"What? Sir Lord, can you say that again? What's the tax rate? " Although Oliveira heard it clearly, she couldn't believe it. A tax rate of 70%. This was simply not giving people a way out. It would be better if the family was small, but if the family was large, they would starve to death. If this tax rate was made public, wouldn't it be equivalent to the government forcing the people to rebel?
"70%. That's the tax rate," Li Huailin said with a wave of his hand.
"Marshal … Are you really going to charge such a high tax rate?" Maccon immediately said, "The people will never accept this tax rate. Even during wartime, the tax rate was only 30%. If you charge 70% tax, it will definitely cause the people to rebel."
"Really?" Li Huailin was elated. "That's good. This is the effect I want. Come, Oliveira, immediately make this tax rate public and complete the collection of taxes as soon as possible."
"This …" Oliveira hesitated for a moment. The collection of taxes had nothing to do with her. Her family had been killed by Li Huailin, and she was the only one left. She didn't have any land, so she didn't have to pay taxes. Therefore, there was no change in Favorability. However, as the Minister of Finance, she had to reprimand Li Huailin's random tax collection.
"Sir Lord, I think … Wah … Sir Lord, you …" Before Oliveira could finish speaking, Li Huailin slapped Oliveira's chest with his claws.
"Is it because his Loyalty isn't high enough? So much nonsense …" Li Huailin thought that it might be because Oliveira's Loyalty was only 57 points and his Favorability was not high enough, which was why he kept objecting. Hence, Li Huailin decided to increase Oliveira's Loyalty.
System Notification: As you have sexually harassed her subordinate without her consent, Oliveira's Favorability towards you has increased by 45 points. Current Favorability: Infatuated.
System Notification: The curse "Pervert" has been refreshed.
System Notification: As you have sexually harassed her subordinate without her consent, Oliveira's Loyalty has increased by 30 points.
"There shouldn't be any problems now, right?" Li Huailin asked as he caressed Oliveira.
"Sir … Sir Overlord … Don't be like this …" Oliveira held Li Huailin's hand with one hand and said with a blushing face. There were so many subordinates from the finance department behind them. Although Oliveira liked it very much, he couldn't act like this.
"Marshal, if we collect taxes at this rate, it might cause a riot." Maccon pretended that he didn't see anything and continued to talk. This matter had nothing to do with him. His territory wasn't here, so he couldn't collect taxes.
"With me here, how can there be any riots?" Li Huailin waved his hand and said, "Just charge them according to this tax rate. Of course."
"This …"
"I've got something to do. You just follow my instructions and raise the taxes as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'll all die of poverty." Li Huailin waved his hand and ran away before McCann could finish his words.
"Marshal … Marshal … What should we do?" Maccon couldn't stop Li Huailin, so he sighed and asked Oliveira who was beside him.
Oliveira tidied his hair and let out a sigh. "I don't know what Sir Overlord is thinking … But let's carry out Sir Overlord's plan. If something goes wrong, Lord Maccon, you can push the blame to me, the Minister of Finance, and say that I'm the one who tricked Sir Overlord into doing this."
"Oliveira, you …" Maccon was shocked.
"Encountering such a willful Sir Overlord … As subordinates, there's nothing we can do, right?" Oliveira said with a smile, "That's all we can do. I'll immediately compile the list. You go and prepare the documents to inform all the lords about our tax rate this year."
"That's all we can do … I'll get the people of the second army to get ready so that we can respond immediately if anything happens," Maccon said with a sigh.
In the northern part of Lancaster Duchy, there was a small city called Satu Mare. City Lord Bakwu was in a very good mood recently because the annual autumn harvest was approaching. It was a rare opportunity for him to make money. Although Satu Mare wasn't his direct fief, he still had to hand over the taxes to the lords above him. However, he could take advantage of the difference in the middle. For example, last year's taxes were set at 12%, but Bacwu collected 17% from the citizens. The extra 5% naturally went into his pocket. For someone like him who could only receive a fixed salary from the empire, the annual autumn harvest was a rare opportunity to make money. Although Lancaster was no longer a fief of the empire, and the one who paid his salary was the new Duke of Aquitaine, it didn't stop him from making some extra money.
