The mason was indifferent. In fact, he was the one who showed the least respect to Li Ke.
"I'm just curious. Are the taxes that support orcs really high?"
Li Ke was very curious about this.
Jon's family's tax is a very benevolent 40%, plus supporting the orcs, it's 50%, right?
This should be normal in this era, right?
After all, more than ten years have passed since the orc war disaster, and Thrall will soon be able to appear on the battlefield as a combat force. The farmers should be able to recover after all.
And if Li Ke remembers correctly, his teammates once complained that when the orcs fled the Eastern Kingdom, they only gathered five or six ships of people, and then they overthrew Orgrimmar. In a few years, the population was
Geometric growth.
However, I have also complained about Maul or something who raised Thrall as a human. After having Thrall as an assistant, he directly pushed the entire Azeroth flat, but in fact it is impossible at all.
So how many orcs are there?
Li Ke did not have very detailed data, because the old lord died before he had time to tell Jennifer, and the soldiers and officers at the orc shelter had no relationship with Li Ke, so it was even more impossible to know.
The only thing Li Ke knew was that there were a hundred retired soldiers in the orc camp.
etc……
Even if one soldier guards ten orcs, that is a thousand orcs who are completely out of work and dependent on humans for support. The maintenance cost of fully armed soldiers is very high.
And it's not just the orc shelter nearby. Walking a few dozen kilometers from here, there is another orc shelter...
Li Ke did some calculations on the data and immediately understood why this was the case.
There are at least twenty orc shelters near Lordaeron!
In other words, as far as Li Ke knew, there were two thousand completely off-duty, fully armed soldiers serving this system!
And every orc shelter is a fortress, which means that food, supplies, and all kinds of supporting things for the fortress must be gathered together!
In fact, it is not about a hundred soldiers and a few officers at all, but at least two hundred and three hundred people for each fortress!
Just like Jennifer's current Knight Guard, although there are only ten knights, there are more than a hundred cavalry and more than 300 soldiers.
And how many people serve this combat team?
One thousand five hundred people.
It's just that they are scattered among various towns and villages, so it is not obvious.
And the orc shelter, a fortress that also functions as a prison...
They must be living together.
Although the metal products in this world are indeed cheaper and more plentiful, this is the real Middle Ages!
Li Ke didn't even do any calculations on this amount of money, but he knew that it was an astronomical amount of money that was terrifying to death. It would not be a problem to feed a group of mages, let alone support a single mage!
"Damn it...is Tenaris crazy?"
No, that’s not right, he is the power of the nobles in a weak place! He is preparing for the centralization of power for his son!
Li Ke understood instantly. They all knew how powerful the orcs were, and if they could turn this power into their own, and have one with
Assisted by elite troops with more than ten years of service, and ruled by his son Arthas...
Lordaeron is really about to unify the entire human world.
Arthas, the only prince of Lordaeron, his masters are Uther and Muradin, his wife is Jaina, the princess of Kul Tiras, and the direct disciple of the actual leader of Dalaran.
His childhood playmate was Varian, the king of Stormwind City who is now waiting for something to happen.
The support of the four human empires, the support of the dwarf empire. And not surprisingly, Quel'Thalas, which was blocked by Lordaeron with Stratholme, would also support Arthas on the surface.
Magic, weapons, diplomacy, numbers, strength, logistics, absolute centralization, everything is so perfect. As long as Arthas doesn't lose his mind, then he will be the absolute master of the entire Eastern Kingdom!
Of the remaining three human kingdoms, Alterac was expelled, and Stromgarde was reduced to nothing in the Orc War—the main battlefields and major battles were basically in Stromgarde.
So before the mason said it, Li Ke probably already knew that it would be an outrageous number.
"It is said that the lord will contribute one share, and then the people below will contribute another share. But you know, although the old lord is very generous, but..."
The mason shrugged.
"Theoretically, it's a 60% tax. It's really not that heavy. However, now that it's on us, it's about 70% tax, and 80% for livestock. And for merchants, it's about 70%. After all, those people also have to support their families.
Isn’t it?”
He spoke with such frivolous undertones that it sounded like he was being sarcastic.
Why the hell haven't there been riots yet?
A question mark appeared in Li Ke's mind, but then he threw the question aside.
With his current fighting power, even if he doesn't use holy light and evil energy, puts on armor, holds a long sword and a mace, and brings ten soldiers also wearing armor, he can chase down five hundred civilians holding swords.
This is the power of armor!
If used, he could kill a whole town of people by himself, but he would most likely be injured and his evil energy would be exposed.
But Li Ke has nothing to do about taxes. Everything in the territory requires money. Jennifer must ensure the loyalty of her army, the wages of her officials, the servants in the mansion, and her and Li Ke's daily expenses.
.
Li Ke finally understood why the old lord wanted to smuggle elf slaves.
It is true that smuggling elven slaves not only allows him to live a good life, but also reduces the pressure on some of the people in the territory!
"Damn...this fucking world."
Li Ke couldn't remember how many times he cursed this sentence in his heart. At this moment, the carpenter came back with a book wrapped in clothes in his arms.
Li Ke took it over. He didn't feel any evil fluctuations, and the material of the book was also very simple, made of straw paper and needlework.
The vocabulary above is also very small, so small that even Li Ke can read it easily.
Li Ke looked through it briefly and then took it into his arms.
Because the more I look at it, the more I feel annoyed with the world.
He looked at the woman who was obviously the leader.
"Do many people believe this? Do some people really think that becoming the undead is a good thing?"
He asked, and even though he knew he wouldn't get a specific number, the other person's answer gave him a rough idea.
Sure enough, the woman, or Mrs. Teka, just smiled.
"All people who have suffered want to be free from pain, don't they?"
She felt that she had a hold on Li Ke.
And Li Ke...
He looked at Anantia who was hiding aside.
Anantia smiled and wrapped a trace of pink mist in her hand. The next moment, Ms. Teka, who was in a daze, said the specific number.
"Thirteen villages have already believed in the Curse Sect, and now about 400 households have become undead."
