"These damn greedy priests are nothing compared to those nobles! They will definitely go to hell after they die." Fabio sat on the carriage and kept cursing.
The attendants around the carriage couldn't help but shake their heads and smile bitterly when they heard his words.
After coming out of a monastery in the Zurich area, Fabio, the owner of the caravan, didn't look good, and he refused to listen to curses.
Everyone in the caravan has become accustomed to his cursing in the past few days.
The main reason why Fabio was so angry was because he suffered a big loss when doing business with the abbot of that monastery.
The seemingly sanctimonious abbot not only lowered the price crazily, but even asked Fabio to "voluntarily" donate a hundred fine furs to the monastery, euphemistically calling it the dedication of believers.
The devotion of believers is clearly the greed of priests!
These were Fabio's angry words after losing a hundred pelts.
As a businessman, he has dealt with the church not once or twice, and he is also used to being asked by priests to "donate" some property. For a believer in the gods, he is actually not unacceptable.
However, this time, the "dedication" of a hundred fine furs made Fabio break his guard.
There is no other reason. The value of these one hundred high-quality furs cannot make up for the profit from his trade with the monastery. In business, making profits is one thing, but losing money is another matter.
Therefore, in the next few days of doing business in the Zurich area, the nobles and nobles in the Zurich area were in misery. Because he lost a lot of money, he raised the price of goods in several subsequent transactions.
Many people try to make up for their losses from others.
The aristocrats are not fools. They know exactly what price range the goods are in. When he raised the price, people naturally bought less. Fabio, who wanted to make up for his losses, actually saw his turnover drop a lot.
As a result, Fabio became even more angry, and even threw the blame on the head of the abbot, cursing him all the way.
"Stop, stop, stop! Where is the caravan from? What kind of goods are they transporting? They are here to register and pay taxes." Not long after entering the area of Argau, Fabio's caravan was stopped by the soldiers.
Pay taxes? Register? The people in the caravan were a little confused. This was not their first time on this trade route. They had never heard that they needed to register and pay taxes.
However, facing the soldiers holding weapons and staring eagerly at them, everyone in the caravan did not dare to act rashly and quickly informed Fabio, the owner of the caravan.
"Sir, there are soldiers from Argonaut blocking the road ahead, saying they want us to register and pay taxes. Do you want to know how to deal with it?"
"Pay taxes?" Fabio suddenly walked out of the carriage compartment, stood at the door of the carriage and looked at the dozen soldiers and the stopped caravan in front, with a look of displeasure on his face.
"I've been to so many places, but I've never heard of anyone having to pay taxes. The lords here are really greedy for money. Do you still need me to teach you about this kind of thing? You can just give me some money and use it as tolls."
After saying that, Fabio retracted into the car.
This autumn wind, although it doesn't look strong, is still a bit cold when it blows on people.
Soon, someone from the caravan walked up to the soldiers, took out a bag of silver coins, and handed it to the soldiers with a smile on his face.
"Thank you for your hard work. This is the toll for our caravan. Please be kind and let us pass. What we are transporting is just grains and the like, which are worthless."
"Food?" A middle-aged man with well-equipped armor who looked like a captain came over, took the money bag, weighed it, then opened it and took a look. When he saw that it was silver coins, his expression changed instantly.
"Even if it's food, this little money is not enough. Listen clearly, what we charge is not a toll, but a commercial tax, thirty to one tax. Do you understand? This much food is worth this little money, you tell me?"
With that said, the middle-aged captain threw the money bag hard at the caravan members, snorted coldly, and ignored them.
"Captain." A soldier quickly ran over from behind the caravan and whispered in his ear.
When the middle-aged man heard this, his eyes suddenly brightened when he looked at the caravan.
"Listen, let me tell you that the person in charge of the caravan will pay the tax honestly according to the price of the goods. Otherwise, there is no way to enter our Aargau collar."
"Damn it! How dare they! Thirty taxes per one, why didn't they go and rob it?" Fabio's roar attracted the attention of many people in the caravan.
"Hmph, what's Argolen? Let's not go in. Let's take a detour!"
Fabio made a decision quickly.
As a businessman from Poland, he purchased a large amount of furs in Eastern and Northern Europe and prepared to transport them to Paris for sale. Many nobles in Paris liked these furs from the north and could sell them at a suitable price.
Along the way, he could also sell some of his furs in exchange for local specialties. He did this all the way.
Since the lord of Aargau is so greedy, the worst he can do is stop doing business in this area. Anyway, as long as he transports the goods to Paris, he will have enough returns, and he can have a good rest for the rest of the year.
.
"Sir Fabio, I would like to remind you that there are many robbers in the Jura Mountains. It is rumored that they have a large number of people and their equipment is not bad! If you choose to bypass the Argau, the caravan may be in danger.
"
The captain of the caravan's guard, after learning of Fabio's decision, immediately came to persuade him.
Facing the guard captain's persuasion, Fabio sneered with disdain.
"Aren't they just some robbers? We encountered fewer of them along the way? Besides, I paid to hire you, not to let you follow the caravan and see the scenery along the way. This is the time to prove your worth.
If you are afraid and want to pass by Aargauen, just give me the money."
The guard captain's face looked a little ugly, but he nodded and said no more.
Although Fabio's words are a bit unpleasant, he is right. The caravan spends money to hire guards, naturally to deal with robbers that may be encountered along the way. If you are afraid of robbers, why would you accept the order to protect the caravan?
It was not that he had never encountered robbers before, but most of those robbers were poorly trained and equipped, and were incomparable to professional mercenaries like them.
Although he has never encountered bandits in the Jura Mountains before and has only heard rumors, he thinks they are not much more powerful than the bandits he has seen. With the strength of him and his brothers, he should be able to
Guard the caravan to reach its destination safely.
Not long after, the caravan turned around and left the Argau Territory under Fabio's order.
Seeing the caravan gradually disappearing, the soldier who had gone to check the caravan's goods had a look of regret on his face.
"What a pity. It's a caravan selling furs. How much tax will it have to collect?
Alas, of the five caravans, only one paid the money honestly. Captain Gore, do you think we will be blamed by the Baron?"
"Oh, it turns out it's fur. No wonder I have to pay taxes." Gore also had a smile on his face, and a chill flashed in his eyes as he looked at the leaving caravan. "Don't worry, as long as we work hard here, Lord Baron
They won't blame us.
By the way, David, please work hard and inform Knight Wade about this caravan. We are ready to have dinner.
There is still half of the wild boar we shot yesterday, and we took care of it today."
As the sun sets, the small camp is filled with laughter and laughter.