Chapter 560 Did we see it wrong?
From the south of Chengtian Gate in the capital to the left and right sides of Daming Gate, there are government offices concentrated.

On the right side used to be the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Five Military Commandery.

The Jinyiwei moved to the former Taipu Temple, just outside the Xi’an Gate of Xiyuan.

To the right of the Daming Gate are now the Rong Government, the Five Military Governor’s Office, the Xuanhuiyuan, as well as the General Staff Bureau, the Xuanzan Bureau and the Surveying and Mapping Bureau directly under the Rong Government.

The former site of the Rong government in Zhaomingfang was given to the Governor-General’s Office of the Beijing Camp.

This yamen not only managed the various troops in the Beijing camp, but also managed the military defense of Shuntian Prefecture and Zhili, as well as the coastal patrol camp near the coast of Zhili, similar to the Governor-General of Zhili.

However, the defense of the five cities in the capital is not under its jurisdiction.

The Forbidden City was under the supervision of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, the Imperial City was under the supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Fengchen Division, and the east, west, south, north and central cities were under the supervision of the Yiwei Division. All three cities were under the control of the eunuchs of the Imperial Horse Supervisor.

The imperial eunuch also managed a direct subordinate troop of brave guards, which was not under the jurisdiction of the governor of the Beijing camp.

On the left side of Daming Gate are the five ministries of military, civil service, ritual, household and engineering, as well as the Honglu Temple, Imperial Hospital, Hanlin Academy, and the Imperial Carriage Storehouse. The largest of these, occupying a full quarter of the area, is the Imperial Carriage Storehouse.

As the name suggests, the Luanjiaku is where all kinds of ceremonial equipment used by the emperor and empress when they go out on tour are placed.

Zhu Yijun moved it to a suitable place in the imperial city, freeing up a large area.

The Imperial Hospital moved to Berlin Temple and lived together with the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Medical College. The Hanlin Academy, the National History Museum and other institutions moved to the Imperial History House.

A part of the building was expanded to the surrounding area, so the five ministries of war, personnel, rites, households, and works, as well as the seven temples of Guanglu, Honglu, Taipu, Taifu, Taichang, Sinong, and Dushui were squeezed in on the left side of the Daming Gate.

The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate and the Dali Temple, these three judicial departments are still located in Fucaifang.

Zhu Yijun allocated the entire large area behind the Taimiao in the imperial city to the cabinet.

Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng renovated the place, and institutions directly under the cabinet, such as the Regulations Bureau, General Office, National Policy Research Bureau, and the Prime Minister’s Propaganda Bureau, were gradually built up.

Zhang Juzheng was sitting in the best and most spacious office in the cabinet and was in a good mood.

The cabinet shelf is finally built and is quite easy to use.

The Regulations Bureau was responsible for the preliminary review of the “ministerial discussions” of the six ministries and temples. After its approval, it would report to the Secretariat of the Advisory Bureau and the Imperial Household Department for filing, and then issue them to the six ministries and temples for execution.

In Zhang Juzheng’s view, it was similar to the cabinet’s drafting, but with even greater power.

According to the process, as long as the Imperial Household Department did not veto it in accordance with the emperor’s will, the approval of the ministry’s decision would become a ministry order, which could be issued to various departments and local provincial governors for compliance.

The Regulations Bureau can also formulate a cabinet resolution based on its own opinions and those of the left and right councillors, and submit it to the Secretariat of the Advisory Bureau and the Imperial Household Department for filing. As long as it is not rejected within the specified time, it can become a government decree and be issued to the six ministries, temples and provincial governments for execution.

Zhang Juzheng was now full of confidence and said as he picked up a stack of copies.

“Shuilian, Jianchuan, Shu’an, and Jinhu, these are the Draft of the Cabinet’s Administrative Rules drawn up by the Emperor, which stipulates the powers of the Cabinet. In the future, they will be included in the name of the National Law and become official laws.”

His allies Pan Sheng, Wang Chonggu, Wang Guoguang, and his good friend and confidant Fang Fengshi sat opposite him.

