Since he was determined to become a formidable figure, he had to be ruthless. After killing his two uncles, Noyan Ubashi and Buyanbu'erhan, Sultan immediately ordered his trusted followers Luo Bu Zang and Narisong to lead troops to take over the two men's followers, and also ordered his uncles' families to be exiled to Iron Gate Pass.
Feeling secure on the Great Taiji's throne, the thirteen-year-old youth wanted to soar; he wanted to reform and intended to reform Mongol using the Ming Dynasty's official system.
The Great Ming Dynasty's official system is good! With the Inner Cabinet as the highest administrative body, it had six ministries (Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Works) below it, three prefectures (Five Army Commanderies, Imperial Clan Court, Court of Judicial Review), five temples (Court of Judicial Review, Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Court of Imperial Entertainments, Honglu Temple, Court of the Imperial Stud), two directorates (Imperial College, astronomical observatory), one office (Office of Transmission), and three academies (Hanlin Academy, Censorate, Tai Hospital); locally, there were three levels: province, prefecture, and county, with each province having three administrative offices, and above them, Governors-general and Governors.
However, the road ahead is long and arduous, and reform would infringe upon the interests of the Mongol Noyan.
These Noyan were local emperors in their own territories, each with troops, and if not handled well, it could provoke rebellion and widespread conflict.
Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, Sultan understood this point.
First, he built momentum, having his subordinates vigorously advocate for "restoring the Great Yuan's old system."
The Ming Dynasty's official system originated from the Yuan Dynasty, the biggest difference being the abolition of the prime minister's position, replaced by the Inner Cabinet; locally, the diverse central secretariat, pacification commissioner's office, various Wanhu Governments, various chief administrator's offices, scattered prefectures, various zhous, various counties, and various armies were simplified into three levels: province, prefecture, and county.
The so-called "restoring the Great Yuan's old system" was actually selling dog meat under the guise of a sheep's head, intending to implement the Great Ming Dynasty's system.
The Oirat's official system evolved from the Northern Yuan, and the central hierarchy already had functions similar to the Great Ming, for instance, Tushmer were equivalent to Ge Chen, and Zalguqi were equivalent to the heads of the six ministries; the key lay in the local level, where Noyan of all sizes held significant local military and administrative power, and the central government's control over the localities was weak.
However, building momentum aside, Sultan was not in a hurry to send officials to the Otok in various places to centralize the Noyan's power.
Instead, it was a lot of thunder but little rain, only piloting reforms in the Great Taiji's directly controlled territory.
In his own territory, he could change things however he wanted, and no one could say anything.
First, reform the center.
An Inner Cabinet was established, with three Tushmer (ministers who participate in political decision-making): Batu and Tan, Tiemuer, and Nasutu as Ge Chen, with Batu and Tan as Grand Secretary and Tiemuer as the Second Grand Secretary; six ministries were also established: Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Works, increasing the original three Zalguqi to six people, each in charge of a ministry, called Shangshu; other officials were all modeled after the Ming system, but due to the smaller population, many official positions were temporarily not established.
Mongol were accustomed to the old system, and suddenly many new official positions appeared, naturally causing some discomfort.
However, because it was being promoted everywhere that the Great Yuan Dynasty had implemented the three provinces and six ministries system back then, and the Great Taiji was now restoring the Great Yuan's old system, anyone who opposed it was not loving the Great Yuan and not loyal to Mongol.
With such promotion, the voices of opposition became smaller.
Ultimately, the central officials were originally the Great Taiji's subordinates, and the Great Taiji reforming the official system of his own royal court did not infringe upon the Noyan's interests, so they naturally had no reason to oppose.
Many Noyan not only did not oppose but loudly praised Sultan's "restoring the Great Yuan's old system" as a grand plan and having lofty ambitions.
Seeing that the first step went relatively smoothly, Sultan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously pushed forward with local level reforms.
His second fire burned towards his directly controlled territory.
The three prefectures of Yule Duosi, Chalish, and Kucha, his old father had already completed reforms, establishing officials such as Prefect and Magistrate, so no further changes were needed.
What remained were the directly controlled pastures.
