Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 234 If you all do not conceal your real power, I, Jiang, will be the number one person under the emperor!
March 10th.

The Secretariat, the Hall of State Affairs.

The six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet took their seats one after another, young and old alike.

Grand Master Han Zhang lowered his hands and closed his eyes, looking as if he were asleep.

To the left, Jiang Zhao touched several documents, seemingly deep in thought.

The remaining four Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet all turned their attention to the direction.

Now, the Emperor is determined to implement reforms, with Jiang Zhao, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, at the core of the reforms, while Grand Chancellor Han Zhang maintains a neutral stance.

The true power in this cabinet has clearly shifted to some extent.

After all, whether it is the Grand Secretary or the Grand Secretary, they are essentially "Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet," and their power is not determined by their "official rank."

The power of a Grand Secretary in the Cabinet was often a combination of factors, including influence, protégés and former subordinates, and the emperor's trust in him.

Originally, Han Zhang and Jiang Zhao were two different people, but Han Zhang had more power and influence, as seven or eight out of ten government orders were related to him.

However, once the reform policy was established, some changes occurred.

With reform decrees as the national policy, the government would approve and implement any documents submitted by Jiang Zhao, which meant that the government's policies were largely influenced by Jiang Zhao, the core reformer.

The real power in the cabinet has already shifted!

This is why young people tend to favor reform.

Ultimately, reform itself is also an opportunity that can help newcomers rise to power.

Jiang Zhao looked at his teacher, bowed his head with his hands at his sides, and showed respect.

Throughout history, any reform involving the change of the "most powerful minister" has inevitably been accompanied by bloodshed.

Jiang Zhao and Han Zhang are somewhat different.

The reformer and the nominally powerful figure turned out to be master and disciple!

This is equivalent to the master and apprentice taking turns controlling the position of "first minister," a situation unprecedented and unparalleled.

"Recently, two decrees will be issued."

Jiang Zhao opened the document and looked at the remaining Grand Secretaries.

Several high-ranking officials also turned their attention to the past.

Jiang Zhao is undoubtedly the most favored person since the emperor came to power!

Now, the government intends to make it the core of reforms and eliminate corrupt practices, which shows its great determination.

It remains to be seen what kind of decree will be issued.

"First, all government departments were reorganized and their powers and responsibilities were clearly defined."

Jiang Zhao looked at the group and said calmly, "The Ministry of Personnel has six departments: the Department of Personnel Selection, the Department of Performance Evaluation, the Department of Merit Evaluation, the Department of Salary and Salary, the Department of Conferment, and the Department of Conferment Verification."

"The responsibilities of the six departments have been clearly defined; they can be circulated for review."

A document concerning the Ministry of Personnel was thus passed down.

The Civil Service Selection Office was in charge of the selection, appointment, and removal of civil servants.

The Performance Evaluation Department is responsible for the implementation and promotion of the performance evaluation system, and for reviewing the evaluation results.

The Si Xun Si was in charge of recording the merits, demerits, and punishments of officials, managing the register of officials, and the archives of the Ministry of Personnel.

The Salary and Pensions Department was responsible for the registration and compensation of officials' salaries.

The Office of Conferment was in charge of conferring titles, hereditary privileges, imperial edicts, and imperial favors.

The Verification and Sealing Office was responsible for verifying the qualifications of officials for appointment and removal, supervising whether the appointment and removal of officials complied with procedures, verifying mourning status, and other related administrative matters.

Previously, the Ministry of Personnel had four departments: the Department of Personnel, the Department of Performance Evaluation, the Department of Conferment, and the Department of Merit.

The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for a wide range of tasks, including determining the rank of officials, promotions and demotions, bestowing titles and honors, maintaining official records, verifying mourning status, and distributing salaries.

Furthermore, there are conflicts between the authority and responsibility regarding file management and the conferment of titles and honors and those of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Conferment.

Now, however, it has been split up, with separate departments for the selection of officials, salaries, and verification of seals, and detailed responsibilities have been stipulated.

The remaining scholars passed documents among themselves, observing the situation.

"Well done," echoed Han Jiang, a Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Hall.

Unclear division of responsibilities and powers can easily lead to extremes, either with everyone shirking their duties or with everyone vying for power.

With a single division of responsibilities, there is no conflict between rights and obligations, making it undoubtedly the best choice.

