The city guards guarding the city are different from the tax collectors at the seaport. The tax collectors deal with strange seafarers, and their eyes are always on merchants or travelers from other places. Taking advantage of the locals, they often bully the market and block ships.
, random fines and so on, acting like a hooligan.
The Haike people are low-income people who have left their hometown and have no foundation or friends in other places. Naturally, they cannot fight against the tyrannical tax collectors and gangsters. Even if they are bullied, they can usually only swallow their anger and spend money to buy peace.
Otherwise, it would be easy to face some difficulties. You might be randomly accused of some crime, thrown into jail, and end up losing your life for no apparent reason.
The city guards usually deal with the residents outside the city and inside the city, and they are all natives of their hometown.
Even if you don't know the people who come in and out, you still need to become familiar with them. Maybe you can become relatives by turning a corner.
So many times, although their attitude is not good, they still have to pay attention to the impact.
After all, we all live in this big-ass place, where everyone looks down without looking up, and everyone needs help from others sometimes.
Even if you meet foreigners, if you blatantly make things difficult for them, the surrounding villagers will watch, and their reputation will not be good.
The officer guarding the city gate in front of him is different from the tax collector in front of him. The people who deal with tax collectors are the working people at the bottom. A humble official like him can't get close to anyone with status, so his vision is naturally limited.
This officer can be sent to guard the city gate and directly collect city taxes, which shows that he is not an ordinary little person. Anyone who directly deals with charging and collecting taxes is a good position.
His vision was naturally different. He felt that Lorraine and the others were not ordinary people, but more like the aristocratic children who came out to play. Therefore, when he was in doubt, his attitude was very polite.
Lorraine looked at the officer and couldn't help but feel good about him. After all, the other officer did not bully others. Although he did not greet him with smiles all the time, his attitude was acceptable. He kept talking to Lorraine with a smile.
Lorraine also smiled and said: "Let's talk, if it is really a problem, maybe we can't solve it."
The officer also smiled, spread his hands, and said: "If that's true, we will have no choice at that time. We will have to let you pay money to enter the city."
Lorraine also laughed loudly at that moment, then nodded and said: "Okay, it's fair and reasonable, okay, just say it."
Although the conditions proposed by the officer have not changed in essence, relatively speaking, he has also given leeway. This is a polite way of changing the law. In the end, no matter whether it works or not, at least it has been discussed.
This is somewhat acceptable. Even when you pay, you can't say that someone is extorting money, but that your strategy is not working, and you can only sigh that you are unlucky.
Lorraine thought to herself: This officer is a very smart person.
The officer said: "That's right, our original gatekeeper, Mr. Wesson, will retire today. I think you also know..."
As he said that, he had a look of confusion on his face, then he winked and showed an expression that "everyone understands", and said vaguely: "In our line of business, we can still make some money. Hahaha..."
"Of course," the officer added, "it's just a small amount of money."
Lorraine understood immediately and knew what he meant, and she couldn't help but smile, but in her heart she was cursing: These despicable bastards drink soldiers' blood and eat their free wages, and on the other hand they cleverly create names.
Forced self-taxation, enriching one's own pockets, a slap in the face, two sides, and all the places where money can be taken, how can one not make money?
The officer rubbed his hands and laughed dryly, and then continued: "So, everyone is thinking about giving him a gift to commemorate Mr. Wesson's glorious retirement, but we have never been able to think of any good gift. Looking at it,
The time is coming, and we haven’t got anything out yet. I’m very sorry, and I don’t know if you have any good ideas?”
Lorraine looked at him and thought to herself: Damn it, isn't this grandson cheating on his father? I know, does your Wesen look like a pig or a dog? Does he like to eat shit or drink urine? Is this the case?
The question is clearly meant to steal money from the uncle’s pocket~!
Come up with an idea and you don’t like it. Come up with an idea and you don’t like it. Then you can justifiably ask me to pay for it.
But he still thought about it and said, "If your city gate official likes drinking, how about giving him a few bottles of good wine?"
The officer smiled bitterly and said: "He does like to drink, but in our line of work, can we lack this? He has basically drank up all the good wine here."
Lorraine thought for a moment and said, "Then give money. It's neat and tidy."
The officer smiled bitterly and said: "We are not short of money in this business, but we don't know how much to give. If we give too little, he will look down on us. If we give too much... we only have to pay for it every month."
With that little money, you still have to live."
Lorraine hesitated and said: "Then send the beauty..."
The officer said categorically: "Don't even think about it, he is a henpecked master. Just a cough from my wife will scare him into pissing his pants."
Several guards nearby snickered.
Lorraine immediately sighed and said: "Then hire a killer to kill all his mother-in-law's family. Although he didn't say anything on the surface, he was definitely happy in his heart.