He divided his directly controlled pastures into five Otok, implementing separation of military and civil administration, with the Qianhu Chief specifically in charge of military affairs, the Zaisang specifically in charge of civil administration, the Demuqi in charge of judicial affairs, and the Shouleng'e in charge of taxation.
The biggest feature was the addition of the position of Qianhu Chief within the Otok to command the military, abolishing the Zaisang's military power; secondly, subordinate officials such as Demuqi and Shouleng'e, although still subordinate to the Zaisang, were assessed and appointed by the Ministry of Personnel.
This greatly strengthened central authority.
The third fire was supposed to burn towards the Taiji within the Huit Tribe, such as Eluolike, Namu Zhan, Aledaer, and Erke.
Within their respective Otok, they served as both Zaisang and were in charge of military affairs, and could also appoint subordinate officials such as Demuqi and Shouleng'e; their power was too great, making it easy for the tail to wag the dog!
But when it came time to actually act, Sultan hesitated.
These Taiji were not easy to provoke; if pushed too hard, they would lead troops in rebellion.
After much thought, he decided to boil the frog slowly, letting them continue to concurrently hold the positions of Zaisang and Qianhu Chief, only reclaiming the taxation and judicial powers within the Otok.
It was stipulated that the judicial officials (Demuqi) and tax officials (Shouleng'e) within the Otok would no longer be appointed or removed by the Zaisang, but by the Ministry of Personnel.
In order to appease these Noyan, it was also stipulated that these Taiji could hold the positions of Zaisang and Qianhu Chief in their respective Otok for generations.
After finishing these tasks, he began to perfect the military system.
The army was Sultan's lifeline, and it had to be reformed to meet the needs of war.
The current Oirat military system still maintained the old tradition from the Genghis Khan era.
The army was mostly temporarily conscripted by the Noyan of each Aimak and Otok during wartime.
Due to the lack of a standing army, the troops were inadequately trained.
Fortunately, Mongol warriors grew up on horseback from a young age, and their bravery and ferocity compensated for the lack of training.
Having conquered the two prefectures of Chalish and Kucha and quelled internal unrest, his subjects now numbered over three hundred thousand, it was time to establish a standing army to consolidate his rule.
Only with soldiers can one be a Wang!
Sultan's sword-like eyebrows trembled slightly, and he made up his mind.
He announced the establishment of a ten-thousand-strong Imperial Guard to be stationed in various strategic locations.
Ten men formed a Shi, with a Chief of Ten Households; three Shi formed a Dui, with a Thirty Household Head and a Deputy Thirty Household Head; three Dui formed a Shao, with a Chief of Hundred Households, a Deputy Chief of Hundred Households, and a Shao Zhenfu (military discipline officer); three Shao formed a Du, with a Du Baihu, a Deputy Du Baihu, and a Du Zhenfu; three Du formed a Ying, with a Qianhu Chief, a Deputy Qianhu Chief, and a Ying Zhenfu; three Ying formed a Qi, with a Du Qianhu, a Deputy Du Qianhu, a Zhenfu Envoy, and a Grain and Fodder Transport Envoy (sixth rank, in charge of documents and baggage); three Qi, totaling ten thousand men, formed a Zhen, with a Wanhu Chief, a Deputy Wanhu Chief, a Du Zhenfu Envoy, and a Du Grain and Fodder Transport Envoy.
In order to increase the Mongol's sense of identity, he named this Imperial Guard after Genghis Khan's "Kheshig" and appointed himself as the Kheshig Wanhu Chief.
Eight thousand men were stationed in Yule Duosi Prefecture, and one thousand men were stationed in Chalish and Kucha respectively.
Furthermore, one thousand infantry were trained in Yule Duosi Prefecture, three thousand infantry were trained in Chalish and Kucha respectively, and one hundred cavalry were trained in each Otok; these local troops, whose pay was lower than the Imperial Guard, numbered approximately eight thousand in total and were collectively referred to as "Garrison Army," each under the jurisdiction of a Garrison Commander.
After finishing these tasks, Sultan Great Taiji finally completed the initial centralization of power within the Huit Tribe and consolidated his position as Great Taiji.
Ambitious as he was, he trained his troops daily, preparing to conquer the world.
