Top Scholar

Chapter 541 The Sorrow and Shame of Grand Secretary Jiao

The Ministry of Personnel, the office of the Left Vice Minister.

Su Lu was having tea and talking with Zhang Cai.

Unlike Jiao Fang, an old relic exuding an aura of decay, Zhang Cai was a rising star in the eunuch faction. He had a fair complexion, a tall and handsome figure, thick eyebrows and beard, and a magnetic voice. Every word he spoke was precious and easily won people's favor.

During the Hongzhi reign, Zhang Cai had already risen to prominence, with Liu Daxia and Ma Wensheng both praising him as a prodigy. When Liu Xi, a censor, impeached him for disrupting the selection process, Ma Wensheng defended him, praising his intelligence and integrity, which won over both superiors and subordinates, and the impeachment ended without further incident. Zhang Cai, however, submitted five memorials requesting to retire due to illness. Ma Wensheng tried to persuade him to stay, but to no avail, and contemporary opinion praised his strong sense of honor and integrity.

Later, when Yang Yiqing stepped down as the commander-in-chief of the three border regions, he recommended Zhang Cai to succeed him. Jiao Fang, because Zhang Cai was from the same hometown as Liu Jin, also strongly recommended him to Liu Jin.

Liu Jin then issued an edict to forcibly conscript Zhang Cai, warning him that failure to arrive by the deadline would result in his demotion to commoner status. Zhang Cai then went to pay his respects, dressed in fine clothes and speaking eloquently. Liu Jin was greatly impressed, grasping his hand and exclaiming, "You are a divine being! I am fortunate to have met you!"

He was then appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and served as the acting Minister when Jiao Fang was absent. From then on, he wholeheartedly attached himself to Liu Jin, and was a rare talent among the eunuch faction.

Zhang Cai was very good at handling things. After finding out the purpose of the visit, he immediately ordered the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel to take Su Man and Zhu Zihe to verify the situation. This showed that he valued Su Zhuangyuan's request and that once the higher-ups agreed, he could get it done immediately.

If the higher-ups remain stubborn, he will simply verify the information without any consequences.

Su Lu explained the situation, still fuming, "Grand Secretary Jiao is also senile. Even if we're not happy, you can't use the imperial edict to sow discord between me and others. That's a bit reckless."

"Hehe." Zhang Cai smiled and reassured him, "The Grand Secretary may have a short temper, but there are indeed difficulties in this matter. However, don't worry, Scholar, we will expedite the process and assign all the newly appointed scholars to their positions as soon as possible according to the imperial decree."

"Look, if he were as reasonable as Lord Zhang, how could there be any conflict?" Su Lu's expression softened slightly.

Is Zhang Caixin being reasonable? This person is the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and the Minister of Personnel. If he were to be so understanding, wouldn't he be holding office for nothing? On the surface, she smiled and said, "Yes, yes, the Grand Secretary's actions are indeed unpredictable, but we still have to respect the elderly. In the end, we are all serving the Emperor, and we cannot bring personal grudges into our work."

"Oh, that's so true!" Su Lu exclaimed, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

"When the Dragon Tiger Lecture Hall invited teachers before, didn't they manage to invite Minister Liu and Minister Cao? The only reason they didn't invite Grand Secretary Jiao was because he's too old. If something were to happen to him while he was standing on the stage for two hours in the sweltering summer heat, who could bear the responsibility?"

"Yes, yes, this shows that Scholar Su has a broad vision and is very thoughtful," Zhang Cai said, adding a compliment.

"If you ask me, he's just senile. He's over seventy years old, he should go home and hold his grandchildren!" Su Lu was still not satisfied and said angrily, "He holds both the positions of Minister of Personnel and Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, you won't find another one like him in the entire Ming Dynasty..."

“The imperial court has not explicitly stated that the second-ranking official cannot concurrently serve as the Minister of Personnel…” Zhang Cai still had a smile on his face, but the official in charge of performance evaluation sitting with him almost couldn’t hold back and hurriedly lowered his head to compose his expression while drinking tea.

Zhang Cai then gently advised, "People tend to get irritable in hot weather. Scholar, calm down and get things done properly. There's no need to make a scene."

“I don’t want to make a big fuss either!” Su Lu spread his hands and said, “But what he did was too outrageous! He dared to disobey the imperial edict, but I don’t have his guts. If I don’t take it seriously either, I can’t afford to be punished by the emperor!”

“Yes, yes, the emperor’s command is as solid as a mountain, and we must obey it meticulously…” Zhang Cai nodded in agreement.

He patiently calmed Su Lu, whose temper was about to burst, and finally received news that Jiao Fang had returned to the yamen.

Zhang Cairu was granted a pardon and immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Let's go, I'll take the top scholar to see the Grand Secretary."

Before leaving the official residence, he gave Su Lu a special reminder: "You must keep your composure and not act impulsively. Our purpose is to get things done. Many of our fellow graduates are waiting. Escalating the conflict will only backfire."

"Thank you for the reminder, Young Master." Su Lu nodded gratefully and said, "Don't worry, Young Master, I am not someone who doesn't know what's important. I will definitely show respect to your esteemed office."

The implication was that he only disrespected Jiao Fang...

"That's good, that's good." Zhang Cai seemed not to understand his implied meaning and led Su Lu to the Ministry of Personnel's office.

Jiao Fang had just returned from the palace. Although he didn't have to walk the corridor himself, he was still covered in sweat, and his official robes were soaked through. Before he could change his clothes, Su Lu blocked him at the door.

He had no choice but to come out from the inner room, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, his face dark with anger, and said, "Minister Zhang, the one with the gold medal, has certainly already verified it, so there's no need to show it, is there?"

