"Chief Daley, please send this monster to the Sawyer Chapel. ”

Shakli walked to the center: "I will hold a ceremony to publicly purify these evil things. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency. Director Daley hurriedly came over, ordered the burlap to be covered and carried away, and he fulfilled his role.

"Director Siyes, I have asked for the floor. Shackley said to Siyès again.

Shackley's reputation was so great that he had actually presided over the province's dioceses when the bishop was ill, and as far as Sean knew, he had gone on a rampage to appease his allies and fight his rivals in the clergy, with great success.

He would soon change into a red robe and become the head of the Genoese Cult of God, thus becoming a true leader in the Cult of God.

Of course, Siyes will not refuse such a figure, because any representative has the right to speak on the stage, but because of the different status of everyone, they are valued differently.

With permission, Shackley stepped onto the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, devout members of God. "Last week, on behalf of His Excellency the Bishop, I went to the northern diocese of the province to deliver the Gospel of God, and when I saw with my own eyes the parishioners near the Ott Mountains, the hearts of the people were terrified, and many terrible news, true or false, came that the farmers could not farm in peace, that the merchants did not dare to climb over the Ott Mountains, and that we had been cut off from the northern mail routes. Luckily, we are by the sea and can connect with the north by sea. ”

"But I have heard that the seas are not at peace, as Viscount Connelly can attest. I'm not surprised when I see a monster like a werewolf with my own eyes today. Ladies and gentlemen, the forces of evil have revived, and they are snooping on the side, eroding our civilization. ”

"If we don't be vigilant and don't do something in advance, we will regret it when disaster strikes. Otherwise, the mob and werewolves will cross the Ott Mountain, trample our homes, destroy our churches, and kill our parishioners. ”

"As for Rector Mounier's accusations, I partially agree. Yes, our church has a great deal of wealth, but it is not our personal wealth. We, the apostles of God, gave up our right to reproduce and spent our lives serving God and serving all nations, and we are only custodians under God's witness. ”

"In order to cope with the grim situation ahead, our church would like to set an example and donate a sum of money to recruit a civil defense regiment. ”

Xia Keli's statement suddenly changed the situation in the venue. Mounier's accusations, while shameful and angry to the delegates, did not give them the energy to make money.

Sean sat in his place, thoughtful, the priest of the Sawyer Church seemed to be standing with the Governor for a long time, and his statement made the success of the Governor's plan clear.

"May I ask you, Your Excellency, what kind of civil defense regiment do you want to build? Don't we have a patrol regiment?"

As the moderator, Siyes interjected at this time, and also partially responded to the questions of the delegates.

Byrne stood up and said: "There are patrol police regiments, they are only suitable for maintaining law and order in the province, and many of their members are passed down from generation to generation, father to son, and children to grandchildren, such patrol regiments are only suitable for catching thieves and robbers. ”

"The situation is developing and we need to take immediate action to form a civil defence regiment that at least looks well-equipped and strong......"

"Your Excellency the Governor, please tell us directly how much money you need?" someone rudely interrupted Byrne.

Byrne glared at the man and motioned for Assistant and Treasurer Alexis Tocqueville to step forward and explain.

Tocqueville was very young, he had never seen such a scene, and with trepidation he spread out the budget documents that had been prepared long ago, and said:

"According to calculations, according to the size of the civil defense regiment of 1,000 people, each person would need 40,000 gold louis for a rifle, plus ammunition, quilts, uniforms, boots, and 20 gold louis for equipment, plus at least 50 horses for officers, scouts and heralds, 80 carts and mules, and fodder for livestock, so that a total of 80,000 gold louis.

Of course, this is only a one-time investment, we did not consider equipping artillery, just light infantry, but the usual rations and training funds, the loss of equipment, and military salaries are the main ones, and it takes ...... a year."

A nobleman immediately asked: "Is this civil defense regiment going to become a standing army? Do you have the approval of Your Majesty, the Cabinet, and the Military Command Department?"

Byrne replied, "Approve it, of course, otherwise it's a rebellion." As far as I know, the northern provinces, especially the Longjiang Valley, have local standing armies or civil defense regiments, and our neighbor in the south, Javia Province, is already at the forefront. Of course, I hereby solemnly promise that if the situation stabilizes and order is restored in the Longjiang Valley, this civil defense regiment will be disbanded immediately. Let's start with a limit of three years. ”

Byrne added: "I am ready to invite Viscount Brandon to be the head of this civil defense regiment, Viscount Brandon was in the army in his early years, he has rich experience, and the Viscount has great prestige, he will definitely manage this militia well." In addition, I have invited Viscount Connery, a hero of the Empire, who has only recently been tested by the flames of war, to serve as a military advisor. ”

People's eyes were focused on Brandon and Sean at once, Sean didn't care, anyway, his new title was just for show, and Brandon, the old viscount, was full of red light.

