During Emperor Xuanzong's Reign
Early in Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742-756), because of his ancestors' status as imperial officials, Pei Mian was made the sheriff of Weinan County (in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), and he became known for his administrative abilities. When Wang Hong (王鉷) the chief imperial censor took on the additional post as the surveyor of the Chang'an region, he made Pei his assistant. Pei later served as an imperial censor, initially with the low rank of Jiancha Yushi (監察御史), then the higher rank of Dianzhong Shi Yushi (殿中侍御史). It was said that while Pei was not well-learned, he was diligent, responsible, and decisive, and Wang much depended on him. In 752, when Wang Hong was implicated in a coup plot of his brother Wang Han (王銲) and was forced to commit suicide, his several hundred subordinates did not dare to even approach Wang Hong's door, except for Pei, who personally took Wang Hong's body and buried it properly. He became renowned for this, and in 753, Geshu Han, the military governor (jiedushi) of Hexi Circuit (河西, headquartered in modern Wuwei, Gansu) invited him to serve as an officer below Geshu.
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