Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

On the other side, under a platform on the town square.

As a guard, Rag had no idea why the new lord asked him to gather everyone together.

He did not dare to ask, for fear of being criticized by the lord for being "not only incompetent but also lazy."

Just obey the orders of the lord first, and at dusk Rag finally gathered all the people in the territory.

"What kind of person is the Lord this time?"

"I don't know... Humph, anyway, he's definitely not a good guy."

"Don't say that. The Lord's men were distributing food to those women in the square today."

"He's definitely not up to no good reason... It doesn't matter who's the lord anyway."

"The nobles are a bunch of guys who give birth to sons without buttholes."

"It's best if we manage ourselves now and no one gets in the way."

"By the way, how come the previous lord suddenly disappeared?"

"..."

After the people were gathered together, questions, dissatisfaction, and complaints about the lord gradually spread.

Most people speculated that the new lord was not a good person.

The past few lords have indeed left a huge shadow on everyone.

Rag was still unclear about the character of the new lord, so he naturally did not participate in their discussion.

Anyway, all the people have been gathered together according to the Lord's order.

My mission has come to an end.

Thinking of this, Rag squatted in a corner of the square, quietly waiting for the arrival of the lord.

But after waiting for a long time, no one showed up.

During this time, many people came to Lager to complain - "Did we get the time wrong?" "Are we really gathering at the Grand Square?" and so on...

He understands everyone's feelings very well.

Many people temporarily put down their farm work and were forced to gather here. They were inevitably angry, and Rag also felt a lot of pressure.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, with the afterglow of the setting sun, Hull, dressed in gorgeous clothes, came with Ling and stood on the platform in the center of the square.

The looks from the crowd were filled with distrust following anxious waiting.

Especially after seeing how young Hull was, many people began to feel uneasy.

Feelings of disgust and irritability were like a black vortex, and Hull was in such an atmosphere.

But Hull is not the kind of person who will be affected by the environment. He doesn't care what others think of him.

"My name is Helheim, the new lord of the Kraken region."

"Do any of you know the laws of the Empire?"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally responded with silence.

"You really don't understand? Well, then from today on, you no longer have to abide by the laws of the empire."

Heer said it very straightforwardly, but Ling beside him immediately showed a surprised expression: "Teacher, what nonsense are you talking about!?"

"The laws of the empire are so complicated. How can we expect these people who can't even get enough food to obey them? Why don't I give them orders and let them live according to my requirements? This way, everyone's daily life should be easier, right?"

"That's true..."

Regarding this lord who wanted to abolish the imperial laws as soon as he opened his mouth, noisy voices appeared among the people and they began to discuss it.

Maybe the new lord this time will be a noble who is easy to talk to?

When such thoughts began to spread, Hull spoke again.

"Listen carefully, for you who live in the Kraken area, the territorial rules I give as the ruler are very simple. As the lord, I am the only ruler of this Kraken area. Here, my words are the law, and my orders are absolute. I will listen to everyone's opinions and suggestions, but I will not allow anyone to rebel or go against my orders."

"If I tell you to die, you must die immediately. Whether it's streaking, stealing, robbing, or murder, as long as it's my order, you must do it."

"From today on, you must live according to my instructions and obey all my instructions!"

"...?!"

The speech was so absurd that many people wondered if they had heard it wrong.

Is it possible that the person standing on the stage now is some crazy dictator? !

After Hull finished speaking, the scene fell into silence.

Even Ling opened her mouth wide and just stared at Heer's profile stupidly.

Hull was very satisfied with the reaction of the crowd.

"Since no one has raised any objections, I will assume that everyone has understood."

Indeed, the literal meaning is very easy to understand.

However, no one present except Hull understood his train of thought.

At this time, an old man who seemed like a representative of the people walked out of the crowd and stood in the most conspicuous position on the stage.

"Old man, who are you?"

"My name is Daryl, and I'm the mayor of the town in the Kraken area. As you can see, I'm just an old guy who is about to die."

"I see. So, Mr. Daryl, is there something you don't understand about my rules?"

"Um... Lord, you mean that as long as everyone listens to you, there will be no problem, right?"

The old man spoke in a dry voice, as if there was decades of phlegm stuck in his throat. In addition, he spoke in a very rural Imperial dialect, and Hull had a hard time hearing what he said clearly.

"That's right. I just need everyone to follow my instructions in everything from now on."

After hearing what Hull said, the old man hunched over and didn't say a word for a long time.

The people around also fell into silence.

After a while, someone among the crowd dominated by silence raised his right hand.

"that!"

Hull looked over and saw that the person who spoke was a slender girl wearing big glasses.

The bangs on her forehead were neatly combed, and with a pair of glasses, she looked quite intellectual.

"Ah! Sister Xino, you are here!"

Cerseiel, the maid standing at the front of the stage, waved to the girl.

"Cersei, do you know that girl?"

"Yes! That girl's name is Xino. She used to work with me in the castle for a while. She is very smart, maybe she is a genius!"

"Yeah..."

After hearing Cersei's evaluation, Heer became interested in the girl named Xino.

"Um... Lord, what is the tax rate you plan to set for our Kraken region?"

So that’s how it is. My brain really works very quickly.

For the people of the Kraken region, all rules and laws are actually empty words. What is closely related to everyone's lives is money - that is, taxes.

"Well, I guessed that everyone must be more concerned about taxation. Ling, what is the current tax situation in other parts of West Territory?"

"... generally about 10% higher than the Kraken area."

