[Thanks to Sam Cai, Hong Tao, Start Wen, Brother Xiang and other brothers for their tips and monthly tickets. Thank you!]
"Extortion?" A man with a croaky voice shouted, "What do you mean, boy? Are you insulting an imperial official, a tax officer of Satin City? "
Allen looked towards the direction of the voice and saw a man standing behind a group of Bucks Army soldiers. He was not tall and had a big nose. He wore a crooked official hat and a black uniform with yellow edges. There was a coat of arms on his chest. The pattern of the coat of arms was a scale. However, there was a slight difference from the symbol of Satin City. On the left side of the scale were a few scattered coins and on the right side was a key. This was the common symbol of the imperial tax officers.
Edward sneered, "Since you are a tax officer, you should know the regulations of the imperial tax law. No matter which city, the caravan tax is the same. Each person in the caravan can enter the city after paying ten silver coins. Tell me, Lord Tax Collector. Tell me, Master Tax Officer, when will the tax in Satin City increase by ten times? Otherwise, why do you charge us one gold coin per person? "
While Edward was questioning the other party, Sean briefly explained the situation to Allen. It turned out that when he was going through the formalities to enter the city, he suddenly heard that the tax had increased by ten times. The tax officer immediately ordered the soldiers to take Sean down. Fortunately, Edward intervened in time and did not let Sean be taken away. The other party saw that Edward's guards were wearing shiny armor and had a dignified aura. He immediately called a group of Bucks Army soldiers to confront them.
At this time, the tax officer shouted, "What do you know? The imperial tax law is only for ordinary cities. Satin is the capital of trade. It has independent autonomy and can adjust the tax according to the needs! "
"Of course I know this. But I also know that there is an additional rule in the imperial tax law regarding the special treatment of Satin City. That is, the amount of adjustment cannot be higher than 20%. Master Tax Officer, your tax has increased by ten times. Obviously, it is more than 20%, right? Or could it be that you were the one who made the decision to forcibly take the extra part? "
The tax officer was speechless. He didn't expect Edward to be so familiar with the Empire's tax laws. He even knew such a supplementary provision so clearly. The onlookers began to point fingers at him. The tax officer felt humiliated and shouted rudely, "They just beat up an imperial official. Soldiers, I want you to arrest that fatty!"
Sean said angrily, "I clearly didn't even touch a single hair on your head. How did I beat you up?"
The tax officer sneered, "If I say I'll beat him, then I'll beat him. Throw this lowlife into prison!" He then said to Edward, "You'd better not interfere, otherwise, you'll be accomplices! Aren't you familiar with the Empire's constitution? Then tell me, what's the punishment for assaulting an imperial official? "
Allen smiled and stretched out his hand to push aside the two guards. "I'll answer for him." Assaulting an imperial official would be considered a crime depending on the circumstances. The lightest punishment was three years in prison, and the heaviest punishment was to be sent to the Empire's mines and become a coolie. My lord, am I right? "
The tax officer narrowed his eyes. "It's good that you know." He raised his chest and came out from behind the soldiers. He pointed at Sean and screamed, "Then hurry up and arrest this fatty for me."
Allen walked up to him and pressed down on the tax officer's finger. He said with a smile, "But Lord Tax Officer, you said he beat you up. But I don't see the slightest trace on your body. This is very puzzling. Tell me, could it be your illusion? "
"Bullshit!" The tax officer jumped up and pointed at his chest. "That bastard punched me here, and it's still swollen. Of course you can't see it with my clothes in the way. Do you want me to take off my clothes to examine the wound? What a joke! "
"There's no need for that. You said he punched you. Look, isn't this the case? "Allen suddenly raised his hand and slapped the tax officer away. He didn't dare to use too much force, but the slap was extremely loud. The tax officer fell to the ground, and half of his face was swollen. Only then did Allen let out an "aiya" and shook his hand. "I was wrong. This was clearly a slap, not a punch. Why don't we do it again? "
The tax officer struggled to get up from the ground and shouted at Allen, "What are you waiting for? You beat up an Empire's official in public. Hurry up and arrest him."
The Bucks Army soldiers stepped forward at once. Allen let out a muffled grunt. The Bucks Army soldiers immediately swayed as if they were drunk. They felt their ears ringing and their heads spinning. For a moment, they couldn't tell north from south. Only then did Allen say, "Go get my medal."
Edward nodded and left. A moment later, he returned and handed Allen's Sir medal. Allen took it and pinned the medal to his chest. He picked up the tax officer as if he was grabbing a chick and said lightly, "Open your dog eyes and see what this is!"
