It was getting late, so Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu decided to stay one night at the Wanshou Chongyang Palace and then go down the mountain early tomorrow morning.
There is a special place for entertaining guests in the Wanshou Chongyang Palace. The famous Taiping Temple makes people think of the Taiping Road. However, Taipingguan has nothing to do with Taiping Road. It is just called this name and is regarded as a "guest room".
Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu came to Taipingguan and each asked for a room, but the specifications were different. Zhang Yuelu lived in the suite of a high-ranking Taoist priest, while Qi Xuansu lived in a single room, and there was a considerable distance between the two places. It seemed that he was afraid that Qi Xuansu had any evil intentions.
Early the next morning, Qi Xuansu woke up from his trance, pushed the door open, and saw a person sitting at the stone table in the yard, who turned out to be Pei Xiaolou.
"Master Pei?" Qi Xuansu was a little surprised, "You came back from Yujing? When did you come back?"
"I just came back less than half an hour ago. I heard that you happened to be at the Wanxiang Dao Palace, so I came right over." Pei Xiaolou didn't hide his fatigue. It was not physical fatigue, but mental fatigue.
Qi Xuansu sat directly on the stone bench next to the stone table and asked: "Where is Zhenren Lei? Didn't he come back with you?"
Pei Xiaolou said: "Except for Zhang Qingxiao and Li Tianlan, the seven-member investigation team is still seven people. Because I have the smallest connection and am a person from Wanshou Chongyang Palace, I am the first to end the questioning. The other six people still have to For a while. Xiao Huan is the leader of the seven-person investigation team and may have to wait until the end, but my brother said that there is no big problem and asked me to come back first. I dare not disobey, so I can only take the first step. "
Qi Xuansu asked again: "What is the result of the Jinque discussion?"
"What else can we do?" Pei Xiaolou sighed, "It's a mess, arguing with each other, and they are all people with backers. As long as they don't make a big mistake like running away from the battlefield, nothing will happen. It's nothing more than a demerit. Accountability is, at most, a crime of oversight. Li Tianlan, an old fox, has figured it out. He needs to be more effective when besieging Lord Siming in the end, so that he can cover up all his ugliness with one handsome man. With this, others can speak for him."
This was not beyond Qi Xuansu's expectation, but Qi Xuansu couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he thought that after spending so much effort in Jinling Mansion, it would end like this.
Qi Xuansu remembered something and took out his backup "Voice Talisman" and told the story in detail. Because Pei Xiaolou was an insider, Qi Xuansu had no reservations.
After hearing this, Pei Xiaolou put away the "Voice Talisman" and nodded: "It's not a big problem, just leave it to me. I will handle the case jointly with Zhenren Xu. After all, the assistant of Wuxu Palace is involved. It is reasonable for us, the two assistant ministers of Wanshou Chongyang Palace, to come forward together."
Qi Xuansu was completely relieved.
Pei Xiaolou changed the topic: "By the way, there is one more thing about you and Zhang Qingxiao. You go and invite her here, and I will tell you all."
Just as Qi Xuansu was about to get up, he heard Zhang Yuelu's voice coming from outside the hospital: "No need, I came uninvited."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yuelu had already walked into the yard. She was originally looking for Qi Xuansu, but she didn't expect Pei Xiaolou to be here.
"Just right." Pei Xiaolou waved to Zhang Yuelu and motioned for her to sit down and talk.
Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu sat on one side, and Pei Xiaolou sat alone on the other side. Then he took out two pieces of ivy paper from the Xumi object and slapped it on the stone table.
Ivy paper is a special paper used by Taoists to write green poems. The material used is very precious and the cost is high. When burning sacrifices to God, the fire lit is green and red, and the smoke is also colorful, which is very beautiful.
The Taoist sect's official documents are all made of ivy paper.
"What is this?" Qi Xuansu asked.
Pei Xiaolou held two pieces of ivy paper with both hands: "The letter of appointment, one for each person." As he spoke, he pushed forward the piece of ivy paper facing Zhang Yuelu.
Zhang Yuelu took the ivy paper, and as expected, she was promoted to the third rank of Youyi Taoist Priest. Her rank and position finally corresponded, and she was no longer the fourth rank Taoist Priest of Liquor to hold the position of deputy hall leader.
Zhang Yuelu's expression was very calm, and there was no surprise at all. After all, it was expected. It just upgraded the grade, got more monthly credits and subsidies, and the various benefits he enjoyed were improved to a higher level. The various discounts were even stronger. For Zhang Yuelu, this was of course very good. Things are not worth getting too excited about.
Pei Xiaolou said: "It will take some time for the official third-grade Taoist Youyi 瓓篒 and the corresponding 'Zhongji Sutra 瓓', but this matter has been completely settled. From now on, we can no longer call Master Zhang." I should call you Zhang Gaogong, you are the youngest Gaogong Master in the past fifty years."
Zhang Yuelu didn't look proud, he just said: "Thank you Master Pei."
Master Pei pushed another piece of ivy paper in front of Qi Xuansu.
Qi Xuansu took the ivy paper. Although he had expected it, he couldn't help but smile a little.
An exceptional promotion!
Taoist priests offering sacrifices to the fourth grade of wine.
There is a threshold from the fifth-grade Taoist priest to the fourth-grade wine-offering Taoist priest, just like the difference between Jinshi and Juren in the imperial court. Of course, Juren can be officials, but basically they can only be eighth-grade county magistrates and edicts. If you are lucky, you can be an official. The seventh grade county magistrate is over. Even if you get lucky and get the appreciation of the emperor, you can at most be a court official or a feudal official, and no one has been able to ascend the cabinet to worship the prime minister. Even if you are a court official, you can only count them after reading the history books.
