Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 69 is called the Directorate of Ceremonial, but it's actually a secretariat! (Seeking monthly votes~)

……

Soon, only Zhu Youjian and Gao Shiming remained in the main room.

The atmosphere inside the hall quieted down for a moment, and the birdsong outside the window seemed exceptionally clear.

"Sit down." Zhu Youjian pointed to the long bench opposite him.

"The slaves dare not."

“Let’s talk while we’re seated,” Zhu Youjian said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Gao Shiming then carefully sat down, still only sitting on one side of his buttocks.

Looking at his expression, Zhu Youjian chuckled and said, "Gao Banban, you've confirmed it. Why be so formal between us, ruler and subject?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Shiming gave an awkward smile and uttered platitudes such as "Your Majesty's favor makes this servant feel apprehensive." He shifted his position further inside, but still couldn't fill the entire seat.

Zhu Youjian did not press him further, but leaned forward slightly, looked at him sincerely, and said, "Gao Banban, do you feel that I am diminishing your power?"

Gao Shiming had become somewhat accustomed to the emperor's outrageous and frank pronouncements.

He calmly stood up, ready to apologize.

"sit down!"

Zhu Youjian reached out and pretended to press him down, stopping him from getting up, but instead stood up himself.

From a psychological perspective, the difference in height when a person speaks can, to some extent, translate into invisible psychological pressure.

He walked to Gao Shiming's side, gently patted his shoulder, and said in an extremely serious tone: "I know your loyalty. But today, I am indeed delegating power."

Gao Shiming wanted to stand up, but dared not. He could only bow and say with a bitter smile, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, why do you say such things? Everything I have is given to me by Your Majesty. I have no power whatsoever. I will obey Your Majesty's orders in everything I do."

"I know." Zhu Youjian nodded, a look of approval on his face. "I knew that Consort Gao was loyal."

He paced back and forth, and slowly said, "When I was in the Prince Xin's residence, I read through the 'Collected Statutes of the Great Ming'."

"Our Great Ming Dynasty's inner court has twenty-four departments, each originally having its own duties."

“However, since the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs took over the power of approving imperial edicts, personnel, finance, taxation, and even the teaching power of the Inner Study Hall,” he paused, gesturing around the room with his finger, “all of these have gradually been brought under the control of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs.”

He shook his head and sighed, "This is not good."

"When power is excessive, arrogance will naturally arise; when policies are made by oneself, obstruction and blockage will occur."

"I and Gao have entrusted our aspirations to each other. I truly do not wish to see anything happen in the future that neither of us, ruler and subject, can bear to talk about. Therefore, I must take action today in advance."

Gao Shiming suddenly realized that although he still couldn't understand, this must be a gesture of goodwill from the emperor.

At this point, according to convention, he should...

Gao Shiming stood up and bowed deeply to Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty is so kind to this servant, this servant... this servant would rather die than repay Your Majesty's kindness!"

"It's good that you understand my good intentions." Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction. "After you go down, assign each of the three of them a full complement of men and let them get these tasks done."

"However, these three matters will not be handled by any government office. For the time being, they will all be under the jurisdiction of your Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs. Do not make a fuss about them."

"This servant obeys the decree," Gao Shiming replied, and then prepared to leave.

"Don't be hasty, my friend," Zhu Youjian called out to him, "I haven't finished speaking yet."

He hesitated for a moment, organized his thoughts, and finally spoke.

"With this decentralization of power, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will have fewer miscellaneous tasks in the palace. I think this is just right. It will allow us to devote more energy to the outer court."

Gao Shiming was taken aback and looked at the emperor with some confusion.

Zhu Youjian continued, "There are four things that I have been thinking about for a long time. From now on, they will be handled by your Directorate of Ceremonial, and only you can do them."

"Firstly, it is called 'itinerary management'."

"From today onwards, your Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs shall, based on reports from various ministries and departments, intelligence from both inside and outside the court, and my instructions, draft my schedule for the next day, including who I shall summon, what I shall discuss, when the lectures shall be held, when the military drills shall be reviewed, and so on. Please submit this to me for confirmation every morning."

"Secondly, it is called the 'Yellow Register of Officials'."

"The official screens that I asked you to make before should be scaled up and made a regular practice in the future."

