Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

While Zhu Youjian's decision to establish the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of the Imperial Secretariat may not have been entirely without personal motives, the officials were quite satisfied with it.

Because he genuinely delegated power, increasing the authority of the cabinet.

This means that if he becomes negligent in his duties in the future, the power that is vacated will not automatically transfer to the Directorate of Ceremonial, but will be shared by the Cabinet.

Previously, whenever the emperor slacked off, the Directorate of Ceremonial, which was closest to the emperor, would automatically take over the emperor's power.

Wei Zhongxian was able to seize power in the court because he often brought up matters when the Tianqi Emperor was engrossed in carpentry. When the Tianqi Emperor grew impatient, he told Wei Zhongxian to handle the matter himself.

Now that the emperor has reformed the system, things are different. Memorials approved by the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs need to be returned and countersigned by the Vice Grand Secretary or the Privy Council before they can be copied and sent to the relevant ministries for discussion.

This was a major constraint on the Directorate of Ceremonial, and it was also the reason why Grand Secretary Han Kuang did not oppose the power of the Deputy Grand Secretary to countersign.

What pleased him even more was that the cabinet now had the power to urge implementation and could directly issue official documents to other government departments.

This meant that the cabinet was freed from its constraints and truly became the highest government office of the Ming Dynasty.

The only drawback is that this power is subject to the control of the Secretariat, requiring the use of the seal by the Grand Eunuch in charge of the Secretariat.

Therefore, he proposed that the Secretariat establish a council to prevent the chief eunuch of the Secretariat from acting recklessly.

The Secretariat thus became a mini-cabinet, and its relationship with the cabinet was similar to that of the previous cabinet and the emperor.

In particular, the appointment of the Grand Secretary by the emperor reminded many officials of the Grand Secretary, and they predicted:

In the future, most Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet will have to go through the position of Grand Secretary of the Secretariat.

Seeing that Qian Qianyi was the first to concurrently serve as a Grand Secretary of the Secretariat, relying on his position as the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, other officials who wanted to enter the cabinet were extremely envious.

Those officials from the Ministry of Rites who had left the Hanlin Academy and served as ministers in the imperial court, in particular, had strong opinions about this.

Li Biao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was somewhat frustrated.

Because the head of the Hanlin Academy was usually concurrently held by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Li Biao had previously held this position.

Because Cheng Jiming became an Associate Grand Secretary, Qian Xiangkun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, took charge of the ministry's affairs when Cheng Jiming entered the cabinet, and Li Biao thus took on more of the ministry's affairs.

Therefore, the emperor ordered him to relinquish his concurrent post as head of the Hanlin Academy and appointed Qian Qianyi, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and concurrently the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to take charge of the Hanlin Academy and reform the institution.

As a result, Qian Qianyi obtained the substantive position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and now, through his concurrent position as Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, he has entered the Secretariat, an office that can be called a mini-cabinet.

At this point, Qian Qianyi had undoubtedly seized the initiative.

If a Grand Secretary is to be elected in the future, Qian Qianyi, who has served as a Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat and is familiar with the cabinet, will clearly have a greater advantage.

All of this left Li Biao frustrated. What frustrated him even more was that after the emperor reformed the court assembly system, he could only see the emperor six times a month. This prompted him to submit a memorial expressing his dissatisfaction:

"His Majesty changed the court sessions from once every three days to once every five days, and merged the smaller court sessions into the larger court sessions. From now on, the maximum number of court sessions held each month will be six."

"As the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I will only have six opportunities to meet Your Majesty each month, apart from the regular meetings related to the Ministry of Rites."

"I believe that this number of times is far too few, and court assemblies should be increased."

Upon hearing this, the other vice ministers and censors immediately echoed his sentiments.

They were all qualified to attend the regular court sessions, but not qualified to attend the regular meetings regularly.

They had been dissatisfied when the emperor reduced the frequency of court audiences. Now that Li Biao had taken the lead, they immediately started making a fuss.

After all, the opportunity to see the emperor six times a month was far too few. Especially since the half-monthly court sessions on the first and sixteenth of the month were mostly ceremonial, the emperor also requested that lower-ranking officials who could only attend the half-monthly court sessions be given the opportunity to speak.

This means they only have four more opportunities to speak during regular court sessions. If the Grand Secretaries and the Nine Ministers present matters during these sessions, they will not have time to speak.

This was intolerable to the ministers, who requested that more court assemblies be held.

The officials in charge of the imperial censors were particularly enthusiastic about this, hoping to have more opportunities to meet the emperor.
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Zhu Youjian did not have a good impression of the officials in charge of the censorate and always asked them to supervise other officials rather than supervise himself.

Many of these people hadn't quite grasped the situation yet, and Zhu Youjian couldn't be bothered with them.

However, he could not ignore the ministers' demands. These were people who held great power in the court, and he had to take them seriously.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Youjian addressed his ministers:

"Another reason I reduced the number of court sessions is to attend parliamentary meetings."

"The court assembly is a meeting between the emperor and his ministers, while the parliament is an organ that represents the will of the people."

