At the beginning of some major political events, there are already signs, but many people are not aware of them. For example, the newspaper mentioned it slightly, and there was a comment in the new industrial and commercial newspaper on the current orc incident in the Byron Empire, and a sentence appeared: "Among the materials that the Marquis of Rennes helped the orc leader Thrace, some of them came from Baron Sarcomo, the leader of the industrial and commercial party." ”

There is only one sentence, and it is at the end of a paragraph, but the appearance of this sentence has played a crucial role in the entire political arena, including the people. It is a temptation, an attempt, and at the same time a flag. This sentence is testing the perception of Sarcomo by the common class and the privileged class, the degree of recognition of him, and by the way, it is also whitewashing him.

If the response to the report is fierce, it means that Sarcomo is not suitable to be removed from the Directorate General of Taxation for the time being. If everyone's reaction is very flat, it means that the smear against Sarcomo in the previous public opinion reports is a thing of the past, and he can come out.

With limited control of public opinion, coupled with control of the aristocratic class, Wren has full wings.

(Actually, there is a truth here that I really want to write, but after writing it, I will definitely go to tea, and I finally decided to give up.) ）

There is also a reason why he has not activated it now.

On the one hand, the war was not over, and the Byron Empire had not yet been beaten by the orcs, so it had to give up the foreign war and turn to the civil war. Once there was a war in the Orlando Empire, it was very likely that Emperor Byron would grit his teeth and persist in the war of aggression. Then the Full Moon side will not retreat, they will continue to put pressure on the Western Front, as long as Grace is recalled by Empress Pars, it is very likely that Full Moon will really be able to break through the defense line formed by the seven border fortresses in one go.

Wren's goal is to become emperor himself, not to give up this empire to others, so he must wait for a series of chain reactions to begin to occur after the Byron Empire leaves the battlefield first.

Secondly, he also needs to give the nobles a process of acceptance, so that the nobles know what he wants to do, what he will do, and what he can do. Not all aristocrats were really willing to stand up and follow Wren to overthrow the Orlando family when nothing was clear. You must know that they are now the nobles of the Orlando family, even if the Orlando family is overthrown, their identity will not change much, it is nothing more than becoming a nobleman under the rule of the Alcanian family.

The aristocracy is still the nobility, and it can be said that not much has changed. In this process, Wren needs to convey his ideas to these nobles as much as possible, so that they can understand that only by following behind him can they have a better future.

and many more benefits.

Interests are an eternal topic among the aristocracy, whether it is the emperor who is high above or the nouveau riche who has just become a baron, they all revolve around interests.

"It seems to me that the current empire is like a magnificent building full of decaying debris, which on the surface may be enough to be satisfying because she is glamorous enough. Wren's voice was not loud, but it was penetrating, and the bright voice made the nobles in the whole house huddle together. It's a metaphorical joke that he uses the feminine "she" when talking about empire.

Empress Pars, who is also a woman, is not wrong to say that she is glamorous, and when Wren does not say this in a praising tone, the context changes subtly. He was teasing the Empress of Pars, who was only glamorous on the outside, and rotten on the inside.

Wren himself chuckled a few times, waited a little for seven or eight seconds, and then the room fell silent again, and he continued: "First of all, I think the need for reform is the issue of taxation. About 90 percent of the tax revenue in various places is handed over to the state treasury, and the nobles in various places can only withhold about 10 percent, and our great emperor may be angry if there are any more. ”

"Let me ask here, ladies and gentlemen, do you think that ten percent is enough for the daily expenses of a city?" Many people shook their heads, in order to prevent the commoners in the territory from fleeing their homeland because of the excessive taxes, the nobles hardly dared to continue to collect other taxes in the territory, and at some time gave the commoners as much financial help as possible to help them tide over the difficulties.

Ten percent, or twenty percent, is nothing more than a consolation, a return money. The aristocracy's real income came from trade, as well as overt and covert smuggling, and even plundering other places.

When Wren spoke about it, most people became serious, because it was at stake for one of their most important interests, which was wealth.

"So I think the current way of taxation is absolutely unreasonable, the tax comes from the common people, and the place where the tax is used is often not directly related to the common people. Although I know that many people look down on the civilian class to some extent, this class is the largest group of people in the empire with the most potential power. There's a saying that you can't steal someone else's stuff and make that person smile at you!"

