Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 438 New Censorate Officials Take Office

The funeral of Consort Yang was a busy affair that lasted for several days. After the funeral, apart from her children who had to observe mourning periods, everyone else naturally returned to their normal lives.

In fact, the emperor had long since returned to his normal life. Just the day before the funeral of the concubine, he hosted a banquet at Xingqing Palace for the meritorious officials from Longyou who had come to court.

To outsiders, this might seem somewhat heartless, but for the emperor, it was standard procedure. As the ruler of the world, the sage's time and energy were extremely precious, and all things in the world vied to display themselves before him; gaining his long-term favor was no easy feat.

After the banquet, Zhang Dai was to officially start his new job and had to hurry to the Censorate to report for duty.

He also followed the instructions of the County Princess of Yunyang and came to the residence of the Prince of Qi before officially taking office. The County Princess had prepared various gifts for him to give to his colleagues, mostly writing brushes and ink, as well as jade pendants, calligraphy and paintings.

These gifts, while having some value, are not too expensive. They fall into the category of gifts that officials can generally afford but would feel a bit of a pinch from, and would be quite happy to receive from others.

The most precious of these gifts was the calligraphy work of Xue Ji, one of the Four Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty, presented to Pei Kuan, the Grand Chancellor. Xue Ji was a master of both calligraphy and painting and held a high position. He was implicated in Princess Taiping's rebellion and was forced to commit suicide. After his death, most of his calligraphy and paintings were acquired by Prince Qi and became extremely rare and valuable on the market.

All the gifts had been neatly packed into gift boxes, filling a whole car, and a list of recipients had been thoughtfully prepared.

After seeing all this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel that the Princess of Yunyang was truly a virtuous and capable wife, which strengthened his resolve to marry her. No matter what difficulties or obstacles lay ahead, he would forge ahead bravely and never back down!
After taking these gifts, Zhang Dai and his party headed to the Censorate.

Chang'an City had three imperial palaces, and the Censorate, as the most important supervisory agency in the court, also had its offices in three locations, each with its own garrison. However, the largest and most comprehensive in terms of function was naturally the Censorate's official residence located in the Taiji Palace within the imperial city.

When Zhang Dai arrived outside the gate, he couldn't help but sigh that it was fortunate that Luoyang only had one imperial city; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have known where to continue his appeals after submitting his petition in a copper box.

Unlike other government offices in the imperial city, the main gate of the Censorate faces north. One explanation is that the Censorate is associated with yin and killing and should not face the sun, hence the north-facing gate. However, others say that in earlier times, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Personnel concurrently served as the Censor-in-Chief, and to facilitate travel between the Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel, the gate was opened directly to the north.

The world is a makeshift operation, and considering Cui Gongwang's office in the Imperial Palace of Luoyang, Zhang Dai still leans towards the latter possibility. That's just how the high-ranking officials of our Great Tang Dynasty are—they never compromise themselves, they do whatever makes them comfortable and happy!
As soon as Zhang Dai arrived outside the gate, he saw a figure that was somewhat familiar yet also somewhat unfamiliar—it was Wang Han.

"I have been preoccupied with worldly affairs and have arrived in Taiwan late. How dare I accept Scholar Wang's waiting here!"

Zhang Dai quickly stepped forward, bowed to Wang Han, and said...

Wang Han was demoted early on due to Zhang Shuo's influence, and later, influenced by Zhang Dai, he simply resigned from his official post and lived in seclusion in Luoyang. As a result, he contracted a serious illness and almost lost his life. He returned to his hometown in Bingzhou to recuperate for a long time before gradually recovering. Not long ago, he returned to Chang'an.

"Sixth Brother saved my life, so it is only right that I welcome him here!"

After a serious illness, Wang Han not only underwent a significant change in appearance, but his temperament also became much more restrained than in previous years. However, he became even more enthusiastic upon seeing Zhang Dai, and upon entering, he put his arm around Zhang Dai's arm and laughed heartily.

When he first fell ill, he was completely unaware of it. Fortunately, Zhang Dai noticed and reminded him, which allowed him to receive timely treatment. He then regarded Zhang Dai as his savior. He had already greatly admired Zhang Dai's talent, and now their relationship had become even closer!

As Wang Han led Zhang Dai into the Censorate's official residence, he said with a smile, "The Censorate has its own rules and customs. Your address here, Sixth Brother, must also be changed. When you see a Supervising Censor, address him as 'Lord Duan.' As for the Palace Supervising Censor and the Investigating Censor, address them all as 'Supervisor.' Outside the Three Courts, you may use different titles, but within the Three Courts, use these titles. Supervising Censor Zhang, remember this!"

The Censorate has three departments, one of which is the Censorate Department, which is presided over by the Attendant Censors. There are six Attendant Censors, four of whom are regular officials, two of whom are court officials, and one senior official is in charge of judging the affairs of the Censorate, known as the Miscellaneous Censor.

One person was in charge of the government office and remained in the office to handle official business; another person was in charge of impeachment and was in charge of impeachment; another person was in charge of the western investigation and was in charge of investigating the affairs of the capital, including redemption and the affairs of the three departments; another person was in charge of the eastern investigation and was in charge of investigating the affairs of various prefectures and the affairs of the treasury; and another person was in charge of the Eastern Terrace and was in charge of impeaching and investigating the violations of the officials in Luoyang. All these people were collectively called San Duan.

The second is the Palace Court, which has six Imperial Censors and three Attendants. The Palace Court is in charge of the ceremonies of the palace offerings, as well as whether there are any violations in the order of the court officials' ranks and words and deeds during court assemblies, ceremonies and other occasions. It also assists the Imperial Censors of the Imperial Court in handling matters.

