CapitaLand is located at the southern end of the Fort Harrynn region, in the middle of the Harrence Heights, connecting Harrensburg, Fort Harrynn and Crewe's main transportation arteries.

In peacetime, the Caderd Territory is a trading hub for the Harrens Heights and the Garmici Meadows, with daily travel and non-stop travel, and in wartime it will serve as a logistical supply point for the northern territory of the Crewe Territory.

Every year, CapitaLand receives the checkpoint tax alone to support the CapitaLand family's extravagant living expenses throughout the year.

Moreover, the land of this territory is fertile, and the nobles once jokingly called this territory 'the little granary of the Harrens Heights'.

This territory was acquired by the Cade family thirteen years ago during the famous Battle of Kumar Fortress, and Duke Nick used the bravery and tenacity of the Cade family to create a legend in the history of imperial warfare.

In the next thirteen years, the Cade family used the abundant produce of this territory to promote their family to the most prestigious lords in the Harrance realm in a very short time.

The past thirteen years have been the most glorious time for the CapitaLand family!

When the young Bell Cade took over the family rein, he even fantasized about being able to compete with the four Dominions of Crewe.

But!

A decree from Fort Kavar was to abolish the main source of revenue for its territory: the checkpoint tax on travel from the interior.

At the same time, the tax bureau also re-surveys the land to check whether the annual tax payable by the territory is qualified. What's even worse is the introduction of a series of luxury goods transaction tax, local territory strategic resource tax, and so on.

Grain and minerals are the two key resources as strategic resources!

The decree stipulates that if the annual grain transaction amount exceeds 3,000 catties, an additional 30% of the tax needs to be paid.

These taxes are all commercial transaction taxes, not the regular taxes paid in local territories.

In other words, after the local territory has paid the prescribed 30% tax every year, if there is a commercial trade, it needs to pay other taxes.

The young Earl of Bell Cade, after receiving the order from Fort Kavar, asked his castle steward to calculate how much the annual tax to be paid to Fort Kavar.

A few days later, his castle steward told him that nearly fifty percent of the profits from the territory were to be turned over to the castle of Kavar each year.

However, Bell Cade had no idea that his old butler wouldn't settle the account at all!

The old butler didn't give him the tax that Kavarburg promised to save on that part, nor did he think that his territory would be prosperous in trade because of the exemption from the checkpoint tax, let alone the market brought by prosperous trade, and the amount of gold coins that flowed in the market every day, let alone the old butler.

Not to mention the old butler, even Bell Cade himself can't think of the key issue in this.

All he could think of was an increase in taxes, and the amount of gold he would have to pay.

The most stupid thing about Bell Cade is that he is not yet twenty years old and wants to lead the aristocracy against the Kawar Castle in order to increase the prestige and status of the family.

The reason for this is only because of what his chief adviser, Sir Sbourg Lefko, told him!

His chief adviser told him: "The reform of the commercial tax is nothing but the whim of the young ruler of Kavalburg, and when he finds out the opposition of many nobles, he will certainly cancel the many taxes of the category as soon as possible, and even deal with the wandering mage who has just become the chief of police." And you, my lord, you will be the leader who will lead the nobles against tyranny, and the nobles of Crewe will henceforth regard you as their leader. ”

Sir Smith's words touched the young heart of Bell Cade.

Every nobleman possessed a strong sense of self-esteem and great vanity.

Driven by vanity, Count Bell was willingly pushed to the front row by everyone!

Until now, he had not discovered how wrong his decision was, and he stubbornly believed that it was Pedi who was abusing his power.

He even fantasized about the scene of the other lords cheering him on after the victory over the Kavalburg army.

Bell Cade is just a kid who hasn't grown up, and his jokes don't matter if in an ordinary family. But the key thing is that he is not a child of an ordinary family, he is the lord of the CapitaLand Territory, and every decision he makes is related to the fate of nearly 30,000 people in the territory.

...