"During these three or four years, Ortrenburg did not pay more than five gold coins a year at its peak. Wren took a sip of the teacup and moistened his throat, no one exchanged heads in this space, everyone looked at him with bated breath, "Some people may be very strange, pay such a small amount of taxes every year, why haven't the General Administration of Taxation and the royal family troubled Ortlenburg?"

"Because I have the reason, they can't find fault and can't find my trouble. It takes money to develop the city's economy, it takes money to expand the city, it takes money to build roads, and it takes money to hire people. Where did the money come from? It was taken from the common people, but I used it for them to improve the living conditions in Ortlenburg. ”

"Do they have complaints?", Wren shook his fingers, "not the slightest complaint, and even they want me to take a little more tax money so that the city can grow faster." And I call this 'taking from the people and giving back to the people'. He breathed a sigh of relief, "There is no love for no reason in this world, and there is no hate for no reason." You're taking away months of other people's earnings and you want them to laugh at you? That's a joke in itself. ”

"Then the question goes back to the original essence, who took the money from the commoners?", Wren's tone gradually raised, and he shrugged his shoulders, "Did we take their hard-earned money? No, because this money is still lying in the treasury of the Empire, or in the purse of the Orlando family. But it's up to us to bear the wrath of all classes in the Orlando family on behalf of the Orlando family. ”

He raised his tone a little higher, and slammed his fist the armrest, making a loud bang, "Why?"

At this moment, the nobles nodded their heads in agreement. Yes, the most difficult thing every year is not war, not political dumping, but taxation from the territory. Although the tax officials from the State Administration of Taxation to the local government are vertically managed, it is the lords and city lords of various places who finally wipe their butts when something goes wrong. It is unfair that they can only get a small share of the tax money, but they have to bear the responsibility for the crimes that far exceed this part.

Why can the Orlando family "plunder" wealth to their heart's content, but let them carry the black pot?

"So, in terms of taxation, there needs to be reform, and that's the one that the whole empire needs to change the most right now. However, I am very convinced that His Majesty Pars will never budge, even in the event of a war. It is impossible for her to keep this part of the money in our hands and then let us strengthen our power and strength, so even if she clearly knows that there are all kinds of shortcomings in the tax system, she will not change it. ”

A little nobleman stood up, bowed to the surroundings, and asked in a very top hat: "I have taken the liberty of interrupting your speech, Your Excellency, and also hindering your gentlemen's Yaxing, I would like to ask Your Excellency the Marquis de Rennes, do you have a better way to solve this problem?

Wren pointed at him, this guy was actually arranged by him, of course he wouldn't show it, and that guy's acting skills wouldn't be too bad.

"When it comes to the point, it's actually very easy to solve this problem. Facing a room full of nobles, Wren spoke eloquently without the slightest nervousness.

But the other person was much more nervous than Wren.

"You mean...... The Elders' sudden fall to Wren has something to do with the change of their family's heir?", Empress Pars has been getting more and more unable to sit still recently, especially after Wren returned to the imperial capital, she will feel her heart be numb after sitting for a while, her mind is like a tumbling paste, and even her ability to think has become much weaker. Only when she stood up and walked around could she ease her inner restlessness.

Looking at Empress Pars, who stood up from behind her desk, Vito nodded, "I didn't know when you didn't let me investigate this matter, but there have been many similar things happening in the aristocratic circles of the imperial capital in the past six months. The first heirs of many families always lose the right to inherit for one reason or another, so that those who have no possibility of succession come to power one after another. ”

"I had people look into these people and find that they all had a good relationship with each other, and the most important thing was that they all went to a private party at the same time at a place called the Salon of Bliss. Later, I had people investigate this blissful salon, and I got the information back that the owner of it was Lady Eyler, Your Majesty. Vito's mentality at this time is also very complicated.

He thought that he was holding his thigh on a giant ship that would never sink, but what he didn't expect was that a huge ship had not been walking for long before it began to leak, which put him in a very embarrassing situation.

Continuing to support the Orlando family, of course, he is willing to do so from the bottom of his heart, but he may not get anything good in return. But if you don't support the Orlando family...... , he may have to carry some infamy. Ever since he had been splashed with blood by Wren several times, he had begun to cherish feathers. A lot of ridiculous things have been stopped and attention has begun to be paid to the individual's place in the value of public opinion.

So he is also very entangled now, especially when there is a fog ahead, he can't see the direction clearly, let alone choose.