Regressor of the Fallen Family - Chapter 235
Episode 235: The royal family raises taxes from nobles.
So what do the nobles do next?
“Raise the taxes collected from the territory’s residents! Up to 70%!”
The kingdom’s nobles raised their existing taxes by as much as double.
Naturally, the people could not help but groan.
“What kind of new era is this? A new era of hell!”
“They said he was a tyrant, but he was a real tyrant.”
“Damn it. This guy, that guy, the nobles…”
Most of them were nobles who were notorious for taking things easy, but moments like this were like lightning.
And those cries also reached the ears of King Logan.
“Crazy people… 90% raised their taxes to 70%?”
He thought that the more he took, the more he could squeeze Young Ji-min.
But the behavior exceeded Logan’s expectations.
Even the conscientious nobles who received 3.4% of taxes turned into tyrants who squeezed out the citizens in the face of dwindling income.
‘Well, it’s not my place to say that I caused this situation.’
Although I felt remorse.
“What are you going to do? The policy to calm the public sentiment…”
“No. There is nothing we can do now. Now is the time to focus our attention.”
Now I had no choice but to remain firm despite Dwayne’s concerns.
Putting aside concerns about public sentiment for a moment, Logan spoke his opinion first.
“In the case of free knights or knights from local territories, they will gather sufficiently under the condition that Auror users, including myself, directly lead and teach them. The king is the monarch’s monarch, so there will be justification for not betraying the lord.”
Heinkel nodded and added his opinion.
“I agree with your Majesty’s words, but soldier training needs to be more clearly differentiated.”
“What about differentiation?”
“In any case, this is a fund mobilized to the point of destroying public sentiment. If we receive support from Esperanza and McLane on top of this, we will actually be investing much more money than what appears from the outside. In that case, we need to raise the quality level much more to attract applicants. .”
“Raising the quality level?”
“As your Majesty said, knights can fall for the bait of Auror users’ teachings as long as they are treated similarly to before. But soldiers are different. For them, immediate treatment is more important than future possibilities.”
Since it was a story that everyone could understand, everyone nodded easily.
“You’re talking about giving a high monthly salary.”
Dwayne, who is sensitive about money, frowned, but Heinkel nodded as if it was obvious.
“That is only natural. And we need to invest generously in training facilities and equipment. It is also necessary to emphasize that you can focus solely on training without taking on any missions for a year. And if you pass the training, you can be assigned to any territory. “Training courses that can reach the senior soldier level should also be created in advance.”
“When recruiting soldiers, it would be more like the monarch evaluating them. Haha, after living for such a long time, all sorts of things happen.”
Heinkel’s words made even the silenced swordsman stop talking.
But those listening had no choice but to admit that there was truth to what he said.
Except for just one person.
“…This much budget is going to drain like water. Hehehe.”
Dwayne expressed his distress by pulling out his hair, but no one responded.
just.
“If we start with a target force of 50,000, we will need 10 million gold just to make equipment. We need to mobilize all of our magic workshops to produce weapons for new soldiers first. Then, we can lower the cost a little, right?”
Only Logan showed some understanding of the financial officer’s difficulties.
“We have to make it ‘only’ at cost. Thoroughly. I will have a good talk with Lord Hamar. Hehe.”
Dwayne’s already bloodshot eyes create a strange sense of tension.
Heinkel told a story that made those bloodshot eyes double in size.
“The target level of the soldiers must be at least that of McLane’s crossbow cavalry. To do that, they need rapid-fire crossbows and…” ”
Nonsense! Absolutely! It is impossible to obtain that number of horses in a short period of time! Even if there is a way, “As soon as I buy a horse, I go bankrupt…!”
“…Of course, I don’t think about it that far. I’m just talking about the level of training. Haha, I was saying that we need to perfect crossbow and weapon tactical training.”
“Haa… Hee Heinkel. Please say that quickly. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I thought my heart was going to drop.”
Dwayne is holding his heart and breathing heavily with a red face.
Seeing this, Heinkel put aside for a moment the suggestion that at least 10% of the best soldiers should be trained in horsemanship.
and.
“MacLane’s experienced soldiers must serve as training instructors for the soldiers under the direct control of the royal family. Given its size, there should be at least 2,300 soldiers.”
