Zongli Yamen
In 1861, Prince Gong set up the Zongli Yamen, which functioned as the Qing government's "de facto" foreign affairs ministry, and placed Guiliang (桂良) and Wenxiang in charge of it. He wrote a memorial to the Xianfeng Emperor, proposing to enhance the training of Banner Troops in Beijing and let the Qing troops stationed in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces train with the Russian Empire's forces and stockpile military supplies. The generals Shengbao (勝保), Jingchun (景淳) and others were ordered to train the troops in Beijing and northeast China.