The four of them looked at each other, took the copy and looked at it carefully.

The first article states that the cabinet, under the authorization of the emperor, exercises the highest administrative power of the Ming Dynasty and resolutely implements the imperial edicts.

The following items are in order.

Article 2: According to the imperial decree, administrative measures are stipulated, administrative regulations are formulated, and decisions and orders are issued. The difference between a decision and an order is that the former is a ruling on the request of a lower level, while the latter is a mandatory instruction to guide the lower level government offices;
Article 3 stipulates the tasks and responsibilities of various ministries, temples, and other subordinate offices of the cabinet, unifies the leadership of the work of various offices, and leads the national administrative work that does not belong to the ministries, temples, and other offices.

Article 4 unifies the leadership of the work of local administrative offices at all levels and stipulates the specific division of powers between the central government and administrative offices at the provincial, prefectural and county levels.

Article 5: Formulate and implement development plans and national budgets for the national economy and people’s livelihood.
There are so many, a total of sixteen.

After reading the draft written by Zhu Yijun himself, the four of them remained silent for a long time.

“How about the four of you?”

Pan Sheng looked around and said, “This entry is not ornate, it is completely in the emperor’s straightforward, simple and accurate style. If the Hanlin Academy reads it, they will definitely be heartbroken and shout that Masters Shilu and Taiyue are sinners of the Ming Dynasty for not educating the emperor well.”

Wang Chonggu, who was sitting next to him, smiled: “But in our opinion, the items in this draft are too shocking. In just 16 articles, the powers and responsibilities of the cabinet are clearly stated.

I heard that the Emperor has also drawn up the “Decision-making Items of the Advisory Bureau” with his own handwriting. The Prime Minister is one of the advisors, so he must have reviewed it. Could you let us take a look at it?”

Wang Guoguang and Fang Fengshi smiled knowingly.

Zhang Juzheng knew that the four people were very cautious and wanted to change the subject, so he was unwilling to express his opinion for the time being.

“The emperor drafted these items for the ministers and businessmen to discuss, and then deleted, added, and revised them to become laws.”

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he took out three more copies and handed them to the four people.

When the four received it and looked at it, they found that the name was not “Items for Decision-making by the Advisory Bureau” but “Items for Decision-making by the Advisory Bureau and the Court Council”.

Court meeting?

The first item on the first page is that the Advisory Council convenes and presides over court meetings under the guidance of the emperor.

The four of them were so shocked that they actually mentioned the court meeting!
It’s really rare that the emperor still remembers to hold court meetings.

Court meetings refer to the emperor summoning court officials to discuss important matters. It was a way of deliberating among officials that was started by Emperor Taizu, with both court meetings and collective meetings.

The court discussion is when civil and military officials publicly discuss and propose solutions in front of Huangji Gate or Huangji Hall during the morning court session.

A collective discussion is a meeting of officials within a certain range, such as the Nine Ministers Meeting, the Shangshu Meeting, etc., to discuss and propose plans behind closed doors.

But most officials, especially those of the Qingliu class, only recognized court discussions, not collective discussions.

Because they particularly love the sense of participation.

They can participate in court discussions, but not necessarily in collective discussions.

A court meeting without my participation is incomplete and not a court meeting!

But whether it is a court meeting or a collective meeting, the final decision-making power still lies in the hands of the emperor.

But after Emperor Zhengde, court meetings became very abnormal.

Emperor Wuzong was either having fun in the Leopard Room or visiting prostitutes and playing war games in Xuanfu Datong, leaving all government affairs to the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet. Not to mention court meetings, there were not even many normal court meetings.

During the Jiajing reign, Emperor Shizong was diligent in his early years and court meetings were often held, during which grand ceremonies were performed.

It almost disappeared in the middle and late periods, and was only a small-scale meeting, which was considered abnormal and chaotic by most court officials.

During the Longqing reign, the crown prince was in power and was very diligent. However, due to his status, he was unable to hold morning court meetings that only the emperor could have, and instead held court meetings in the Taiji Hall in the Western Garden.

