Pirate Kingship

To be honest, Byron is almost numb now.

He was still proud of Rheinmetall's military expenses, and the royal party actually passed the war expenses on to him?

The so-called colonial taxes you mentioned are essentially my money, right? !

Not only are they collecting taxes, but they are also collecting taxes for the next three years in advance!

A picture popped up in Byron's mind: "The taxes in Goose City will be collected ninety years later. It's 2010 in the Western calendar. The people have become poor ghosts and there is no money to be squeezed."

Moreover, this is not something like "morality" that is irrelevant to the pirate nation. This is all heavy money.

"Boss, is there a possibility? It may not be easy to say in one or two years, but this place will most likely not be yours in three years.

You take my land and population to collect your taxes, and then use this money that will belong to me in the future to buy my current arms.

This originally happy war money, in the end, became... I buy myself?

Even across the entire "First Circulation Belt", your abacus beads are about to fall on my face!"

The most depressing thing is that there were no colonies when the Magna Carta was born.

The king's power to increase taxes is restricted in the homeland, but it is not restricted here.

In addition, now that the Earl's Party has withdrawn from the capital, even the parliament has been left to the royal party, and it is easy to formally pass a "Stamp Act".

But Byron has been a loyal minister for so long, and he is just short of the last tremor. He can't tear his face with Edward IV for this matter.

After a slight pause, he immediately saluted and said:

"Your Majesty, as you wish.

I will strive to collect military funds in the shortest possible time to ensure the final victory of the royal party."

After hearing this promise, Edward IV's stern face finally showed a smile:

"Very good, Lord Tudor.

I have always trusted your loyalty and your ability. With you in charge of the colony, I don't need to worry about it at all."

Then he changed the subject and talked about another thing:

"By the way, Duke Richard has told me that your Standard Whale Oil Company needs a large investment in infrastructure, right?

I will take this opportunity to allocate the first investment to you."

Before Byron could be happy, he was poured with a basin of cold water again:

"I allow you. Keep one-tenth of this tax as my investment in Standard Whale Oil Company. There should be no problem, right?

I know that heavy assets have slow returns, and I can accept dividends after a year."

When Byron heard this, his mood suddenly became worse.

‘Do you mean to treat that 10% tax as my commission to encourage me to work harder and get more?

And it’s not directly given to me, but my money is used to invest in my industry, and then make money for you?

Who is the first party between us?

Are you playing a trick on me?

Okay, okay, you are going to play with me like this, right? ’

Byron actually knew that these guys were not without money.

They took advantage of the fall of the Lancaster nobles and ate a lot of food.

It’s just that they are particularly greedy, wanting to win the civil war but not spending their own money.

I just don’t know if Edward IV is aware that Queen Elizabeth’s Woodville family is plotting to swallow up the industries of the Earldom of Stromgarde and the Earldom of Grenville through marriage.

I’m afraid that this couple also has their own little tricks, plus [Duke of the Devil] Richard, this family is full of tricks, and they are all bubbling with bad water.

Fortunately, the water in Byron’s stomach is worse than theirs!

He agreed without hesitation:

"Your Majesty, that's no problem."

He sent Edward IV, who was satisfied, away with an impeccable attitude of a loyal minister.

Byron walked out of his study, leaned on the railing on the second floor of the Governor's Mansion, and looked at the Jamestown Royal Port in front of him, which was bustling with people and becoming more prosperous since he took over, and fell into deep thought.

Now the tax revenue of the colony is mainly divided into two parts.

One part is the tithe of the church.

After Byron won the exemption for the Kingdom of Hastings, the tax collection standard did not change, and it was exactly the same as before.

In fact, Edward had bad intentions since that time.

As long as Byron collected taxes diligently, he could not win the hearts of the people, and even if he had a large fiefdom in the colony, it would be impossible for him to become too big to be removed.

Once the accounts were checked by the monks of the order stationed in the colony, he would inevitably be used as a scapegoat, just like the Marquis of Norwich York, the marshal of the first fleet.

The money belonged to Edward IV, and the bad reputation was all on Byron's shoulders.

If Byron had not mastered the art of "Miss Nun, you don't want people to know that you are speculating in stocks with public funds, do you?", he would have really become Edward IV's scapegoat.

Byron also colluded with Sister Theresa to revise the share ratio by falsifying accounts.

The church, Edward IV, Byron, and Theresa divided the accounts 60%, 20%, 10%, and 10%, respectively, and took advantage of the opportunity to make a profit.

In addition, in order to support Byron's development of the southern continent, the royal family's "30%" 11th tax in the second half of the year had been handed over to Byron (Chapter 351).

The other part is secular taxes.

