Volume 5: If you are poor, you should be alone Chapter 141 If you don’t pay taxes, everything will be fine!
Valentine, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Kronin, is the largest of the three ice-free ports in the north of the Southern Continent. It has a permanent population of nearly one million and an inestimable floating population.
Since it is the largest northern port in the southern continent, the scale of the dock is naturally extremely shocking. When Xiao Yun, who was standing on the deck, saw the coastline rising on the other side of the horizon, the first thing that caught his eye was the endless ships of all sizes.
"It's worthy of being a natural deep-water port. This port is bigger than Yangshan Wharf, right?" After being shocked, Xiao Yun sighed... The Elf Port can barely accommodate dozens of ships. The coast of this place is concave and surrounds a wide deep-water area. The docks can be built on both sides, and it is easy to handle thousands of large and small ships.
"Mr. Ayun, over there is the Lamia Caravan's dedicated dock." An official from the Adventurer's Association's Transportation Department pointed toward the west with envy.
"So many ships, such big ships?!" Xiao Yun looked in the direction the person was pointing, and was shocked at the time - it's not that he had never seen bigger ships, but the shipbuilding technology tree in this world has never been explored; the main ship of the Carlisle fleet has a tonnage of only more than 500 tons and a displacement of about 2,000 tons, and the main ship of the Transport is only half of its size; although it is a large steel ship, the shipbuilding technology content is not much better than that of Zheng He's voyage to the West.
Compared with the main ship of Carlisle, who can be regarded as the little overlord of the inland sea, the ship of the Lamia Merchant Corps can be called a behemoth - to the naked eye, it is the difference between Yao Ming and Pan Changjiang!
"That's the fleet heading to the Far East and Bradrick," said an official from the Ministry of Transportation, not without jealousy. "On Bloomfield, only Kronin can build such a large ship, and he refuses to sell it to other countries. Our ships cannot cross the ocean, and trade with Bradrick can only rely on airships, and sometimes we have to rent shipping capacity from Lamia."
Xiao Yun nodded to show his understanding. The Inland Sea and Near Sea Adventurer's Associations could still make some money, but the Far Sea Association could only watch others eat meat. No wonder the Transportation Department had no status in the Adventurer's Association... ahem.
As the strongest and most dynamic civilian organization, the Adventurer's Guild also has its own dock in Valentine. However, compared to the Lamia Caravan's private dock we just saw, this place seems very small... and it is next to the public dock. It is completely different from the Lamia Caravan's dock that occupies a large area.
The Snow Wolf Tribe rented 60% of the transport capacity of the five ships of the Transport Department. The main ship and two small boats transported a total of more than 600 tons of goods. The Transport Department was also kind enough to allow the Snow Wolf Tribe to borrow their warehouse for free. With the joint efforts of all the tribesmen and the hard work of the adventurers, it took two days to move the goods down, load them into the warehouse, register them, and get the warehouse keys from the Transport Department. The next thing to do is to sell these goods.
This batch of goods mainly consisted of low-end products such as vermicelli noodles, wool yarn, vinegar, and sealed canned food. The Adventurer's Association didn't have enough manpower to make money from the low-end market, otherwise Xiao Yun would have just sold them to them...
"Mr. Ayun, do you need help contacting some local businessmen?"
In the two-story self-built building lent by the Ministry of Transport to the Snow Wolf Tribe for temporary residence, Margaret, an official who was already very familiar with Xiao Yun, came over eagerly to inquire after finishing the handover of materials within the association.
"Thank you, Ms. Margaret. Mr. Sean has gone to help us find a buyer." Xiao Yun was eating wheat cakes toasted on the coal stove in the room. After asking the person to sit down, he skillfully broke the crispy wheat cake in the middle, stuffed a spoonful of spicy rabbit cubes with the bones in it and handed it to the other person.
Margaret is a human female in her fifties. Her long life on the road has made her look weathered and a little old, but she is very energetic and has an easy-going personality.
