The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 707 Customization (Part )

Imperial Medical Bureau: Palace medical care and public health. It has one Imperial Physician Commander (rank 4) and two Imperial Physicians Assistants (rank 5).

Imperial College: The Xianyang College was reorganized, and it was in charge of national education and was the highest institution of learning. It had one Jijiu (rank 4), two Zhengxue (rank 5), and two Jinxue (rank 5).

Tai'anyuan: patrols the capital to catch thieves, dredge the streets and ditches, and take care of prisoners and fire bans. It is divided into five cities: east, south, west, north, and center. Each city has one commander (fifth rank), two commanders (sixth rank), and four commanders (seventh rank).

Hanlin Academy: Served as the emperor's minister, drafted imperial edicts, compiled books and history, presided over the imperial examinations, formulated cultural policies, etc. There was one president (rank five), an indefinite number of ministers (rank five), and Hanlin academicians, Hanlin tutors, Hanlin lecturers, etc.

Anyone who is granted a certain Hanlin position and is allowed to walk in the Jianzhang Palace can accompany the emperor, listen to state affairs, advise on responses, and draft imperial edicts.

Anyone who is granted the title of Shizhong Grand Secretary, is granted the privilege of walking in Jianzhang Palace, or is appointed as a councilor of Zhangtai can handle confidential documents, make policy recommendations, and, most importantly, draft memorials to the emperor.

This is the revised cabinet, which is of low rank but powerful. The heads of various departments are called Shangshu and Shilang. Only with these suffixes can they truly take charge of the center and assist the emperor in governing the country.

Each academy also has its own departments and sections, with officials of different ranks.

As well as the highest officials, the Three Dukes, the Three Orphans, the Three Teachers and the Three Juniors of the Crown Prince.

The Three Dukes: Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector are all of the first rank.

The three orphans: Shao Shi, Shao Fu and Shao Bao are all of the first rank.

The duties of the Three Dukes and Three Orphans are: to assist the emperor, to regulate yin and yang, to follow the four seasons, and to govern the country and promote civilization.

The three teachers of the crown prince: the crown prince's grand tutor, the crown prince's grand tutor, and the crown prince's grand guardian are all of the first rank.

The three young princes: the Prince's Junior Tutor, the Prince's Junior Preceptor, and the Prince's Junior Protector are all of the second rank.

The duties of the crown prince's three teachers and three juniors are: to assist the crown prince, enlighten his mind, correct his words and deeds, and promote virtue and establish a career.

These are all honorary titles; they do not have any real power.

There is also the Zongrenfu, which is responsible for the imperial family: it is headed by the elders of the imperial family and is responsible for the imperial family membership, compiling the jade book, establishing the order of ancestors, ranking the ranks and salaries, distinguishing factions, issuing teachings, discussing rewards and punishments, and deciding matters such as legitimate and illegitimate children, birth and death, marriage and funerals, etc. There are one Zongrenling, one Zuo Zongzheng, and one Zuo Zongren, all of whom are of the first rank.

The Zhanshi Mansion was responsible for the education of the Crown Prince and the princes, as well as their internal affairs. It had one Zhanshi (fourth rank), one left and one right Zhanshi Mansion Cheng (fourth rank), and four Junior Zhanshi (fifth rank).

The Zhanshi Mansion is in charge of the education of the princes and has the important task of tutoring the crown prince. The actual overall regulations are extremely complicated, equivalent to two ministries.

Then there is the inner court of the imperial palace, which has twelve prisons, four departments, eight bureaus and twenty-four yamen.

There are twelve bureaus: the Bureau of Ceremonies, the Bureau of Imperial Horses, the Bureau of Internal Affairs, the Bureau of Equipment, the Bureau of Imperial Uses, the Bureau of Shrines, the Bureau of Food, the Bureau of Treasures, the Bureau of Seals and Ribbons, the Bureau of Palaces, the Bureau of Clothing, and the Bureau of Chief Officials. Each bureau has one eunuch, who is of the fourth rank, one junior eunuch on the left and one junior eunuch on the right, who are of the fourth rank, and one deputy eunuch on the left and one deputy eunuch on the right, who are of the fifth rank.

