Zu An thought to himself that this must be the head of the maternal relatives. The emperor had elevated him to such a high position, presumably to counterbalance the Prince of Qi.
Although Liu Yao's cultivation level was ninth rank, he always seemed like a good-for-nothing. He wondered if his older brother would be any more capable.
"By the way, what is the title of that Prince Liang outside?" Zu An asked curiously, thinking that he couldn't just have a title without any official position.
Chu Chuyan replied, "The King of Liang still serves as the General of the Rear."
"General of the Rear?" Zu'an was a little confused; these positions sounded rather complicated.
Chu Chuyan explained, "That's right. The Commander, Protector, Left and Right Guards, Valiant Cavalry, and Guerrilla are collectively known as the Six Armies. The Commander is the battalion of the Central Commander Army; the Protector is the battalion of the Central Protector Army; the Left and Right Guards are led by the Left Guard General and the Right Guard General, and are responsible for guarding the palace; the Valiant Cavalry and Guerrilla are the mobile forces in the palace, used to deal with various emergencies. These six armies are the military force of the palace."
"In addition, outside the imperial city, there are four armies in the capital city, one in each of the four directions (front, back, left, right) responsible for the defense of the city gates and the security of the area. There are four generals: front, rear, left, and right. King Liang is the rear general among them."
“Outside the capital, there are also six garrisons: the Tunqi, the Infantry, the Yaoqi, the Changshui, the Shesheng, and the Yijun. Their commanders are called the Six Colonels. These six armies are the main field forces of the empire’s central government. Whenever there is a war in any place, they will be the ones to go out and fight.”
"I see!" Zuan nodded, finally understanding the military structure of this world.
Chu Chuyan continued, "The central power structure of the court consists of the Ministry of Personnel, the Secretariat, and the Chancellery. The Secretariat is composed of the emperor's trusted ministers, who discuss important matters with the emperor and are responsible for drafting edicts; the Chancellery is responsible for approving edicts; and the Ministry of Personnel is responsible for execution and handling specific government affairs..."
Zu An inquired from time to time and finally understood what was going on. The Secretariat was equivalent to the secretariat in later times, and they basically made decisions on many important matters.
The head of the Secretariat was the Director of the Secretariat, the second-in-command was the Chancellor of the Secretariat, and below them were the Vice Chancellors of the Secretariat, the Attendants of the Secretariat, and so on.
Many of the people in the Secretariat were eunuchs, more like the emperor's personal assistants. After all, the ministers of the Chancellery couldn't live in the palace, so the problem didn't exist for the many eunuchs in the Secretariat.
Of course, it was impossible for eunuchs to do all the work in practice, since their knowledge and abilities were limited. Therefore, the emperor would grant many trusted ministers the power to enter and leave the palace.
The head of the Secretariat was called the Attendant-in-Ordinary, and there was usually more than one. In this dynasty, there were a total of four. Below them were officials such as Attendant Gentlemen-at-the-Gate and Gentlemen-at-the-Gate.
The Ministry of Personnel was the executive body, headed by the Minister of Personnel, with the Left and Right Vice Ministers below him, and then the Ministers of various ministries.
In many political dramas of later generations, the protagonists would use their schemes to win over the ministers of various departments and that would be the end of it... In reality, the ministers of various departments did not belong to the center of power at all, because they were just the implementers of policies, not the policy decision-makers.
Although the three departments held roughly equal status in this world, strictly speaking, the Secretariat and the Chancellery held far more power than the Department of State Affairs. Of course, things are not always so absolute. If the emperor was not strong enough or lacked sufficient ability, the Secretariat and the Chancellery would not be able to play a significant role, and the Department of State Affairs would become the main decision-making body.
Of course, now that the emperor is the strongest in the land, the status of the Secretariat and the Chancellery is obviously much higher.
"By the way, Minister Pei Ming and Attendant-in-Ordinary Pei Zheng of the Secretariat are both from the Pei family, which is the same large family that Manman belongs to," Chu Chuyan suddenly added, remembering something.
"Your family backgrounds are all this impressive?" Zu An's eyes widened. The women around him truly came from incredibly powerful families, making him feel like he didn't even want to work hard anymore.
Chu Chuyan frowned slightly: "Manman's position in the family is a bit... a bit awkward, not as glamorous as you imagine."
Zu An hurriedly asked, "What exactly is her situation at the Pei family, and what about her mother? It seems she's in a hurry to go back and see her mother?"
Chu Chuyan hesitated, then said, "It's better for Manman to tell you about her family's affairs herself in the future. It's not appropriate for others to say it."
Seeing her many concerns, Zu'an seemed thoughtful. Could it be some kind of illegitimate child setting...?
Chu Chuyan continued, "Besides the Three Departments, there are also the Nine Ministers, who are responsible for specific matters in their respective fields. For example, the Grand Minister of Ceremonies, who is the head of the Nine Ministers, is responsible for the affairs of the academies throughout the country and has a superior status."
Zuan thought of Bright Moon Academy, where the teachers and principal were all extraordinary individuals who had cultivated a large number of talented people. There were countless such academies throughout the empire's various states and counties; combined, they formed an immense force.
"This is roughly the power structure in the capital. You haven't met those people yet, so you probably can't match the names together. If there's a chance in the future, I'll introduce them to you one by one." Chu Chuyan's heart sank. After meeting the emperor in the capital this time, she wondered if her grandfather would have a chance to come out alive.
Zu An pondered for a moment, then asked, "One last question: of the people you just mentioned, which belong to the Qi King's lineage, which belong to the Emperor's direct line, and which are neutral?"
If the Chu family is being fought so fiercely between the two sides in Mingyue City, wouldn't the two camps be fighting tooth and nail in the capital?
Therefore, it is still necessary to clarify these relationships so that you will have some confidence when you meet the emperor in the future.
Chu Chuyan cautiously looked out of the carriage before transmitting her voice through her inner energy: "No one would publicly admit to something like this, but we can still judge their faction based on their daily words and actions."
"Within the Qi King's camp, the most core families should be the Qin family, the Yu family, and the Pei family. The Qin family is my maternal grandfather's family. My maternal grandfather's sister is the Qi King's mother. As the Qi King's maternal uncle, they are naturally pro-Qi King..."
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