When news of the new discovery of several large iron and coal mines in the north reached Poitou, the Estates-General of Genoa was taking place.

Those who failed in the bid were relieved by the news, but their voices were quickly drowned out in the heated discussion about the Estates-General.

Unsurprisingly, the representative of the Koval family, Stia Koval proposed at the meeting a 1/20 tax on all those who own land.

This proposal was expected, and it was strongly opposed by church representatives.

The Church's reasoning is that the lands of the Church do not belong to the individual clergy, but only to the custodians of these lands, and the Church emphasizes that this privilege lies in the centuries-old tradition, in the recognition of dynasties, and in the guarantee of selfless devotion to God.

At the same time, the church also proposed that the rich in the cities also own a lot of land in the countryside, and they should also pay 1/20 of the tax.

The representatives of the wealthy in the cities retorted that their assets in the city had already paid various taxes, including market tax, transaction tax, housing tax, etc., and threatened that if they paid again, they would have to declare bankruptcy, which would cause economic recession and mass unemployment, which in turn would lead to a riot of the unemployed.

The conference lasted three days, and among all 108 delegates to the conference, the power of the church was weakened, and the church played a key minority role in the previous situation when the second and third estates were evenly matched.

Times are changing too fast.

The aristocracy moved towards differentiation, some of them still adhered to traditions, including ideas, and some of them worked hard to adapt to the arrival of the new economy and the changes in the situation, either passively or actively.

The inflated Third Estate was almost entirely on the side of the Kovars, and at least a third of the nobles clearly held the same position, reflecting the great influence of the Kovars among the nobility.

The pro-Sidia side was loud inside the stadium, and they also mobilized public opinion outside the stadium, but it was not enough for the guarantee bill to pass by a majority.

Privately, they lobbied and tandem around under the leadership of Stia to get more support. The grapevine said that one yes vote was worth 50,000 gold louis.

The aristocrats who held the opposing position were all aristocrats who owned more land, including some rural landlords, who had no other source of income and lived mainly on land rent, and land was their foundation. Therefore, they are worried that the 1/20 tax will become a universal tax, which will shrink their income. So, together with the church, they barely maintained an equilibrium with the other side.

There was a lot of debate inside the hall and a lot of disagreement outside the room, with all those concerned about the conference publishing their views in the newspapers, and liberal academics and young people giving speeches outside the conference calling for equality before taxes.

So, when the meeting was deadlocked, Sean put forward his own proposition:

First, set up a tax threshold, people who own more than 10 hectares of land must pay 1/20 tax, the implementation of ladder tax payment, the more land, the more tax to pay, but the maximum does not exceed 1/20 of the annual output value. This ensured the interests of the small landowners and aristocrats who owned little land.

It also allows the church to calculate separately by diocese, rather than as a whole or a lump sum, which can actually reduce the church's contribution a lot.

This also has the effect of discouraging land annexation, as large families will not only be less keen to increase their land, but will also disperse their land to their family members in order to pay less taxes and avoid taxes, and may sell small plots of land to their tenants or peasant neighbors if they are not doing well or are short of cash.

Second, increasing the number of representatives of the third tier (which is what the third tier wants most) and how much the number of seats will be increased, can be discussed in depth.

The premise was that the burden on the peasants and others who paid the military service tax and the poll tax would be halved, and that some miscellaneous taxes, such as road contributions, would be reduced by the peasants who did not actually use them, which was in fact unreasonable and was complained of by the majority.

According to rough estimates, in the first proposition alone, the annual tax paid by the rich Genoa (in fact, the land tax) is a huge amount, nearly 7 million per year, and if other taxes are added, the total amount will be more than 15 million, while Genoa paid a total of 10 million to the imperial treasury in 1830, which is completely beyond Genoa's annual tax apportionment to the empire, and there is even a large surplus, so it is completely feasible to reduce the burden on the peasants and the poor.

Third, among the 30 provinces of the empire, Genoa, as the first province to introduce a 1/20 tax, deserved to be rewarded by the imperial authorities.

Since Genoa was a Estates-General region with a certain degree of autonomy in taxation, it was only natural that Genoese should refuse to establish a 1/20 tax, and the agreement to establish such a tax was a reflection of the irrefutable loyalty of the Genoese to the Empire. This loyalty should be respected and rewarded.

Sean therefore proposed that Genoa and the treasury be divided between Genoa and the treasury in a seven-to-three ratio based on the 10 million taxes paid to the treasury in 1830, in order to meet the empire's growing tax demands and ensure that the province had some financial resources.

