The town of Vichy is not far from the port of Poitou.
About twenty kilometers southwest along the coastline, there is a small town with no more than 200 households, backed by mountains.
The scenery here is beautiful, with verdant mountains to the north. Most of the houses in the town have beige paint on the exterior walls and red roofs. They are well-proportioned, unified and harmonious. To the south is the blue sea, with a group of seagulls playing on the golden beach.
Having just paid the inheritance tax of 20,000 gold louis, Sean, the new Viscount of the Connelly family, was riding on a horse and looking at the surrounding scenery curiously.
20,000 gold louis is a large amount of money. There are many rich people in the Holy City and Gyeonggi Province who can afford this money, but there are very few people who have the opportunity to pay this money.
Starting from the time of the founding emperor Carlos I, in order to finance the unification war, the imperial court publicly sold some positions. At first, it was just a temporary measure to improve finances.
Later, these positions were often equated to hereditary status. Although most of the people who held these positions did not undertake actual administrative affairs, they also transferred certain rights of the emperor and the court when they sold them, and these rights were often taken back for the purpose of
Re-selling, like cutting leeks, became a means for the court to make money openly.
Sean couldn't understand that this situation had lasted for more than 60 years, and it seemed that this system would continue to exist.
The inheritance of noble titles is relatively strict, because the nobles are staunch supporters of the royal family. They give up their traditional territorial rights and local administrative rights in order to maintain the central authority. At this time, the nobles naturally demand more privileges, and this kind of
Privileges directly manifest themselves in low or even no taxes, which in turn affects the court's income, because nobles often own huge amounts of real estate.
Therefore, on the one hand, the imperial court tightened the inheritance of noble titles and never abused them.
The existing nobles can either date back to a long time ago, and unless they openly rebel and are exterminated, the emperors of the past dynasties will generally recognize them. Even some nobles are beheaded, but their descendants will still inherit the title;
The newly conferred military nobles are definitely not something you can buy just because you have money.
On the other hand, the inheritance of a title has a clear price tag. Even if you are the biological eldest son, when you inherit, you must also pay a donation of varying amounts according to the title. Some poor nobles simply cannot afford to pay this money.
Had to borrow money.
So even though Sean felt heartache, he still happily paid the 20,000 gold louis. Even though the price was twice that of others, who said you were just a lucky adopted son? If it had been someone else, you would have had the money and wouldn’t have had the chance to give it away.
.
And Denzel Cleveland was also squinting at him.
Denzel Cleveland was the butler of the old Viscount Connery. He was an old man of medium height, with frosty white temples and a kind face. Although the clothes on his body were a bit old, he was well-dressed.
After the death of the old Viscount, he was in charge of the Viscount's few remaining properties, including the villa in Vichy, which was the last legacy of the old Viscount. If there were no heirs, these properties would be auctioned and confiscated according to the aristocratic inheritance law.
, and Cleveland will be kicked out.
"Is this far from the Robinson family's manor?" Sean turned around and asked.
The Cleveland butler was slightly surprised. He pointed to the ridge leading to the beach in front of him: "Over that ridge, you can see the manor of Earl Robinson's family."
"It looks like we can only walk." Sean asked, "Can I row a boat?"
"Of course, Lord Viscount." Cleveland replied, "The Robinson family's territory belongs to the town of Gill. It is separated from our town of Vichy by the mountain in front, but we usually don't have much intersection. The mountain road is rugged. If you want to go there, you have to go there.
It takes an hour to walk and half an hour to row around.”
"Who does that mountain belong to? Mine?" Sean asked.
"Sir, half of it originally belonged to the Connery family and half to the Robinson family. But..."
Sean suddenly understood: "The old Viscount lost money in gambling and sold it to Earl Robinson?"
"Yes, sir." Cleveland looked very regretful, "Although this mountain has no other products except wild animals and wood, it is a pity to lose it."
With that said, a master, a servant, and Jason, who had no sense of existence, entered Vichy Town.
The residents of the town had received the news early, and they stood in front of the doors and windows to look at the new nobles.
