A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 298 Great Change
"I thank the Prime Minister."

Liu Ju sincerely expressed his gratitude to Gongsun Hong, saying, "With someone like you, what more could I ask for?"
As Jiang Bo left the Xuan Shi Hall, a major power shift was about to take place in the court. From this place, no one was allowed to approach within a hundred paces.

Mo Zimo and Huo Guang, who were also confused, were temporarily asked to leave the eaves. The two of them had four eyes and clear expressions.

Jiang Bo had heard about the Prime Minister's residence incident, and looking at the two unfortunate fellow disciples, he sighed softly.

The young boy must be heartbroken to be betrayed by his mentor.
above the hall.

Liu Ju invited Gongsun Hong to sit down, pondered for a moment, and said, "The Prime Minister's Office and the Prime Minister system are too radical proposals from the Prime Minister."

Having lived two lives, Liu Ju was definitely a radical, but even he felt that the Prime Minister's ideas were too radical in this era.

It's not that a system that has lasted for thousands of years can be abolished or stopped so easily—after all, the superiority of the feudal imperial system was undeniable—but such a leap forward was ahead of its time. Liu Ju had to admit that even he himself found it somewhat unacceptable.

"Prime Minister, the Han Dynasty has 144 prefectures and 1,560 counties. If all political and military affairs were to be piled up before me, it would be beyond human capability," Liu Ju said with a helpless smile, spreading his arms.

The Han people nowadays already have paper, but it is quite primitive, extremely rough in texture, and even feels hard when using the toilet.

Therefore, the main writing materials used in the Han Dynasty were bamboo slips and silk scrolls.

Even with the Prime Minister's staff selecting memorials in advance and presenting them to Weiyang Palace daily for Liu Ju's review, there were still 120 jin of them.

That's right. Memorials were measured by weight, and the number of words was around 200,000. The actual processing varied depending on the complexity of the memorial and the method of review.

It may not sound like much, but anyone with experience in government offices knows how much intricacies are involved in "official documents."

Even after Liu Ju came to power, he repeatedly ordered all government offices to submit concise and straightforward memorials, but he still had to find and avoid the "clever words" and "traps" in them before issuing his instructions.

In order to transform the empire and reverse the predicament of his father, Liu Ju almost became a "time management master," working tirelessly year-round, which enabled him to achieve progress in both civil administration and military affairs in the Han Dynasty.

If all the government and military affairs of the country's counties and prefectures were directly reported to Weiyang Palace, even if Liu Ju worked day and night without rest, he still wouldn't be able to finish dealing with them all.

The Han Dynasty was an empire with numerous and complex affairs. No matter how energetic one person was, they could not handle it all. Forcing things would only delay the affairs of the country and make it easier for them to be bullied by their subordinates.

Hear the strings and know the elegant meaning.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing frowned.

Chen Mo didn't care.

Only Zhang Tang's eyes immediately revealed excitement.

Gongsun Hong, however, sensed something deeper and asked calmly, "What does Your Majesty mean?"

"Change from abolishing to reforming."

Liu Ju's words were quite convoluted: "The functions of the Prime Minister's Office, such as formulating government orders, coordinating administration, handling military affairs, and supervising and inspecting, are carried out by my will and also bear the burden of the operation of the people. They cannot be easily abolished. Since the Prime Minister system is outdated, it is better to make some changes."

The Han Dynasty needed a central authority, and Liu Ju, as the monarch, also needed a central authority to ensure efficient administration, strengthen imperial power, balance power, prevent corruption, and simultaneously ensure both professional decision-making and efficient execution.

"Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

"The Prime Minister's office is too large and cumbersome to be managed by one person alone. However, since it is for assisting in governance, I believe that there should be one chief prime minister, one deputy prime minister, and three to five assistant ministers to jointly handle state affairs."

"Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

"The Grand Secretary is directly appointed by the Emperor, oversees the overall situation, is responsible for coordinating the affairs of various government offices, and serves as the core bridge between the Emperor and the people." "The Second Grand Secretary assists the Grand Secretary in handling daily affairs and may be in charge of one of the following areas: administration, military, or finance."

“The chief minister and deputy chief minister assist the chief minister and deputy chief minister in handling daily affairs, participate in confidential matters, and draft imperial edicts.”

"All state affairs are initially drafted and handled by the chief minister, the second minister, and the other ministers, which is called a draft proposal. The one with the most proposals is the final decision. However, if the chief minister decides on a matter and the result of the draft proposal is different from the result of the draft proposal, he can go directly to the emperor for a decision."

"What does the Prime Minister think?"

Liu asked.

The threat of a single prime minister is too great for the imperial power. If there are multiple prime ministers, although there will be some obstacles, they will not pose a threat to the imperial power most of the time. In this way, the imperial power and the power of the prime ministers may be able to coexist harmoniously.

While the chief minister and deputy chief minister were indeed given greater power, the emperor retained the final right of interpretation and final decision.

Gongsun Hong pondered for a moment, then said tactfully, "Your Majesty, this system does not adequately limit the power of the chief minister, and may not be satisfactory."

Thus, while the Grand Secretary's power is less than that of the Prime Minister, it is not weakened enough. If the Grand Secretary insists on achieving something, he can still do so.

As far as imperial power is concerned, the threat has not completely disappeared, and therefore the contradictions will not completely disappear either.

"The Prime Minister's Office has twelve departments: East, West, Household, Memorials, Documents, Law, Commandery, Bandits, Decisions, Military Affairs, Gold, and Granaries. I believe they should be merged with the duties of the Nine Ministers of the Court and established as independent departments, headed by the Minister. What does the Prime Minister think?"

The Prime Minister's residence is like a miniature imperial court, its foundation located here, beneath the red walls, where government affairs are decided privately.

By merging the small court and the large court, it becomes extremely difficult to maintain private rule.

"I wonder how many ministries Your Majesty wishes to establish?"

"Officials, Revenue, Rites, Military, Justice, and Works."

Liu said that he had originally planned that "the six ministers would regularly report on government affairs to the cabinet and receive cabinet orders and instructions, and the cabinet could also convene an expanded meeting of the six ministers on major issues."

Only when administrative execution is coordinated with central decision-making can draft government orders be more practical and efficient.

"Your Majesty, if things are done this way, the cabinet may be able to operate in a balanced manner, but it may lack agility."

Gongsun Hong accurately identified the drawback of the collective wisdom system: the inability to make quick decisions at critical moments could lead to mistakes.

"A separate Grand Council shall be established, which shall be set up in a hall to the east of the Xuan Shi Hall. Three to five Grand Councilors shall be appointed to handle urgent military affairs and confidential matters, and shall be on duty day and night, presenting their reports to the Emperor and directly issuing decrees."

Urgent military affairs and confidential matters were to be bypassed by the cabinet and decided immediately by the emperor, with the principles of "simplicity," "speed," and "secrecy."

The power of the cabinet ministers was limited, and the emperor became more hands-on. However, Gongsun Hong noticed another problem and asked again, "Your Majesty, who will supervise the cabinet ministers?"

The Grand Secretaries hold a very high position. In the current court, it seems that no government office can supervise them. If a Grand Secretary is found to be corrupt, abuses his power, or engages in other misconduct, who will impeach him?

There was even very little oversight of the six ministers.

Liu Ju glanced at Zhang Tang and said in a deep voice, "Establish the Censorate to oversee all decision-making and implementation processes of the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries, and be accountable only to the Emperor!"

Zhang Tang's body trembled.

(End of this chapter)