The focus of the meeting finally looked at the issue of tax rolls and taxpayer wealth calculations.
No matter how extravagant and flaunting their wealth the rich usually are, when it comes to paying taxes, everyone starts crying about poverty. The ugliness of human nature was extremely prominent at this meeting.
The tax director's tax list is mainly registered based on real estate, especially land, because land is the easiest to calculate and cannot be hidden.
This makes rich people who own a lot of land very dissatisfied, because bankers and big businessmen not only own land, but also have other income, and the latter bring more income. The income of a loan shark is definitely much higher than that of a country noble.
.
If the tax is based on 1/20 of the output, the Robinson family alone will have to pay a tax of 150,000 gold louis a year. If other rich people are included, a rough calculation shows that the rich in Genoa will have to pay up to 5 million gold louis.
The taxes are enough to equip a division.
This 5 million only counts land. Landowners strongly questioned this list and demanded a clear investigation into the wealth status of the urban bourgeoisie.
However, the bourgeoisie claims that all their daily transactions require transaction taxes and market taxes, which have been levied by tax-paying companies. Although the nobility has no input other than land, they have the privilege of not paying land tax.
The output is all your own, so you should pay more.
This quarrel made Xia Keli feel very lucky. Fortunately, he took the initiative to donate 500,000 gold louis and stood on the moral upper hand, otherwise the war would have burned on the church's head.
Xia Keli felt that he was suffocating in the auditorium, so he sneaked out to take a breath.
When he came to the corridor, he saw that it was getting dark. Xia Keli looked at his pocket watch and found that it was eight o'clock in the evening before he knew it. No wonder he felt a little hungry.
Sean was standing in front of the hallway smoking a cigar.
"Sean, you'd better hide away." Xia Keli walked over. Sean turned back and smiled, shaking the cigar in his hand:
"Your Excellency, the future bishop, would you like one?"
"No, no, Sean, you are testing my integrity." Xia Keli scolded, but he didn't take it seriously. I am afraid that the words of the future bishop have reached his heart.
In his memory, Sean was a cowardly and inward-looking person who would not dare to speak to him in such a frivolous tone. He thought this was due to his change of status.
"It's a pity." Sean smiled, "You lost a lot of fun."
"Then I would rather not have such fun. When I was younger than you, I chose the path of serving God and serving the parishioners, and I broke away from these bad habits." Xia Keli said, "Of course, making and selling wine
Not included in this list."
In fact, the Church is one of the largest brewers, despite the doctrine prohibiting clergy from drinking alcohol.
"Then you need Kang's sterilization method. Unfortunately, the Patent Office in the Holy City refused me to apply for a patent." Sean joked.
"Haha!" Xia Keli also laughed, "This is your most serious loss, but it is good news for all brewers."
After chatting for a while, Xia Keli suddenly said: "Viscount Brandon is not a good candidate."
"I'm not very familiar with him." Sean told the truth.
"I always believe that professional things should be done by professionals. I would rather see you as the commander, rather than a nobleman obsessed with historical glory taking on important responsibilities." Seeing that Sean didn't respond, Xia Keli continued.
, "This is not the age of knights. Relying on spears, straight swords, and courage to charge and defeat the enemy, this is the age of guns. The bravest knight is no match for a pistol in the hands of a child."
"Inside just now, I heard Governor Byrne say that Viscount Brandon had served in the army in his early years and he has rich experience." Sean said in surprise.
"Of course this is true. I also served as an army chaplain, but do I dare to say that I can command combat?" Xia Keli sarcastically said, "I am just a nobleman who can only talk about military affairs on paper."
For Xakley to say this, he also hinted at the closeness between himself and Sean - if we count them from the old Viscount Connery, they are still distant relatives.
"What do you mean?" Sean was a little confused as to Xia Keli's purpose of coming.
"When necessary, you have to take responsibility." Xia Keli hinted.
Sean's expression changed: "Is the situation so tense? I thought the governor just wanted to use this to collect a 1/20 tax."
Shakeli looked approvingly and said: "This is only one aspect. All the governors want to levy this kind of tax. But the main reason is because the situation is very tense. This is also the reason why the church took the initiative to donate. We must build a team of Genoese people themselves.
The Civil Defense Corps cannot be relied upon."
Xia Keli looked around and said quietly: "The latest news is that the war in Northern Xinjiang has reignited."
This news shocked Sean extremely, and brought his thoughts back to the war-torn battlefield in northern Xinjiang.
Just listen to Xia Keli continue to say:
"I have to admit that the Assyrian Empire is really an enemy that cannot be beaten to death. Their resilience is helpless. Because the pressure they bring is too great, the energy of the emperor and the cabinet is attracted to the north, and elite troops gather in northern Xinjiang.
, so the rebellion in the south can succeed, and the empire does not have enough troops to suppress it at the moment."
This can explain Governor Byrne's eagerness to establish a civil defense corps, and he cleverly combined it with the 1/20 tax. It was really a good idea to kill two birds with one stone.
