Children of the Holy Emperor Chapter 417

417. Seongjin Lee’s Exploration Journal (6)

Horsepower tax.

The origin of this historic tax dates back to the 5th era of prosperity.

Even after the founding of the Holy Empire Delcross, there was no other country on the continent with a strong centralized system. In other words, it was a time when the power of local lords was sky-high.

At that time, the lord was truly an omnipotent being next to the god. To them, the concept of ‘social contract’ was nothing more than the nonsense of philosophers who had no idea about the world.

Everything in the territory belongs to the lord, and all power is also in the lord’s hands. Therefore, checking what they had and imposing ingenious taxes on it was a natural routine, like a businessman writing ledgers and counting money.

Lords devised various ways to raise taxes to increase their wealth. Typical examples were fishing tax, hunting tax, reservoir tax, and river inflow tax. If you want to hunt and farm on your land, isn’t it natural to pay a reasonable fee?

Also, some lords came up with the groundbreaking idea of ​​imposing more taxes on those who had more. So they started imposing taxes on things that were considered ‘luxury’ goods.

These include the ‘stove tax’ in the North, which levies taxes by counting the number of stoves, and the ‘window tax’ in the South, which levies taxes based on the number of windows.

However, even to such lords, merchants were very ambiguous beings. Not only are they not Young Ji-min, but the items they sell are also not theirs. Therefore, there was no clear justification or standard for imposing taxes.

-Anyway, shouldn’t they collect the amount of money they profit from my land?

So, at first, the lords collected a ‘carriage tax’ that set a tax per carriage. The idea was that it wouldn’t be fair for someone who sells a lot of things to walk a lot.

However, soon after the trend of levying the carriage tax spread throughout the continent, merchants blinded by profit began doing scandalous things. Aren’t they starting to build bigger and bigger wagons to try to reduce reasonable taxes?

-Such terrible things… … .

So, the next thing that started to be implemented was the ‘wagon weight tax’. The principle was simple. The question is, shouldn’t taxes be levied based on the amount of goods loaded?

The problem is that the measurements were not uniform for each territory, and pulling out each item and measuring its weight was quite a daunting task.

-Master! There is a ridiculous shortage of collectors!

-The goods were damaged while being weighed, so the merchants demanded compensation in front of the castle gate-!

Then, the lords calculated the floor area of ​​the carriage and began levying a ‘carriage area tax.’ Although it was inconvenient for the collectors to have to carry a tape measure around with them, it goes without saying that the work became much easier compared to the hard work of measuring weight.

However, as soon as the ‘wagon area tax’ was properly established, merchants once again caused problems. Those idiots who don’t know what to do have now created a deformed carriage with high pavement and reduced floor space as much as possible.

Tax revenues show no signs of increasing, and carriages with unstable turning radius frequently cause rollover accidents.

At this point, the lords also threw up their hands and feet. Consistency is a thing, so I just decided to walk the way I wanted to.

-The cart is too high. This time, you have to pay a ‘weight tax’.

-yes? But Mr. Collector. Didn’t the ‘area tax’ apply until recently?

-What kind of complaining about being full? Don’t you know that the neighboring territory charges both a carriage tax and a weight tax? I am grateful to our lord for his deep generosity toward merchants.

For hundreds of years, taxes were levied heavily, or even double or triple. One person who expressed strong disapproval of this complex tax system was Granius, who was traveling across the entire continent and writing [Exploration of the Miraculous Continent].

He used to travel mainly along the merchant fleet that moved from territory to territory, but he was repeatedly caught by this tax and eventually exploded.

-You idiots! Regardless of whether the load is large or heavy, or the number of carriages increases, isn’t everything that pulls it a horse anyway? Then it’s easy to just pay taxes according to the number of horses you need!

-Well, such a simple method… … ?!

Thus, the tax that gradually began to be unified during the reign of the five great emperors was the ‘horsepower tax.’

