Song Dynasty is a special era, because it was established in the context of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms War. The imperial power was transferred very frequently, and the emperors changed again and again, which also led to the royal family's taboo against military commanders. Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, the emperor tried very hard to reuse literati, because they felt that compared with military commanders, literati's rebellion against the regime would not be so destructive. You can't easily defect by relying on the power of literature and lip service.
Even, the number of civil servants is often more than the actual needs. The purpose is to make the number of civil servants more than the number of military attaché s, which can play a role in balancing the military attaché s. At that time, the status of civil servants was relatively higher than that of military attaché s.
The salary of officials in Song Dynasty is not only the most generous treatment in history, but also the most tolerant and relaxed constraint on officials in Song Dynasty. There is no perfect management system for embezzlement and misappropriation. Even if someone accuses officials of criminal acts, there is no strict punishment system, and it is often an attitude of minimizing major issues. This led to the fact that becoming a civil servant was the ideal job for all men at that time.
Therefore, all the men who meet the requirements for taking the imperial examination in the country are preparing to take the imperial examination. Similarly, unmarried women want to find a civil servant as a husband. Because of this, young women are not eager to talk about marriage, and take the initiative to marry later in order to have the opportunity to become the wife of civil servants.