Soon, the small platform was filled with villagers. Oliveira, Maccon, and Misty Rain all looked nervous. The soldiers below also clenched their spears tightly. Although there were only a few of them, they would rush forward at the first sign of danger. At the very least, they would buy time for the Duke to escape. Only Li Huailin had a satisfied look on his face. He casually picked his ear, walked to the middle of the platform, and shouted to the crowd, "What are you guys doing here? About the taxes? "
"Sir Lord, did you order this year's taxes?" The seventy-year-old villager in front of him asked cautiously.
Before Li Huailin could speak, Oliveira, who was behind him, took the initiative to step forward and said, "Old man, actually, this matter …"
"I was the one who gave the order." Li Huailin interrupted directly.
"Sir Lord?" Oliveira turned to look at Li Huailin.
"Re … Really?" The old man asked with a little excitement.
"Of course … Do you think others can think of such a thing? It was definitely done by me, "Li Huailin said proudly.
"Did everyone hear that? It really was the Duke's order. Everyone, quickly kowtow to the Duke! " The old man shouted, and then knelt down. Under his lead, tens of thousands of farmers behind him knelt down in unison.
"Thank you, Sir Lord!"
"Thank you, Sir Lord, for collecting 70% of our taxes."
"Thank you, Sir Lord, for not giving us a way out!"
"Huh?" The three people behind Li Huailin were dumbfounded. What the hell are you guys doing here? If you want to rebel, just rebel, okay? We don't understand at all.
"Look …" Li Huailin pointed to a large group of villagers in front of him and said to Misty Rain, "I knew it. Didn't they specially come over to thank me?"
"That's f * cking possible?" Misty Rain could not help but swear. What the hell is going on? Why did this bunch of villagers run over to thank this guy?
Li Huailin turned around, looked at the villagers who were kowtowing to him, and said, "Are you all here to thank me?"
"Yes, Lord. We are from the nearby villages. There are also representatives from other villages here. They are the same as me. They want to thank you in person," said the old man at the front.
"You guys seem to be in a good mood, but don't bring so many people next time. Look at how nervous my guards are. They thought you were going to rebel," Li Huailin said.
"How could I rebel!" The leading old man immediately said, "Our Lord is so kind to us. This 70% tax is simply robbing us of our money. Everyone knows that our Lord is going against the laws of the Empire to set such a tax rate for us. It's all for our sake. How could we possibly go against our Lord?"
"Eh? Is it illegal for me to collect 70% tax? "It was Li Huailin's first time hearing about this matter, so he turned around and asked Oliveira.
"This … It's not illegal for you to collect as much tax as you want in your fief. However, such a high tax rate might cause other ministers to criticize you …" Oliveira replied.
"Please rest assured, Lord. If other ministers want to criticize you, I will risk my old bones and run to the Imperial City to clear things up with you!" The old man immediately said.
"Oh, there's no need. I appreciate everyone's kindness. If I dare to collect taxes, I'm not afraid of being criticized by others." Li Huailin waved his hand and said, "And you guys, if you want to thank me next time, don't send so many people. Just send a few representatives is enough. This will only disturb our work."
"Yes … Yes, Lord. We won't do this again next time," the old man hurriedly said.
"Alright, I understand your kindness. This is also my first year as a Lord. There are many things that I need everyone's cooperation in. Seeing that everyone loves me so much, I feel that what I'm doing is worth it. Alright, if there's nothing else, everyone can go back first, "Li Huailin said with a wave of his hand.
"Lord, please don't be so polite. Everyone wants to do something for you. If there's anything, please tell us. If any village dares to disobey Lord's orders, I, Ge Qi, will be the first to not let them off," the old man at the front said.
"We will naturally listen to Lord's orders," the villagers behind him immediately said.
"Yes, yes." Li Huailin nodded, "If there's anything else, I'll look for you guys in the future. Now that there's nothing else, everyone can go back and rest."
"Yes, my lord." The old man at the front turned around and said, "Everyone, go back. The Duke is very busy. It's already very kind of him to take the time to learn from us. Everyone, don't give the Lord any more trouble."
The villagers nodded one after another, then lined up in an orderly manner and slowly left.
"Sigh, it's not easy to be a beloved Lord." Li Huailin sighed, then looked at the three people behind him who were still in a daze, and asked, "What are you doing? Let's go."
"That's it?" McCain came back to his senses and said.
"Yes, what else do you want?" Li Huailin asked.
