With a population of 200,000, Paris was the largest city in the Kingdom of France and even the largest city in Europa in this era. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

This was followed by Lyon and Marseille, with a population of 60,000 to 80,000, of which Marseille had a slightly smaller population but provided more tax revenue to the kingdom than Lyon.

Because this is the largest port in France, the prosperity of any civilization must be inseparable from the nourishment of trade, and trade cannot prosper without the sea and ships.

Historically, the city has a history even better than Paris and Lyon, and was a thriving Mediterranean city in the Roman Empire.

In the Carthaginian Wars, its navy played a very important role in helping the Roman Republic finally defeat the Carthaginian Republic led by the peerless general Hannibal.

However, in this century, because of the discovery of new shipping routes, Seville and Lisbon took away the laurels of the times, and Marseille was overtaken and thrown behind by their former rivals.

Although it was still an important trading center for Italian and Black Continent goods, and it was still able to contribute a large amount of taxes to the Kingdom of France, it was more than a step short of the rich resources of the two seafaring capitals.

In the past year, the situation has deteriorated even further, with many businessmen complaining about the difficulties in business.

However, the degree of deterioration is limited, and it has not delayed the bureaucrats at all levels to make money, what complaints do the businessmen have, the mayors from the big aristocrats will not be deceived by these people, no one should want to pay less taxes, and all kinds of losses must not be less.

The mayor asked himself how he was so loyal to His Majesty the King, and that the tax revenue sent to Paris was never small, so he was so audited.

The mayor of Marseille has had a really hard time in recent days, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Terramante Tan Shure has come to do the audit.

The old mage had been involved in very little routine work in recent years, and was generally only responsible for the king's strategic advice, so he had to come to Marseille to audit, and at one point scared the mayor to the point that he lost half his life.

The "Protector of the Country" mage talked about Shuer's dispatch, and he must have taken himself down on the spot.

Of course, his ass is not clean, in fact, any mayor is not clean, everyone has spent tens of thousands of thalers and personal relationships to get through the network, and the opportunity to serve the people depends on the salary of hundreds of thalers every year, when will it be able to return to the capital?

So as long as His Holiness wants to engage whomever he wants, he will fight corruption.

The mayor once considered absconding to Spain, but after all, he was reluctant to leave his family in his hometown, and he thought that his faction seemed to be fine, and there was no reason to be corrupted, so he finally stayed.

Things did go as he thought, and Tan Shuer didn't take him down, and he didn't get into the benefits he had done.

So his life can be passed, of course, it will not be easy.

"Talking about His Highness Shure, please see, this is the last fifteen account books."

"In the past three years, a total of 66 tax payments have been released to Paris, each time in full, and there has never been a task arrears."

"Except for the first month, which was delayed by one day due to the handover work, the national tax for each subsequent month was paid on time."

This mayor is just the younger brother of a country count, strictly speaking, he doesn't have a title, and he can mix with the mayor of Marseille, so he naturally has some real skills.

"Just put it there." It was the old Shure apprentice who spoke, and he was ugly, with a withered face crisscrossed by many dark lines.

Old Tan Shure just silently took the accounts, and then carefully checked them one by one.

Although he is over eighty years old, his appearance does not look old at all, his skin is very shiny, his hair is black, not a single white hair, and he has a lot of energy.

Busy from early morning to dusk, Old Tan Shure and his apprentice finally read all the fifteen ledgers.

During this time, they had a meal together, and the apprentice also went to the toilet once, and the old talk Shure ate very little, and he never went to the toilet.

The mayor was in his early fifties, and after a day of pouring water before and after the saddle, he was too tired to do so.

Similar to the other day, Shure found two recording errors, and a dead chef who appeared to have swallowed a few pigs.

The mayor did not panic at all, and Lao Tan Shure did not take the opportunity to attack like an ordinary leader, but commented fairly: "The tax is sufficient in terms of time and quantity, and the accounts are also very clear, and there are some mistakes, so we need to continue to work hard." ”

His voice was calm, but he was also full of energy, and like his appearance, he looked quite young.

It was the first time he had spoken since he came to Marseille, and the other day had been his apprentice and the mayor of the city.

"It is an honour to serve His Majesty the King and the people of Marseille for the benefit of the people of Marseille." The mayor is finally relieved, the rule in French officialdom is that when Shure talks to you, he agrees with you to a certain extent, "I will do my best to improve my level and contribute my ............. to the construction of a strong and prosperous French kingdom."

