Chapter 723 New Year (Part 1)
"Come on, take a rest and have a drink." Romon took out a bottle of wine himself, and the glass bottle shone with bright rose-like red under the sunlight.
"Thank you, sir, is this new wine from our territory?" Nick said.
"Ah, it's not bad, that's it, how does it taste?" Romon asked.
"... Not bad, it seems not as good as Lucis Manor."
"The wines in Sis Manor are first-class, with a history of five hundred years, and of course they are not as good as that, and there is no regret." Romon raised his eyebrows and said, "How much do you think you have reached?"
"If the brand keeps up, it will be more than enough at the Earl level and at the general banquet." Nick thought for a while and replied cautiously.
"That's fine, let's use it for yourself first. Starting from the New Year's banquet, we don't produce much now, and high-quality wines are not completed in one day."
The sunlight penetrated through the glass window, dyeing everything inside with warm colors.
The two sat on the sofa, which was covered with thick cashmere, tasted the wine, leaning against the fireplace on the wall, and the chopped wood was piled up by the fireplace. The fire inside the fireplace was very hot, making the house warm.
Biogas can cook water and vegetables, but it cannot replace the fireplace. However, Romon is not a perfectionist.
After a while of rest, I had some snacks, and after using it, I continued to work.
"The loan is 60,000 gold coins. The branch of the Pilgrimage Chamber of Commerce is said to be willing to borrow all the money, and the interest rate is 10% per year, which is not conducive to the rolling profit. The term is five years. There is also the Sennangen Chamber of Commerce, which is an old chamber of commerce in our county. It is said to have contact with Count Camplin and is willing to propose loans. There are other chambers of commerce who are willing to provide loans with a certain limit."
"Well, then I will give 30,000 to the Pilgrimage Chamber, and the other 30,000 will be shared by the local Chamber of Commerce." Romon raised his eyebrows and said, "It's only two years."
"By the way, how much is our income this year? Have we made it out?"
"There are 60,000 gold coins, by the way, sir, why do we still need to borrow money? We took out all the treasury, and it happened to be this number!" Nick said in confusion.
"For the territory I control generally, the income is about 10,000 gold coins. Now we have port taxes, territorial trade taxes, trade income, and special product income. This number is the sum of it."
"This is already a huge income. Although I am not afraid, why should I make a fortune? I will borrow some money and strengthen the connections between some chambers of commerce, and there will be no loss." Romon said casually.
"That's right, but you're expensive, the road is almost completed, you have built a port, and this year you have built a mage tower. I heard that you want to build biogas again, and you have to rebuild the army and strengthen investment. After a year, you have consumed more than 60,000 yuan. If it weren't for some savings last year, you would have overdrawn."
"There are nothing below except some greening and craftsman projects. The caravan was going to expand, but now there are ships, so there is no consumption below." Romon waved his hand and said, "From next year, there will be basically no consumption in our territory."
"Yes, a good day is coming, by the way, how many gifts are you going to give to His Majesty the King in the New Year?"
"I am now a viscount, what is the shield tax?"
"Three hundred gold coins."
Under the feudal system, the nobles did not need to pay so-called taxes to the king.
The obligation of the nobles is that, first, they must be loyal to the king. Secondly, all hereditary nobles, depending on the territory area, must send knights and soldiers to the king to perform military service fifty days a year. If they cannot come, they must pay shield tax to offset it. Each generation of the transfer of titles must pay hereditary fee to the king. Each level has a fixed number, which is equivalent to the annual income of ordinary territory.
But in reality, aristocrats do not need to pay taxes to the king except for shield tax.
"Send three hundred gold coins, plus two horses, and hundreds of jars of olive oil."
"This is already a very generous contribution, and your Majesty will be very happy."
According to the customs and laws of this world, although the king is the largest of the lords, he must rely on his own income to maintain his life, that is, he has no right to tax the nobles.
Nick knew that last year, the king of the Kingdom of Esk, in seven counties across the country, received 25 horses, 76 boars, 60 swans, 1,700 partridges, 500 hares, 700 rabbits, 4,200 poultry, 200 pheasants, and 16,000 eggs.
This is what the nobles contributed to the king, except for the shield tax.
Therefore, I said that I made a great contribution.
Any king who relies on national taxes to live is no longer a feudal society, or according to the division of the earth, has turned to a capital society.
"Send thirty jars of olive oil and one hundred gold coins to His Highness the Prince." Romon said irresistible.
"By the way, how do you deal with the tariffs?"
