I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 123: Your Fuck Rebels (I)

There were still two or three days of free time, and Xiaodao decided to do something so as not to waste this precious free time.

……

Marlowe's fingers left a sweat mark on the sheepskin account book. He lowered his head and looked at the numbers on the paper, his eyes fixed and dull.

The unique chill of the castle wrapped around his knees, but the shirt that was pressed against his chest was already soaked with cold sweat.

The candles in the bronze holders on the table cast a dim light, casting a shadow behind Marlowe that looked like a hanged man.

"The 7th Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Republic is to be issued 400 pounds of hard cheese... It has not yet arrived."

Marlowe's quill dotted the last number again and again, and the ink was dotted like sesame seeds on a Shandong pancake.

The ridges of the Cane Corso outside the window were just beginning to show signs of light, and he had already checked the list three times... In addition to the cheese, there were still a total of twenty-five bags of flour, six boxes of cheese, and some bacon missing.

The gap was big enough for two hundred hungry musketeers to mutiny on the march, or worse, to grab stones with their loading hands and smash them in the quartermaster's head...that is, their own head.

At this moment, the sound of iron boots hitting each other came from the stone steps outside the room.

This made Marlowe subconsciously slam the book shut. The words "Record of Shield Tax Collection in 1525 of the Earth Mother Calendar" on the coarse linen cover danced in the firelight.

The demand for payment, delivered by express horse from Waterradnoy ten days ago, was still at the bottom, and the cursive words were like a noose around Marlowe's throat.

"...Order the three towns of Doro, Miller, and Donghuamu...to immediately pay the shield tax due this year...If this causes the Republic Army to be unable to continue to make ends meet, it will be considered treason..."

The Bolas Fortress on the front line fell. This was the news Marlowe received half a month ago. After he knew this, he knew that the situation was going to be bad.

As expected, within five days, the elders of the upper house of the Republic Parliament of Votradnoy and the Speaker of the Parliament held a meeting and made a decision.

The aristocratic lackey army that intends to overthrow the new republic is rampant, and the Bagnian Republic must respond by launching a counterattack from two directions.

The first is the Bolas Fortress, and the second is to fight northwest along the ancient passage, spreading the war to the city of Helgeland near the feudal remnant army, destroying the enemy's vitality and regaining the territory of the Republic.

To this end, the Republic of Bagnia will assemble three infantry regiments, the first and second regiments will march along the ancient passage, and the third infantry regiment will advance from the "Hegland to Oncandra Pass", both of which will be the main attack.

The First and Second Corps were led by General Kassan, and the Third Corps was led by Lieutenant General Dalek. The three corps had a total of 6,000 regular soldiers and more than 20,000 deputy soldiers and civilian laborers.

When the twelve noble lords in the Senate of the Republic and the King, the Speaker of the Parliament, made this decision, they were quite relaxed. They just spoke a few words and three infantry regiments came out.

There are corps. The three infantry regiments are the legacy of the former Kingdom of Bagnia. They were the regular army of the former kingdom and their combat effectiveness is pretty good.

The Republic was able to confront the Restoration Army formed by the former kingdom's great nobles thanks to the existence of these three standing corps.

The Kingdom of Minisia was willing to invest in the Republic, not only because the Senate slid and knelt smoothly, but also because of these three standing corps.

The Corps is great, but the money and supplies needed to deploy it once is...

"Ugh……"

Marlowe sighed. It was not until the beginning of spring after the end of winter that the tax collectors of the Republic collected the poll tax and agricultural tax.

And now, between spring and summer, when there is a shortage of food, the senators of the Republic are raising taxes for the sake of war.

In the previous year, the Republic had temporarily increased several taxes due to the war, and this year it should have been suspended for a year.

But the lawmakers did not seem happy about it. They felt that the taxes they increased were not much and ordinary farmers could pay them by gritting their teeth. It was not a pressure at all.

Yes, the tax increase was not much, Marlowe had to admit, but the gentlemen in the Senate seemed to have forgotten that when they were small nobles, the big nobles above collected one share of taxes, and they collected three shares from those below.

Then the tax officials and tax collectors who actually collect taxes may collect five to ten taxes.

What should we do with the extra taxes collected?
Of course, put it in your own pocket.

