In Han government, the emperor was the supreme judge and lawgiver, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and sole designator of official nominees appointed to the top posts in central and local administrations; those who earned a 600-dan salary-rank or higher. Theoretically, there were no limits to his power. However, state organs with competing interests and institutions such as the <answer>court conference</answer> (tingyi 廷議)—where ministers were convened to reach majority consensus on an issue—pressured the emperor to accept the advice of his ministers on policy decisions. If the emperor rejected a <answer>court conference</answer> decision, he risked alienating his high ministers. Nevertheless, emperors sometimes did reject the majority opinion reached at <answer>court conference</answer>s.
Who often placed pressure on the emperor in regards to local policies?
court conference