This god is really evil

Chapter 44: Great Qi Respects Gods and Praises Virtues of Tianshu
When the tax collector heard this, he immediately knelt down and said:

"A few days ago, the imperial court issued a donation for worshipping the gods. It was urgent. It was said that the current emperor personally issued an edict to build a 'Great Qi Temple for Worshiping Gods and Praising Virtues' in the capital..."

Below this Tianshu is an iron mountain, carried by a golden dragon, surrounded by lions and unicorns, and with a cloud cover on top. On the cover, a coiled dragon is dragging a fire bead, which is ten feet high and thirty feet in circumference. It is brilliantly golden and as luminous as the sun and the moon.

A huge amount of money was spent.

According to the emperor's decree, since Tianshu was built for the purpose of worshiping gods and showing filial piety to the five main gods, the people of the world naturally cannot be left behind. How can I enjoy such glory alone?
Therefore, an imperial decree was issued saying that everyone has a share in Tianshu and everyone can contribute to it.

It is an honor for people all over the world to be able to make donations to the gods.

Of course, the emperor meant that five cents of silver per person would be enough.

But from the imperial court to the prefectures, to the states and counties, and then to the counties, there will always be some deficits as it is passed down layer by layer. Doesn't it also cost money to send people to collect donations?

So when it came to Qinghe County, the donation for worshiping the gods increased to two taels of silver per person.

It is said that this is because the county magistrate of Qinghe County is kind to the people and could not bear to increase the heavy taxes and levies. Some of the taxes in Lin County have even been raised to three taels of silver per person.

The tax officer in front of him was the one sent to Weizi Town by Qinghe County. His name was Cui Qian, but he had already secretly joined the Yuhua Society.

He was even present at the sacrifice last night and saw Li Yan's true appearance.

I was just following orders today, but I didn't expect the flood to flush out the Dragon King Temple. I actually ran to the Holy Son's house and caused trouble. I really deserve to die.

After listening to what Cui Qian said, Li Yan couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

He had been working as a helper in the charity cemetery before, so he didn't care too much about the heavy taxes and levies in this world.

It now seemed that the heavy taxation and extortion of the Great Qi court was no less severe than any dynasty he had ever known.

The greed of the entire bureaucratic system of the Great Qi court is also staggering.

The price of five cents of silver increased to two taels of silver. This shows that the officials are kind and loving to the people. What will happen to those famous corrupt officials?

Seeing that Li Yan remained silent, Cui Qian quickly continued:

"You don't know, Saint Son. I am not so harsh on weekdays. This is also the request of the Lord Jijiu... I am more fierce with my men during the day, and at night, the brothers in the association will bring people to ask about their well-being, and even send money to the families of those who were beaten and ransacked. After this, these people will naturally be grateful for the kindness of my Yuhua Association, and joining the association is just a matter of a word..."

"As long as they join the guild, it's okay to ask them to give all their wealth to Yuhua Zhenjun first. After all, if you believe in Yuhua Zhenjun, you can ascend to heaven. These vulgar things are nothing but a burden."

Cui Qian spoke sincerely, especially the last sentence, his eyes were sincere, and it was obvious that he really believed it.

Ascending to heaven, how wonderful it is!
Li Yan listened in silence for a while. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was the imperial court that was ruthless and lavish, or the Yuhua Society that was shameless and took advantage of others' misfortune to rob and plunder.

Anyway, they are all not good.

Only the people suffer.

Cui Qian continued:

"Since they are your relatives, Holy Son, I dare not accept any more donations. I have received more than 300 taels of silver today. If Holy Son needs it, you can take it all."

Li Yan waved his hand, motioning Cui Qian to get up, and said coldly:

"I already understand, go ahead."

Cui Qian felt as if he had been pardoned. He quickly got up, his back already soaked with sweat.

As a middle-level member of the Yuhua Society, he naturally understood how terrifying these superiors in the society were. Not to mention the cruelty of their methods, just the feather techniques alone were chilling enough.

Especially the Saint, who is moody and mysterious. The newly enthroned Son of God must have the same methods as the Saint.

He has already had a close call with death.

The two of them immediately came out of the side room.