The remaining few nodded from time to time, offering no objections.

Jiang Zhao continued, "The Ministry of Revenue has six departments: the Tax Department, the Gold Department, the Granary Department, the Finance Department, the Salt and Iron Department, and the Household Registration Department."

The same four departments were split into six.

Originally, it was the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Granaries, and the Ministry of Expenditure.

The Ministry of Revenue's responsibilities were too numerous and complex, so they were split into the Taxation Department, the Salt and Iron Department, and the Household Registration Department.

The Taxation Bureau is in charge of tax collection.

The Ministry of Gold was in charge of coin minting and the circulation of monopolized goods.

The Granary Department was in charge of the Grand Canal transport and oversaw the management of grain warehouses.

The Department of Finance is in charge of the fiscal budget and appropriations.

The Salt and Iron Bureau was in charge of agriculture, salt, iron, tea, and other related matters.

The Household Registration Department is responsible for population census, land registration, verification, and land survey.

The document was passed down, and the group looked at it one by one.

"Grand Secretary Jiang, is this a land survey?" Wen Yanbo, a Grand Secretary of the Jixian Hall, frowned as he looked at the separately listed "Household Registration Department".

Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there have only been a few land surveys.

There was one investigation during the founding of the dynasty, one during the Jingyou era, and three during the Qingli New Policies.

Apart from the time when the nation was founded, the other times it was met with resistance from top to bottom and was never truly implemented.

The reason for this is that prominent families have hidden too much land, and once it is discovered, it means they will have to pay taxes.

Given the amount of land hidden by prominent families, once taxes are paid, their annual harvest will be reduced by at least 10% to 20%. Who would be willing to do that?

Thus, from top to bottom, everyone except those from poor families held an opposing view.

Measuring the land would be extremely difficult, and even the senior officials would likely object.

Even the Grand Chancellor Han Zhang!
You should know that Han Zhang is the biggest landowner in Xiangzhou!

Several high-ranking officials all turned their attention to the direction of the document.

Even Han Jiang and Wu Chong, who supported the reforms, and Tang Jie, who remained neutral, were no exception.

No one is perfect; who can be without feelings?
If reforming laws would harm one's own interests, then what's the point of reforming them?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhao understood Wen Yanbo's meaning and slowly said, "I am also from a prominent family."

With those words, the expressions on their faces softened slightly.

"What do you mean?" Wen Yanbo asked proactively.

It wasn't just Han Zhang; almost all ministers of the third rank or above were large landowners.

Even Jiang Zhao was no exception.

The Jiang family of Huaizuo, with three generations of purple robes and four generations of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), is famous throughout the world and may not be inferior to the Han family of Xiangzhou!

"Besides the Household Registration Office, isn't there also the Salt and Iron Office?" Jiang Zhao said unhurriedly.

"The Salt and Iron Bureau?"

Wen Yanbo was taken aback, then surprised, and asked in astonishment, "You want to use salt, tea, and wine?"

Wen Yanbo did not say "iron" because iron was destined to be something that no one outside the court could interfere with.

The remaining few people sometimes frowned, sometimes relaxed.

If it were possible to take over monopolized goods like salt and tea, then a land survey might not be unacceptable.

After all, these are all monopolized products.

As long as there are people living, they cannot live without salt, tea, and wine!

“Not only that, hand-woven textiles, ceramics, salt, wine, and tea can also be opened up,” Jiang Zhao said calmly. “These government-run products are utterly rotten.”

"Why not abandon the government-run system and have the court cooperate with major merchants by taking a stake, participating only in profit sharing and not in management?"

Jiang Zhao looked at the group and asked, "Is this feasible?"

In the past, every land investigation was almost always just a simple land investigation, simply causing losses to local powerful families.

As a result, resistance will inevitably increase.

However, if state-run industries such as hand-woven textiles, ceramics, salt, wine, and tea were allowed to operate, it would be equivalent to giving away some benefits, and the resistance to land surveying would definitely be much lighter.

In fact, local powerful families also sold salt, tea, and wine, but on the one hand, the collusion between officials and merchants was illegal, and it was naturally better to have the opportunity to make money legally; on the other hand, they did have to be wary of the existence of state-run businesses. Despite the corruption within these state-run businesses, the high-ranking officials still had to report to the emperor.

