At the Governor's Palace, Director Daley reports to Governor Byrne.

"The fire broke out at about two o'clock in the morning, and the fire actually started in the warehouse behind the newspaper office, where flammable paper and ink were stored, and it happened that the wind was strong at the time, and when the gatekeeper called someone to put out the fire, most of the newspaper office had already been burned down. Daley said.

"Who do you suspect did it?" Byrne asked.

The Governor actually had a suspicion, but he needed Daley to say it himself.

"The Genoese Newspaper has recently pointed the finger at the tax company, which has caused a lot of scolding, and it is obvious that there is a majority of public opinion in favor of this newspaper. "As for whether the tax company did it, frankly, I have no evidence." ”

"Mrs. Koval's assassination, are you closed?" Byrne said abruptly.

Daley smiled bitterly, "That's obvious. ”

Byrne stared at him, and his stern eyes made Daley have to sigh, "Do you suspect that Viscount Connelly found someone to burn down his newspaper?"

"Of course, I'm just skeptical. Byrne said, "Have you looked for that Cohen?"

"I approached Mr. Cohen and he was tough and rude and completely denied the allegations. You know, Your Excellency the Governor, that I could not have invited him to tea without any evidence. "But I'm glad to see Mr. Cohen angry." These guys from the tax company have caused us a lot of trouble. ”

"My director, is it not enough for the newspaper office to be burned down?" Byrne was furious.

As a governor, he seems to have a noble status, but in the local area, many people really don't take him seriously. He strongly suspected that Sean was following the example of Countess Koval and secretly manipulating the arson incident to put the tax company at the center of public criticism.

The root of the problem is already clear, from the leak of the tax company, they actually want to get involved in the tea tax, and without going through a convincing procedure, which simply does not take themselves as the governor of a province in their eyes.

In fact, Byrne also wants to tax the tea plantations, and the tax money is of course different from that of the tax company, which means economic prosperity and great political achievements for himself, so why should the tax company benefit, if they are too greedy, it will even affect the development of this new industry.

He and Mayor Stanley had calculated the amount of the tea tax more than once, and the results they got were very exciting.

Don't let it go!

Therefore, Byrne suffered a loss to the tax company, and sneered in his heart, those extremely greedy and arrogant tax collectors are almost the public enemies of the whole people.

Daley, of course, knew what Byrne was thinking:

"Your Excellency, from the humble point of view, the big people in the Holy City will probably not let go of the tea tax, because it is a stable and abundant income. ”

"That's why they can't be allowed to succeed. "I will write to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make my position clear." As for the collection of tea tax, it is better to leave it all to the state than to let the tax collector benefit. Besides, Genoa belongs to the Estates-General, and in terms of taxation we have the right to protest against the Chancellor's order. What's more, there was no tea tax before. ”

Anyway, this matter has nothing to do with him, Daley is too lazy to get involved, it's just that the newspaper office was burned, and he must give Viscount Connelly an answer, which is more difficult to do.

While he was talking, a waiter came to report that Viscount Connelly had arrived.

Daley thought that Sean was here to ask for the crime, but Sean just said lightly: "Mr. Director, regarding the burning of the newspaper office, I strongly suspect that someone deliberately set it on fire, please find out the suspect as soon as possible and bring him to justice!"

"Please rest assured, I will definitely strengthen the police force and solve the case as soon as possible. Daley assured.

Sean nodded in greeting: "Thank you, Mr. Chief, I'm sorry, I have something to discuss with His Excellency the Governor, please recuse yourself." ”

"Haha, there is something going on in the bureau, and I have resigned. Dai Li picked up his hat and left.

Byrne ordered someone to bring tea, which was still the best tea that Sean gave him, a luxury that could not be bought on the market.

"Viscount, with all due respect, with all due respect, there may be no result. I hope the viscount understands. Byrne snapped.

He didn't expect that Sean didn't care about it: "It's just a trivial matter, it just so happens that the newspaper house is too old, and I have already found a place for the newspaper members." They deserve to work in a more decent place, serving the people of Genoa. ”

Byrne suddenly felt a sense of relief in his heart, which confirmed the speculation in his heart. Well, the young viscount in front of him had already made him feel a kind of coercion.

"I don't know if the Viscount himself is here, what do you have to advise?" Byrne asked.

"Your Excellency the Governor, there are rumors that the Holy City wants to tax the value of tea seeds?" Sean asked.

"To be honest, I've only heard about it in the past two days, maybe it's just a rumor? At least, I haven't received any official documents or decrees saying that there should be a tax on the tea plantations. ”

Byrne's answer was cautious.

"Well, both as a nobleman and as a citizen, I have obligations to Your Majesty and to the State, including the payment of taxes. Sean first stated his position, "I heard that some people are encouraging the tax company to implement a tax package system for tea plantations, which is unacceptable to me, and it is also unacceptable to the Europa Tea Promotion Council." ”

"Council?" Byrne was a little confused.