On 1 April, the sun was shining brightly, and the sun's rays covered the land of Crewe again, leaving the ancient land with a vibrant greenery and a warm day.

On the winding and rugged official road of the green CapitaLand, the yellow sand covered the sky, and the business travelers along the way stepped aside to take off their hats and salute a team of knights galloping on the official road.

At the front of this knight's procession, the red and black Celestial Pole Bird battle flag was erected up and down.

This is Earl Bell-Cade's personal guard, and Count Bell is at the front of this team, and he has been speeding all the way to his own territory after the clash of nobles a few days ago.

Today, the family castle is finally far away.

There was a hint of nostalgia on Earl Bell-Cade's dusty and immature cheeks, and his eyes had not taken his eyes off the castle since the beginning, and the family banner on the towering battlements was dancing in the wind, as if welcoming her master back.

Represbourg, the name of a castle that only spread in the central region of Harlance.

"Soon, the name of this castle will spread throughout the empire, no, the entire continent!" Count Bell suddenly felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart.

"Drive!" Bell Cade's heart was on fire, and he couldn't help but squeeze his horse's belly as fast as he could, sprinting in the direction of the castle.

Soon, he separated from the ranks of the knights.

In an instant, it seemed that only the unruly figure of Bell Cade was galloping on the entire official road!

Surrounded by people on their knees...

Half an hour later,

Count Bell arrived at the castle gates, and the castle officials, who had been waiting for the news, waited on either side.

The castle steward, a tall and thin old man named Jefferson, stood at the front of the crowd of officials in a new aristocratic dress.

He was holding a black wooden box in his hand.

This box is very conspicuous at the moment,

Because bright red blood was slowly dripping from the cracks around it, the dazzling red and the white clothes on the old castle butler instantly attracted Count Bell's attention.

"What's going on?" said Bell Cade, with a hint of alarm in his tone.

"This is the order of your mother, Lady Dalena. Jefferson bowed his head respectfully, and the wooden box dripping with blood shook slightly, and more blood suddenly came out of the cracks...

"This is the head of your chief advisor, Sir Sbo-Rykov. Jefferson's expression was calm, "Your brother Sir Pyne personally cut off his head. ”

"How dare you..."

"We don't dare to do anything, it's Lady Dalena's orders, my lordship. Jefferson bowed his head, "No one dares to disobey her orders." ”

"Good! good!" Count Bell did not suppress his anger at all, and "snapped" his horsewhip on the butler's arm.

The old butler trembled, he did not dodge the whip, and the wooden box in his hand did not even shake.

Count Bell did not continue with the second whip, he sat down on his horse and looked down at his steward, and said coldly: "I will now go and see my dear brother, and my beloved mother. ”

"Madame and Sir are waiting for you in the hall. The steward's attitude was so humble that one could not speak, "but Madame's order is that you yourself should hang this head on the wall." ”

"Then you just wait slowly. Count Bell ignored this order, and rode his horse straight through the gates, but his knightly guards were stopped at the gate when they tried to pass through the castle.

Enraged, Count Bell ignored the knights who were stopped at the gates.

...

A few minutes later, the doors of the Represbourg Foyer appeared in front of Bell Cade's eyes.

The door was open, and from the outer door it was faintly visible that an old woman was seated on the lord's throne inside, and next to it stood a half-grown child in a blue noble robe.

Bell Cade's face was grim, he pulled the reins of his horse to a halt, jumped from it, casually threw his whip to the guard at the door, and then strode into the hall with the hilt of his saber at his waist.

At this moment, the half-grown child in a blue robe next to the lord's throne subconsciously moved away from the throne and bent down to salute his brother.

"Mother—" Bell Cade was formal, his head down at the guards around the corner of the hall.

It's all fresh faces!

Bell Cade is wary.

"You shouldn't come back. Lady Dalena, who was in the lord's seat, spoke coldly.