"This is really bad news." Sean had to admit.
The meeting was held until late at night but no outcome was reached. The focus turned to the quarrel between the landlords and the urban bourgeoisie. They exposed each other's concealment of property and ended up in a mess.
The second focus is that someone finally realized that the 5% tax rate is very problematic. If based on this standard, a rough calculation would far exceed the standard of 200,000 gold louis.
Everyone was exhausted, and Sieyes had to announce that the meeting was suspended and would continue at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
Sean had nowhere to go. He originally thought that the meeting would be over that day and he would return to Vichy that day. Priest Shakri invited him to go to the Sawyer Church to rest for a night, and Sean happily obeyed.
It was Sean's old residence, and the bedding and toiletries were all new. As the most powerful senior priest under the bishop, Xia Keli only had to open his mouth, and his servants would quickly prepare everything.
Even Nelson and Mafrabo were well arranged, with their own private rooms, hot bath water and soft beds.
After eating something hastily and washing up, it was already 1 o'clock at night. Sean was about to lie down when he suddenly heard a gunshot from outside.
After blowing out the candle, Sean quickly loaded his pistol in the dark and hid by the window.
"Sir, are you okay?" Nelson's voice came from outside the window.
"I'm fine, Clark, what's going on?" Sean replied.
Although he responded, Sean did not move. He squatted down and moved the coat rack next to him towards the window. Suddenly there was another gunshot, and a lead bullet penetrated the glass and hit the coat rack.
The person fell to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, there was another gunshot. This time Sean judged that the gunshot came from next door, and only heard Nelson yell:
"Sir, please don't come out! I bit him!"
There was another gunshot, and Sean saw Nelson throw away his rifle, pull out a pistol, and quickly walk through the garden, nimbly across the flower beds, and come to the foot of the tower.
The gunshot alerted Xia Keli, several priests and a bunch of servants. It was discovered that the gunman escaped from the tower through a rope. The gunman had been hiding in the tower and did not seem to know which room Sean lived in. The first shot
ejaculated into Nelson's room.
Seeing that Sean was not injured, Xia Keli breathed a sigh of relief: "Sorry, Sean, I frightened you."
"I'm fine." Sean felt very unhappy, "I don't seem to have offended anyone, right?"
"Basic logic, this should be the work of the rebels. You must know that you have just been nominated as the military adviser of the Civil Defense Corps." Xia Keli thought for a moment and said, "Although the rebels in Genoa rarely committed assassinations in the past, they
The situation is different now. They are echoing their allies in the north, and naturally they do not want to see Genoa defend itself."
"Sorry, Your Excellency, Priest, I have brought trouble to Sawyer Church." Sean said.
"No!" Xia Keli shook his head, "These insidious bastards don't care where they commit crimes. Sean, this just shows the necessity for us to establish a civil defense group. Tomorrow, no, it is almost dawn now.
At today’s meeting, I will strongly demand that all wealthy people must pay taxes, regardless of the so-called limit of 200,000 gold louis.”
"I just don't know if Viscount Brandon was attacked." Sean said.
When Xia Keli heard this, his expression changed: "The rebels won't be so bold, right?"
Back in his room, Sean suffered from insomnia. If a gunman tried to kill him, even though he failed, it still left him with lingering fears.
Nelson patrolled the garden in front of Sean's window with a gun, cigar smoke flickering in the darkness.
Sean suddenly reached under the pillow and heard a hoarse, low voice:
"Don't move, your gun is in my hand."
However, Sean had another gun in his hand, pointing at the curtain, where a pair of feet were exposed.
But what scares Sean is that he really doesn't know when there is a person hiding in his room. It should be when he went to check on the escaped gunman just now, this guy quietly hid in. If he returned to the room,
, if the other party shoots, I am afraid that I will have to confess here.
This voice was very familiar to Sean. It belonged to a waitress from the distant city of Als in northern Xinjiang.
The waitress didn't expect Sean to have another gun, so she couldn't help but said in shock:
"You coward, you even had two pistols ready when you slept!"
"Be prepared! In fact, I have another gun, which is in my crotch. Do you want to try it?" Sean half-leaned on the bedside, "Now we are even again."
"That's not fair. I could have shot first. With a bang, you're dead." The waitress said viciously, but her tone was a bit teasing.
"Then give it a try." Sean said in a deep voice.
The waitress was silent for a while: "The gunman who escaped just now has nothing to do with me."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sean was surprised. "You are not a rebel, oh, a member of the True God Party?"
"Of course I am." The waitress hid in the shadows, "We don't want to kill you, so I'm sure."
Sean's mind was racing, thinking of some possibility.
"What do you want to do when you come to your door again and again?" Sean asked at this time, "I don't seem to have anything to do with your career."
"I just want to remind you that we are always watching you, that's all." The waitress said.