“Ah, etiquette cannot be disregarded.” Su Lu then skillfully took out the gold medal…

"..." Jiao Fang's face grew even darker and longer.

"Now that Your Excellency has returned, I shall take my leave." Zhang Cai quickly slipped away to avoid Jiao Fang thinking that he was laughing at him.

The Director of the Examination and Merit Department also hurriedly followed him out of the Minister's office. After leaving, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "He's still young and too hot-tempered."

"Can you call yourself a young person if you're not arrogant?" Zhang Cai smiled faintly. "I was just like that when I was young, but unfortunately I didn't have that gold medal, so I had to learn a lesson from reality."

He stood at the door for a while, but didn't hear any shouting or cursing coming from inside. He shook his head with slight disappointment and slowly walked away.

~~
Inside the main hall of the Minister's office, Jiao Fang had no choice but to kneel before the gleaming gold plaque and respectfully greet the Emperor.

Instead of responding with "Your Majesty is well" and asking him to rise, Su Lu, holding a gold medal, looked down at him and questioned, "Grand Secretary Jiao, I have come on behalf of His Majesty to ask you—why did you dare to disobey the imperial decree?"

"Don't try to pin this on me!" Jiao Fang braced herself on the ground, her eyes wide, and gritted her teeth as she said, "If you push me too far, I'll stab you!"

"Look at you, spouting such harsh words again." Su Lu was already desensitized to his words and said with a sneer, "Old people don't rely on their strength and physique. At your age, you still act like a rogue. It's too embarrassing for the Grand Secretary if word gets out."

He lifted the hem of his official robe and sat down in front of Jiao Fang, saying, "Can't you speak properly?"

"Of course!" Jiao Fang said irritably, "You should put that gold medal away first!"

"If I don't show this gold medal, how will others know I possess it?" Su Lu not only refused to accept it, but also waved the gold medal in front of Jiao Fang's eyes, saying calmly:

"Although it is said that a wise man keeps his talents hidden and waits for the right time to use them, the worst situation is if only the emperor knows about this gold medal and no one else knows about it. They will just treat you as an ordinary person and use the ruthless methods of officialdom to control and suppress you."

"..." Jiao Fang snorted, having to admit that that was indeed the case.

"And the Emperor will definitely scold you. He's already bestowed a gold medal upon you, yet you can't accomplish anything despite possessing such a precious protective treasure. You're utterly useless!" Su Lu's voice suddenly rose several decibels:

"This gold medal is a treasure meant to deter villains. How can I hide it? If you have a weapon, you have to show it! And you have to demonstrate its power from time to time so that others know that this thing is not just for show, but can really hurt people! Only in this way can my opponents learn to respect my bottom line!"

By the end, his voice carried immense weight, making every word deserving of respect.

"..." Looking at the arrogant and domineering Scholar Su, Jiao Fang felt a chill run down her spine. She finally understood what it meant to be young and strong, especially since this young man was the emperor's top henchman...

"Look at your arrogant face," Jiao Fang spat sourly.

Su Lu laughed loudly and said, "Speaking of which, you learned this attitude from Grand Secretary Jiao. Back then, you threatened Scholar Peng with a knife in the street, scaring all the officials in the court from daring to block your way."

As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "My knife isn't exactly dull either!"

"Fine, fine, your knife is much sharper than mine, I admit defeat, am I not satisfied?" Jiao Fang said irritably, "Hurry up and let me up, my knees are about to break from kneeling!"

"What do you mean 'not good enough'? You're unwilling." Su Lu, relying on the gold medal in his hand, insisted on squeezing the toad until it urinated.

"I'm really done for!" Faced with this kind of scoundrel, Jiao Fang was completely speechless and had no choice but to surrender.

Su Lu then asked in a deep voice, "What do you intend to say about the appointment by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?"

“Official positions have a fixed quota. For positions without a fixed quota, it doesn’t matter if there are a few more people. But for positions with a fixed quota, there’s no way to force them to be filled, otherwise there will be endless troubles.” Jiao Fang rubbed her numb knees and said irritably, “Besides, he is a third-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). It would be too unfair for him to be assigned to a ninth-rank official position, even if it is a Beijing official.”

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Su Lu asked, frowning.

“There is a way; we can go around it by sending someone to do it,” Jiao Fang replied.

"Dispatch?" Su Lu was naturally familiar with these two words... This method actually existed in the Song Dynasty. In short, it meant that the person was officially registered in Department A, but was sent to Department B to perform duties.

In this way, an official's "own official position" determines their staffing, rank, and salary, while their actual duties are determined by their assignments.

This system reached its peak in the Song Dynasty, with almost every official operating under it. While it is not prevalent in this dynasty, it is not uncommon either. For example, the provincial governors and censors-in-chief, though nominally officials in the capital, were actually the highest-ranking local officials. Officials who supervised the grain transport and managed waterways were also dispatched in this manner.

The most fitting example to Su Lu is that the compilers and editors of the Hanlin Academy were often dispatched to the cabinet as "acting duty officers" to assist in drafting proposals. Although their official positions remained in the Hanlin Academy, they were actually working in the cabinet.

Therefore, Jiao Fang's solution for him was to first assign all fifty of his classmates to various government offices in the capital, and then assign them to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

This way, there are no obstacles in terms of rules and regulations. Of course, it also depends on whether the various government departments are willing to cooperate.

Su Lu asked, "Will they cooperate?"

Jiao Fang glanced at him and said irritably, "Now that you've unleashed your ultimate weapon, which government office would dare not cooperate?"

P.S.: I chatted in the group for a while today and found out that many of my colleagues are experiencing serious health problems. To be honest, I'm scared too...

There are a few hundred more words in the next chapter.

(End of this chapter)