 By this point, however, Qiao was old and hard of hearing, and whenever Emperor Dezong consulted him, he would rarely respond properly.After he had only served less than 90 days as a chancellor, Emperor Dezong removed him from his chancellor position and made him the minister of public works (工部尚書, "Gongbu Shangshu").As a result of this inappropriate recommendation, Emperor Dezong distanced himself from Zhang thereafter.