Chương 499: The Imperial Court System

After a long while, Liu Ce raised his hand and pressed it down, and the hall fell silent.

Liu Ce sat upright on the dragon throne, his gaze slowly sweeping over the officials below.

"My lords, in the past, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers seemed to have a clear division of labor, with the Grand Commandant in charge of military affairs, the Minister of Works in charge of civil administration, and the Minister of Agriculture in charge of engineering. In reality, however, each had their own selfish motives and shirked responsibility. A matter of providing relief to the people or repairing a city could be passed around among various government offices for half a year without a conclusion.

The people suffered greatly, and the affairs of the state became increasingly delayed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the officials in the hall displayed various expressions.

Some people lowered their heads in deep thought, while others looked surprised and doubtful, but no one dared to interrupt.

Everyone is waiting, waiting for His Majesty to reveal that brand new plan.

Liu Ce leaned forward slightly, his clear voice resonating throughout every corner of the hall, officially announcing the new official system:

"From this day forward, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers are abolished, and a system of Two Offices, Three Courts, and One Department is established. I will hold sole decision-making power, and delineate the responsibilities of execution, supervision, justice, and military and political power, forever eliminating the dangers of powerful ministers interfering in politics, officials shirking responsibility, and local deception!

All officials will uniformly adopt the nine-rank, eighteen-grade system, with clear distinctions between superiors and subordinates, and clear division of powers and responsibilities. Those who violate this will be severely punished!"

Liu Ce stood up, walked down the steps, stood before the assembled officials, and began to explain point by point.

Every point was explained clearly and explicitly, as if afraid that someone might not understand.

"First, establish two governments as the central core. The first, the Government Affairs Government, will oversee all national administration and will be my chief executive body. It will have no decision-making power whatsoever, but will execute my decrees without fail."

"The State Council shall have one Minister of State, of the first rank, who shall be my chief executive officer; and two Vice Ministers, of the second rank, to assist the Minister of State. It shall oversee seven ministries: the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Justice. The ministers of each ministry shall be of the second rank, and the vice ministers shall be of the second rank.

Within each ministry, there shall be officials such as Directors, Assistant Directors, and Clerks, with ranks decreasing in that order."

"The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of finance and civil affairs; the Ministry of Agriculture is in charge of agriculture and irrigation; the Ministry of Commerce is in charge of trade and commerce; the Ministry of Works is in charge of infrastructure, industry, and mining; the Ministry of Rites is also in charge of education and diplomacy; the Ministry of War is in charge of military and political logistics; and the Ministry of Justice is in charge of judicial administration.

The division of responsibilities is clear and there is no overlap. Any instance of shirking responsibility is strictly prohibited!"

The officials in the hall nodded in agreement, some already calculating which department they should go to.

"Secondly, the Imperial Clan Court, independent of the outer court, was solely responsible for all matters concerning the imperial family and clan. It was headed by a Director of the Imperial Clan Court, a first-rank official, who served as the honorary head of the imperial family; and a Vice Director of the Imperial Clan Court, a second-rank official, who oversaw all practical affairs.

The Imperial Clan Court was in charge of the imperial genealogy, the inheritance of titles and stipends, clan rewards and punishments, and the education of imperial children. This completely separated the imperial family from the affairs of the outer court, preventing interference in politics by the imperial family and the abuse of power by maternal relatives.

If a member of the imperial family violated the law, the outer court could not interfere; the Imperial Clan Court, in conjunction with the judicial authorities, would handle the case, ensuring fairness in the law and protecting clan rules."

Cai Yan, who was observing the ceremony in a side hall, secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

The Imperial Clan Court governs the royal family. From now on, family members will have rules and regulations, and will not be able to override the law because of their special status.

This is a good thing.

Liu Ce continued, "Secondly, three courts will be established, each responsible for military orders, supervision, and justice, with no subordinate to each other and each checking and balancing the others."

The First Privy Council was in charge of national military orders and was completely separate from the Ministry of War of the Government Administration Council—the Privy Council had the authority to mobilize troops but not to command them; the Ministry of War was in charge of military and political logistics but not to mobilize troops.