Cui Qian said with a big smile on his face: "Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. Young Master, you are absolutely right! We shouldn't be urging you to donate so much. Sorry for disturbing you today. I will leave now, I will leave now."

As he said this, he placed Hu Yue'e's silver bracelet on the table with both hands, clasped his fists to apologize, and took out an extra ounce of silver from his sleeve and placed it on the table as compensation for the broken teapot.

Without waiting for Li Lin and Hu Yue'e to decline, he immediately called several tax collectors and rushed out. Li Lin was shocked and said:
"Sir, this teapot is only ten cents, it doesn't cost that much..."

But the other party seemed to have heard nothing. The more he shouted, the faster he walked, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Li Lin then asked Li Yan with surprise:

"Little brother, what did you say to him? Are you just going to let this donation go?"

Li Yan smiled slightly and said:

"I happened to be reading the "Laws of the Great Qi Dynasty" and the "On Land Tax" in the academy a few days ago. This donation to the gods is not reasonable. I argued with this official and said that if he dared to do it again, I would report him to the government. He was convinced by me."

Li Lin frowned and said:
"Did you argue with him? Oh, little brother, you shouldn't have argued with him. You should have found a reason to calm him down and find a way to make up the money in a few days. You are still young and don't understand that the county magistrate is not as scary as the current one. This man may have surrendered verbally now, but who knows what sinister tricks he has in mind to deal with us two brothers..."

Hu Yue'e pushed Li Lin and said angrily:

"Boss, if it weren't for me, our family would have been confiscated. I'm so happy that my brother has made great progress in his studies. Why are you saying such depressing words?"

Then he smiled at Li Yan and said:
"Little brother, don't pay attention to your brother. He is a fool. When you go to the county school and pass the imperial examination, these donations will be waived. Have you had breakfast? I will fry eggs for you."

The laws of the Great Qi Dynasty have always been lenient towards the "scholar" class. Officials with meritorious service and rank can be exempted from most corvee labor and taxes, except for ordinary taxes.

Li Yan waved his hand quickly and said:
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I came out today to study with my classmates at the request of the school. I stopped by to take a look at your home and will be back soon."

Then he stood up and walked out.

Brother Li Lin came out and said:
"Little brother, you must study hard. I met Master Ji again yesterday. He said that you have been very diligent recently. When the county schoolmaster and Liu Yunhe, the supervisor of the Imperial Observatory, arrive, he will tell the schoolmaster to send you to the county school. You must work hard."

This Master Ji wants to cheat big brother out of his money again?

Li Lin knew it clearly in his mind. He had not been studying in the private school for a long time. This Master Ji had been lying all along, obviously in order to continue to cheat people out of money.

I haven't had time to settle the bill for the twenty taels from last time.

He smiled at Li Lin and said:
"Okay bro, I know."

After coming out of the house, Li Yan's face gradually darkened.

Yuhua Society, Sitianjian, and donations for worshiping gods.

The whole Weizi Town felt as if a storm was about to come.

He is now caught in the middle. Although he is not in the eye of the storm, he is also in the storm.

We still need to improve our strength as soon as possible!
It is not enough for Niu Ma to practice alone, he also has to speed up the recovery of his divine body.

There were a few corpses left in the charity cemetery yesterday. We should quickly return to the cemetery to burn them and offer them as sacrifices to the god's body.

When it comes to sacrifice, every inch of it is burned brings joy.

Back at the charity cemetery, a group of apprentices and helpers were already busy.

At this time, Zhan Yupeng had died, and the charity cemetery was temporarily managed by Wang Liang alone. He was showing off his power in the yard, but when he saw Li Yan appear, he shuddered all over and hurried over to pay his respects.

Yesterday he witnessed with his own eyes the power of Li Yan, the chosen one by God, and also received the news that Li Yan was established as the Holy Son of the religion.

Even though this Holy Son might be burned to ashes in a few days, he could not afford to offend him now.

Li Yan stopped Wang Liang's actions with a look.

Then he came to the morgue with familiarity, prepared all the tools, and prepared to dissect and burn the bodies of Zhan Yupeng and the assassin.

At this moment, a shout suddenly came from the yard outside the charity cemetery:

"The Imperial Astronomical Observatory is investigating a case. All outsiders, please get out of the way!"

(End of this chapter)