On the fifth day of the fifth month, the day of the Palace Examination, no court session was held.
The candles in the Imperial Study had already been replaced for the third time.
Emperor Jing of Zhou sat behind the desk, a memorial spread out before him.
The Ministry of Revenue had submitted it yesterday. It concerned the imbalance between this year's summer tax receipts and expenditures, and the serious arrears in several prefectures.
He read it twice, lifted his brush to write a few words of approval, set it aside, and picked up another.
A stack of memorials half a foot high stood at the corner of the desk. Every one required his review, instructions, and signature.
Great Zhou did have a Grand Secretariat system similar to that of the Ming Dynasty.
But its grand secretaries merely gathered to discuss affairs, each voicing his own views.
Once they finished arguing, they wrote their opinions on yellow slips and sent them into the Palace along with the original memorials.
This was called memorial drafting.
But drafting was merely "proposing," not "deciding."
The one who decided was not the emperor, but the Chief Minister of the Grand Secretariat.
In Great Zhou, the Chief Minister of the Grand Secretariat was equivalent to the chancellors of old, the head of all officials.
If the emperor was an enlightened, astute ruler like Emperor Jing of Zhou, skilled at balancing power and employing men,
then every proclamation issued by the Chief Minister was decided jointly by the emperor and the Chief Minister.
The process was...
The Grand Secretariat deliberated, the Chief Minister settled the matter, and the emperor made the final decision.
When the emperor governed diligently, the Grand Secretariat served as his brain trust, leaning on imperial authority.
If the emperor grew lax, the