"Well... then, let's increase the tax rate in the Kraken region by 10% from the current level to make it equal to other surrounding regions."

"What!?"

The crowd's expressions changed from confusion to anger.

Hull said a lot after he came on stage, but no one understood what he said and it didn't feel real.

However, when it comes to taxation, it is an issue closely related to everyone's life.

How is it possible to improve 10% so easily with just one sentence? !

Sudden changes will only make everyone's life more difficult.

Looking at the aggressive crowd, Hull's expression did not change at all.

"The annual tax revenue must reach at least three gold royals. I have calculated it based on the account books of Hanshi City before. The tax revenue must reach at least three gold royals for the territory to continue to operate."

According to Hull's calculations, a 10% increase in income would barely reach this figure.

"Ah... Please be kind enough to help me with this. Our Kraken region is very poor and we can't raise so much money no matter what...!" The town manager in the audience was the first to raise an objection.

Other people also echoed the words, but the girl with glasses named Xino just fell into deep thought.

"I cannot compromise on this point. Our Kraken region needs to pay two gold royals in taxes to our superior, the West Territory, every year. The management and operation of the castle and territory will cost one gold royal anyway."

"Hmph! You must be kidding! We will not agree to such a harsh policy!"

A muscular man squeezed out of the crowd and stood next to the town manager Daryl.

"Bazed... shut up! It's not your turn to speak here, go back!"

"Dad, I won't shut up! Our fields have not had good harvests for so many years, and the previous lords have never collected such high taxes. Why should this young man who came from nowhere change our original lives as soon as he comes here! Dad, can you agree?!"

It seems that this person is the son of the mayor. They are playing a double act with me here...

"No, I read the documents left by the previous lord. The low tax rate in the Kraken region is just his arbitrary behavior at that time. Before that, the tax rate in the entire Kraken region had always been normal. Didn't everyone live the same way at that time?"

"In addition to paying taxes to the upper nobles, we also have to operate the territory and castle. A tax rate 10% lower than the normal level is simply not enough. Under the rule of the previous lord, there has always been a huge gap between revenue and expenditure in the Kraken region. Moreover, even if the tax rate was reduced by 10%, didn't you still default on payment? In the past few years, the previous lord has been using his own assets to maintain the expenses of the territory..."

"Am I right?" Hull looked down at the burly man in the audience coldly.

"That... that's because the previous taxes were too high. Even if they were reduced by 10% from normal, we still couldn't afford it!"

"So, I just said that it should be based on the market conditions in the surrounding areas."

"The situation in our area is different from the surrounding areas. How can we formulate it according to the market conditions?"

Hull smiled. "I see... Then, should I report to the Lord of West Territory right away that our Kraken region is in a different situation than other territories and cannot pay enough taxes? Please send troops to collect the land in the Kraken region to make up for the shortfall, okay?"

Hull's threat was straightforward: if the taxes paid were insufficient, he would not make up the difference out of his own pocket.

If there is a tax dispute with West Territory, I will not mediate. Since you do not abide by your obligation to obey the lord, I will not follow the lord's obligation to protect the lives and property of the people in the territory.

Again, when you give up your obligations, you are also giving up your power.

Moreover, such abandonment is two-way. If the other party abandons his obligations, Hull will also abandon his own.

"Teacher... Can you please reconsider this? I think three gold royals is still too much. They definitely can't afford it."

Hull patted Ling's shoulder gently, then raised his voice so that everyone in the audience could hear clearly.

"Ling, what do you think they are? Trash?"

"Do you want to pay taxes? No. Do you want to get food? No. There is nothing at home. We can't even make a living."

Hull suddenly sneered and swept his eyes over the silent people in the audience.

"In fact, they have everything. If you don't believe me, we can go to Mr. Daryl's house and take a look."

"In the water tank, in the secret passage under the floor, in the cellar buried in the yard, you can find everything after digging it up, black bread, beer, soybeans, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts... silver deer and golden dragon..."

There was no reaction on the sagging face of the town steward, but his son showed a surprised expression and kept winking at his father, as if he wanted his father to go back with him to transfer the family property.

Hull looked at Ling again: "We can go to the remote areas outside the town and look carefully. We will definitely find a lot of hidden farmland."

"They have dull expressions, snot hanging from their noses, their faces buried in the dirt, and dirty bodies that look very stupid. In fact, they lie better than anyone else. They will do anything to survive."

"Whenever they encountered a lone merchant, they would kill him and rob him, causing the merchants to stop coming. After accepting the refugees, they would consciously only keep the women and children. If the foreign men refused to cooperate, they would be thrown into the swamp and disappear after a few days. They collectively forced the lord to reduce taxes..."

Hull openly disclosed to the public what he saw in the documents left by the previous lords.

Many people in the audience showed guilty expressions, but more were confused and numb. Only a few people, such as Rag, Cersei, and the girl with glasses named Xino, showed surprised expressions.

Hull looked at the crowd with a smile on his face.

"It's just three gold royals. Is my request really that hard to achieve?"

Hull just waved his right hand, and a magical hurricane swept across the entire venue.

Rag in the audience subconsciously immediately put his hands in front of him to protect himself, and the other people all crouched down.

When the hurricane dissipated, people saw Hull holding a golden hammer in his hand, and he had turned into a golden giant.

"As I just said, if you refuse to obey my orders, as the supreme ruler of the Kraken region, I will punish you without hesitation. Don't worry, I don't like meaningless killing, and I will not directly harm the lives of the people in my territory."

"If anyone disagrees, just come forward. I will be your opponent!"