Chapter 723: New Year (Part 1)

"Come on, take a break. Have a drink." Romon took out a bottle of wine himself, and the glass bottle reflected a gorgeous rose-like red under the sunlight.

"Thank you, my lord, is this a new wine in our territory?" Nick said.

"Ah, yes, this is it, how does it taste?" Romon asked.

"...It's not bad, it doesn't seem to be comparable to the one in Lucies Manor."

"The wines of Schies Manor are top-notch. They have a history of 500 years. Of course they are not as good as they are. There is nothing regrettable about that." Romon raised his eyebrows and said, "To what extent do you think it has reached?"

"If the brand keeps up, it will be more than enough at the earl level, for general banquets." Nick thought for a while and replied cautiously.

"That's fine, let's use it for ourselves first, starting from the New Year's banquet, anyway, we are now. We don't produce much, and high-quality wine can't be finished in a day."

The sun shines through the glass windows, dyeing everything inside with warm colors.

The two sat on the sofa, which was covered with thick cashmere, and tasted fine wine. They leaned against the fireplace on the wall, and chopped wood was piled up beside the fireplace. Toasty and warm.

Biogas can boil water and cook vegetables, but it cannot replace the fireplace. However, Romon is not a perfectionist.

After resting for a while, I had a snack, and after I was done, I continued to work.

"The loan is 60,000 gold coins. The branch of the Pilgrimage Business Association is said to be willing to borrow all the money. The annual interest is 10%, and the interest is not revolving. The term is five years. There is also the Sennangen Business Association, which is our county. The established business associations are said to have connections with Lord Camplin and are willing to offer loans, and there are other business associations that are willing to provide a certain amount of loans."

"En. Then distribute 30,000 to the Pilgrimage Business Association, and the other 30,000 will be shared by the local business association." Romon raised his eyebrows and said, "The time limit is two years."

"By the way, how much is our income this year? Has it come out yet?"

"There are 60,000 gold coins. By the way, my lord, why do we need to take out a loan? It's all out of the treasury, and it happens to have this number!" Nick said puzzled.

"For the territory I usually control, the income is about 10,000 gold coins. We now have port taxes, territory commercial taxes, trade income, and special product income. We only have this figure when added up.

"

"This is already a huge amount of income. Although I'm not afraid, why bother to show off the wealth? Take some loans and strengthen the connection with some business associations. There is not much loss." Romon said casually.

"It's true, but your expenses are also high. The road is almost completed, you have built a port, and this year you have built a mage tower. I heard that now you want to build biogas for free, and you need to rebuild the army and strengthen the army. The investment, calculated in one year, actually consumed more than 60,000 yuan, if it wasn't for some savings from last year, it would have been overdrawn."

"Except for some greening and artisan projects, there is nothing down here. Originally, the caravan was going to expand, but now that there are boats, there is no consumption down here." Romon waved his hand and said, "From next year, our territory will Basically, there is nothing to consume in large quantities.”

"Yes, the good days are coming. By the way, how much are you going to send to His Majesty the King for the New Year's gift?"

"I'm a Viscount now, how much is the shield tax?"

"Three hundred gold coins."

Under the enfeoffment system, nobles did not need to pay the so-called taxes to the king.

The obligation of the nobles is, first of all, to be loyal to the king. Secondly, for all hereditary nobles, according to the size of their territories, the nobles must send knights and soldiers to the king to perform their military service fifty days a year. Hereditary fees, each level has a fixed amount, which is equivalent to a year's income of an ordinary territory.

But usually, in reality, except for the shield tax, nobles do not need to pay taxes to the king.

"Send three hundred gold coins, plus two horses, and one hundred altars of olive oil."

"This is already a very rich contribution, His Majesty will be very happy."

According to the customs and laws of this world, although the king is the largest lord among the lords, he must also rely on his own income to maintain his life, that is to say, he has no right to tax the nobles.

Nick knew that last New Year, the king of Esk Kingdom. In the seven counties of the country, 25 horses, 76 boars, 60 swans, 1,700 partridges, 500 hares, 700 rabbits, 4,200 poultry, 200 pheasants, and 16,000 eggs were received.

This is the nobles' contribution to the king, except for the shield tax.

That's why I say it's a huge contribution.

Whenever the king lives on the national tax, it is no longer a feudal society, or according to the division of the earth, it has turned to the budding of a capitalist society.

"To His Royal Highness, I will send you thirty altars of olive oil and one hundred gold coins." Luo Meng said without exception.

"By the way. How do you deal with tariffs?"

