Diqin Designer

Chapter 547 De-Hellenization, Desiring Qin-ization

While the royal family was somewhat surprised by Alsak I's question, they were not too astonished. Before their mission, they had anticipated what questions they would be asked in other countries and prepared their answers accordingly.

It is a good thing that Arsakh I is now interested in learning about the official system of the Qin Dynasty.

Wang Ling smiled and said, “The official system used in my Great Qin is different from that of your country. His Majesty the Emperor appoints hundreds of officials to assist him in governing the world. The one at the head of all officials is the Prime Minister, followed by the Deputy Prime Ministers. There is only one Prime Minister, but there are several Deputy Prime Ministers.”

"Although the Prime Minister is the head of all officials, he does not manage all affairs. The main responsibility of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister is to manage the Ministry of State and assist His Majesty the Emperor in handling state affairs."

"Our Great Qin Dynasty implements a system of combining ministries and provinces!"

From the perspective of later dynasties, the Qin system seems rather strange. It has the shadow of the Three Departments and Six Ministries system, but it is not entirely the same, and it even incorporates some modern elements.

Anyway, Li Nian found this whole thing strange. The fact that this thing could operate in the Qin Dynasty was thanks to the First Emperor's high prestige. The Qin Dynasty was the first unified dynasty, a blank canvas for making a difference.

Surprisingly, this system is working quite well so far, and even after discovering problems, the First Emperor and Li Nian are still patching it up.

If we break down this official system, it is actually based on the "Three Departments and Six Ministries" system, but with the addition of more ministries, placing some ministries under the direct control of the emperor, and the establishment of provinces also differs from the "Three Departments and Six Ministries" system...

The purpose of this was to weaken the power of the prime minister, so that the power of the provinces and ministries could be more balanced, and no department would become too powerful and thus threaten the imperial power.

It's hard to say what the future holds for this system, but for the Qin Dynasty at present, it has the potential to be implemented first.

This official system was also known as the "Ministry and Department System" in the Qin Dynasty, and was believed to have been created by the First Emperor.

Wang Ling continued, “The ‘various ministries and provinces’ include the ‘Ministry of State Affairs,’ the ‘Ministry of Internal Affairs,’ the ‘Ministry of Censors,’ and the ‘Ministry of Justice.’”

Originally, there were only three provinces: the State Affairs Department, the Internal Affairs Department, and the Censorate. Now, the Qin Dynasty has added a new province: the Criminal Affairs Department.

The term "Ministry of Criminal Affairs" was changed from "Ministry of Criminal Affairs" to "Ministry," separating it from the jurisdiction of the State Council. The reason for this change was that it was inappropriate for the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, which was in charge of criminal law, to be placed under the jurisdiction of the State Council.

These four “provinces”, excluding the Ministry of the Interior, can actually be seen as the State Council, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and the Supreme People’s Court, respectively, based on their functions.

Of course, these differed greatly from the modern State Council, Supreme People's Procuratorate, and Supreme People's Court. For example, the functions of the "Imperial Censorate" were broader and more numerous than those of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

"The Ministry of State Affairs is in charge of the nation's affairs, sharing His Majesty's burdens in handling matters of state. It is headed by the Prime Minister and two Vice Prime Ministers, and oversees several ministries, such as the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites..."

Arsak I roughly understood that the State Affairs Department was the central hub for Qin's administrative affairs.

"The Ministry of the Interior is in charge of all matters concerning the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Clan, and includes the Purchasing Department and the Imperial Clan Court..."

"Your Majesty can think of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as managing the affairs of His Majesty's household. For example, if there is a shortage of items in the palace and they need to be purchased, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will handle it. Also, if a princess gets married, the wedding will be handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

I understand, the Ministry of Internal Affairs handles the Qin emperor's family affairs!
"The Censorate is responsible for remonstrating with the emperor, reviewing the decrees issued by the court and their feedback throughout the country, and also overseeing officials throughout the country. It oversees the Censorate and the Imperial Stud..."

"The Ministry of Justice is in charge of criminal law, investigating and judging all illegal and criminal acts throughout the land. If someone violates the law, the Ministry of Justice will be responsible for investigating what illegal acts they have committed, how serious they are, and ultimately punishing them according to the laws of the Great Qin."

"These are the four provinces of my Great Qin!"

After hearing this, Arsak I felt that the Qin people had clearly defined their responsibilities. This way, everyone knew what they should do in their positions, thus ensuring order and preventing chaos.

Wang Ling continued, "As for the various ministries, there are the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Taxation, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Rites..."

