Lux's Magic Penetration Rod

In the capital, which was already undercurrent, the situation quickly became uncontrollable with the arrival of two disruptors and as Jarvan III became more and more bold in using the Illuminati to gather power.

Due to Demacia's special social structure, this turmoil that originated in the capital quickly swept across the country, and even Mithril City was not immune from it.

Taxation and garrison were the foundation of the ruling order, but now, with His Majesty the King's unabashed centralization of power, these foundations have become less solid.

Even the royal family is a direct fiefdom, and it is currently undergoing "demonstration reforms" and exploring new possibilities.

In the entire Demacia, only Forsbarrow seemed to be staying away from the incident.

The reason why Forsbarrow stayed out of the matter is also very simple. Now Forsbarrow doesn't even collect taxes. As a lord, Lux doesn't care about the attitude of the Third Army. Moreover, the only Illuminati member here is The Silent People, headed by Grandma Ling, are not from Jarvan III's faction at all - in this case, the people of Forsbyro naturally do what they should do. No matter how strong the storm in Xiongdu is, it can't blow the wind in their home. One third of an acre.

Even due to the embarrassing status of being a royal party member, even Peter and Ogesha are consciously marginalizing the Crown Guard family. In their correspondence with Lux, they hope that Lux will "keep a low profile and stay out of the matter as much as possible."

Lux naturally takes good care of herself.

The people of Fosbairo are living their own lives behind closed doors.

For these "remote people" who have lived in the north of the kingdom for generations, what they care more about is the planting of fragrant red sage, the adjustment of wages at the canal construction site, and the new hazel antler breeding experiment started this year. The noble master of Xiongdu What kind of power struggle are they engaged in, what kind of ruling power do they want to win over... What does this have to do with them, the humble people who are striving for promotion?

There is no doubt that this is something Lux is very happy to see.

She was happy to see Forsbarrow live and work in peace and contentment, and at the same time she was very certain that she was the only one in Demacia who could bring about this kind of leap-forward development.

Even in a sense, the more chaotic it is elsewhere, the better off the Forsbarrow people are by comparison.

Soon, summer is coming, and the annual Xiongdu Trade Conference is about to begin again. This time, the Forsbarrow Chamber of Commerce hired extra people, escorted by Northern Walkers, carrying an astonishing amount of goods, and embarked on the journey. Take the road to Xiongdu to participate in the trade conference.

After arriving in Xiongdu, the people of Fosbairo were surprised to find that they had become the caravan that brought the most goods to this trade conference. Compared with the past few years, this year's Xiongdu Trade Conference had Both the scale and the number of products are greatly reduced!

How is this going?

After some inquiring, the intelligence officers accompanying the team quickly figured out the reason.

As the conflict between the royal family and the nobles completely broke out, the nobles who had no righteousness and could not raise troops to resist quickly found a way to fight against the royal family. On the surface, they were extremely submissive. If you, the Illuminati, wanted to take over the grassroots, I would not They cooperated, did not obstruct, and did not give any excuses, but they still did not give up on taking their share of the civilians.

Theoretically speaking, the situation that Jarvan III wants to see is that he completely dominates the Illuminati, and then uses the Illuminati to start a new business and completely centralize power, so as to completely control Demacia.

But the current situation is that the nobles will not prevent him from using the Illuminati, but at the same time they will not give up their financial rights at the grassroots level. After all, the fiefdom is yours. As long as you don't commit any crimes, even if you are the king and have been recognized by the Feiyi Sisters, King of Kings, you are not qualified to take back my fiefdom!

How much did the nobles charge when they had to pay taxes to the king in the past? Now that you have sent the Illuminati to collect taxes directly, how much more will I charge?

If we can't fight against the royal family, can't we still deal with the common people?

Facts have proved that it is very easy for them to deal with civilians.

Objectively speaking, the life of Demacia civilians is still very good. As the most fertile area in Runeterra, even if the tax amount is relatively high, most Demacia civilians can still survive. Although the road to advancement is very blocked, civilians If you want to get ahead, you can only join the army and work hard, but at least in terms of basic living standards, everyone still has some guarantees.