"I forgot to tell you. Sean pulled out a document, "A group that has just been formed in Genoa with the main purpose of promoting tea. This is a petition for the Governor's Excellency. ”

Byrne pretended to take out his reading glasses, and the letters of love listed the names of nearly a hundred people, many of whom Byrne was familiar with, some were nobles, some were landlords, and some were wealthy merchants and factory owners.

These men formed a group led by Sean, who made up at least half of the seats in the Estates-General of Genoa.

This had to make Byrne shocked and valued, Sean was willing to give up his monopoly on tea planting interests with interests as a link, which made him quickly unite many people, as if he had a force in Genoa that he could not take lightly.

When you add to that the wealthy people of Vichy's new industry, the ecclesiastical friendships, and Sean's influence among academics and freelancers, this is quite impressive.

At the same time, it was a clever move to form a group, and at least Sean represented the interests of many people, and was even qualified to make a plea or protest to the Holy City in the name of the group.

Byrne quietly took the love letter and said:

"We are now in the ascendant of tea cultivation in Genoa, and this promising new industry will bring prosperity and employment to Genoa, and I am in principle in favor of this group. But allow me to think about it for a while. ”

Byrne is a bit of Joe, and Sean automatically ignores this:

"The tax system is a system of many bad reviews, Your Excellency the Governor, we agree to pay taxes on the cultivation of tea, but we prefer that the Governor's Office collect it on behalf of the State. At the same time, we propose that at the next Estates-General, a statement be made on this subject, in which we propose that half of the tax should be included in the local treasury so that the government can build roads, bridges and help the poor. ”

Byrne was overjoyed, and of course he wouldn't object, but it was a matter of negotiation with the Holy City, so his position as a governor was quite important.

"Thanks to the Viscount and the owners of the estate for their generosity and loyalty to the Empire, I will do my best to obtain a better tax rate. Byrne immediately stated, "As for the tax-bearing company's taxing action, I firmly oppose it." ”

With the Governor out of the way, Sean walked out of the Governor's Mansion with brisk steps.

He did not send someone to do it, but by chance, the janitor accidentally knocked over the candle in the early hours of that morning, which caused an accidental fire.

Sean will do what he wants, and his success will arouse public criticism of the tax-inclusive company. In fact, none of the poor people who criticize the tax package company are rich people, and the rich are the opponents of the tax package company.

The countess seemed to sense Sean's tactics, and had recently died down, and was not even interested in arguing with the church.

Cohen sat in the carriage and watched Sean leave the Governor's Palace, he had met Sean a few times, but he didn't have much friendship.

This time he kicked the iron plate, which made Cohen realize that he was a little reckless. This nobleman was different, rich and powerful, and had the support of an army, and although this nobleman did not hold a military position at the moment, there was still a regiment of troops stationed in Vichy, which was not something that his own tax policemen could compete with smugglers.

However, in the face of huge interests, it is difficult for Cohen to give up, and he believes that the big people in the Holy City will not give up this piece of fat, and the increasingly difficult financial situation of the empire makes those big people eager to look for tax sources everywhere - this is one of the roots of people like Cohen to make a fortune.

As a tax collector, Cohen wasn't stupid, especially when he heard that Sean had started a tea promotion council group, and he knew he might offend a group.

In fact, Cohen has been in a bit of a mess lately, with many of the company's employees being subjected to abuse from the people, rotten eggs being thrown at people walking down the street, and attacks on tax offices located everywhere.

There is an armed smuggling gang active on the border between Javia and Genoa, which has been active recently, and has frequently attacked its own tax police, which has caused more than 10 deaths and injuries in the past half month. In this regard, Cohen urgently needs the cooperation of the Genoese garrison, which may have been Sean's subordinates.

With this in mind, Cohen decided to visit the rose garden himself.

Before visiting the Rose Garden, Cohen also learned some inside information from the Governor's Palace, and Sean threw a tempting bait at the Governor, which made Cohen unable to sit still.

His tea tax commissioner, Gregory Beck, however, brought Sean verbally to a tripartite agreement:

The tea tax company and the province are divided into three or seven, and the specific share is negotiated between the tax company and the governor's office, but the tax rate must be acceptable to the tea group.

This proposal came as a big surprise to Cohen.

"That's a wonderful guy!"

It was a verbal offer that Cohen couldn't refuse, and it seemed like a win-win situation for all three parties.

But he knew that no matter what the outcome of his negotiations with the Governor's Mansion was, no matter whether it was three or seven or seven or three, Sean and his group would definitely get a relatively low tax rate, but they would take the biggest advantage, because the Governor's Mansion was also eyeing this piece of fat.

"Mr. Baker, give you a raise this month!"