Abstract:The transport of provisions and funds (which are usually grain and silver) for troops by civilians from Jizhen garrison was frequent, and the transport was institutionalized. The frequency and institutionalization were due to changes in conditions and strategies of border defense during the reigns from Jiajing to Wanli in Ming dynasty, especially following the Gengxu Incident (1550). Therefore, various measures were adopted this period across different regions and social classes to secure their interests in the allocation and distribution of provisions and funds for troops. The Ming court, prioritizing the supply of the central government and the capital region, endeavored to maintain the transport while excluding direct grain transport from the waterways. As a result, the related burdens were shifted onto the military and civilians at the border towns. Concurrently, the court continuously improved the mechanisms and factors related to the transport in response to the increasing frequency of such operations so that costs and burdens regarding the transport could be reduced. The series of localized bargaining among the regional officials that arose around the transport was a result of the court’s need to bolster supplies to border towns while expanding centralized fiscal powers and grain storage. Ultimately, this transport mechanism thus had been maintained for a long time.