In terms of salt trading alone, at least 30% of salt was sold through government monopolies. Once the government monopoly was abolished, these 30% of the profits naturally flowed to powerful clans.

Furthermore, this not only liberalized the sale of salt, but also liberalized handicrafts, ceramics, wine, tea, and other products, which can be described as a very "generous" concession, enough to easily make up for the loss of land tax revenue.

“It’s feasible,” asserted Tang Jie, a Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall.

Taking a land survey is not necessarily a bad thing.

The remaining people nodded in agreement.

“In that case, I will submit a memorial to the emperor on a suitable day,” Jiang Zhao said calmly.

Once the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet reached an agreement, the attitudes of the corrupt officials in the Salt and Iron Bureau became irrelevant.

Arrest those who should be arrested, and strike those who should be struck.

"The Ministry of Rites was divided into six departments: the Department of Ceremonies, the Department of Sacrifices to the Suburbs, the Department of Imperial Examinations, the Department of Sacrifices to the Temples, the Department of Guests, and the Department of Food."

Similarly, the Ministry of Rites was split into six departments, with the original Ministry of Rites being divided into the Department of Ceremonies, the Department of Sacrifices to the Suburbs, and the Department of Examinations.

The Directorate of Ceremonies was in charge of court etiquette and the revision of classical texts.

The Suburban Sacrifice Office was in charge of sacrifices and all religions in the land.

The Imperial Examination Office was in charge of imperial examination affairs.

The Ministry of Rites was in charge of the management of ancient books and the organization of imperial lectures.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is in charge of foreign affairs.

The Department of Food and Beverages is in charge of the catering arrangements and budget for large-scale ceremonial events.

"The Ministry of Justice has six departments: the Department of Capital Affairs, the Department of Comparison Affairs, the Department of Gates, the Department of Criminal Administration, the Department of Case Review, and the Department of Joint Judgment."

The Ministry of Justice was originally divided into the Department of Criminal Administration, the Department of Case Review, and the Department of Joint Judgment.

Among them, the Joint Trial Office was a specially added function. It could organize the three offices to jointly try cases that the Dali Temple believed had been handled improperly, which was equivalent to the Supreme Court.

"The Ministry of War has six departments: the Department of Military Registration, the Department of Dispatch, the Department of Military Officers, the Department of Border Defense, the Department of Ordnance, and the Department of Military Supplies."

Among them, the Ordnance Department has added responsibilities and established a chief position for the research and development of ordnance.

"The Ministry of Works had six departments: Construction Department, City Defense Department, Manufacturing Department, Materials Bureau, Transportation and Water Conservancy Department, and Land Reclamation and Land Registration Department."

The documents outlining the division of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works were passed down one after another. Jiang Zhao continued, "In addition, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works all set up Qingli Offices in the fourteen circuits of the two capitals. From the circuit down, the prefectures are divided into halls, supervisors, and offices, and the counties are divided into departments, offices, and bureaus. There is one office for each circuit, one office for each prefecture, one bureau for each county, and one person with one responsibility."

Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War have always been distinct from the other ministries and can be considered "exclusively for the imperial court."

Therefore, only the three ministries of Household, Criminal, and Work could truly reach the county level.

"In addition to the original fourteen circuit censors, the Censorate has newly established prefectural and county censors. Every three years, they will switch circuits to carry out their supervisory duties."

"Hi~!"

The senior officials exchanged glances and were all taken aback.

As a result, the number of government offices at all levels would probably increase three or four times.

Especially the censors, there was originally one censor in each of the routes.

Once the powers and responsibilities were divided, it was simply a matter of one censor per county.

With one censor per county and over a thousand counties across the land, the number of censors alone was at least a thousand new positions.

If you include all sorts of miscellaneous positions, you'd have to add at least ten or twenty thousand more!

this.
“In this way, the magistrate’s powers are divided too much,” Wen Yanbo said, frowning.

What is a county magistrate?

In a county, everything, from top to bottom, is under the jurisdiction of the county magistrate.

However, with this division of power and responsibilities, the three main officials—the county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, and the county commandant—would all be significantly hampered.

The county magistrate was hampered by the heads of the Clerk and Revenue departments; the county assistant magistrate was hampered by the Rites, Justice, and Works departments; and the county commandant was hampered by the Military department.

Power has indeed been distributed quite a bit.

