"According to the order."
Pei Qian stood with his hands behind him, diagonally in front of the table, less than ten feet away from the emperor. After a slight salute, he spoke:
"Your Majesty, the strategy I have planned for Your Majesty this time to reorganize the Privy Council is based on the idea that Your Majesty divided the Secretariat into six ministries. I have also thought of using other methods, but after comparing them one by one, I always feel that none of them are as good as Your Majesty's strategy."
Hearing Pei Qian's words of flattery, Cao Rui couldn't help but laugh and said, "I just divided the six departments into six, why are you praised to the sky by Pei Qian? Then I want to hear how smart I am."
Pei Qian remained calm and said, "What I learned from your majesty's division of the six ministries is the four words 'power and responsibility are equal'."
"Take the official system as an example. The Shangshu Ling usually holds a 600-stone official rank, and is in charge of all the 600-stone Shangshu officials, responsible for the political affairs of the country. The governors of various provinces also hold 600-stone official rank, but they supervise the governors and prime ministers of various 2,000-stone officials. This is called the lower-ranking officials ruling the higher-ranking officials, but officials often fail to fulfill their wishes, resulting in frequent chaos. However, Your Majesty treats the Shangshu officials as equals to the nine ministers, so that the court officials are in good order."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "The Shangshutai is in power, and the Shangshu are the busiest group of people. They deserve a position of two thousand stones. My original intention in doing this is to make the laws and regulations consistent from top to bottom, and the positions and levels are equal."
Pei Qian responded, "Your Majesty is right."
"In addition to the official ranks, the Shangshutai is divided into six departments: civil affairs, engineering, military affairs, personnel, rituals, and punishments. They cover all political affairs in the world without any duplication or omission. I think the Privy Council can also follow this example. Following this example, I will also organize and divide the various military assistants in the Privy Council, as well as the Western, Eastern, Household, Memorial, Law, and Warehouse departments into six categories. However, whether to call them 'Cao' or 'Bu' is up to your Majesty."
Cao Rui said: "During the Han Dynasty, it was called 'Cao'. This is an old custom that has always been difficult to change. Now the Privy Council is going to be restructured, and 'Cao' is the surname of the Great Wei State, so it is reasonable to change it. Let's use 'Fang'."
"Fang... Although I have never heard of this word, I think it is very good." Pei Qian certainly would not spoil the emperor's interest: "Shangshu'tai' matches the six'ministries', and Privy'yuan' matches the six'fang'. It's very neat."
"Then I will discuss the six rooms."
Cao Rui nodded slightly and said nothing more.
Pei Qian continued, "The six rooms I have drawn up include Guanxi Room, Jingzhou Room, Yangzhou Room, Hebei Room, Military Registration Room, and Military Affairs Room. All the previous offices and military officers of the Privy Council will be dismissed and placed under the jurisdiction of the six rooms as a rule."
"Sixth House..." Cao Rui frowned slightly. "The border of the Great Wei Dynasty has not been settled yet. Pei Qing established the Guanxi House, Jingzhou House, Yangzhou House, and Hebei House. From the names, I can tell that these four houses are responsible for military affairs in all four directions, right?"
"Your Majesty is holy."
Pei Qian cupped his hands and replied, "According to the current Privy Council system, each military situation is under the control of a military officer, and the military officer system is inherited from the military officer duties in the general's mansion. The four military affairs are divided into four rooms, which is just what they should be."
Cao Rui asked again: "I know what the Military Registration Office means. It is responsible for the military registration files of generals and soldiers, and their rewards and punishments. There is no need to ask more. What does this Military Affairs Office mean? Is it responsible for the delivery of military secrets?"
Pei Qian nodded: "That's exactly what I thought."
Cao Rui paused, then looked up at Pei Qian: "Did Pei Qing miss one thing? According to Pei Qing's allocation of the six houses, how should the central army be managed?"
Pei Qian immediately bowed and said: "The Central Army is the personal army of the emperor. I think it should be led directly by the emperor, which is different from the four offices of Guanxi, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Hebei. All matters related to military registration and confidential matters can be handled by the Military Registration Office and the Military Affairs Office of the Privy Council. All matters related to armor and selecting soldiers should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War."
After hearing Pei Qian's words, Cao Rui neither agreed nor objected. He stood up from his chair and yawned: "I have written down all of Pei Qian's divisions. Do you have anything else to change?"