Half discussion in court and half discussion in group.

The court meeting in Taiji Hall caused many ministers to feel troubled.

Is this a court discussion or a collective discussion?

The emperor, who was still the crown prince at the time, had a very different approach to court affairs than his predecessors.

Every time he held a court meeting, he would ask the Imperial Household Department to first determine the topics and agenda for the meeting in the Taiji Hall. These were all major issues that needed to be urgently resolved by the six ministries, temples, and local areas.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, the terms are clear, and they are sent to the cabinet and various departments two or three days before the court meeting, so that everyone can be prepared. At the same time, the Imperial Household Department will notify the people who will participate in the court meeting in Taiji Hall, including the cabinet, the six ministers, the ministers of the six ministries, the ministers of the various temples, the left and right censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the relevant departments of the six ministries and temples.

Those involving local areas include local representatives and Beijing officials who have recently served in the area.

Basically, all important people related to the topic will be summoned to the Taiji Hall.

Sometimes there are too many people, so the relevant personnel will wait in the duty room at Nanhuamen and bring them in when the agenda arrives.

During the court meeting, the emperor would ask the relevant personnel in detail to make the whole story of the issue clear, and then everyone would give their opinions.
Sometimes, people may end up arguing while discussing something, but as long as they don’t throw fists at each other or greet each other’s relatives, there will generally be no problem.

The court meetings were usually presided over by an experienced prime minister, first Xu Jie and later Li Chunfang, to control the situation so that it would not get out of control.

Sometimes the prince would personally come out to put an end to a controversial topic and bring everyone’s discussion back to the topic.

After the emperor ascended the throne, he restored the morning court sessions twice a month on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

Following the events of February 1st, the emperor simply decreed that the morning court sessions twice a month on the first and fifteenth days of each month should start at dawn.

In the past, the morning court was held too early. It was dark before daybreak and it felt like all the ministers in the court were going to steal chickens together.

Light a lamp or candle?
Do you know how expensive these oil lamps and candles are?
How much of the people’s money does it cost to hold a morning court session?

spendthrift!
The Ming Dynasty did things in an upright and aboveboard manner. At dawn, the Ming emperor held a morning court session when the sun rose.

The time of the morning court session has been postponed, but the duration of the court session will be shortened.

The emperor stipulated that after all civil and military officials paid homage to the emperor, the court meeting would only carry out the following tasks.

The first is to receive envoys from foreign vassal states and accept their letters.

The second is to announce important matters such as the declaration of war and ceasefire, conferring titles and honors, promulgating new calendars and new laws, and appointing senior civil and military officials of the third rank.

Third, the chief envoys of the three departments of each province, the governors-general, as well as the civil and military officials such as the envoys of comfort, the military governors, and the envoys of observing national affairs stationed abroad, all formally resigned from the emperor before taking office.

Those who have been ordered to take up the post immediately are not included in this list.

Fourth, the emperor specifically ordered that other matters be discussed at the morning court session.

Apart from this, other military and national affairs were discussed and decided at the court meeting.

Wang Chonggu stroked his beard and said, “The emperor has been slow to decide on the rules of the court meetings, and sometimes even uses the old rules of the Taiji Hall. Many people in the court are feeling uneasy.

I remember Wang Fengzhou wrote this in a memorial.

‘I think that none of our ancestors had greater merits and virtues than Emperor Taizu Gao, and none had greater virtues than Emperor Xiaozong Jing. Emperor Xiaozong was simple and serene, and his harem had no partiality for the beautiful women.

He ruled with frugality and prudence for eighteen years, and reduced all contributions. He was frugal and simple, attended court at dawn, and retired to attend imperial lectures to consult on the way of governance. As a result, his wisdom became more and more enlightened, and his skills in handling all matters became more sophisticated. ‘”

Fang Fengshi curled his lips and said nothing.

Wang Guoguang frowned, “The old man from Fengzhou is still repeating the same old tune. Emperor Xiaozong was very strict, attended court at dawn, and retired to attend the imperial lectures to consult on governance. Haha, in their eyes, Emperor Xiaozong was of course the best and most benevolent monarch.

