In fact, it can be seen from here that General Hangzhou is still a very high-level official.
Although, in the eyes of many people, Nian Gengyao's transfer from Sichuan and Shaanxi Governor and General Fuyuan to Hangzhou General is equivalent to changing from a powerful government official to a small general with troops, and he has been completely relegated.
But in fact, the rank of general in Hangzhou is not as small as everyone thinks. Even in terms of official position, Nian Gengyao was promoted, not demoted.
Because this general in Hangzhou is not simply a general who commands the army in Hangzhou, but a general stationed in Hangzhou to defend the whole of Zhejiang Province, also known as the frontier general.
As we all know, the Qing Dynasty set up 14 generals stationed in Shengjing, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Suiyuan City, Jiangning, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Jingzhou, Xi 'an, Ningxia, Ili, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Tai Su. Most of these garrisons are strategically located in frontier and coastal areas, which is equivalent to our main garrison military region now.
Because the garrison is fixed, these generals are generally used when addressing? Resident+general? For example, General Shengjing, General Yili and General Guangzhou. General Hangzhou, too.
According to the official system of the Qing Dynasty, the rank of the general stationed in the garrison was subordinate, and his duties were similar to those of our current military commanders. He belongs to the highest rank in the army and is also a powerful figure with heavy weapons.
Nian Gengyao's original official positions were Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, General Fuyuan, and Prince of Taibao. Among them, Taibao is the honorary title of Zhengyipin and has no actual power; The rank of governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi is second-class, which belongs to the highest level of local civil servants and holds the military and political power of one or several provinces, which is equivalent to the provincial party Committee secretaries of our provinces now.
As for General Fuyuan, he is not a permanent official position. Generally, it was specially appointed by the emperor to cope with temporary large-scale wars, and there was no establishment and level.
In this sense, General Fuyuan is just like the commander-in-chief of the five war zones in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's time. His position itself does not involve official products, but is more of an honorary nature.
But in wartime, General Fuyuan can control and command all the governors, garrison generals and prefects in the war zone. Therefore, in terms of power, General Fuyuan is higher than the Governor and the garrison general. However, the problem is that General Fuyuan usually returns the seal of the general after the war, and the actual power of his post is cancelled accordingly, becoming an honorary title.
When Nian Gengyao was transferred to Hangzhou General, the Qinghai war he was in charge of had already ended, so his title of General Fuyuan had existed in name only. As for the title of Taibao, Yongzheng still reserved it for him. So Nian Gengyao is equivalent to being transferred from the Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi with the second grade to the General of Hangzhou with the first grade. In terms of rank, it belongs to a higher level.
However, the actual power of General Hangzhou is not great. He can only manage the Eight Banners of his own department, which is equivalent to being only responsible for the military affairs of the military region under his jurisdiction. As for the local politics, economy, personnel, public security, military and political affairs, he is not responsible. Of course, this is mainly in peacetime.
If in wartime, General Hangzhou can command all local civil and military officials, mobilize all nearby troops, even the governor and governor, and accept their orders.
But in terms of status, the general in Hangzhou is always higher than the governor, because there is a rule in the Qing Dynasty that anyone who is in the same province as the governor will be led by the general if they fight together! Therefore, although the real power of General Hangzhou is not as good as that of Governor Sichuan and Shaanxi, its position is higher than that of Governor Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Of course, because Yongzheng transferred Nian Gengyao to Hangzhou General, it was to keep Nian Gengyao away from his lair, so that Yongzheng could replace officials in Sichuan and Shaanxi and cut off Nian Gengyao's power. Because of this, Nian Gengyao was promoted on the surface, but actually he was relegated, because he could not exercise his normal power like other generals stationed in the army.
Even more frightening is that after Nian Gengyao was transferred, officials at home and abroad soon realized that Yongzheng wanted to take the opportunity to investigate and attack Nian Gengyao and its forces, so he beat up Reservoir Dogs and exposed his crimes. Seven months later, Nian Gengyao was deprived of his official position and was arrested and escorted back to Beijing for joint trial. Finally, he was listed as 92 felonies and sentenced to suicide in prison.