"It will be much easier if Mr. Sean comes forward. The City Hall will give us some preferential treatment." Margaret said with a smile.
Xiao Yun also smiled...without explanation. He was unwilling to pay the taxes to the dark elves, so it was impossible for him to pay the taxes to the Valentine City Hall.
There were two clan leaders and two human adventurer leaders in the room. The two clan leaders were concentrating on eating buns with diced rabbit. The two human leaders exchanged knowing glances and silently lowered their eyes.
They have never seen anyone succeed in tax evasion in Valentine, but if it is Ayun from the Snow Wolf Clan... it is hard to say.
Margaret ate a meal of cakes and took away a two-pound can of cold rabbit when she left. After sending the official from the Ministry of Transportation away, Xiao Yun turned to look at the two group leaders, put away his smile, and said seriously: "Let's talk about the underground forces in Valentine."
As long as he stopped laughing, Isaac and Hannah's tense spirits would relax a lot, and they would immediately talk to each other and tell him what they knew.
About half an hour later.
"It seems that there are many people in Valentine..." Xiao Yun stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes. "The Lower City Guild, the Thieves Brotherhood, and Red Carmen. If you want to recruit people locally, you can't go around these three local tyrants. What if you give up recruiting in the city and go directly to the surrounding towns and villages?"
"Uh..." Isaac hesitated.
"It's okay, go ahead." Xiao Yun said.
"Valentine is a 'free' city. As long as outsiders abide by certain rules in this city, they can avoid a lot of trouble. But if they leave the city... Mr. Ayun, I think we'd better not do this." Isaac said tactfully.
"What do you mean?" Xiao Yun asked curiously, "Don't worry, there are only a few of us here."
Isaac hesitated, then smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Ayun, the southern continent is not a grassland. If you don't mind the risks in the wild, you can travel anywhere... Especially in the Kingdom of Kronin, every inch of land here has an owner. According to the rules of the nobles, those who enter their territory... 'ownerless slaves', all belong to them."
"..." Xiao Yun understood what was said and the corners of his mouth began to twitch, "Wait, what do you mean...?"
"Kronin's laws state that if a foreigner enters a noble's territory and the owner is not around, the noble can decide for himself where the foreigner belongs." Isaac's smile deepened.
The Grassroots Chief hadn't understood yet, but Chief Li, who had understood, was stunned.
"How can there be such a ridiculous rule? They are going to arrest foreign adventurers who pass through the territories of these nobles?" Xiao Yun's eggs shattered to the ground.
"Hire alien adventurers and adventurers with their own teams are not included in this list." Isaac wiped his sweat, "They just need to pay double the toll of human adventurers."
"...I now understand why, despite having such an amazing natural deep-water port, the economy of this place still can't improve." Xiao Yun stared with dead eyes. How could this place develop and progress when it is so xenophobic? The benefits brought by this port cannot benefit the general public at all, let alone radiate to the surrounding areas of Fukuzawa.
Hannah interjected with a sympathetic tone, "I am also from Kroning. Today's regulations are the result of the efforts of this generation of the royal family. My grandfather said that when he was young, he didn't even allow local adventurers to leave, and they could only move around locally."
This was not difficult for Xiao Yun to understand. The most common lazy governance problem of the feudal regime was reflected in this behavior. If it was difficult to manage the floating population, then just prohibit population mobility. Anyway, no matter how poor and backward a people were, they could not be as poor as the small group at the top of the pyramid. So of course, they could do whatever was convenient for them.
When Sean left, he specifically told the Snow Wolf tribe not to send Valentine, which shows that the human kingdom of Kronin is closed and xenophobic. "So we can only recruit workers in the urban area..." Xiao Yun frowned. To be honest, his recruitment focus is on rural areas. It's not that the old hands in the urban area can't be used, but it takes more time to train them.
But if I insist on going to the countryside, I will probably have to waste more time quarreling with local nobles... It seems not worth it!