Part of the revenues of the Viceroyalty of Genoa will be used for the economic development, public expenditure and well-being of the people of the province, including, of course, the increase in the salaries of officials and ordinary civil servants.

Fourth, the tax difference between various cities in the province will be abolished, the unified tax rate and taxation method will be abolished, and all goods and commodities shall not be taxed twice in the province, and no one shall set up checkpoints at will. This is also quite pleasing to the third estate, which is equivalent to a disguised tax reduction for the third estate.

Clearly, Sean is extremely well prepared, with detailed and reliable data, and a clear and understandable point of view.

As soon as his proposal was introduced, the vast majority of people, whether it was the Governor or Sdia Koval, who was hostile to Sean, applauded Sean's proposal with enthusiasm.

When the church representative picked up the steps handed by Sean, the general trend was that a small number of stubborn nobles had to surrender - this part of the nobles, who had only land and no other income, actually suffered the most.

Because Sean's tax package took into account the interests of all parties, whether it was the Holy City, the churches of the province, the aristocracy, the landlords, and the urban bourgeoisie, even the interests of the peasants who had no right to participate in the discussion. Fair, pertinent and forward-looking, and ambitious.

When Sean stepped off the podium, the delegates all stood up.

They vied with him to shake hands and hug him, and even the usually calm and quiet church representatives frequently thanked him.

At this moment, people seem to realize that a young man is really rising in the land of Genoa.

In view of the importance of Sean's proposal, which was supported by the majority of the people, and for the sake of prudence, the presiding officer, Mr. Siyes, at the suggestion of Governor Byrne, adjourned the meeting for three days, in order to allow the staff of the Governor's House to come up with a more concrete and operational proposal on the basis of Sean's proposal.

The new plan was no longer about whether or not to pay taxes, and the delegates were concerned about how to fight for the interests of their own groups.

After a three-day break, the meeting lasted for seven days, and by the time the resolution was reached, everyone was exhausted.

People are only aware that Sean's proposal balances the principles of fairness and progress, and that it is conducive to resolving the impasse in the present and taking into account the future.

But only a few people are vaguely aware of the far-reaching implications of this proposal – for the first time in a provincial decree establishing such norms as "paying taxes as a citizen's duty," "taxpayers are equal," and "taxes are taken for the people for the people" – a reversal of historical tradition.

If the final resolution is passed and implemented, it will cool capital's appetite for land, allowing the rich to turn their attention to the capitalist economy and capital to invest in industries other than land. The unification of the tax system in various localities and the abolition of circulation checkpoints have initially cleared the way for the great development of the capitalist commodity economy.

But if you talk about who is the big winner, in addition to the third tier, of course, it is Sean.

At this meeting, he was able to unite the majority of the people and make the two opposing factions at the meeting reach a preliminary consensus, which was not easy.

At the same time, Sean's personal benefits are also abundant.

Not only did he acquire a large stretch of coast east of the port of Poitou for a symbolic price of 1 gold louis to build a shipyard and shipyard, but he also prompted the Estates-General to authorize the Doge's Office to negotiate with the tax company in a tough way, and finally reached a seven-thirty tea tax agreement, also at 1/20 instead of the luxury tax, which would save Sean and his tea plantation members.

This was another tripartite tripartite agreement, and this tax was levied in 1834, and when all the tea plantations in Genoa were built and tea was sold, it was expected that in 1835 the tax-chartering companies and the provinces would receive tens of millions of taxes a year.

And one thing, when the tea tax reaches the scale of tens of millions, the weight of Sean's words will obviously increase a lot compared to now.

All in all, Sean's rapid rise is already very remarkable.

In a letter to her husband, the Countess of Coval, who had also achieved this purpose, wrote:

"Viscount Rocky Hill became the leader of the majority, with whom the cardinals were close friends, whom some nobles regarded as a model of wealth, the governor regarded him as a reliable 'treasurer' because he brought huge taxes to the government, and the bankers regarded him as a patron and rushed to lend to him, and the scholars touted him as 'the future of Genoa'.

The young man seemed to have been born with the talents of a politician and an extraordinary business acumen...... In short, this is not a traditional aristocrat, perhaps it is his military experience that gives him the temperament of a leader.

Now it seems that his presence has influenced your authority among the Genoese, thus making your family a backdrop for his success, so be sure to plan ahead. ”