The third was the Censorate, which had ten Censors, with no fixed number of inspectors for each district. The Censors were responsible for inspecting officials, patrolling prefectures and counties, overseeing criminal cases, and maintaining order in the court. They were also responsible for supervising the selection of officials in the south, executing prisoners, conducting sacrifices, and practicing archery. They were also responsible for overseeing the six departments of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

"The three censorate offices each have their own responsibilities. Although the Censorate is the lowest in rank, it holds the most power and has a complex set of duties, which all other departments fear!" Wang Han introduced the various personnel structures within the Censorate to Zhang Dai as he led him to the Hall of the Chief Censor.

Although Zhang Dai was no longer a novice in officialdom, he didn't have a very detailed understanding of the internal structure of the Censorate. When he heard Wang Han's explanation, he couldn't help but become excited.

He knew the Censorate held considerable power, but he hadn't expected it to be this powerful. It was as if the Censorate and the Imperial Censorate were both in charge of everything, and even things they couldn't manage. This position of tyrannical censor was practically made for someone like him who loved to stir up trouble!

As they spoke, the two arrived outside the Hall of State Affairs. Zhang Dai waited outside for a while, while Wang Han went inside to announce their arrival. Soon after, he came out again and led Zhang Dai inside.

At present, the Grand Censor of the Censorate is held remotely by Zhang Jiazhen, the Prefect of Dingzhou. The former Vice Censor-in-Chief, Song Yao, was also sent to Luoyang by the then-Prime Minister Du Xian after Yan Tingzhi was demoted. Another Vice Censor-in-Chief, Li Huairang, was appointed as a prefect in another prefecture.

It's like the Censorate was ruined by two prime ministers. Zhang Dai guessed that those two guys probably did it on purpose, to prevent the Censorate from properly exercising its supervisory and impeachment powers, which is why the court was allowed to run rampant with their meddling.

After the two were dismissed from their posts, Chancellor Xiao Song arranged for his confidant Pei Kuan to serve as a secretary in the Secretariat and concurrently as the Vice Censor-in-Chief, thus giving the Censorate a new head once again.

"This humble official, Zhang Dai, Acting Censor, greets Director Pei!"

After Zhang Dai entered the hall, he bowed to Pei Kuan, the Imperial Censor, who was sitting upright in the hall, and at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

When he first met Pei Kuan in Luoyang, Pei Kuan was only an assistant minister in the Ministry of Justice and a subordinate of his uncle-in-law Zheng Yan. However, after traveling with Xiao Song, he returned to the court and held two important positions: Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat and Vice Censor-in-Chief. He had become one of the most outstanding political stars of the time.

As for his uncle, Zheng Yan, he only managed to become the magistrate of Wannian County thanks to his father-in-law's help and support. Although he was a fifth-rank county magistrate, no one would think that the magistrate of Wannian County was more prestigious than a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat or a vice censor-in-chief!

Although the two leaders didn't get along, Pei Kuan was still quite amiable towards Zhang Dai. He stood up from his seat and returned the greeting to Zhang Dai, saying, "In recent years, Zhang Shiyu's reputation for virtue has grown stronger. When he was appointed as the Left Advisor, he had many good ideas to offer. Now that he has entered the Censorate, he must not hide his talents when he has any insights into people and matters!"

One good thing about the Censorate is that it's not as rigidly hierarchical as other places. When officials from other departments meet with their superiors, they must show respect by bowing, even if it's across ranks. This unfortunate rule was created by Zhang Yue; after he was promoted to Right Chancellor, all officials below the fourth rank were required to bow.

However, everyone in the Censorate was the emperor's eyes and ears, so when lower-ranking censors met their superiors, they all refused to kneel or bow.

Of course, this also depends on the person. For example, when Cui Yinfu served as the Grand Censor, he acted very forcefully, and nearly half of the officials in the Censorate were dismissed by him. So people were not so stubborn anymore, and they still had to pay their respects.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Dai presented the gift prepared by the county magistrate. When Pei Kuan saw Xue Ji's original calligraphy, he was immediately captivated, repeatedly expressing his gratitude and saying with a smile, "I've heard that Imperial Censor Zhang's calligraphy is also dignified and admirable. If we work together in the future, I'll have the opportunity to witness your calligraphy firsthand!"

"I will practice diligently, hoping to greatly improve my writing skills so as not to offend the Director's eyes and ears!"

Zhang Dai quickly bowed and smiled, and after exchanging pleasantries, he took his leave. Pei Kuan had originally intended to arrange a clerk as a guide for Zhang Dai, but seeing how enthusiastic Wang Han was, he gave up on that idea.

"Below Vice Minister Pei are the various officials of the Imperial Academy. There is no need to pay too much attention to the others, but the minor officials should still be greeted with courtesy. This will make things more convenient for the Imperial Academy in the future."

After leaving the Zhishi Hall, Wang Han spoke to Zhang Dai again. There were four Imperial Censors and two Palace Attendants in the Imperial Censorate, and Wang Han himself was one of them. The miscellaneous person he was referring to was Ban Jingqian, the Imperial Censor in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Censorate.

"Is this Ban Zaduan someone who served under Lord Yuwen in previous years?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai asked a question.

Upon hearing this, Wang Han nodded, then said to Zhang Dai, "Sixth Brother, there's no need to worry too much. Although Ban Zaduan served under Lord Yuwen in the past, he is now in a separate department and not under our jurisdiction. He won't make things difficult for us because of past matters. Even if he intends to make things difficult, we don't need to fear him. Besides me, there's also the newly returned Yuan Duan Gong in Taizhong, who is enough to protect Sixth Brother and ensure he can work here with peace of mind!"

(End of this chapter)