frontier relay horses. Kangxi 35 (1696), during the Galdan campaign, five frontier courier stations were set up to move grain and supplies. On the Lifan Yuan's recommendation, Mongol courier posts were also established beyond Zhangjiakou. Such was the general arrangement. Remote courier posts served only local county needs—these relay horses numbered just a few per station. Busy counties maintained two or three posts with quotas of up to 60 or 70 horses. Major relay missions served imperial envoys and tribute missions, as well as ministers attending court, taking office, inspecting salt, or supervising tax collection. Minor missions included clerks carrying memorials and documents. Urgent cases included star dispatch and deadline missions requiring immediate delivery. Miscellaneous cases included condolence missions granted relay privileges. Zhang Qian once spoke forcefully about the corruption of courier administration. Excessive demands at every station and arbitrary exactions were inevitable—they drained the treasury and burdened the people. Regulations fixed that three in ten allotted courier horses died each year and were replaced by purchase. During Xianfeng, as the Taiping crisis raged and rebels held Hunan and Hubei, courier horses were looted and station buildings burned—often repeatedly. Counties bought or rented horses to meet quotas; where posts had been destroyed, they hired porters instead. Gansu's former quota of 6,000-odd horses also fell into neglect during the wars. Guangxu 9 (1883), with the wars over, courier service was simplified; horse quotas were cut by two-thirds without impairing operations. Guangxu 11 (1885) established courier posts on Xinjiang's southern route. At that time the empire's courier system cost roughly three million taels a year. Guangxu 29 (1903) Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong proposed reforms, arguing that courier stations wasted money and that China should adopt Western-style postal service. Postal mail moved quickly; courier documents moved slowly. The problem was understaffed, emaciated horses and couriers who treated shortages as a source of profit, causing endless delays. They proposed a courier bureau and postal service funded by postage alone, saving the three million taels spent annually. The proposal was approved at the time. Courier horses were gradually cut back, and the old relay system was eventually abandoned.
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順治初，建常盈庫，凡車駕司朋椿站銀，武庫司馬值，太僕寺馬價皆儲之。 康熙初，改常盈庫儲歸戶部。 乾隆十六年，敕雲南營馬除十踣其三按例應賠外，其逾額踣斃者免賠椿銀。 二十七年，定給留圈馬乾，每匹視綠營稍優異。 三十八年，又令雲南買補馬價，每匹減銀三兩。 初馬乾歲費約四十四萬有奇。 道光中，從載銓等言，裁八旗官拴馬半額，以節出之費補兵餉焉。
Early Shunzhi established the Ever-Full Treasury to hold funds for the Carriage Office, the Arsenal's horse accounts, and the Court of the Imperial Stud's horse prices. Early Kangxi transferred the Ever-Full Treasury to the Board of Revenue. Qianlong 16 (1751) exempted Yunnan garrison troops from compensation silver for horse deaths beyond the regulated three-in-ten annual loss. Qianlong 27 (1762) set fodder allowances for corral horses slightly above Green Standard rates. Qianlong 38 (1773) cut Yunnan's horse replacement price by three taels per head. Initially, annual fodder costs ran to roughly 440,000 taels. Under Daoguang, at Zai Quan's urging, banner officers' horse allowances were halved and the savings applied to troop pay.
