At night, in the palace of the main human city, Blessed City, the new king, Anthony, looked at the report that had just been sent to him. To be honest, Anthony really had a headache. Although he knew that his brother would cause trouble, he didn't expect it to be to this extent. On the first day he took office, Anthony received a report from his intelligence department. Because his brother Huailin had no one to use, he directly pulled a large group of people from the second army to work for him.
When Anthony saw the report, the first thing that came to his mind wasn't how illegal this method was, but how to get this thing passed. If this report was made known to the ministers, they would definitely bombard Li Huailin. They might even say things like how to rebel and so on. In the past few days, Anthony had learned how good these ministers were at talking. In order to attack their political enemies, they could make a big deal out of anything.
Thinking about it, he was also responsible. Li Huailin had taken over the area of Filmus, and all his subordinates had been killed. Anthony didn't think about the manpower problem, so he didn't send any civil servants over. But then again, Li Huailin really did things. Everyone knew how to ask for something from him …
However, since it had already happened, Anthony waved his hand and kept the information to himself. Since things had already come to this, he would let the people from the second army do it. After all, the second army belonged to Li Huailin.
He thought that there would be no more problems after this matter was dealt with, but a few days later, something happened in Lancaster again. This time, it was even more exaggerated. Even Anthony was shocked when he saw it.
“70%？” When Anthony received the report, it was almost time for the tax collection to end. Seeing the 70% tax rate, Anthony took a deep breath. How dare they collect 70% tax? Aren't they afraid of the commoners rebelling?
"What should I do now …" Sitting in his office, Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose. This time, he really couldn't hide it anymore. Because according to the intelligence, many ministers already knew about this situation, and they were ready to bombard Li Huailin at the court meeting the next day. As for how the minister found out, it was mainly because some of the lesser lords in Lancaster had reported Li Huailin. They didn't expect that the tax would be collected, but the result was beyond their imagination. Almost all the villagers happily paid the tax. As a result, the warehouse was filled with food and gold coins were collected one box after another. However, this had nothing to do with them. Seeing this, many people were jealous. They told the ministers they knew in Blessed City about this.
"Your Highness, it's already very late. Aren't you going to rest?" Just as he was feeling vexed, the door opened and Empress Marina slowly walked in.
Anthony's eyes lit up when he saw Marina. The more he got along with her recently, the more he felt that Marina was indeed a natural queen. She got along well with him and was very capable. No matter what he asked her, she could answer him. Now that he was having a headache, he could discuss it with Marina.
"70% tax rate? Are you kidding me? " Hearing Anthony's words, Marina was shocked too. 70% tax rate was really not a joke.
"My brother really doesn't know how to joke," Anthony said with a bitter smile. "What do we do now?"
"If we don't handle it well, the north will be in chaos," Marina said immediately.
"Don't worry about that. I don't know why, but according to the intelligence, the local people have paid the tax …" Anthony said.
"Huh? How did he do it? "Marina was surprised. This new duke was courting death, but nothing happened to him?
"I don't know. Anyway, Huailin always has his ways. He hasn't made any mistakes so far. I believe he has his reasons. The problem is that the ministers will definitely make things difficult for him tomorrow morning … What should we do?" Anthony said.
"Your Highness, do you mean to protect the Duke of Aquitaine this time?" Marina asked.
"Of course, he's my only brother," Anthony said immediately.
Marina thought for a moment and said, "Logically speaking, since Lancaster has already been conferred to the Duke of Aquitaine, it doesn't matter how much tax he collects in his territory. Since all the residents have paid their taxes, as long as there's no civil unrest, the empire won't be able to find a direct reason to punish him. As long as Your Highness holds onto this point, there shouldn't be a problem."
"What if there's a civil unrest?" Anthony asked.
"Then it'll be troublesome. If the lord can't govern the land given to him, the king has the right to take back the map. If there's a civil unrest, the ministers will definitely ask His Highness to take back Lancaster," Marina said.
"It seems like the key is still on Huailin's side," Anthony said. "If that's the case, we'll use this reason to delay it tomorrow. We'll think of a solution when there's a civil unrest."
"Duke Aquitaine is really … 70% tax. What's he going to do with it all of a sudden …" Marina grumbled.
"That's right …" Anthony said. "No matter what, 70% is a little too much. Huailin is really too much. He always does things that we don't understand."