“If a seventh-rank county magistrate can’t control an eighth or ninth-rank official, then he deserves to be sidelined,” Han Jiang argued.

If someone is truly capable, a strong leader can remain strong.

"Zichuan's decrees were originally intended to refine the division of powers and responsibilities."

"I have no objection." Han Zhang, who had been squinting, opened his eyes and said slowly.

Wen Yanbo sighed and said nothing more.

"Secondly, the performance evaluation system, a three-account integrated system." Jiang Zhao picked up a document, his face solemn.

“In the past, when handling affairs, we relied solely on records and did not verify the facts. The imperial court rarely knew whether policies were actually being implemented.”

"This is just like a teacher assigning homework; simply assigning it without checking it is really inappropriate."

"Now, the three accounts must be integrated."

"What is meant by the integration of the three accounts?" asked Wu Chong, a Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, puzzled.

"All the government departments must clearly define in writing what tasks they require their subordinates to perform, including the content of the task, the standards for qualification, and the deadline," Jiang Zhao explained in a deep voice. "Furthermore, a specific official must be designated to handle the task."

"The heads of the six ministries appoint pacification commissioners, the pacification commissioners appoint prefectural officials, and the prefectural officials appoint county officials. All appointment processes must be recorded in writing, signed and endorsed, ensuring that there is someone in charge and someone responsible."

"Among them, the progress of the implementation of government orders must be reviewed by the six ministries once a month. There is a record of this."

“At the local level, the administrative divisions of the prefectures, counties, and districts must keep records of what policies and orders have been implemented, what the requirements from above are, and what the progress is. The local records are a single set of accounts.”

"For the remaining ledger, Jiang will submit a separate petition to the Emperor to establish a special supervisory agency under the Cabinet, called the Censorate. Wang Anshi will serve as the chief official, and Qi Heng as the deputy chief official. They will investigate the two ledgers of the Six Ministries and the local governments to create a third ledger. All three ledgers must be combined."

The group understood and all began to ponder.

Jiang Zhao's expression was serious: "From top to bottom, the prefectures and counties report to the circuit once a month, the circuit reports to the Censorate once a month, and a summary is compiled every six months. The Censorate will verify and summarize the reports."

"Monthly examinations and yearly reviews"

"Thus, there are three sets of ledgers."

"The three ledgers must be exactly the same."

"Whoever causes trouble will be demoted!" Jiang Zhao said emphatically.

"Every matter must be traceable, and accountability must be verifiable!"

"Ultimately, the specific implementation details of government orders will be one of the key aspects of performance evaluation."

"The superior rise, the inferior fall."

After he finished speaking, the Hall of State Affairs fell silent for a long time.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet exchanged glances, all understanding.

No wonder they've refined the responsibilities and powers, and implemented checks and balances.

After this process, one's political achievements and crimes become crystal clear.

In the past, when discussing political achievements, they were simply summarized as "educating and improving people's lives" and "rest and recuperation." Even without any actual achievements, one could still claim to have accomplished something.

Conversely, even when they are guilty, they can shirk responsibility and pass the buck, even shifting the blame to their subordinates.

With the implementation of the performance evaluation system, achievements and responsibilities were broken down into specific tasks. It became crystal clear which level had failed to fulfill its administrative duties.

The key point is that those in power can easily issue orders.

Just like the cabinet, which only needs to issue decrees, the six ministries will put pressure on their subordinates in order to better accomplish their tasks.

"Hi~!"

Even the powerful Han Zhang was taken aback.

Are young people's brains really that useful?
"A superior strategy," commented Han Jiang, a Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Hall.

“The same goes for me,” said Wu Chong, a Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, stroking his beard and smiling.

The detailed division of powers and responsibilities, combined with the performance evaluation system, is absolutely sound from a systemic perspective!

"What a rare and effective policy for improving governance!" Tang Jie, a Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall, exclaimed in approval.

The higher you go, the more you realize how powerful this process is.

Wen Yanbo, a Grand Secretary of the Jixian Hall, lowered his eyes and did not refute.

As someone who witnessed two reforms and served in the cabinet three times, he was quite knowledgeable and experienced.

This is indeed a system that can get things done.

Jiang Zhao looked at the group and smiled calmly.

Admittedly, even if several people oppose it, it won't affect anything.

But it would be even better if it could gain more recognition from other people.

(End of this chapter)