"That's it?" Of course Sean didn't believe it. He just heard the waitress say:
"Now let your bodyguard leave, I'm leaving."
"It's a long night, why don't we chat." Sean said.
"You are so brave, you want to bet with me again?" the waitress said viciously. She failed to gain the upper hand in the two fights.
"I don't know why, but I have a special feeling about danger." Sean said confidently.
"Haha, you are a nobleman and you still have a lot of good life to live, so don't take risks easily."
"You're right, I just want to live a life of spring flowers facing the sea, but there are always people staring at me in the dark, which is never a reassuring thing." Sean said, "If you don't do it yourself
Get out and I'll shoot."
The waitress swayed and became a little excited. She probably didn't expect Sean to be so tough.
Bang!
Suddenly there was a loud noise, and Nelson crashed in from the window. The waitress fired subconsciously, and Sean rolled into the other side of the bed, and the shot missed.
In the darkness, Nelson fought with the waitress. With a groan, Nelson fell to his knees in pain. He underestimated his opponent and suffered a loss.
Sean fired a shot at the fleeing shadow without hesitation, but unexpectedly, it misfired. The flintlock gun was not very reliable. Fortunately, he didn't gamble.
Nelson and Sean chased each other one after the other.
The waitress was as light as a swallow. Following the momentum, she stepped on the wall to gain strength and jumped over it.
Nelson squatted with his back against the wall, put his hands together, and Sean used his strength to climb up the wall, and then pulled Nelson up. This was the first time the two of them cooperated, and their speed was not slow.
The waitress didn't get far, and Sean and Nelson were chasing after her. However, at an intersection ahead, two groups of people suddenly appeared, one from the left and the other from the right.
The two groups couldn't help but shoot at each other across the intersection, causing fire to fly everywhere.
Sean wanted to curse, but Nelson and he had to stop and watched the waitress escape.
The two groups exchanged fire briefly. The group on the left was weak and suddenly turned around and ran away. The group on the right gave chase. Some of them spotted Sean and Nelson, and several people surrounded them aggressively.
.
"Don't shoot, this is our Lord Viscount Rocky Mountain!"
Nelson quickly stopped in front of Sean.
"Is it Viscount Connery? It's not safe here!" Someone recognized Sean. At this time, Sean also saw clearly that the group of people were wearing patrol uniforms, and the person speaking was the secret police chief Daley.
"Don't worry about Viscount, let's continue chasing."
Daly did not stop and continued to run forward with his men.
There was so much going on tonight that Sean and Nelson had to return empty-handed. Only then did Sean discover that Nelson's body was covered with glass particles and his face was almost broken.
"I'm sorry, sir, this woman has good fighting skills, but I was careless. I should have been able to subdue her," Nelson said with shame.
"It doesn't matter! You have done well enough. It seems that I need to give you a salary increase."
"Sir, I think it is necessary to strengthen your security. I cannot handle it alone."
"Okay, I've learned a profound lesson."
Sean nodded and admitted.
Back at the church, Xia Keli was yelling at the servants. He had put on his robe inside out and his face was gloomy.
Two attacks occurred in the same place within an hour. It must be said that this was a shame for Sawyer's church and himself.
Sean felt strange.
When I was attacked for the first time tonight, the lead bullet was aimed at me. It was obviously meant to kill me. However, the waitress said it had nothing to do with me. Aren't they in the same group? Or maybe the True God Party in Poitou is having internal strife and not even obeying.
Higher level command?
The waitress was also very strange. She didn't seem to have any murderous intention towards her.
Sean thought about it, unable to find a possible answer, unable to sleep at all, and kept his eyes open until dawn.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Sean and Xia Keli went to the Great Hall of the Governor's Mansion together. They found that many people had dark circles under their eyes.
Viscount Brandon hung his arm with a bandage. He did not choose to stay in the city last night. His residence was a castle called Whale Castle in the north of the city. Since it was not far from the city, he chose to go home.
On the way home, his carriage encountered a trip wire, and the carriage and the man overturned in a ditch. Fortunately, he brought many guards with him and repelled the murderer. Except for him, who broke his right arm, there was no one else.
Injuried.
In addition, Sieyes's mansion caught fire, a jewelry merchant encountered robbers, and several servants were killed or injured.
All kinds of information were gathered together, and everyone looked grim.
A series of emergencies occurred, and Director Daley did not dare to show up today.
Because of the relationship with the waitress, Sean even suspected that this was an incident starring the secret police, and then framed it to the True God Party to create a worsening situation and achieve the goal of smoothly collecting security taxes.
From a conspiracy theory point of view, it is very possible that Governor Byrne had this motive. He asked the secret police to do this, it goes without saying.
But he and Byrne had a private deal, and Daley personally became a lobbyist. They knew their position and could not use themselves as props for acting.
The complicated situation in Poitou is like seeing flowers in a fog.
There is an invisible net hanging over Poitou, perhaps even Byrne and Daly are caught in it.