"We will order several more bookshelves and place them in the Qianqing Palace to replace this screen." "You must regularly obtain intelligence on the officials from the Eastern Depot and update the information on them. Any significant changes must be reported promptly."

Thirdly, there is 'task management'.

"From now on, you shall record all the memorials submitted by the outer court after they have been red-painted and compiled into tables for me."

"I need to know which department received the decree, when it was received, who was assigned to carry it out, when it was completed, and what the result was."

"In short, we must make sure they do the following: everything is accounted for, every matter is resolved, and every issue receives a response!"

"Fourthly, it is called 'red and green rewards and punishments'."

"Nowadays, the Ministry of Personnel's performance evaluation system has become lax, and the selection of officials and appointments is often carried out by drawing lots (divination) to avoid requests from those born in the same year or from the same hometown. This is truly absurd and laughable!"

"While I must issue an edict to restart the performance evaluation in the outer court, this matter is of great importance and cannot be carried out by the Ministry of Personnel alone."

Zhu Youjian's gaze turned serious: "From now on, I will also determine the red and green indicators for the effectiveness of various matters."

“In the past, my red and green rewards and punishments could only be used to judge matters that I cared about. But future red and green rewards and punishments will depend on the results of your ‘task management’.”

"The capable and excellent will be marked with red by me personally, as a basis for promotion and reward! The mediocre and inferior will be marked with green by me personally, as a basis for reprimand or dismissal!"

"Only in this way can we eliminate the corrupt and promote the virtuous, and select the truly talented people who can serve the country!"

The more Gao Shiming listened, the more shocked he became.

These four things, each one unheard of, are all to the point!

This is not a reduction of his power; it is clearly an grant of even greater power! An unprecedented power, powerful enough to influence the entire Ming Dynasty court!
Only after Zhu Youjian finished speaking did he seem to wake from a dream, and he hurriedly bowed and accepted the order: "This servant... obeys the decree!"

Zhu Youjian did not stop there. He stepped forward and tightly grasped Gao Shiming's hand.

“Gao Banban,” Zhu Youjian’s voice was full of sincerity and expectation, “Since I have entrusted you with my aspirations, how could I possibly harbor unfounded suspicions?”

“These matters are far more important than the trivial matters of the palace, and I need someone like you, whom I trust, to share my burdens.”

"Everyone says that the Director of Ceremonial Affairs is the Grand Chancellor, essentially the Inner Chancellor. Today, I truly entrust him with the duties of a Prime Minister! I hope that you, my lord, will work together with me to overcome these difficult times!"

Gao Shiming was stunned when he heard this.

A moment later, his face turned bright red, and his lips trembled, but he did not burst into tears as he had last time.

He simply bowed deeply to Zhu Youjian with utmost solemnity, performing a grand salute usually reserved for high-ranking officials of the outer court.

"Your subject... dares not disobey!"

At this moment, he no longer referred to himself as a "slave" but as a "subject".

Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian burst into laughter and grabbed his arm.

"Alright, alright! Let's go back to the Qianqing Palace first! After dinner, we, the emperor and his ministers, will start with the governance of the capital and get this first spark going!"

……

After a long while, two small figures walked into the hall that would determine the future layout of the inner court.

It was Wang Chengen and Fang Zhenghua.

"Bah! That Du Xun, he only dares to order me around just because he's a few years older than us!"

Fang Zhenghua was wiping the table vigorously while muttering curses.

"He's already moved all the tables and chairs, and he still expects the two of us to sweep the floor! Why doesn't he do it himself? When I graduate and get selected for the imperial examinations, I'll make him wash my feet every day!"

Wang Chengen remained silent, simply lowering his head and meticulously sweeping every scrap of paper and every speck of dust from the ground into the dustpan.

The two were busy at work.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside, and the voice of a steward eunuch drifted from afar.

"The monthly exam results are out! The Admiral has decreed that this month's exam results will be distributed according to rankings, with extra meals for the top ten! Each of the top ten will receive a plate of meat!"

"meat!"

Fang Zhenghua's eyes lit up, and he threw the rag in his hand onto the table, about to turn around and call Wang Chengen.

But a small, thin figure had already shot past him like an arrow and was the first to rush out the door!

(End of this chapter)