In addition to the 10% stolen goods tax collected by the maritime court, which can make the privateering proceeds legal, there are also property taxes, head taxes, tariffs, consumption taxes, etc., involving all aspects of people's livelihood.

But the [Iron Law of Kingship] had been castrated, and it was castrated again when it went overseas, making it extremely weak, and the colonial folk customs were particularly fierce. I don’t know which civilian who farmed the land was a vicious criminal in his homeland.

In order to collect taxes in full, the governor had to send troops to collect them by force.

It was the same as what the "Armed Tax Inspection Department" of the Pioneer Navigation Colonial Trade Company did on the East-West route.

But the latter mainly targeted foreign merchant ships, which was part of privateering activities. Through consumption transfer, all the people in the party could share the benefits.

The former was different. Collecting three years of taxes at one time would offend everyone to death.

Even if it took decades, people would remember it.

Not only that, many industries in the colonies were backed by domestic dignitaries. If their taxes were collected together, it would not only lose the mass base, but also be isolated by all the upper nobles.

At that time,

Edward IV could only say, "I didn't know about it. It was just a sudden cough. The Earl of Stromgarde did it behind my back." He could then push the responsibility away like a non-stick pan.

For Byron, no matter which choice he made, he would lose.

Although the civil war had begun in his homeland, Edward IV had also found time to dig a big pit for him in his busy schedule, just waiting for him to jump in.

Who made him rich, with territory and a high reputation?

No matter how loyal he was, it was useless. Edward couldn't sleep well without making trouble for him.

Now it seemed that there was only one choice left for Byron.

- Pollute yourself! And go along with the big man!

Byron touched his chin and murmured:

"When the governor took office, he made up all sorts of excuses to win over the gentry and ask them to pay taxes and donations.

Only when they paid could ordinary people follow suit. After getting the money, the gentry's money was returned in full, and the civilians' money was divided into 30% and 70%.

Oh no, it was 90% and 10% was still investment, and in the end, 10% was all theirs.

It's more cruel than the bandits.

I'm too familiar with this set of tricks. What a pity."

He reached out and knocked on his knee, but it was harder than iron.

You want me to beg on my knees?

My knees are too hard to kneel down.

"No taxation without representation", "Boston Tea Party", "Coercive Act", "Colonial Independence", "Thunder on the left and fire on the right, Iris help me", "Please die", "The white rose is dead, the red rose should stand".

A series of response plans and even ready-made scripts kept flashing through Byron's mind.

In the end, they were all rejected by him one by one.

Looking towards the north, his eyes were burning:

"The reason why the York Party is so unscrupulous now is that in Edward IV's cognition, the Lancaster Party led by [Eye on the Enemy] Beretania and [Unbreakable Fortress] Sam Leopold were completely wiped out.

The [Blue Dragon King] carrying the Lancaster Undead was also completely killed.

Now they have no external enemies except the Earl's Party.

As long as they beat the other side, won't the colonies be at his mercy? There will be no trouble at all."

"But don't forget.

In fact, there is another person who can threaten their status-[Devil's Son] The Last Lancaster , and [Wild Hunt]!

If they appear separately, they may not be enough, but what if these two identities are combined into one, with both righteousness and power?

It's time to take off a layer of vest and let "[Wild Hunt] Byron Lancaster" give Edward IV a little shock from the feud again.

If Byron Lancaster, the only one who is qualified to compete with you for the throne, attacks the colonies and robs taxes, are you going to take care of your head or your butt?

Not only will I not give you this money, you will also have to pay me an additional military fee for "suppressing bandits"! "

The most comfortable days for workers in the Bald Eagle Industry are when the polar bear has not fallen.

People can't be too idle, they must have an enemy.

If there is no enemy, you have to create one. This is the supreme business of the "military-industrial complex".

Byron made up his mind and immediately acted vigorously and prepared to take action.

"It's not a bad thing to take this opportunity to bring the 27-point legendary Wild Hunt back into the public eye.

However, in addition to Bruch, the Guardian Knight who is also wanted, acting as the Wild Hunt's assistant, we have to find another reliable third-level thug who has never been seen in front of outsiders.

Otherwise, when the king returns with the precious land of Black Sail Port, he will have to deal with the ignorant minions by himself, which will be too cheap."

Just when he was thinking about which pirate officer would be more suitable.

Dang!

A shiny object that came from nowhere suddenly fell to the ground, right at the foot of the second floor where he was standing.

"Huh? It looks a little familiar."

It was a blue metal fragment the length of a dagger, which seemed to be part of a weapon.

The logbook immediately displayed its information.

[Level 0 Relic - Sea King Trident] (fragment):

"The halberd blade representing gas: can make the holder change into many different forms, can transform into different marine creatures, and dominate other marine creatures.