"In the first year of a new lord, he will probably try to please the citizens and us little lords. That way, the tax rate won't be too high. It looks like we'll be able to earn a lot of extra income this year," Bacwu said happily.
"My Lord, my Lord, the documents are here." An expert hurriedly rushed into his room.
Bacwu raised his head and saw that it was his advisor, Chris. He smiled and said, "Is it a tax document? What's the tax rate this year? "
"This … My Lord, you should take a look at it yourself …" Chris wiped his sweat and passed the document to Bacwu.
"Oh?" Bacwu was slightly puzzled. Chris looked like he was constipated, and he couldn't say anything. He took the document and read it. Immediately, Bacwu's expression became the same as Chris's.
"70%?" Bacwu only reacted after a long time. What the f * ck is this? 70%? How is this paying taxes? This is robbery! What is the new lord, the Duke of Aquitaine doing? Not to mention his income this year, if the tax rate was announced, it would be a problem for him to keep his position. 70% tax rate would be too much for the people to rebel. Maybe he would be captured by the mob tomorrow and beheaded.
"My … My Lord, what … what should we do?" Chris was also panicking. How were they supposed to do with a 70% tax rate? It wasn't a matter of earning money, it was a matter of whether they could continue to live.
"Is this really an official letter?" Bakwu asked uneasily. "Are you kidding me? 70%? What is the Duke trying to do? "
"It's real," Chris said. "I've asked the soldier who came to deliver the document. It's real, and it's not targeting us. This is the tax rate for the entire territory."
"Hiss …" Bacwu sucked in a breath of cold air. This was no joke. He could foresee a huge riot waiting for him. Bacwu immediately changed his attitude. Although he didn't have any extra income this year, he had to be chosen. If the citizens wanted to riot, they should look for the new Duke instead of him.
"Chris, hurry up and paste the original document on the noticeboard next to the city gate. Then inform the guards to go to various places and inform all the citizens to go to the city gate to see the notice." Bakwu immediately said.
"Original document? My Lord, you are … "Chris was shocked. According to the previous practice, Bacwu would usually put the tax announcement in a safe place, then write an announcement about the tax in his territory, and then notify his subordinates. This time, he directly pasted the original document, which meant that Bacwu wanted to choose him. The original document was stamped with the Duke's seal, and it wasn't Bacwu himself who wanted to collect the 70% tax. Even if the citizens saw it, they wouldn't do anything to Bacwu even if they rebelled. They would only target the Duke who wanted to collect the 70% tax rate from them.
"Yes." Bakwu knew that Chris had seen through his intentions, so he immediately admitted, "This is no small matter. If I don't handle it properly, the people will think that I'm pocketing my own money, and I don't want to become a target. Since this Duke dares to charge such a high tax rate, he must be mentally prepared. This matter has nothing to do with us, so let's just watch from the sidelines and see what Lord Chris will do."
"What do you mean? What do you mean? " Chris asked. "Once this document is made public, the people will definitely rebel. What else can he do?"
"I don't know …" Bacwu said. "I don't know what the Duke is thinking either. That's why I find it strange. Do you think that even the most ignorant person would collect such a tax rate?"
"No," Chris immediately replied. Chris immediately replied. Even a random lord on the street wouldn't charge such a ridiculous tax rate. Wasn't this forcing people to rebel?
"That's why I find it strange. I don't know what the Duke is thinking …" Bacwu said. "Chris, if the people rebel, should we help the citizens to attack the Duke, or should we stand on the Duke's side and suppress the citizens?"
"This … I heard that the Duke is the Emperor's right-hand man, and is very favored … But I don't know if the Emperor will protect him …" Chris also felt a headache coming on. "My Lord, the situation is unclear. I think we should wait and see and not take sides."
"That makes sense." Bacwu thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, let's make the official document public and have all the guards get ready. This time, something big is going to happen."
"Yes, my Lord." Chris nodded.
The same thing happened in various places in Lancaster. Most of the people had no idea what their new overlord was up to. Most of them chose to choose themselves and directly announced the official documents to the public.
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