Chapter 29: Restoring the Secretariat?

"Your Highness~"

As Liu Sanwu, Zhan Hui, and over a dozen others entered the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yunsheng had not even had the chance to speak before Liu Sanwu, Su Boheng, and Ren Taiheng looked toward him with faces full of agitation.

This scene left Zhan Hui, Qi Tai, Jian Yi, and the others completely bewildered. As colleagues, they were well aware of the characters of these three men. They usually maintained the airs of grand Confucian scholars before everyone, always particular about decorum and composure. When had they ever behaved like this?

Zhu Yunsheng naturally understood the reason; Song Zhong had already reported that they had gone to the Ministry of Justice after leaving the palace. Knowing this, however, Zhu Yunsheng did not intend to expose them immediately. He feigned confusion and looked at the three of them. "Master Liu, Master Ren, Master Su, what is the meaning of this?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Sanwu, Ren Taiheng, and Su Boheng all wore expressions of embarrassment.

"Your Highness, please stop teasing us. The three of us old officials know we were wrong," said Ren Taiheng, who was the most open of the group, as he bowed directly to apologize to Zhu Yunsheng.

"Master Ren, what on earth has happened to you all?" Qi Tai, standing to the side, could no longer restrain himself and asked directly.

"Sigh!"

Liu Sanwu and the others glanced at Zhu Yunsheng. Seeing the half-smile on his face, they realized that he intended for them to confess the matter themselves. Thus, they could only heave a long sigh and, with reddened faces, recount what had transpired.

Zhan Hui and the others had returned to their respective offices after bidding farewell to Zhu Yuanzhang, so they were unaware of what had occurred at the Ministry of Justice. Upon hearing the news, they were so shocked that their mouths hung open as they stared at Zhu Yunsheng. Compared to the fact that the Huai-Xi nobles had personally handed over the people they once protected like treasures to the Ministry of Justice, the peculiar behavior of Liu Sanwu and his two companions was no longer enough to command their attention.

"Your Highness, how exactly did you manage to do it?"

The high-ranking officials of the court looked at Zhu Yunsheng with expectant eyes, seemingly determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

However, Zhu Yunsheng had no intention of answering them. He shook his head with a faint smile and said, "You will naturally understand this matter in time. There is no need for me to boast about it here."

After a brief pause, seeing the disappointment on their faces, he continued, "I have summoned you all today because there is a very important matter upon which I wish to seek your counsel."

"Your Highness, has something happened? Is it that some prince has already learned the news of His Majesty's passing?"

The man who spoke was Song Shanshi. He was a member of the Zhejiang faction from the early Ming period, the eldest son of the Four Scholars of Zhejiang, Song Lian, and currently served as the Right Censor-in-Chief.

Zhu Yunsheng did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Ma Sanbao and said, "Provide seats!"

"My lords, please sit down first. The matter at hand concerns the future direction of our Great Ming; there is no need to rush."

Ma Sanbao, who had long been prepared, immediately had over a dozen brocade stools brought in. However, the curiosity of the officials had already been piqued, and once seated, they could not help but ask again.

"Your Highness, what is this matter that concerns the future of the Great Ming? Please, stop keeping us in suspense."

"Hahaha! I never expected that you officials, the pillars of the court, would be so impatient. It seems you are all truly worried about the stability of our Great Ming empire," Zhu Yunsheng laughed heartily.

Seeing the embarrassment on their faces, he continued, "Gentlemen, look over here."

Following the direction of Zhu Yunsheng's finger, they saw the mountain of memorials, which looked as if they might almost obscure Zhu Yunsheng's face. Everyone could not help but chuckle self-consciously, and some of the sharper ones already believed they had guessed why Zhu Yunsheng had summoned them.

"May I ask, Your Highness, do you intend to restore the Secretariat?" Ren Taiheng was among those who were quick-witted. As the Left Censor-in-Chief, he was naturally the most daring to speak among them.

Many others had harbored the same suspicion, but upon hearing Ren Taiheng say it aloud, they all found their breathing becoming rapid. Restoring the Secretariat meant restoring the Prime Minister system. The positions of Left and Right Chief Councilors were the ultimate goals for civil officials throughout the dynasties. Everyone present could not help but cast burning gazes toward Zhu Yunsheng. There was no helping it; they desired it too much. Moreover, with Zhu Yunsheng putting on such a grand display and claiming it concerned the future of the Great Ming, what else could it be but the restoration of the Prime Minister system?

Yet, just as they waited with bated breath, hoping to see Zhu Yunsheng nod, he scanned each of them and shook his head slightly.

"The Secretariat was abolished by my Imperial Grandfather. I dare not restore it lightly. To violate the rules set by him would be to invite condemnation from all."

*Haven't you already violated enough of them?*

Everyone thought this to themselves, and for some, it was even written on their faces. However, Zhu Yunsheng's next words instantly perked them up again.

"The Secretariat cannot be restored, but I do not possess my Imperial Grandfather's boundless energy. Facing these mountains of memorials, filled with a mix of grand affairs and trivial trifles, truly gives me a splitting headache. Therefore, I was thinking whether we might establish a 'Cabinet' to help me share the burden..."

A Cabinet? To share the burden?

These words, falling upon their ears, were immediately equated to the position of Prime Minister. What Cabinet? In their eyes, it was merely the Secretariat under a new name; in reality, it would still perform the duties of a Prime Minister.

"May I ask, Your Highness, what is a Cabinet?"

Su Boheng's beard trembled with excitement, and his aged eyes were filled with fervor and longing. The eyes of the others were even more intense; they were practically straining to listen.

Zhu Yunsheng's gaze swept slowly over Liu Sanwu, Zhan Hui, Ren Taiheng, and the others, a faint smile playing on his lips. He was very satisfied with this; he could tell from their expressions that the political legacy left behind by Zhu Yuanzhang was entirely usable. As long as he steered them correctly, he could certainly increase the operational efficiency of the Great Ming's central institutions several times over.

"A Cabinet! As the name implies, it is an institution composed of Grand Secretaries. In my conception, the Cabinet can replace the original Secretariat, but it is fundamentally different..."

"I plan to have five Grand Secretaries for the time being, from the Huagai Hall, Jinshen Hall, Wuying Hall, Wenyuan Pavilion, and the East Pavilion. Their primary task is to screen and process memorials for me. For trivial matters, the Cabinet may directly provide proposed responses. As for important memorials, the Grand Secretaries must deliberate and come up with concrete, feasible solutions before reporting them to me."

"In this way, I will not have to search for important matters among a sea of trivialities every day. You must understand, if a major event were to occur in the Great Ming and I failed to discover it in the memorials in time, the consequences would be too dire."

...

"What do you gentlemen think of this idea?"