Power and Empire Chapter 582: Queen Season (3)

582 Queen Season (3)

Duke Betha’s carriage was delayed at the city gate for a whole morning, only to pass through the crowded and blocked city gate with gold coins secretly given to the captain of the city guard,

The current world is like this. Duke Bess, who once served as the Minister of Finance of the Kingdom, knows very well that the current treasury of the Kingdom is already empty and can starve mice to death.

Most of the salaries of lower-level officials without the support of titles and territories had to be donated to the Kingdom Ministry of Finance in the name of loyalty to the king and support of the war to support the dwindling sources of finances and taxes. Now it is time for war and a large number of fled businessmen Not only did it take away the purchases of nobles in Kyoto, but it also took away the trade tax that used to account for nearly half of their income.

Looking at the somewhat flat face of the captain of the city guard dangling by the carriage, Duke Bessa calmly asked the captain of the city guard wearing a coarse linen

"How much income do you get in a day like this?"

The captain of the city guard is the only person here with a rosy face. Although he doesn't wear high-end cloth that can only be worn by nobles, his complacent look is simply better than Besa, a former kingdom minister. Even seem arrogant

"Why are you asking this for?" First, he carefully looked at Duke Bess's carriage, his eyebrows were frowned, and there was that kind of ordinary noble carriage without any family crest on it. The material was made from the southern man. Shenmue, the smooth lacquer is very clean. If you look for yourself, you can still see the traces of hanging marks.

Such carriages are not uncommon in Kulongze. Most of them are rundown aristocrats from the south. You know, in the past, the family emblems of these southern aristocrats were made of expensive gold or dazzling silver. The depressed family situation and the embarrassing life have already pawned them even the most basic show off, so the Kulongze people also habitually call them "the prodigal sons from the south"

At this moment, the guard who was in charge of receiving the money whispered in the ear of the captain of the city guard for a while, and the captain of the city guard immediately put on a flattering expression and gave him The big customer with a lot of money nodded and bowed, with a trace of showy in his expression

"Master, this is not as easy as it seems. Dozens of us, standing here in the wind and rain for a while, are also responsible for maintaining the order. It’s great to get a gold coin. On average It’s just a few gold coins. They are some poor ghosts in the south. Not everyone wants you to be so generous."

"An average of gold coins per day? It's not just a month to receive gold coins? That's too little, right?" Duke Besar's face was slightly surprised. Kuronze was a checkpoint city outside of Kyoto, in the previous peaceful era. , Kuronze once set a tariff of 80,000 gold coins in a month. Compared with the current gold coins, it is simply a sky and an underground

"Yes, but for such a small amount of money, we still have to hand in half to the lord, otherwise, everyone will be severely punished." The captain of the city guard also looked helpless, and he pointed to the crowd at the city gate. Refers to "You see these people, they are all from Kyoto, I heard that those masters in Kyoto are starting to figure out how to increase taxes, these people basically have no possibility of survival except for fleeing to the north."

"North? So many people are all going to the north?"

The Duke of Bess was stunned for a moment, remembering some rumors about the north, and asked in a low voice

"I heard that Kyoto has issued a strict order prohibiting any civilians from going north? Your lord just let go of them brazenly. Are you afraid that the Mamunuk knights stationed here will be held accountable?"

"Hehe, how do you say this!" The captain of the city guard showed a sneer at the corner of his mouth, looked around, then whispered.

"This master may not know yet, the captain of the Mamunuk knight stationed here is the son of the former lord Hutubein of the north. Of course, he has his eyes closed for such a thing. , Who would really take Kyoto’s order seriously? Not only we are releasing people here, but also the other passes.

The captain of the city guard paused, letting the two soldiers behind him leave, and then continued, "What's more, every time a person is released, the city of Vic in the north subsidizes us for a release fee of a gold coin, which can be beneficial. The good thing that can get a denying reward, who will really refuse it? As for Kyoto's order, only those self-righteous Kyoto masters will really treat it as a thing. If it is out of the Kyoto area, who will pay attention to him"

"A gold coin for a refugee? Isn't it impossible?" Duke Betha heard his eyes bulging, which is too terrifying. From the lord who expelled refugees, this is the first time I heard Money to buy refugees,

"So the Marquis of Victon in the northern city of Vic is a real hero. In this troubled world, most lords can't even take care of themselves, and only this kind adult is willing to be sincere. Hosting refugees"

The captain of the city guard said, "I heard that with him, not only can he share his own land, but he can also ship the food he planted directly to Shanghai at a price one-third higher than that of Kyoto. When I met the big 6 to sell, do you know why the food is scarce in Kyoto? That is because the nobles in Kyoto privately transported the food to the north to sell"

"This is really..."