“That’s no problem.”
“For sword training, we will also appoint knights from the Order of Esperanza as instructors.”
“…I think it might be a bit excessive for soldier training, but then the training results will be clear.”
“No matter how hard it is, it’s difficult. We have to recruit 50,000 elite soldiers who will be second to none within one year.”
“It can’t be helped. We have to achieve the maximum results in a short period of time, right, Your Majesty?”
“Of course. Master, don’t worry too much. The McLane knights will also help.”
Finally, it was decided to mobilize the knights of Esperanza and McLane to train new soldiers in swordsmanship.
And a few days later.
Announcements for recruiting soldiers with generous conditions unprecedented in the kingdom’s history began to be posted throughout the kingdom.
In other words, the conditions for recruiting knights are very generous, as long as they are knights.
Unconventional soldier recruitment conditions that require almost anyone to apply.
The announcement instantly became the hottest rumor throughout the kingdom and caused an uproar throughout the kingdom.
And that rumor hit like an arrow into the ears of young common workers who were more despairing than anyone else at the news of the tax increase during the harvest season.
There.
Add in this royal decree.
“If I keep farming like this, everything will be taken away anyway, so I’ll have to volunteer as a soldier.”
“Oh, mother! They say you can be a woman too! Taxes are scary, so we need to at least reduce the cost of living at home!”
A procession of support began to appear regardless of gender.
In particular, starting with young commoners living in the capital and central regions under the direct control of the royal family, many people soon flocked to Grand.
“Don’t step on that one!!”
“Stop pushing me from behind!”
“Ack! Who is it? Elbow!”
A crowd filled the front of Grand’s castle gate.
In the bloody atmosphere that had prevailed since the launch of the new dynasty, Grand, where the floating population had been decreasing, was boiling over for a long time.
On the other hand, in front of them, the faces of those who had to take the test according to McLane’s standards were dying by the minute.
“Count Bae. Why are we doing this…?”
“…If I have to criticize, I have to criticize. Is there any other way?”
The face of former Royal Guard leader Francisco Romero was literally ashen as he looked at the crowd of applicants.
During the last civil war, he participated as a reinforcement for Esperanza and was captured. After being released from prison, he lost his title as commander of the royal guard.
Along with him, his subordinates who were knights of the royal guard are also in a situation where they are essentially waiting, having only been appointed as knights of the newly created Kingdom Guard.
But this was the first mission.
It was a situation where I could only sigh, but there was nothing I could do.
‘If you don’t handle it properly here, it will really get out of hand.’
The reason he entrusted such a chore to himself, a top-class knight, was probably because he wanted to tame him.
If I said I didn’t like it and let go, I could have lost my head.
So Francisco gritted his teeth and took the applicant’s document and stamped it.
“Go into the barracks over there! The man is on the other side! You bastard! How dare you…!”
Sometimes, they would beat up idiots who tried to go to the women’s barracks and throw them to the other side.
It was literally five minutes before the start of the disaster.
He gritted his teeth and tried to organize the place somehow in order to control it all.
The period for accepting applicants is only one month.
I already felt like my eyes were getting dark under my eyes, but I couldn’t help it.
‘These are the guys who will all become my subordinates later. ‘Okay, let’s think like that.’
I have to bow down now.
You have to bow down to survive.
Francisco Romero gave up his pride and worked like crazy.
“What’s the status?”
“There is still an overflow of applicants and the number is continuing to increase. At this rate, it seems likely that more than 50,000 people will flock in just half of the month, rather than the scheduled month.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“It’s not that fortunate.”
Logan breathed a sigh of relief, but Dwayne actually looked tearful.
“…I heard there are a lot of applicants?”
“Yes. It is much more than expected. So the problem is that we are spending more than expected to feed and house the applicants during that period. This is absolutely not a good thing! We have only just started collecting taxes!”
“…Is that so? Why did you go to such lengths?”
“Because of a certain tyrant’s reckless policy, it has become difficult to make a living just by farming!”
The tyrant had no choice but to break out in a cold sweat at the direct words of the Minister of Finance, who had noticed the unexpected spending.
“Well… it’s better than not having enough.”
Logan slightly looked away and avoided taking responsibility.