But the Ming Dynasty today does not need a benevolent ruler who rules by inaction, but a wise ruler who can reform the old and establish a new.”

Off topic!
Zhang Juzheng coughed softly and said, “The four of you, please continue to read the ‘Items for the Review and Decision of the Advisory Bureau and the Court Council’ drafted by the Emperor. The following are the relevant matters of the court.”

Pan Sheng and the other three lowered their heads and continued reading.

The second is that the Advisory Bureau studies and decides on the topics and agenda to be submitted to the court.

The third is that the Advisory Council discusses military and national affairs concerning the overall situation of the Ming Dynasty and makes preliminary decisions.

Article 4 In an emergency, when there is no time to convene a general meeting of the Court, the Advisory Bureau shall discuss and decide matters that should have been discussed and decided by the general meeting of the Court, and shall submit them to the general meeting of the Court for confirmation in a timely manner.

Article 5 The Advisory Bureau recommends, nominates and appoints and dismisses civil and military officials in accordance with the National Law, imperial edicts and related procedures, and reviews the disciplinary penalties imposed on civil and military officials by the Censorate and the Central Military Governor’s Office.

Personnel is politics.

The important official appointment process is mentioned.

The sound of Pan Sheng and three others turning pages could be heard in the room.

They quickly flipped to the back and found the process for recommending, nominating, and appointing and dismissing civil and military officials.

Take civil servants as an example.

The appointment and removal of officials are divided into recommendation, nomination and appointment and removal.

Officials below the ninth rank do not need to go through the above three procedures and can be directly recruited and appointed.

The recommendation, nomination and appointment and dismissal of officials below the seventh rank were all delegated to the provincial governors and the six ministries and temples, but they needed to be reported to the Ministry of Personnel.

The central government and local government offices each had their own staffing system based on the staffing approved by the Guanglu Temple. If additional staffing was needed, they would report it according to the procedures, and the Guanglu Temple would give final approval.

The end point of the exam is compilation!

The establishment is very important. Without it, the Ministry of Revenue will not give you salary and allowances.

Officials of the sixth rank and above are recommended by the provincial governments, ministries and temples, and their qualifications are initially reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel. Those who pass the preliminary review are formally nominated.

Generally, the number of recommended and nominated candidates is one or two more than the vacancies.

The Minister of Personnel presided over a ministry meeting to review the nominees and finally decided on the appointment.

The decision is submitted to the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department in the form of a ministerial meeting, and the appointment can be made if it is not rejected.

Officials above the fifth rank are recommended, preliminarily examined and nominated by the Ministry of Personnel. The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet meeting to review the nominated candidates and make the final decision on the candidates.

Report to the Imperial Household Department, and if it is not rejected, the Ministry of Personnel can make the appointment.

For officials of the second rank and above, the Prime Minister presides over cabinet meetings, recommends and nominates candidates, reports to the Advisory Bureau, and submits them to the court for discussion.

Generally speaking, the decision would be made after the officials of the third rank deliberated by the Council of State Affairs and submitted to the emperor for his approval.

Officials of the second rank and above must be decided by the court council and then submitted to the emperor for approval before they can be officially appointed.

The removal process is similar. The various levels propose removal, or the Censorate approves the impeachment case and removes the person according to a similar process.

This is just the process of appointing and dismissing officials in the administrative system. Military officers and censors and judicial officers are under the jurisdiction of the military government and the Censorate, which is a separate system that is similar but different.

But in the end, the appointment and dismissal of senior civil servants and generals were all under the jurisdiction of the Advisory Council and the Court Council.

In this way, the counsellor, the prime minister and the left and right councilors, the secretary and the prime minister, the local governors; the general military governor and the five military commanders; the chief censor and the left and right censors-in-chief, and the prime minister of Dali all need to be reviewed and decided by the court assembly.

The power of that imperial assembly was extraordinary.

The emperor is such a shrewd and power-loving person, but he is willing to give up his power?

The four of them looked at each other.

Did we get it wrong?

(End of this chapter)