Chapter 46: A Reward Delayed by a Month (Bonus Chapter)

Su Ze had no choice but to temporarily exit the Peach Blossom Spring. Sure enough, not long after he returned to his room, he heard a knock on the door. Upon opening it, he found the personal attendant of Zhang Ya佐. To his surprise, Zhang Ya佐 had just returned home from the Court of Judicial Appeal (Dengwen Guyuan) and requested Su Ze to change his clothes and meet him at the entrance.

Su Ze found this rather strange. Although Zhang Ya佐 obtained his official position through connections, he was nonetheless a successful imperial graduate (Jinshi) and maintained a rigorous approach to his official duties. Today was not a holiday, and Zhang Ya佐 rarely skipped work without a valid reason.

Nonetheless, Su Ze changed into a scholar’s gown and followed the attendant to the front gate. There, Zhang Ya佐’s carriage was waiting, and the attendant urged Su Ze to board it.

Zhang Ya佐 was sitting inside the carriage. Seeing the rather grim expression on Zhang Ya佐’s face, Su Ze wondered if something else had happened at court. Zhang Ya佐 stared fixedly at Su Ze for a long time before finally speaking:

"Starting from today, you are a probationer."

Su Ze froze, looking at Zhang Ya佐 in astonishment. A "probationer" (Xuanren) held the lowest tier of official status in the Great Song Dynasty. For instance, scholars who had just passed the palace examinations held this very status.

How had he suddenly become an official?

With a displeased expression, Zhang Ya佐 said, "It is this official who has granted you official status through hereditary privilege (Yinyin)."

Hearing this, Su Ze finally understood why Zhang Ya佐 looked so grim.

Later generations often criticized the Song Dynasty for its bloated bureaucracy, and one of the primary targets of this criticism was the excessive abuse of the hereditary privilege system. In the Song Dynasty, not only was the number of officials granted positions through privilege extremely high, but the scope of the privilege was also remarkably broad. It was not limited to descendants; high-ranking officials could extend this privilege to members of the same clan, and even to retainers and students.

Although entering officialdom through the imperial examinations was considered the orthodox path, the Song bureaucracy was flooded with officials who gained their posts through hereditary privilege. For example, Lü Gongbi, whom Su Ze had defeated and ruined, had secured his official position through the privilege of his prime minister father. Lü Yijian’s other sons were similarly granted official posts through privilege; only Lü Gongzhu possessed genuine scholarly talent and thus prepared to take the imperial examinations.

Despite the abundance of privileged officials in the Song Dynasty, strict limits were imposed on the number of such appointments each official rank could confer. Given Zhang Ya佐’s current official standing, he was only entitled to grant three such privileges. Judging by his extreme reluctance, someone must have compelled him to use one of his quotas on Su Ze.

Given who could compel a high-ranking minister of the current court to take such an action, aside from Consort Zhang within the palace, it could only be Emperor Zhao Zhen.

Sure enough, Zhang Ya佐 said, "It was His Majesty who ordered me to grant you this privilege."

Su Ze had not expected the emperor's reward to arrive so belatedly, taking this particular form after such a long interval. Even more unexpectedly, the emperor had used Zhang Ya佐’s personal privilege quota to reward him.

However, Su Ze did not mind. Securing an official status through privilege was actually quite pleasant. Unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties, where privileged officials and examination-derived officials were strictly segregated, in the Song Dynasty, officials who entered through privilege were still permitted to take the imperial examinations. For instance, Han Jiang, who passed the top tier of examinations alongside Wang Anshi this very year, had originally obtained his office through privilege yet still went on to earn official Jinshi status.

This phenomenon was primarily caused by the Song Dynasty's surplus of officials and scarcity of actual posts. Unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties, where passing the Jinshi examinations guaranteed an immediate official post, surviving the grueling imperial examinations in the Great Song to become a probationer did not mean one would actually get to govern.

As the people of the Song often said, "The sea of probationers is boundless." After attaining probationer status, one still had to wait for an official appointment. Appointment meant that when a government vacancy arose, those qualified as probationers could compete for it. If there were insufficient vacancies, or if the available posts were in remote, undesirable locations, it was entirely possible to pass the imperial examinations yet remain without a post, spending months or even years waiting for another vacancy to open up before finally holding a real office.