"Forget it, let's just recruit from the city. Anyway, we only need a few hundred people, so it doesn't matter if we bleed a little." After slapping his thigh and making the decision, Xiao Yun thought that the wool came from the sheep, and he could make money back and that would be it...
Valentine in this season is not as lively as in winter. The adventurers who come here to spend the winter every year are now either fighting in the Far East Continent, or struggling in the Western Continent or the underground world. The number of people on the streets has decreased by at least one third.
In the upper city district, where the city's wealthy families live, the city lord's mansion seems unremarkable among the many luxurious mansions.
"Look who's here...Oh, Sean, you're a rare guest, old friend. What brings you here, Valentine?" The city lord, who was over sixty years old but still energetic, laughed and walked quickly into the living room, opening his arms to the guests.
"Didn't I come here two years ago, Philip?" Sean stood up and hugged City Lord Philip with a smile, "This is... Laura? It's been a short time since we last met, and she has grown into a big girl."
Laura, the granddaughter of City Lord Philip, smiled and lifted her skirt to salute, then rushed over and hugged Sean's waist: "Sean, when will you accept me as your disciple?"
"Of course, it's time for our little Lola to stop jumping up and hugging young men." Sean smiled and touched the little girl's head.
"Lola, be more ladylike." Philip said half reproachfully, half lovingly.
After a few pleasantries, Phillip asked the butler to take Laura out, and when the door of the living room was closed, the old city lord no longer concealed his emotions, and said with concern: "Sean, have you decided to 'come back'?"
Sean restrained his smile and shook his head slowly: "You know me, Philip, I never change my decision."
Philip sighed in disappointment: "Sean, he really needs you--"
"For the sake of our friendship of more than 30 years, please don't mention anyone who might make both of us unhappy, okay?" Sean said calmly.
Philip nodded regretfully and changed the subject: "How long do you plan to stay in Valentine this time? If you don't mind, please stay. We should also cherish the time and reminisce about the past."
Sean was silent for a moment, then said softly, "You have always been the most dazzling young talent I know, Philip. It was the same thirty years ago and it is still the same thirty years later."
Philip couldn't help but smile: "You are not the kind of person who would praise others like this, Sean, don't say that you say such things because you sympathize with my aging."
Sean shook his head and said, "No, I'm serious, Philip. Thirty years ago, Valentine was just a small city without any characteristics. It was you who made this city the second largest city in Kroning. You built the free trade docks and ports. You shouldered the pressure and made Valentine the only free city in Kroning. Such achievements are beyond my reach, even if I can live longer than you."
Philip showed a proud smile from the bottom of his heart, and even his wrist was a little out of control - how many people in the whole Bloomfield could make Sean, the "End of Illusion", speak so highly of a person?
"Do you know Carlisle Xavier's disciple, Ferdinand?" Sean suddenly changed the subject.
"Oh, no one has been more famous than Prince Carlisle in the past year. For this prince, the Noble Parliament and the military issued three tax increase orders to Valentine within half a year. Just looking at those harsh words, if I were not the Lord of Valentine, I would have thought that 70% of Valentine's income went into my pocket." Philip was angry when he heard this. He made an exaggerated gesture and said in a sarcastic tone, "It is said that the military needs to recruit food and fodder for 100,000 troops within this year. It's ridiculous. Is Kroning the only one in the entire federation that sent troops? Or is our Kroning so generous that he will cover all the expenses of the entire federation?"
Sean seemed to see the young Viscount Philip again, and couldn't help laughing: "Valentin's finances are not controlled by you alone, so you can just push it to the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, or can you not help but quarrel with the Noble Council again?"
"Anyway, I have always been considered by the parliament to have no aristocratic manners. Now that I am at this age, what does it matter if I am ridiculed again?" Philip snorted.