Because it can accurately reflect not only the load capacity but also the amount of vegetation consumed by the horses on the estate, it received great attention from the feudal lords at the time and has continued to this day.

And now, there was someone who reminded us of the original purpose of the historic magic tax. It was the Marquis of Berseus d’Arciano, who was demanding that he spit out as much money as he earned.

-Your business will definitely generate profits that are more than twice that of the existing business. So, of course, pay the magic tax twice as well. If you don’t listen to this, there will be no more dialogue with the North.

Also, here was someone who fundamentally questioned the deep-rooted justification for the magic tax. It was Prince Mores who maintained the attitude of ‘I cannot give even a penny to a man who covets my money.’

“The problem in the first place was that I was trying to pay the ridiculous horsepower tax. “If you try to use trickery to make it easier, problems like this end up happening.”

In response to Mores’ grumbling, Branch Manager Schmidt as well as Owen and Masain, who were listening to their conversation, exchanged puzzled glances.

Why is paying the magic tax properly a trick?

“After all, work must proceed as expected.”

“… If you do it, it will deteriorate. “What does that mean?”

When the branch leader asked the question carefully, one corner of Mores’ mouth rose playfully.

“It means that we will no longer be fooled by those who abandon God for personal gain. How dare you impose taxes on the servant of the Lord, who carries out the Lord’s work in the Lord’s land?”

“… … .”

“So, even though it may be a bit cumbersome, I will strictly consider their mistakes and guide them to the proper path of faith. “That is the norm.”

Schmidt was momentarily speechless and gaped.

Well, from the Orthodox Church’s point of view, that may be the correct opinion. That could be possible… … .

“But you. A nobleman’s fiefdom is his land that he manages. Whether it is a toll tax or a horse power tax, it is natural to pay a price appropriate for that right… … .”

“If you do it, you’ll be the branch manager. “What about the bandits who settle down in the unclaimed mountains and manage the roads?”

“… yes? “A bandit, huh?”

“okay. “If they say they will properly manage the passageway and charge money for it, will you willingly pay them?”

… No, isn’t that really far-fetched?

At that moment, everyone in the office thought so, but Mores’ attitude was nothing short of confident.

“Take note, Director Schmidt. After the fall of Ortona, the lords who rule there are no longer subject to official diplomacy by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From the empire’s perspective, this means that they are not much different from bandits who simply took over unclaimed land and people at will. “No credit, no trust.”

“that-”

“The same goes for horsepower tax. The reason we gave up the money was not because they had the right to do so. “It is simply to avoid trampling on the land, which has suffered for a long time due to civil war, by force again.”

widely.

After speaking up to that point, Mores closed the folder and looked arrogantly down at the branch manager.

“So, please politely convey our position to the Marquis d’Arciano again. Never forget that everything, even a handful of dirt and a blade of grass on that land, belongs to the Lord. “Tell the people of the Lord who come and go there to stop stealing.”

It was not a comment that could be made politely at all. Isn’t this just asking for a fight?

“Do you understand? From now on, there will no longer be a ‘horsepower tax’ on our top’s expenses.”

“… … .”

“Why is your face like that? Be happy, branch manager. “Hasn’t the budget for the northern reconstruction project been reduced dramatically?”

I can’t stop you.

In the end, dejected, Branch Manager Schmidt lowered his head. I have no doubt that the large-scale business plan covering the entire northern region will now come to naught.

“I understand, sir. Then, I will send the answer to the five lords as soon as possible.”

But when Mores heard those words, he suddenly tilted his head and responded.

“huh? Why are you sending it to all five? “We just have to fight one guy.”

“… yes?”

“The only thing I was talking about was Dashiano, right? “One example is enough.”

For a moment, a cold silence fell in the office.

example.

Even the clueless Owen could not have known what Prince Mores’ remark implied.

“Don’t worry, Director Schmidt. Because I won’t make a big deal out of it. “I’m only going to hit one guy.”

As the words were added as if nothing had happened, Owen suddenly felt a chill.