On the mainland, the new tax of the king is tariffs. After all, the authority of each lord is limited to the territory. With the development of society, the acceleration of the process of agricultural commodification, the scope of commodity flow increases.
This is the greatest source of wealth for the king to intervene.
On Earth, in the second half of the 15th century, the tariffs in Britain could earn 30,000 pounds a year. It is equivalent to this world, which is 300,000 gold coins. There are also signs of this world.
Romon frowned and said, "How are the other nobles now?"
"We are all negotiating with His Majesty. Now the preliminary agreement is to unify national tariffs through His Majesty's lead. Specifically, the king will draw certain taxes."
This is a sign of the development of the commercial economy. With a foreseeable future, the power of the royal family will rise.
According to the earth, economic power determines the power of the ***.
"However, the nobles demand that they unite and review and control the king's right." Seeing that Romon was considering, Nick said again: "No arbitrary additions shall be made without the approval of the nobles' meeting."
Isn't this the so-called origin of the Lords on Earth?
However, Romon thought about it and felt it didn't matter. Anyway, without oil and coal, this society would basically stay in the 18th century equivalent to the Earth.
After all, there is actually no shortage of energy in this world, but gods who master various energy will not give mortals uncontrollably energy to use. It is foreseeable that the future will be popularized in the future.
Thinking of this, Romon suddenly looked a little strange.
God is equal to energy merchandiser?
"Sir?" Seeing that Romon didn't speak for a long time, Nick couldn't help but urge him to ask.
"Well, if Your Majesty agrees to convene a parliament, I will join the king's tariffs. It is also our show of kindness to the royal family. We can allow the royal family to send a small team of tax officials to Yuanfan Port, and they are not allowed to enter or interfere in other territories."
"Yes, sir!"
"Also, you must prepare the New Year's rewards. How much was last year?" Romon asked.
"Last year, after converting everyone's gifts, the Lord's Mansion spent 600 gold coins."
"This year only has one thousand gold coins and will become customized in the future."
In the New Year, kings and nobles hold banquets, and this is also the time for vassals to offer gifts to their lords, such as robes, necklaces, etc. Some lords are often insatiable and forcefully blackmail a large number of valuable gifts, which arouses the dissatisfaction of the knights.
At the same time, the king and nobles held a banquet to entertain their subordinates, and the generous lords would give them gifts, including luxurious dresses, shiny armor, jewelry, and cloaks, which made their subordinates grateful.
Not only that, the servants who work for the master go home on holiday, and the lord gives them bounties, food, clothes, wine, and firewood to ensure that they have a happy New Year. The few servants who cannot go home due to work can get an extra one white bread, a plate of dishes, and a gallon of ale every day.
The lords would hand over bread, hens, homemade ale, chopping wood, and plates to the lords, which were often raw materials for banquets. They could also receive the reward of abundant food and take away the leftover food when they left.
In short, if a stingy lord often becomes a lord who takes advantage of the New Year to collect gifts and deduct the fees for the banquet to make profits. A generous lord will increase the rewards at this time, making his subordinates grateful.
There is no doubt that Romon belongs to the generous lord.
"Sir, this is so generous, I'm afraid I can't eat these things. Well, shouldn't you take the opportunity to invite the newly relocated gentleman?"
After those destitute nobles moved to the city, Romon gave the title of entourage one by one, but did not give them fiefs. These people were called "Mr.", called "gentlemen", and belonged to decent people.
Even if these nobles are in ruins, they still have some special bloodlines and family knowledge. As long as they work and study hard, a large number of talents will be produced in these families in the future.
This is the reserve of cities and territoriality, and it is natural that Romon attaches importance to it.
"Okay, just invite those gentlemen." Romon said with a smile.
"Aristocrats from far and near, since you become a great druid, may also send people to come, or even come in person."
"Then we welcome you warmly. I believe that their gifts are much more expensive than my banquet." Romon said: "Of course, those who come in person will give corresponding generous gifts."
Nick couldn't help but smile when he heard this.
"By the way, how is the village between you and Fafeer?" Romon said.
Nick and Fafell each have a village as their fief.
"It's okay, the village has a good harvest and the villa has been decorated. In addition, the annuity you give is very generous, but they don't like to live in the countryside. They all like to live in the city. Thank you for giving us a house. Every day, it's just about communicating. Fortunately, I can still afford their consumption." Now, more and more nobles are moving to the city.
The aristocrats who can build cities will have greater and greater influence.
Romon waved his hand and said, "Nick, you are my friend. These are the ones that should be satisfied. If you have any financial problems, just tell me."
Chapter completed!