Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Establishing a secretariat was an idea Zhu Youjian had long ago.

This is not only for confidentiality, but also necessary for handling affairs.

Previously, the cabinet was considered the emperor's secretariat, assisting the emperor in handling affairs.

However, as the cabinet's powers expanded, its authority went far beyond that of a secretary.

Especially after Zhu Youjian established various committees and had the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet coordinate the affairs of multiple government departments, the Cabinet became increasingly busy and was already somewhat overwhelmed.

Han Kuang wanted to add two more secretaries to his office for this reason.

Otherwise, coordinating meeting times alone can consume a lot of energy.

After learning of his idea, Zhu Youjian believed that the time was ripe to establish a secretariat, so he asked Qian Qianyi to make the proposal.

This was a good fit for Qian Qianyi, as the Hanlin Academy also had some secretarial duties. Especially after Zhu Youjian appointed Hanlin Academy members to concurrently serve as Imperial Diarists, those Hanlin Academy members became even more like secretaries.

However, Qian Qianyi's proposal to establish a secretariat, written entirely according to the instructions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was completely contrary to Han Kuang's intentions and could even be said to have drawn opposition from all the ministers.

Han Kuang said at the Standing Committee meeting:

"Since His Majesty established a committee within the Cabinet to coordinate foreign affairs, the Cabinet has been dealing with an increasing number of foreign affairs matters and is finding it difficult to manage them all."

"Especially when coordination meetings are held, it is often necessary to send people to inform various government departments. The two secretaries of the Secretariat are often busy with this matter, and now there are also shortcomings."

"Therefore, I believe that two more secretaries should be added to help handle trivial matters."

This is only right and proper; we cannot allow the Grand Secretary's energy to be wasted on this matter. Zhu Youjian said:
"Therefore, I intend to establish the Secretariat to specifically handle trivial matters for the cabinet."

"Qian Qing's suggestion is excellent; every minister should have a secretary."

"This way, secretaries can handle communication, meetings, and scheduling."

Han Kuang only wanted to increase the number of errand runners; he didn't have such a comprehensive plan. He said:
"The current dynasty once established the Secretariat, which was under the jurisdiction of the Hanlin Academy and was in charge of the books in the inner palace. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, it was merged into the Hanlin Academy's records."

"It seems inappropriate to establish a Secretariat again now."

Zhu Youjian said with great interest:

"Oh, then what should it be called?"

"How about calling him the Director of the Imperial Secretariat?"

"Merge all the secretaries of the Secretariat and the secretaries of the two halls and two offices into it."

"In addition, the institutions between the inner and outer courts, such as the Daily Records Office, the Imperial Seal Office, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, were all merged into the Secretariat."

This suggestion was too broad, and Han Kuang dared not say more for the time being.

These institutions can be considered legacy issues, remnants that slipped through the net when the emperor reorganized the inner and outer courts.

They lie between the inner and outer courts, and their affiliation is unclear.

Now the emperor clearly wants to resolve them all at once and integrate them.

It was the name "Zhongshu Jian" (中书监, Director of the Secretariat) that reminded Han Kuang of the Zhongshu Sheng (中书省, Secretariat). If the emperor were to rebuild the Zhongshu Sheng, it would first replace the Grand Secretariat.

As the Grand Secretary, he had no choice but to speak out:
"Your Majesty, what are the duties of the Director of the Imperial Secretariat?"

Is it an inner court or an outer court institution?

Zhu Youjian said:
"The Directorate of the Imperial Secretariat can be said to be located between the inner and outer courts. According to the Rites of Zhou, it was the Yan court, where close officials were placed."

"My idea is that the Secretariat should be jointly managed by the inner court and the outer court. The inner court should have a Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial as its chief secretary, and the outer court should have a Grand Secretary as its director."

"The two jointly headed the Secretariat, responsible for internal and external communication."

"My schedule and the schedules of all my ministers are all compiled by the Secretariat. This is to avoid scheduling conflicts and unnecessary trouble."

