Nine Ministers
The power of the kings declined after the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BC; the number of kingdoms and their sizes were reduced. An imperial edict in 145 BC removed the kings' rights to appoint officials above the salary-rank of 400-"dan", and all officials ranked higher than this were appointed directly by the central government. Excluding the kingdom-level Minister Coachman, the kingdoms' Nine Ministers and Imperial Counselors were abolished. The Chancellor, now the equivalent of a commandery Administrator, was retained, although he was still appointed by the central government. After these reforms, the kings were no longer administrative heads and merely took a portion of the taxes collected by the government in their kingdoms as personal income. Charles Hucker notes that after this transformation of kingdoms and marquessates into virtual commanderies and counties, respectively, a "... fully centralized government was achieved" for the first time since the Qin dynasty.