"This … this …" Maccon realized that his brain wasn't enough to process the situation. He felt that something was wrong. Although he didn't want the villagers to riot and Li Huailin to be in danger, he still felt uncomfortable when the problem was solved just like that.
"You … you … what's wrong with your subjects?" Misty Rain said, "This doesn't make sense. Did you really collect 70% of the taxes, not 7%? "
"Yes, Oliveira, where's my money?" Li Huailin asked again.
"My Lord, I just wanted to talk to you about this matter. Our duchy's tax collection situation … is very, very optimistic. The taxes from all over the country have basically been collected … although I don't know what's going on," Oliveira said. "But now we are in big trouble."
"What trouble?" Li Huailin asked.
"A little … too much … so much that we can't even store it in the warehouse …" Oliveira said. "This year's total tax is estimated to be 6 million tons of grain, six times the previous year's … Now all the cities in the country have sent reports, and the warehouses are running low. There are also many places where grain is directly piled up in the open space. If it rains, it will be troublesome."
"Oliveira, what do I need grain for? I need money. Can we find a place to sell it?" Li Huailin asked.
"Yes, my Lord. In the past, there would be merchants coming here to collect grain at this time, but they haven't come this year. We are also waiting," Oliveira said. Oliveira said, "But my lord, how much food should we sell this year?"
"Sell all of it," Li Huailin said casually.
"But my Lord, we really have too much grain. If we sell all of it, not many people will be able to eat it. Moreover … if we sell all of it, the price will be very low …" Oliveira said.
"Don't listen to him." Misty Rain immediately came up and said. "Calculate the surplus grain that can't be stored in the warehouse and sell it first."
"Yes, my lady." Oliveira immediately said. This was the more correct method. Since the lady seemed to understand, Oliveira immediately replied.
"Yanyu, what do we need grain for? Aren't we short of money?" Li Huailin asked.
"Besides grain taxes, there should be gold coins too, right?" Misty Rain rolled her eyes at Li Huailin and asked Oliveira.
"Yes, we received about 310,000 gold coins …" Oliveira immediately replied.
"Eh? Why is there so much money? "Li Huailin asked curiously.
"The Empire implements a method of paying taxes by replacing grain with gold coins. Moreover, if you use gold coins instead of grain, you can pay 10% less," Misty Rain said.
"Yes, my Lord. However, ordinary farmers don't have so many gold coins. These gold coins are handed over by some big landlords," Oliveira said.
"Who cares where they come from. Anyway, they have money, right?" Li Huailin said with a smile. "See, I did a good job. I got 310,000 gold coins in one go. Now, I won't have to worry about money for the rest of my life."
"I … I'm so mad at you that I'm going to faint." Misty Rain said. "Although I don't know how you dealt with those villagers, the biggest problem is not over yet."
"Eh? What problem? "Li Huailin asked curiously.
"Does that mean your subjects don't have any money?" Misty Rain said. "You took 70% of the tax, leaving them with 30%. Just eating is already a problem, right?"
"Yes, that's true." Li Huailin nodded.
"Do you think they have spare money to buy other things when they don't even have food to eat?" Misty Rain asked again.
"Hmm … I don't think so," Li Huailin said.
"In other words, the spending power of your territory has been reduced to zero. Will there still be merchants coming to places with no spending power?" Misty Rain asked again.
"Uh …"
"In other words, you've forced your territory back to a farming society. When they have no food to eat and go hunting in the mountains, you've forced them back to a primitive society. You're even more powerful than an atomic bomb, okay? The kind that specializes in blowing up your own people, "Misty Rain said with a hand to her forehead.
"Uh … Now that you mention it … It does seem to be a problem," Li Huailin said with a nod.
"It's more than a problem. It's a big problem, okay? What do you think you should do with your territory in the future? "Misty Rain said.
"Uh … What should I do? Send the food back? That won't work … "If he sent the food back, he would be taking away the people's loyalty. He hadn't even recruited a private army yet.
"It has already been collected. How are we going to send it back? It will be even more chaotic," Misty Rain said. "Find another way to send the money back."
"What way?" Li Huailin asked.
"Do you know how the United States dealt with the Great Depression?" Misty Rain asked.
Li Huailin didn't say anything and shook his head.
"I … … Would you die if you read more books? Right now, the villagers don't have anything to do during the winter and summer. Hire them to work and give them wages." Misty Rain said. "Build up the infrastructure, understand?"
"Snap." Li Huailin snapped his fingers and immediately said, "Understood. It just so happens that I want to build a temple to the goddess of immorality here. Since we are going to make it big, we will build one in every city."
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