However, when Jarvan III tried to centralize power and sent out the mad dog Illuminati, life for the common people of Demacia began to deteriorate.

The original tax was not a penny less, but now the Illuminati is charging extra money. I heard that this money is for the royal family?

Damn it, the royal family goes to the nobles for their money, why do they go to us commoners?

We all paid money to the noble lord!

Common people will not understand that this is an overt and covert fight between the royal family and the nobles for financial power, nor will they realize that this is a change in the social order. What they see is that they only need to pay a large additional tax, and their originally decent life will not be the same. All of a sudden it became tight and unguaranteed.

In the past, after paying the lord's taxes, commoners would have a surplus when there was a good harvest. Occasionally, poor harvests would only require a small amount of borrowing to survive.

But now it's better. After the Illuminati made an extra fortune, although this year's harvest has been bumper, everyone's life is still tight. Although there is no need to borrow money, the situation is still worrying.

If this continues, there will be no hope for the future!

In this way, Jarvan III tried to centralize power, and the central and local governments in Demacia began to confront each other. "Exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes" appeared for the first time. The reputation of the royal family, which was originally regarded as "forgiving and kind" by the people, finally plummeted.

With the economic downturn and the indifference of local lords, the Xiongdu Trading Conference has naturally been greatly affected.

Only a city like Forsbarrow, which has stayed out of the situation, is still able to provide new tricks. The caravans in other cities can't even purchase all the goods from previous years.

Fortunately, the main product newly added by Fosbairo this time is fragrant red solanum. Although it is a spice, the price is not too expensive, and the current production is limited, so even though the traffic of the trade fair is much smaller, most of the All the fragrant red sultanas were sold.

As for the good things obtained from Freljord, most of them are luxury goods except furs. Although the commoners have no money, the nobles still have money. They are interested in unseen animal bones, teeth, nuts, etc. , still very interested.

In the end, Forsbarrow's caravan returned with a full load, and while Lux was happy, an alarm bell sounded in her heart.

We can no longer rely on the Xiongdu Trade Conference, and we can no longer rely on trade within the nobility. The construction of the new port must be stepped up. As the situation in Demacia becomes increasingly tense, Vosbarrow's trade will be affected sooner or later!

……………………

"Relax, Lux, don't be so excited." Just when Lux was planning the expansion of the new port, hurriedly taking out all the letterheads sent to her by Ino, and estimating the scale of maritime trade, Kalya comforted her, " You have to have confidence in the nobles of Demacia. They don’t act as vigorously as you. Even if Forsbarrow’s trade is affected, it will be at least two years later.”

"If you don't worry about the long term, you will have immediate worries." Lux shook her head and once again pulled out the latest letter from Ino, "Ino said that he has contacted Shadow Stream. If everything goes well, three The first batch of ships will arrive at the new port in a few months. By then, even if the ice-free port has not yet been built, we must at least demonstrate a good business environment..."

"You are so excited." Kalya sighed helplessly, "Think about the ports you have been to, places like Kalamanda - although the current Newport, Zaun's Newport, and Piltover The port cannot be compared, but compared with most trading ports, it is not inferior. It is true to have a sense of crisis, but you must also have confidence."

"I'm very confident." Lux said helplessly, "But the situation in Demacia always gives me the feeling that my plans can't keep up with the changes. I never thought before that the struggle between the royal family and the nobles would bring consequences to the common people. Despite the disaster, it’s okay that it’s a good year now, but if next year the weather is not so good and there are bad harvests in various places, and the nobles and the royal family have to collect two crops of taxes... I can hardly imagine the situation.”

"Objectively speaking, this is a good opportunity for you." Kalya understood Lux's thoughts very well. "What Forsbarrow lacks is people. Now the taxes are getting heavier and heavier. If we use the sign of being tax-free, I think at least there are still many civilians who came to live in Mithril City."

Lux blinked when she heard this.

"Isn't this bad?"

"What's wrong?" Kalya asked, "Do you think this is poaching, the lords who raise taxes on the common people?"

"..."

Lux opened her mouth, but didn't speak.

From a noble's point of view, this may indeed be an offense, but should I care about this offense?

Which side should your position be on?

This is a no-brainer question.