"Carlisle Harvey Ferdinand, who was unknown three years ago, has now caused a stir in Cronin's parliament and the military. Philip, what do you think of this disciple of the sage Xavier?" Sean brought the subject back to the topic with a smile.
Philip thought for a moment before saying, "I've heard about the series of measures he took in St. Bridges. If the Ferdinand family can become stronger... I think his future is limitless."
"Yes, the stage of St. Bridge is too small, and there is no room for this prince to display his talents." Sean nodded and said, "But what if this prince can unite the six southern countries?"
"In that case, I will have no choice but to resign from my position as Mayor of Valentine. I cannot afford to be blackmailed by the parliament and the military. Those guys will never let go of such a good opportunity to make a fortune." Philip snorted again, "Why are you talking about this specifically, Sean? The Federation will not give that kid from the Ferdinand family a chance to develop, not to mention that he is just a prince. He doesn't have the time."
"It only took Carlisle three years to overthrow his elder brother, win over nearly half of the nobles in the country, and gain the support of the people." Sean said calmly, "If he can smoothly transition from prince to king within this year, then perhaps when the federal army is still on the way, other southern countries will have already negotiated an agreement with this prince."
"How is this possible? I remember that the King of St. Bridget is two years younger than me. Could it be that this prince is extremely... bold...?" Philip asked suspiciously.
Sean shook his head slowly. "After Xavier, this prince found another teacher. This teacher guided Carlisle from being an unknown second prince to where he is today in three years, and... taught him how to smoothly take over the throne without killing his father."
Philip rose to his feet, speechless with amazement.
Sean smiled bitterly: "Like you, I thought Carlisle's achievements came from Xavier's teachings before I knew it... But think about it carefully, Xavier has accepted so many royal disciples, who can be as sharp as Carlisle?"
Philip sat back slowly… Although Sean expressed it very tactfully, he also understood what his old friend meant. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "It seems that I should go back to my hometown to retire… I can't wait until others get impatient with me sitting in this position before I know what's going on."
Sean came here to remind Philip of this. Philip, who was tough in character, had always been at odds with the noble council. If the two sides really had a falling out, Philip would not be able to step down smoothly. Seeing that he could think it through without his persuasion, Sean was relieved and said, "Even so, you still can't rest. Your family's original fiefdom has been occupied, right? You have to make some plans for future generations. Laura can't get married without a dowry."
"Of course I know, Sean, but my son is really useless - I was too negligent in educating him back then." Philip sighed deeply and looked several years older in an instant.
Sean smiled and advised, "If your son is compared with you, he must be stupid in your eyes, but if he is compared with other noble children, he is much more decent. Besides, you have made Valentine into a big piece of fat meat, and everyone is jealous of it. The neighboring Bolton territory is poor. If you use the transfer of Valentine as a bargaining chip to ask for Bolton territory, the noble parliament will not refuse."
"Bolton Territory?" Philip was puzzled. Sean was also from Cronin, so he should know how bad the Bolton Territory was - the only city was shabby, and several towns were so poor that even the local nobles couldn't afford to make a few decent sets of clothes in a year.
Sean smiled mysteriously, this was the real purpose of his visit... Philip, who was determined to be the king's pioneer and was disliked by the parliament, had not accumulated much wealth, so he had to make some plans for his friends.
Sean, who is always unkind to outsiders, harsh in words and even a bit sarcastic, is actually a very sentimental person... If he hadn't wanted to help his old friend, he wouldn't have been able to swallow his pride and admit his respect (kneeling) and admiration (licking) for Xiao Yun so quickly.
Xiao Yun's attitude towards Sean's little trick was very clear: as long as you don't pay taxes, everything will be fine!
When Sean was selling Amway to City Lord Philip... a group of adventurers and snow wolves were pulling a human-powered flatbed cart towards the downtown area.
The Valentine city area is about five or six kilometers away from the port. Because the road surface (compared to the road construction in the tribe) is very bad, Xiao Yun asked the three cubs who were not idle to become pack animals. Before entering the lower city area, they attracted a lot of attention...
