Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 221 The Seat Master's Promotion
Zhang Dai and others ultimately failed to become prime ministers. As he himself said, they could make do, but prime ministers could not be perfunctory in their duties. They had to do things the proper way. Without the guidance of their patron, they should not accept the worship of the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

However, their trip to the Southern Province was not entirely fruitless. On the one hand, they made a great impression on the public, and on the other hand, they stirred up the matter again in the capital, making the subsequent procedures highly anticipated.

"Young man, you are confident and courageous. With such insight and skill, why worry that you will not be able to hold a position of authority in the future!"

Zhang heard about this at Jixian Academy and, upon returning home, praised Zhang Dai highly.

A person's abilities are multifaceted; having literary talent does not necessarily mean understanding the ways of being an official.

Although this wasn't the first time Zhang Dai had acted prudently, he now had a new identity. As a successful candidate in the imperial examination, he was able to argue his case with the prime minister and leave him speechless. This gave Zhang Dai a great sense of satisfaction.

In high spirits, Zhang Yue also began to seriously consider Zhang Dai's career path.

Although his power is not what it used to be, even a broken ship has some nails. Before, Zhang Dai was still a candidate for the imperial examination and did not have an official position. Zhang Yue could not interfere in the selection of officials, so he was in a very passive position and caused a lot of personnel troubles.

But now that Zhang Dai has passed the imperial examination with top honors, his options are much greater. He only needs to pass the final examination to become a candidate for officialdom and then he can seek a government position.

When Zhang Dai returned from Chang'an last year and told Zhang Shuo that he wanted to participate in the provincial examination, Zhang Shuo thought it would be good to let him spend a few years accumulating experience during the selection period for the Jinshi degree and wait until the infighting in the court came to an end before seeking an official position for him.

But now his thoughts have changed drastically. This kid is really too much trouble. He has already caused a lot of personnel disputes before he even became an official. He probably won't have any peace during his term of office.

Secondly, this kid has a broad mind and is quick-witted. He doesn't have any problem dealing with complicated interpersonal relationships. On the contrary, he seems to be handling things with ease.

Zhang Yue is not worried about him at all; on the contrary, he is looking forward to his performance after he is removed from the rank of official and enters officialdom!
"Knowing that you are public-spirited and enthusiastic about worldly affairs, I hope that governing a prefecture or county and administering a region can cater to your interests. However, being an official is like eating sugarcane; you must start from the bottom to gradually improve. There is no need to rush to issue decrees; first, be diligent in assigning tasks and utilizing your abilities."

Zhang, a seasoned veteran of officialdom, now instructing his grandson, spoke only of practical wisdom, not empty platitudes: "Once appointed to a prefecture or county, even as a high-ranking official or a minor official, one still lacks autonomy and relies on others. Moreover, without passing the probationary period, it's difficult to transfer to another position. After serving for several years, the once-brilliant young man has become mediocre..."

Officials at the prefecture and county levels, because they directly face the people, even a mere county constable or military advisor in the prefecture, possess considerable authority when dealing with ordinary citizens. However, if one serves in the imperial court, all one sees are superiors, and all one hears are orders. The feelings arising from these two situations are naturally quite different.

However, whether serving in a local post or in the capital, the initial years of officialdom are often somewhat dull and uninteresting, because one's authority is limited, and even if one wants to do something, there is not much room for maneuver.

Therefore, the best approach is to get through this relatively tedious period as quickly as possible. When you first take up a new official position, don't focus on the size of your authority, but rather on how many opportunities you have.

In this respect, serving as an official in the imperial court has inherent advantages. Firstly, it makes it easier to build connections, and secondly, it makes it easier to seize opportunities, such as special examinations for selecting officials.

Zhang Dai was also listening attentively to his grandfather's experience. He certainly wanted to do something practical as soon as possible, to govern a region and benefit the people, but to be honest, even if he were to be selected as an official now, he would not be qualified.

Even the magistrate of the most remote county would be a seventh-rank official, not a position that a newly appointed scholar like him with no prior experience could hold.

“If a young man excels in literature, he can be promoted through the literary examination. After developing his strengths and rising to a higher rank, it will be much easier for him to seek other positions.”

Zhang Shuo's plan for Zhang Dai's entry into officialdom was to leverage his literary talent to advance his official rank, and then seek other official positions after that. Currently, literary matters in the court are one of the few areas where he still wields considerable influence.

Zhang Dai didn't have a strong desire to prove himself through hard work and self-improvement. He readily accepted the fact that "my grandfather was an academician," but he still had some doubts: "Even if one wants to be a court official, one must wait for the right opportunity to be selected, right?"

“You have talent and ability, so you don’t need to take shortcuts to advance, nor do you need to owe favors to others. If you owe someone a small favor when you are still insignificant, you may have to repay it in a big way in the future. People’s hearts are never satisfied, and the debts become deeper and deeper.”

Zhang said he now had complete confidence in his grandson, and then continued, "Although the Fengshan ceremony was completed last year, there are still some matters that have not been finished. Only after the Fengshan ceremony is completed and the ancestors are worshipped will the ceremony be considered complete. However, in the year of the Fengshan ceremony, only Emperor Ruizong was paired with the God of the Earth, and the original intention was to visit the other imperial tombs after returning home."

Unexpectedly, the timing is unfavorable, and the imperial procession is delayed in the Eastern Capital, making it difficult to depart. All matters must be postponed. However, with a little time to spare, we will surely proceed as planned. Tomorrow I will recommend the Emperor to establish a system for selecting and cultivating talent; you should begin preparations accordingly.”

Zhang Dai had been lamenting that he was born at the wrong time, missing the era when his grandfather's Taishan Power was at its peak. But upon hearing that there was more to the story, he couldn't help but feel amused.

