Bai Xuan smiled and didn't say anything more, but Luoshen snorted coldly and turned his head to look out the window.

Involuntarily glanced at the amazing side face, Bai Xuan turned his head and continued to ask the fat man: "Say, the more detailed the better." ”

The fat man wiped the sweat that didn't exist on his head and began to report on the situation in Ember City.

Ember City has a permanent population of less than three thousand, and this is still slowly gathering after the rise of hunting in the Black Curse Forest, so you can imagine how barren it was before. Closer to the chalk, there are a number of farms that are cultivated by scattered farmers who pay a small amount of taxes, making it easy to feed the small town on its own.

Most of the materials were traded from the cities in the chalk interior, and there was a giant river that originated in the Black Curse River from the east of the city and led to the chalk inland, and its branches also flowed to the kingdom of Theron in the chalk territory, with the help of this waterway, the materials could be smoothly transported, which was also the biggest basis for the construction of Ember City.

Land transportation is mainly by horse-drawn carriages, which is much less efficient, but it can also solve some transportation, because not all trading cities are along the river. Although the road surface is a dirt road, fortunately, it is mainly plain and hilly, and there are few mountain roads, which is quite convenient.

In the past, this was a barren land on the frontier, with a sparse population, with the development of the Black Forest, it has slowly flourished in recent decades, and it is said to be prosperous, but in fact, the floating population has increased greatly, and it has become a necessary place for various hunting groups and a place to rest, which has led to the development of other material trade and various commerce, and has also increased the permanent population.

"So, Ember City has actually become a tourist city?" Bai Xuan couldn't help but think of a place called Three Ducks.

"Brigade...... The word "tour" is very novel, but these people are not here to travel and play, and the hunting groups that go to the Black Curse Forest are all there to fight for their lives. The fat man said, "Wealth and danger are sought, although not all of them are outlaws, but they all live a life of licking blood with knives, if the hunt is successful and the prey is sold for a large price, they will spend a lot of money in Ember City to relax, so the place where Ember City consumes the most is the tavern and night courtyard." ”

"Night Courtyard?" Bai Xuan didn't understand for a while.

"Well, it's a place to spend the night, different from inns, which will provide a lot of special services, and it's a gathering place for women in the dust. The fat man peeked at the god as he spoke, and was frightened by the latter's cold eyes.

"Oh, then these places should be the places where heavy taxes will be collected in the future, and everything outside the city will be banned and all will be moved to the city. Bai Xuan pressed his forehead, trying to change himself to the role of a town manager.

"It really should be, but ......" the fat man hesitated.

"But what?"

"These taverns and night courtyards all have backers behind them, otherwise they can't operate in this kind of place, and it's probably not easy for them to move into the city and collect heavy taxes. ”

"That's it......" Bai Xuan frowned, sure enough, it was as black as a crow in the world, and this world was no exception, "These will be solved, you continue." ”

"The biggest problem is actually taxes, these people come and go, some simply don't go into the city, take a detour and go directly to the Black Curse Forest, so they can only implement consumption tax or transaction tax, if they don't trade in the city, then these revenues will also be lost, and the finances are not optimistic. ”

In fact, where it is not optimistic, it is completely uncontrollable, and the fat man does not hide it, and tells the truth.

This is not difficult to understand, it all stems from the fact that the chalk has little actual control over this place, and the administration is only superficial, otherwise it would not be entrusted to a business family like Donglei. The only way to maintain the status quo is to make compromises.

But Bai Xuan is not here to compromise, he is here to do things, out of the judgment of the situation from the experience of the two lives, he urgently needs to have his own strength as soon as possible to protect himself, whether it is the royal capital or this dispatch, he smells the smell of ominous conspiracy from it.

The former prince hung up the first time he entered the Black Forest, and he could not sit still when he passed through, but had to change, otherwise this fate would fall on him again.

"The best thing to do is for them to have to pass through Ember City, and all other roads are blocked. It's okay not to trade, collect a toll tax, and charge a tax on valuables for prey. Bai Xuan said, "If these things are not done, Ember City will not be able to talk about development." ”

Carres and the fat man glanced at each other, and they were secretly surprised in their hearts, when did His Highness become a black-hearted tax collector? This sounds even more excessive than some greedy noble lords, especially this toll tax, unheard of, what kind of tax is this?

Even Luo Shen turned his head and showed a disdainful look at Bai Xuan.

As everyone knows, this is normal in Bai Xuan's mind, and it is already a benevolent move not to set up toll booths at both ends of the road.

"But Your Highness, if you want to achieve this, it will be too difficult. The fat man tactfully reminded, "We are understaffed." ”

"Of course, we need a lot of force to guarantee all this, that's the first priority. Bai Xuan knocked on the table, "We want to form an army." ”

"Your Highness, what do you want to do?" said Kareth, "the current garrison is less than a hundred people, and it is not an elite, and the expansion of the army needs the support of the royal capital." ”

However, the royal capital is not peaceful now, His Majesty the king is seriously ill, the political situation is unstable, and the subtext of Carres is actually that the royal capital is probably difficult to support.

"If the kingdom is to hold Ember City in its hands, it must be supported. Bai Xuan said, "I will write a letter to Your Majesty, asking him to officially announce the elevation of Ember City to the administrative level, so that the jurisdiction can be strengthened in the name of justice." ”

The fat man looked at Carres and saw that he was also frowning, obviously like himself, worried about His Highness's statement, what if His Majesty did not agree, or those who could influence the decisions of the royal family, what if they got in the way?

These worries are not unreasonable, the current situation within the chalk is delicate, no one will easily break this situation, if this is decided, it will definitely be under pressure from Rosa and Theron, and it is difficult to say what will happen at that time.

Keeping the situation stable is the best option at the moment.

In fact, Bai Xuan also understands that he also has to fight for time to develop, instead of breaking this seemingly stable status quo, but it is difficult for him to develop without doing so, which has become a paradox.

It seems that the other approach has to be taken.

"Haven't nobles ever been stationed in Ember City?" he asked Winterlei.

"Your Highness wants to ask why no nobles have been divided here, right?" Dong Lei understood what Bai Xuan meant, "That's not because this place is far away and poor, and it's a chaotic area, who wants to come? ”

"That's ......," Bai Xuan pondered.

"Your Highness, do you want to ......?"

"Of course, your Highness wants the King to divide Ember City as his personal domain, so that he can do whatever he wants and implement his black-hearted tax plans. Luoshen held his cheeks and stared at Bai Xuan, knowing his appearance very well.

"That's a ...... idea," the fat man smacked his lips, "not bad." ”

"I think so too. As a samurai, he rarely participated in discussions on administrative matters, but it was now clear that His Highness needed to listen to them—and he had no other people to consult, Cares said.

"If Ember City is your territory, many things will be much easier to control, and the outside world will not cause too many waves for the time being, they all know the situation in Ember City, and they will not think that becoming your territory will change anywhere. "It can buy us time." ”

Bai Xuan was silent for a moment before slowly pressing the table and standing up.

Let's start with a lord.