The Ministry of Commerce was an additional department created because the Qin Dynasty was bound to develop commerce in the future, and the Ministry of Commerce had to be established.

"The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of evaluating officials, promoting or demoting them; the Ministry of War is in charge of the nation's military affairs, conscripting soldiers, and reviewing military achievements; the Ministry of Commerce is in charge of trade and supervising merchants throughout the land; the Ministry of Education is in charge of education and overseeing schools throughout the land..."

"As I just told His Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Commerce, etc., are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of State Affairs, while the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War are under the jurisdiction of His Majesty the Emperor, and the Ministry of Education is under the jurisdiction of Young Master Li Nian."

The Ministry of Education should actually be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of State Affairs, but because Li Nian is currently managing the Ministry of Education, it has been separated into its own sphere.

However, Li Nian will no longer manage the Ministry of Education in the future, and the Ministry of Education will be returned to the Ministry of State.

Li Nian had some resentment towards the name "Ministry of Education," but she also knew it was for the purpose of uniting with other departments.

Arsak I and some Parthian ministers quickly grasped the advantages of this system after hearing what the king said. It was far more rigorous than their own official system because of its clear division of powers and responsibilities.

Furthermore, Qin's official system could prevent ministers from wielding too much power and threatening the emperor. For example, if the emperor took control of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, leaving the State Affairs Department without military power and unable to manage the selection and promotion of officials, then the power of the Qin prime minister, who was in charge of the State Affairs Department, would be greatly reduced.

Without military power or the authority to appoint and dismiss personnel, it was not easy for the prime minister of Qin to rise to power.

Wang Ling continued, "As for the official ranks of my Great Qin, they are divided into nine grades and twenty-seven levels, with the ninth grade being the lowest and the first grade the highest. There are five ranks of nobility: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. Each rank is further divided into three levels: 'state, prefecture, and county'."

The titles "Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron" are not foreign nobility systems that were introduced to China (I happened to see someone actually think that these things were introduced from abroad), but rather they existed in ancient China and are recorded in Mencius and the Book of Rites.

Even in the records of Mencius, "Son of Heaven" was considered a title of nobility.

Did the people of Qin really have such detailed distinctions between official ranks and titles of nobility?
This also shows that the Qin people were the ones who governed the country professionally and formally, while the Parthians, Seleucids, and Macedonians were like a bunch of makeshift teams.

Look at the Qin state; they do things in such an organized and methodical way. No wonder their country is so powerful.

Arsak I looked at the royal tomb and asked curiously, "May I ask what rank the envoy holds?"

Wang Ling smiled and said, "I will not be granted a title for now, but if I succeed in my mission, I will be granted a marquis title upon my return!"

Upon hearing this, the gazes of Arsak I and the others toward the royal tomb changed once more, showing even more respect, for the Qin envoy before them was actually a quasi-marquis.

Wang Ling answered this way intentionally. Before his mission, Prince Li Nian had told them that the Westerners valued status highly, and having a noble title would earn them even more respect. Of course, what Wang Ling said was true; if he succeeded in this mission and returned home, he would be granted the title of Marquis.

Historically, Zhang Qian was sent on a mission to the Western Regions by Emperor Wu of Han and succeeded. After returning to Chang'an, he was granted the title of "Marquis of Bowang".

In this era, being sent on a mission meant traveling extremely far, taking a very long time, and encountering all sorts of crises along the way; it was practically a life-or-death struggle.

If Wang Ling and his entourage succeed in their mission, they should rightfully be granted the title of marquis.

Arsak I said politely, "So the envoy is actually a prospective marquis; I had no idea before!"

Wang Ling shook his head and smiled, "Not yet. It will be when the mission is successful and we return to China."

Arsak I laughed and said, "That's only a matter of time; the envoy will surely succeed."

Wang Ling said, "Then I will accept Your Majesty's auspicious words!"

Through this Qin envoy, Arsak I and his entourage gained some understanding of Qin's official system. Qin's official system was excellent, but they also discovered a problem: according to Qin's official system, a large number of officials were needed. Qin had enough officials to support the operation of this system, but Parthia did not.

Simply copying Qin's answer and directly transplanting Qin's official system might cause problems...

Arsak I asked, “While your country’s official system is good, it seems to me that a large number of officials are needed. I wonder how your country plans to solve this problem?”

Wang Ling laughed and said, "There are only two ways: one is to recruit talented people from among the common people to serve as officials; the other is to cultivate them ourselves."

Arsak I then asked, "Could the messenger explain this to me in detail?"

Arsak I wanted to see if Qin's methods would be of any use to him.