The Privy Councilor is a first-rank official who must be a civil servant and serves a three-year term, during which he cannot serve consecutive terms. The Deputy Privy Councilor is a second-rank official and has subordinate departments for staff, military command, and intelligence.

Without the Emperor's personal decree and the verification of both the military tally and the tiger tally, the Privy Council cannot mobilize a single soldier.

Generals are given orders during wartime and immediately relinquish command afterward. This ensures that soldiers do not know their generals, and generals do not know their soldiers, thus preventing, at its root, the accumulation of power by military commanders and the emergence of regional warlords!

Upon hearing this, some of the military officers looked puzzled, while others seemed to be deep in thought.

Huangfu Song nodded, secretly admiring him.

Soldiers were unaware of their generals, and generals were unaware of their soldiers. With the addition of the Privy Council and the Ministry of War, the system was more complete than before.

This is good; it will be difficult for anyone to rebel in the future, and the soldiers will no longer have to live in fear.

Liu Ce knew what they were thinking, and added, "Don't worry, your salaries won't be reduced, and your titles won't be demoted. It's just that you won't be allowed to lead your own troops and become mountain kings anymore, to prevent your descendants from rebelling."

These words were spoken bluntly, and all the civil and military officials laughed, making the atmosphere much more relaxed.

Liu Ce continued:

"The Second Censorate is an independent supervisory body, directly under my jurisdiction and not subject to any other department. The Left Censor-in-Chief, a first-rank official, is the highest supervisory official; the Right Censor-in-Chief, a second-rank official, oversees six departments of supervising officials, provincial censors, and circuit censors. From high-ranking central officials to lowly local clerks, all are subject to its supervision.

It can report on matters based on hearsay, directly impeach officials, and has the power to reject illegal decrees, investigate corruption among officials, and supervise the execution of government affairs. It will act as my representative, inspecting the entire empire, reporting major matters for decision, and resolving minor matters immediately. Anyone who dares to bend the law for personal gain, neglect their duties, or delay service will be severely punished by the Censorate!"

The officials of the Censorate looked at each other, all showing expressions of excitement.

Independent oversight? And the ability to speak on the sidelines? This is an unprecedentedly good thing!

Wang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Censorate will conduct independent oversight, free from the jurisdiction of any department; this is serious.

Those corrupt officials are probably going to have trouble sleeping.

However, it's also good that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, but if the water is too murky, the fish won't live long either.

The Censorate is just a place for muddying the waters.

"The Third Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the country, upholds judicial independence and is free from interference by any administrative or military force. The Chief Justice is a first-rank official, and the Vice Chief Justice is a second-rank official. It comprises departments for criminal, civil, and death penalty review. It oversees the trial of major cases, the review of local death sentences, and the interpretation of legal provisions.

Together with the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, it forms a joint trial system, ensuring that major and complex cases are jointly reviewed by all three parties, with multiple layers of oversight to minimize wrongful convictions and prevent local officials from disregarding human life. Local judicial officials are directly appointed and assessed by the central government and are not under the jurisdiction of local administrative officials. This ensures judicial fairness and freedom from manipulation!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Biao nodded repeatedly.

Judicial independence is something that no dynasty in history has been able to achieve, but now, under Liu Ce's leadership, it is actually about to be realized.

Zhang Fei was confused, but he still remembered the words "judicial independence".

What he was thinking was that, in the future, if someone breaks the law, they can't just be beheaded on any pretext; they have to go through a trial.

Yes, that's good, to avoid anyone being wrongly accused.

Several officials in charge of criminal law whispered among themselves: "This is troublesome. From now on, we can't just come to court to make judgments casually. We'll have to go to court and confront the people from the Censorate and the Supreme Court..."

Liu Ce concluded by saying:

"Finally, establish an agency—the Royal Statistical and Auditing Agency. This will be my eyes and ears, directly under my command, and not subordinate to any other government office. The Director will be a first-rank official, on par with the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; the Deputy Director will be a second-rank official, with subordinate departments for statistics, auditing, and secret investigation. The downfall of dynasties throughout history has often stemmed from information asymmetry.

Local officials deceive their superiors and subordinates, falsifying population figures, concealing acreage, and embezzling taxes, keeping the court in the dark. By the time the problems become too deep to be reversed, it is too late!"