Old Tan Shure waved his hand to stop him from shouting slogans, and instead said, "As a tax collector, you are fully qualified, but as a mayor, you do have many, many things to improve." ”

He continued: "In the last six months, have you felt that it has become more difficult to collect taxes? ”

The mayor realized that the old Tan Shure was talking about the reason for his visit, and he hurriedly replied: "It is true that those profiteers and people have no king in their hearts, only their own selfish interests, and they are not willing to pay taxes honestly, and this situation has increased in recent months, but I have strengthened the management of customs and docks to ensure that taxes are collected!" ”

In fact, because of the good management, the fines increased, and he even collected a lot of extra money.

"That's good, that's why I say you're qualified as a tax collector." "But as mayor, you should help the merchants and fishermen so that they can afford to pay taxes." ”

"How is this possible, Your Highness?" The mayor shouted, "No one will be happy to pay taxes, the economy is depressed, they want to evade taxes, the economy is prosperous, they also have to evade taxes, the key is the management of customs and dock staff." ”

This is the wise quote that the mayor has summed up for many years.

"Compared with 20 years ago, the import and export tonnage of the port of Marseille has dropped by 37 percent, and the tax revenue has dropped by 24 percent." The apprentice spoke in a hoarse voice a data from a long time ago.

"Lisbon and Seville supply the produce of the New World, and the abundance of products attracts a lot of merchants there." The mayor is completely unburdened by this, "and the fact that the tax revenue has fallen less than the tonnage has decreased, shows that our management is very effective and completely unresponsible." ”

"The tonnage is also down seven percent compared to three years ago, and the downward trend of the past five years would have come to an end." The apprentice continued, "You can't say that there is no responsibility for this decline, the shock caused by Spanish and Portuguese goods has already calmed down. ”

"This is because the port of Tripoli has risen on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, attracting many Italian merchants who would have traded in Marseille to buy goods directly from the Black Continent." The mayor was helpless about this, "but after my efforts, our taxes have not fallen." ”

This is indeed one of his great achievements.

"You're squeezing the merchants and fishermen to the limit." The apprentice said this, and his already hoarse voice became even heavier, "Last year, twenty-two Maasai citizens declared bankruptcy, ninety percent of them were maritime merchants and big fishermen, and this year it has reached three-fifths of last year's level, and it is only June, and you are fishing in the dry waters." ”

With Wu Xin controlling a large proportion of the Black Continent trade, the life of the French merchants was already very difficult.

Because of his political position, Wu Xin almost never considered France for his bulk purchases, although the price of food and weapons in France was very competitive.

However, Wu Xin still resolutely purchased from the territories of the Kingdom of Spain in Italy, especially the production of Sicily, not only grain, but also oil crops.

Although Wu Xin's own territory has become fertile because of the fragments of the plane, and he is able to be self-sufficient in food, olive oil and vegetables still have to be imported from Sicily.

Although in Sazastan's idea, it is better for everyone to eat a full meal (in fact, the demigod lich thinks that seven points of fullness is enough), and should not waste money on vegetables, he suggested that Wu Xin should also collect heavy taxes on vegetables, inhibit the use of funds in this aspect, and concentrate the money

However, Wu Xin refused, taking advantage of the scissors gap to concentrate wealth for development, this road is very difficult to walk, and it requires ideal bureaucrats and people, otherwise it will not be possible, and forcibly engaging in it will only make him gain great hatred among the people and stimulate smuggling activities.

So the onions and lettuce are still on the tables of the citizens of Tripoli.

This business made the Marquis of Bazin have a lot of face in Sicily, and also made Wu Xin's relationship with Spain not only the family relationship of the superstructure, but also the foundation of the lower class.

And the trade beads with good profits and very low technical content, Wu Xin has always asked Sherlock to purchase the products of several Spanish partners.

"I must be accountable to His Majesty the King." The mayor was very aggrieved, "I also have a task to complete." ”

"This task was obviously set by your lord in Paris, and now you say that people are fishing in the water? It's so shameful. At this time, a voice suddenly came in through the window.

The mayor was overjoyed, wasn't this what he wanted to say but didn't dare to say?

But the next moment, he realized that something was wrong, this was the top floor of the three-story city hall, and there were dozens of soldiers around, who was talking outside the balcony?

The apprentice to Shure was quicker to respond, and while the mayor was still happy, he was already chanting, and when Bulsha climbed onto the balcony, a ferocious wolf had already guarded the balcony leading to the office. (To be continued.) )