Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 462 Lawyers Abound

"This, this is terrible... Alas, I have already done Zhang Shiyu a great favor, and I have not yet repaid him. Now I am receiving this favor again!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Lizheng looked both grateful and ashamed, too embarrassed to accept the calling card from Zhang Dai.

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Dai smiled and said, "If Ma Xielu has a better future to join, I will naturally not hinder your plans. After all, editing books in this printing house is a waste of Ma Xielu's talents."

"No, no, what great talent... I am unworthy of such praise! Since it was sent by Attendant-in-Chief Zhang, I will accept this task. I do not need a generous reward, just two meals and a place to stay to make a living. I will do my best to compile the book properly."

Upon hearing this, Ma Lizheng quickly accepted the name card and then spoke earnestly.

"It should be as it is. The Confucian arts that Ma Xielu has studied deeply for half his life cannot be bought with mere money. But the only thing that merchants can use is money. If we give it away carelessly, how can we make these people understand the value of scholarship!"

Zhang Dai then said with a smile that the so-called Zhao Family Printing House in the East Market was naturally his property. It was opened by his servant Zhao Ming, who was ordered to come from Luoyang to Chang'an. It mainly printed poetry collections, anthologies, and teaching materials.

Because of their early advantage, his printing workshop developed rapidly in Chang'an. Although many competitors emerged in the past two years, there were significant differences in printing technology, materials used, and content printed.

Therefore, Zhao's Printing House has become a well-known brand in the East Market, and is the first choice for many literati to buy books. Each edition of a book printed can achieve sales of at least a thousand volumes.

While it may not be as lucrative as some financial institutions like Flying Money, it is stable and sustainable, and the profits are still quite substantial.

However, the mainstream opinion of the Shilin community on the matter of printing houses and books was mixed. After all, there are always people in any era who are obsessed with their own traditions and are rigid and conservative. They always believe that tradition is good and refuse to change or resist the emergence of any new things.

However, Zhang Dai believed that culture and the information carried by writing only have meaning when they are disseminated more conveniently and widely.

Take Jixian Academy as an example. Every year, it compiles a large number of books, but the dissemination of these books is not optimistic. Most of the books are shelved after completion, and only a small number are disseminated from national and county schools, or copied by the compilers and collected by their families.

Compared to the enormous human and material resources required to compile and edit books, the channels and current state of their dissemination are truly worrying. Most people, lacking access to these resources, are unable to enjoy the benefits of this cultural development.

The formation of respectable families during the imperial examination process was a product of insufficient cultural dissemination, rather than because these families possessed inherited intelligence that enabled them to succeed in the competition.

Zhang Dai trusted Ma Lizheng's academic level and character, and seeing that Ma Lizheng had no good place to go after leaving his post, he extended an olive branch to him.

He plans to set up a content production department in the printing house, not only to recruit some PhDs in Confucian classics, but also to set up a literary editorial department in the future to print poetry and prose journals.

For great poets like Li Bai who traveled to the capital to seek patronage, publishing their poems and essays directly throughout the city was far more efficient than submitting them to a few private patrons.

Ma Lizheng accepted Zhang Dai's invitation, and with his future secured after leaving office, he enthusiastically took the register and went to the Imperial Music Bureau to help Zhang Dai supervise the music lessons.

“Zhang Shiyu is truly a paragon of benevolence and righteousness. Without his help, Ma Xielu would have been destined to leave the capital in disgrace and live a miserable life!”

Standing to the side, Zhao Ling stepped forward and remarked with emotion. He wasn't just flattering him; he was genuinely expressing his feelings.

To ordinary people, these low-ranking officials in the capital might seem like dignified and imposing figures, but they themselves knew the hardships and joys they endured. Most of them inevitably faced poverty and a bleak future.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai smiled slightly. Although he had offended many people, he had helped even more. However, most of them were scattered in various places, and there was no organization or platform to connect them. If this could be achieved, these people could unleash tremendous power.

"I have not been in office for long, and I still need a few clerks and judges by my side. I wonder if you, Registrar Zhao, would be willing to go with me?"

Zhang Dai looked at Zhao Ling and said with a smile that he had had this idea before, but he had other things to do. Now that he had nothing to do, he asked directly.

"I, your humble servant, am willing, willing, and swear to follow Imperial Censor Zhang to the death!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling was first taken aback, then immediately knelt before Zhang Dai, his face filled with excitement. A clerk was merely a minor official, without rank, and among the various government offices, their status was even lower than that of a registrar, who was still a ninth-rank official. However, their specific duties and future prospects depended on the department they belonged to. A clerk in the Secretariat-Chancellery dared to reprimand even the senior officials of the various departments in the Southern Provinces.

