Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 192 Failing the Imperial Examination, Traveling Far Away

When it comes to controlling the political situation at court, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, was definitely among the top emperors of all time.

Although the Tang Dynasty was known for its many powerful ministers, whether it was the early Yao and Song Zhang, or the later Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, despite their different styles, they were all merely tools used by the emperor to control the affairs of the court.

Of course, with Emperor Xuanzong's decline in the later years and the appointment of unsuitable people, the so-called control of the court from the late Kaiyuan period to the Tianbao era was actually achieved by self-castrating the central power, abandoning the comprehensive management authority of the past, allowing the power of local areas, especially border towns, to grow stronger, and focusing on exploitation.

Human energy is finite. Even if Emperor Xuanzong was power-hungry, he could not manage every single detail. His control over the government was mainly achieved through the selection and appointment of high-ranking officials such as the prime minister.

Take, for example, the fact that the emperor summoned the former prime minister Zhang Jiazhen back to court to serve as the censor-in-chief. This perfectly illustrates the emperor's political maneuvering.

The current personnel upheaval in the court is essentially an aftershock of Zhang Yue's dismissal as prime minister.

Led by Imperial Censor Cui Yinfu, the anti-Zhang vanguard was on high alert to prevent Zhang Shuo's return to power. Cui Yinfu's monopolization of power in the Imperial Censorate was still aimed at preventing Zhang Shuo from overturning the situation in the Imperial Censorate.

As for the newly appointed prime ministers, neither Li Yuanhong nor Du Xian were capable of completely replacing the role Zhang Yue had previously played in the central government. One could even say that the emperor chose these two as prime ministers precisely so that one would be in charge of administration and the other in charge of the military, their abilities complementing each other to replace Zhang Yue.

As a representative figure of the Tang Dynasty's golden age, Zhang Yue's abilities were beyond question. Only through the complementary cooperation of Li Yuanhong and Du Xian could they hope to replace Zhang Yue. Of course, in terms of personal morality and integrity, both were known for their uprightness and incorruptibility, undoubtedly surpassing Zhang Yue in these aspects.

Zhang Dai had some doubts about whether his family actually possessed 800 shi (a unit of dry measure) of pepper, or even more. After all, there weren't many prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty who could list greed and a penchant for bribery in their personal profiles. However, his grandfather was quite good at hiding it and wouldn't reveal to him how much money his family actually had.

Zhang Shuo possessed exceptional personal abilities and participated in and presided over numerous military and political reforms during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, thus profoundly influencing the political situation at court. After his downfall, the prevailing trend within the court was to eliminate his supporters and eradicate his influence.

However, the situation changed after the New Year. Wang Shouzhen, the son of Wang Maozhong, provoked and retaliated against Zhang Dai. With the help of some people, the matter quickly escalated and transformed from a dispute between two playboys into a conflict between the Southern Province and the Northern Government of the Outer Court.

Although the emperor swiftly resolved the core issue by demoting Wang Shouzhen to slavery in the Zhang family, the emotions stirred up by this incident did not dissipate so quickly. The court officials remained indignant about the arrogance of the Northern Court and its exemption from the law.

Under these circumstances, Imperial Censor Cui Yinfu became a scapegoat to quell public anger and was dismissed from his post. However, the removal of Cui Yinfu from his position as Imperial Censor raised another question: should the efforts to eliminate Zhang Yue's influence continue?
The prevailing opinion in the court right now is that the Southern Provinces want to check and balance the Northern Government. Prime Ministers Li Yuanhong and Du Xian have done nothing in this regard. On the contrary, former Prime Minister Zhang Shuo has achieved a victory, and even Wang Maozhong's son has become his servant.

In this way, Zhang Yue's past shortcomings, such as stubbornness and irritability, became the hallmarks of a strongman, making people nostalgic for his assertive style. Zhang Yue also sensed this shift in public opinion and even planned to secure a position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for Zhang Jiuling.

Political progress hinges on momentum. If Zhang Jiuling can secure the position of Vice Minister of Personnel today, then Zhang Shuo might have a chance to return to the position of Chancellor in a while. This also means that the round of political adjustments initiated by the Emperor after the Fengshan ceremony will end in failure.

If the emperor chooses to directly punish and belittle Zhang Shuo, it would be tantamount to condoning the Northern Army's overriding of the national law. Even if he could disregard the opinions of the court officials, he still had to consider the potential danger of the Northern Army becoming arrogant and Wang Maozhong's power continuing to expand.

However, if he abandons his control over Zhang Shuo and allows him to continue to scheme in the court, the effects of the series of personnel adjustments after the Fengshan ceremony will be greatly diminished.

Under such circumstances, the emperor chose to recall Zhang Jiazhen, Zhang Shuo's old rival, back to the court to serve as the Imperial Censor, and all the problems would be solved.

Zhang Jiazhen and Zhang Yue had a deep-seated grudge, and it wasn't just a minor one. Upon returning to the capital as Imperial Censor, his crackdown on Zhang Yue's faction would be even more ruthless than his attack on Cui Yinfu.

Secondly, regarding their style of conduct, Zhang Jia-zhen was more impatient and headstrong than Zhang Shuo, and even more forceful. He was able to publicly flog Jiang Jiao, a favorite minister of Emperor Xuanzong, causing Jiang Jiao to die from his injuries during his exile, demonstrating the severity and ruthlessness of his actions.

