Chapter 65: An Immediate Rebuke

According to the instructions in Cai Xiang's manual for newly appointed officials, the most important thing for a new official upon arrival is to pay respects to his superiors.

The Agency for Official Residences and Properties fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, making Zhang Fangping, the Administrator of the Court, Su Ze's direct superior, whom he was obliged to visit first.

However, Su Ze had already learned from Zhang Yaozu that this direct superior of his seemed rather dissatisfied with him.

Zhang Fangping came from a humble background. Although honest and upright in his official duties, he had always kept his distance from Fan Zhongyan and other Qingli gentlemen.

In Zhang Fangping's view, apart from Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, everyone else in that faction was fond of forming cliques for personal gain, prattling endlessly without ever getting down to earth—mere armchair critics who frequently used the veneer of eccentric scholarly elegance as an excuse to indulge in unruly behavior, utterly incapable of doing solid work.

As for Fan Zhongyan, although he possessed ability, his proposals were overly radical and equally difficult to bring to fruition.

Ultimately, the commotion caused by this group would only sap the vitality of the imperial court.

Despising the reformist faction, Zhang Fangping naturally had no welcoming expression for Su Ze, who had submitted the "Statutes on Official Residences and State-Administered Trade."

Of course, Zhang Fangping knew that such a detailed and reliable set of new laws could never have been concocted by Zhang Yaozu, a relative of the imperial family relying on connections, and must undoubtedly be the work of Su Ze.

Therefore, upon hearing that Su Ze was coming to assume office today, Zhang Fangping took the rare step of opening the main hall of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, ordering the officials and bailiffs of the court to line up on both sides—a deliberate attempt to give Su Ze a harsh initial blow to dampen his spirit.

As Su Ze walked into the official office of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, he could already feel the tense atmosphere.

Upon seeing the array before the main hall, Su Ze understood the mindset of his superior.

Yet, Su Ze felt no fear whatsoever. Judging from historical records, Zhang Fangping was a typical conservative scholar-official of the Northern Song Dynasty.

People of this kind shared a common trait: impeccable personal morality coupled with political conservatism.

Their primary objection to the reforms was not that the new laws were inherently flawed, but rather that the implementation process would inevitably turn them into policies harmful to the people, leading them to believe that maintaining the status quo was preferable to reform.

From the final outcome, their views might well have been correct; many of the reforms in the Northern Song Dynasty ultimately transformed well-intentioned laws into measures that harmed the populace.

Impeccable personal morality meant he was a genuine gentleman.

Being a gentleman, he would not resort to the underhanded conspiracies employed by powerful ministers like Lü Yijian.

On the historical timeline prior to Su Ze's transmigration, Zhang Fangping had once recommended Wang Anshi for his exceptional talent, and he had likewise recommended the Su family poets.

After Wang Anshi implemented the new reforms, Zhang Fangping merely expressed his distinct and uncompromising opposition; when the emperor refused to listen, he resigned and left the capital, without engaging in any petty maneuvers.

To some extent, the opposition of a true gentleman is even less harmful than the cooperation of a hypocrite.

Su Ze stepped into the main hall and saw Zhang Fangping wearing a purple official robe, indicating his status as a high-ranking official of the third rank or above.

Atop his head was the three-ridged Jinxian crown, a headgear worn only by the principal officials of the various bureaus in the Southern Office.

In addition to this, his jade belt, awarded through imperial decree, was likewise bestowed only upon high officials of the third rank and above, while his golden fish pouch was a special honor reserved exclusively for academicians of the imperial institutes.

As Su Ze, an official of the lowest rank who had entered the bureaucracy through hereditary privilege, naturally possessed none of these honors.

Not only Zhang Fangping, but the other officials in the main hall were also arrayed in crimson and purple; lesser officials wearing green robes could only stand outside the main hall.

It truly was a show of intimidation.

Su Ze, however, did not mind. He followed the established procedure to submit his "notification of arrival"—the appointment certificate issued by the Bureau of Official Selection. An attendant by Zhang Fangping's side took the document, verified it without error, and presented it to Zhang Fangping.

Zhang Fangping then proceeded to bestow the seals.

Because the Agency for Official Residences and Properties currently lacked a director-general, Su Ze received two seals.