From Su Ze’s perspective, the emperor having Zhang Ya佐 grant him this privilege was both a reward for bringing down Lü Yijian and a compensation for his absence from the Ministry of Rites examination. It was essentially granting him the qualification to be an official, along with a modest stipend and a measure of political standing.

The bloated bureaucracy of the Song Dynasty also stemmed from the massive number of candidate officials who enjoyed the salary and treatment of office without bearing any actual responsibilities. Yet at this moment, Su Ze was quite content to be one of these "idle officials," as it would allow him to collect a salary while preparing for the exams.

"Uncle Zhang, where are we going now?"

By this time, Zhang Ya佐 had recovered from the regret of losing a privilege quota. Knowing the emperor as he did, since he had been forced to bleed a privilege slot for Su Ze, he might well be compensated before long. Furthermore, Consort Zhang had instructed him to cultivate a good relationship with Su Ze, and seeing how highly the emperor regarded the young man, Zhang Ya佐 swept away his dissatisfaction and replied:

"To the Bureau of Personnel Evaluation (Shenguanyuan)."

Su Ze looked at Zhang Ya佐 in surprise. The Bureau of Personnel Evaluation was a vital department under the Ministry of Personnel, responsible for the performance evaluations, appointments, and dispatch of officials below the rank of vice-minister and supervisory censor. It was the crucial agency responsible for selecting probationers and assigning them to official posts, and was commonly known among literati as the "Office of Official Selection."

Zhang Ya佐 glanced at Su Ze, a twinge of envy now welling up inside him. When he had passed the imperial examinations years ago, due to his low ranking, he had waited half a year in Bianjing before finally securing a suitable post. Before he attached himself to Consort Zhang, Zhang Ya佐 had been repeatedly transferred among remote prefectures and counties outside the capital, only entering the fast lane of promotion after his niece gained favor in the palace.

Yet Su Ze had originally been a mere commoner. Not only had he been granted official status by an imperial decree of privilege, but the emperor had even provided him with an actual vacant post, giving him real work to do. How many scions of powerful families could ever dream of such treatment?

Zhang Ya佐 quickly brushed aside these chaotic thoughts. Remembering Consort Zhang’s words, Su Ze was now essentially family; if the young man could genuinely achieve something notable, it would ultimately benefit him as well.

Zhang Ya佐’s residence was located right in front of the imperial palace, while the Ministry of Personnel sat in the government district directly south of the palace. The carriage soon halted before an understated official office.

After stepping out of the carriage, Zhang Ya佐 straightened his official robes and then turned to help Su Ze adjust his attire. Although he was now a high-ranking minister, Zhang Ya佐 still held a deep sense of awe toward the Bureau of Personnel Evaluation. During the Tang Dynasty, the Minister of Personnel was referred to as the "Heavenly Official" because he held the vital power of evaluating and promoting officials. This unassuming office was the critical department that held the fates of countless lower-ranking officials in its hands—the most crucial organ of the Ministry of Personnel.

Recalling his own days as a newly minted Jinshi, when he had waited daily outside the gates of the Bureau of Personnel Evaluation for the bulletin of vacancies in hopes of securing a suitable post, Zhang Ya佐 was grateful for how far he had come. Fortunately, he was now a high-ranking minister and no longer had to wait alongside the probationers lingering at the entrance. He led Su Ze directly into the compound, where a middle-aged official hurried forward to greet them.

The middle-aged official clearly recognized Zhang Ya佐. He cupped his hands and said, "Cai Xiang, Director of Evaluations at the Bureau of Personnel Evaluation, pays his respects to Lord Zhang of the Court of Judicial Appeal. What brings your lordship to our humble bureau today?"

Su Ze, standing a step behind, raised his head. Cai Xiang? Was he running into another historical celebrity?

This man was one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty, a renowned master of the brush! Wouldn't this mean another opportunity to harvest the Qi of Cultural Heritage?