"Oh my god, such a big wolf?"
"Oh my god, is this a monster?!"
The residents of Valentine could not be said to be ignorant, but most of them probably saw a living snow wolf for the first time in their lives. The citizens who passed by on the dirt road entering and leaving the city were all frightened and shrank to the side of the road. When others walked away, they could not help but stretch their necks to look...
"Mr. Ayun, this is really shocking..." Isaac wiped the sweat off his forehead, trotted a few steps to catch up with Xiao Yun, and advised him tactfully.
"It's okay. It's the Free City. Whatever." Xiao Yun said indifferently, "We are not the only orcs who can transform. There's nothing to be surprised about."
Isaac: “Uh…” People can transform but they can’t parade in such an exaggerated way!
The three cubs didn't feel like they were being treated as different at all. They walked around with their tongues out and looked around curiously.
Lizi: "There are so many people, Sal, Sal, look, there are so many people as weak as you!"
Sal in the crowd: "..."
Several adventurers who followed: "..."
"Sal, isn't your hometown here? Are your relatives there?" Moore asked excitedly.
"Speak, Sal!" Sunshine couldn't wait and licked Sal all over his head with its tongue.
Sal was startled and quickly dodged to the side, saying with a smile: "My hometown is not here, and I don't have any relatives here."
"Are your relatives as weak as you?" Yangguang asked.
Sal: “…”
The few adventurers who followed him silently moved a little further away from Thrall... If they were envious and jealous of this guy at the beginning because he didn't have to train, now they felt quite sympathetic towards him.
The closer they got to the lower city, the more people stood there, either dumbfounded or looking around, on both sides of the dirt road (Xiao Yun would never admit that this road, which was ten times worse than a rural road, was a proper road); a horse-drawn carriage coming out of the city came towards them leisurely, and after the driver saw three huge snow wolves clearly, he drove the carriage to the field beside the road...
"Too careless!" Xiao Yun frowned and looked at the overturned carriage, then nodded to the grassroots chief.
The grassroots chief, who was very helpful, immediately left the team and jumped off the roadbed. He stretched out his arms, exhaled, and shouted "Huh!", turning over the double-compartment carriage weighing at least a thousand pounds and putting it right side up, and at the same time helped up the two struggling horses. He then carried back the driver who was dizzy from the fall and placed him steadily next to the carriage, then clapped his hands and returned to the team.
Passers-by on both sides of the road: "..."
The adventurers in the team: "..."
By the time the driver came to his senses and said thank you, the Snow Wolves had already gone far away...
At the city gate.
A whole team of more than ten soldiers defending the city ran out, waiting for the Snow Wolf team, which was empty everywhere, to approach as if they were facing a great enemy.
"How much is the entrance fee?" Xiao Yun turned to look at Isaac.
"People don't have to pay tax, but goods do. One silver coin per cart." Isaac was numb and spoke in a very formal manner.
"This chicken is really expensive..." Xiao Yun took out the money with an unhappy look on his face.
Seeing his action, the soldiers defending the city who almost drew their weapons breathed a sigh of relief... Those who were willing to pay money were serious business people who came to the city, and they didn't have to bite the bullet and feed the wolves.
"Wait!" Xiao Yun stopped taking out the money.
The soldiers defending the city, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, became nervous again, and several new recruits couldn't help but sneakily hide behind the veterans.
"The goods are paid by the truck, but the things people carry on their bodies don't have to be paid for, right?" Xiao Yun looked intently at the soldier at the city gate whose armor looked the most expensive.
"...No need." The city gate officer said sternly.
"We are the Snow Wolf Tribe. Those three cubs carrying the goods are from our tribe. According to your rules, they don't have to pay for the goods, right?" Xiao Yun half turned sideways and pointed at the three cubs in the middle of the team.
City gate officer: “…”
The soldiers guarding the city: “…”
