Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

The Ministry of Supervision was responsible for supervising all civil and military officials, monitoring their conduct, and exposing their crimes. This position was arguably even more powerful than the Ministry of Personnel, which would prevent you from being promoted, but the Ministry of Supervision could send you directly there.

Therefore, when Chen Jie mentioned the Ministry of Supervision, everyone's eyes turned to Wu Hong, who was sitting there silently. Wu Hong sat there indifferently, without saying a word. When he heard about the Ministry of Supervision, he did not show much reaction and appeared very calm.

This is something he has developed over the years. He is an incorruptible and impartial person, and also someone with an extremely high status. He is the current emperor's elder brother, and is an inspector appointed by the emperor himself.

Many people have suffered at his hands over the years, so when the Ministry of Supervision is mentioned, everyone looks to Wu Hong; this position is no surprise.

As expected, Chen Jie spoke up: "The Ministry of Supervision will be headed by a Minister, a second-rank official, who will not be subject to the Prime Minister's control. He will supervise all officials, from the Three Dukes to the lowest clerks. The highest Ministry of Supervision will be set up at the central level, followed by provincial-level Supervision Offices, prefectural-level Supervision Departments, and county-level Supervision Sections. They will not be subject to the control of local officials, and all officials in the Supervision Offices will only be subject to internal supervision."

"In addition, the Ministry of Supervision has an internal supervisory body responsible for supervising its own personnel. Furthermore, officials can report the Ministry of Supervision to the Court of Judicial Review, the Cabinet, and other channels to conduct multi-faceted supervision."

Chen explained, "The position of Minister of Supervision is held by Wu Hong."

Wu Hong stood up and clasped his hands in greeting to those around him, saying, "Everyone, the law is impartial. I have no grudges against any of you. If I offend you in any way in the future, I hope you can understand. I am bound by the law, and the law is impartial."

After Wu Hong finished speaking, he sat down, and everyone in the room fell silent. At this moment, Jin Yanzi, who was sitting next to Zhou Chu, said, "Minister Zhou, has Minister Wu always been this arrogant?"

Zhou Chu gave a wry smile and said, "Well, you should understand. He's always been like this. Over the years, he's offended so many people that we could eat them all. But it's nothing. Our lord knows this perfectly well. Old Wu is indeed upright and has nothing to fear."

Hearing this, Sixi said helplessly, "He's still so upright and incorruptible."

As he spoke, he thought to himself that only Wu Hong dared to speak like that. Why? The reason was simple: Wu Hong's relationship with the lord was extraordinary. Among this group of people, almost no one had such a close relationship as Wu Hong and Chen Jie.

Everyone fell silent. Wu Hong's words were indeed arrogant, leaving everyone speechless and unsure how to respond.

Chen Jie saw this and felt helpless. This job that offended people had to be done by someone, and Wu Hong was just right for it, so he assigned it to Wu Hong. Although this job would offend people, with him there, Wu Hong would definitely be fine. It would also be a good opportunity for him to fulfill his dream of making the world free of evil.

Seeing Wu Hong sit down, Chen Jie continued, "Alright, let's talk about the Science Department again!"

Chen explained, “The Ministry of Science was expanded from the Academy of Sciences. The Ministry of Science has a Minister position, who is in charge of the Academy of Sciences and all science and technology and military enterprises, including gun and artillery licenses, steel smelting, etc. It is mainly responsible for the advancement of national science and technology.”

At this point, Chen Jie looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, our ability to successfully defeat the enemy is inseparable from technology. The power of new firearms and new artillery in the war is evident to all."

"Therefore, the Ministry of Science must be established, internally divided into research institutions and production institutions. Research institutes can be built throughout the country, and an internal rating system will be set up, from researcher, key researcher, chief researcher, vice academician, academician to the highest honor 'Master Craftsman of a Great Power'!"

"These are its internal organizational structures, with the position of Minister held by Tao Guangyi."

At this moment, in the most inconspicuous place, Tao Guangyi stood up. Unlike the others, he was devoted to scientific research and therefore did not interact much with everyone. He stood up and nodded slightly to the crowd.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But no one knew that among all these ministers, this one was the future darling, and his various technologies had already quietly changed the world.

Tao Guangyi sat down. He didn't really like this kind of occasion. He preferred to experiment with his research projects at the Academy of Sciences. He had a lot of research projects under his control. If he could turn all of them into reality, the world would be changed because of him.

