In the Imperial Study.
Ouyang Shuo solemnly withdrew the Imperial Ruler's Seal and looked through the three imperial edicts one last time. When he saw that there weren't any omissions, he personally stamped the imperial ruler's seal onto them. Thus, the imperial edict became the law and could not be changed.
Seeing this, Cyan Yi brought over a brocade box and carefully placed the imperial edict into it.
At this moment, the maid came to report, "Your Majesty, it's time!"
Ouyang Shuo nodded his head, smiled at Qingyi and Jia Xu, and said, "Let's go to court!"
…
Eight o 'clock in the morning, the main hall of the Xia Palace.
The auspicious hour had arrived. Ouyang Shuo ascended the throne and began the first court assembly of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Ouyang Shuo looked at the hundreds of civil and military officials standing in the hall and said with rapt attention, "The new dynasty has just been established, so there must be some sort of system. When this king ascends to the throne, I will destroy the Primal Chaos, define the system, settle the wilderness, and show the world. "
The officials bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Ouyang Shuo said, "Summon!"
Secretary Lang Bai Nanpu had been standing not too far away from Ouyang Shuo. After hearing the imperial edict, he respectfully took out the brocade box and began to read the imperial edict.
Bai Nanpu had been by Ouyang Shuo's side for a long time. He was dependable and reliable. Although he had been placed in the Secret Texts Pavilion, he played the role of a "chief eunuch", responsible for reading imperial edicts.
To Bai Nanpu, this was already a boundless favor from the emperor.
The first thing to be read was the system of nobility in the Great Xia Dynasty.
According to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, as long as one was a citizen of the Great Xia Dynasty, be it a soldier, a merchant, a scholar, or a craftsman, regardless of their background, as long as they made contributions in their respective fields, they would be conferred nobility.
To a dynasty, soldiers beheading the enemy on the battlefield is a meritorious service, merchants paying taxes to open up trade routes is a meritorious service, scholars teaching and educating people is a meritorious service, craftsmen inventing and creating things is a meritorious service, and officials ruling for the people is a meritorious service.
Since he had rendered meritorious service, he should be rewarded.
The lowest class of nobility was the Baron, so the three classes of Barons were further divided into nine classes, with the first class as the highest and the ninth class as the lowest. There were detailed criteria for the conferment of nobility for each profession.
The title of nobility conferred by the dynasty was only an honorary title. It had nothing to do with salary, and it was not hereditary. However, those who held the title of nobility had a higher status than the commoners, and the commoners had to treat them with respect.
This was the greatest respect given to those who had rendered meritorious service.
After reading out the system of titles, Bai Nanpu read out the first list of titles conferred. Apart from the Marquises and a small number of Earls, all the civil and military officials present were also conferred nobility.
According to Ouyang Shuo's request, the conferment of nobility wasn't based on one's official position, but purely based on one's contribution to the Great Xia Dynasty. Thus, the older the territory, the higher the rank of nobility.
For example, Xu Shuda, the Director-General of the Department of Science, Education, Culture, and Health of the Executive Yuan, had worked hard and performed meritorious deeds, and was immediately conferred the title of Third Rank Earl. On the other hand, the newly arrived officials were only conferred the title of viscount even if they were immediately promoted to the central position. For example, Kou Zhun, Di Renjie, and Wei Zheng were only conferred the title of third-rank viscount symbolically.
In this way, not only would they be able to compensate the old officials, but they would also be able to put pressure on the latecomers, forcing them to serve the imperial court wholeheartedly.
…
After announcing the list of titles, it was time to announce the changes in the structure of the Great Xia Dynasty, as well as the appointment and dismissal of officials.
Other than upgrading and adjusting the original institutions, the reform of the dynasty also followed the example of the previous dynasty, learning from each other's strengths to make up for their weaknesses. In one breath, more than twenty auxiliary institutions were added, making the system of the dynasty more complete.
This time, the auxiliary institutions included the Imperial Hospital, Hanlin Academy, Taichang Temple in charge of sacrifices, Guanglu Temple in charge of birthday banquets, the Office of Transmission in charge of official documents, the Office of Personnel in charge of issuing edicts, the Office of Astronomy in charge of astrology, the Office of Shanglin Garden in charge of the imperial gardens, livestock farms, and vegetable gardens, and so on.