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清初定現任官得養馬，餘悉禁之。 尋許武進士、武舉、兵丁、捕役養馬。 康熙元年，禁民人養馬。 有私販馬匹，為人首告者，馬給首告之人。 其主有官職，予重罰。 平民荷校鞭責。 十年，令民人仍得養馬。 二十六年，定出廠馬、駝，或踐食田禾，或縱逸侵擾，兵鞭責，官罰俸有差。 其兵丁強人代牧，乃勒索擾累者，兵發刑部，官降調。 凡牧馬斃，則驗其皮，踣斃例須賠抵，有一九、一七之罰。 應取駒千匹者，以百匹為一分，百匹者以十匹為一分。 雍正十三年，定馬、駝出廠時，毛齒皆有冊，回日覈驗，如疲瘠十不及三，免議，否則兵鞭責，官罰俸有差。 乾隆初，禁牧丁等盜馬私售，及與人乘，峻其科罰。 十六年，嚴牧馬減克料草之罪。 二十八年，官馬出青，每百匹准倒十匹，逾額勒其買補。 嘉慶十一年，行圍木蘭，查獲私販馬匹諸犯，重懲之。 因諭：「我朝講武時巡，扈從均給官馬。 大臣祿入較優，給馬較少。 官員兵丁，視差務之繁簡，定馬數之多寡，少者一、二匹，多至五匹，事竣原馬還官。 如踣斃，呈驗耳尾，仍按價折交。 收放時，命王大臣督察。 乃官兵等竟私鬻官單，察哈爾官兵收馬利，其折銀易於買補。 積弊日深，大妨馬政。 自後設有賣單及折收者，一體科罰。 私買之馬販，從嚴問擬。 大臣等其妥議定章以聞。」 凡營馬或走脫竊失，責令賠補，謂之賠椿，年遞減十之一，至十年悉免之。 應敵傷損者免賠。 騎至三年踣斃者亦免。 其餘一年或二三年內踣斃，賠額視其省而異，以十金為最多。 同治二年，定古北口盤獲私馬逾三十匹者送京，不及三十匹賞與兵丁，著為令。
Early Qing law allowed only incumbent officials to keep horses; everyone else was forbidden. Soon military degree-holders, soldiers, and constables were also permitted horses. Kangxi 1 (1662) forbade commoners to keep horses. Private horse traders reported by informers forfeited their horses to the accuser. Official owners received heavy punishment. Commoners wore the cangue and were flogged. Kangxi 10 (1671) again permitted commoners to keep horses. Kangxi 26 (1687) fixed that pasture animals damaging crops or straying brought lashes for soldiers and graded fines for officials. Soldiers who forced others to herd for them and extorted payment were sent to the Ministry of Justice; their officers were demoted. When a herd horse died, its hide was inspected; death in service required compensation at nineteen-twentieths or seventeen-twentieths of value. Where 1,000 foals were due, they were counted in units of 100; where 100, in units of 10. Yongzheng 13 (1735) required coat and teeth registered when animals left pasture; on return, if fewer than three in ten were emaciated there was no penalty—otherwise soldiers were lashed and officials fined. Early Qianlong forbade herdsmen from stealing pasture horses for private sale or lending them for riding, with severe penalties. Qianlong 16 (1751) tightened penalties for withholding herd horses' fodder. Qianlong 28 (1763) allowed ten deaths per hundred government horses sent to summer pasture; excess deaths required purchase of replacements. Jiaqing 11 (1806), during the Mulan hunt, private horse traders were caught and heavily punished. He therefore decreed: "Our dynasty emphasizes martial training and seasonal tours, and the entire entourage receives government horses. Ministers receive generous salaries and therefore fewer horses. Officials and soldiers received one to five horses depending on duty complexity, and returned them when the mission ended. If a horse died, ears and tail were presented for inspection and compensation paid at appraised value. Princes and grand ministers were appointed to supervise pasturing. Yet officers and soldiers sold official permits privately; Chakhar troops preferred cash compensation because it was easier than replacing the horses. Abuses deepened daily and gravely undermined horse administration. Henceforth anyone selling permits or accepting cash compensation would be punished. Private horse buyers would be sentenced severely. Ministers were to deliberate and submit regulations. Garrison horses that escaped or were stolen had to be replaced under peichun compensation, reduced by one-tenth each year until fully exempt after ten years. Battle wounds exempted horses from compensation. Horses ridden for three years and then dying in service were also exempt. Deaths within one to three years required compensation varying by province, up to a maximum of ten taels. Tongzhi 2 (1863) fixed that private horses seized at Gubeikou in lots over 30 were sent to the capital; smaller lots were rewarded to soldiers—permanent law.