In the eleventh year of the Ming Dynasty, in December 1885, the Emperor summoned the remaining military ministers and formally proposed his long-planned official system reform plan.
At present, there were too many ranks of officials in the Ming Empire, and it was too complicated. There were also many yamens. Not only did it cause the phenomenon of redundant officials, but it also caused many officials to do nothing and wantonly corrupt.
The emperor hoped to solve this problem from the root. Therefore, the reform of the official system was inevitable.
"Dear ministers, the Ming Dynasty's official system has been inherited from the previous dynasty and the past dynasties. However, it was too complicated to be ranked as an official of level nine and level eighteen. Each yamen also had unclear rights and responsibilities, and there was a phenomenon of shirking when something happened. Therefore, I intend to reform the official system of the Empire. He would imitate the West and establish a cabinet of the Empire, appointing the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and cabinet ministers to manage the affairs of the country. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and cabinet ministers are directly responsible for me!”said the emperor of Guang Dong.
None of the ministers raised any objections to the emperor's suggestion.
The current Emperor of Guang Dong had already established a high prestige through the previous purge of the nobles. They knew very well that if they dared to raise objections, they would definitely not have a good ending.
As for Li Shaoquan, his eyes lit up.
He was very familiar with the western official system. He even wondered if the Emperor of Guang Dong was going to fulfill his promise and put him in an important position.
After all, he had been standing on the Emperor's side all this time!
"Your Majesty is wise. The current western world is much stronger than my Great Ming. If he were to learn the western official system, this would undoubtedly make Da Ming even stronger!”Li Shaoquan was the first to express his opinion.
The other ministers also expressed their opinions.
The emperor nodded in satisfaction. Then, he announced his plan to everyone.
"I plan to implement a new system of five ranks and ten ranks in the empire. The first rank will be the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and some officials appointed by me. From the first rank, they would be the ministers of the cabinet or the governors of some important provinces. As for the position of governor, it would all be abolished.
The second grade is the governor of each province. From the second grade, he served as deputy minister of the cabinet and deputy governor of each province.
The third grade is the chief officer of each department under the jurisdiction of the cabinet and the prefect of each government. From the third grade to the cabinet under the jurisdiction of each department deputy, each government deputy prefect.
The fourth rank was the chief officer of the various departments under the jurisdiction of the cabinet, the chief officer of the various prefectures, and the county magistrate of each county. From the fourth grade, it was the deputy of the various departments under the jurisdiction of the cabinet, the deputy of the various departments under the jurisdiction of the various prefectures, and the deputy magistrate of each county.
The fifth grade was the cabinet, the chief officials of the departments under the jurisdiction of each government, and the chief officials of the towns. From the fifth grade to each department deputy, township deputy.
Beyond these five grades and ten grades were officials without grades. Including the village chiefs!"
The Emperor introduced the new official system to everyone, and briefly explained the duties of the officials of each rank.
This set of official system was almost a copy of the official system of the later generations. Of course, the biggest difference was that the village chief was also included in the ranks of officials. Even though he wasn't ranked, he was still considered an official.
Compared to the current official system of the Ming Empire, the new official system promoted by the Emperor of Guangzhao was undoubtedly much simpler. It had been simplified from Level Nine to Level Five.
Moreover, the positions of the officials were also very clear.
It was also beneficial to the assessment and promotion of officials.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Li Shaoquan had no objections to this.
The other ministers naturally did not have any objections to this.
"Alright, I will now announce the appointment of the cabinet members.”said the emperor of Guang Dong.
This time, not only Li Shaoquan, but the other officials also became nervous.
This was related to their official positions and ranks after the official system reform!
"The first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet will be Li Shaoquan and Li Aiqing!”the emperor announced.
"Thank you, Lord. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will do my best to assist Your Majesty and build a powerful Great Ming!”Li Shaoquan felt his blood rush to his head.
After the reform of the official system, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet was a high-ranking official! He was the most important official under the emperor.
This could be considered to have fulfilled his life's dream and reached the peak of his life.
The emperor nodded and began to appoint the other cabinet officials.
"The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will be Zhang Zhiwan, the Minister of Internal Affairs will be Ele Hebu, the Minister of Land Forces will be Xu Gengshen, the Minister of Navy will be Ding Ruchang, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will be Guo Songtao, the Minister of Education will be Yan Fu, the Minister of Industry and Commerce will be Zhang Zhidong, the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources will be Wu Yuanbing, the Minister of Civil Affairs will be Cen Yuying, and the Minister of Transportation will be Liu Kunyi!”The emperor continued.
The cabinet of the Ming Empire was temporarily made up of these ten departments. Some of the ministers were former military ministers, some were local governors or provincial governors, and some were unknown.
Now that the officials had been settled, no one had any objections to the appointment of the emperor.
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