Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 1070

[Chapter 19 Tax increase?]

“Actually, for today’s citizens of the kingdom, paying a little more tax doesn’t have much impact on their lives.” Antaoris spoke up again, how could he only let Cypros specialize in the former: ” Just now, I specifically asked Burkes and the treasurer Archibides. Taking Turui as an example, ordinary citizens here own at least 20 acres of land, and the food they harvest every year can not only meet their own needs, but can also be obtained by selling them. About 300 to 700 drachmas (depending on the degree of harvest and changes in food prices), but this is not a large part of their income. Since Turii is the center of the kingdom, there are a large number of foreigners, housing demand is strong, and many citizens You can earn one or two talents a year just by collecting rent.

If the citizens of Turii are special, let’s take a look at the small town of Sikuli in Sicily, where the population is only less than 4,000, and the main income of citizens is farming. , according to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance, the amount of grain harvested by each household every year is at least 600 drachma, and this does not include the cattle, sheep, horses, chickens, ducks, pigs and other livestock they raise. In addition, don’t forget In the slack season, they often go to the workshop to help them part-time and earn a fortune.

So what do these citizens with a lot of wealth in their hands usually do? Apart from daily expenses and military training, they also spend Money to buy sports equipment, participate in various competitive training; spend money to watch games, and even buy a lot of ‘Tino’s blessing’; drink a lot of wine, go to restaurants, and occasionally take a dip in the hot spring bath, women’s branch hospital The business is also very prosperous, and many citizens even buy female slaves as concubines…

So how much tax do citizens pay for the kingdom every year?” Antaoris opened his palms and smiled contemptuously: “On average, , I’m afraid it’s less than 10 drachmas! Maybe some people oppose the tax increase. If the people are already poor and the new tax is forcibly imposed, they will not only have grievances, but even riots, but the current situation in the kingdom is that the country is poor and the people are rich. Ah! Your Majesty and our officials are working hard to maintain the operation of the kingdom. They are stingy with every expenditure of the treasury. Even some public buildings have to rely on donations from the people to build… If this situation continues, the kingdom will be in a tight state because of the treasury. And what good is it for the citizens to be unable to maintain it?!

Over the past 20 years, many citizens have gone from impoverished exiles to wealthy and dignified Dionian citizens in this favourable environment that the kingdom has worked hard to create and maintain, and it is time for them to give back to their country!

Even if the tax is increased by 5%, it will only make the citizens pay less than 50 drachmas. It is still a small sum of money for them, but it is indeed a great help for the kingdom, you say right?

!

”

“Well said!

Davos once again praised, and once again glanced at the ministers with deep eyes, and said aloud: “Everyone, do you have any objections to the ‘addition of taxes for the formation of a new frontier army’?

”

“Your Majesty, I have no opinion.”

“Lysias saw that Davos had clearly expressed his support, and everyone looked moved, and did not dare to stop them, and bowed to respond.

“I agree to increase the tax!”

“Hmon, Sedorum and other ministers also gave affirmative answers one after another.

“Okay!”

Davos slapped the armrest hard and said, “Since we have all reached an agreement, then Antaoris and Cypros will take the lead, and Alexis and Archibides will assist in formulating a detailed tax increase.” Bill, how much tax?

How to get it?

Where is it used?

… must be written in detail so as to be able to respond to the questions of the elders.

Here, I would like to solemnly remind everyone that before the two bills of ‘the formation of a border army and tax increase’ have not been submitted to the Senate, no one must keep it strictly confidential and must not disclose it to outsiders. If the information is disclosed, I will find out who it is. Revealed, I will never forgive!

” In the

last few words,

Davos’s murderous words made the ministers feel chills, and they couldn’t help but remind themselves to be vigilant.

Davos withdrew his awe-inspiring gaze, eased his tone, and said, “Alec Sith, I thought about it carefully. The number of soldiers recruiting foreign freemen should not exceed two legions for the time being. After all, we have to take into account the feelings of the citizens, and don’t let them think that we are going to replace them with mercenaries. Put them in service.

After being

reminded by Davos, Alexis suddenly understood what he had overlooked, and immediately responded convincingly: “I understand, Your Majesty.

”

In fact, Davos’s concerns did not stop there.

Knowing the history of his previous life, he is more worried that these recruited free people who are not loyal to the kingdom will gradually become privately owned, thus threatening the security of the royal family and the kingdom, so he must always be vigilant.