Tao Guangyi sat down, and Chen Jie, knowing his personality, didn't make things too difficult for him. Instead, he continued, "There's another department, the Medical Department."

"The Department of Medicine is in charge of all medical and health affairs in the country, manages future large-scale hospitals nationwide, and also manages national health affairs, preventing infectious diseases. In the event of major disasters, epidemics, or other related diseases, the Department of Medicine will be responsible for overall coordination, and all departments must actively cooperate without any mistakes."

After explaining this, Chen looked at Bai Wenjing and said, "Master, please take on the position of Minister in this matter. I entrust the safety of the people of the world to you."

Upon hearing this, Bai Wenjing did not refuse, but said, "Yes, I will definitely handle the relevant matters well."

After saying this, Chen Jie continued, "In addition, a Ministry of Maritime Affairs will be established. The minister will be Fang Guozhen, the Dragon King of the Sea who is currently overseas. He will be summoned back to report on his duties soon."

After saying this, Chen Jie said, "Alright, everyone, these are the eleven official departments of the imperial court. In addition to these eleven official departments, I also want to set up a cabinet."

cabinet?

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Chen Jie in surprise, and many more were puzzled. What was the Cabinet? The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, none of them quite understanding this institution.

But just hearing the name gives the impression of immense power.

But what exactly does the job entail?
At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to Chen Jie, hoping to get an explanation from him. Chen Jie said, "The Cabinet is not part of the civil service system. It is a separate system and is not responsible like the Prime Minister. Its main person in charge is me."

"In other words, the cabinet team is the emperor's private think tank, responsible for helping the emperor improve efficiency."

"Its main function was to help the emperor organize documents and then help the emperor issue orders and draft imperial edicts."

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials present were stunned. At this moment, someone said, "King Han, drafting imperial edicts should be the responsibility of the Twenty-Four Directorates."

Chen Jiedao said: "The eunuch system is a product of the old era. From now on, our Great Han Dynasty will not use eunuchs. All official business cannot be handled in the inner palace. It must be handled in the Imperial Study. The Imperial Study is connected to the Cabinet. The Cabinet is responsible for connecting the upper and lower levels. On the one hand, it helps the emperor handle routine affairs, and on the other hand, it connects with the Chancellor and various ministers."

"It can be considered a position that connects the past and the future. Of course, the prime minister and many ministers can submit memorials directly to the emperor. In addition, all officials can also submit memorials to the emperor through a special channel, which will not be interfered with by the cabinet."

"Therefore, you need not worry about the cabinet seizing power."

After hearing Chen Jie's words, the civil and military officials understood somewhat. This cabinet was essentially doing the work of the eunuchs of the previous dynasty, but it was more grounded and used officials from outside the court. Chen Jie asked, "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

At this moment, someone asked, "King Han, what rank is the head of this cabinet? Is he also a minister?"

Chen Jiedao said: "The cabinet consists of a chief minister, two deputy ministers, and eleven cabinet members."

"The Grand Secretary is responsible for overall coordination, the Second Grand Secretary assists him, and the eleven cabinet members are specifically responsible for liaising with the eleven ministries of the court, each with their own specific duties and no one may overstep their authority."

Chen Jie looked at everyone and said, "Does everyone understand now?"

Upon hearing this, everyone indicated that they understood, and then Chen Jie asked, "Does anyone have any objections?"

Upon hearing this, the officials exchanged glances. They were all seasoned veterans of the officialdom, so how could they not understand that His Majesty had established this position to check and balance the outer court, or rather, to check and balance the position of the Chancellor? Among the Three Dukes, the Chancellor wielded too much power. Previously, there were also Left and Right Chancellors to check and balance the position, but now the King of Han had only established one Chancellor.

That power was too concentrated. How could such concentration be acceptable? Therefore, there had to be checks and balances, and that is what the cabinet is all about.

According to the King of Han, the cabinet is qualified to issue imperial edicts. Of course, these edicts are not the kind that are publicly displayed, which require the emperor to personally issue them. The edicts that the cabinet can issue are called "intermediate edicts."

To give an example, if the Prime Minister and the Minister of Revenue have suffered from disasters in several places this year and need the court to reduce or exempt taxes, the Minister of Revenue will report to the Prime Minister, who will approve it and send it to the Cabinet. After the relevant cabinet members have reviewed it, it will be sent to the Grand Secretary. The Grand Secretary will then need to verify it and can issue an edict to the Prime Minister, requesting the submission of evidence and whether it will have any impact on the various departments of the court.