It was a traditional aristocracy that believed that the nobility was born to be the defenders of the state, and because of this, they were born with privileges.

Worship authority and hierarchy of order, and despise cowardice and compromise.

Fascinated by the chivalric era, he practiced horsemanship, swordsmanship, and archery every day, and his greatest hobby was the collection of ancient armor in his family's castle, which could form a heavy cavalry company, each of which was well maintained.

Such aristocrats have become a rare breed.

It is true that most of the senior officers in the army are from noble backgrounds, and even if they do not have a noble title, they are also the second son, youngest son, and cousin in the family.

But no one, like Viscount Brandon, advocates a return to the system of the old knightly era:

At the king's command, the nobles led their knights, vassals, and vassals into armies under a banner painted with the family coat of arms in order to obtain rewards and glory.

In peacetime, the nobility was a lord who collected his own taxes and managed the law and order, and arbitrated disputes between the lords, and his vassals did not have to be loyal to the king, but only obeyed the orders of the lord, because the vassals of the vassals were not my vassals.

However, times have changed, and Viscount Brandon realizes his "dream", unaware of His Excellency the Governor's understanding of human nature.

"Maintaining a standing civil defense regiment of about 1,000 people requires about 500,000 gold louis for three years. Considering that it may really come in handy, in that case, it will have to pay additional money, and the enemy will be lenient, so this time the 'security tax' will be levied, and a total of 700,000 gold louis will be required. The Finance Secretary finally came to a conclusion.

This is not a large number for a quasi-army, but it is not small. There was a lot of discussion among the delegates, and the atmosphere was less tense, especially when Priest Charchri offered to donate 500,000 of them, and another 200,000 louis to the Doge's palace to care for the homeless.

Governor Byrne and Mayor Stanley exchanged glances, and their hearts were reassured, and the previous operation and exchange of interests were not in vain.

That's probably why the governor is the governor and the mayor is the mayor. Mayor Stanley thought to himself.

The church as a whole agreed, and gave generously, which determined the basic direction of the conference.

Of the three viscounts, two of them became officers of the militia and could not have objected. Only Viscount Lincoln remained, and as for Percy Robinson, the family had kept a low profile since the earl's death, and would not object.

Coupled with Principal Mounier's generous statement, many people were drawn to Byrne's plan.

"I agree!" Viscount Lincoln stood up, not coming to the podium, "but in addition to this, in addition to what I should pay in the following discussion of the specific apportionment, I have also donated 100 tons of food to the city of Poitou for the relief of the poor, which will be done under the supervision of the church. ”

Shakli smiled and applauded, and the clergy applauded with him, while the others, somewhat reluctantly, followed the crowd and applauded.

Viscount Lincoln, once again, stood up and frequently greeted the delegates. Percy sat on Sean's right side and whispered in his ear that it was a fame hunt.

"Thank you Viscount Lincoln for your generosity and kindness, and salute you!" Stanley stood up and bowed solemnly.

"Okay, the church has donated 500,000, then there is 200,000 left, and now we will vote, and if everyone agrees to spend this 'security tax', please show your hand!" said Siyes.

Everyone raised their hands, even if they really didn't want to pay for it, but the general trend was set, and they couldn't oppose it.

"Pass!" Siyes slammed the table with a wooden hammer wrapped in cowhide.

"The following topic is for the purposes of the 'security tax' and the standard of taxation, and I would like to give an account to Mr. William Doyle, Assistant to the Governor and Commissioner of the Inland Revenue. ”

Director Douyle was also well prepared, and he only needed to make temporary changes to the specific figures according to the points listed in his explanatory document.

"Specifically, we levy this tax item on wealthy people with an annual income of 3,000 gold louis, according to the tax register revised in 1829. To be fair, it is levied at 5% of annual income. ”

It turns out that this is actually a 1/20 tax, which has been transformed into a so-called security tax.

Byrne and Stanley took full advantage of the tension to make the tax a reality, and it was passed by a show of hands by the taxpayers themselves.

No one even realizes this, because as I said earlier, a one-time levy for three years of civil defense regiments. As soon as the situation stabilized, the Civil Defence Regiment was immediately disbanded.

As for whether it will become a regular practice in the future, that is, in the future, His Excellency the Governor who has a careful mind will not dare to do it in one step.

Sean suddenly thought of the story of boiling frogs in warm water.

Historically, the king was supposed to live on the income of his immediate domain, and the taxes in the vassal domain of the kingdom were only the income of the vassals themselves, and had nothing to do with the king.

Later, the king began to collect taxes, the oldest being the military service tax, which was only temporarily levied to meet the needs of the war, and stopped collecting it when the war ended. Later, these taxes became permanent with the formation of centralized power.

Every tax levied by the empire, which was not created from scratch, and then transitioned into perpetuity.

Apparently, the bigwigs of the cabinet struggled with privileges to save the finances, and signs of victory appeared in the southern province of Genoa.