"I am the owner of this territory, and I can come back at any time. Bell Cade didn't hide what he was thinking in front of his family, "You want him to replace me?" he pointed to his younger brother next to the lord's throne.

"When you fought against Baron Pedi in Kavalburg, did you ever think that you were the master of this realm? Mrs. Dalena resisted the urge to forgive her eldest son, "Have you ever thought about the harm your remarks will bring to the realm? You actually want the Reagan family to go to war? Do you want to put the entire family and the territory into a catastrophe?"

"Bang!" the old woman tossed the iron cup out of her hand and struck Bell Cade in the chest.

Bell Cade looked at the cups that were spinning on the ground and asked again, "So, you want to abolish my lordship and make him the master of Cade?"

"I will hand you over to Master Pedi in exchange for peace in the realm. A look of anguish flashed across Lady Dalena's face.

"Do you know what that means to me?" Bell Cade roared, "Pedy Reagan told me in front of all the nobles he had passed by that he would hang me from an old mulberry tree outside Crewe!"

"But it's for the peace of the family, isn't it?" said Lady Dalena, with a determined look on her face.

Bell Cade took off the sword at his waist: "You will only lead the family into the abyss of dooms. ”

"Don't push me, kid. Lady Dalena clasped her hands as she tried her best to control her trembling body, "Even if it's a head, Master Pedi won't dislike it, you..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her words,

Because, the sound of galloping war horses suddenly came from the hall!

"Count Bell!" rang out from outside, and the next moment, a burly knight in thick plate armor appeared in the hall.

"You're colluding with outsiders—" The old woman's eyes stared at the family crest of the knight's robes, and she suddenly bounced up from the lord's throne.

Her eyes were full of shock...

At the same time, the surrounding guards immediately drew their swords and guarded Lady Dalena and his second son.

Bell Cade glanced at his younger brother, who was shivering behind his mother, and sneered, "Haha, this is the heir you're looking for." ”

Lady Dalena looked at her eldest son solemnly, "Do you want to stain this hall with your brother's blood?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone. Bell Cade's voice almost burst through the sky, "I love you more than I love myself, and I haven't wanted to hurt you until now!" "It's you," he pointed to his mother, "it's you who want this hall to be stained with the blood of your own son." ”

Lady Dalena said coldly, "That's because I don't want this hall to be stained with the blood of our entire Cayde family!" she looked at her eldest son, "You still haven't realized your mistake?"

"Am I making a mistake?"

"Hey, Count Bell, you can't let the guests just stand. The knight beside Bell Cade lifted his visor to reveal the face of a middle-aged man, and he gracefully saluted Lady Dalena on the steps and said, "Let me introduce me... My name is Fitz, and I was sent by a certain lord to support Count Bell's war. ”

"Soon, more people will come to our aid. Bell Cade looked at his mother, "You don't understand that this war isn't just about us and Pedy Reagan. ”

"Even if the lords of the entire Harrence Heights are gathered together, they will not be the opponents of the Reagan family!" Mrs. Dalena looked at her eldest son in disappointment, "Don't you understand what it means for us to go to war with the Reagan family? Who gave us everything we have now? Have you forgotten?"

Bell Cade's eyes froze, "Everything we have now is the result of the struggle of our ancestors, after the Battle of Kumar Fortress, Duke Nick got everything he wanted, and we got everything we wanted. ”

"It's you who don't understand anything, Mother!"

As the two spoke, the knights and guards in the hall gathered more and more, and the two groups of human swords facing each other were almost about to come into contact.

"I'm waiting for your decision, Mother!" Bell Cade finally drew the saber from his waist.

"You..." Dalena grabbed the cold little hand of the second son, stared at her eldest son and was silent for more than ten seconds, then said, "You win, I will leave the Caderd Territory with your brother." "She relented after all, and she didn't want to see her two sons kill each other because of one of her orders!

"I'll have my knights escort you. ”

"Of course, if your knight is willing to take on this task. ”