Perhaps the upper echelons of Bajina City could learn through various channels that a commissioner from the Grand Duke would come here to solve the problem.

But they didn't have time, and they didn't have that much control, and they really did everything in the city to block all news - in Luo Ming's opinion, even the project to fool the commissioner's face was done in general.

Perhaps, they also thought that Luo Ming and the others came here just to accept the order of the Grand Duke to help them solve the problem of the jackals.

And Luo Ming will swagger to come as a "minister", and then naturally he will be entertained by enthusiastic citizens, and naturally bribes are indispensable.

Then he would pretend not to see the arrears of taxes—he would not get the taxes himself anyway, and they would all go into the pockets of the Grand Duke.

Rather than helping the Grand Duke collect the arrears and finally get a little reward from the Grand Duke, it is better to collect more bribes. Not to mention earning more, it also saves him his own business.

As a result, Lormine and Granty took a circle around this small city of a few thousand people at best, and in this cursory investigation, many problems had been discovered.

Although there were inevitably cases of tax evasion, most people in the city paid a certain amount of tax to the city government.

And this tax, some people say that "it is said that some of it was robbed by the jackals", and there is also an old drunkard in the tavern who swears that "as soon as the mayor got the money, he lost more than 800 gold coins in the casino".

Although the one-sided statement is not credible, it is indeed a doubtful point.

The plague of the gnolls is also real, and there is even a corpse of a gnolls hanging from the city gate, they have indeed robbed some caravans, and there are indeed people who have been attacked by them in the wild and disappeared.

But a few of these so-called cases are contradictory and illogical, as if they were made up.

Other cases, while more realistic, are also very similar to each other - it is as if the same event had been passed on by word of mouth, and became several events that seemed to be different.

For example, an unlucky merchant said that Baggio the merchant lost three carts and a leg in the forest, while others say that Bucky, the merchant, was found on the plain outside the city with only one leg left in his body.

But in fact, the guy's name is Bachur, and he is still alive, but he has lost a few fingers, and when he was rescued, he was covered in wounds made by thorns and covered in blood.

In this way, a conclusion can be drawn.

Grant said with disdain for this behavior, which was similar to lying, "I'm afraid the gnolls are not as terrible as they say."

There were absolutely no more than five real attacks on caravans this year. The rest are just stories made up and distorted by some well-intentioned people.

By this excuse they could justifiably say, 'My city has suffered a great loss, and we cannot afford to pay our taxes,' and yet they themselves have not lost a penny in their taxes to the merchants. ”

Luo Ming looked at Grant with a little surprise, and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong?"

"No, not really, just a little surprised. Luo Ming laughed and suddenly grabbed her hand, "Originally, you didn't care much about this kind of problem, but now you think about it so much, all to help me ......"

Granty's face was slightly flushed, but she didn't twist and pinch, but generously admitted: "If it's a troubled time, it's just a matter of peace, and my sword may not be able to come in handy a few times a year."

Even if you can tolerate me eating and drinking for nothing, I can't help it. It just so happens that I am literate, and you can trust me, so it would be nice if I could help you a little more in other ways. ”

"Haha, hearing you say that, I feel really happy. If you meet Grandi, it must be blessed by the gods!"

Luo Ming never spares such good words.

In this cheerful atmosphere, the two bought some local barbecue pork skewers and a few sesame cakes, and while eating, they pointed and pointed, as if they were ordinary tourists, all the way out of the city.

When they had gone some distance and there was no one nearby, the two of them immediately slipped into the woods.

The cheerful atmosphere was swept away.

Luo Ming's eyes became cold, and Granty's eyes were full of determination.

"Are we the grass to be fools?" she said, drawing her sword and lowering her voice.

"Don't be stupid," Luo Ming patted her little brain lightly, then stepped forward and said in a small voice, "To deal with the criminals, you can use all the means allowed by the authorities.

The Grand Duke and the Princess, allowed me to act cheaply and without any restrictions, and naturally I could not use the same old-fashioned methods as ordinary officials do.

If I deal with difficult mountain bandits, I may set fire to them, and if I deal with extremely dangerous fugitives, I will have to arrest their families and threaten them.

This is all the blessing of the gods, and the universally recognized justice is the place where more people are safe and secure. ”

"And that's okay?" asked Granty, a little strangely and expectantly.

"Of course. As the ruler of the principality, the Grand Duke maintained order over the vast land.

Clearing out bandits, building bridges and roads, and defending against foreign aggression are good for the Grand Duke, and good for the nobles and commoners below - but this requires officials, soldiers, and money.

Tax evasion is to reduce the income of the Grand Duke, that is, to damage this order, and in the end not only the Grand Duke will suffer, but all the people on the land of the Principality will be harmed as a result.

Therefore, dealing with those tax evaders is inherently justice, not to mention that I still have a position, and it is even more straightforward to do it. ”

Luo Ming didn't intend to take out those theories that were too advanced and unrealistic to talk nonsense in this world, but it was just this kind of superficial truth that made Grant thoughtful.

It's a good thing she's willing to think about it. Anyway, there's no rush to do anything now.

There is no mosquito problem in this season, and the two of them are swordsmen, and they are strong and strong, so they don't have to worry about the season, temperature, and various problems that will have too much impact on health.

Luo Ming has decided to stay here for a few days.

Until a gnoll, or a caravan appears nearby.

The caravans would definitely go from the main road, and the small road would make it difficult for the wagons to pass smoothly.

As for the gnolls, Lormine and Granty ran out into the wild with so much food, and they still exuded a human smell, and it was very likely that they would seduce a few of them to rob them.

And neither the caravan nor the gnolls are the prey he targets.

That's right, all are prey.

Those guys in the caravan are not earthlings but otherworldly people in the first place. Next, although they are from the principality, they are not the part of the people ruled by Luo Ming himself, let alone the parishioners of His Highness Hei Ri.

As a duchy, he does not pay taxes to the Grand Duke, and Luo Ming is now running errands for the Grand Duke...... There is no reason to be merciful to them in any way.