The personnel appointment and dismissal meeting lasted a full day. First, they settled all the appointments and dismissals for the chief officials of the Three Departments, Six Ministries, and nine institutes, then moved on to selecting candidates for the Three Departments. That was comparatively easy.
The members of the Department of State Affairs were the Ministers of the Six Ministries, so there was no need to select them again.
The Secretariat Department was responsible for drafting Government Decrees, as well as serving as Luo Chong's secretariat. In modern terms, it was the Central Secretariat. For now, this institution would be staffed by the Imperial Guards at Luo Chong's side. They had originally been his confidential secretaries, and usually helped him send and receive documents, Government Decrees, and the like.
Once the education system became standardized, outstanding graduates would be selected to enter the Secretariat Department.
In fact, by the later stages of the development of ancient dynasties, the Three Departments system had already disappeared and been replaced by the Grand Secretariat system, as in the Ming dynasty.
Of course, the Ming emperor also needed many secretaries to help draft imperial edicts and stand ready to answer his questions at any time.
Take Luo Chong, for example. If he casually asked how construction on a certain project was progressing, the Imperial Guard beside him—in other words, his secretary—had to answer him immediately.
After all, the emperor was human too, and one person's energy was limited. How could he manage such a vast nation without the support of a large number of secretaries?
However, the Ming dynasty's secretariat was not called the Secretariat Department or the Chancellery Department. It was called the Hanlin Academy.
Those responsible for drafting Government Decrees were not called Chancellery Officials, either. They were called Hanlin Academy Attendants.