Destiny: must be a philanthropic 'sea king' in every sense, love the entire marine biosphere, and at the same time improve the holder's fertility, and occasionally cause the monsters around him to become restless within a certain range."

Byron had just seen the trident symbolizing solidity in his mother's hand, no wonder he felt a little familiar.

"Shouldn't this be the level 0 relic on my little brother Salant?

How could such an important thing just fall to the ground?

According to this angle, you don't want to attack me while I'm picking up soap... ugh, ugh, and the trident, right? "

When he mobilized [Divine Vision] and found that there was indeed a figure hiding in the corner and peeking at this side.

Immediately understood the intention of Salant's cousin.

It is obvious that he has heard his name "Byron Tudor".

He wants to use the characteristics of [Sea King Trident] that can only be used by Sea King blood to verify whether this "Tudor" is related to their "Tudor".

Byron was also about to confront Salant. After experiencing the "Death Stranding" incident in Kingston, the capital, at least it is confirmed that Salant's character is still very reliable.

Jumped down from the second floor and picked up the fragment of the trident as if nothing had happened.

As expected, just like the one that touched his mother Hathaway before, there was no resistance.

Just when he straightened up, he heard a voice with hidden excitement behind him:

"Captain! "

Turning around, Salant, with an excited face, was standing behind him.

His eyes were slightly red, obviously after suffering a great disaster, he was extremely excited to meet his relatives thousands of miles away from home.

But he pursed his lips twice, and finally suppressed his excitement, and did not continue to reveal his identity.

Because of the two core survival taboos of the Eastern Continent: "Everyone who speaks must be known; it is not people who chase knowledge, but knowledge that chases people. "It has penetrated into his bones.

Any leaked information may become a bridge for the spread of pollution.

Moreover, the disaster encountered by the Mermaid Kingdom is not something that a mere fourth-level mythical creature can resist. One more person knowing it is just one more victim.

Instead of revealing the identity, it is better to maintain the status quo. Maybe Byron, who knows nothing, can continue to live safely in the Old Continent for hundreds of years.

Sarant confirmed Byron's identity this time just to prepare for his own funeral.

There are too many taboo secrets in his mind, and he even saw the indescribable thing in the deepest part of the sea.

If the material world continues to slide towards the "intertidal zone", he will sooner or later be caught up by the knowledge that has come back.

At that time, the fragment of the zero-level holy relic [Sea King Trident] passed down from generation to generation in the family will be entrusted to Byron to increase his survival rate in the Luoyan era.

Finally, he said nothing, but sighed in his heart:

"Forgive me, Byron, let me, your brother, bear all this.

I will do my best to protect you before I die. "

Byron saw the tangled expression on Salant's face and the anchor chain between them that suddenly thickened, and immediately guessed what he was thinking.

However, just like he never took the initiative to ask his father about his mother's past, he would not live up to Salant's kindness and take the initiative to cause trouble for himself.

The kind of people who can't understand the situation at all, can only sing the opposite tune "I don't, I don't, I won't", and finally mess up the things are the most annoying.

When you have the strength to overturn the waves of the boat, it will be just a joke in front of the giant ship and cannon.

So Byron just returned the halberd in his hand to his cousin without any nostalgia, and casually reminded:

"Mr. Salant, is this what you lost?

Put it away, don't lose it again next time. "

To be honest, he was actually a little interested in the [Sea King Trident], one of the strongest relics in the Snail Era, but he immediately shook his head after seeing the destiny of the "Sea King".

The "tentacle fetish" rooted in this has been poisonous until now.

If there is another "coelenterate fetish", "roundmouth lamprey fetish", "sea urchin fetish", etc., wouldn't it be fatal?

Let Salant enjoy this blessing slowly.

Then Byron smiled and patted his cousin's shoulder:

"Mr. Salant, you came at the right time.

I'll take you out to play today. Let's go to the pirate city Black Sail Port to let you see what a real pirate is."

By the way, he called his queen Violet:

"Miss, scientists should not always do the work of engineers. They should learn to focus on the big and let go of the small, and give others a chance.

Hand over the work of industrializing bolt-action rifles to those gun engineers, and go out with me.

It's time for the Bay Princess and [Wild Hunt], who have disappeared for too long, to come back online. "

Later.

On the edge of the Devil's Triangle, in the Bahamas, which has more than 700 islands and more than 2,400 reefs, the pirate city Black Sail Port.

The air is full of the smell of freedom and decadence.

Unlike the Bay Pirates or Barbary Pirates, which are a combination of populations and occupations.

This notorious pirate port is the habitat of most Bantaan pirates, and the sources of pirates are extremely complex.

There are free pirates from various countries, privateers holding privateering licenses who only serve a certain country, and various black or gray smugglers.

