The System

Dongfang Mao's terms were unfamiliar to everyone, but after he explained in detail what each department would be responsible for, they could at least just barely understand.

Dongfang Mao had come up with this Nine Ministries system only recently, after studying the Six Ministries and the Cabinet. He had made a few changes, splitting the monstrous Ministry of Revenue into three departments and adding a Ministry of Health.

There was no need to explain how important the Ministry of Health was. At the same time, it was compensation he had prepared for Tsunade—or, more accurately, a way to soothe her and keep her from storming off in a fit of anger. If she did, he'd be in a real bind.

The system wasn't necessarily perfect, but it was certainly usable for now.

By clearly defining responsibilities and dividing the work sensibly, he could prevent the New Martial Army's administration from descending into chaos. He also wanted to give the bandits below them a more respectable title to help familiarize them with the idea of an official bureaucracy.

The Nine Ministries system was also missing a Cabinet chief or prime minister. Instead, the departments reported directly to Dongfang Mao, the Grand Governor, consolidating power in his hands.

As for whether personally overseeing everything would wear him out—

For now, they controlled only the small city of Tsukimiura. No matter how busy he got, it would be manageable. If they had a chance to expand later and their domain grew, they could revise the system then.

Naturally, there would also be a military structure alongside the civil administration.

Dongfang Mao had already made some improvements to military and government affairs back in the village. Later, after giving it more thought and drawing on both ancient and modern models, he had established the Privy Council to oversee military command.

Military administration, meanwhile, fell under the Ministry of War.

Simply put, the Privy Council handled training, warfare, troop deployments, and similar matters.

The Ministry of War, on the other hand, oversaw recruitment, personnel, and the supply of weapons and equipment.

This divided military authority in two.

Second, Dongfang Mao had not appointed a Privy Council chief or any similar official to lead the council. In other words, he would oversee the institution directly.

The main reason for doing so was, as before, to divide power and prevent any subordinate commander or institution from becoming too powerful.

He believed no one would dare overstep their bounds, given the prestige he held within the New Martial Army. But prestige was ultimately a fickle thing. It needed the support of a sound system to ensure nothing went wrong.

The Privy Council would have various offices under it and command the New Martial Army's battalions, including the standing army's several banner battalions under its four commanders, as well as the Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard would be directly subordinate to Dongfang Mao and serve as the Grand Governor's personal guard.

But a framework was just empty talk without people to fill it.

Fortunately, the purge the previous night had spared a large number of low-ranking officials, along with several small and medium-sized families.

With them, he could just barely keep things running, giving Dongfang Mao's fledgling regime a brief transition period and helping restore order to the chaos in Tsukimiura as quickly as possible.

As for whether those people would do their jobs conscientiously, Dongfang Mao wasn't foolish enough to trust them.

Every person placed in an important position would have two members of the Night Patrol Bureau assigned to them: one openly and one in secret, to keep them under surveillance. Anyone thinking of making trouble would have to consider whether their ties to their entire clan were strong enough to save them.

After making the announcement, Dongfang Mao began handing out appointments.

First were Yasuke and Kyuzo.

They were promoted to Commandants and appointed the Privy Council's Left and Right Deputy Commissioners. They were also ordered to expand the army by two battalions.

Jieshi had accompanied Dongfang Mao in capturing the Magistrate Office and earned great merit. He would take over Zenpachi's former position as Commander, serve on the Privy Council, and reorganize the soldiers under his command.

Mataichi was appointed Chief Patrol Commissioner and given a seat on the Privy Council. He would coordinate the defenses of Tsukimiura's northern and southern gates.

After the military appointments came the civil officials.

Shimizu Yano, who had been captured right at the start of the previous night, was hauled out by Dongfang Mao and appointed acting Minister of Revenue and Minister of Taxation.

When he heard the appointment, Shimizu Yano stared blankly. How had he suddenly become a high-ranking official in this bandit army?

If the Land of Rice Fields sent troops to put down the rebellion one day, wouldn't that make him a senior rebel?

His heart sank with bitterness, but when he saw Dongfang Mao looking down at him with an amused smile, he could only grit his teeth and accept.

The Minister of Justice would be Inumaru, who also served as the Night Patrol Bureau's chief.

The Minister of Works would be Zhengxiong, the old craftsman Dongfang Mao had once rescued from the stronghold like a treasured possession.

As Dongfang Mao issued one decree after another, the resentment in Tsunade's heart gradually faded, replaced by unconcealed shock.

She stared at Dongfang Mao, unable to understand where someone his age had learned all this. He had drawn such clear boundaries between the departments and built an administrative system that was vast without being cumbersome. It was simply astonishing.

Just then, Dongfang Mao looked over at Tsunade.

"Tsunade, I'd like you to serve as Minister of Medicine. I don't think anyone else would be more suited to the position. And you, Shizune, will be the Ministry of Health's Left Vice Minister and Tsunade's deputy."

Shizune, who was holding Tonton, widened her eyes. What did she have to do with this?

Tsunade, standing nearby, nodded almost reflexively. It didn't sound bad.

She was already deeply interested in medicine, and she had served as the head of Konoha's Medical Department. She should be more than capable of handling the Ministry of Health.

Tsunade was thinking about how to build the Ministry of Health when she suddenly froze, then snapped back to her senses.

Wait. Hadn't she come here to confront him?

How had she suddenly ended up joining them?

Tsunade clenched her teeth and balled her fists, glaring furiously at Dongfang Mao.

But the moment Tsunade had accepted the position, Dongfang Mao had turned his head away. He didn't dare provoke her any further.

Seeing this, Tsunade could only lower her hand in frustration, silently plotting how to rough up the brat once the meeting was over.

Once Dongfang Mao had appointed everyone to the various departments, only the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Finance Department remained.

There was no question that Dongfang Mao would keep the Ministry of Personnel in his own hands for now. The same went for the Ministry of War.

That left the Ministry of Rites and the Finance Department.

Dongfang Mao had his eye on Tokichiro for the Ministry of Rites. The man who had led the earlier grievance meeting really was an exceptional talent.

The best candidate for the Finance Department was naturally Luzhen.

"Luzhen."

When Dongfang Mao spotted the familiar figure, he was momentarily speechless.

Luzhen was dressed in a white robe with wide sleeves, like a Confucian scholar's gown. A belt cinched his waist, and he wore a tall crown with a white brush tucked into it.

He held a white feather fan and waved it gently.

The others turned to look as well, their expressions growing strange.

But Luzhen remained unruffled by all the attention. His expression was serene as he glanced at the vulgar warriors around him, a faint look of disdain in his eyes.