The commands from the Imperial Capital kept coming, the coastal tax system changed again and again, and the preparatory agenda for the Dragon Throne meeting was getting thicker with each page.
The old nobles schemed against each other, while the new ones were used as buffers; no one wanted to be the first to fall.
Harvey put down his quill and sipped his wine, "Ha... a table full of messy accounts."
The current crisis is far more complicated than the tax reforms on paper.
The coastal routes were repeatedly requisitioned by the Imperial Capital, and a merchant ship had to pay taxes three times; the southern pirates were resurging, and secretly, some were even supporting them.
Inland nobles took advantage of the chaos to cut off trade routes, forcing him to make concessions, while creditors from the Imperial Capital demanded repayment, and the Military Supply Department's IOUs continued to pile up.
