"The 'Three Provinces' refers to the Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province, and Shangshu Province, while the 'Six Departments' include the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Warfare, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Works."
The 'Three Provinces' correspond to the Three Gong, and the 'Six Departments' correspond to the Nine Zhong, but the 'Six Departments' sound less in number by three compared to the Nine Zhong. What's up with that?
Li Nian said, "The Zhongshu Province drafts edicts and documents, the Menxia Province is responsible for reviewing edicts and has the right to seal or reject, and the Shangshu Province is responsible for handling daily affairs."
In short, the Zhongshu Province is the decision-maker and the issuer of edicts, the Menxia Province is the reviewer and proposer of opinions, while the Shangshu Province is responsible for the specific implementation and execution.
"The main official of the Zhongshu Province is the Zhongshu, with subordinates such as the Shangchang, Shiren, etc. The Menxia Province has officials including Zhongshi, Huangmen Zhengshi, Jingge Shengshi, etc. The main official of the Shangshu Province is the Shangshu, with subordinates such as Zuo Qinxi, You Qinxi, Zuo Cheng, You Cheng and other positions. However, due to its great importance, the position of the Shangshu is not usually set."
After governing for many years, Ying Zheng realized why later emperors did not often establish the position of the Shangshu (Minister of Works). The power of the Shangshu is too great and could vie with the imperial power. If one person were to hold the position of Shangshu for a long time, is it he who is the emperor, or am I, the emperor?
Li Nian's next remark also confirmed his thoughts: "The Six Departments belong to the Shangshu Province, each with a Shangshu and Zhengchang as principal and vice principal officials. Each department has four offices, with Settle officers, assistants, etc. appointed."
The Three Provinces and Six Departments, while the Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province have the power to propose opinions and make decisions, must rely on the Shangshu Province for specific implementation. The Six Departments are all under the jurisdiction of the Shangshu Province, making it the province with real power among the three.
"The Ministry of Personnel is mainly responsible for official appointments, exams, promotions, transfers and other matters. The Ministry of Household Affairs handles all matters related to land, territory, population registers, taxes, salaries and other financial matters in the country. If a disaster occurs in a certain place, the government needs to provide relief and allocate funds. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
When talking about the Ministry of Rites, Li Nian paused for a moment to make it easier for Ying Zheng to understand. He said, "In later dynasties, the imperial examination flourished, with schools like the Jixia Academy. The Ministry of Rites is responsible for managing these schools and examinations. At the same time, the Ministry of Rites is also responsible for dealing with affairs between other countries. If there are envoys from other countries visiting, the Ministry of Rites will take care of their reception."
"The Ministry of War, as the name suggests, is in charge of the selection of military officers, the supply of grain, forage, and military equipment; conveying military orders from the emperor; and other related matters. The duties of the Ministry of Justice are similar to those of the Imperial Judge. The Ministry of Works is akin to the Ministry of LesserTreasury."
After listening to Li Nian's explanation, Ying Zheng had a general understanding of the Three Provinces and Six Departments system. From the perspective of an emperor, he immediately saw the advantages of this system compared to the Three Gong and Nine Zhong system.
The Three Provinces and Six Departments dispersed the original responsibilities of the Three Gong and Nine Zhong, reducing the threat to the imperial power, especially the Three Gong.
The Three Gong consist of the Chancellor (Prime Minister), Marshal, and Grand Supervisor of the Censors. Each holds a position with significant authority. For instance, the Chancellor is the highest administrative official, holding in his hands the affairs of the entire state, which inevitably leads to competition with the emperor's power.
In contrast, the Three Provinces divide the powers of the Chancellor, reducing the potential threat to the emperor's power. For example, the power to issue edicts is given to the Zhongshu Province, the power to review edicts to the Menxia Province, and the power to execute edicts to the Shangshu Province.
Although this still doesn't completely resolve the danger of the Chancellor's excessive power, the Shangshu Province clearly has some of its powers diluted, acting as a somewhat decentralized Chancellor. But compared to the Three Gong and Nine Zhong system of Qin Dynasty, this is already a significant improvement!
Considering the power dynamics of the Three Gong during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it's clear that such a high-ranking position was a significant source of political influence.
