In the Qing official system, an Admiral commanded a province's Green Standard Army and was subject to the control of the Governor-General and governor. But that subordinate relationship only existed in times of peace. In chaotic times, political power came from the barrel of a gun. Whoever held the troops was the boss.
Li Kexiu was indeed capable. In just a few years, he had forged the Qing Dynasty's Jiangnan Green Standard Army into an ironclad force that obeyed only his commands, completely sidelining the Governor-General and governor. Thus, although his official rank stood below Maleji, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and Ma You, the governor of Jiangning, all the various powers knew perfectly well who truly called the shots in this rich land.
The Manchu Qing court was not made up of fools, of course. They could not simply allow Li Kexiu, a Han Chinese, to dominate everything alone. Originally, aside from Li Kexiu's Han Chinese Green Standard Army, there was another force stationed in Jianghuai—the Eight Banners garrison, composed entirely of Eight Banners descendants and responsible for field battles as well as monitoring the Jiangnan Green Standard Army.
Back then, the Eight Banners soldiers had indeed been brave and formidable. In field battles, they had fought the Great Ming's most elite Guan Ning Iron Cavalry to the point where the latter could only rely on city walls for defense to barely force a draw. Unfortunately, after entering the pass, the Eight Banners descendants had fallen into decadence with startling speed. Let alone preserving the strength of that former elite army, few of them now even knew how to ride or shoot.
Yangzhou was also renowned as a money-burning paradise, filled with brothels and pleasure houses. After years of indulging in wine, women, and song, the Eight Banners garrison here