"In the future, I will regularly attend parliamentary sessions on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month to listen to the opinions of the people."

"If there are more court sessions, how will I have time to attend parliament?"

This statement greatly surprised the court officials.

Liu Zongzhou, who was in charge of preparing for the National Assembly, became excited and said with great joy:

"Your Majesty's emphasis on public opinion is truly a blessing for all people."

"I will now formulate the rites and determine the court etiquette for the National Assembly."

They believed it was appropriate for the emperor to participate in parliament, as it aligns with the principle of shared governance between the emperor, his subjects, and the people.

Therefore, reducing the frequency of court assemblies is even more necessary.

How can we participate in parliament without reducing the number of morning meetings?
After a minister retires, he can become a senior advisor, and the Advisory Council is part of the National Assembly.

The emperor attaches great importance to the parliament, so they cannot say it's wrong. After all, even after retiring from office, they still need to have a voice.

Li Biao could only say helplessly:
"Even so, it is far too few for ministers to have an audience with the emperor six times a month."

"When there is something to report, it is difficult to do so at court meetings."

This was a concern for many ministers, who feared they would no longer be able to see the emperor and would lose more and more power.

The rule of the game in the imperial court is that the closer you are to the emperor, the more power you have.

For example, the Grand Secretariat has been greatly suppressed since the current emperor ascended the throne. He has promoted the Nine Ministers to participate in regular meetings to check the power of the Grand Secretaries.

However, the Nine Ministers still wielded less real power than the Grand Secretaries, primarily because they were stationed outside the capital.

The Grand Secretaries worked in the palace and could frequently communicate with the emperor. They could do things one step ahead of the Nine Ministers, naturally giving them an advantageous position.

Only Yuan Keli, whom the current emperor trusts greatly, can rival the other Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and even twice take over the power of the Grand Secretary.

Now, the emperor intends to take a break and further delegate power to the cabinet.

The ministers in the court, including the Nine Ministers, were all worried that it would affect the power they held.

Zhu Youjian was actually somewhat worried, because the Jiajing Emperor's seclusion in the deep palace to cultivate Taoism had led to a rapid expansion of the cabinet's power. Only those who frequently saw him in the Wuyi Hall could wield power in the court.

Zhu Youjian certainly had no intention of retiring to the inner palace, but he was definitely becoming complacent. After several years of continuous hard work, he was finding it difficult to persevere.

That's why he reduced the number of court sessions and gave more power to the cabinet.

The cabinet had long been aware of this, as evidenced by the number of memorials he personally approved.

Han Kuang and Yang Jingchen's probing was an attempt to gain more power in the process. Zhu Youjian knew his actions were inappropriate, but he simply couldn't muster the enthusiasm.

After all, the Jurchens had already fled, and the peasant uprisings did not spread on a large scale thanks to the efforts of Yuan Keli, Sun Chuanting, and others.

Now that the crisis of the court's collapse was gone, he naturally wanted to relax.

Unwilling to see the cabinet fall into chaos, he decided to adjust the system and delegate his own power to those who were neglecting their duties.

He made sure that even if he was a little lazy, the court could still function, and no one would threaten him.

The establishment of the Secretariat, granting the Vice Grand Secretary and the Privy Council the power of co-signing documents, and reducing the number of court assemblies are all efforts in this regard.

There are still some shortcomings that need to be addressed and modified.
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Despite pondering the ministers' demands, Zhu Youjian remained unwilling to increase the frequency of court sessions.

Because the number of regular court sessions increased, he had to attend them all the time, and every absence from a court session would be recorded.

He didn't want future generations to think he was negligent in his duties, so he only planned to increase his regular consultations at irregular times.

He used the expanded meeting of the Standing Committee that he had previously convened to appease these ministers.

Thinking of the additional titles he had bestowed upon the four regents, Zhu Youjian:

“In the future, the regular meetings will be expanded. In addition to handling departmental affairs, I will invite ministers to participate in the regular meetings.”

"If the invitee is a minister or advisor, then it is a meeting of ministers or advisors."

"If we add the Council of State, it becomes the Council of State."

"Add the Grand Minister of State, and it becomes the Council of Four Ministers."

"These meetings, along with those that invite Privy Councilors and Senior Ministers, are collectively known as the Imperial Ministers' Meetings. They are convened by the Emperor and are held in the Emperor's presence; they are regular meetings in nature."

"Ministers with relevant titles, as well as officials such as the Six Ministries' Supervising Secretaries, can attend the meeting after receiving notification from the Secretariat and the Office of the Grand Secretary."

"From now on, the regular meetings will not only be attended by ministers and chancellors, but all ministers will have the opportunity to participate."

This decision immediately delighted the ministers and other high-ranking officials in the court.

Why did the status of ministers and chancellors in the imperial court rise higher and higher? Why were the Nine Ministers and Grand Secretaries referred to as ministers and chancellors? It was because their authority was not limited to their own offices, and they had the right to speak on all matters of the court.

Now that they can also participate in regular meetings and have a say in these matters, how can they not be excited?

Of course, it is foreseeable that the emperor would not frequently convene large-scale regular meetings, but being eligible to attend signified status.