It's not just a casual remark to say that their former students and former officials are spread throughout the empire; it's a testament to their real strength. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were not capable enough to transform the influence of the Yuan family into a resource for seizing the throne.
As a feudal king, Ying Zheng naturally wanted to concentrate power more closely in his own hands. He pondered if there were any other ways to further weaken the prime minister's power and concentrate power even more.
Ying Zheng did not immediately ask, but listened as Li Nian continued to say, "The Three Provinces and Six Departments system was established by Emperor Aimin of Sui Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, it underwent changes because although the Three Provinces diluted the prime minister's power, it is certain that two provinces or one province would handle governmental affairs more quickly than three provinces."
"However, the emperors of the Tang Dynasty recognized the benefits of the Three Provinces system and were unwilling to recombine them into one province. They also wanted to handle government affairs more effectively, so they came up with a series of countermeasures, such as using younger or less experienced officials and not granting high-ranking positions like Zhongshu Ling (Minister of Records), Shizhong (Grand Secretary), and Shangshu Ling (Minister of Works) lightly to others."
"These countermeasures were still unable to completely eliminate the emergence of prime ministers, but they did lower the rank of positions with prime ministeral powers, so that officials no longer held both high-ranking positions with prime ministerial powers and prestigious ones at the same time."
Ying Zheng nodded, acknowledging that it was indeed a commendable approach. However, it was still not what he desired most, as it merely lowered the status of officials with prime ministerial powers; the power of the prime minister still persisted.
"At the time of the Song Dynasty, further changes were made to the Three Provinces and Six Departments system!"
"Our Great Song Dynasty was truly outstanding. Not only did it suppress military officials, it also suppressed civilian officials. It was not just a policy of favoring civilians over military personnel; the power differential was maintained as well. In fact, it might even be argued that civilian officials were more oppressed in terms of power."
And the main method that the Song Dynasty came up with to suppress the power of civil officials was to create multiple departments, even though one department could handle a problem well, the Song Dynasty would still set up three or four departments to deal with it.
The benefit of this approach is that the power of civil officials is diluted, making it less likely to threaten the imperial power. As for the drawbacks, one need only look at one of the "three excesses" of the Song Dynasty, which is "excessive officials," to understand a little about them.
While the Song Dynasty's monarchs were not all cowards, they were not lacking in political acumen and certainly not fools. How could they not see the disadvantages of "excessive officials"? Why did they not change it?
The reasons are twofold: first, it is difficult to reverse the accumulated problems, as reforming would be like scraping bones and cutting flesh from one's own body, which is painful; second, "excessive officials" are actually beneficial to them.
After listening to Li Nian explain how the Song Dynasty had changed the Three Provinces and Six Departments system, Ying Zheng said, "Such an empire, constantly guarding against the people, civil officials, and military officials, making it hard for them to thrive. It's no wonder it would be comparable to foreign dynasties!"
Li Nian nodded and agreed, "The king's words are very accurate. The Song Dynasty was also known as the 'Great Coward' in later generations. The infamous 'Jingkang Humiliation' happened during this dynasty. The Song Emperor, desperate to survive, even offered his own wives and daughters to be humiliated by the barbarians."
Ying Zheng remained silent, surprised by the outrageous behavior of that emperor. He wondered why he didn't find a pole to commit suicide instead.
Li Nian had not yet informed Ying Zheng that Emperor Huizong had an excellent fertility, even managing to sire children after being captured by the Jin dynasty. However, just the mention of the emperor's actions had already left Ying Zheng feeling quite upset. A dynasty that could produce such an abhorrent emperor managed to last for over three hundred years, whereas his own empire of Qin began its decline and fall within just over a decade of his ascension to the throne.
He calmed his irritation and his gaze was resolute: This time, he would not repeat the historical mistakes as Li Nian had described!
Li Nian continued, "When the Ming Dynasty was established, it also adopted the Three Provinces and Six Departments system. The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Hongwu, rose from a humble background to become the supreme ruler of the world. With his wisdom, how could he not see that the Three Provinces and Six Departments system had not solved the issue of prime ministerial power threatening the imperial power?"
What? Ying Zheng was also surprised to hear this. Starting from a life of begging and rising to become the supreme ruler of the world? This is a king that would appear in later history?
