No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 47: Officials in charge of left and right wing stores

Although Cai Xiang was only a censor in the Ministry of Personnel, this position was very important, and Zhang Yaozuo did not want to offend him. He pulled out the imperial edict from his sleeve and said:

"The Emperor's decree grants Su Ze the title of Selected Person, appointing him to be in charge of the Left and Right Wings and Stores. This is the imperial decree drafted by Scholar Ouyang."

Cai Xiang carefully took the imperial edict and the imperial decree, and after confirming that they were correct, he said to Zhang Yaozuo:

"Please wait for a moment, Zhang Dengwen and Su Xuanren. I will do it right away."

After he finished speaking, a clerk came up and led Zhang Yaozuo and Su Ze to the side hall of the Court of Justice, and another clerk brought them tea.

In addition to greatly strengthening the power of the censors, Renzong also strengthened the power of the poets of the two systems.

If the emperor's decree does not have the draft edicts of the two systems of officials, namely the Hanlin Academician and the Zhongshu Sheren, it can only be called the Zhongzhi, and the administrative department can refuse to recognize such decrees.

Only the imperial edict drafted by the two systems can be called an imperial edict and have absolute authority.

Therefore, the status of the poets of the two systems was extremely high. They could even refuse to help the emperor draft imperial edicts. This operation was also called "returning the poem head."

For example, when Wang Anshi was in charge of the imperial court, he was unwilling to draft the edict to grant Su Che an official position. He repeatedly returned the emperor's edict. In the end, Wang Anshi was bypassed and the edict was drafted by other poets from the imperial court, so Su Che was granted an official position.

With the emperor's order and the draft edict by Ouyang Xiu, a Hanlin scholar, the Court of Justice naturally had no choice but to accept the order.

Zhang Yaozuo picked up the teacup and reminded Su Ze:

"This assignment the government has arranged for you is also very meaningful."

Su Ze quickly said to Zhang Yaozuo:

"Uncle, please teach me."

There are things you don't know. Zhang Yaozuo's vanity was satisfied, and he began to say:
"Don't think that the store and house affairs may sound insignificant, there are actually quite a few people involved."

"The affairs of the store and the house belong to the Taifu Temple, and there are three officials: the 'official in charge of the store and the house affairs of the left wing' as the chief official, and two 'officials in charge of the store and the house affairs of the left and right wing' as assistants."

Zhang Yaozuo paused and said, "Lü Yijian's son, Lü Gongbi, originally held the position of 'in charge of official affairs at the Zuoxiang Inn.'"

Su Ze was stunned for a moment. He had defeated an official who was in charge of the left wing store's affairs, so the government appointed him as the official in charge of the left and right wing store's affairs. The government really had some black humor in it.

In modern terms, the "official in charge of housing affairs in the left and right wing stores" refers to the deputy director of the Beijing Public Rental Housing Management Bureau.

"'Overseeing the Left Wing Store and the House' is a position in the imperial court, and you alone cannot fill it. Therefore, the position of 'Specialized Officer in Charge of the Left and Right Wing Store and the House' is perfect for you."

"Ever since the Lü Gongbi case, the official post of Left Wing Store and House Affairs has been vacant, and the other two officials specializing in Left and Right Wing Store and House Affairs have also been dismissed. So now, you are the only official in the Store and House Affairs Office, which means you are the official in charge."

Su Ze now understood what Zhang Yaozuo meant. The official system of the Song Dynasty was very complicated, but power did not depend on the title. The most important thing was what one did.

In a yamen, the person who holds the official seal is the chief official of the yamen, also known as the "official seal official".

Emperor Zhao Zhen deliberately left the position of the head of the store and house affairs vacant so that he, the "official in charge of the left and right wing store and house affairs", could take charge of the store and house affairs as a selected person.

After all, Zhang Yaozuo had been in the officialdom for many years. He counted on his fingers and said:

"In addition to these three officials, there were three 'store and house affairs supervisors,' who were clerks. There were also fifty subordinate clerks, called 'looting and marriage officials,' and five hundred craftsmen, called 'left-wing store and house repair commanders,' who were responsible for the maintenance of the publicly rented stores and houses."

As expected, what Zhang Yaozuo said was right. This store and house affairs sounded insignificant, but it was actually a big government office. Then Zhang Yaozuo cleared his throat and said:

"Official order!"

But seeing that Su Ze did not accept the oral order with fear and trepidation like other scholars, it seemed that this guy naturally lacked respect for power.

That’s right, if he didn’t have such a personality, how could he, a commoner, overthrow the prime minister of the dynasty?

However, the imperial autocracy of this era did not reach the peak of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Zhang Yaozuo said:
"The Emperor said, 'Since Su Ze has asked me to dismiss Lü Gongbi, you should go and clean up this mess at the store and house affairs. You must make up for the deficit within a year. If you can't, you can continue to work there.'"

After reading the oral order, Zhang Yaozuo looked at Su Ze. He thought Su Ze would be terrified, but he didn't expect that Su Ze still looked calm.

Zhang Yaozuo said:
"Do you know how much the store's deficit is?"

Su Ze then bowed and said:

"Uncle, please teach me."

Zhang Yaozuo said angrily:
"Ever since the previous emperor established the Store and House Bureau, except for a few years, it has been in the red. To date, the accumulated debt in the Store and House Bureau's account has reached a million strings of cash, and tens of thousands of strings of cash are added every year. Even balancing the income and expenditure is difficult."

Seeing that Su Ze was still calm, Zhang Yaozuo said:
"The court has been seriously short of staff in recent years. The emperor may hold another imperial examination next year. If you can't turn the losses around, what will you do if the emperor lets you continue to be the official in charge of this store?"

In the eyes of Jinshi scholars like Zhang Yaozuo, officials in charge of store and house affairs are typical corrupt officials who have too many tasks to do and often fail examinations.

Especially for officials who have direct contact with the people, if they cause trouble, their entire future will be ruined.

In comparison, the censors were much more noble.

There are no fixed assessment targets for censors, but once they succeed in impeaching important officials, they will immediately become famous throughout the world.

Zhang Yaozuo originally thought that Su Ze preferred a noble official position and was unwilling to work in a shop and cause trouble. He also thought that as long as Su Ze asked him for help, he would go to the palace to plead with Zhang Xiuyuan and ask the emperor to revoke his decision.

However, Su Ze did not show any fear, but accepted the appointment calmly.

After a while, the door of the side hall was pushed open, and Cai Xiang walked into the side hall with two clerks. The two clerks were holding official boots in their hands, and Cai Xiang was holding Su Ze's letter of appointment.

The letter of appointment, also known as the power of attorney, is the token of Su Ze's appointment to office.

Xuanren is the lowest-ranking official, and his official robes are also the lowest-grade blue.

In addition to official robes, there are also official hats and official boots.

Zhang Yaozuo looked at the brand new official robe and said with admiration:

"When I first entered the imperial examinations, I had to provide my own official robes. Now the court provides them free of charge, saving the new official from the financial hardship. How virtuous of the court!"

Cai Xiang also nodded and said:
"Providing new officials with official uniforms was a favor granted by the emperor himself a few years ago. Mr. Su can try on the official robes. If they don't fit, the court has its own tailors who can make alterations."

Su Ze took the official robe and boots and changed in the dressing room in the side hall. When Su Ze came out in his official robe, Cai Xiang could not help but admire him:

"What a demeanor! You're truly a righteous gentleman who can impeach a treacherous prime minister!"

(End of this chapter)