My name is Ren

Chapter 4 This is the handle of the knife, please hold it

Ren fell into deep thought after letting the four of them sit down. There was silence in the living room, and a needle could be heard.The four imperial bureaucrats who had known each other for a long time looked at me and looked at you. They didn't dare to show their atmosphere. While guessing Ren's thoughts, they were careful not to let themselves become a wedge in the first place.

This kind of silence that made people go crazy and didn't dare to take any action lasted for 10 minutes before Renn recovered from his contemplation.He first smiled apologetically, then turned to look at Richard, the fattest tax official, "You all know that I just came to this city, and to be honest, I'm not as old as any of you. How to manage a city, I'm still a novice. I don't know how to do this better, but at least I know that before doing it, I should first figure out what kind of city this city is?"

"Richard, my friend, can you tell me the tax situation of this city last year and this year?", Ortrenburg is not yet a fief of Rennes, and he cannot be the master of this land, so his income is also related to taxes. Linked, the more taxes, the more benefits he will get. After all, the empire will not be so stingy that the city lords who are in charge of the grassroots side will not be full.From a certain point of view, these city leaders who have not been pocketed by the nobles should be regarded as the royal family's employees.

Therefore, obtaining certain benefits from taxes has become an unspoken unspoken rule, which is acquiesced by the royal family.

Richard changed into a handkerchief and wiped the fine beads of sweat on his face. His breathing was heavy, and his fat body brought him a great burden. His small eyes rolled and narrowed into slits with a smile, "If you I wish, Your Excellency. Maybe you may be a little angry or frustrated when you hear the next words, but I should report to you truthfully. Last year, I only collected [-] gold coins from the tax collection. In the first half of this year, I collected [-] gold coins. .”

Ryan stroked a bronze ring on his left index finger, the only thing his mother had left him.He nodded noncommittally, unable to see the emotions in his heart, Richard's fat face trembled, and he continued: "I'm sorry, I have tried my best. You know, it is really difficult for this city to tax you. It’s too difficult, those mobs didn’t cooperate with my work at all, they even dared to resist the tax by force, damn it…, these guys should all be hanged on the gallows!”

"How many years have you been in office?" Ryan interrupted his complaint, "Is it like this every year?"

Richard smiled ugly and nodded, "I have been in this city for nine years, and in the best years I only collected a hundred gold coins."

This is a very strange thing, if any tax officer had not completed his task for nine consecutive years, he would have been kicked out of the circle of "officials" long ago, and became a member of the great commoner class again, instead of staying in the privileged class.

Ren turned his head to look at Pulsh, "Didn't the guard assist Richard in collecting taxes? Taxation is a sacred and inviolable act in the Imperial Constitution. When necessary, you can apply to the guard and city defense officers to carry out armed tax collection." Orlando During the period of Emperor II, the empire could not collect a tax of a gold coin from the local area, so Orlando II, known as the tyrant, wrote armed taxation into the constitution regardless of the opposition of others, and since then started the 11-year civil war. In the end, the tyrant won, which also proved that it was not the inability to collect taxes, but the issue of enforcement.

As a result, armed taxation became a fashion, and it did not gradually improve until people got used to paying taxes in the last two or three hundred years.

Puershi's face was not as smooth as the others, and he was a little ugly, "Your Excellency, it's not that I don't cooperate, this is already the result of cooperation. The situation in Ortrenburg is very special. There are very few local residents, and most of them are They are foreigners, and they use the excuse of returning to their original place to pay taxes as an obstacle, and with the use of force to resist taxes, we really have no way to carry it out."

Ren nodded. This excuse was not unexpected, and it was just a casual question.

He then asked, "So how is the security situation in this city? Will conflicts break out from time to time?"

After Purse and Kuito looked at each other, Kuito said with a dry smile: "Public security... is very good, at least there have been no vicious cases since this year!"

Ren paused as he rubbed the ring, and the sharp light in his eyes with his head slightly lowered flashed away.Hehe, there have been no vicious cases?He had heard of Ortrenburg's chaotic reputation in the imperial capital for a long time, and it was common for people to die twice in three days. How could there be no vicious cases for more than half a year?It can only be said that the underground forces in this city have replaced the official forces, and all major and minor matters are mediated and resolved by those leaders on the street, and it is not the official's turn to intervene.