There are bounty hunters who call themselves Robin Hoods of the Sea, indigenous extraordinary people whose families have been destroyed, and countless black wizard associations, degenerates, and secret spies from various countries.

Based on population and land area alone, this place can be called one of the largest cities in the Bantaan Islands.

But as we all know, as long as the number of the main ethnic group is not dominant, the public security will definitely not be good under the struggle for power among various forces.

It can be seen from the nickname of Black Sail Port, "one of the most depraved places on the sea".

At this time, there were many pirate ships in the port, like stars over the moon, surrounding a strange warship [Church of Misery].

This battleship is a standard large Galen, with a towering ship building, and the stern of the ship has been transformed into a small church.

But what is enshrined in it is neither a cross nor a saint, but a life-size bronze statue of a one-eyed dragon, the shape of which is exactly the same as that of a cult.

Recruitment banners were still hanging on the ship. It seemed that they were taking advantage of the opening of the southern continent route to continue recruiting people to do something big.

The fourth-level pirate warlord [Coprophag] One-Eyed Owl, who looks exactly like the bronze statue, is also the owner of this pirate ship. He is standing on the protruding stern corridor, giving a passionate speech to his crew and the large group of free pirates:

“Opportunities only come to those who are prepared.

As long as you prepare enough money, you can meet many wise men and learn their wisdom, and then use this wisdom to make more money, and then use this money to meet more wise people.

If you continue this cycle repeatedly, you can step on your left foot and spiral up to the sky with your right foot. In the end, you will be wiser than the wisest people and richer than the richest people.

Understand the applause! "

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Led by the enthusiastic crew, the large group of pirates who stared at him applauded together.

“Now an opportunity is before you.

To join my pirate group, everyone only needs to pay a membership fee of ninety-nine gold coins, and I will pass on my wisdom to you.

Old crew members all know that many crew members have betrayed me.

But what about me? One thousand pounds was given to him directly.

I will give a thousand pounds to anyone who betrays me. Those who are loyal to me will easily earn tens of thousands of pounds in the future. Hear the applause! "

"Everyone remember, how much money you spend will determine how magnanimous you are.

If you spend tens of thousands of pounds unjustly, then if you get hundreds of thousands of pounds when you do practical things, isn't that just a joke? Understand the applause! "

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Amidst the thunderous applause, many free pirates generously donated their money and sold themselves to the "Church of Misery" for ninety-nine gold coins.

And whether it was an illusion or not, when they chose to fall into the arms of this "wise man", all the depression and troubles in their hearts suddenly disappeared, and their hearts were gradually filled with high and fanatical will.

There is only one word left that echoes repeatedly in my mind: "Success! Success! Success!"

This is exactly the title ability of the Coprophagous [Great Uncleanness]:

"He can eat other people's negative emotions and all kinds of soul filth, chew it, and then feed it to other people or other things in the form of words.

It can eventually produce a memetic contamination effect, creating artificial corrupted people or cursed objects, but he himself can remain unharmed.

Most of those unlucky souls who are polluted will become fanatical believers of the One-Eyed Owl, and they will complete his orders even if they lose all their money and risk their lives. "

[Scoop Eater] The one-eyed owl looked at the effect of this speech and nodded with satisfaction:

“When we were exploring new routes in the Broken Islands, we wasted too many believers, and now we can finally get some health back.

Now that the Southern Continent has opened up, there are four fourth-level pirate warlords including me who have chosen to return to Black Sail Port for development: [Captain Goat] Alex, [Rogue Baron] Valiland, and [Candy Witch] Ivanka.

With this combined strength, even the treasure fleet of the Kingdom of Castile is not untouchable.

It's a pity that although we will reluctantly follow each other when the fortune starts every year, we have never been able to catch its tail.

The special effect of the title [Treasure Ship's Key] really has no loopholes and is completely unsolvable.

We still don’t know who the three secret keepers arranged by the Castilians are, and whether they have a chance to take action.

Even if there is a 1% chance, I really don't want to let the world's biggest treasure slip away from me.

Once someone can do the impossible and successfully plunder the treasure fleet that no one has ever successfully plundered, the pirate king of the Bantaan Islands and the Sapphire Sea will be born, right? "

When the one-eyed owl was looking forward to the beautiful scene falling on his head, he suddenly heard exclamations from around him and subconsciously turned his head to look at the sea outside the port.

Suddenly, a fourth-level "nominal battleship" with a standard shape of fifty cannons was slowly approaching.

There is also a very iconic prow statue of a girl holding a red rose in her hands.

He couldn't help but squinted his eyes:

“This is the [Flaming Rose] owned by the bay people’s princess Violet, the daughter of the pirate king [Whale Hunter]?!

Why is she here? "