Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

After the two men came up, they merely nodded slightly to Major General Bill King, without exchanging any further pleasantries, displaying an extremely arrogant attitude.

Nozer found it hard to believe that two lowly tax collectors would dare to be so disrespectful to an army major general, but it was true.

Bill King simply pretended not to see the two of them.

One of the taller men crossed his arms and addressed the approaching first mate, "The Shining Gold, Captain Evan Knight, right? Bring out the crew list and cargo manifest."

"Yes, sir, everything is ready."

The first mate, with a familiar smile on his face, quickly handed over a thick stack of account books.

While flipping through the ledgers to check the information for the two of them, he answered various questions in a low voice, from the number of people on the ship and the departure time to the types of goods, answering them flawlessly.

Halfway through the verification, another tax collector suddenly looked up and glanced at the several cannons unloaded from the Fang piled on the deck, his brows furrowing instantly.

Just as he was about to say something, the first mate immediately and discreetly pulled two heavy leather bags from his pocket and, under the guise of handing over account books, quietly slipped them into the hands of the two tax collectors.

"We all know that port taxes are not collected in kind."

The first mate looked at the two tax collectors with a grin, "It's not much, it's just a token of our appreciation, please don't refuse."

The leather bags clinked together, producing a crisp, metallic sound. The two tax collectors weighed the bags in their hands, and the seriousness on their faces instantly faded.

Do you know the consequences of bribing government officials?

He is testing the waters.

"I know, I know... This is something only heaven and earth know, you and I don't know either. We've been sailing for over ten years, we all know the rules."

Upon hearing this, the tax officer who had been frowning looked away, continued to look down at the ledger, and relaxed his questions, no longer pressing for details.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the two closed the ledger, stamped it with the customs seal, and nodded to the first mate.

"The verification is complete, the taxes have been paid, and the port authority personnel will come to guide you to the shore shortly. The personnel can disembark, but the goods will need to undergo a second verification before they can be unloaded."

After saying this, the two men gave Bilkin a symbolic salute, then turned and went down the rope ladder, without glancing at the officers on deck again.

It wasn't until their small boat had sailed far away that Norze came to his senses and looked at Andrew with disbelief.

"Am I seeing things? Customs officers are wearing armor and carrying swords, their equipment is even better than that of army soldiers?"

"This is perfectly normal in port cities."

Andrew smiled. His extensive reading in the library had given him a good understanding of various countries. "For Orentia, the most important thing is tariffs. The Tax Police have a lot of power, and they are not even under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War or the Ministry of the Navy. Naturally, their equipment is also excellent."

Seeing that Norze still looked surprised, he added another explanation.

"Haven't you heard Orentia's most famous joke? A woman had her purse snatched by a robber on the street. She shouted 'Robbery!' but the patrolling police pretended not to hear and no one was willing to help. Then she thought of something and immediately shouted 'Someone is robbing people who don't pay taxes!' In less than half a minute, the tax police rushed out from all directions and arrested the robber and several tax-evading merchants in the vicinity."

"Is that so? So in Orentia, tax evasion is a bigger crime than robbery?"

"That's natural. The money is all supported by taxes. If you touch the taxes, you're touching the Orentia Committee's purse strings."

Noze smiled and shook his head, but in his heart he had gained a more genuine understanding of this country.

He turned to look at the dock. The port authority's pilot boat was already heading towards the Shining Gold. The crowds on the dock were still bustling. In the distance, the magnificent ships of the Republic of Edric remained quietly moored in their berths.

On the deck, Monet finally lit the cigarette he had been holding for so long and took a deep drag, as if venting his anger in revenge.

The pilot boat approached, the mooring line was thrown onto the dock, and the Flash Gold slowly moved toward its berth.

The boat struck the rubber fenders of the dock with a soft thud and finally came to a complete stop.

The gangway was lowered, and Lucas was the first to rush down, shouting excitedly as he stepped onto the solid stone path.

Andrew followed behind, turned around and held out his hand to Nozer, "Let's go, Nozer, we've arrived."

Nozer took one last look at the Goldship, nodded, and walked toward the gangway.

"Ah, finally I'm on solid ground! I never want to ride a boat again in my life!"

Lucas's loud and boisterous manner drew frequent glances from the dockworkers carrying sacks nearby, but no one said a word.

Monsoon Harbor is frequented by sailors who have been at sea for months, and there are plenty of sailors who are even crazier than this once they come ashore.

Nozer pulled Lucas, who was still bouncing around, and used his memories to introduce the Monsoon Harbor to Andrew.

"Most of the Federation's imports and exports of goods, weapons, and provisions pass through here. To the left are deep-water berths for ocean-going merchant ships, and to the right are berths for fishing boats and coastal cargo ships. Those rows of warehouses are all warehouses for various trading companies."

Looking in the direction he pointed, the entire harbor resembled a giant beast spread out, with countless masts densely packed on the water, and sails stretching as far as the eye could see.

Andrew looked up toward the inland area of ​​the port, his gaze instantly drawn to the magnificent building on the distant horizon that seemed to be about to pierce the clouds.

The spire, tens of meters high, gleamed white in the midday sun, and even across several streets and rows of houses, one could feel its solemn and imposing presence.

"Is that the Orentia Cathedral?"

"Andrew asked."

"Yes."

Noze nodded, his gaze falling on the white spire. "They say it took a full sixty years to build, and the stone alone was transported in over a hundred ships. It's the most magnificent building along the entire Emerald Sea coast. There's a river in front of the church, the Emerald River, which divides Monsoon City in two, flows through the city, and eventually empties into the Emerald Sea."

Andrew squinted and looked out, and sure enough, he could see the winding river at the foot of the church, with several stone arch bridges spanning it.

"What's behind that cathedral?"

"It's a slum. Half of the dockworkers, porters, and beggars in Monsoon City live on the other side of the river. Many people say that when this cathedral was built, half of it was to worship the gods, and the other half was to completely block out the slums on the other side of the river with these stone walls and spires that are dozens of meters high."

"So, diplomats and wealthy businessmen from various countries who come from the port, standing where we are now, can only see the magnificent church when they look up, and cannot see the dilapidated state on the other side of the river. It can be said that this has preserved the dignity of Great Orentia, but I don't know if it's true or not."

Andrew nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Norze and asked, "I was reading the local chronicles of Orentia in the library before. It said that the people of Orentia value honor more than life and death, and that private duels are common among the common people. Is that true?"