One of the best parts of learning is realising how stupid some of things you've said or asked in the past were. Of course, there are no stupid questions, only questions inspired by an involuntary lack of knowledge. Starting now, I'd like to start regularly correcting things I've said or asked, this is inspired by the book I'm currently reading,
The Last Mongol Prince: The Life and Times of Demchugdongrob, 1902-1966, which provides, in passing, a good description of the league and banner system employed in Inner Mongolia during the Qing Era. SO, as the first in hopefully many, I will be addressing some stupid questions and statements I've made.
This alone isn't a stupid question, but, the intention very much was. The heads (darugas) and deputy heads (ded-darugas) of a League were mostly symbolic and existed to preside over congregations of princes (jasaghs) from the banners of a League, of course they did hold great influence over the league and its politics, but they weren't exactly rulers of the league.
This also isn't stupid, but I would instead, direct anyone interested towards the book
Ja Lama of Mongolia, the Life and Death of Dambijantsan, which is a more polished version of the website provided in the original post. Still highly recommend, great read, and not too long.
I still agree that keeping Sun Yat-sen around would be productive to Southern Mongolian independence or unification with Outer Mongolia, but my reasoning has changed completely. While, its obviously not 100% likely to result in Southern Mongolian independence, Sun Yat-sen had a relatively positive influence on Inner Mongolian left wing liberal intellectuals, indeed, the Inner Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's Chinese name was the Inner Mongolian Kuomintang. I think the best possible outcome would actually be Inner Mongolian independence as a progressive socialistic state with ties to Outer Mongolia. I'd argue, based on what I've read more recently the true political struggle in Inner Mongolia was between conservative nobles such as Prince De and the more liberal youth such as Merse and Serengdongrub, and to a lesser extent progressive nobles such as Gungsangnorbu, though many of those progressive nobles strongly supported monarchism and the Qing royalists.
Gungsangnorbu and the nationalistic leaning socialist leader of Mongolia Dambadorj both insisted on unity between the Inner Mongols if their goals were to be realised. Thus I'd suggest, more influence from the Kuomintang would be helpful in allowing Mongolian progressives and socialists defeating conservatives and conservative nationalists and also in bringing together both radical leftists and more moderate reformers. It was, I would suggest, a lack of unity, the failure of the Inner Mongolian Kuomintang/IMPRP, and rampant corruption and opportunism in China that caused the conservative nationalists to rise to power in the 30s, thus, I'd suggest an Inner Mongolia with a closer relation to the original Kuomintang (not the later more right wing and highly corrupt Kuomintang of Chiang) would be most productive, likely, with Sun's approval, receiving proper support from the Comintern and installing a moderate socialistic regime in Inner Mongolia.
I'd say the key flaw with my logic regarding the Kuomintang was the mischaracterisation of the Kuomintang, painting it as the same Kuomintang which massacred communists and sparked civil war. This is very much far from the truth with the earlier Kuomintang happily working with and for Chinese communists and focusing far more on Chinese tridentist thought than on the racist, chauvinistic nationalist policies of Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang. That, of course is not to claim no wrongdoing and corruption of the early KMT.
Finally, there is no single quote to summarise this, but I feel I have heavily overlooked the relationships and internal divisions of both Inner and Outer Mongolia. The two regions were far from being bipolar monolithic categorisations. Outer Mongolia was effected by divisions between the highly religious government of the Bogd Khan and secular Nobles, divisions between Bolsheviks, nationalist aligned socialists and the anti-communist nobility, and divisions between autonomy supporters, independence supporters and Qing loyalists. Inner Mongolia additionally, was effected by divisions between traditionalist conservatives, progressive nobles and left wing youth, divisions created by the Manchu as a result of the banners and Leagues, divisions between royalists, republicans and opportunists, and divisions between the western Inner Mongols and eastern Inner Mongols.