Judging from this, his grandfather planned to use this as a pretext to have him take the imperial examination again and become an official in charge of related ceremonies. When the emperor returned to Chang'an, he would accompany him to kowtow to the ancestors of the Tang Dynasty, and his participation in the ceremony would naturally be a great achievement. Even if he didn't reach the fifth rank like at the Fengshan ceremony, he would likely receive a generous reward.

He naturally had no objection to this arrangement. For him, the sooner he took office, the better, so that he could control more personnel power and reserve more energy to deal with the unexpected changes in the future.

The only thing that annoyed him was that his grandfather had dumped a huge collection of essays on him again, ordering him to read them thoroughly, study them, and imitate their style. The imperial examinations were held by imperial decree to select professionals, and sometimes the emperor would even personally preside over the examinations. The format was similar to the palace examinations of later generations, but the seriousness and requirements were even higher.

At least 10 to 20 people are admitted to the Jinshi degree each year, while only 2 to 3 people are usually admitted to each special examination. In some cases, if the candidates do not meet the requirements, they are simply not admitted at all.

So, to try to pull any strings in this kind of thing is to gamble with one's life. Even if it were Zhang Shuo, he could only allow Zhang Dai to start tutoring ahead of schedule within the rules.

Thus, Zhang Dai's triumphant journey as a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) was short-lived, as he once again grappled with the drudgery of studying. Fortunately, this period of hardship didn't last long before new matters disrupted his studies.

This time it wasn't a disturbance, but rather a positive change in the situation.

That is, the matter of their master Yan Tingzhi has finally come to an end. First, he was punished with a year's salary deduction for his poor supervision and misjudgment of personnel. Then, because he was competent in selecting officials and was the best in the selection department, he was recommended by Prime Minister Du Xian to be appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

This system of punishment and reward seems rather strange and awkward, and indeed it is, fully reflecting the stalemate in personnel disputes within the court during this period.

First of all, the punishment for Yan Tingzhi was relatively lenient. Regardless of whether he knew about it or not, or whether there were any previous cases, as the official in charge of this matter, he was undoubtedly responsible and deserved to be punished.

Although he was also fined a year's salary, to be honest, the punishment was nothing serious. If it were an ordinary official who was struggling to make ends meet, it would certainly be a very severe punishment.

However, Yan Tingzhi came from an official family and had served as an official for many years. He did not need to rely on these salaries to make a living. Even with the help of friends, he could survive for three to five years without any problem.

The reason for this was not that the officials in charge raised their hands high and then let them fall lightly; the root cause was that Cui Mian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, only restricted his investigations to his own department and did not want the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel.

Under such circumstances, this punishment was the limit he could manage. Even if he wanted to dismiss Yan Tingzhi, he would have to submit a memorial to the prime minister for a decision.

Yan Tingzhi was promoted after being fined, which was naturally the result of a power struggle among the prime ministers. This cannot be described as abuse of power or chaos; the key is to look at it from different angles and define Yan Tingzhi and his deeds.

Prime Minister Du Xian gave positive affirmation, expressing his attitude by praising the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the Secretariat a few days ago. He also used this incident as a reason to emphasize that Yan Tingzhi was fair in selecting candidates and competent in his official duties, and strongly supported his promotion to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Although the position of Assistant Minister of Personnel Examination was a prestigious one, it was still of low rank. The Vice Minister of Personnel, on the other hand, was a fifth-rank official with great prestige, and as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he held more power than other Vice Ministers and had considerable influence in the selection of officials.

Undoubtedly, although Du Xian lost out in the previous round of the competition for the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he still managed to gain a foothold in the Ministry of Personnel by taking advantage of the Yan Tingzhi incident.

Yan Tingzhi's promotion has obvious benefits for the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who have taken him as their mentor. Their former mentor has become an official in charge of personnel selection, which is incredibly advantageous!

Therefore, upon learning of this, Zhang Dai did not need to convene the other successful candidates again; they all came to the Zhang family again to invite Zhang Dai to visit their master once more.

Zhang Dai, of course, did not refuse, after all, they still had to complete the appointment of the prime minister and the imperial examination. The reason they had tried to get Yan Tingzhi out was so that the funeral arrangements could proceed smoothly.

This time, when everyone visited Yan Tingzhi's residence again, they were naturally treated differently than before. Before they could even present their visiting cards, a servant of the Yan family hurriedly came to report to them. Yan Tingzhi himself came to the door, and without saying a word, he simply bowed deeply to everyone.

"My lord, please don't do this! We are truly terrified!"

Seeing this, Zhang Dai and the others dared not accept it directly and quickly moved aside.

Yan Tingzhi said in a deep voice, “When I recently approved your applications, I only saw your literary talent. I really don’t know your character. You are all loyal and righteous, and your personal integrity is commendable. I have benefited from this and been favored for a time. This is not because of our acquaintance during the examination. I should thank you!”

Upon hearing this, the crowd exclaimed, "In the recent events, we were all guided by Zhang Zhuangtou. Even if we performed well, it was Zhang Liu's integrity that prevailed. If you wish to express your gratitude, please thank Zhang Liu alone!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Tingzhi bowed to Zhang Dai again, but Zhang Dai jumped back repeatedly and said loudly, "What can't we discuss in the main hall? Aside from the host's polite refusal to serve us, are you perhaps stingy with a meal?"

This was originally a joke, but Yan Tingzhi looked embarrassed upon hearing it. However, he quickly recovered and raised his hand, saying, "The food and drink in the house are already prepared, and we are waiting for you all to come and feast! Zhang Dai is just teasing us. If you don't enjoy yourself to the fullest, you are not allowed to leave!"

(End of this chapter)