One was his personal official seal as the director of the Left and Right Wing Agency for Official Residences and Properties. In addition to his official title and assignment, this seal was engraved with Su Ze's name, serving as his personal seal.

The other was the official public seal of the Agency for Official Residences and Properties. For any incoming official correspondence and issued notices or documents of the agency to take effect, both seals had to be stamped.

Under normal circumstances, the public seal of a department was held by the chief official—namely, the Director-General of Official Residences and Properties—making him the principal seal-holder. Thus, the principal seal-holder possessed absolute authority within his own office; without the official seal of the bureau, nothing could be accomplished.

However, since the agency currently lacked a chief official, Su Ze naturally became the principal seal-holder of the Agency for Official Residences and Properties.

Following Cai Xiang's instructions, Su Ze took the seals and inspected them to ensure they were intact and that the official seal engraved with his name had no typos. Confirming everything was correct, he once again bowed to Zhang Fangping.

Zhang Fangping cleared his throat, and Su Ze knew that the "reprimand and instruction" was about to begin.

The reprimand and instruction constituted the guidance and admonition given by a superior official to a subordinate prior to assuming office.

Normally, this consisted of conventional platitudes urging subordinates to be diligent in governance, cherish the people, and refrain from corruption and bribery.

Clearly, however, Zhang Fangping had no intention of letting this opportunity slip by. After uttering a few conventional pleasantries, he immediately shifted the topic to Su Ze's "Statutes on Official Residences and State-Administered Trade."

Zhang Fangping declared:

"The people are like water; they can float a boat, but they can also capsize it. If the Statutes on Official Residences and State-Administered Trade are implemented, the Agency for Official Residences and Properties will be competing with the people for profit."

"For the sake of personal advancement, officials will treat the 'acquisition of profit' as the goal of governance, using the amount of wealth extracted from the common people as the metric for evaluating official performance."

Looking at Su Ze, Zhang Fangping said:

"A law whose original intention is to protect the people will ultimately end up as a harmful law that ruins them. Does the noble Su feel at ease with this?"

It had arrived, just as expected.

A gentleman like Zhang Fangping indeed struck out with an open and upright stance, immediately expressing his dissatisfaction while entirely disregarding the fact that the "Statutes on Official Residences and State-Administered Trade" was a new court policy approved by the Emperor and stamped by the State Council.

The surrounding officials also turned their gaze toward Su Ze. Faced with such a stern reprimand from a superior, even a seasoned bureaucrat would tremble with fear, yet Su Ze, a newcomer to officialdom, maintained a completely ordinary expression.

Seeing that Su Ze remained expressionless, Zhang Fangping grew even more incensed. He added a few more remarks before finally bringing the "reprimand and instruction" to a close.

Following that, Su Ze spoke up: "This subordinate requests a face-to-face presentation."

A face-to-face presentation meant formally submitting a written statement in person.

In the Song Dynasty, a written statement was an official document addressed to superiors, primarily used for reporting conditions, distinct from a "memorial" submitted directly to the emperor.

A face-to-face presentation meant stating the contents of the document in person, effectively requesting permission to report directly to Zhang Fangping.

Zhang Fangping paused for a moment. Su Ze's request complied with bureaucratic protocol, leaving him no choice but to wave his hand and grant Su Ze permission to speak.

Su Ze stated:

"This subordinate believes that whether a law is beneficial or harmful depends on the statutory text itself, but it also depends on the people executing the law, and even more so on the guidance and evaluation provided by superiors to those who enforce it."

"As the Imperial Court Administrator has rightly admonished, if the law is beneficial, but those below execute it in a distorted manner, it will inevitably turn into a harmful law that hurts the people."

"Yet, given the longstanding abuses of our imperial dynasty, how can we abandon execution altogether simply because it might be executed improperly? Would that not be like giving up eating for fear of choking?"

For a moment, Zhang Fangping was left completely speechless.

Su Ze continued:

"Since the Court Administrator fears that the 'Statutes on Official Residences and State-Administered Trade' will harm the people, why not dispatch officials to closely monitor this subordinate? The moment this subordinate truly harms the people, you may impeach and memorialize against me."

"This subordinate believes that with Court Administrator Zhang keeping watch, the 'Statutes on Official Residences and State-Administered Trade' will certainly be executed from a good law into good governance, benefiting the common folk of Bianjing!"