164 18. A good man, being asked




Okay, here you go.
"I'll get right to it.

 Amelia bowed cautiously and then walked out of the tent.
 In her hand is a fine piece of parchment.

 It's signed by me, with my crest.
 I walked out of the tent with the only text I had Mari sign for me - now in the form of an official document.

 Eliza came in to replace Amelia.
 Stealthy Eliza, who's been getting even s*xier lately, looked divinely beautiful coupled with the backlighting at the tent's entrance.

 For a moment, but I'm sure, I made up for it and spoke to her with an air of nonchalance.

Hi, you're here again, Eliza.
I'm just wondering how things are going here. It's going well.
That's pretty much it.
"What was that? What's the deal?
You know?
I see human faces every day as they receive these things.
I see.

 Eliza is emperor of the empire.
 She has issued a far more dire mandate than I have, an edict.
 I was ordered to carry it out, something peculiarly human.

What is it?

 She came up to me and asked me, she was close to Eliza and this land was hers to begin with, being the Imperial Emperor.
 I answered honestly that there was no reason to hide it.

"Just a little warning that you won't have to pay any taxes this year.
That's what we do here, too.
"Yes.

 I nodded.
 I already did it in Carlisle, and Eliza knows it.
 So that's what we'll do here.

Since this is a new place, I thought the extra money would be better spent in the private sector.
You're the only one who can do that, after all.

 Eliza is amazed.
 As an emperor - a regulator, she understands the importance of money in the private sector.

 For example.

 A man borrows a hundred pieces of silver from a moneylender.
 The man buys something with the 100 pieces of silver.

 At this moment, the silver coin has been used to do the work of 300 pieces of silver.

 The 100 silver coins that the moneylender lends out and produces interest.
 The man bought 100 pieces of goods with the amount he borrowed.
 100 of the shopkeeper or merchant who actually got the silver by selling things.

 That's a total of 300 pieces of work.

 Even debt, which is generally considered a negative image, creates so much value in just one turn of the smallest composition.
 The more money goes around, the more invisible--but real--value it gains.

 A selfless politician would be right to tax less and leave the money to the private sector, but Eliza is the emperor, there are too many people to feed (、、、、、、、、、).

 Even if Eliza herself saves money, there are ministers, officials, servants, and their families.

 The burden is too big for her to do it.
 For that I am light, so I can do as I please.

How come it's only a year?
If you do this anyway, it should keep some tension because you'll have to pay next year. If you don't do anything all of a sudden, some people won't work to begin with. I mean, that's who I'm fighting with right now, in a way.
And in the end, it's going to carry a bad name.

 Eliza chuckles as she speaks.
 It's a story I've had with her before.

 Once the people get a taste of honey, they can't accept higher taxes.
 It's fine when you cut taxes then, but when you have to raise them in the future, that's the hardest part.

 I said I was going to give it to you at the end of my life and die of infamy.
 Then you brought it up again.

Is that what you would do this time?
I don't know, depends on the situation. I'm not going to take the first year for now. That's all I know.
How about, "The more you work, the more tax you get?
"The more you work, the lighter you work?
"It's easier to get taxed on your income. Then everyone will work harder.
"I see.
Taxes don't mean anything to you anyway.

 Eliza chuckled.

You are the only one who can do this.
How about that kind of reversal, how about the more kids you have, the less taxes you pay? Nowadays, the more children you have, the more you take in the capitation tax, but that doesn't mean you can't have children because they're in the workforce.
I see, the more you have, the lighter your taxes are.
That kind of thing. We'll have to put together a detailed supplementary system, but in the grand scheme of things.
It's there.

 Eliza to answer immediately.

 I know from the wise man's sword that for the common people, who now account for nearly 90% of the world, the number of children, or families, is directly related to the labor force.

 Measures to have more children and to be able to have them in a safe manner are quite important.

 Eliza and I continued our serious talk in the tent.


 And you understand that there is.

 Eliza intends to turn this place, Avalon and I, into a "box office".

 She intends to footnote what works to the Empire by testing measures here as a miniature of the Empire in advance.

 I was fooled - or not fooled - by the words "I will go down in history".
 That's not a lie either, but Emperor Elisabeth is thinking about her country and her people as much as she is at the same time.

 That's the kind of Elisa I like, and we've been discussing ideas.

Sorry to bother you.
"Hmm? What's up Amelia?

 Amelia, coming in from outside the tent, called out to me with a difficult look on her face.

'I sent you the message just now. I have just sent it out, and the managers of some of the settlements have asked to see you, Master.
"Visitation?
"Petitioning," he said.
Petitions. ......
"Heh, I wonder what that is.

 Eliza said lightly in her usual tone, but her eyes sat up a bit.

"Alec even gave you a tax break, so what are you complaining about?

 I thought I heard something like that, but I didn't.

I'll see you anyway. Let's just get these people into the tents.
"I'll get right to it.

 Amelia stepped out of the tent to call.

"Can Eliza stay next to me? We might talk to you about it.

 Or rather, I thought it would be easier to keep them close so they don't go wild.

Okay.
I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to stay standing, but--

 Before I could finish, Eliza dove into my shadow.
 Within ten seconds, Eliza emerged from the shadows, dressed in the maid costume I've become accustomed to lately.

"I'm here to serve you, master.
Yeah, nice to meet you.

 Maid Eliza stood diagonally behind me.
 Shortly after, a number of men came in, led by Amelia.
 People in that position naturally dress alike.

 A village chief or a clan leader.
 At first glance, most of them were in those positions.

Good work. Now you have something to say to me.

 I asked point-blank, and the men all knelt down in front of me at once.
 Then the man in the middle of the crowd, in the front, looked up and said, "Please let me pay my taxes!

"Please, let us pay our taxes!
"......? What does that mean?

 That was unexpected.
 It sounded like you'd rather have me pay my taxes. .......

"Following the Vice-Emperor has given me hope for a brighter future, for a brighter future. So please let me--
""Come on!

 The other man spoke up, a bit surprised.

Let me express my gratitude!

 Oh, so you want me to pay taxes.
 But that's still unexpected.

 No, I'd say that's unheard of.
 I asked the wise men's sword and they said it was unprecedented.

"That's my boy.

 Eliza also murmured, half in admiration, half in disgust.