This imperial edict was an internal directive, not a mandatory one. The prime minister instructed the Ministry of Revenue to submit evidence and convened a meeting of all ministries to inquire whether they could save the money shortfall this year. Finally, a plan was drafted for the cabinet, which reviewed it and then submitted it directly to the emperor. After reviewing it, the emperor would issue a decree approving or disapproving it.

Once approved, the emperor would dictate the order, the Grand Secretary would draft it, and finally the emperor would affix his imperial seal before issuing it. This was an administrative order that the court had to carry out.

Of course, during this process, if the cabinet deliberately makes things difficult, the ministers or prime ministers can directly meet with the emperor. Then the emperor will call the cabinet, prime ministers and ministers together for a meeting to see if the cabinet is corrupt, or if the ministers or prime ministers are corrupt, or if it is a misunderstanding. If it is a misunderstanding, can it be mediated?

Finally, the emperor made the final decision.

This step is crucial, and its brilliance lies in the fact that the emperor remains in the position of referee, thus avoiding direct conflict with his court officials.

For example, if court officials want the emperor to reduce taxes, but the emperor finds that the disasters in some areas are not as severe as they seem, and the court is in urgent need of funds, and the emperor directly rejects the officials' suggestions, the officials may directly think that the emperor is incompetent, which leads to direct confrontation between the officials and the emperor.

Now that there is a cabinet, the emperor can directly hint to the cabinet that it is not allowed. If the cabinet refuses, then it becomes a conflict between the court officials and the cabinet. The emperor is the referee. No matter how you fight, it will not ultimately affect the emperor.

The emperor is always wise; it's just that there are bad people in the cabinet. At worst, we can just dismiss one of the cabinet ministers and replace him with an obedient one who has no real power base.

This would ensure the emperor's authority and safety, while also providing checks and balances on the court, preventing any single party from becoming too powerful.

This is the art of rulership.

Of course, Chen Jie doesn't need these things right now. As the founding emperor, Chen Jie can make any decision based on his prestige, and no one dares to contradict him. Therefore, the current cabinet is just a secretariat for Chen Jie, specifically to handle his trivial matters.

However, this cabinet was prepared by Chen Jie for future rulers. They cannot always have the same prestige as Chen Jie. In the future, they may need to use this system of checks and balances, and it may be too late to make changes then.

Therefore, this is the institutional guarantee that Chen Jie left for future rulers.

Chen Jie looked at the assembled officials, who all knew his thoughts. So no one spoke, they simply nodded in agreement. How dare they disagree at this point?

Chen Jie looked at the civil and military officials and said, "As for the position of Grand Secretary, let Chen Chunlai take it for now. As for the rank, the Grand Secretary is a fifth-rank official, the Second Grand Secretary is a fifth-rank official, and the other cabinet members are sixth-rank officials."

what?
Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, everyone present was shocked. How could his official rank be so low?
This was, of course, Chen Jie's deliberate act. The cabinet had too much power. If it were given a first or second rank, it would be easy for it to compete with the outer court for benefits. On the other hand, lower-ranking officials were often those who had risen from the bottom and had little connection with the court, so they could be used.

This is also the art of balance.

After arranging these matters, Chen Jie looked at everyone present and asked, "Gentlemen, does anyone have any objections to these cabinet affairs?"

Upon hearing this, none of the civil and military officials had any objections.

At this point, Chen Jie said, "Very good, no objections. There is one last item, which is the issue of the imperial clan. Many people have brought up this issue with me recently."

"Let me say this first: there shouldn't be any issues with the royal family in my generation. Everyone knows the world is vast, and I only have two descendants right now. However, there still needs to be a set of rules for future generations."

“Let’s establish a Clan Court. In the future, my descendants will follow the five-generation succession system, with their titles gradually decreasing until they become ordinary people. They cannot occupy too much of the country’s money and grain to support the royal family.”

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, all the civil and military officials immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty has the world in your heart, which is a blessing for all living beings and for the people."

Chen Jie raised his hand and said, "Alright, it is the people's blessing if all of you ministers devote yourselves to the affairs of the country. The establishment of the Han Dynasty depends on you all."

The ministers immediately replied, "We dare not disobey even unto death."

Chen Jie said, "Alright, that's enough about the civil officials. Let's talk about the military, and the best-anticipated conferment of titles!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of all the civil and military officials lit up; who could refuse such a prestigious title and appointment? (End of Chapter)