On the mainland, the king's new tax is tariffs. After all, the authority of each lord is limited to the territory. With the development of society, the process of commercialization of agriculture has accelerated, and the scope of commodity flow has increased.

This is the biggest source of wealth for the king to intervene.

On the earth, in the second half of the 15th century in Britain, customs duties could earn 30,000 pounds a year, which is equivalent to 300,000 gold coins in this world. This world also has signs of this.

Romon frowned and said, "How are the other nobles doing now?"

"We are all negotiating with His Majesty. The preliminary agreement is that His Majesty the King will take the lead to unify the national tariffs. Specifically, the King will extract a certain amount of taxes."

This is a sign of the development of the commercial economy. In the foreseeable future, the power of the royal family will rise.

In Earth parlance, economic power determines political power.

"However, nobles, please unite to examine and control the king's right." Seeing that Romon was considering it, Nick continued: "Without the approval of the noble meeting, it cannot be increased at will."

Isn't this the origin of the so-called democracy on Earth - the House of Lords?

However, Romon thought about it, and felt that it didn't matter. Anyway, without oil and coal, this society would basically stay at the equivalent of the 18th century on Earth.

After all, there is no shortage of energy in this world. But the gods who master all kinds of energy will not give mortals unrestrained use of energy. It is foreseeable that in the future, the popularity of magic is far away.

Thinking of this, Romon suddenly looked a little weird.

God, equal to energy quotient?

"My lord?" Seeing that Romon hadn't spoken for a long time, Nick couldn't help asking urgently.

"Well, if His Majesty agrees to convene the parliament, I will join the king's customs duties. It can be regarded as our favor to the royal family. We can allow the royal family to send a small team of tax collectors to Yuanfan Port, and other territories will not allow them to enter and interfere."

"Yes, my lord!"

"Also, prepare the New Year's rewards, how much was it last year?" Romon asked inquiringly.

"Last year, after converting everyone's gifts, the Lord's Mansion cost 600 gold coins."

"One thousand gold coins this year, and it will become custom in the future."

During the New Year, the king and the nobles held a banquet, and it was also the time for the vassals to present gifts to their lords, such as robes and necklaces. However, some lords were often greedy and forcibly extorted a large number of expensive gifts, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the knights.

At the same time, the king and nobles hosted banquets for their subordinates, and the generous lords would give them gifts, including luxurious dresses, shining armor, jewelry, and cloaks, which made the subordinates grateful.

Not only that, the servants who work for the master all go home on vacation, and the lord sends them rewards, food, clothes, wine, and firewood to ensure that they have a happy New Year. You can get an extra loaf of white bread, a dish, and a gallon of ale.

The lords will hand over bread, hens, home-brewed ale, firewood, and plates to the lord, and these are often the raw materials for the banquet. They can also be rewarded with abundant food, and they can take away the leftovers when they leave.

In short, if the lord is stingy, it often becomes that the lord collects gifts during the New Year and deducts the expenses of the banquet to make profits, while the lord who is generous will increase the reward at this time, making his subordinates grateful.

There is no doubt that Romon is a generous lord.

"My lord, this is too generous. I'm afraid I won't be able to eat all of this. Well, are you taking this opportunity to invite the newly relocated gentleman?"

After those run-down nobles moved to the city, Romon bestowed titles of retinues one by one, but not fiefs. These people were called "Misters" and "Gentlemen", and they belonged to decent people.

No matter how poor these nobles are, they still have some special bloodlines and family knowledge. As long as they work and study hard, these families can produce a lot of talents in the future.

This is the reserve of cities and territories, and it is only natural that Romon attaches great importance to it.

"Okay, let's invite those gentlemen." Romon smiled and said.

"Aristocrats from far and near, since you have become the Archdruid, may also send someone to come, or even come in person."

"Then welcome them warmly. I believe their gifts are much more expensive than my banquet." Romon said, "Of course, those who come in person will be rewarded with generous gifts."

Nick couldn't help smiling.

"By the way, what's the situation in your and Farfell's village?" Romon said.

Nick and Pharfell each have a village as their fief.

"It's okay, the village has a good harvest, the villa has been renovated, and the annuity you gave 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 is socializing, thank you I can still afford their consumption." Now, more and more nobles are moving to the city.

The nobles who can build cities will have greater influence.

Romon waved his hand and said, "Nick, you are my friend, these are what you should be, as long as you are satisfied, if you have any financial problems, just tell me."

Nick nodded without speaking. Romon has never treated his friends badly.