In the Qing Palace drama, there are often some positions that sound very domineering and have very great strength. For example, the Viceroy of Shaanxi and Gansu, etc., the Viceroy of the Nine Doors is also a position that is often mentioned and stands up very strongly. Among them, the governor is indeed a relatively large official position, he is the highest administrator of a certain area of the country, and the official rank is Zhengerpin. But the Nine-Door Admiral is not necessarily the same, it is equivalent to what position is now the official position?
First of all, let's talk about the name, in fact, the name of the Nine Gate Admiral is a short name, and its full name is the commander of the Five Battalions of the Nine Gate Infantry Patrol. Before talking about what the Nine Gate Admirals are doing, let's talk about the structure of the capital city related to it. During the feudal period, the capital was divided into an inner city and an outer city, of which the inner city would have nine gates. That is, Zhengyang, Chongwen, Xuanwu, Chaoyang, Dongzhi, Fucheng, Xizhi, Desheng, and Anding, and the Nine Gate Governors were responsible for guarding these gates.
At first glance, many people may think that an official who watches the gate is nothing, but they are in charge of the imperial city. Moreover, the Nine Gate Admiral did not do this alone, but in general, he was in charge of the garrison, security and security of the Beijing Division. That is to say, they can manage the security of the whole capital, check the city gate, catch thieves, patrol the night, and so on. At the beginning, the Nine Gate Admiral was not called this name, and after the Qing army entered the customs, he was called the commander of the infantry army, and then experienced several changes.
Originally, it did not care about the gate, but was responsible for commanding the Eight Banners infantry of the Manchu, Mongolian and Han armies and the horse infantry of the Green Battalion of the Beijing Division. By the thirteenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1674), he began to supervise the Affairs of the Nine Doors, which had previously been administered by the Bingbu. In the thirtieth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1691), the affairs of the three battalions were added, and the official title was changed to the commander of the three battalions of the Nine Gate Infantry Patrol at this time. Subsequently, during the years of Yongzheng and Qianlong, the name was changed several times, and the forty-sixth year of Qianlong (1781) was finalized.
At this time, their patrol had been increased to the five battalions of the center, south, north, left and right, and the name was changed to the commander of the five battalions of the Nine Gate Infantry Patrol. In the fourth year of Jiaqing, its official rank was also changed to congyi pin, which can be said to be a relatively high position of authority. At least in the imperial city, it can also be regarded as a person who can walk sideways, and ordinary officials outside have to listen to the nine gates when they come to the capital. Because they were closer to the emperor, they belonged to a group of people whom the emperor trusted greatly, and they held military power in their hands.
The troops are not only well-staffed and well-equipped, but will remain at around 30,000. In addition to the Yamen Headquarters, there are also eight flags infantry battalions, five patrol battalions, sixteen management agencies in the inner and outer cities, and the Baita Mountain Information Artillery Management Department. Of course, such an important thing is naturally not something that ordinary people can deserve. The first is the origin, and the second is the emperor's great trust, such as during the Kangxi Dynasty, Long Keduo held this position.
Before the Eight-Nation Alliance entered the city of Beijing, the last infantry commander was Rong Lu, a close confidant of Cixi, and later set up an aftermath patrol battalion. This is also the General Office of the Patrol Police, replacing the patrol camp commanded by the original infantry, and then Prince Su also served as the commander of the infantry. In 1905, the Qing court set up a patrol police department, opened a modern police school, and separated the military and police. For some time after the Xinhai Revolution, the infantry command was not abolished out of consideration, and it was not until Puyi was expelled from the capital in 1924 that this special yamen was abolished.
Judging from their ability and the subsequent replacement of the departments, the infantry commander, although he was an army, did more similar to the work of the police. What they are engaged in can be said to basically cover the content of modern policing, but it is relatively simple and lacks the norms of regulations. In the sense, the infantry commander was the first police-like organ in modern China, especially in the Beijing area.