"Lord Viscount, Lord Duke, please come over." A petty official appeared at the door.

Eden. Bell lowered his eyes on the document in front of him, then closed it, got up and walked towards the door, and the little official quickly dodged aside.

In a very elegantly furnished room, there seemed to be a meeting of several people, and at the top of it was a red-faced, silver-haired old man, who was the Grand Duke of Rutherf, Lord of Fervent.

He wore a white silk cotton gown set with diamonds, and around his waist was a delicate belt encrusted with various colored gemstones, and the beautiful handmark on it was particularly eye-catching. At his waist, the scabbard, also studded with jewels, shone brightly, and a red ribbon with gold embroidery edged hung diagonally on his body, showing the dignity of his status.

"Lord Duke, I wonder what you summoned me for?" Eden. Bell walked in from the doorway, stopped in front of Grand Duke Caself, and asked with a slight bow.

"You may be seated, Eden, we are mainly discussing tax and security issues within the province during this time." The big man asked his tax official to sit down and explain why he was meeting today.

Eden. Bell sat down in his seat, muttered slightly, and said, "At present, due to the rampant blue ocean pirates, it has indeed brought some trouble to our taxes. And because of piracy, trade was also severely affected, some merchants began to hoard Juqi, and some arbitrarily raised prices. I think there are three ways to start.

The first is to crack down on those merchants who hoard and impose heavy taxes on merchants who wantonly raise prices; The second is to find ways to open up new trade routes by land. and provide relevant business travel to encourage policies; The third is to crack down on those pirates quickly and severely, after all, the revenue from maritime trade accounts for nearly one-half of Vermont's fiscal revenue, and if the problem of piracy is not solved, other methods can only solve the urgent problem for the time being. ”

Without waiting for the Grand Duke to answer, a middle-aged man with a big belly next to him answered, "Mr. Bell, I think your suggestion is a little inappropriate. Merchants have the right to sell or not to sell non-prohibited goods, and this is their freedom. As for increasing the tax rate, it is even less feasible if the tax rate changes at will. So how can you win the trust of the people? Fight piracy. You thought it was that easy? As soon as the warship comes out, there are 10,000 gold kravans, what even the Imperial Navy can't do, do you think the coastal escort navy in our Kasef province can accomplish it? ”

This middle-aged man is the Earl of Burns. Typical flatterer. But he was the brother-in-law of the Grand Duke. Therefore, it is deeply trusted by the Grand Duke. Although there is no conclusive evidence on hand, Eden. Bell said that the Earl of Burns had economic dealings with those unscrupulous merchants. I don't know how much benefit Lu Dao has taken. It's just that his relationship with the Grand Duke determines that as long as he does not shake the foundation of the Grand Duke's rule, even if he has more evidence of the Earl of Burns's illegal evidence, it is impossible to really convict him.

"Well, Eden, you're a good suggestion. However, it is difficult to implement it at present. But one thing is certain, we can't wait, at least we should open up new sources of tax. ”

There was a strange look on the face of Grand Duke Casef, who was not prepared to listen to such an offer from his treasurer in the first place. It is important to know that if such an edict were issued against those merchants, although they could not resist, it was likely to force them to leave Vermont City, and these merchants were inextricably linked behind them, which could affect the future development of the province of Caself...... Most importantly, it doesn't quite match what he planned.

Eden. Bell had long expected this kind of ending, and he was not surprised, and nodded silently without further words. The council soon ended, and as the nobles and officials had begun to leave, the Duke called out to his treasurer.

"Eden, there's something I think I should tell you." Grand Duke Casev said in a deep voice, his expression very solemn.

"Lord Duke, is something wrong?" Eden. Bell had a bad feeling in his heart.

"Good news, His Majesty the Emperor officially canonized your daughter Hathaway the day before yesterday. Bell is the Countess of Cordillera, and her territory is the Cordillera Plateau, which is almost worthy of a duke's territory. Eden, you have an amazing daughter! Grand Duke Casif looked at him meaningfully.

"Lord Duke, this is good news, but it may not be a good thing for Hathaway. She's just a little girl who doesn't know the world, how can she know how to take care of a territory. "Eden. Bell smiled wryly.

He really thought so, the title of a countess has already made many people worry about it, and now her title and territory are clearly the Cordillera Plateau, which is not known how many people will be worried about it...... The Cordillera is barren, but not barren, but intricately populated and sparsely populated. If it can be developed, there will be an endless stream of wealth, and the Duke in front of him has been dreaming of becoming the person of that land, but he has not succeeded for so many years, and I am afraid that he has already touched his scales.