In the Xia Palace, the system of female officials replaced the eunuchs. Using the original Department of Internal Affairs as the foundation, there were twelve internal departments, namely, the Office of Rites, the Office of Internal Affairs, the Office of Imperial Staff, the Office of Decorations, the Office of Imperial Horse, the Office of Divine Palace, the Office of Catering, the Office of Treasures, the Office of Seal, the Office of Direct Hall, the Office of Clothing, and the Office of Prefectures.
In addition, there were four departments in the inner palace, namely, the Office of Firewood, the Office of Drums, the Office of Treasures, and the Office of Chaos. There were eight bureaus, namely, the Office of Military Affairs, the Office of Silver, the Office of Washing, the Office of Scarves, the Office of Needlework, the Office of Weaving and Dyeing, the Office of Wine, Vinegar, and the Office of Prefect. There were also six bureaus for the palace maids, namely, the Office of Palace Affairs, the Office of Ceremonial Affairs, the Office of Food Affairs, the Office of Sleeping, and the Office of Merit. Each bureau had four departments.
However, only Ouyang Shuo and Song Jia lived in the Xia Palace, as well as Bing'er, the Eldest Princess, who had yet to reach adulthood. Ouyang Shuo did not like luxury, so he had long ordered the 24 offices to be simple.
If not, it would be impossible to maintain the operation of the entire dynasty.
The auxiliary institutions were set up one by one, immediately showing the new atmosphere of the dynasty.
Of course, the most important adjustment was still built with the original Protectorate of the Southern Border as the core. These institutions were the key to maintaining the operation of the dynasty, so they could not be careless.
The Cabinet was set up to manage all the government affairs of the dynasty. There was a Prime Minister and a number of Secondary Ministers. Jiang Shang was officially appointed as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and Kou Zhun as the Secondary Minister of the Cabinet, to assist Ouyang Shuo in managing the court.
The Grand Council was set up to manage all the military affairs of the dynasty. The Military Intelligence Department and the War Department, which were originally under the Bureau of Military Affairs, as well as the newly established Navy Command, were all transferred to the Grand Council.
As such, the Bureau of Military Affairs was in charge of the daily operations of the army and the logistics of the army, while the Grand Council was in charge of the war command. The two institutions were connected to each other, yet operated independently.
The Grand Council was set up to have a Minister of Military Affairs and a number of commanders.
The Minister of Military Affairs, Du Ruhui, also held the position of Minister of Military Affairs. The Commander of the Navy, Zheng He, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Huo Qubing, the Commander of the Dragon Stallion Army, Bai Qi, the Commander of the Brave Tiger Army, Sun Bin, and the Commander of the Leopard Army, Han Xin, were all members of the Grand Council.
The Cabinet and the Grand Council were the highest military and political institutions of the Great Xia Dynasty. Other than the special institutions directly under the jurisdiction of Ouyang Shuo, the other institutions of the dynasty were under the jurisdiction of these two institutions.
The Secretary Office was promoted to be the Chamber of Secret Texts, which was in charge of important secretaries. There was a scholar and two secretaries. Qingyi was set up to be the scholar of the Chamber of Secret Texts, and Bai Nanpu was the secretary.
The Minister of Information was set up to be in charge of the military and political consultation of Emperor Xia, and was responsible for drafting memorials. There was a scholar, two scholars, and four secretaries. Jia Xu was appointed to be the scholar of the Minister of Information, and Chen Gong was appointed to be the scholar of the Minister of Information.
The Imperial Censorate was set up to be in charge of the supervision of speech. There was a Minister of the Imperial Censorate and a number of Minister of the Imperial Censorate. Wei Zheng was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Censorate, and Feng Ting was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Censorate.
The newly established Chamber of Secret Texts, the Minister of Information, and the Imperial Censorate, in addition to the previously established Honglu Temple, Shanhai Guards, and Black Snake Guards, were the six institutions directly under the jurisdiction of Ouyang Shuo.
Under the Cabinet, there were the Executive Yuan, the Interior Yuan, the Finance Yuan, and the Bureau of Military Affairs. There were also the two special departments of the Industry Department and the Bank of the Four Seas.
