Two thousand nine hundred and fifty taels of gold and one thousand one hundred and eighty-five copper coins.
This is the incense money I received today.
When he heard this number, Chen Jingke was simply stunned. Rounding it off, it was 100 million.
"It's not a mistake, is it?"
Zhang Ruiguang was also a little dazed, but he still said with certainty: "The accounting office has calculated it three times, and there is nothing wrong. This is the specific list. You will understand it at a glance."
Chen Jingke took the list and looked at it, and immediately understood where the money came from.
One hundred taels of gold from the East Palace.
King Wei has one hundred taels of gold.
The king of Rencheng (Li Daozong) gave one hundred taels of gold.
The Prince of Xiangyi County (Li Shenfu) has one hundred taels of gold.
…
Xu Guogong has one hundred taels of gold.
The Duke of Qi has one hundred taels of gold.
Duke Su Guo has one hundred taels of gold.
…
These top princes and nobles spent a hundred taels of gold, of which they contributed two thousand taels. Although the other dignitaries were not so lavish, they did not spend less than ten taels.
Almost all the gold was given by them, while the copper coins were given by small dignitaries, ordinary officials and wealthy households. The total given by ordinary people was only a fraction.
As for how to distinguish what is given by the common people and which is given by the powerful, it is very simple. What the common people give is loose money and is thrown directly into the merit box.
Rich people would put them in small cloth bags with their names written on them.
Another point is that people's money seems particularly smooth and moist, while rich people's money is normal.
"These people are so rich. Just one day's incense money is enough for us to live on for several lifetimes. If this happens every day..."
Sun Simiao smiled and said: "How is it possible? It's only like this when the viewing starts today. From now on, if you can collect ten or eight min every day, it will be good."
Yang Tianlu also said: "What Sun Zhenren said is true. Unless there is a big event, the money for incense will not be too much. The real income of the temple comes from the sale of incense and candles, fortune telling and performing rituals."
Chen Jingke naturally knew this truth, and he just talked about it casually. What he actually thought was that since those people were so rich, he should find a way to cut leeks.
Based on the efficiency in ancient times, it would be a long time to expect Changsun Wujia to see results. It seemed that he needed to find another way to do a small cut first.
Sun Simiao looked at the gift list, handed it to Yang Tianlu and said, "Make a copy and give it to Your Majesty."
Yang Tianlu's expression changed slightly, but he immediately disappeared.
Chen Jingke did not notice this abnormality, but said: "This is not good, how can we gain a foothold in Chang'an if word spreads?"
Sun Simiao solemnly said: "Our ability to gain a foothold in Beijing is not based on these dignitaries, but on the favor of His Majesty and the Empress. Don't forget your roots as a human being."
Although Chen Jingke did not completely agree with what he said, he had to admit that it was indeed reasonable and said: "I understand, then please ask Senior Brother Yang to send the gift list to the palace."
"Here." Yang Tianlu left with a somewhat unnatural look on his face.
Sun Simiao shook his head secretly, this stupid disciple, have you never thought about how a Taoist priest handed the gift list to the emperor?
Although everyone knows some things well, Sun Simiao does not intend to tell Chen Jingke now.
First of all, Yang Tianlu can be regarded as the emperor's secret spy, which helps the communication between the two parties. With such a person around, they can do what they want to do with confidence and boldness.
Moreover, Yang Tianlu is indeed very capable and has been of great help to Zixiaoguan.
Secondly, this is also a kind of training for Chen Jingke to see when he can discover the truth based on clues.
The third reason is that he is afraid that Mr. Chen Jingke will accidentally pierce the window paper. If the relationship with the Queen is affected, it will be worth the loss. It will not be too late to tell him the truth after a few years when his mind matures.
After working hard all day, Chen Jingke was also very tired, mainly because of mental fatigue. He insisted on having dinner with Sun Simiao but couldn't bear to go back to rest.
When he thought of the two delicate maids on the way, especially Yi Nu, who was good at dancing and massaging, half of his body became numb, and he couldn't help but speed up his steps.
Hey, I just regret that I turned into a ten-year-old after traveling through time. I feel helpless about some things.
…
Imperial Palace, Li Zheng Palace.
Li Shimin quickly received the gift list, and naturally also learned about the leak of Yang Tianlu's identity.
"Master Sun is really smart, and nothing can be hidden from him. But Guanyin, your nephew is a little slow, and he didn't notice such obvious hints."
Changsun Wugou was so happy that he couldn't help but smile: "He is still a child, so how can he understand all these twists and turns? Besides, I like his innocence and he is a good boy."
Li Shimin said with deep approval: "Innocence is good, who doesn't like innocent children. Look at this gift list, there are still many rich people in the Tang Dynasty."
He was not angry. He knew better than anyone whether the rich and powerful had money. What he donated today was not even a drop in the bucket.
What he was unhappy with was: "These people are very willing to pray to God and worship Buddha, but they are more stingy than others when they are asked to donate money for disaster relief. Is donating money to clay-embedded wood sculptures a greater merit than saving the lives of the people?"
Changsun Wugou naturally understood what he was thinking. The plague in Hedong was almost out of control and was rapidly spreading to Guannai Road.
The imperial court issued an order to mobilize medicinal materials into the epidemic areas, but very few responded, forcing Li Shimin to forcibly assign tasks to various states and counties.
Everyone knows what consequences this kind of apportionment will bring.
But it was the lesser of two evils, and even though I knew there would be people using chicken feathers as arrows for profit, I still had to do it.
Changsun Wujia also hated those guys who made her man angry: "Erlang doesn't need to vent his anger with them. When the sugar and donkey-hide gelatin are made, they will bleed."
Li Shimin smiled and said: "Don't worry, I won't get angry because of them. Didn't you have someone verify your sugar-making process? How about it?"
Changsun Wugou said happily: "It's done, both brown sugar and snow sugar have been successful. There is no problem with the recipe he gave. Now we are waiting to plant sugar cane."
Li Shimin said: "That's good. With this recipe for making sugar, I can run the south with peace of mind."
…
When Zixiao Temple opened, Fa Lin's provocation was resolved by Sun Zhenren's ten-year-old disciple. The incident spread quickly, and Chen Jingke officially entered everyone's sight.
After all, everyone used to regard him as a tool to maintain the relationship between the royal family and Sun Simiao, and no one really took him seriously. Now, they really started to take him seriously.
Regardless of whether the words he said at that time were his true feelings, it was not easy to talk in front of a master like Fa Lin.
Chen Jingke finally got the first label about himself: famous teacher and disciple.
Of course, what everyone pays more attention to is the three questions about me, and I won’t go into too much detail on the reasons.
It is in line with Cheng Xuanying’s words: Everyone knows that Sun Simiao’s Taoism is brilliant, but he has been studying medical skills and has never written any books. No one knows how brilliant his Taoism is.
The older generation are familiar with him and know that he does have real talent and learning, but the younger generation will inevitably have doubts.
As soon as "Three Questions Three Me" came out, all the doubts disappeared, and what followed was a huge shock. Perhaps the new path that everyone has been pursuing is right in front of them.