Frontiers
Garrison General
When mentioning the Qing Dynasty's feudal officials, the natural thing that comes to mind is the governor.
The Qing Dynasty undertook the Ming system and established eight viceroys, and later added the headquarters of the three eastern provinces to become the nine viceroys. They are in charge of the civil army in one or more provinces. It can be described as a monstrous authority, comparable to that of a prince.
However, they were really not the most cattle feudal officials of the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing court valued the garrison generals more.
The Eight Governors, Zheng Erpin (正二品), were promoted to Congyi Pin (從一品) after he was appointed to the rank of Shang Shu of the Military Department and the Right Governor of the Imperial Household.
The normal rank of the garrison general is congyipin, and generals Ili and Suiyuan are even more anti-heavenly, directly zhengyipin, and the same level as the three halls and three pavilions.
The main duty of the garrison general is the Eight Banner Army under the jurisdiction of the unified command.
▲ Ili General's Mansion
The Qing army relied on the Eight Banners to conquer the world and conquer the Central Plains, and the Eight Banners can be said to be the foundation of the Qing court.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Qing court, the supreme commander of the Eight Banners stationed in the local area was the real weapon of the country. Although they did not have the power of the governor in other areas, they were far more strategically important than the governor.
▲The former site of the Two Guang Governor's Palace of the Sacred Heart Cathedral
Although the governor also had the right to control the army, they could use the Green Battalion of Han Chinese under the jurisdiction of the Governor General. The Eight Banner Soldiers had no chance of getting involved.
The Eight Flags Army, whether it is welfare benefits or weapons and equipment, is far better than the Green Camp Army.
The Qing court's protection of the Eight Banners can be described as from the cradle to the grave. High salary, good welfare, and more income. And the remuneration of the green camp can only be to support the family.
Although in the late Qing Dynasty, the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp was like slag. But in the first and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners were the existence of the anti-heavens. Especially their firearms battalion, the Jianrui battalion, which are elite special forces.
Moreover, the garrison general also has the privilege of supervising the green camp in the jurisdiction, even in the nearby area. If the garrison generals and the capital of the Eight Banners were in conflict with the governor's restrained generals, the Qing court would most likely favor the garrison generals, after all, the Manchu Qing were extremely wary of the Han people's green camp.
▲ The patrol battalion at the end of the Qing Dynasty was streamlined from the green battalion troops
It is precisely because of this importance that the garrison generals are almost all of Manchu Qing descent, with a few Mongolian generals serving as Mongol generals, while few Han Chinese.
But the Eight Governors were not so defensive. In the early and middle qing dynasties, it was dominated by the Manchu Qing. Later, however, the Han Chinese already occupied the majority, while the Manchu Governors were a minority outlier.
▲ Shengjing General's jurisdiction map
The Qing Dynasty set up a total of fourteen garrison generals. They were stationed in Shengjing, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Suiyuancheng, Jiangning, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Jingzhou, Xi'an, Ningxia, Ili, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Ulyasutai.
Among them, General Shengjing, General Jilin, General Heilongjiang, General Ili, and General UriaSutai are more special, and their locations do not have governors. So they play a wider range of duties than the Governor. Take care of everything.
▲Shengjing General's Mansion
Elsewhere, the garrison general and the governor worked in the same place, and if there was a need to coordinate to hand the emperor a fold, the garrison general's name should be ranked before the governor.
An important bargaining chip for the Qing court to dare to highly decentralize power among the eight governors without fear of repeating the mistakes of the "San Francisco Rebellion" was the garrison general next to the governor.
▲The former site of the Governor's Palace of Shaanxi and Gansu
In case there is an inconspicuous governor, once he has his own special careful thoughts, the fold of the garrison general will soon be placed on the royal case. The next thing waiting for the governor was the elite iron horse, and the green camp, which was no longer able to control.
It is also because of the detached status of the garrison general, so in the movie "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er", Su Qi'er, because his father is a general in Guangzhou, even dared to confront the prince of the clan and did not show weakness.
Leng Han
display