That's what a great old man of the generation did before he hired a peerless doctor to treat his daughter. So it's also traditional to do this."
When the officer heard this, he was shocked and looked stupid. After a while, he murmured: "This move is really cruel. It is also a wonderful plan. I didn't realize that you are such a person."
Your heart is really vicious, and in the blink of an eye, you came up with such a bad plan that caused black water and yellow pus. Fortunately, I didn't go against you."
He looked at Lorraine with lingering fear. Seeing Lorraine's indifferent expression, he couldn't figure out whether he was joking or serious.
However, he was already certain that the person who could come up with such an idea was definitely not an ordinary person. He also believed that Lorraine and his party were all from noble backgrounds.
He immediately composed himself, and then changed his tone and said: "But..., but, we are just giving a retirement gift. This is not a big deal. Is it necessary to kill people and set fires?"
And although we do accept small bribes to make a living, we don't do things that violate criminal laws."
As he said that, he shook his head repeatedly, and then sighed again, saying: "Oh, it's a good plan, but this retirement gift is too heavy, and we can't afford it. If we can do something else later, maybe we can do something else."
It does come in handy."
After saying that, he sighed with regret. It was obvious that this officer had been tortured, and he hoped that one day someone would give him such a great gift.
Lorraine looked at him and said immediately: "You said it yourself, this is a good plan. We have met your conditions, can you let us go now?"
The officer shook his head repeatedly and said with a wry smile: "No, no. I don't deny that your strategy is good, but it is indeed too difficult to implement. Isn't it the same as nothing?"
Lorraine said: "Then I don't care. I just come up with plans. If you don't implement them, that's your business."
With that said, he was about to break through the barrier and leave.
The officer immediately laughed with him, stretched out his hand to hold Lorraine, and said: "Brother, uh, eldest brother, eldest brother. You see, we are all rough men with swords and guns, and we don't understand the sophistication of the world. You
Don't laugh either.
And you just worked for a while, and you have already thought of several strategies. Your brain is spinning much faster than the rest of us. So you have to help us come up with a plan that doesn't cost much and satisfies the old man.
It's a good idea. Seeing that you're here, I won't do anything difficult for you, just think of it as helping us.
After all, he has been working all his life. There is hard work without credit, right? Just think of it as leaving a last thought for the old man~! In this regard, people like you who come from a big family are more knowledgeable than us. "
As a modern person, Lorraine has always treated people equally, neither arrogantly nor humblely. These concepts have been deeply rooted in her bones.
When ordinary people hear it, they will be infected and affected without even realizing it.
The officer was no exception. Even though he was used to being domineering in the countryside, at this time, he regarded Lorraine as an equal and trustworthy acquaintance.
Therefore, he didn't take anything wrong. When he talked about it later, his voice was very willing and reasonable. Even though Lorraine was hard-hearted, he couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted after hearing it.
Lorraine sighed and said, "Are you rich?"
The officer was stunned.
Lorraine said: "My methods are all gold ideas, and they are always extremely valuable. I have never received a hundred or eighty thousand yuan."
"One hundred and eighty thousand..." The officer immediately took a breath of air. Looking at Lorraine, he thought to himself: This guy is really good at blowing.
But looking at Lorraine's confident look, when her heart moved, she had to open her mouth.
Lorraine stretched out her hand to stop him, and then continued: "But, for your sake, I will make an exception today. It only costs one silver coin."
Saying that, he stretched out his hand.
The officer hesitated for a moment, then took out a silver coin from his pocket with a wry smile, shook his head and sighed: "I'm making an exception this time. You know, in the past we only collected money and never gave out a copper coin."
, you were the first one to come in, not only did you not pay, but you also collected money."
Lorraine took the money in his hand and looked at it carefully against the sun. He saw that the workmanship of this silver coin was not good. It looked like it was cast privately in a local area. He curled his lips and said: "Nonsense, you don't have to spend money to see a doctor."
Money? It makes sense."
The officer paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Lorraine stuffed the money into his pocket and then said: "This method is actually very simple. It's just that you didn't notice it. The idea I gave you doesn't even cost you a penny. It doesn't even require you to dig out.
money."
The officer immediately widened his eyes and said, "Is there such a good thing? Tell me about it."
No matter where it is, it’s the official’s retirement birthday, a wedding, or even a son’s wedding, a daughter’s adulthood, or the mother-in-law’s dog is over the moon. It’s a perfect opportunity for subordinates to send money and gifts to show their loyalty. In order to get promoted and make a fortune in the future, everyone is of course prepared.
Give a big gift or a thick red envelope.
Anyway, doing things with courtesy is a proper custom there, and no one can find fault with it.
