The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 398 Volume Three Provinces and Six Departments!

"Some things need to be set down now and will be announced at the grand court meeting in the sixth year of Jian'an."

Inside the Xuanshi Hall.

The emperor felt more energetic after a few days of rest.

Below them were important court officials such as Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Xun You, and Zhong Yao.

"The most important thing is to reform the official system."

There were a large number of official documents piled up on the emperor's desk.

"The Secretariat is now extremely bloated, and its powers are unclear. There are several "stupid things" that almost caused disasters, so we must start a charter now and strive to make the new official system run properly within the sixth year of Jian'an."

Jia Xu and Xun Yu, two officials in charge of the Secretariat, agreed very much!
If before, the Shangshutai could still operate with the superior personal abilities of the two of them in Yong, Liang, Yi, and Jing, then the complicated situation of the Shangshutai now has far exceeded their control.

The current Shangshu Tai is no longer something that can be maintained and operated by just a few geniuses.

If the Shangshu Tai is to be prevented from collapsing, establishing a system has become the most important thing for the court right now.

"I have previously communicated with the Shangshutai through a letter to inform you of the general rules. Today is the day to make these rules public."

Liu Xie handed an official document to Jia Xu and Xun Yu.

"This is the method I came up with to reform the official system!"

The two took the document and saw four big characters at the beginning:

"Three provinces and six ministries?"

"省", which has the same origin as the character "眚", means to inspect the growth of plants with eyes.

Later, it was extended to mean "inspection", representing the forbidden area in the imperial palace.

So the two of them knew at a glance that these "three provinces" were roughly the three departments at the center of power.

【Ministry of Chancellery】

【Secretary-General’s Office】

【Menxia Province】

The name "Zhongshu" was first used in the early Han Dynasty. It belonged to the inner court eunuchs, who were responsible for organizing the palace archives in the emperor's study and had frequent contact with the emperor. Its chief official was called Zhongshu Ling... and the famous historian Sima Qian was the first person in history to serve as Zhongshu Ling.

Although I have never heard of the name "Menxia", as soon as I think of the positions of "Huangmen Shilang" and "Shizhong", I know that this must be a position to serve the emperor, assist in various affairs, and advise on responses. When the emperor goes out, the emperor will serve as an attendant.

In this way, just through the names, we can know the specific responsibilities of these "three provinces":

The Secretariat formulated policies and drafted imperial edicts.

The Menxia Province reviewed the report and gave advice to find out the loopholes.

The Secretariat issued and implemented the decree, which was implemented by the six ministries.

If the imperial edict drafted by the Secretariat was inappropriate, the Ministry of Personnel had the right to reject it and request a re-draft. Important memorials submitted by various departments must be submitted to the Ministry of Personnel for review through the Ministry of Shangshu. Only after the Ministry of Personnel approved it, it was allowed to be sent to the Secretariat for submission to the emperor for review; if it was found to be inappropriate, it could be rejected and revised.

In this way, the three powers of decision-making, review and execution are actually dispersed, which plays a role of clear responsibilities and mutual supervision.

As for the six ministries, they are the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works. Each of them has a Shangshu and a Shilang to execute government orders.

"Hiss, this system..."

clear!

concise!
Reasonable!

Although it looks very novel, in fact we can still see the shadow of the two hundred years of inheritance of the Later Han Dynasty. It is not groundless and has no basis.

Whether it is the establishment of three provinces or the division of six ministries, in fact, all of them have traces to follow, and have not directly deviated from the existing framework!

Such inheritance will undoubtedly make it easier for court officials to accept this system, and will also minimize the impact of official system reform.

After Jia Xu and Xun Yu finished reading it, they circulated it to other people to read the emperor's document.

"Such a system is indeed better than the Shangshutai and the three dukes and nine ministers being mixed together into a mess."

Today, several people in Xuanshi Hall have done the work and governed the country themselves.

Faced with such a well-organized system, there was no need for them to refute it.

but……

Reforming the bureaucracy is never as easy as it sounds.

The essence of "reform" is actually the redistribution of power.

Even if a system is good and everyone knows it, it will never satisfy everyone.

Especially once the three provinces and six ministries came into being, the system of three dukes and nine ministers that had been passed down by the Han Dynasty for four hundred years would probably be completely obsolete!
Xun Yu immediately reported worriedly: "Your Majesty, the Nine Ministers actually had a lot of real power and responsibilities. If they are all abolished, I'm afraid it won't be a good thing, right?"

A dead skinny camel is bigger than a horse.

Even though the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers system had been bullied into a corner by the Secretariat, it was undeniable that the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers system was still an indispensable part of the Han Empire, and it was impossible to simply cut them off with a knife.

If the problem cannot be solved properly, I am afraid that trouble will still occur among the three dukes and nine ministers.

"I have thought of everything Wen Ruo said."

Liu Xie took out another official document and handed it to Xun Yu.

"In addition to the three dukes and nine ministers, I also plan to establish nine ministries and five bureaus." "The nine ministries are the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Imperial Household, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Imperial Clan Affairs, the Ministry of the Imperial Household, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Finance."

"The five supervisory offices are the Imperial Academy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Military Affairs."