The tax officer glanced at it subconsciously and suddenly trembled as if he had been electrocuted. He could no longer look away and could only say with a trembling voice, "Sir medal … Viscount? You are a viscount? "
Allen pushed him away and sneered. "You just said that beating up an Empire's official will be thrown into prison. Now tell me, what is the crime of openly extorting and blackmailing an Empire's Sir? "
The tax officer couldn't say a word for a long time. Behind him, Edward said indifferently, "All conspiracies against an Empire's Sir should be sentenced to death by hanging."
"Oh," Allen said and patted the tax officer's face. "Do you understand?"
The tax officer's face turned pale and his legs trembled. At this time, the sound of hooves came from the city. The crowd of onlookers was separated by another group of Bucks Army infantry. A few horses galloped over, led by an old man sitting on a tall horse. His hair and beard were all white, and his square face looked dignified and solemn. A scar slanted across his forehead, almost splitting his entire forehead into two. The old man wore black clothes on the inside and silver armor on the outside. The armor was decorated with complicated patterns, and on the chest was the pattern of the Bucks Army. He wore a dark green cloak and looked like a ball of green flame.
Allen looked over and heard a few exclamations from the crowd beside him. "Isn't that General Slin?"
He exchanged a look with Edward and thought to himself, The main character is finally here.
The old man on the horse didn't look sideways. He didn't even look at the trembling tax officer. His eyes fell on the medal on Allen's chest. He narrowed his eyes and dismounted from his horse. A smile appeared on his face, like sunlight breaking through the clouds. "I presume this is Sir Allen?"
Allen smiled and nodded, "That's strange. When did I become a celebrity in the empire? The general saw through my identity at a glance? "
This sentence was suspicious of beating around the bush, but it could be deduced from Slin\'s answer. The old man smiled faintly and said indifferently, "Whoever can take two moves from Old Horn is qualified to let me know his name. Besides, at this time, I\'m afraid Sir Allen is the only one in the Southern Territory who has Sir heading north, right? So, it\'s not hard to guess. "
"I see." Allen thought to himself that Slin\'s answer was flawless.
Then Slin glanced at the tax officer and said, "What\'s going on?"
The tax officer wanted to step forward and speak, but Slin casually pointed at a soldier of the Bucks Army and said, "You tell me."
The soldier didn\'t dare to hide anything and immediately told him the truth about what had just happened. After hearing this, Slin said directly, "Throw him into prison and let the people from the Tax Department explain to me themselves. When did our Satin City\'s tariff increase by ten times, and I didn\'t know anything about it?"
He didn\'t listen to the tax officer\'s explanation and directly asked someone to take the unlucky fellow away. Then he smiled and said to Allen, "If you trust me, leave this matter to me. I promise I\'ll give you a satisfactory answer before Sir leaves the city."
Allen naturally wouldn\'t make a fuss. Whether it was the tax officer\'s impromptu idea or someone behind him, he couldn\'t be bothered to pursue the matter any further. After all, he was just a small fry. Since Slin had taken care of this matter, he was happy to give him face. Seeing Allen nod in agreement, Slin raised his hand and a quick-witted young man ran over. Slin patted him on the shoulder and said, "This is my messenger, a smart and good lad. He\'ll take you to the best hotel in the city. Sir Allen is staying in Satin and he\'ll be at your disposal at any time. Where do you want to go and what do you want to know? There\'s nothing this kid doesn\'t know. Just ask him. "
The young man gave a proper military salute to Allen and said loudly, "Bucks Army private Ficken, at your disposal at any time, sir!"
Edward pulled Allen without batting an eyelid, secretly reminding him that this might be a spy planted by Slin. Allen naturally knew, but he didn\'t refuse and accepted it generously. Slin said, "It\'s rare for Sir Allen to come to Satin. Tonight, I\'ll make the decision and prepare a welcome dinner for Sir. As for the specific time and place, Ficken will tell you later. Will Sir Allen refuse? "
Allen laughed and said, "To be able to get close to General Slin and the city\'s celebrities is an opportunity I\'ve been longing for. How could I refuse?"
"That\'s good. I still have something to take care of, so I\'ll take my leave first." Slin reached out and shook Allen\'s hand. Then, he flew up on his horse and returned to the city.
Under Ficken\'s arrangements, the caravan quickly went through the procedures to enter the city and entered Satin not long after. Ficken brought the caravan to the hotel to stay, while Slin rode to the General\'s residence. He didn\'t urge his horse to gallop, so the caravan didn\'t move fast. At this moment, a middle-aged man rode forward. There was some hesitation in his grayish-blue eyes, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, "General, the tariff has nothing to do with Harry."
Slin said lightly, "I\'m still wondering when you\'ll stand up. If you\'re still not going to stand up when you\'re at the General\'s residence, then I\'ll execute your nephew. Now, tell me, Vette, why did you do this? "
"General, he\'s ruined our plans. Rega has already said everything when he came back, so I … "
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