"Actually, for today's citizens of the kingdom, paying a little more tax doesn't have much impact on their lives." Antaoris then spoke again, how could he only let Sipros be preoccupied: "I just asked Burcos and the treasurer Archibides, just in the case of Turiyi, the ordinary citizens here own at least 20 acres of land, and the grain harvested every year can not only meet their own needs, but also get about 300~700 drachmas by selling them (according to the degree of the harvest and the change in the price of grain), but this is not the bulk of their income. Since Turiyi was the center of the kingdom and had a large number of foreigners, there was a strong demand for housing, and many citizens could earn one or two talients a year just by collecting rent.

If the citizens of Turiyi are special, let's take a look at the small city of Sicily, where the population is less than 4,000, and the main income of the citizens is farming, and the grain harvested by each family every year, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance, is converted into money, at least 600 drachmas, which does not include the cattle and sheep, horses, chickens, ducks, pigs and other livestock they raise. In addition, don't forget that they often go to the workshop to work part-time in the off-season, and they can also earn a lot of money.

So what do these citizens with a lot of wealth do on a daily basis? In addition to daily expenses and military training, they also spend money on sports equipment and participate in various competitive training; Spending money to watch games, even buying 'Tino's Blessings', drinking a lot of wine, visiting restaurants, occasionally going to the hot springs, and the business of the women's branch is also very prosperous, and many citizens even buy slave girls as concubines......

So how much do citizens pay each year for the kingdom? Antaoris opened his two palms and smiled disdainfully: "On average, I'm afraid it's less than 10 drachmas!" Maybe some people are against raising taxes, if the people are already poor and force new taxes, they will not only be resentful, but even riot, but the current situation in the kingdom is that the country is poor and the people are rich! Your Majesty and we, the officials, worked hard to keep the kingdom running, stingy with every expenditure of the treasury, and even some public buildings had to be built with donations from the people...... If this continues, and the kingdom is unable to maintain itself due to the strained treasury, what good will it do for the citizens?!

In the privileged environment that the Kingdom has worked so hard to create and maintain over the past 20 years, many citizens have gone from destitute outcasts to wealthy, dignified Ionian citizens, and now it is time for them to give back to their country! Even if the tax is increased by 5%, it will only make the citizens pay less than 50 drachmas, which is still a small amount of money for them, but it is really a great help to the kingdom, right?! ”

"Well said!" Davers once again praised him, and once again glanced at his ministers with a deep gaze, and said aloud: "Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any objections to the 'additional tax increase for the formation of a new frontier army'?" ”

"Your Majesty, I have no opinion." Seeing that Davos had clearly expressed his support, and everyone looked moved, they didn't dare to stop it anymore, and bowed down in response.

"I agree to a tax increase!" Hermon, Sedorum and other ministers also replied in the affirmative.

"Good!" Davers patted the armrest vigorously and said: "Since we have all agreed, then Antaoris and Sipros will take the lead, with Alexis and Achibides assisting, to formulate a detailed tax increase bill, how much tax will be collected?" How to receive? Where do you use it? …… It should be written clearly in detail so that it can respond to the questions of the patriarchs.

Here, I would like to solemnly remind you that before the two bills of 'forming a border army and raising taxes' are submitted to the Senate, no one must keep it strictly confidential and must not disclose it to outsiders. ”

The last few words, Davers said with a murderous aura, made the ministers feel chills in their hearts, and they couldn't help but secretly remind themselves to be vigilant.

Davers retracted his awe-inspiring gaze, softened his tone, and said: "Alexis, I have carefully considered that the number of soldiers to recruit foreign freedmen should not exceed two legions for the time being, after all, we must take into account the feelings of the citizens, and do not let them think that we are preparing to completely replace them with mercenaries and prevent them from serving for meritorious service. ”

After being reminded by Davers, Alexis suddenly understood what he had overlooked, and immediately responded convincingly: "I understand, Your Majesty." ”

In fact, Davers's concerns are not limited to this. Familiar with his past history, he feared that these recruited, unloyal freedmen would become privately owned, threatening the safety of the royal family and the kingdom, so he had to be vigilant at all times.

Then, Davers said: "Antaoris and Sipros, when you are discussing how much to raise taxes, do not only use the two legions I just mentioned as a benchmark, but set them appropriately high, leave enough room for the future, and try to do it all at once, otherwise you will have to raise taxes frequently in the future when the finances are tight, and not only the Senate will be sad, but the people will also be uneasy. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two looked at each other and responded in unison.

