The Keshik (Kesig) was a group of people which came to have an important relationship with the system of administration after Qubilai Qa'an started to rule over China. Hitherto it has been explained as a reserve corps of high-class government officials. This study is an attempt to clarify the circumstances and conditions of appointments of Keshikten (=pl. 怯薛丹) to government offices. The results can be summarized as follows. The appointment of a Keshiktei (=sing. 怯薛歹) to a government office took the form of Jang Shih (任使) which was different from the ordinary method of appointment. The relationship between the Qa'an and a Keshiktei was based on the lord-vassal relationship and not on the ordinary relationship between the sovereign and an official. When the need arose to organize Keshikten into the traditional Chinese system of administration, the duality of the system of Keshik and the traditional Chinese system of administration and the possible conflict between them were avoided by appointing the Keshikten to one of the Qa'an's Household offices. Moreover, the lord-vassal relationship between the Qa'an and the Keshikten was preferred to that between the sovereign and an ordinary official. Thus the Keshikten recommended by the chief (Kesigud-un Otokus 怯薛長) and subleaders (Kesik-un-Nojad 怯薛官) of the Keshik was commissioned directly by the Qa'an. It was called Belge Appointment (別里哥選) and the Chung-shu-sheng (中書省), the government department that controlled the general system of administration, had nothing to do with it. The rank to which a Keshiktei was appointed varied according to the Qa'an's favour, the man's position in the Keshik, his family origin and his calibre. Their ranks ranged from the first original rank (正一品) to the ninth original rank (正九品). The chief of the Keshik was appointed especially to higher ranks, i.e., the third original rank (正九品) and above. The subleaders of the Keshik were appointed to the fifth subordinate rank (従五品) and above. The Keshikten who were sons of men who had rendered distinguished services and were appointed to the offices in the Keshik called Boghorci (寳兒赤), Bichikchi (必闍赤), Sughurci (速古兒赤), etc., were appointed to the seventh subordinate rank (従七品) and above. Besides there were Keshikten who were appointed only to the lower ranks and could be promoted only to the fifth subordinate rank (従七品) at most. Above all the fact that the average Keshikten was appointed to the seventh subordinate rank (従七品) at the lowest corresponded to the fact that the People of Kitai (漢人) and the Manzi (南人) who mainly took up appointments as clerical officials (吏員) and school officials (学校官) were promoted only to the sixth or seventh rank (六・七品) at most. This was a manifestation of racist policy of the Mongol rulers. The Keshikten were appointed to a wide variety of offices at the start of their official career and held successively various other higher offices : the chief and vice ministers of the Chung-shu-sheng (中書省), the Shu-mi-yuan (枢密院) and the Yu-shih-t'ai (御史台) which were the three most important government departments, the Hsuan-hui-yuan (宣徽院), the Chung-sheng-yuan (中政院) and other similar Household departments, the T'a-tsung-cheng-fu (大宗正府), the Han-lin-yuan (翰林院) and other similar government departments that held the first subordinate rank (従一品), and major positions in the local administration. It will be observed that the Qa'an of the Yuan Dynasty intended to keep a firm hold on the whole system of administration and to rule the Chinese people by appointing the Keshikten to important offices of government both central and local.

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The Hamaguchi Cabinet which was formed in July of 1929 made fiscal retrenchment a major pillar in their political program. Ugaki Kazushige assumed the post of Army Minister, and Hamaguchi demanded wide scale reductions in army expenditures. In response to this, Ugaki found money for the consolidation of the army, and in addition to drawing up plans for finishing equipping the army, he tried to restore some of the unspent money to the National Treasury. This was the beginning of the army reroganization issue. However, Ugaki's ideas met resistance from the very beginning by members of the Army Ministry. This was because of the fear that curtailment of expenses meant disarmament. Or perhaps it was because they worried that this was but a tool of Ugaki's political ambition. Nevertheless, finishing equipping was necessary from the point of view of the army and gradually research and preparation for the reorganization of the army moved forward. There were, nevertheless, differences of opinion between the Army Ministry and the General Staff Office. Furthermore, while this plan was being considered, Ugaki fell ill. During his illness, Ugaki considered resigning but finally appointed a temporary substitute. Behind all of this was the government's reluctance to let Ugaki resign in the midst of the chaos over the London Conference. During this time, the preparations for the army reorganization proposal went forward, and according to financial retrenchment plans, a considerable amount in army expenditures was reduced. Ugaki returned to his post in December of 1930. At that time the only means left for him in terms of reorganizing the army was by concentrating on reducing the number of men in order to finish equipping the army. However, there was a great deal of resistance from within the Army Ministry and confusion over restoring money to the National Treasury. It was at this time that Hamaguchi was shot, and it was thought that Ugaki would serve as a substitute or as Hamaguchi's successor. However, neither came to pass, and Ugaki was not able to achieve his difficult goal of reorganizing the army within the narrow confines of the army budget. Instead, when the Hamaguchi Cabinet resigned, Ugaki too handed in his resignation. Thus, he did not have to execute the army reorganization plan which did not receive favorable comments from within the government and which was criticized by many members of the Army Ministry itself.

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