Chapter 10 Taxation and Statistics

As a modern man, Rand never thought about the humiliation of being taxed.

After confirming that Taner really wanted to be the village chief of this hideout, he told Taner a few key points and returned to hideout No. 1.

He was going to sort out the supplies and finances, as the hideout wasn't too small at this point and needed careful planning.

Moreover, due to the recent unstable situation, it has been difficult for the currency to maintain its purchasing power.

It seems that there is a lot of surplus wealth today, but in reality not much of it can be converted into daily necessities.

Additional taxes have also been levied on neighboring villages, and it is estimated that exchanging materials will become difficult.

Rand carefully recorded the numbers in the room.

According to pre-war prices, 1 pound of ordinary black bread was 4 copper coins, and an average person consumed 2 pounds a day, or 8 copper coins.

There are now 29 people in the den, including 15 believers, 12 bandits, Rand and Tanner.

There is one pack horse and one war horse, and no other livestock. The pack horse can eat grass, while the war horse needs fine fodder, but it doesn't cost money. Just pay attention when arranging for the believers to feed it.

There are 8 minotaurs, and their food consumption is three times that of a normal person. However, since they can eat leaves and grass, their bread consumption is reduced to twice that of a normal person.

In other words, the den consumes 360 coppers of food per day, which is 3.6 silvers.

The investment I got from Taner was 3 gold coins. Although there is still a gap until the wheat harvest, the gap is not big.

During this period, planting some economic crops with short growth cycles can fill the gap and even provide meat supply.

Now the coming of war has caused prices to rise to varying degrees, and some villages even no longer agree to trade, which has led to the need to re-plan food sources and development directions.

Just as Rand was calculating his property, the tax collector arrived.

He had no interest in collecting taxes from such a poor village in the mountains, but the lord's will must be implemented! No one could escape paying taxes to the sacred lord.

During this period, due to Rand's arrival, the hideout was connected with other villages, and many more traces were found.

Therefore, there was no need for much investigative skills. Under the guidance of a familiar local, the tax collector found the No. 2 hideout.

Of course, this is also because the traces here were deliberately enhanced to prevent the tax collectors from finding the No. 1 hideout.

This No. 2 hideout was built in such a remote location that it was not surprising when the tax collector found it. There would always be people who wanted to refuse to pay rent to the sacred lord, and such attempts to evade would be severely punished.

The tax collector rode his horse across the muddy land and scanned the area with his experienced eyes. This place was even poorer than he had imagined. If it was not necessary to implement the lord's will, then collecting taxes in such a place would be totally not worth it.

But what he is best at is squeezing money out of the villagers.

"I'm the baron's tax collector. Who's in charge of your village?" The tax collector looked at the villagers who looked healthy but half-naked. He didn't bother to explain which baron he represented. Anyway, these ignorant villagers in the mountains wouldn't understand.

Taner stepped forward, not wearing his fine full body armor at this time, but a looser, large robe that covered his muscular body.

This is also why Thrai and Seth thought that Taner was not suitable to play the role of the village chief of this poor village. He was too healthy. Such a strong man could be seen as a knight who was well-nourished all year round, not a poor villager.

Of course, as a paladin who likes to be fully prepared and act after planning, Taner also took some measures. For example, he stayed up late for two days, making his eye sockets sunken, his face tired, and very anxious. At least this way, there wouldn't be too many flaws on his face.

His body was covered by loose robes, and it was impossible to tell whether he was thin or strong.

The tax collector glanced at Taner, who was standing very straight, and felt that he had a big frame, but he didn't think much about it: "Pay the rent."

Taner bent down slightly and tried to put on a flattering expression: "Excuse me, how much do I need to hand over?"

"Although you evaded taxes before, the Baron has kindly said that he does not intend to pursue your past problems." The tax collector straightened his clothes, made an experienced estimate, and said, "50 silver coins, two chickens, 1,000 pounds of wheat, and 20 bolts of linen."

This price is almost all the possible property here. If all of it is taken away, and if this is really a village that just exists to avoid taxes, then these villagers will have lost their livelihood.

The tax collector obviously knew that the amount of rent was too high, but it didn't matter. As a tax collector of an occupying noble, he was certainly not here to collect taxes, but to plunder.

Of course, the plundering would involve taking the most out of the land, and he really enjoyed the villagers' desperate expressions and their humility as they knelt down to beg him.

Taner was silent for a moment, then touched the ground with one knee, then both knees. As the tax collector was sitting on a tall horse, Taner's expression could no longer be seen as he knelt down.

I think his face must be flushed and his expression must be gloomy at this moment. He has seen such expressions too many times.

Sure enough, he soon heard the village chief in a muffled voice asking him to reduce the rent or grant more time.

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He felt a surge of relief all over his body, then spat on Taner's neatly trimmed hair, leaving a stain.

"Don't be ungrateful. I've let you off the hook for your previous tax evasion. Pay the rent quickly." He wasn't worried at all that these villagers would attack and hurt others because they couldn't survive, because the Baron was standing behind him.

If these people, to put it nicely, villagers, or to put it bluntly, serfs, dared to resist, the baron's army would come and wipe them out.

Moreover, he was riding a big horse, so it was not easy for these people to hurt him.

He was fearless at this moment.

Taner was not angry at this time. Although he had never suffered such humiliation since he entered the church and began his training as a paladin, he did not feel any anger at this time.

He knew very well that a little humiliation could reduce the losses of the hideout, but in comparison he didn't feel anything, after all, he was not the only one representing himself at the moment.

He didn't move, but remained on his knees.

The tax collector sneered and said, "The Baron is not a heartless person. So, you can take the initiative to bring the things here, so that we don't have to work hard and give you some tax relief."

Taner finally stood up and moved his steps.

The so-called reduction was just a reduction of 10 silver coins and 300 pounds of wheat. Since there was no wheat in the village at that time, it was converted into some fruits and vegetables, which was discounted further.

When the tax collector left, the former bandit leader with sores on his face came over and wiped the phlegm off Taner's head with a sackcloth.

"Lord Taner." Seeing the bandit leader hesitant to speak, Taner knew what he was going to say and waved his hand to tell him not to say any more.

The important thing now is to go back to the No. 1 hideout and calculate the village property with the Lord of God. Although they have tried their best to act poor, they are still charged a considerable amount of rent, which has dealt a serious blow to the economy of the hideout, which was not very good to begin with.

(End of this chapter)