Then, Davos said: “Antaoris, Cypros, when you are negotiating how much tax to increase, don’t just use the two legions I just mentioned as the benchmark, but set an appropriate height for the future. Leave enough leeway, try to get it in place at one time, otherwise in the future, when the finances are tight, the tax will be increased frequently, not only will the Senate be upset, but the people will also be uneasy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The two looked at each other and responded in unison.

Davos stood up from the wooden chair, straightened his body, looked at everyone, and said loudly: “Everyone, I still say that, the kingdom is developing, the environment is changing, the old traditions and laws may not be applicable to The new situation may become a hindrance instead. Therefore, as the elites of the kingdom, you manage all aspects of the kingdom. You must have flexible minds, sharp eyes, timely detection of problems, and timely eradication of ills, in order to ensure the long-term success of our kingdom. Prosperity, please keep in mind!”

Davos’s earnest words caused everyone to think deeply.

“What time is it now?” At this moment, Davos felt a little sick in his stomach and asked Henepolis, the secretary beside the steps.

Henepolis glanced at the water clock in the corner of the temple: “It’s past noon.” “Let the kitchen bring all the prepared lunches. You can’t continue

the

discussion if you are hungry.”

“Yes.”

After a while, the guards placed the small dining tables in front of the ministers, and then the servants brought up large and exquisite pottery bowls, which were filled with steaming thick soup, and floating pieces of the same size. Beef, the soup has a handful of evenly thin noodles, as well as countless tiny spices and herbal powders.

This is a new delicacy introduced by Cristoya Restaurant in recent years. The flour is fermented, kneaded with water repeatedly to make a tough dough, and then sliced into thin slices with a knife, and rolled out. Cook it in the water that has already been cooked, then pour it into the beef soup that has already been cooked, and add seasonings to eat… Because it is easy to make, smooth and refreshing, and delicious, you can also add accessories at will according to the diners’ preferences, such as some vegetables , so it was very popular with the people of the kingdom.

However, the kitchen of the palace is headed by chefs from Cristoia’s restaurant. Not only is the level of cooking extraordinary, but the raw materials selected are naturally the best:

the highest quality wheat flour from Sikuli.

Sikuli City is located at the foot of Mount Etna, and the land area is small. In the past, some people in Sikuli reclaimed part of the flat land on the mountainside. It was very hard to work up and down the mountain every day. The wheat that comes out is full of grains, tastes very good after being ground into flour, and because the output is scarce, it is expensive, so even if the Sikuli joined Dionia and regained new land, there are still very few people willing to He worked tirelessly to farm on the mountainside, and the wheat he obtained was basically bought out by the Cristoya restaurant to supply the royal family.

The one-year-old beef cattle from Grummentum in Lucaria – the best beef cattle in the Lucalia cattle recognized by the people of the Kingdom of Dionia, because there is a beef cattle just south of Grummentum city. The big lake – Lake Patusino, the lake water is extremely clear, and the lake shore is covered with grass. Grummentum’s calves grow up drinking the lake water and eating the grass along the lake shore, so the meat is plump…

Everyone had a long meeting, Ben I was a little hungry, and when I was seduced by the fragrance of the noodles, my appetite increased immediately. Not only did I finish eating the noodles and the noodle soup, some people even asked for an extra bowl.

At least three times a month, the palace gathers various ministers to hold important executive meetings. UU reading www.sonicmtl.com usually opens for a day, and lunch is provided by the palace.

After everyone finished eating, they rested for a while, and Heraclid, the minister of construction, said: “Your Majesty, there is a problem with the repair of the Enona-Roman Avenue.”

“What is the problem?”

“The West Dicinians in the mountains north of Campania obstructed our construction. Not only did we fail to provide labor and food as agreed, but the road construction materials we transported there were often lost… This greatly delayed our construction process. ”

I remember that in the road construction agreement signed three years ago, the West Descenes also participated. Not only did they agree, but they also signed.” Lycias interjected.

“Maybe this mountain race feels that the avenue passes through their territory, and there will be more people going from south to north, which will affect the security of the territory, so they regret it.” Ancitanos said sternly: “Your Majesty, please allow me Send diplomats to the Western Disinia to protest to them and ask them to abide by the agreement and help us complete the road construction as soon as possible.”

“In the past, the Western Disinians were caught between the two major forces of Volsi and the Campania Alliance. In the narrow hills, they are conservative and xenophobic, and they are also very smooth, and I am afraid the effect will not be obvious if they just use words to condemn.” Davos said in a deep voice: “Alexis, your military affairs department notified the Twelfth Legion (the army source of the Legion). The range is in the eastern plains of Campania, and the military barracks are built in Abella) to gather, to conduct military training on the edge of the northern mountains of Capua, and make the momentum a little bigger.”

“Yes.”