13: Chapter 13 The First Emperor's Rhetorical Question: Could it be that Fusu actually supported Huhai's ascension to the throne?!

"Separation of military and government."

"Government officials will only be responsible for political affairs, while military officers will only be responsible for military affairs."

"The System of Three Lords and Nine Ministers is abolished."

Zhao Fusu's words caused the civil and military officials to look toward Li Si.

The System of Three Lords and Nine Ministers had been proposed by Li Si and adopted by the First Emperor.

With the Emperor as the supreme authority, the Three Lords and Nine Ministers served beneath him.

This system led to conflicts between imperial power and prime ministerial power.

To maintain control over the court and prevent imperial power from being swayed by prime ministerial power, emperors would often support a faction to oppose and counterbalance the prime minister's authority.

This was grandly referred to as the Art of Rulership.

This political system was bloated, with factions bickering to restrict each other's power.

It amounted to internal strife and attrition.

Seeing that Zhao Fusu intended to abolish his system, Li Si did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he asked curiously, "Young Master Fusu, since you are abolishing the System of Three Lords and Nine Ministers, do you have a new system in mind?"

He was curious about what kind of new system Zhao Fusu could propose.

He felt that Zhao Fusu's proposal of a constitutional monarchy for the Great Qin Empire was merely laying the groundwork for the new system he intended to implement.

It was indeed as Li Si suspected. Zhao Fusu said, "The supreme power of our Great Qin Empire shall reside in the Collective Representative Assembly. The National Assembly, the Legislative Yuan, and the Judiciary Yuan will be supervised by the Collective Representative Assembly."

"The National Assembly with executive power, the Legislative Yuan with legislative power, and the Judiciary Yuan with judicial power are departments with distinct divisions of labor."

"We will integrate policy and execution."

"After the Collective Representative Assembly proposes a Five-Year Plan, each department will coordinate and divide labor around this plan."

"The ruling party of my Great Qin Empire is the Huaxia Party. I am the first Head of State of the Huaxia Party and the first Head of State of the National Assembly. The army is the party's army, accountable only to the party and the people of Great Qin."

"A term system will be implemented. The term for the Head of State and officials of various departments will be five years."

"After five years, a performance evaluation will be conducted. Only those with satisfactory performance may continue in their roles."

"Those with unsatisfactory performance will be demoted."

...

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

The civil and military officials in the main hall of Xianyang Palace felt their heads spinning; they didn't quite understand what Zhao Fusu was saying.

There was one thing they did know: Hu Hai, the nominal Emperor of the Great Qin Empire, had been turned into a mere figurehead.

Zhao Fusu was the true wielder of power in the Great Qin Empire!

None of them dared to voice an opinion.

Zhao Fusu had already surrounded their homes.

The message was clear: if anyone dared to overthrow him, he would use two hundred thousand troops to suppress them by force.

Some officials had considered instigating a rebellion among the Qin Army surrounding their residences.

But those Qin soldiers were as if brainwashed, obeying only Zhao Fusu's orders.

If they wanted to resist Zhao Fusu, they would have to rely on recruiting private soldiers.

But not everyone was the God of War Han Xin, capable of raising an army instantly and quickly turning them into a formidable fighting force.

Not only would they fail to overthrow him, but they would also be swiftly suppressed, costing the lives of their entire clans.

It wasn't worth it.

After all, Zhao Fusu wasn't after their lives, and he couldn't possibly fire all of them.

If Zhao Fusu wanted to govern the Great Qin Empire, he still needed them.

Since the likes of Li Si and Feng Quji hadn't stepped forward to object, even if they were angry, they could only endure it.

The current situation was overwhelming; even if the First Emperor came back to life, he wouldn't be able to change anything.

They could only let Zhao Fusu have his way.

If they showed initiative, they might even be appointed to positions by Zhao Fusu.

"Now, let us determine the premier and Vice Premier of the National Assembly."

"The duties of the premier include leading the work of the National Assembly, executing national policies, presiding over assembly meetings, proposing bills, managing national administrative affairs, formulating and executing plans and budgets, handling foreign affairs, and managing personnel appointments and removals."

"The premier of the National Assembly shall be Lord Li Si, and the Vice Premier shall be Lord Feng Quji."

"Your first term will be for five years."

"Whether you can continue in your roles will depend on your performance during your tenure."

Zhao Fusu said.

"Our thanks, Young Master Fusu."

Li Si and Feng Quji expressed their gratitude.

"The first Chief Justice of the Judiciary Yuan shall be Meng Yi."

Meng Yi quickly stepped forward and said, "Young Master Fusu—no, Head of State Fusu—I am apprehensive; I fear I may not be fit for the position of Chief Justice."

"You will have a three-month internship first. If it doesn't work out, we'll find someone else."

Zhao Fusu smiled.

"In... internship..."

It was the first time Meng Yi had ever heard this word.

He said, "Head of State, I will do my best."

"Mhm."

Zhao Fusu nodded. Meng Yi was upright and honest; making him the Chief Justice of the Judiciary Yuan—effectively a modern-day judge—felt very appropriate to Zhao Fusu.

Zhao Fusu continued his appointments: "The Chief Legislator of the Legislative Yuan shall be Wang Xia."

All the civil and military officials in the court turned their gazes in unison toward Wang Xia, who was in the corner.

Wang Xia had been standing bored in a corner of the court.

Seeing everyone looking at her, she asked in confusion, "Is... is there something wrong?"

Zhao Fusu repeated what he had just said.

"Wait..."

Wang Xia's eyes widened.

"Can... can I really do it?"

Wang Xia expressed her doubt.

"A three-month internship. If it doesn't work out, we'll change to someone else."

Zhao Fusu said.

The officials opened their mouths to speak, but nothing came out.

Wang Xia was young, and a woman at that.

However, in the Qin Dynasty, women held high status, and it wasn't unheard of for them to serve as officials.

Besides, Wang Xia was Young Master Fusu's primary wife. It was only natural for him to arrange a position for his own wife.

The officials also understood that the Legislative Yuan was a department on par with the National Assembly; Young Master Fusu likely wouldn't feel at ease leaving it in someone else's hands.

"grand marshal Wei Liao will remain grand marshal, responsible for formulating military strategy and national defense policy."

"Great General General Wang Jian will be responsible for the training of the army."

"Yes, Young Master Fusu."

Wei Liao and General Wang Jian nodded.

Afterward, Zhao Fusu held a detailed discussion with Li Si and Feng Quji.

The civil officials were all incorporated into the National Assembly, under the management of Li Si and Feng Quji.

It wasn't much different from the previous court; it was simply a change of name and appearance.

The resistance among the officials in the court was no longer as strong as before.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

A Shadow Guard rushed back to the manor where Qin Shi Huang was staying.

"Something terrible has happened!"

He looked at Ying Zheng in a panic.

"Is it that Fusu, after summoning the officials to Xianyang Palace, intends to seize the position of Crown Prince and ascend the throne himself?"

"I already expected as much."

The First Emperor's face bore an 'as I predicted' expression.

"No..."

The Shadow Guard shook his head.

Xia Wuche and Zhao Gao looked at the confident First Emperor with awkward expressions.

Ying Zheng also felt a bit of awkwardness.

He glared at the Shadow Guard and barked, "Could Fusu have actually supported Hu Hai's accession?!"