Chapter 677

On the second day, at the site chosen for the Taixuan Daoist Abbey, box after box of copper coins were carried over under the protection of retainers.

The boxes were set on the ground, the copper coins spilled across the floor, and soon a thick layer carpeted the ground, making the watching commoners gulp hard.

"These lords have gone mad, donating so much money!"

"Right, I counted — every minister at court donated, not a single one missed. Which true deity is this, to have such a grand showing?"

"In just half a day, the donations here must already be in the tens of millions of guan. Being an official really does pay."

"I envy it — when will my son ever pass the examinations and earn his rank?"

During the Northern Song period, officials' salaries were extremely high.

A first-rank official, with base salary plus all kinds of benefits like clothing and millet, had an overt annual income of over four thousand guan.

A second-rank official had an overt annual income of nearly eleven thousand guan.

A third-rank official had an overt annual income of seven thousand two hundred guan.

The reason second-rank and third-rank officials had higher salaries than first-rank was that in the Northern Song, first-rank was a nominal rank with no real power.

And these were still the overt gains — the ones that could be spoken of openly.

The gains beneath the table were likely even more terrifying.

The gentry were mostly landlords — land rents, trade…

With all the gray income added together, a Northern Song official's earnings were truly an astronomical figure.

Suddenly, a group of junior officers surged forward, rushing to the incense-registration counter.

"My lord, we want to donate too!"

"How much?"

"Five guan?"

"Five guan — wait a moment, wait until the lords have finished donating."

"My lord, our money is still money — please accept it!"

"Right, we all want to donate, and we still have to go back on duty after!"

"My lord, have a heart — we truly believe in the Daoist Lord!"

A crowd of low-ranking soldiers surged forward; the commoners thought there'd be a good show, but never expected this group had also come to donate.

And by the look of it, they wouldn't be allowed to leave without donating.

The commoners were instantly speechless.

What's gotten into those soldiers?

All at once turned into pious devotees!

"Lord Zhang, since they want to donate, let them donate — it's all goodwill toward the Daoist Lord." Gao Huaide looked toward the crowd, spotted a few acquaintances, stepped forward and spoke a fair word.

"Very well, since you're sincere, this lord will make an exception."

"Thank you, my lord, thank you, Imperial Son-in-Law!"

The group of junior officers donated with effusive gratitude, beaming with joy, and under the stunned gazes of the commoners they hurried off at top speed, feet barely touching the ground, as if they had just won a great victory.

"Can't make sense of it, really can't!"

"Those ministers donating — maybe you could say they're sucking up to the imperial court, but these low-ranking soldiers, who's going to care about their flattery?"

"Exactly, isn't this just throwing money into the water? A waste!"

Hearing the commoners' chatter, Gao Huaide and the others smiled without a word; in fact, some wanted to borrow money to climb the incense-donation rankings.

After all, the higher the ranking, the more likely one was to be noticed by the Daoist Lord.

It was just like the tip leaderboards on a livestream.

Only the top spenders got perks; if you were stuck at the tail end, the best they'd do was call you 'big brother' once.

"Imperial Son-in-Law, couldn't you yield that second place?"

"Sigh, this official is in a bind too — the Princess gave orders that the second place absolutely must not be lost."

"Lord Liu, why don't you shift over a bit?"

"Why should I shift?! Hmph!"

"Lord Zhao, what do you say…"

"Say what? Are we that close?"

The officialdom, usually all amity and harmony, now cast aside all pretense.

Anyone who dared contest the ranking — that was a fight they would pick.

……

That same day, a notice appeared in Bianliang city, drawing the commoners' eyes.

"From today, the imperial court will oversee the construction of the Hunyuan Wuji Taixuan Daoist Abbey. Wages: five hundred wen per day, paid daily. Skilled craftsmen of all trades are also sincerely recruited, with generous treatment."

"Hiss… ordinary people can earn five hundred wen a day — that's a sky-high price."

In this period, an ordinary laborer earning a hundred wen a day was already considered good.

Five hundred wen — five times the wage.

For the common folk, this was manna from heaven.

"And it's paid day by day — the imperial court shouldn't welch on it!"

"Seeing all this construction, I thought they'd be conscripting corvée labor — never expected they'd just be hiring workers normally. How much will this cost?"

"You don't know, do you? For this abbey, all the ministers have emptied their family coffers to donate. The construction funds are more than ample. Enough said — I'm off to the yamen to sign up. If I delay, would a good thing like this still fall to me?"

"Brother, let's go together — I'm a carpenter!"

In just half a day, the workers and skilled craftsmen for building the abbey were all recruited.

Liu Wen took charge of overseeing the construction, gathered everyone, and looked down: "You who have come to sign up are blessed with deep good fortune. Today, this lord will grant you a small benefit, so you may know the Daoist Lord's boundless divine powers. When you build the abbey, you too may give your all."

Having said that, he had everyone follow along and recite the incantation.

After the recitation, the workers and craftsmen were all stunned.

"My strength has grown?"

"My eyes were a bit blurry before, but now everything I look at is clear."

"This truly is the Dao Lord!"

"I had originally thought it was just an ordinary Daoist temple, but I never expected this was a temple built for a true immortal!"

"I didn't understand before why those ministers were so eager to donate money, but now I finally get it. They're currying favor with the Dao Lord!"

"Yes, yes, this is exactly as Lord Liu said — this is blessed affinity. We are building a temple for the Dao Lord; what a rare opportunity this is."

"I want to show off every bit of my craft, absolutely no flaws can be left. This is the Dao Lord's temple — if even the slightest mistake is made, it would be blasphemy."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Liu Wen gave a light cough and said, "Alright, it's getting late today. We'll begin work in proper fashion tomorrow at the zheng hour. I hope none of you will be absent."

"Don't worry, my lord. Even if I had to crawl, I would crawl here."

"Yes, if you miss a chance like this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

Liu Wen nodded in satisfaction, then waved the group away.

In the following half month, because the workers and craftsmen applied themselves with vigor, and the incantation had boosted everyone's strength, a luxurious Daoist temple was built — letting merchants from many tributary states witness the speed of the Great Song.

Even the common folk of Bianliang were shocked.

A luxurious, solemn temple covering several hundred mu, built in just half a month — when did the workers of the Great Song become this capable?

With hearts full of astonishment, merchants from various countries and the common folk of Bianliang all went into the temple to pay their respects.

Worshipping the gods more never hurts — this was the common mindset of the Song people.

"Huh, I don't know if it's an illusion, but after I paid my respects to the Dao Lord, my old cold legs healed!"

"It's not an illusion. My arm used to be numb, but now it's fine too. The Dao Lord is a true god!"

"Me too, me too!"

"The Dao Lord truly is a true immortal — no wonder so many ministers ruined their families to donate incense money. If I had money, I would donate a fortune too."

"Niu Er, where did you run off to?"

"Donating incense money! My mother worshipped the Dao Lord — she could barely walk before, but now she can run and walk!"

"Wow, I want to donate too."

In just one day, all the incense offerings from across Bianliang were drawn over there, leaving the other temples and Daoist abbeys dumbfounded, yet utterly helpless.