The Executive Yuan, the Interior Yuan, the Finance Yuan, and the Bureau of Military Affairs were all promoted to the Directorate. The appointment of the officials remained the same without any changes.
After the change of the imperial court, the local yamen had to follow suit.
According to the system, the local areas were divided into six levels: province, county, prefecture, county, town, and village. The number of yamen at each level had a fixed number and could not be changed without reason. Otherwise, it would be treason.
At the same time, it was stipulated that the highest level of the yamen at the province was the General Department, the highest level of the yamen at the county was the Directorate, the highest level of the yamen at the prefecture was the Department, the highest level of the yamen at the county was the Division, and the highest level of the yamen at the town and the village was the Section.
The Section, the Division, the Department, the General Department, and the Court formed a six-level system.
In this way, the upper and lower levels were interconnected, and the system was complete. Only then could the imperial court's orders be unimpeded.
… …
The last imperial edict Bai Nanpu read out was the Great Xia Dynasty's nine-rank system of officials. Since a complete system had been established, it was necessary to have a strict and clear ranking system.
According to the system, the Great Xia Dynasty had nine ranks, one major and one minor, for a total of eighteen ranks.
According to Ouyang Shuo's request, the Great Xia Dynasty did not have the three positions of "Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Protector." The court's civil officials were headed by the Inner Cabinet, and the military's generals were revered by the Grand Council.
As a result, the Cabinet's First Assistant, Cabinet's Second Assistant, and the Grand Council's Grand Council were all first-rank. The Minister of Administration, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Military Affairs were all second-rank.
Du Ruhui, who held both the Grand Council and the Minister of Military Affairs, was a first-rank. When the time was right, Ouyang Shuo would consider establishing a new Minister of Military Affairs to oversee the day-to-day military affairs of the Grand Council.
The Chamberlain of Dependencies and the Imperial Censor were second-rank. The Deputy Ministers of the Four Great Academies and the Zhili County Governor were second-rank.
Taking this opportunity, Ouyang Shuo officially appointed the four Deputy Ministers of the Four Great Academies. Zhang Tingyu was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Administration, Di Renjie as the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Cui Yingyou as the Deputy Minister of Finance, and Xiahou Dun as the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs.
The former Deputy Director of the General Administration of Military Affairs, Zhao Kuo, was transferred to the Grand Council from the Department of War.
The Zhili County Governor was the head of the local officials. He was above the Governor of the province and was known as the first Governor.
The Governor of the province, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet of Advisors, the Commander of the Shanhai Guards, and the Commander of the Black Snake Guards were third-rank. Under the Four Great Academies were the Head of the Directorate of Industry, and the Minister of Seals of the Bank of the Four Seas. They were third-rank.
The Grand Secretary of the Chamber of Secrets and the Imperial Censor were fourth-rank. The Secretary of the Four Great Academies and the Deputy Director of the Four Great Academies were fourth-rank.
Among the six institutions, the Chamberlain of Dependencies was in charge of diplomacy, and the Imperial Censor was in charge of speech. They were the central departments, which was why they had the highest ranking, second only to the Four Great Academies.
The Cabinet of Advisors, the Shanhai Guards, and the Black Snake Guards were second, but they were on the same level as the Governor of the province. Although the Chamber of Secrets was the closest to Emperor Xia, Ouyang Shuo only gave it fourth-rank.
Such an arrangement was meant to restrict and restrain the Emperor.
Further down, under the Four Great Academies were the Directorate of the Four Great Academies, and the Head of the Four Great Academies were fifth-rank. The County Governor and the Deputy Director of the Governor's Yamen were fifth-rank.
The Head of the Four Great Academies of the Prefectural Guard were sixth-rank. The Prefectural Magistrate and the Four Great Academies of the Prefectural Guard were seventh-rank, and the rest of the officials were seventh-rank. The Four Great Academies of the County Government were eighth-rank, and the Section Heads of the Prefectural Guard were eighth-rank.
The Mayor of the Town was ninth-rank, and the Section Heads of the Village and Town were ninth-rank. The rest of the officials were not ranked.
After the announcement of the nine ranks and eighteen ranks of the civil officials, all the officials in the dynasty were ranked according to their ranks, and their salaries were fixed. As such, there was a law, and the foundation of the dynasty's governance was laid.
A new dynasty had arrived!
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