"So, how can we promote it to attract people to come and live in Forsbarrow?" Lux directly skipped the question and directly asked what to do. "The only thing I can think of is to use the batch of people from Mithral City last year. The reputation of immigrants, coupled with the guarantee of tax exemption, and the introduction of job opportunities..."

"This is enough." Kalya said in a pleasant tone, "Believe me, as long as you can prove that these are true, many people will be willing to come to Forsbarrow to live - the winter here is indeed very cold, but for For most people, they’re not at the point where they’re qualified to think about climate.”

In this way, Lacus took Sona together and began to discuss Fosbarrow's next immigration plan.

After formulating a detailed plan, Lux selected a group of people who were living well and settled in Forsbarrow among the Mithril City immigrants who followed her back last year, and formed an "immigration lobby group". Unified training began.

The training here is not training on how to win people over, but Lux hopes that every immigration representative can clearly explain the relevant policies of Forsbarrow. If the residents of Mithral City have anything to ask, they can give it to them as soon as possible. Give accurate answers.

There is no need for words, just say what you have to say - after all, these are the personal experiences of immigrants. They have indeed found jobs within their ability, they have land to build houses, and they do not need to pay taxes.

Maybe last year, these conditions were not enough to attract the residents of Mithril City to live in a strange land, but I believe that after the war, land annexation (attempted), and tax increases, the residents of Mithril City should start to think again. own future.

After all, in addition to the above basic living standards, Forsbarrow can also provide clerk positions and free literacy learning opportunities. Maybe not every Mithril City person is aware of the importance of knowledge, but I think there are still many people who understand it. What exactly do these conditions mean.

Coupled with the reputation Lux accumulated during the battle of Mithril City last year...

Maybe Mithril City is about to face the biggest poaching incident in history!

……………………

Because Lux had previously borrowed money from Mithril City, Fosbarrow had to repay the loan on time every autumn before the grain harvest, and repay a sum of money with interest to the nobles of the Crown Guard branch of Mithril City. .

And this year, when Forsbarrow's team came to Mithril City with money and goods, there were many familiar faces from Mithril City residents in their team.

Aren't these the people who couldn't survive in Mithril City last winter?

Are they returning home in full glory?

Curiosity is human nature, not to mention the residents of Mithril City who are naturally gossips. After these people came back, many residents of Mithril City asked about their recent lives.

Then, facing their former neighbors and fellow villagers, these guys with a mission naturally started to brag.

Originally, people in Mithral City liked gossip, so naturally they also had a certain talent for bragging. At first, everyone just listened to it as a story.

But as we talked, things started to go wrong.

duty free?

Package work?

Provide land to allow self-construction?

Good guys, there is a limit to your bragging, right?

Many people showed expressions like "Are you kidding me?" and then interrupted the eloquence of these immigrant representatives - we are all neighbors and fellow villagers, so you are being real.

"This is true. Forsbarrow does not pay taxes, does provide job introductions, and does provide land to allow self-construction of houses. If I hadn't gotten older and my brain is unclear, I would still have the opportunity to read and write. Woolen cloth!"

Good guy, if this is really the case, then I won’t be sleepy anymore!

After hearing this, the residents of Mithril City who had been sighing because of the extra taxes this year quickly had other thoughts. Considering that bragging was too common in the north, they decided to go find Forsbarrow. The private army asked, what are their names, Northern Walkers, right?

In this way, when the Northern Walkers started shopping on the street and the clerks went out shopping, many residents of Mithril City began to ask them about Forsbarrow's immigration policy.

And their answers were no different from those of the previous immigration representatives.

Under this situation, many Misilin City residents whose lives were unsatisfactory due to natural disasters and two taxes finally became active.

If it's really hard to survive in Mithril City, then maybe making a living in Forsbarrow is also a way to make a living?

They are all in the north!

Karya’s Little Classroom·Two-crop Taxation:

In the past, Demacia's taxes were collected by the lords, and what was given to the royal family was given to the royal family, and what was left to themselves was kept for themselves.

Now, the royal family is trying to use the Illuminati to squeeze out the Lord's tax collection power. The result is a fatal two-crop tax at the grassroots level.