"Yes, she's a little girl, there are a lot of people who want to fight that piece of land, how can he handle it."

Archduke Casserf smiled: "Eden, Hathaway is sixteen years old, right?" Are you engaged? ”

Eden. Bell's heart froze, and he immediately understood what the Grand Duke meant: "There should be none." ”

"Should?"

Grand Duke Kasef shook his head: "It's not me who said you, you are too incompetent to be a father." However, when girls grow up, they always have to get married, what do you think of Katevich? You have watched him grow up, you should understand his temperament, and believe that if they are together, they will be very happy. ”

With that, he stared at Eden. Bell's face looked like he was trying to find something on his face.

Eden. Bell sighed in his heart and said, "Of course Katewich is good, but it's ......"

"But what?" The look on Grand Duke Casef's face was so gloomy at this moment.

Eden. Bell took a deep breath and said, "Lord Duke, you may not know that there may be some problems between me and Hathaway. There are some things that she may not understand, even if I agree. ”

Grand Duke Cassef nodded: "I heard that you sent her away when she was a child, which is indeed cruel to a little child. However, you are father and daughter after all, and even some estrangement is understandable, and maybe I can talk to you when she passes through Kasef. Now as long as you and I reach an agreement, everything else can be resolved. ”

"Of course." Eden. Bell nodded helplessly.

******************

The full name of the Imperial Knight Academy is 'Royal Knight Academy of the Odiga Empire' was founded in 463 in the maple dew calendar, only one year younger than the Obiga Empire, and was founded to train the children of nobility and warriors in the service of the royal family.

Although the empire has been in turmoil and even divided several times, the Knight Academy has always stood tall because it has always supported the royal family, and it can be said that it has witnessed the entire history of the Ortiga Empire to this day.

An academy founded by the Imperial Family, its educational purpose was to train the children of the nobility to serve the foundation of the Empire. To maintain the dominance of the aristocratic class, it is still necessary for the aristocracy itself.

Since it is an aristocratic academy, ordinary commoner children are not qualified to come here, and they can only enter some imperial public academies.

The successive deans of the Imperial Knight Academy are all staunch supporters of the royal family, saint-level powerhouses, and this year's dean, Mr. Eastwood, has been the dean for more than thirty years, and his prestige in the empire is second only to that of the emperor - not counting those magicians.

On the fifth day after Hathaway's canonization, Eastwood returned to the Knight Academy, and the next morning, a carriage brought his invitation and drove her directly to the Dean's office.

Dean Eastwood's office is a very elaborate villa, a small three-story building, the simplest building in the Knight Academy.

Downstairs was his office, but he rarely presided over the affairs of the academy in these years. With the exception of a few documents that had to be signed by him, all were handled by the four Vice-Presidents.

When the carriage stopped in front of the villa, a knight-like man stepped forward to open the door for Hathawaya: "Please wait here for a while, I'll go and report to you." With that, he turned and entered the villa.

After a while, the door of the villa opened, and a middle-aged man dressed as a housekeeper walked out, and said respectfully after saluting Shi, "The dean is in the study, please come with me." ”

Hathaway followed the butler slowly to Dean Eastwood's study. The study of the villa was on the second floor, and after the housekeeper walked through the stairs, he opened a door for her: "Sir, please come in." The host is waiting for you inside. ”

Hathaway nodded politely to him and walked inside. After three steps, the butler gently closed the door of the study, and then stood quietly in the doorway, waiting for Dean Eastwood's next summons.

It's a library, Hathaway thought to herself.

Almost the entire second floor is lined with bookcases one after another, full of books. Although it is not comparable to the Demon Spirit Temple, Mrs. Christie's study is far less large than here.

Hathaway's eyes were dazzled by the sea of books, and she unconsciously walked inside.

"You're here."

An old voice came from behind a large desk, on which were a number of books, some of them open.

A deep gaze shines through the lenses and shoots towards Hathaway. The owner of his gaze looked her up and down. Judging from her appearance, she is indeed the granddaughter of an old friend, this child has inherited the excellent genes of the female members of the family, and she is already very beautiful at a young age.

"It's rude, it's just that there are so many books here, and I unconsciously read a few more times." Hathaway said hurriedly. (To be continued......)