Dwayne, who was glaring at the monarch, sighed as if he had given up and pointed to a space in the distance where applicants were crowded.
“And there are other problems as well.”
“another pair of boots?”
“Isn’t it a waste of manpower to send the entire royal guard to serve guests?”
Logan responded coldly to Dwayne’s words.
“Wasting manpower is just wasting manpower. What have they done so far?”
Logan’s impression of the Royal Guard is one of incompetence, powerlessness, and non-existence.
It was just those three things.
All I remember from the end of the first civil war was…
“That’s right, but among them is Count Francisco Romero, a knight of the highest order.”
“Hmm? Oh… that’s right, that mustache.”
Because there was only him.
And unfortunately for Francisco, it was only then that Logan remembered him.
“Yes. It may be considered an insult if a senior or top knight is given such a mission.”
The moment Dwayne says that.
-Where are you going again? The man is over there, you crazy guy!
The sight of the ‘highest knight’ literally jumping up and taking order was clearly in their eyes.
“…Are you doing well at work?”
“Yes.”
“Just leave it alone.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Do you know that your passionate appearance actually brought trouble upon yourself?
Dwayne somehow felt sorry for that middle-aged knight.
Applicants did not just flock to recruit soldiers.
The kingdom’s civil wars, which took place one after another over the past few years, created countless knights who lost their masters. The last civil war was short-lived and had few casualties, but the nobles who had been on the dead king’s side were virtually destroyed, leaving hundreds of knights with no place to return to.
Many of them could not do mercenary work for the sake of respectability from the nobility, so they simply lived as unemployed men under the name of free knights. Meanwhile, the Royal Army’s military recruitment notice was truly eye-popping.
Teachings of Auror users.
Moreover, being directly under the royal family was quite tempting.
They weren’t the only ones intrigued by the announcement.
“If you are the king, then you are our baron’s lord. Then, even if you move the enemy, it is not betrayal.”
Local knights who were not satisfied with their treatment also turned their attention to recruiting royal guards.
As a result, the number of applicants for the recruitment, which was expected to be 300 for the engineer level, reached about 540.
The swordsman who accepted their application documents answered simply.
“Everyone passed.”
“Yes? But, sir, among these are those who abandoned their master….”
“You can make those who are not human into humans. Those who cannot be done, you can filter out through training.”
A cruel smile appeared on the lips of the swordsman who served as the general instructor for the royal guard knights.
And, of course, it was the nobles who reacted more sensitively than anyone else to the movements of the royal family.
We are recruiting applicants to create a direct army that receives only orders from His Majesty the King!
[Knight]
Immediately apply for loyal and skilled knights who will support the swordsmen and other supermen of the kingdom who will directly lead and guide them!
[Soldier]
We recruit young people between the ages of 18 and 25, regardless of gender.
Upon full completion, you will be able to be treated at the level of a senior soldier in any territory, so you will focus only on training without any other duties for one year, and all accommodation, food and equipment will be provided. The monthly salary is equivalent to the level of a senior soldier in another territory!
Applicants are accepted from all over the kingdom, and movement of residents for this purpose is permitted by royal order.
We will accept refugees and slash-and-burn residents with irregular residences without regard to their past, as long as they are not violent criminals.
But it seemed like the people around him couldn’t get over it that easily.
“It hasn’t been long since the new dynasty began. Shouldn’t we reassure the public sentiment?”
“If we squeeze the people who are already struggling like this, the country’s productivity will ultimately decline in the long run. Please think again, Your Majesty.”
Heinkel and Dwayne showed signs of concern one after another.
But Logan’s attitude was strong.
“We can’t all die together while implementing policies for the public opinion right now. I know you’re worried, but for now, I want you to focus on your top priority goal. It never lasts long. It only takes a year.”
Those firm words brought simultaneous sighs from those around them.
They exchanged worried glances with each other, but then couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
All of those gathered here had experienced Logan’s stubbornness more than once.
– No matter how forced it may seem, when Logan McLane exerts force, results are sure to follow.
That experience led me to follow this seemingly reckless policy.
“If that is your Majesty’s will, I think it would be right now to discuss the training and organization of troops to be recruited in the territory as originally planned. If you have any thoughts, please let us know.”
At Heinkel’s next words, everyone’s eyes turned to Logan again.