The first-floor hall of Drunken Night was now packed with major city lords and nobles. The total number of people reached over five hundred—that is, five hundred nobles who were all lords of their own cities.
Aside from a few who hadn't attended, the city lords and nobles of the entire Western Lands were all gathered here.
Standing at the podium, Lucas looked at the crowd still discussing the earlier horse races, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. "Everyone, quiet down!"
As his voice faded, everyone fell silent. Looking at Lucas on the stage, they all knew the main event was about to begin.
"You all came here upon receiving my invitation. What does everyone think of Sedona City?" Lucas asked, crossing his arms.
"Excellent. It is a highly prosperous city."
"Fantastic. I've never seen such a wonderful city."
"It's a city of miracles."
"..."
The nobles below chimed in with praise one after another. No one dared to speak poorly of it.
"Then, everyone, do you want your own cities to develop like this as well?" The corners of Lucas's mouth curled up slightly.
"Of course we do! Please teach us, Lord Lucas," A noble shouted, his eyes shining.
"I mentioned earlier that I had business for everyone to do." Lucas held up a single finger. "So now, let me explain it to you all."
"What kind of business?" Gini called out.
"Don't be hasty." Lucas glanced at Gini and said calmly, "Do you know why your cities fail to develop?"
"This..." Someone faltered.
"We don't have any good manufacturing technologies," Someone began to complain.
"We lack Lord Lucas's brilliant mind," Another began to flatter him.
"..."
"Is that so? Putting those things aside, what differences have you noticed between my city and yours?" Lucas asked, his lips curving upward.
"The commoners here live very well," A female noble suddenly called out.
"This lady is correct." Lucas glanced at Camilla in the crowd below; she was his planted shill.
He continued, "So, you are surely wondering why, and what that has to do with you."
"Exactly. What does it have to do with us?" Someone asked.
"Where do you think your wealth comes from?" Lucas asked, spreading his hands.
"The output of our fiefs, and the taxes collected from the commoners," Gini replied with a frown.
"Then, how are the lives of the commoners in your fiefs?" Lucas pressed. "How do they compare to the commoners in my territory?"
"Very poor. There is no comparison," Hana shouted.
"Indeed. If the commoners are doing so poorly, how much tax can you realistically collect?" Lucas shrugged.
"That's right. The commoners are so poor, we can't collect taxes even if we try."
"Damn it, what are we supposed to do about this?"
The crowd below immediately broke into a flurry of discussion, voicing all sorts of opinions.
"Everyone, I have a proposal. Please listen," Lucas said, cutting through the chatter.
"Please speak," Isaac called out.
"Regarding taxes, I want to ask everyone to abolish certain unnecessary taxes. Allow the commoners to live better lives. When they become wealthy, you will also have an income," Lucas said calmly. He was currently stringing them along, preparing to set his trap.
"Then what are we supposed to eat?" A noble objected unwillingly.
"That will depend on your choices. I will provide you all with certain manufacturing technologies, or new types of crop seeds. But in exchange for these things, you must pay a price," Lucas said with a serious expression.
"Is it linen manufacturing technology?" A city lord shouted.
"That is included, depending on what you choose," Lucas nodded.
"What price do we have to pay?" Isaac called out.
"Taxes." Lucas leaned forward, resting his hands on the podium. His eyes swept over the crowd as he said with a stern face, "I want you to pay taxes to me."
"This..." The crowd exchanged bewildered looks. They had entirely not expected this turn of events.
Asking them to pay taxes to Lucas—didn't that mean they would all be working for him? How could some of them possibly be willing?
"You will also need to change some of your policies. Policies that will accelerate your development, policies that will allow you to collect a large amount of tax revenue," Lucas said calmly.
"I am willing," Camilla raised her hand, the first to respond.
"Very good. This noble lady has gained the friendship of Sedona City and will receive my assistance," Lucas said softly.
"Thank you." Ignoring the astonished stares of the others, Camilla sat down with a smile.
"You are surely saying to yourselves: if you pay taxes to me, does that make you inferior?" Lucas said coldly.
"..." Some people lowered their heads.
"I will not demand a heavy tax. You only need to pay a percentage of the tax on the goods produced using the technologies I give you, according to the required quota," Lucas stated flatly.
"What percentage?" Someone shouted.
"Ten percent," Lucas replied.
Phew... Many people visibly breathed a sigh of relief. A ten percent tax wasn't too high.
"If you have goods you cannot sell, I can help introduce you to distribution channels." Lucas picked up the water cup next to him, took a sip, and added casually, "But the requirement is that the quality must be good. If the quality is too poor, don't blame me for refusing to accept them."
For the Western Lands to expand its reach, a massive quantity of goods was needed. This setup was equivalent to him licensing out first-generation technology, and then having everyone pay him royalties.
By buying the manufactured goods and reselling them, he would earn the price difference. He was monopolizing the roles of both the middleman and the distributor.
"Can everyone receive the linen manufacturing technology?" A noble asked with a frown.
"Of course not," Lucas sneered, the corner of his mouth turning up. "Some cities don't even have the raw materials needed for linen. Asking for the technology would be useless, as you wouldn't have the chance to use it."
"Then what do we do?" A noble said with a long face, clearly coming from a place lacking linen raw materials.
"Don't worry, I have many other options for you to choose from," Lucas said with a smile.
What he was setting up was the foundation for a merchant alliance. Once the time was ripe, everyone would be locked in, and the end result would naturally be that they were entirely under his control.
"Alright, I agree to pay the tax," Someone immediately responded.
"I'll pay it too. As long as it allows me to earn coins, what does paying a little tax matter?"
"Count me in. I'll follow Lord Lucas's lead."
"..."
More than half of the people stood up to agree. They were terrified of remaining poor; not all nobles were wealthy with coins.
"Excellent. Those who agree to pay the tax, please come up to collect your documents and sign your names," Lucas signaled with a wave of his hand.
Mina immediately pulled back the white cloth covering the nearby table, revealing thick stacks of documents. Once they signed, if they proved disobedient later, he would have a valid excuse to deal with them—a perfectly justifiable pretext to intervene in another lord's territory.
.
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
200 power stones.
Top 100. All time.