Looking again at the other equipment of the “Teletubby,” not to mention gold or jade on the belt—there isn’t even any silver, just a few pieces of pitch-black ox horn, paired with a pitiful little medicinal “jade.” Although it has the word “jade” in its name, it has nothing to do with real jade—it’s just glass! That’s right, glassmaking technology in the Ming Dynasty was already quite advanced.

Wearing a piece of glass as an ornament—there’s really nothing more to say!

Shabby, crude, several classes beneath others...

Just now, Henry Foster was still immersed in the joy of riding in the carriage, but compared to these high officials, he wasn’t even as good as a beggar. He really didn’t know when he’d be able to get himself a python robe and a jade belt, and become a top-ranking official... He hung his head in dejection, following behind the imperial carriage. If he weren’t a trusted confidant of the new emperor, those ministers would probably have driven him away without hesitation, ashamed to be seen in his company.

At this moment, inside the carriage, Charles Brooks said with a cheerful smile, “Grand Secretary, to keep it brief, I assume the enthronement edict has already been drafted. I have no objections. I just want to appoint a few people—what do you think, Grand Secretary?”

Charles Brooks stared intently at James Young. In state affairs, I can listen to you, but you have to give me some benefits in return!

Chapter 11: Shaozhi, or Jiajing

Charles Brooks didn’t think his request was excessive at all. In fact, it really wasn’t. With each new emperor comes a new set of officials. Now that he was emperor, wasn’t it only natural to arrange for a few trusted confidants, people he could rely on?

Interestingly, the James Young across from him actually understood Charles Brooks’s thoughts and went along with his words.

“Your Majesty, this old minister has heard that the Jiangxi Surveillance Commissioner, Philip Clark, has traveled thousands of miles north to assist Your Majesty. He is also Your Majesty’s teacher and has served as the chief steward of the princely household for many years, with great merit and hard work. In my opinion, the first person Your Majesty should appoint is him, correct?”

Charles Brooks nodded. In fact, he had someone else in mind, but seniority must be respected, and Teacher Yuan had indeed worked hard—he deserved a good position.

Thinking of this, Charles Brooks’s eyes lit up, and he asked seriously, “Then what position can Mr. Yuan take?”

Without hesitation, James Young replied, “Your Majesty, Philip Clark is a third-rank Surveillance Commissioner. In my humble opinion, he should first be transferred laterally to the Ministry of Rites as Vice Minister. After some time, he can be promoted further. This way, we avoid criticism for over-promotion, and it will be enough to convince the officials.”

What does it mean to be a Grand Secretary!

This is it!

Even though Charles Brooks didn’t know much about the official system, he understood that while the Vice Minister of Rites didn’t have much power, one step up would make him a Grand Secretary or allow him to enter the Ministry of Personnel and take charge of appointments. In some cases, the Vice Minister of Rites could be directly given the title of Grand Academician and enter the cabinet as a prime minister.

As for the Surveillance Commissioner, although it was also a third-rank position, above it were the Left and Right Provincial Administrators, and above them was the Governor.

According to current Ming practice, some Governors were held by fourth-rank Censor-in-Chief.

Provincial Administrator, Censor-in-Chief, then Vice Minister of Rites... The difference between these positions is simply beyond reason. Many people spend their whole lives striving and never even get close.

And how did James Young describe it?

A lateral transfer!

Just a lateral transfer!

If the Surveillance Commissioners of the thirteen provinces heard those words, they’d all be in tears!

How they wish they could have a “lateral transfer” just once!

But James Young had his reasons.

Back then, he was just an ordinary Hanlin scholar. The reason he was able to leap into the cabinet and become a Grand Academician was inseparable from his status as the Crown Prince’s tutor.

In fact, the current Ming officialdom was already very different from the early days of the dynasty.

After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the Central Secretariat, power was divided between the capital and the provinces: in the capital were the six ministries, and in the provinces were the thirteen Provincial Administrations. Thus, Vice Ministers were sent out to be Provincial Administrators, and Provincial Administrators were transferred back to be Ministers.

At that time, the distinction between capital and provincial officials was not clear, which is why Surveillance Commissioners and Vice Ministers had the same rank.

As the Grand Secretariat developed and gradually acquired the powers of a prime minister, the local “Three Departments” were continually weakened, and power shifted to the Governors, creating a situation where the small controlled the large.

But a Grand Academician was only fifth-rank—why should he be the leader of all civil officials?

Would those Ministers accept it?

Especially the Minister of Personnel—would he listen to the Grand Secretary?

So, at this time, a remedy was introduced.

Take James Young as an example: after entering the Hanlin Academy, he participated in compiling the “Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty” and the “Veritable Records of Emperor Xianzong.” After the books were completed, Zhu Youcheng recognized his talent and made him the tutor of Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao.

When Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, James Young, as the imperial tutor, quickly entered the cabinet and became a powerful figure who could stand up to Liu Jin.

This shows that those few seats in the Grand Secretariat depended not only on seniority, prestige, ability, and achievements, but also on luck and connections... Charles Brooks’s throne fell into his lap, so naturally no Hanlin scholar had gone to the princely household in advance to be his tutor.

So Philip Clark got extremely lucky.

James Young could accept this.

Charles Brooks was even more overjoyed. He had already made up his mind: the next step was to get his teacher into the cabinet and let him enjoy being a Grand Academician!

But before promoting his teacher, there was someone else to arrange.

Little Fugui couldn’t remain that pitiful ninth-rank Reader-in-Waiting any longer—he had to be promoted!

Of course, Charles Brooks didn’t plan to promote Henry Foster directly to the level of the Six Ministries or the Nine Ministers. Any real fifth-rank or seventh-rank official would do for now. If needed, he could find another opportunity to promote him later—after all, he would never let him suffer.