Four departments: Xixin Department, Zhonggu Department, Baochao Department, and Huntang Department. Each department has a chief, who is of the fifth rank, and a left and right deputy, who are of the fifth rank.

Eight bureaus: Arms Bureau, Silver Bureau, Laundry Bureau, Hat Bureau, Needle Bureau, Internal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, Wine, Vinegar and Flour Bureau, and Garden Bureau. Each bureau has one ambassador, fifth rank, and one left and right deputy ambassador, fifth rank.

These government offices were responsible for royal affairs, not only within the palace but also outside the palace.

The palace maids were divided into six bureaus and one department, namely the Shangyi Bureau, Shanggong Bureau, Shanggong Bureau, Shangshi Bureau, Shangqin Bureau, Shangfu Bureau, and Gongzheng Department. Except for the Gongzheng Department which supervises women's discipline and is independent of the six bureaus, the other six bureaus have a total of 25 departments, each with different functions.

There are two fifth-rank palace maids, two sixth-rank scribes, two sixth-rank scribes, two sixth-rank clerks, and six sixth-rank clerks, who are in charge of a number of officials, chief officials, and female historians.

This system has almost dismantled the Shaofu. The Shaofu has become a behemoth, so it is better to clarify it now.

Regarding the monopoly industries, five separate departments were set up. Salt, iron, tea, and copper were each managed by a separate department. Each department had one general manager (fifth rank) and four deputy general managers (fifth rank), who were in charge of the monopoly of these necessities. All the revenues were deposited into the inner treasury, not the national treasury.

In addition, there were taxes levied on mountains, seas, ponds and lakes, as well as local contributions, offerings from subjects, and tributes from foreign countries, all of which went into the inner treasury.

The right to mint coins also belonged to the inner court, which brought extraordinary profits.

A special Baoyuansi was set up for coin minting, with one general manager (fourth rank), one assistant manager (fourth rank), and four deputy general managers (fifth rank).

Ying Zheng clearly divided the national treasury from the inner treasury. The national treasury belonged to the national treasury, and the inner treasury belonged to the inner treasury.

The national treasury is the revenue from national taxes and levies, which is used for public affairs such as military, administration, officials' salaries, and public works. Its management strictly follows financial laws and regulations, and even the emperor cannot interfere with it. It is open, transparent, and fair.

The Neiku was the emperor’s private property, and the emperor could do whatever he wanted with it.

The court salary and the emperor's father's reward are still different. Even the emperor should distinguish between public and private. If the officials take the money from the national treasury at will, they will only follow suit. In order to uphold the principle that everyone must pay taxes and to show that the emperor is selfless, even the royal family must pay taxes, and they must pay heavy taxes!

Of course, this is also because they do not trust the people under their command. Paying taxes requires supervision by officials, which can better limit corruption.

Similarly, giving up power is also for the purpose of gaining.

The emperor is the father of all people in the world, so one tenth of the national treasury should be used to honor the emperor, and this should also go into the inner treasury!

If the emperor can clearly distinguish between public and private, then the subjects of the world should also distinguish between public and private.

As for the emperor's harem, it has also been upgraded.

It is said in Zhou Li: The emperor shall have six harems, three wives, nine concubines, twenty-seven ladies-in-law and eighty-one imperial wives, in order to manage the internal affairs of the country and to show the obedience of women. Thus the country shall be in harmony and the families shall be in order.

The Empress and the Empress Dowager were naturally superior in status, ruling over the six palaces and governing the internal affairs, and their status was supreme.

One more Imperial Noble Consort (first rank) will be added, not a permanent position. If she is in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, she will be like a vice empress.

Two more imperial concubines (of the first rank) were added, named Hui and Li. They were not permanent positions, but assisted the empress in managing the harem and overseeing etiquette.

Now the Third Lady has been promoted to the Fourth Consort (second rank), and is virtuous, kind, gentle and virtuous, assisting the Empress in teaching the Nine Consorts and Four Virtues.

The nine concubines were promoted to twelve concubines, specifically divided into nine persons (second rank), namely Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoshu, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiushu, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, Chongshu and Chongyuan, who assisted the empress in standardizing harem etiquette and taking charge of its daily affairs.