* * *

From then on, Mores’ work went smoothly.

After quickly discussing the past inspection as well as future plans, he asked Branch Manager Schmidt for a new residence where he could secure a private space. Somehow, it seemed like he was going to postpone his business trip and stay in Regina for a while.

‘What else are you going to do here?’

Such questions rose up to his throat, but Schmidt could not bring himself to ask the prince openly.

Mores stood up and finally asked Owen the question he had been waiting for.

“Okay, Owen. “Have you read the plan?”

“Yes? “Yes, of course.”

Owen, who caught a glimpse of Masaine, added:

“I thought the copper mine looked good? So, I’m thinking about investing some money here… … .”

“Hmm, okay. “It’s good there too.”

Mores answered obediently, but judging by the way he furrowed his brows, it seemed like he didn’t really like the answer.

“But instead of that, why don’t you just invest in the grain business? “There are no results yet, but now that the horsepower tax is completely gone, the sales profit is expected to return as profit.”

‘No, if you were going to decide anyway, why did you ask me to read it?’

Of course, I really had no intention of questioning it like that.

Susssseu.

Owen quietly signed his name. For some reason, I felt a sense of crisis that it would be better for Mores’ personal situation not to stretch himself at the moment.

‘Something is different from usual. ‘Mores, this bastard, is somehow unusually scary.’

It was late afternoon and the whole schedule was finally over. As he left the office for the last time, Mores looked back at the branch manager.

“Ah, but Branch Manager Schmidt?”

“Yes, sir?”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to take this plate with me.”

“… … .”

How safe would you be to say no?

* * *

When Mores announced that he would stay in Regina for a few more days, the reactions of the group varied greatly.

“That’s great!” Even so, I wasn’t able to get a proper look around because Claudia was dragging the restaurant here and there. “I thought I was just going to explode and die.”

“Don’t be so weak, Sir Kurt. There are still a lot of places left to visit, right? “But aren’t you going with me?”

In response to Sir Claudia’s innocent question, Mores gently pulled the hem of Owen’s clothes in front of her.

“You can go with Owen, Sir Claudia. Is this guy also new to Regina? “Please guide her well.”

“… … .”

Is it because of my mood? At that moment, Owen had a strong feeling that Mores was somehow trying to separate him from her.

“Good. “In order to properly gather the information you requested, I was thinking that I would need to spend a few more days meeting the exorcists at the church.”

When Sir Robert responded that way, the party’s approximate schedule seemed to have been decided. I guess it’s Lord Calmen, but he just blinks next to me and seems to have no thoughts.

“good. Then, I will be going to Branch Manager Schmidt’s villa for a few days from today. “I have a lot to talk about business with him.”

It is a decision that cannot be understood by common sense, to separate most of the escort personnel and go somewhere else.

Owen certainly wasn’t the only one who found this strange.

“Then then. “Can’t we just follow your side?”

That was when Sir Claudia asked that question.

For a moment, Owen witnessed the sight of Masaine and Director Bruno exchanging meaningful glances.

‘… what?’

It was such a fleeting moment that Masaine, not Mores, answered the question without even having time to wonder.

“I will be by your side, so don’t worry about it. “You just need some private time, so you can relax here for the time being.”

Owen felt strange here too.

This guy isn’t the type of person to do this. He released the resident knights from their duties and said he would take care of Mores’ security on his own?

“By the way, sir. I have something to report to you. Something has been strange for a while. There was a constant banging noise coming from our carriage… … .”

“okay? Then it would be best for you to stay at the lodgings, Edith. Don’t bother following me, just keep an eye on the carriage as you go. okay?”

“no… … ?”

In that way, Mores separated from his group and left the lodgings with Lord Masaine.

‘Oh, I care! I guess that guy Mores is doing something strange!’

That night. Owen couldn’t sleep easily because he felt uneasy. But suddenly, a small text window popped up in front of his eyes.

[Surprising quest? History is made at night! new!]

fantasy,