First answer the first question. The governor of the Qing Dynasty was a typical official of the frontier, with the official rank of the second highest, and the secretary rank of the Ministry of Military Affairs of the People’s Republic of China was the second highest. This official position was the highest military and political officer in the local area, which ruled the military and civil affairs of one or two provinces. The power was quite large. The Draft of the History of the Qing Dynasty said that the governor“ruled the military and the people, integrated civil and military systems, prosecuted officials, and repaired the frontier”, Qianlong’s”Great Qing Congress” said that the Governor“governs civil and military affairs, and governs military and civilian affairs”. This is not”comprehensive civil and military affairs”, but”governing civil and military affairs”. Without a word”military”, it can be seen that the Governor is also in charge of military affairs as the local supreme governor, but he is in charge of the local green camp military affairs, and can not control the flag soldiers. The flag soldiers are under the control of the local garrison general.
The governor can completely control the governor, the chief soldier and the army under his command in the area under his control, and can also control the troops directly under the governor’s command, which is called”Fubiao”. In addition, there are special troops directly under the governor, which is called”Fubiao”. For example, the Governor of Huguang can control the”Fubiao” of the two governors, the first governor and the four towns, namely, the”Fubiao” of the governors of Hunan and Hubei, the”Tibiao” of the troops directly under the governor, and the green battalions of Xiangyang Town, Yichang Town, Zhenyi Town and Yongzhou Town.
As governor, there are several ways to control the green camp:
I. Assessment and supervision of the green camp military officers. According to the custom of the Qing Dynasty, the military and political assessment is conducted once every five years. The content of the green camp assessment is talent and skill, annual strength, military control, and pay. The Governor’s assessment and comments on these four aspects of some officers below deputy generals have a decisive effect. After the assessment and comments, they will be submitted to the Central Committee. The Central Committee will determine the fate of these generals according to their assessment, which has an obvious impact on the future of these generals.
II. The right to appoint military officials. According to the Great Qing Congress of the Qianlong Dynasty, the Governor, the Governor and the Governor have the power to recommend military officials. The so-called“If there is no Yubao registration, the Governor and the Governor can simply select talents with excellent skills and local skills to supplement”. This power also determines the fate of some military officials. However, if the Governor arbitrarily abuses security, once the East Window incident occurs, he will also be punished.
The thirdis also the most important one. Once there is something wrong with the local government, the governor can directly mobilize the local green camp to carry out military operations to avoid the expansion of the situation. For example, during the reign of Kangxi, Li Zhifang, Governor of Zhejiang Province, led the Green Camp to cooperate with General Laita to suppress the rebellion of Geng Jingzhong, and sent the Green Camp to fight against Wu Sangui’s army in Jiangxi, and Cai Yurong, Governor of Huguang, also led thousands of Green Camp to fight with Wu Sangui’s army in the San Francisco Rebellion. These are all direct manifestations of the General Commander’s army. There are too many examples to enumerate.
In addition to the above three powers, the Governor can also adjust the camp system. For example, when Cai Yurong was appointed Governor Yungui, he proposed to increase the number of provincial governors from 4000 to 5000, divided into five battalions, which was approved and implemented by Emperor Kangxi.
Therefore, the Governor’s participation in the local military and political affairs is very deep. He is the highest military and political officer in the local green camp. The following is the scope of authority of the governor of the Qing Dynasty summarized in Xiao Yishan’s General History of the Qing Dynasty. You can see that the third, fourth and fifth are related to military and political affairs.
Next, let’s say the second question. The title”general” refers to the garrison general. The garrison general is the highest military and political officer of the local garrison eight banners (note: the garrison general has no right to govern the people and the civil affairs outside the city, which is the authority of the governor), From the perspective of official quality, the Governor is still under pressure. Even the Deputy Dutong under the General’s command will greet the Governor as a guest rather than as a subordinate. This shows the grand status of the garrison general.
The Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty Volume 146: According to the investigation, the Deputy Dutong of other provinces is a garrison officer. Although his grade is equivalent to that of the general officer, he is in charge of flag affairs, which is different from that of the general officer under the control of the governor. If he was ordered to give a personal salute, it was true that he did not agree with the system. Later, Deputy Dutong met the Governor and should give a guest and host salute.
After the 33rd year of Qianlong’s reign, it was changed from the first grade to the same grade as the title of the minister of the governor’s military department. Its main responsibilities:First,Training the Eight Banner Soldiers, which goes without saying, is its basic responsibilitySecond, raise the flag peopleThe flagman’s big and small affairs, such as marriage and funeral, land disputes, quarrels, relief and maintenance, are all within its jurisdiction. In terms of overall authority, it is not many times lighter than the Governor.
Therefore, in terms of grade, the two sides are not affiliated to each other. In civil affairs, theoretically, the governor should not intervene in the affairs of the flag man, nor should the general intervene in the affairs of the people, nor should he talk about the local financial power
As for local affairs, garrison generals often consult with the governor to carry out military operations, which is an important support for maintaining the rule of the Qing Dynasty. But at the same time, the two sides are also in the relationship of mutual supervision. In this respect, Qianlong’s summary is incisive. The so-called“The general could have told the truth if he or she was acting presumptuously, harassing the local authorities, or interfering with the civil affairs because of his or her special powers. Or the general should have told the truth if he or she listened to his or her subordinates, or if he or she acted too much in the local situation, and caused errors in the public affairs,”.
Therefore, the garrison general and the governor have been ordered to make reports in a long history. For example, the governor of Liangjiang, Frata, was ordered to investigate General Jiangning and said that the current general, Muzzina, was”very cautious, only because he had never taken care of matters before, and everything reported by the flag and the people’s capital was a little less decisive”.
The general also supervised the Governor’s actions and even set off the prison. For example, the general of Fuzhou, Quelun, complained to Qianlong about the deficit of Fujian because of the conflict with Governor Wulana and Governor Pulin. Qianlong was furious and made Quelun poor in governing his affairs. Finally, both Wulana and Pulin were executed.
To sum up, the Governor, as the highest military and civil affairs officer of the local government, can certainly take charge of the military and political affairs of the Green Camp, but he is the same grade as the garrison general, not the relationship between the upper and lower levels, nor can he interfere in the affairs of the flag man. With the local garrison generals, they have the obligation to cooperate to maintain the local rule of the Qing government, but also supervise each other and fight against each other. Of course, this is also the intention of the Qing government. After all, the most basic method of the feudal monarch is to divide and rule his subjects, which is fully in line with the need to consolidate the imperial power.
References: The Great Qing Congress of the Kangxi Dynasty, The Great Qing Congress of the Qianlong Dynasty, The Complete Translation of the Manchu Zhu Pi Memorials of the Kangxi Dynasty, The Draft of the Qing Dynasty, The Record of the Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, The Four Notes of Lang Qian’s Chronicles, The General History of the Qing Dynasty, The Biography of the Manchu and Han Famous Officials
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