Davers stood up from the wooden chair, straightened his body, looked at everyone, and said in a sonorous voice: "Everyone, I still say the same thing, the kingdom is developing, the environment is changing, and the old traditions and laws may not necessarily be applied to the new situation, but may become obstacles, so as the elite of the kingdom, you must manage all aspects of this kingdom, you must have a flexible mind, sharp eyes, timely detection of problems, timely elimination of ills, in order to ensure the long-term prosperity of our kingdom, please keep in mind!" ”

Davers's earnest words caused everyone to think deeply.

"What time is it?" At this point, Davers felt a little in his stomach and asked Henipolis, the clerk by the steps.

Henipolis glanced at the water clock in the corner of the temple: "It's past noon." ”

"Let the kitchen bring all the prepared lunches, you can't go on with hunger."

"Yes."

After a while, the guards set up small tables in front of the ministers, and then the servants brought up large and delicate pottery bowls, which were filled with steaming soup, and floating pieces of beef of the same size, and in the soup there was a handful of thin dough of uniform thickness, and countless fine spices and herb powders, all kinds of fragrances mixed together, and the aroma was mouth-watering.

This is a new delicacy that has been introduced by Christoya's restaurant in recent years, in which flour is fermented, kneaded repeatedly with water to form a tough dough, then cut into thin dough sheets with a knife, boiled in boiling water, and then poured into the beef broth that has already been cooked, and served with condiments...... Because it is easy to make, smooth and refreshing, delicious and can also be added as many accessories as diners like, such as some vegetables, it is very popular with the people of the kingdom.

However, the kitchens of the royal palace are all prepared by chefs from Christoia's restaurant, and not only are the dishes prepared at an extraordinary level, but the raw materials are naturally the best:

The highest quality wheat flour in Sikuli. Sikuli City is located at the foot of Mount Etna, the land area is small, earlier some Sikuli people reclaimed part of the flat land on the mountainside, every day up and down the mountain to work very hard, but due to the accumulation of volcanic ash on the mountain, the land is extremely fertile, the wheat grown is full of grains, the taste is very good after grinding into flour, and because of the scarcity of production, it is expensive, so even if the Sikuli people joined Dionia and regained a new share of land, there are still very few people who are willing to go to the mountainside to farm, Most of the wheat obtained was bought out by Christoya's restaurant to supply the royal family.

The one-year-old beef cattle from Grumentum in Lucalya are considered by the people of the Dionian Kingdom to be the best beef cattle in Lucalya, because there is a large lake in the south of Grumentum City, Lake Patusino, the water of the lake is extremely clear, and the shore of the lake is covered with grass......

Everyone had a long-day meeting, they were already a little hungry, and they were seduced by the fragrance of this noodle, and their appetite immediately increased, not only after eating the noodles, but also after drinking the noodle soup, some people even asked for an extra bowl.

At least three times a month, the palace gathers ministers for important executive meetings, often during the day, and lunch is provided by the palace.

After the people had finished eating, and after a short rest, the Minister of Construction, Heraclid, said, "Your Majesty, there is a little problem with the construction of the Enona-Roman road. ”

"What's the problem?"

"The Cians, in the mountains north of Campania, obstructed our construction, not only did they not provide labor and food as agreed, but the road construction materials we had delivered there were often lost...... This slowed down our construction process considerably. ”

"I remember that in the road construction agreement signed three years ago, the Sidisini people also participated, and not only agreed, but also signed." Lycias chimed in.

"Maybe this mountain race thinks that the avenue passes through their territory, and there will be more people coming and going from the south to the north in the future, which will affect the safety of the territory, so they regret it." Ansitanos said solemnly: "Your Majesty, please allow me to send a diplomatic official to Sidisini to protest to it, ask it to abide by the agreement, and help us complete the road construction as soon as possible." ”

"In the past, the Cessines were sandwiched between the narrow mountains of the two great powers, the Wolsey and the Campanian League, and they were conservative and xenophobic, and they were very tactful, and I am afraid that the effect of mere verbal condemnation is not obvious." Davos groaned and said, "Alexis, your military department has told the Twelfth Army (the legion is located in the eastern plains of Campania, and the military camp is in Arbela) to assemble and go to the edge of the northern mountains of Capua for military training, and make the momentum a little bigger. ”

"Yes."