Thinking of this, Marlowe sighed subconsciously. He stood up, opened the door and walked towards the basement of the castle. He wanted to take inventory of the military supplies purchased and the shield tax paid by the town below.

Marlowe pushed open the cellar door and heard the muffled sound of barrels rolling from deep in the cellar. There was a thief!
This thought popped into Marlowe's mind, and he subconsciously grabbed the candlestick and rushed over. With the help of the dim light, he saw several servants from the quartermaster's office scraping a green-yellow unidentified object into a new wooden barrel.

“What are you doing?”

Marlowe held the candle in his left hand and the long sword at his waist with his right hand, and his majestic voice exploded under the vault of the cellar... As a military academy student who just graduated this year, he had to use his majesty and voice to scare the servants.

Marlowe's surprise attack was very successful. The servants who were circling the cheese barrel with knives were frightened and one of them even dropped the knife in his hand.

"What are you guys doing gathered here!?"

Marlowe asked again in a deliberately low voice, and the servants dispersed tremblingly, revealing the barrel they were surrounding.

As Marlowe watched, the oldest servant huddled up and held up half a piece of cheese covered in blue spots to show it, making incoherent excuses for their actions.

"Sir, the rainy season has arrived early in the mountains... This batch of inventory was shipped from the town of Duoluo the day before yesterday... We just scraped off the mold..."

Marlowe took a deep breath, took the cheese and looked at it for a moment, then he remembered who owned this batch of cheese that was paid in the name of shield tax.

Yesterday at noon, the new steward of the former Baron of Montignac, now a member of the House of Commons of the Republic, arrived with a carriage loaded with five barrels of cheese and ten bags of barley, accompanied by twenty serfs in tattered clothes.

According to the shield tax issued by the Senate of the Republic, the district where Senator Montignac is located should hand over ten barrels of cheese, twenty bags of barley, and fifty laborers who bring their own dry food.

If it was not possible to provide goods and laborers, the Montignac electoral district could surrender a number of Bagnac silver coins sufficient to arm a knight.

When Marlow questioned the congressman's butler in the name of the quartermaster, the latter's sneer with a Miniscan accent was still ringing in Marlow's ears.

"Not enough shield tax? My dear quartermaster, you should also know that the harvest is poor right now. The herdsmen and farmers in my master's jurisdiction are busy working, and we can't spare manpower and supplies for the time being.

Please take some time off for a few days. My master will definitely be able to deliver the things in a few days."

After saying this, the butler left with five followers who were wearing breastplates, carrying muskets on their backs, and knights’ swords on their waists.

Thinking of this, Marlowe dug his nails into the cheese, and turbid mucus oozed from under the cheese skin like a festering wound.

Damn Mr. Montignac, the councillor must have been corrupt, for his stewards and attendants could afford to wear breastplates and equip themselves with heavy Bagnaia-style muskets, the price of which was enough to arm a platoon of spearmen.

And this cheese is definitely not new this year; it's probably a reserve from the dry season at the end of last summer.

Because of the humidity during the transition between winter and spring, as well as the prolonged storage period and improper sealing, this batch of cheese became damp.

Marlowe sighed, raised his hand and returned the cheese to the servant, letting them continue working.

The servants breathed a sigh of relief. The reason they were so active in cutting off the moldy part of the cheese was not because they were diligent, but because the moldy cheese was a snack for them and a rare protein supplement.

Therefore, the errand boys in the Quartermaster Department would diligently inspect the supplies in the cellar every day. The damp flour, worm-eaten cloth, and maggot-infested pickled meat were their welfare.

"Lord Marlowe!"

At this moment, guards in yellow and white cotton armor rushed into the cellar wrapped in the morning mist in the mountains and came to Marlowe in a hurry.

"The convoys in Saint-Étienne and Miller were robbed!

It was the rebels, with their red flags, who burned twelve cartloads of oats in the pass, and...”

The young man's Adam's apple rolled.

"The cart of black powder you specifically instructed me to escort has been taken away by them."

Marlowe suddenly felt his temples throbbing, his eyes widened, and he growled in a low voice.

"Rebels? Aren't we in the rear area? When did the rebels appear?!"

"I don't know, sir. That's what the returning cavalry reported."

(End of this chapter)