Pei Qian was stunned for a moment, then responded: "Your Majesty asked me to make a rough division. I will report your intention to Your Majesty. There is no need for me to elaborate on the details. Liu and Wang will carry out the execution."
"I have nothing to change."
Cao Rui stretched his shoulders and said, "In that case, Pei Qing, please write a petition and submit it to me tomorrow. I will keep it here for filing. After I talk to the Privy Councilor, he may come back to you." "Yes, I understand."
Seeing that Cao Rui was about to leave, Pei Qian hurriedly stepped forward, opened the door, and then bowed to see him off.
After returning to the study, Cao Rui fell asleep alone. After a night, when he woke up in the morning, Cao Rui ordered the eunuchs to invite Liu Ye, Wang Guan, Sima Yi, and Wu Zhou to come, and then he started to have breakfast.
When the four arrived at the study, Cao Rui had just finished washing up and was leaning leisurely on the recliner, looking at the four ministers who were saluting him in the hall.
"Don't be so formal, just find a seat and sit down." Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "I called you here because I have something to tell you. The division of responsibilities in the Privy Council is a bit messy. I asked Minister Pei to draw up a new plan, which has been written on the screen."
"You four should take a good look at this."
Sima Yi followed the emperor's words and looked sideways at the screen placed in the corner of the study. The map originally hung on the screen turned into a piece of white paper with the three characters "Privy Council" and the names of the six chambers written on it.
At this moment, Pei Qian also entered the study.
Cao Rui said, "Is Pei Qing here? The Minister of Works, the Privy Council, and the Ministry of War are all here too. I'll let you explain."
"As ordered." Pei Qian turned to look at the four people and told them everything he had reported to the emperor at midnight yesterday. Cao Rui was also observing the faces of the four ministers at this time.
Obviously, Sima Yi, the Shangshu You Pushe, and Wu Zhou, the Shangshu of the Ministry of War, seemed to be more relaxed. Liu Ye and Wang Guan were different. Liu Ye's face showed surprise and a little panic, while Wang Guan's expression was more confused and doubtful.
Liu Ye seemed to have spent several moments to organize his thoughts. He pursed his lips, and after calming down, he bowed and asked:
"May I ask Minister Pei why the duties of the Privy Council have to be redistributed this time? I am the Right Supervisor of the Privy Council, why didn't I know about this in advance?"
Pei Qian was about to answer when Cao Rui interrupted from his recliner:
"This is what I meant." Cao Rui looked at Liu Ye calmly, "Your Excellency Liu, don't be surprised, and there is no need to have other thoughts. When I divided the Shangshutai into six departments, I also told the Sikong and Wei Pushe directly after deciding. It's just that the changes to the Privy Council came a little late."
The emperor had explained it himself, so Liu Ye had nothing to say: "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. I understand."
Cao Rui smiled and asked, "What do you have to say, Mr. Liu?"
Liu Ye's eyes were calmer at this moment. He was just flustered for a moment, but he just thought that his position was unstable. It was indeed a bit strange that he called Sikong and the Ministry of War together to discuss the matter of the Privy Council today. However, after taking the reassurance pill given by the emperor, this matter was purely official business and had nothing to do with him personally.
Liu Ye replied, "Your Majesty, the six chambers of the Privy Council are well-designed, and I think there is nothing wrong with them. However, as the Right Supervisor of the Privy Council, I still have a few things to ask for the Council."
"Okay, play it." Cao Rui said softly.
Liu Ye asked: "The first thing I want to ask is that there is no central army among the six houses. I wonder how the Privy Council and the central army should get along?"
Cao Rui raised his hand and pointed at Pei Qian: "Pei Qing told me before that the Central Army's affairs, military registration and confidential matters will be handled by the Privy Council, while the armor and selection of soldiers will be supervised by the Ministry of War. The dispatch and personnel will be handled by the Central Commander and the Central Guard."
Pei Qian also bowed to Liu Ye and said, "In the past two years, the dispatch of the Central Army was often ordered by the Privy Council. The Central Army is the emperor's personal army, so it is most appropriate for the Central Commander and the Central Guard to assist Your Majesty in commanding it."
Sima Yi sat aside, listening to the words of Liu Ye, the emperor, and Pei Qian, and seemed to have a glimmer of enlightenment in his heart. Up to now, there has been no news about his Shangshutai. (End of this chapter)