The face of Duke Betha is extremely ugly. Of course he has heard of this kind of food trafficking to the north, and he also knows the exact names of these guys

"Approximately how many people can you put in a day? According to your method, not the entire population of Kyoto will disappear in a few years at most," the Marquis of Bessa asked suspiciously

"We will not put up to 2,000 people a day, we are not fools"

The captain of the city guard shook his head, and replied respectfully, "Although the above did not control much, but if the population loss is too severe, Lord Lord is not easy to explain to Kyoto, so we only open the door every three days. Only one-tenth of the time will be released, so even if Kyoto is investigated, at most these refugees are not out of the city, but wandering to other places. To be honest, even if we don’t have money, we will let it go privately. We can’t just let it go. Look at these people starving to death."

Oh, by the way, there is one more thing I forgot to say"

The captain of the city guard seemed to remember something, and made a gesture to a clerical officer in charge of registration at the gate of the city in the distance. Soon, this plainly dressed clerical clerk ran over with a pamphlet

"Master, this is a road map to the north for you"

The captain of the city guard took the pamphlet and handed it to Duke Betha from the carriage window, with a respectful expression, "With it, you can easily reach your destination"

"Northern Route Map?"

The Duke of Bess was stunned for a moment, and took a look at it curiously. This is a map made of rough leather. On the left side of the map, there are some explanatory texts, marked with a few thick lines. The route from Kuronze to Weikling, as well as the towns where food and lodging can be provided along the way, and even some places are marked with "scenic areas", it seems that they are not only sold to refugees,

This makes the old and respectful Duke of Bess feel a little bit dumbfounded. The producer is very intelligent. The rough and thick leather can be stored for a long time without being damaged due to rain and other reasons.

"How much is this?"

Duke Betha raised the map in his hand and asked,

He estimated that this kind of thing should be made by the local lord of Kurunze, specially used to sell to those nobles or some merchants who have not been to the north,

This made the former Chancellor of Finance feel a little curious. In his impression, the lord of Kuronze was a very regular person. He did not expect to have such a little wisdom.

If such a map can sell a gold coin, those nobles who can afford to buy the road will not be stingy with a gold coin in this area. This is undoubtedly an excellent source of money, which is appreciated and can reap benefits.

"All people who go to the north have this thing without money"

The captain of the city guard is extremely generous and said, "This has been paid for by Vic lead. As long as you hand over this map to the registration point in Vic City, they will also give you a gold coin reward. Of course, In the eyes of a generous master like you, a gold coin is insignificant, but for those refugees who have nothing, a gold coin can allow them to temporarily be resettled, besides buying some daily necessities, they can also live a stable life for more than 3 months. , This is enough for them to start a new life"

The Duke of Bess was silent for a while, just staring at the rough leather in his hand with piercing eyes. You don't need to ask him to know that this was the work of the Marquis of Victon Sey from Victor.

The carriage slowly passed through the crowded gates. As the refugees from outside the city dispersed, Duke Betha was finally able to set foot on the avenue leading to the north~IndoMTL.com~ He was playing with the rough northern map in his hand. The eyes are solemn,

Out of Kuronze, he can clearly feel the contrast between the relaxed and vibrant atmosphere in the north and the suppressed tension in Kyoto. The villages along the way no longer look so dilapidated or uninhabited,

A faint smoke came out from the grass roofs of the village in the distance, and the air smelled of wheatgrass.

The wheat seedling field has just been planted, and the large tracts are distributed on the ridges in the distance, spreading to the distance of the sky,

The road swiftly passed by, the wheels crushed the gravel on the road, there was a cheerful creaking sound,

A verdant cedar forest appeared in the distance, like a huge blanket of green shade, and the wind blew across these trees with a pleasant rushing sound,

A wooden sign on the side of the road attracted the attention of Duke Bessa. It was made of the most common white cedar in the north. The gray-white surface was covered with lumps, the circles of texture were clearly visible, and the cyan vines Coiled on a wooden pole,

On the front of the wooden sign, there are several Salander characters "Welcome to the North". ..