In the Taoist sect, the fourth-grade Jijiu Taoist priest is a high-grade Taoist priest. He is expected to join the ranks of Zhenren, Zhenzhi, and even Pingzhang Dazhen. It can be said that his future is boundless. And considering his age, as long as he doesn't make a big mistake, at worst he can become a real person and retreat into the mountains. Wearing a sword is no longer a dream. If he is more lucky and has opportunities, it is not impossible for him to be ranked in the Golden Palace in many years.
Pei Xiaolou smiled and said, "The same goes for you. It will take some time for the official Taoist Priest Ceremony Ceremony Ceremony of the Fourth Grade of Wine and the corresponding 'Chu Zhen Sutra Urn' to be finalized. However, you can change your mind and I will call you Master Qi from now on."
Qi Xuansu serves as the chief Taoist priest as a fifth-grade Taoist priest. In fact, it is also a high-ranking position. Therefore, being promoted to a fourth-grade Taoist priest is just a return to normal. There is no need to adjust to a new position. At most, it will change from an empty chief to a real power chief, or The principal will not become the deputy hall master, deputy palace master, or assistant manager.
Qi Xuansu laughed: "Master Qi is not as nice as Master Qi."
"Your ambition is not small." Pei Xiaolou laughed and scolded, "You haven't even ascended to Qingxiao yet, and you are thinking about becoming a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest?"
Qi Xuansu waved his hand: "When I become a real person, Qingxiao will probably know the real person."
Master Pei did not deny this: "I think the position of the head master of Jiangnan Daofu is good. Master Shenzhi who comes from Cihang's lineage must be in this position."
Zhang Yuelu couldn't help but cough slightly.
Qi Xuansu changed the topic very considerately: "By the way, how is the treatment of the fourth-grade wine-offering Taoist priest?"
Zhang Yuelu could not care much, but he couldn't care less. After all, he only had one hundred Taiping coins left on him.
Pei Xiaolou said: "I have roughly calculated that the Taoist priest of the fourth grade of Ziweitang can have 200 yuan of peace money every month. Plus various subsidies, the total is 300 yuan of peace money, which is 3,000 yuan a year. Six hundred peace coins.”
Qi Xuansu was surprised and delighted: "Isn't this too much? I used to hang out in the arena, come and go in the wind and rain, tie my head to my belt, go through life and death, and I couldn't make this kind of money in a year."
Pei Xiaolou explained: "The reason why it is set so high is mainly to maintain integrity and put an end to all kinds of corruption. In the past, after many people were caught for corruption, they would quibble that the salary was too low and they did not have enough to eat. If you are not greedy, now that you have raised the standard amount of money, it is more than enough to support a family. If you are still greedy, then there is no other explanation."
Qi Xuansu did the math and asked: "A fourth-grade Taoist priest who offers wine for 3,600 Taiping coins a year, ten is 36,000 Taiping coins, one hundred is 360,000 Taiping coins, and one thousand is 360,000 Taiping coins." 1.6 million Taiping money. I remember that there are more than 3,000 Taoist priests in the fourth grade of wine sacrifice. Calculated based on 3,000, that is 10 million Taiping money. This does not include the expenses of other Taoist priests and spiritual officials. For Taoist sects Will there be too much financial pressure?”
Pei Xiaolou said: "First, not all Taoist priests have such a high salary, and not all Taoist priests have subsidies. First you go to Tiangang Hall, which has the highest subsidy among the nine halls, and then you go to Ziweitang, which has the highest subsidies among the nine halls. The regular silver is the highest, and the treatment of Jiutang is much higher than that of the local Taoist government. Most of the fourth-grade wine-making Taoist priests can't get your amount, usually only fifteen hundred Taiping money."
"For another example, you previously had subsidies for waiting for wine sacrifices and preparing wine for sacrifices, but these two subsidies are very dependent on age. Not many people can get them, so the account is not calculated like this. There are more than 3,000 people. The cost of the Taoist Priest’s fourth-grade wine sacrifice is actually around 5 million Taiping taels.”
"Secondly, there are more spiritual officials than Taoist priests, but their amount of money is far less than that of Taoist priests. According to the statistics of Duzhitang, the Taoist sect's annual income is about 10 million Taiping qian, of which 35 million has to be spent. Taiping money supports all the Taoist priests and spiritual officials in the Taoist sect, but the spiritual officials only account for about one-third."
"Furthermore, most of the Taoist priests' regular money is spent on Taoism, such as renting a house in Yujing, spending on Tianji Hall and Huasheng Hall, as well as daily food, clothing, housing and transportation, etc. This is a huge amount of return. It’s like the meat rotted in the pot.”
"Third, the higher the level of Taoist priests, the better the treatment, but the smaller the number of people. There are more than 3,000 fourth-grade Taoist priests offering sacrifices to wine, but there are less than 500 Taoist priests of third-grade Youyi. When it comes to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priests, the number It's even more stuck. There are 108 ordinary real people and 36 shenzhi real people. The total number of people is less than 200. The next level of great real people can be counted on the fingers, and the number is very large. Real people all have private property, and they don’t receive regular money.”
"To sum up, the financial pressure is there, but it is not unsustainable. Now Dao Sect can make a surplus of about 10 million yuan every year. As long as the sea trade, which accounts for the bulk of the income, does not have any accidents, there will not be a big problem. .”
Qi Xuansu suddenly said: "That's it."