"I always feel that the Duke of Aquitaine is too good at stirring up trouble. Even if he manages to get away with this, who knows what other big things will happen in the future," Marina said worriedly.
"It can't be helped. He wouldn't be Huailin if he didn't stir up trouble …" Anthony smiled bitterly. "Forget it, Marina. Let's go rest."
"Okay." Marina didn't say anything else and just nodded.
Soon, it was time for the morning court session the next day. It was the founding phase of the nation, and there were many things to do. Hence, there was basically one court session a day. It wasn't even eight in the morning when Anthony was ready to start dealing with official business. He heard that the ministers came very early today, and it was obvious what they were here for.
"Is there anything, everyone?" Anthony asked as he looked at the ministers.
"Your Highness! Yesterday, we received a report that the new lord of Lancaster, the Duke of Aquitaine, actually imposed a 70% tax on his territory. This is too scary, "a minister said immediately.
"So it's about this." Anthony nodded and said, "Oh, I heard about this too. But I heard that the local residents didn't object to it."
"Your Highness!" Prime Minister Mach suddenly stepped forward. "This is a very serious matter. If we don't handle it well, it will shake the foundation of the nation. Our new empire has just been founded, and it's time to rein in the hearts of the people. But the Duke of Aquitaine's actions suddenly put us on the opposite side of the people."
"Yeah, Your Highness, this is not a joke," another minister said as he stepped forward.
Sure enough, it was just as he had expected. Seeing that Prime Minister Mach had come out, the ministers all stood up and said to Anthony.
"Then what do you guys think we should do?" Anthony asked with a sigh.
"What else can we do? The Duke of Aquitaine actually did something like this. We have to reward him!" Mach immediately said.
"I also think that what Huailin did this time is a little … Wait … What did you say?" Anthony was still following Mach's words when he suddenly felt that something was wrong. What's with the reward?
"I said we have to reward him," Mach said.
"Reward? Are you sure? "Anthony asked curiously.
Mach took a step forward and said in a sonorous voice, "Your Royal Highness, the Duke of Aquitaine has collected a 70% tax rate. Doing something like this will affect the development of the Empire. If all the lords imitate the Duke of Aquitaine, then the newly established Empire will have a huge problem. Shouldn't you be rewarded for your actions?"
"Ahem … Are you sure?" Anthony choked on Mach's words.
"Your Highness, what's there to hesitate about? The Duke of Aquitaine must be rewarded for his actions. Although I know that he has a good relationship with Your Highness, I still hope that Your Highness will not be biased and reward him well." Mach raised his hand and bowed after he finished speaking.
"Yes, Your Highness!" the minister beside him said immediately.
"You agree to reward him too?" Anthony asked in surprise.
"Your Highness, that's a must," another minister beside Mach said. "The Duke of Aquitaine's actions have hindered the development of the new empire. It's a must to reward him."
"Phew …" Anthony exhaled heavily and held his forehead. "What the f * ck is going on …"
"Your Highness, we can't hesitate anymore." Seeing that Anthony was still hesitating, Mach stepped forward and said, "If we don't reward the Duke of Aquitaine, where will the people and the dignity of the empire go?"
"Wait … Let me think about what's going on first, okay? I still can't figure it out … "Anthony said while holding his forehead.
"Your Highness, please make a decision quickly!" Mach said while kneeling.
"Your Highness, please make a decision quickly!" the ministers beside him shouted while kneeling.
"What's going on? Why? " To be honest, Anthony originally wanted to protect Li Huailin. In fact, he had already planned to protect Li Huailin even if all the ministers criticized him. However, the current situation was too strange. Why were all the ministers on Li Huailin's side? It made him feel like he was the only one who was looking for trouble with Li Huailin.
"Huailin … What have you done this time …" Anthony laughed bitterly. Otherwise, it would save him a lot of trouble.
"If that's the case, then I'll listen to everyone's opinion. Reward …"
Just when Anthony was about to issue the decree, the commander of the first legion, Wilham, who had just been promoted to the rank of marshal, suddenly rushed in.
"Your Highness, something bad has happened," Wilham said in a hurry.
"What's the matter?" Anthony's heart skipped a beat when he saw Wilham come in. If Wilham came to find him for military matters, then it must be something big.
"The Duke of Aquitaine's Lancaster Duchy has declared war on our ally, the Elven Kingdom," Wilham said immediately.
"Huh?" Anthony was stunned.
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