Thereafter, Empress Dowager Wu gave him the greater chancellor designation of Tong Fengge Luantai Sanpin (同鳳閣鸞臺三品).
In 689, Empress Dowager Wu made Zhang acting Nayan (納言) -- the head of the examination bureau (鸞臺, Luantai) and a post considered one for a chancellor.
Xu Jingzhen (徐敬真), the younger brother of Xu Jingye the Duke of Ying, who had led an unsuccessful rebellion against Empress Dowager Wu in 684, had been exiled to Xiu Prefecture (繡州, roughly modern Guigang, Guangxi), but fled from the place of exile and intended to flee north to Eastern Tujue.
When he went through the eastern capital Luoyang, the officials Gong Siye (弓嗣業)[3] and Zhang Siming (張嗣明) gave him money to use in flight.
When Xu went through Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei), he was captured and brought back to Luoyang for interrogation.