Wang Ling said, “Of course! ‘Absorbing talented people from among the common people’ means that there are some talented people in the common people of our Great Qin who have never served as officials. Your Majesty can find ways to enable them to be selected as officials, such as by setting up the ‘Xianyang Grand Examination’.”

"The 'Xianyang Grand Examination' was an exam to select these talents. Anyone who met the requirements could take the exam, regardless of their social status. Those who performed well in the exam had the opportunity to be granted an official position."

Arsak I and the Parthian ministers in the palace paid special attention to the statement, "As long as the requirements are met, they can be considered, regardless of rank or status." This means that the Qin people did not distinguish between noble and lowly officials; as long as someone was talented, they could be selected.

Doesn't that mean that commoners can also be selected as officials through this "Xianyang Grand Examination" and sit on equal footing with those noble princes and nobles?
If this statement were made in countries like the Seleucid Empire, Macedonia, or Ptolemy, it would cause a huge uproar, because these countries were ruled by noble lords, and commoners wanted to sit on the same bench as them.
But this is rest!

Although Arsark I adopted many things left by the Macedonians after establishing independence, his situation was much better because he felt that there was no way to rise under the rule of the Macedonian elites and that no matter how hard he tried, he could not enter the circle of those Seleucid Macedonian lords.

He was considered a lowly person by the Macedonian lords, and he appointed many people who were also considered lowly by the Macedonian lords as officials.

Therefore, Arsak I did not feel disgust or fear towards the "Great Examination in Xianyang" mentioned by the royal tombs. On the contrary, he thought the method was quite good, but it was a pity that his country could not learn from it.

The reason why the people of Qin were able to select talented people from among the common people through the "Xianyang Grand Examination" was because there were talented people in Qin who could be selected.

But after his passing, how many talented people are left in the common folk? Would these talented people be willing to work for him? And would he dare to give them important positions?
"'Self-cultivation' naturally means cultivating talents ourselves. The purpose of establishing the 'Ministry of Education' in our Great Qin is precisely to educate our people, so that more people in Great Qin can read and write, and thus more talents will emerge."

"Your Majesty may also use this method, but it takes time! As the saying goes, 'For a year's plan, nothing is better than planting grain; for a ten-year plan, nothing is better than planting trees; for a lifelong plan, nothing is better than cultivating people.' Although it will take time, the talents you cultivate yourself will have many benefits."

Arsak I nodded. Given Parthia's current situation, selecting officials from the common people was not feasible; they would have to spend time cultivating their own.

Will the Seleucids give him enough time?

Arsak I then thought of another matter: to cultivate talent, there must be classic texts for them to study, and almost all the classic texts in his country were left by the Macedonians.

Nine out of ten people trained using the books left by the Macedonians will tend to resemble the Macedonians, developing the same mindset and behavior.

At that time, the Parthian order he created, which was established by the Macedonian lords of Seleucus, will become another Seleucus.

Previously, there was no choice; if they didn't use what the Macedonians left behind, there was nothing else available. But now...

Isn't there still the Qin state?

Although Qin was far away, Qin was stronger and its products were better. Moreover, because of its distance, Qin posed less of a threat to him.

Arsak I had a plan in mind: he would abandon the idea of ​​using Macedonian classics to train talent and instead use Qin classics.

Now it is necessary to send many students to Qin, at least several hundred, to study in Qin. When these students return home after completing their studies, they will serve as the seeds for changing Parthia and de-Macedonizing (Hellenizing).

No, he couldn't leave the time while he was sending students to study in Qin idle. He needed to borrow some talented people from the Qin envoys to help him reform Parthia.

Arsak I had a similar idea to Eusidmus I, both wanting the Qin delegation to retain someone as their advisor.

However, the two men had different motivations. Euthydemus I wanted to solidify his throne and did not intend to de-Hellenize, while Arsace I wanted to de-Hellenize, get rid of the influence left by the Macedonians, and establish a new Parthian state.

Arsak I did not immediately request that the delegation retain some members as his advisors, but instead asked, "May I ask, envoy, how does your country send officials to govern the local areas?"

Parthia adopted what the Macedonians left behind, and naturally also used the system of appointing governors to govern the local areas.

This method has been proven to have significant problems. The governors wielded too much power, and if the monarch weakened or the country faced problems, those powerful governors might rebel. Several of his neighbors are living examples of this.

Arsak I did not want his final resting place to suffer the same fate, but he could not think of a better administrative system and had to make do with what he had.

Now let's see if the people of Qin have any new solutions!
(End of this chapter)