The additional titles bestowed upon ministers such as the Four Assistant Ministers were taken even more seriously. The higher the title, the greater their chances of participating in regular meetings.

Zhu Youjian used this plan to successfully persuade them to support the reduction of the regular court and give them the opportunity to participate in the regular meetings.

The Grand Secretaries and the Nine Ministers had some objections, since they had previously chaired the regular meetings.

By adding ministers such as the State Councillor and the Grand Councillor, they will inevitably lose some of their power.

At least when facing the emperor, they weren't so confident.

Previously, when they united, they could resist the emperor at regular meetings.

Now the emperor can expand the regular meetings and deny them such opportunities.

Some people also thought that the ministers who could clearly participate in the three major ministerial powers of court deliberation, court recommendation of ministers, and court interrogation of major cases were the regent ministers, assistant ministers, ministers of government affairs, ministers of administration, privy council ministers, senior ministers of government, and the six supervising secretaries who had not served as Grand Secretaries.

The emperor's inclusion of all these people in the expanded meeting of the Standing Committee meant that court deliberations and interrogations could also be held at the Standing Committee in the future.

This would obviously weaken the regular court sessions, as the emperor could handle these matters without attending them in the future.

The emperor is transferring some powers that were previously only exercised in regular court sessions to regular court sessions.

This was actually Zhu Youjian's intention, because after he placed the powers of court recommendation and court deliberation in the regular court sessions, he found that there were simply too many things to do in the regular court sessions. Moreover, because the dates were fixed, many officials were well-prepared.

He still had to attend those court assemblies, otherwise the court would not be able to function.

So, taking advantage of the ministers' complaints, he simply expanded the regular meetings to include court deliberations and discussions.

That way, even if he doesn't attend court sessions in the future, he can still preside over these matters.

If in the future even regular meetings are not desired, then the old system should be restored, allowing ministers to hold court discussions themselves.

Of course, that's not possible yet; he can't completely relinquish power.
Keep trying!

"At the very least, the rites and music must be remade."

Encouraging himself, Zhu Youjian decided to persist for at least twenty years to finalize the "Great Ming Etiquette and Law Convention".

Then we can completely delegate power and distribute more authority.

Especially in twenty years, when the crown prince will come of age, he can preside over many meetings on his behalf. Power doesn't necessarily have to be given to ministers; it can be given to the crown prince.

So Zhu Youjian rallied his spirits and immediately convened a meeting of his advisors after the court session ended.
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At this time, the practice of bestowing titles upon the four regents had been in effect for several years, and many officials in the court were given the titles of regent or assistant minister.

Grand Secretary Han Kuang was undoubtedly a regent minister.

Former Grand Secretary Huang Lijie moved to the Lifan Yuan (Court of Colonial Affairs) after stepping down as Grand Secretary, but he did not relinquish his title of Regent Minister.

Yuan Keli was also awarded the title of Regent Minister for his contributions in the Liaodong War.

Following these three regents was the second regent, Yang Jingchen. His current title was Assistant Minister of State Affairs, and Zhu Youjian planned to promote him to the same position as regent to check Han Kuang after he rendered meritorious service, which would be more in line with the title of second regent.

Another secondary minister, Shi Fenglai, also held the additional title of Assistant Minister of State Affairs.

In fact, according to the order of entry into the cabinet, he should have been the second-in-command. However, Zhu Youjian did not think highly of him and separated military and political affairs, arranging for him to go to the Grand Council to write draft proposals for Yuan Keli. Thus, there were two second-in-commands.

However, this will not be the case in the future. Zhu Youjian intends to have the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall take charge of this matter and assist the Privy Council in drafting the proposals. Otherwise, the future Privy Council may not be able to control the Second Grand Secretary, and the Cabinet may seize more power in military affairs.

This was something he didn't want to see; he only intended to appoint a Grand Secretary to draft proposals for the Privy Council.

The current Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall is Xu Guangqi. He initially joined the cabinet as a Minister of State Affairs. Due to his contributions in the Liaodong War, he has been promoted to Assistant Minister of State Affairs.

Zheng Yiwei, who joined the cabinet at the same time as him, was promoted more slowly because he had made a mistake in drafting proposals. However, Zhu Youjian saw that he was diligent and conscientious, and he has now been promoted to Assistant Minister of State Affairs.

Wen Tiren, needless to say, although he joined the cabinet later, became a Grand Councilor earlier than Zheng Yiwei. Currently, he is ranked ahead of Zheng Yiwei in the cabinet.

Now, all six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet have become ministers assisting the emperor.

Among the Nine Ministers, apart from Yuan Keli, Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Revenue, has been promoted to Assistant Minister of State Affairs due to his merit in raising military funds.

After concurrently serving as an Associate Grand Secretary, Cheng Jiming, the Minister of Rites, was also promoted to Assistant Minister of State Affairs.

These ten ministers were the most important ministers in the court, the ministers whom Zhu Youjian relied on the most.

Today's meeting of advisors and ministers is for them.

Zhu Youjian planned to adjust their division of labor and redistribute power. (End of Chapter)