"The Nine Officials evolved from the Nine Ministers, but from then on they no longer participated in government affairs and only performed their duties."

The emperor did not intend to abolish the Nine Ministers, but to demote them into administrative departments.

In this way, although its power was greatly reduced, its "organization" was retained, allowing it to continue to perform its duties.

Xun Yu didn't expect that the emperor had already arranged the positions of the Nine Ministers, and nodded immediately.

But there is one most troublesome thing -

San Gong!

The Three Dukes of the Later Han Dynasty were so noble that it was beyond words!

Not only because they have the power to establish a government, but also because the Three Dukes lead the Nine Ministers, their status itself is almost the same as the "Three Provinces" system that the emperor will set up. They are the spokespersons of the central center!
In addition to the popularity of the "theory of prophecies and divinations" and the "communication between heaven and man" in the Later Han Dynasty, the Three Dukes themselves actually had some divine responsibilities, and they probably should not be dealt with as hastily as departments such as the Nine Ministers.

"This is actually what I really want to discuss with you."

The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the problem often lies not with the Nine Ministers, but with the Three Dukes.

The abolition of the three highest officials has gone far beyond the political level and has turned to the academic and even ideological aspects.

If the authorities do not provide a reasonable explanation, I am afraid that riots or even rebellion will be triggered among the people!
Everyone in the Xuanshi Hall looked at each other, and none of them knew how to start.

The Three Dukes are like a hot potato.

If it is not properly resolved, the backlash behind it will be enough to completely ruin the reputation of any one of them.

A bad reputation is a small matter, but if it hinders the reform of the three provinces and six ministries, it will be a big matter.

Seeing the Xuanshi Hall fall into silence, Liu Xie habitually called out: "Dezu."

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Dezu has been seriously ill since his return and has been on leave at home."

Sima Yi came forward to remind Liu Xie at this moment, and Liu Xie then realized that this seemed to be the case.

Yang Xiu said that he bumped into something when he returned to Chang'an that day, and broke out in a cold sweat, which is why he got seriously ill...

"That's it."

"It just so happens that you, Zhongda, are quite familiar with Zong Bo. After the meeting, you can bring the news to him and ask him what he thinks."

Today's three officials.

Taiwei Yang Biao, Sikong Liu Biao, and Situ Tian Feng.

Representatives from Guanzhong, Jingzhou (Central Plains), and Hebei.

Liu Xie would not go to Tian Feng, so only Yang Biao and Liu Biao were suitable to inquire about this matter.

"Zong Bo has always been an amazing scholar, and he once ruled Jingzhou. His knowledge should be able to help me solve my doubts and find a solution for the court."

"But you have to go to Yang Biao and tell him not to play dead. I remember he mentioned before that the Guanxi classics have been suppressed by the Guandong classics for a long time! If he continues to do nothing, the Guanxi classics will really be killed by the Guandong classics!"

"Here."

At present, scholars from Jingzhou headed by Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong are gradually becoming active in the court of the Han Dynasty. There are also Jingzhou generals such as Wen Pin and Huang Zhong showing their talents. All of these demonstrate the court's trust in Jingzhou officials. Therefore, Liu Biao does not need to stand up for those Jingzhou officials anymore.

Besides, Liu Biao himself was not interested in this, and whether the three-official system was modified or not had no effect on him.

The most reasonable thing to do is to let Liu Biao come forward to resolve the matter in public opinion.

"There is still some time before the grand court meeting."

"We can leak some information about the Three Provinces and Six Ministries system to let officials and the people know more about it. On the one hand, it will prevent them from being too flustered when it is actually implemented, and on the other hand, it will make it easier for people to write a letter stating the pros and cons, and then adjust and modify it after multiple considerations."

Reforming the official system is not something that the emperor can decide by simply convening a meeting in the Xuanshi Hall and discussing it with a few people.

The operation of government agencies, the division of powers, public opinion, and the wrangling among officials... these are all things the court has to deal with.

Today we are just discussing a draft, and then slowly testing and sorting out the details of the Han official system.

"Here."

Everyone agreed, and according to the emperor's wishes, the "Three Provinces and Six Departments System" was released to test the reactions of all parties...

Uproar!

This system, which was derived from the Shangshu Tai but was completely different from the Shangshu Tai system, instantly became popular among the Shangshu Tai officials!
"Your Majesty really doesn't want us to have a good New Year!"

"..."

Several chief secretaries of the Secretariat rushed to Xun Yu to inquire about the news, hoping to seize the initiative.

Several of the Nine Ministers jointly wrote a letter to the emperor, arguing that it was inappropriate for the emperor to abolish the Nine Ministers system and replace it with "Nine Departments", and requested the emperor to consider it carefully.

Even the military was alarmed, causing Niu Fu and Dong Cheng to write to the emperor to ask whether the reform would affect the army...

Liu Xie took great pains to look through the official documents submitted by these officials, and wrote comments on each one and left them aside, treating them as solicitations for their opinions.

But when he came across the official document from Jingzhao Yin Zhang Ji, Liu Xie couldn't help but stop.

"Zhang Ji, I still have some impression of this person."

(End of this chapter)