The situation has collapsed like this?This was something he had never imagined before coming here.This is the city of the Orlando Empire, imprinted with the brand of Orlando's rule, and now it is out of the official jurisdiction?This is challenging the entire ruling class!Of course, it also shows that the empire's attention to Ortrenburg has dropped to the limit. Since several generations of in-laws with the Byron Empire, the Weimar Corridor has become an undefended passage, and even the frontier troops have been withdrawn.

It seems that if you want to master this city, you still need to work hard.

After continuing to consult for a while, Ren's face finally became ugly.After comforting the four official representatives, he asked the head maid to send them away. He sat in his original position, crossed his legs and thought.

A great man in another world once said that struggle is nothing more than the party fighting against dissidents, uniting the majority, attacking a small group of people, so as to break the surface and gradually erode.

But where does this first step start?
At the same time, in the most exclusive brothel in the city, the real masters of the city sat together.

"I don't know if the guy who came this time is a smart person. If he is smart, we will send him away after serving as the city lord honestly for five years. If he is ignorant and wants to disturb the order here...", Hu The ferocious look on Te's face flashed away, he took a deep breath, grabbed his collar with both hands and struggled vigorously, "Then send him to see the old man!"

The old guy is synonymous with the God of Light. These people who walk in the dark world never believe in the God of Light. They only believe in the knife in their hands!
Alma was a little worried, "I think Renn is different from those guys before. I inquired about it. He is one of the gold family, and his background is far from comparable to those of the little nobles before. Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just in case, in case What should I do if this guy is not a dodo, but a violent lizard?" She paused and looked around, "I think we should wait and discuss these things after we figure it out."

"hey-hey!"

Huth frowned slightly, and glanced at the head of the Sword and Shield Mercenary Corps who was smiling strangely, "If you have something to say, I hate you the most!"

The Sword and Shield Mercenary Corps is the largest and most notorious one in Ortrenburg, with more than 170 people, almost all of whom are deserters, including two half-orcs.As long as they have enough interests, there is nothing they can't do, whether it's capturing slaves or subverting the regime of small tribes.

Barto, the head of the Sword and Shield Mercenary Corps, shrugged his shoulders and slumped on a chair, with his calfskin boots on the edge of the conference table.He curled his lips, "Why do you care so much? If he is honest as his city lord, then everything is negotiable, and [-]% of the proceeds will be taken as his share. If he is not honest, just kill him, The big deal is to arrange for someone to hide with Byron for a few years after taking the blame. I heard a gossip..."

Harvey, who had been silent all this time, raised his eyebrows, "Oh? What news?"

Barto said mysteriously: "I heard that some big shots shot that guy, but they didn't kill him. Obviously, it doesn't matter whether he has friends or background, but he also has enemies that fit his status. .Those enemies wish he could die in this barren mountain, and if they really kill him, maybe they will help us clean up the mess."

Harvey chuckled and stopped talking.Huth was thoughtful, but he didn't know what he thought of, and his expression changed slightly.

The only one who has changed color is Alma. Although he and she are a procuress, she is actually a middleman who specializes in buying and selling information.She, who has dealt with various news all the year round, knows very well that if Ren really dies here, no matter whether it is his friend or his enemy, they will not let it go.Not because of his charisma, nor because of any entanglement of interests, but because of Ren, who represents the most orthodox aristocratic ruling class in the empire, and is one of the most pure-blooded golden families!

Ren can die at the hands of the royal family, at the hands of the prime minister, or even at the hands of any great nobleman.However, the only thing that cannot die in the hands of the common people is that they, the representatives of the common people, declare war on the noble ruling class, and that is a situation of endless death!
These bloody idiots!
Alma cursed furiously in her heart, but she also knew that persuasion at this time would be like adding fuel to the fire. She suppressed the uneasiness and absurdity in her heart, and began to think about finding a way out.As for going to Rennes, she didn't even think about it, because she knew very well that even if Rennes fell down and the Golden Thorn family declined, in Rennes' eyes, she might not even be considered a dog raised by a nobleman.It is not as good as a dog, but it is better to find another way out!
This group of ****!

She cursed again in her heart, hoping not to develop in the worst way, and hope that guy Renn will be a nobleman who eats, drinks and has fun!

"Why don't I try that guy?" Huth said, "If you want to know his attitude, the easiest, most direct, and most effective way is to let him say it or show it in person."

"agree!"

"You can try it!"

"I hope it's not too drastic!"

Different from the official organizations that dawdle, these people are vigorous and resolute figures, and they will do what they say.In a short while, a small plan was released.

Early the next morning, something big happened in the City Lord's Mansion!

(End of this chapter)