Historical records state that Wang Maozhong was favored, but only in a way that he "sat on the same couch as other princes and Jiang Jiao in front of the imperial tent." Jiang Jiao had already been beaten to death by Zhang Jiazhen, and now that Zhang Jiazhen had returned to the court to take charge of the Censorate, the officials must be wondering when Wang Maozhong would be punished.

This is the underlying context of the personnel struggles within the imperial court over the past period.

While the dispute between Zhang Dai and Wang Shouzhen was certainly a contributing factor, the matter itself had already been resolved under the emperor's guidance and Zhang Dai's skillful handling, achieving a satisfactory outcome and creating a good opportunity for Zhang Shuo's supporters to launch a counterattack.

However, with the emperor's appointment of Zhang Jia-zhen back to court as Imperial Censor, the political situation of Zhang Shuo and his cronies not only failed to improve but worsened. Zhang Dai, as Zhang Shuo's grandson, was inevitably affected; before the provincial examinations even began, a cloud of uncertainty hung over him. Perhaps people wouldn't pay attention to such a minor figure, but relying on others' attitudes was itself a passive disadvantage.

There are always contradictions between things. Take the relationship between him and his grandfather, for example. It is a stark contrast between the thriving life of a time traveler and the decadent and backward Zhang Shuo interest group that is declining day by day.

"No matter who is in charge, you only need to work hard. As long as you have talent to boast about, you can be fearless of others' criticism. For example, last year's prefectural examination is still talked about by people."

Zhang Shuo was also quite devastated, but he still mustered his spirits to comfort Zhang Dai. However, even Zhang Dai himself didn't quite believe what he was saying, and he spoke weakly and listlessly.

The Tang Dynasty was still a period of development for the imperial examination system, and many regulations were not as rigorous and formal as in later periods. It can be said that there was room for personnel intervention in any aspect.

This means that even if higher-ranking officials don't care about such trivial matters, other officials might still interfere to curry favor with them. Conversely, if the person in charge doesn't want to investigate, it becomes much more difficult to do so.

Therefore, unless Zhang Dai is constantly in the spotlight and demonstrates impeccable talent and leadership during his scientific expeditions, he cannot guarantee that others will not sabotage him.

But this is obviously impossible. The imperial examination system has never been very important in the entire selection process, and it is currently a critical moment for personnel infighting in the court.

It's unrealistic to focus on a mere provincial examination instead of paying attention to the changes in the powers of the Six Ministries officials and even high-ranking ministers. Moreover, the restrictions on the themes and styles of the provincial examination were extremely strict; even the most powerful had to be careful.

Even Han Yu, the foremost of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, criticized the imperial examination system for restricting personal talent: "If heroes of the past, such as Qu Yuan, Mencius, Sima Qian, Sima Xiangru, and Yang Xiong, were selected in this way, I would know that they would be disgraced."

Therefore, even with the advantage of plagiarism, Zhang Dai couldn't guarantee consistently high-quality output; his literary talent alone was enough to leave people speechless. The writings of Wang, Yang, Lu, and Luo were considered frivolous and shallow, drawing endless ridicule. If one truly wanted to nitpick, was there any piece of writing that couldn't be found fault with?

So shortly after saying that, Zhang said, “This year you should take the exam at your leisure. If you fail and are left empty-handed, then pack your bags and go to your father’s place to study and broaden your knowledge. Return to the country to take the exam again in a few years.”

Zhang Jia-zhen's return to court showed Zhang Yue the emperor's determination to prevent him from wielding power, which would inevitably cause unrest within the court. As his grandson, Zhang Dai could not possibly remain unaffected.

If one fails the exam due to this favoritism, there is still the matter of Wang Maozhong's favoritism that remains unresolved.

If Zhang Dai were to enter the Northern Court through this means, his situation would undoubtedly become even more perilous. Therefore, it would be best for him to leave Luoyang immediately after failing the imperial examination, using the guise of traveling to hide away, and then return to the capital a few years later.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Compared to the decline of the entire camp, individual efforts were ultimately somewhat powerless.

He didn't mean to complain about his grandfather, after all, this identity brought him conveniences that ordinary people could hardly obtain in their entire lives, and of course he also had to endure the interpersonal difficulties that ordinary people did not have to face.

However, he has made many personnel arrangements that he needs to control personally. Once he leaves Luoyang, his future development will inevitably be greatly affected.

Other matters are one thing, but if the arrangements for disaster relief are affected by this person and thus abandoned halfway, those who receive relief may fall into a predicament of having no food or clothing again, and the harm will probably not be limited to just one or two people.

"If things were easy, why bother with meticulous planning and persistent effort? Only by doing what others cannot can one truly demonstrate the nature of a great man. Anyone who wants to temper me must use their own body as the furnace and their life as the charcoal to see how strong their fire is!"

Zhang Dai was never one to give in easily, especially since these personnel predicaments were only in the realm of imagination. He would deal with things as they came and deal with them as they came, and if one move couldn't be resolved, then he would consider other solutions.

He thought this to himself, but soon he encountered his first challenge.

(End of this chapter)