In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about various official positions in the Qing Dynasty, such as general soldiers and envoys, inspectors and admirals. Today, we talk about the Nine Gate Admirals of the Qing Dynasty and the Bingbu Shangshu. It has to be said that both official positions belong to the high-ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty in terms of grade, and belong to the top level of the Qing Dynasty official system. So, who has the greater power, the Nine Gate Admiral and the Bingbu Shoshu? In fact, in terms of his position in the emperor's mind, the Admiral of the Nine Doors was slightly higher than the Bingbu Shangshu.
First, let's talk about the Nine-Door Admiral. The full name of the Nine Gate Admiral is: The Commander of the Nine Gate Infantry Patrol Captures the Commander of the Five Battalions, and the office of the Nine Gate Admiral is called the Infantry Commander Yamen. Why the Nine-Door Admiral? Because, during the reign of the Qing Dynasty, the city of Beijing was divided into 9 gates, namely: Zhengyang Gate, Chongwen Gate, Xuanwu Gate, Anding Gate, Desheng Gate, DongzhiMen, Xizhimen, Chaoyangmen, and Fuchengmen. So, what is the work of the Nine Gate Admirals, in general: commanding the Nine Gates to manage the key, commanding the Five Battalions of the Eight Banners Infantry Army, following the Zhou Wei, and suing Jingjing Jingyi.
Before the Jiaqing Emperor, the Viceroy of the Nine Gates was Zheng Erpin (正二品). During the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor, in view of the gradual spread of the White Lotus Sect problem, in order to strengthen the vigilance around the capital, the Nine Gate Admiral was promoted to Congyipin. The actual power of the Jiumen Admiral is very large, under the jurisdiction of the Eight Banners Infantry Battalion, the Patrol and Capture Five Battalions, a total of 2 armed forces, the total strength of more than 30,000 people, belongs to the Qing Dynasty around the capital of the vigilance force. The Nine-Door Admiral was directly subordinate to the Emperor, and no one but the Emperor had the right to mobilize the troops under the Jurisdiction of the Nine-Door Admiral.
In other words, the Nine-Door Admiral was one of the Emperor's confidants. Generally speaking, the emperor would choose his trusted confidants to serve as the viceroy of the Nine Doors. In the history of the Qing Dynasty, successive viceroys of the Nine Doors were basically closely related to the emperor. Longkeduo of the Yongzheng Dynasty, He yan of the Qianlong Dynasty, and so on, were all confidants of the emperor. Of course, the Nine-Door Admiral is not without a containment mechanism, and the containment mechanism is the military department. According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the Nine Gate Admiral had direct management over the various units under his jurisdiction.
However, the procurement of equipment for the troops, the promotion of generals, and the supply of money and food all need to pass through the military department. Even for the transfer of troops, the Admiral of the Nine Doors must also show the official documents of the military department. In other words, if the Nine-Door Admiral suddenly gathered his troops and ordered them to be pulled out. The subordinate generals could not see the official documents of the army or the emperor's edicts, and they would not carry them out at all. Therefore, unauthorized mobilization of troops is almost equivalent to conspiracy. As for the Bingbu Shangshu, everyone knows that bingbu belongs to one of the six ministries, and this tradition continued from the Tang and Song dynasties to the Qing Dynasty.
According to the regulations, the Military Department was responsible for the procurement of weapons and equipment, the promotion and transfer of military attaches, the planning of combat plans, logistics supply support, and so on, and the tasks were very complicated. Troop movements in all regions must go through the Military Headquarters. Civilian officers could ignore the military department, but the military attachés did not dare at all. According to the regulations, the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War is directly responsible for the appointment, removal and selection of military attaches. Generally speaking, the Ministry of War has the power to directly appoint and dismiss mid- and low-ranking military attachés below the rank of general.
As for the lieutenant and senior military attaches such as deputy generals, general soldiers, and admirals, the military department itself cannot be the master. Perhaps you have found that the military department does not directly manage the management of troops in various places, but directly or indirectly manages the generals. This is the model of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which completely separated the right to transfer troops and the right to manage troops, and played a role in containing each other. Shōshū Hyobe and Admiral Of the Nine Doors were both officials from Yipin and belonged to the same rank. In terms of actual power, the Bingbu Shangshu could not defeat the Nine Gate Admiral, and the Nine Gate Admiral could not overwhelm the Bingbu Shangshu. Because, in itself, the two belong to two systems.
However, the Nine Gate Viceroys of the Qing Dynasty were generally held by the imperial family, the imperial relatives, and the Manchu and Mongolian relatives, and their status in the emperor's heart was relatively high. Sometimes, the emperor would appoint his confidants as viceroys of the Nine Doors. For example, the Qianlong Dynasty's favorite minister, He Yan, in addition to the Nine Gate Viceroy, also held more than 40 positions of various sizes. Therefore, from the two positions of the Nine Gate Admiral and the Bingbu Shangshu, they belong to the same level. However, if you add factors such as the Imperial Heart Technique and the concurrent position, the Nine Gate Admiral will be higher than the Bingbu Shangshu.
There is also a question, the Nine Gate Admiral managed more than 30,000 troops, in case the Nine Gate Admiral wanted to rebel, what would the Emperor do? Don't worry, the more than 30,000 troops under the jurisdiction of the Nine Gate Admiral belong to the security vigilance force in the capital. In various parts of the capital, there are also nearly 60,000 Eight Banners Army stationed, and it belongs to the elite mobile force of the Qing Dynasty, also known as the Eight Banners of Jingying. The more than 30,000 troops under the jurisdiction of the Nine Gate Admirals and the nearly 60,000 Jingying Eight Banners played a role in mutual restraint.
Whoever has the heart of disobedience cannot succeed. At the end of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the fourth son of the emperor, Yin Chan, was able to ascend the throne smoothly. It is to rely on Roncodo and his younger brother Yin Xiang. Roncodo served as admiral of the Nine Gates, taking control of the infantry battalion and the patrolling five battalions. The elder Thirteenth Yinxiang controlled the Eight Banners of Jingying, and before the Yongzheng Emperor Yin Chan ascended the throne, he also served as the minister of internal affairs. In other words, the three layers of armed forces in the capital from the periphery to the imperial palace were all under the control of Yin Chan. Old Eight Yin Qi and others, even if they wanted to resist, did not have this ability at all.
There are many more stories about a series of official positions in the Qing Dynasty, and the author will talk to you slowly in future articles.