"They don't seem very friendly?" Sean laughed at himself.
"No, they just think you are a stranger." Cleveland replied, "The people here are actually very simple. After the old master passed away, they did not infringe on the family property."
"I dare say that at least part of the land owned by each of their families, not to mention all, originally belonged to the Connery family." Sean's words hit the nail on the head. "This may be the only good thing the old Viscount has done."
Sean's evaluation of the old Viscount was not what Cleveland expected.
The old Viscount's villa is called Rose Garden. It is located on a slightly higher ground in the west of the town. It is a three-story building with a terrace and more than twenty rooms. Behind it are warehouses, stables and a wall as high as two people. Surrounded by
They are all gardens. Although I didn't see a single rose, there was no shortage of various flowers and tall trees, and they were well taken care of.
There is plenty of sunshine, facing the sea, and you can hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.
"From today on, I want to be a happy person, facing the sea, with spring flowers blooming."
Sean liked this place from the first sight. This environment was exactly the sea view villa he had dreamed of in his previous life.
The members of the manor lined up at the door, but there were actually only two of them: Emma, the cook, and Labo, the groom and gardener.
In his later years, the old Viscount could not afford more people, so it was not easy for just these three people to make the rose garden look decent from the outside.
The appearance of the villa is acceptable, but the interior is very old and some furniture is no longer usable.
But it was kept very clean and tidy.
"Sir, you currently own this rose garden, ten hectares of land, the land earns 500 gold louis per year, and there is also a piece of mountain land, a carriage including two draft horses." Cleveland said, "But there are still some bills to pay.
You make the decision.”
"Tell me about it." Sean sat on the chair and crossed his legs on the desk. Cleveland frowned and continued:
"My lord once owed 3,000 gold louis due to a gambling loss. He used this rose garden to pay off the debt..."
"What?" Sean's jaw almost dropped in shock. He originally thought that the old Viscount would at least leave him a property, but he didn't expect that even the property was mortgaged.
"This rose garden is the ancestral property of the Connelly family. Its history can be traced back two hundred years ago. Although the house is a bit old, it was originally worth at least 5,000 gold louis. However, it is located in a remote place and cannot be sold at a high price. The old man will decide the price.
Louis mortgaged the rose garden to Viscount Lincoln for 3,000 gold, provided that the debt must be paid off before the end of January 1831, otherwise Viscount Lincoln would take back the rose garden."
Sean quickly took out his checkbook and wrote a few words:
"Hurry up and pay back the money. I like this house very much!"
"Yes!" Cleveland took the check and saw that it was a pay-on-demand check from a large bank headquartered in the Holy City but with a branch in Poitou. He felt reassured, "There are still a few accounts that require your decision urgently."
"Still owe money?" Sean asked.
"The old man is bedridden in his later years. He owes Dr. Nolan almost 100 gold louis just for his consultation fees and expensive medicines."
Sean happily wrote another check, only to hear the Cleveland housekeeper continue: "When the old man was buried, for the sake of minimum dignity, I asked the tailor in the town to buy a suit for him, and it cost 3 gold Louis. The old man
Before a person becomes seriously ill, he asks the Lake brothers to repair the house and furniture, and gets another 30 gold louis for labor and materials..."
"Okay!" Sean stopped Cleveland and almost roared, "Tell me how much money is still owed in total?"
"About 5,000 gold louis." Cleveland said, taking out a ledger. "It's all here. I guarantee there won't be a single shilling difference."
5,000 is by no means a small number, but it is still acceptable.
"Okay." Sean felt pain in his heart, and he wrote another check, "Pay off all the urgent debts, and don't pay for the non-urgent debts until I sort out the old Viscount's debts.
In addition, you tell the brother named Lake that if they want money, they can meet me in three days. I need to renovate this rose garden, and I will pay according to the price. If they are not willing to come, then tell them, old Viscount
They won’t get a cent of the money they owe.”
Although my heart aches, I still have to spend the money that needs to be spent and the debt that needs to be paid back.