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Chapter 1175 The Squire Against the King
The tax resistance case against the squire Hampton was held in the Financial Appeal Court in front of the Palace of Charles I. It is said that the twelve judges of the court graduated from the colleges of Oxford University, Cambridge University and other universities and were lawyers specializing in law.

The defendant in this tax resistance case, Hampton, also graduated from Magdalen College of Oxford University, and also studied law at the Inner Temple, one of the four major bar houses. He was not afraid of King Charles' prosecution.

In addition to the 12 judges' seats, there are plaintiffs, defendants, juries, and auditoriums.

Li Jinde and others appeared in the court before the trial, and they had four directors in total.

The other jury members and observers who had been present looked at these people curiously. They did not understand why the businessman from the East would appear in the British court to hear the trial.

"I heard that lawyers and judges are respectable professions here. Their annual income is higher than that of ordinary citizens, and the income of senior lawyers is even more expensive. They may even be born in nobles and squires." Li Jinde and others Find your seat and wait for the hearing.

It was the first time for them to appear in a Western court and listen to their case as spectators. For Li Jinde and others, this was undoubtedly a very novel experience.

"It turned out to be them!" Monk, Cromwell, and other gentry, nobles, and military officers who were concerned about this case arrived. Among them, Monk recognized Li Jinde, and he couldn't help being surprised that Li Jinde was here.

What is the relationship between the British gentry's resistance to taxes and the Chinese businessmen who came to London to do business?
Monk, Cromwell and a group of people who came to the hearing sat in front of Li Jinde and them, and Monk even glanced at Li Jinde.

Li Jinde noticed Monk's eyes, and looked at him with a bit of embarrassment.In a sense, they are rivals in love.

The lieutenant colonel of the British infantry regiment, during the war, the king called to recruit troops from all over the country, and he could temporarily command an army, which was regarded as an upper-middle-level officer.With Monk's experience in the army for more than ten years, his current salary is not low, and he can have higher power and opportunities in times of war.

It is not a good thing to have a personal grudge with such a person.But Li Jinde had no choice.

"Why do people from the East come to listen to this case? Could it be that the case has become a hot topic and has already alarmed the businessmen in the East?" Monk muttered.

"The king has not convened parliament for almost ten years, and has levied many taxes without the approval of the parliament... If Hampton can win the case, then other gentry and tenant farmers in various counties can resist paying the ship tax based on this case. If you want to levy a ship tax, you must get the approval of Congress. On the contrary, if Hampton loses the lawsuit, everyone should obediently pay the ship tax to the royal family." Cromwell saw it very clearly.

"Can the defense lawyer hired by Hampton win this lawsuit? After all, the relationship between the 12 judges and the king is closer..." Monk said.

"The chances of winning the case are very slim. I don't know how many of the 12 judges can stand on Hampton's side." Cromwell replied.

"However, His Majesty the King claims that the purpose of collecting the ship tax is to invest in the establishment of a powerful naval fleet to surpass the fleets of Spain and the Netherlands to escort our merchant ships. If we can have a strong army, I think even if It is also possible for us to tighten our belts and hand over part of the income to the royal family as a ship tax. My experience on the battlefield in the Netherlands tells me that although the navy cannot decide the final outcome of a war, it can block coasts and ports, to threaten the enemy's long coastline and force the enemy to surrender," Monk said.

He has no objection to Charles I's use of the ship tax collected throughout the country to build a powerful navy, if that is the case... In the 30-year war that is going on in Europe, the navies of Spain, the Netherlands, and Britain have already There have been many confrontations in the English Channel.The protagonists of the war are Spain and the Netherlands, two powerful countries, and Britain can only watch the battle from the sidelines, or assist the Netherlands against the Spaniards.

As a soldier, Munch also hoped that his country would have a powerful army capable of dominating Europe.

"If there is a powerful navy, it must be under the control of the parliament. Otherwise, the navy built by His Majesty the King will only obey His Majesty the King and become a tool of tyranny. What do you think?" Karen Will asked, looking into Monk's eyes.

"I... don't know." Monk didn't think too much, and found it difficult to answer Cromwell's question.

Almost all the upper-middle-class nobles who came to hear the trial had great interest in the outcome of the trial.

Some of them may be as resistant to Charles I's increasing taxes as Hampton, and some of them hope to use this incident to allow their King Charles to restore parliament and re-limit the king's expanding power.The latter is a former MP represented by Cromwell.The National Assembly was forcibly dissolved by Charles I a few years ago, but the National Assembly has been regarded as a tradition by them. The original members of Parliament have been thinking about restoring the power of the Parliament all the time, so that national policies are beneficial to the groups they represent.

"Here come the twelve judges!" said someone from the jury.

Everyone looked at the entrance of the court, and sure enough, 12 judges came in one after another, some were middle-aged, and some were elderly, all of whom were well-known lawyers in London.

These twelve judges were unsmiling, and the atmosphere in the appeal court dropped to freezing point, even a little depressed.

"The defendant, Mr. Hampton, is here!" A burst of warm cheers broke out in the hearing auditorium!

A middle-aged man in his 40s, dressed in country gentry and aristocratic clothing, walked in with his head held high.Behind him were two well-known lawyers employed by him, St. John's and Holborn.

No wonder the hearing seats cheered as if they were welcoming a hero. As a squire, he openly confronted the aloof king, and went to the court to have a lawsuit with the king.
Squire Hampton took the defendant's seat, and two eminent barristers of the City of London sat on either side of him.Hampton stiffened his neck, facing the 12 serious judges in front of him, still arrogant, without a hint of nervousness.

He owns a large manor in the wealthy Buckinghamshire, and his annual income is calculated on the basis of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Of course, it is impossible to pay a mere 20 shillings in the ship tax.

He was not the one who brought the tax resistance case to the court, and he was also stubborn. Even if he lost the lawsuit, he would not pay more taxes than he should have paid!Not only did he refuse to pay, but he also encouraged people around him to join him in resisting taxes.

(End of this chapter)