If the courtesy is too thin and the boss doesn't like it, let alone getting promoted and making a fortune, you may have to wear small shoes and be laid off and find another job.
Therefore, as soon as Lorraine's words came out, the officer was very unbelievable.
Lorraine looked at it and was not surprised. He just paused and then continued: "Isn't your city gate official about to retire?
You just let him stand on the last duty again and have a perfect ending, then it's over."
The officer was stunned and thought carefully for a long time, but still didn't understand. He murmured: "Standing guard? He used to stand guard every day. This is considered a generous gift? Is this the good idea you said?"
From this point of view, those good ideas of yours that are worth a hundred or eighty thousand and will not be sold easily, don’t seem to be very..."
He raised his head and saw the weird smile on Lorraine's face. He was stunned and uttered the last word: "...like..."
At this time, he vaguely seemed to understand something, but he always felt as if there was a layer of fog blocking his eyes. He couldn't help but think hard: What is the mystery of standing on the last guard again?
Leo listened for a long time and already understood what was going on. Seeing the confusion on the officer's face, he stamped his feet and sighed: "You scoundrels are really a bunch of pig-brained people. Look.
With your appearance, you can be a city gate official for the rest of your life.
Isn’t the meaning obvious? After collecting money for a day, you just pretend not to know how much it is and put it in his bag, isn’t it? Isn’t this gift meaningful and valuable?
What a bunch of idiots. Aren’t you, Xiaobai?”
Xiaobai nodded beside him, then looked at the officer with disdain, snorted heavily, and curled his mouth to show his disdain~!
After hearing this, the officer suddenly understood.
He took half a step back, then bowed deeply to Lorraine and said, "Sir, this is a really good idea. I admire it. Everyone, please welcome to our city."
Lorraine laughed loudly, then bowed slightly as a return gift, then turned around and walked towards the city gate.
Next to her, Vera hurriedly called Leo, then watched him and Xiaobai follow, and then led them to follow Lorraine and walk towards the city.
Leo walked through the city gate and turned around to find that the officer was gone. Then he took out a money bag from his pocket with a smile, emptied it, and then threw the money bag into the gutter.
.
The deerskin money bag fell into the ditch, rolled over in the sewage, and gradually sank. After the last few bubbles popped out, everything returned to calm.
Leo counted the coins in his hand, then divided them up happily with Vera and Xiaobai.
Lorraine came to the city and saw that the city was also in depression.
There were not many pedestrians on the streets, and even fewer vehicles. The faces of the people all had a hungry look on their faces, and they looked a little gloomy, and they walked listlessly. There was no optimism at all like the people of Nai'an.
It's as if life is a torment for them.
There are closed doors on both sides of the street, and it is rare to see shops with their doors open for business.
Not to mention carriage transportation, inns and taverns, even the service and entertainment industry, which is known as the star pillar industry of the tertiary industry, seems to be somewhat neglected.
Lorraine walked around the city several times and finally found a decent inn. Although the conditions were not good enough, at least it was very clean.
Everyone rested there for the night, washing away the fatigue of the long journey on the sea. They waited until everyone was well rested before setting off again.
Since these people were all pampered and used to being comfortable, it was not like Lorraine and the others were walking these hundreds of miles.
Lorraine originally thought about hiring a car for transportation in the city, but after thinking about it, she finally bought one with her own money.
For such a long journey, hiring one person and one car will be no different than buying one.
What's more, what they are doing is a big business of murder, arson, and subversion of espionage. It is extremely inconvenient if someone is around.
But after Lorraine bought the carriage and horses, she found that she had to pay a large amount of taxes at the exchange to complete the payment. Otherwise, it would be difficult for her carriage to move on the mainland.
That huge amount of tax made even Lord Lorraine, now a wealthy man, feel a burst of heartache when he paid for it.
Only then did Lorraine realize that the demons had collected extremely high taxes from the people for the expedition, and these heavy taxes had made the people almost breathless and could only struggle to survive.
As a result, all industries are now depressed, and because people cannot afford the high taxes and fees, they would rather do nothing, and most shops have closed down.
As Lorraine walked around the city, she could hear faint complaints from the people about high taxes.
But the more this happens, the happier Lorraine is. The heavier the taxes imposed by the demons, the sadder the people are. Of course, the more they complain, the more dissatisfied they are with them.
The three of them and Xiaobai crowded into the broken car they bought, and then drove the old horse. When they left the city, they paid the exit tax again and then walked along a long-disrepaired road.
, step by step, walking leisurely towards the imperial city of Akadelin.
Akadrin. There are thousands of Semitic generals and warriors there, as well as resourceful people as cunning as foxes. There are millions of people there.
Since the Holy War a thousand years ago, generations of popes from the Holy See of Light have dreamed of this land and want to set foot on it all the time~!