Although the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was in charge of rites and music, it was not a particularly important position. Officials from outside the official ranks could only rise to the rank of director of various departments such as the Court of Music and the Court of Drumming and Flute. Meanwhile, the clerks of the Censorate, after serving for a long time, could not only be promoted to registrar in their own department, but could even be transferred to the Court of Judicial Review as the chief judge of the Court of Judicial Review, a fifth-rank official in charge of criminal justice, and one of the most prestigious official positions that those from outside the official ranks could hold.

Even setting aside future prospects, Zhao Ling was well aware of Zhang Dai's character and conduct. Following him would guarantee a secure future and good treatment.

Seeing that Zhao Ling was willing to follow him, Zhang Dai took him to the Taichang Temple to complete the formalities. The official on duty that day was Wei Tao, the Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple. After hearing Zhang Dai's explanation, Wei Tao immediately nodded in agreement and considerately suggested that Zhang Dai could take Zhao Ling away now, and the formalities could be completed later.

Troublemakers are unwelcome everywhere, but if a troublemaker is sharp enough to easily take down their superior, then everyone will naturally greet them with smiles. Moreover, Wei Tao and Zhang Dai usually interacted amicably, and after witnessing Xue Tao's fate, they naturally wouldn't go out of their way to offend him.

Since Wei Tao was so easy to talk to, Zhang Dai was happy to oblige. After thanking him, he led Zhao Ling and the others to the Censorate.

The atmosphere at the Censorate was quite different from the leisurely atmosphere at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. It was bustling with activity from early morning. When Zhao Ling arrived, he was quickly infected by the atmosphere. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he followed closely behind Zhang Dai, feeling that his glorious life was about to begin!
"Attendant Zhang!"

Along the way, people kept greeting Zhang Dai, their eyes filled with awe.

Zhang Dai nodded in response to the greetings from the crowd as he walked back into the Censorate. Immediately, Zhang Yi, a fellow censor, stood outside the Hall of State Affairs and waved to him repeatedly, saying, "Your Excellency Zhang has finally returned to the Censorate. There are many matters here that I need to entrust to you in person!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai stepped into the hall, and then Zhang Yi took out two baskets filled with documents from beside the table and placed them in front of Zhang Dai, saying somewhat embarrassedly, "It's not that my colleagues are being lazy or bullying newcomers, trying to push all the work onto Attendant Zhang."

Since the day before yesterday, all lawsuits in Taichung have been requested to be handled and adjudicated by Attendant Censor Zhang. After two consecutive days of backlog, dozens of cases have accumulated. Attendant Censor Zhang, your courage in impeaching powerful relatives and nobles has earned you the praise of the people for your fearlessness in the face of authority and your ability to uphold justice!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was somewhat stunned. He hadn't expected that after his initial success, so much work would pile up in front of him. However, this also showed everyone's yearning for justice; seeing a rising star in the judiciary, they were all eager to come and plead their case.

Originally, the Censorate only supervised officials and did not directly handle lawsuits. However, as its supervisory and judicial powers gradually expanded, the Censorate began to accept and process lawsuits. In particular, cases where commoners sued officials were handled much more efficiently than those handled by the Court of Judicial Review, because the Censorate already had the power to supervise officials.

Zhang Dai's popularity soared, so he had no choice but to take the case files back to his room and read through them one by one.

Zhao Ling, who had just been recruited, also came in handy at this time. He was tasked with organizing the various documents and extracting key information such as the people and the case details, so that Zhang Dai could understand the case more easily and quickly.

“Zhang Shiyu is diligent and hardworking; no wonder he enjoys the trust of the people!”

Other imperial censors who passed by Zhang Dai's house saw the desk full of official documents and couldn't help but sigh.

These people weren't just making sarcastic remarks. Censors have great power, but their quotas are also very heavy. They have to handle a lot of lawsuits and impeach a lot of officials every year. The consequences of not meeting their quotas are quite serious. Many people are waiting anxiously for a vacancy to be filled!
But lawsuits don't just happen whenever you want, and officials' mistakes aren't always readily apparent. To meet their quotas, many censors racked their brains.

So, the reason Zhang Dai was constantly being impeached by the censors for minor mistakes wasn't because they were deliberately making things difficult for him; it was purely because they were pressured by quotas. His official rank was low, and he was a corrupt person, so naturally, he attracted the attention of the censors.

But talented people can find a place to use their skills wherever they go. While other censors are still racking their brains over performance targets, he is already receiving materials from scholars and commoners alike.

Zhang Dai knew that these documents were not just simple words on paper; behind them were families who had been wronged and bullied, and corrupt officials who had committed all kinds of evil deeds. Therefore, after sorting out the details of the cases, he scheduled them all to be tried in the Court of Judicial Review of the Censorate in the near future.

He had just finished sorting out the backlog of cases when Pei Kuan, the Imperial Censor-in-Chief who was on duty today, sent someone to summon him to the court and assigned him a new task.

"You want me to oversee the execution of prisoners?"

After hearing Pei Kuan's explanation, Zhang Dai couldn't help but widen his eyes and exclaim in surprise.

(End of this chapter)