"It's just an agency that handles trivial matters; it won't replace the cabinet."

This explanation did not completely dispel the doubts of the court officials. However, Han Kuang was relieved.

Because the Directorate of the Secretariat had an Associate Grand Secretary serving as its Director, it was clearly subordinate to the Cabinet.

The emperor may have consolidated these institutions simply out of laziness, not wanting to personally manage so many. However, fearing the loss of power, he appointed the Grand Secretary of the Directorate of Ceremonial as the Grand Secretary, and the Secretariat was also defined as an institution between the inner and outer courts.

While this idea isn't entirely correct, it does offer some clues.

Zhu Youjian's integration of institutions was instinctive, because he was accustomed to grouping institutions with similar functions together in later generations.

He treated the daily records as a secretary for scheduling, the documents from the Secretariat were handled by the Imperial Seal Office, and the documents from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were used for sealing, and the documents from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were used for dissemination.

These are all interconnected tasks, all part of a secretary's duties, and can be combined into one.

Moreover, it's a waste for him to have so many secretaries. Since the cabinet needs them, let the Director of the Secretariat also serve as a secretary for the cabinet.

He also wanted to know what the cabinet was doing and strengthen his control over it.

In later times, this would be roughly equivalent to the merger of two offices, where they would work together in one place.

It's obvious who's in charge here—

The emperor's secretary was always of a higher rank than the minister's secretary, and even the minister had to curry favor with them.

However, the cabinet also maintains a certain degree of control over the Directorate of the Imperial Secretariat. The Directorate of the Imperial Secretariat's power to appoint secretaries to ministers strengthens the cabinet's influence over them.

Han Kuang had considered this point and had already accepted the position of Director of the Secretariat. He believed that this institution was necessary to expand the power of the cabinet.

However, the ministers were unwilling. They already felt restricted by having a bodyguard by their side, and they were unwilling to have an additional secretary who would leave them with no private space.

Guo Yunhou, Minister of Personnel, said:

"Establishing the Secretariat is a good thing."

"It seems that the Director of the Secretariat would assign secretaries to ministers, it seems..."

He spoke haltingly, without saying it directly.

He wanted to speak out for officials, but he didn't want to confront the emperor directly.

In particular, Qian Qianyi often spoke on behalf of the emperor, and the court officials knew very well where his memorials came from.

Zhu Youjian had few scruples; after his victory in the Liaodong campaign, he had already gained unparalleled prestige.

Not to mention forcing the ministers to accept the secretary, even more outrageous requests could be forcibly pushed through.

He simply didn't want to go too far, knowing that the minister's need for respect had to be met.

The suggestion made by Qian Qianyi was a bargaining chip; he was to bear the blame while Qian Qianyi carried out his own plan.

He stared at Guo Yunhou and said:

"What does it seem like?"

"You feel it's inappropriate?"

"Do you believe that secretaries should not all be appointed by the imperial court?"

Guo Yunhou nodded repeatedly and said:

"exactly!"

"Your Majesty gives your subjects the right to choose, even allowing them to select their official positions, so why force them to appoint secretaries?"

"I believe that secretaries can come from the court, but ministers should also have the right to choose."

Han Kuang, Yang Jingchen, and others echoed his sentiments, clearly indicating that they shared the same opinion on this point.

Having a bodyguard around is already uncomfortable enough; if they have several secretaries, where will they find any private space?

After considering it, Zhu Youjian also felt that forcibly arranging a secretary in this way would not be feasible, and he said:
"A secretary's duties include handling trivial matters and keeping secrets."

“Unimportant trivial matters can be assigned to others, and the Secretariat will provide training.”

"But important matters must be handled by secretaries dispatched by the Secretariat, without a doubt."

"Each high-ranking official in the court should have four secretaries: one for official duties, one for personal matters, one for confidential matters, and one for security, each responsible for their respective duties." (End of Chapter)