It was a deep night, dotted with stars. Martin dragged his slightly tired body back to the hotel. He walked straight to the window, put his hands on the windowsill, and looked down at the endless stream of people coming and going on the street below.
The flickering lights on the street lengthened and shortened people's figures, interweaving into a bustling but anxious city scene for Martin.
"Expanding Luoqiu Town and maintaining the daily expenses of the Knights, everything requires money." Martin murmured in a low voice, his brows tightly knitted into the shape of a "chuan" character.
After a moment of contemplation, his eyes gradually became firm, and he had already made a plan in his mind: "I must first establish my own caravan, starting with the most basic trade operations, and then gradually expand the scale and strength step by step."
Then, a fierce look flashed across his eyes. "After this, we must establish a monopoly. In Luoqiu Town, no other caravan can succeed in a single transaction without my approval!"
Martin knew very well that accumulating wealth was the key to realizing his grand blueprint. Only with sufficient funds could those subsequent larger plans be put into practice.
"Well, don't be in a hurry. Let's look at the tax situation tomorrow and then plan the next step." Martin sighed, ended his thoughts, turned and walked into the bathroom.
The next day, the morning light was just beginning to break, and the soft light shone through the window into Martin's room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Joad waiting outside.
Yoder was thin, wearing a washed-out robe, his hair neatly tied back, and a respectful expression on his face. Seeing Martin come out, Yoder bowed slightly and greeted him softly.
After Martin finished washing up and having breakfast, Yoder carefully took out the tax form from his pocket and handed it to Martin respectfully with both hands. Martin took the form and quickly scanned the numbers on it.
In an instant, the expression on his face changed from the calmness of waking up in the morning to one of disbelief and astonishment. "How could it be so low?" Martin's voice unconsciously rose, full of shock and confusion, and then he looked directly at Yoder with a sharp gaze.
Seeing this, Yoder hurried forward, bowed slightly, and explained eagerly, "Sir, Luoqiu Town's tax revenue mainly comes from three aspects. The first is transaction tax, the second is resident tax, and the third is tax on businesses such as shops and auction houses.
However, currently, most caravans that come here to trade do so privately, making it difficult for us to collect taxes. Consequently, the majority of the first portion of transaction taxes and the third portion of merchant taxes are lost.
"Currently, in our tax structure, only the slave trade is open and transparent, and it accounts for a significant portion of our tax revenue. To prevent those from cheating and evading taxes during the trade, I have specially arranged for tax officials to be stationed at the slave market."
"I reported this to the Earl faithfully, and he told me to go back and wait for further information. But there has been no further news, and the tax revenue has remained at this level ever since." After Joad finished speaking, he bowed slightly and waited quietly for instructions. Martin listened calmly and waved his hand for him to leave.
Returning to his room, Martin sat at the carved desk and pulled out the shimmering communication crystal from his pocket. He muttered a spell, and a faint blue light shone on the crystal's surface. Soon, he typed a message: "Good morning, father.
I just asked Yoder about the tax situation, and the results were shockingly low. He said these issues had already been reported to you, but they were never resolved. Now that Luoqiu Town is my territory, I really want to understand why these problems were not addressed before.
After the message was sent, Martin leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, patiently waiting for a reply.
Not long after, the communication crystal flickered, and the Earl's message arrived: "Martin, the situation here is far more complicated than you imagine. Most of the caravans are backed by aristocratic forces, and some are even owned by marquises. The benefits contained in the Luoqiu Mountains are enormous.
Initially, I tried to take control of all transactions in Luoqiu Town, but then I received stern warnings from several marquises.
Later, Marquis Roderick personally spoke with me, and I learned about the many interests involved. "Martin, this is the situation. Now that you're a local lord, it's up to you to weigh the pros and cons and manage the situation. But rest assured, the White family will always be your strongest backing."
After learning about the complex and complicated stakes behind this, Martin fell into a long period of contemplation. He paced back and forth in the room, his brow furrowed, thoughts racing through his mind like a revolving lantern. After a long moment, he stopped, took a deep breath, and seemed to have made up his mind.
Martin ordered the guards outside to fetch Betan, who arrived shortly afterwards. He was a sturdy figure, his expression both competent and respectful. He immediately knelt on one knee, awaiting his orders. Martin looked at him and said, "Betan, set out immediately to find a secluded valley, remote enough for training and study."
After you find them, go and buy 500 wildling slaves and 500 orcs, and place them in the valley to await my next instructions."
As he spoke, Martin pulled out a shimmering space ring from his bosom and handed it to Betan. "Inside it are 2,500 gold coins and a communication crystal. Five hundred of them and the communication crystal are for you. You've been working so hard and dedicatedly during this period."
Upon hearing this, Betan's eyes flashed with surprise. He quickly took the ring with both hands and said excitedly: "Master, it is my great honor to work for you. I am full of endless energy!" Martin nodded, and then asked him to get started on the matter.
After Betan left, Martin rubbed his aching brow and murmured softly, "These nobles are really troublesome. We can't touch them for the time being. It seems that we can only train the loyalty of those savages first, and then find a chance to deal with those guys." After that, a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
Over the next few days, Martin slowly familiarized himself with town affairs at the town hall. After careful consideration and preparation, the castle's location was finally chosen, and construction was about to begin.
In order to ensure the quality of the project, Martin specially arranged for Yoder and his five trusted guards to supervise the entire process to prevent anyone from cutting corners during the construction process.
In his spare time, Martin would occasionally go hunting in the outskirts of the Luoqiu Mountains to enjoy a moment of peace and relaxation; sometimes he would stroll to the auction house, looking with interest to see if there were any rare treasures that would pique his interest.
On this day, Martin planned to go to the auction house as usual. Just as he stepped out of the door, the communication crystal he was carrying suddenly lit up.
He quickly pulled out the crystal and opened it. It was a message from Betan, stating that everything he'd instructed had been completed. Martin acted decisively, summoning Del Luna and the other guards, and set off for the valley.
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