The twenty-seven ladies were promoted to thirty-six, including twelve imperial concubines (third rank), who were responsible for presiding over sacrificial offerings and guest etiquette; twelve beauties (third rank), who assisted in managing banquets and sleeping arrangements; and twelve talented women (fourth rank), who were responsible for daily affairs such as weaving.

The eighty-one imperial wives make up a total of one hundred and eight imperial wives, including thirty-six Baolin (fifth rank), thirty-six imperial maidens (sixth rank), and thirty-six concubines (seventh rank). In fact, there is no fixed number.

Below them are the selected concubines and ladies who have not yet been classified. Selected concubines are candidates for concubines before they are officially canonized, and ladies refer to women who have entered the palace through selection or tribute, but have not yet been given a title.

In order to avoid being unable to get a turn, a rotation system was implemented, and the order of sleeping with the emperor was arranged according to the changes in the moon phases. From the first to the fifteenth day of the month (before the full moon), the order of sleeping with the emperor started from the concubines to the empress; from the sixteenth to the end of the month (after the waning moon), the order of sleeping with the emperor started from the empress to the emperor's wife.

The Empress had the 15th and 16th nights to herself, while the 108 imperial wives had to share one night between the 22nd and 30th, with twelve of them serving her.

Of course, that’s the rule, but the emperor can go wherever he wants and sleep however he wants!
In addition, the Crown Prince is regarded as the vice-prince, so the Crown Princess receives the same salary as the first-rank official, but in fact she is of a super-rank, ranking above all the ministers.

The rank of concubines is a system of titles for the emperor's harem, which is mainly used to distinguish status and treatment rather than actual administrative power. It is also different from the status of the previous dynasty. All concubines with ranks, whether they are dukes or officials, have to perform salutes. However, if their rank is not as high as that of an official, they have to bow in return after receiving the salute.

The royal princes and princesses are different from those of previous dynasties. Even the dukes are lower than the royal family, and the same goes for the first-rank officials.

The specific etiquette is rather complicated, but the basic tone is that imperial power is above all else.

Only high-ranking officials above the third rank, and even nobles of the marquis and above, were qualified to receive the return gift.

The rank of concubines in the harem is not linked to their titles or levels of honor. Even if you are a minister of the second rank, you still have to pay your respects first when you meet a talented person.

But it is not a great gift, there are complex divisions among different levels.

Common etiquette, respectful etiquette, important etiquette, and grand etiquette are all different ways. The difference between bowing with your hands clasped and kneeling and kowtowing is naturally huge.

Within the royal family, the emperor is the head, and those within the three degrees of mourning are determined according to their legitimacy, seniority, and title. Those outside the three degrees of mourning are still determined by their title.

In addition, in order to avoid raising pigs, Ying Zheng still had a system of decreasing titles even for the royal family. Like many nobles, after the princes came of age and were canonized with titles, the titles would still decrease from generation to generation, just like the nobles.

This is all to win the support of the people. The emperor's sons must inherit the throne without succession. What else do you have to say?

Of course, except for special circumstances, each case will be negotiated separately.

Another special point is that the legitimate sons of the emperor have titles of decreasing rank, while the other illegitimate sons also have titles, but they are one rank lower than the legitimate sons, and the same is true for the lower ones, until they are reduced to commoners.

As for the local official system, the county had one county magistrate (third rank), one county chancellor (fourth rank), one county censor (fourth rank), one county censor chancellor's ...

The subordinate officials in charge of administration, justice, taxation, criminal law, education, medicine, and enlightenment all have different offices, divisions, and sections, and all are of the seventh to ninth grade.

Counties are divided into large and small counties. Large counties have a county magistrate (sixth rank), small counties have a county head (sixth rank), both have a county magistrate (seventh rank), a county commander (sixth rank or seventh rank), a county supervisor (sixth rank or seventh rank), a doctor (eighth rank), and a teacher (eighth rank). The subordinate officials are also complete, with different ranks in different departments, ranging from eighth to ninth ranks.

(End of this chapter)