In fact, this can't be blamed on Surdak for thinking that the town's accounts are a bit fake.

The formation of this cavalry battalion made him realize how rich some of the seemingly ordinary nobles in the city really were.

In the horse market, a Gubolai horse is worth 20 gold, and this more than 1,000 gold coins are only enough to buy more than 60 war horses at best, think about the Goss family ranch in Kieran Town, it is said that there are seven or eight horses in the pasture, and each horse herd must have at least a few hundred Gubolai horses, so that is at least tens of thousands of gold coins of private property.

It is estimated that there should be some nobles with such financial resources in the town of Dodan.

Although he knew that the plane territory belonged to the typical kind of people who were rich and the country was weak, he didn't expect that the finances of the town hall in Duodan Town would be so embarrassed.

Lady Luna pursed her lips secretly, and grumbled, holding the account book:

"This month, everyone's salary hasn't been paid yet, so we have this money."

She glanced at Surdak stealthily, and seeing that he still looked incomprehensible, she explained:

"The usual tax revenue in the town has not been very good, and the large transactions are done by the trading firms, but they rarely file taxes."

"The town's income usually depends on the business tax of the store, and this tax is basically brought by the adventure group."

"In addition, there is also the population tax of the residents of the town, the land transaction tax, but who is willing to run to this enclosure recently?"

"Now that the adventuring party has been withdrawing from Dodan Town one after another, the tax revenue is not even one-third of the usual, and the town's income in the past two months is not even able to maintain the daily expenses......"

As they spoke, they had come to a lounge, which was not very large, and there was a small bed in it, and a fat man with a tired face was lying on a narrow cot, he was just dressed in white linen. Pants and a white shirt, two carrot-sized pairs. His legs were purple at the moment, and he was humming in pain on the bed.

Two women and several young men and women gathered around the window, and it seemed that they were the family of the tax collector, who were dressed in silk and sewn clothes, and although the tax collector was not a nobleman, he should have belonged to a wealthy family among the commoners.

A maid was rubbing the tax officer's legs, but the situation didn't look promising, and his legs were covered in purple bruises, which was a little scary to think about.

Surdak stepped forward.

The tax collector's wives saw Surdak and didn't know who he was, but they knew him. The former noble badge hurriedly stood up one after another, his eyes were full of grievances, and he almost grabbed Surdak and cried and shouted that he wanted to be the master of the people.

Lady Luna pointed to the tax collector lying on the bed and introduced Surdak, "This is Batra, the tax collector of our town. ”

She whispered to the tax collector of Batra, "This is the new commander of the cavalry battalion, Lord Baron Surdak. ”

The tax collector of Batra closed his eyes tightly and refused to say a word.

Someone moved a chair for Surdak with interest, and Surdak sat down next to the tax collector of Batra, and said to him lightly: "I came to see you, I didn't want to ask about Marko's whereabouts from your mouth, you don't have to be so nervous, but the rope that binds you is a little tight, if you don't heal it, you pair. The muscles of the legs are going to die slowly, and only from here ...... Sawn it off to save your life. ”

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand at the tax collector of Batra. The base of the leg gestured.

Frightened, the tax collector suddenly opened a pair of goldfish-eyed bubble-like eyes and stared straight at Surdak, trying to see some flaws in Surdak's eyes.

The family members of the Batra tax collectors who were standing aside were terrified when they heard Surdak say this.

Surdak said with a faint expression: "I don't think you want to die so much, it just so happens that in terms of aspects, I can help you." ”

The tax collector of Batra lay silent on his cot.

Surdak did not continue to ask, and for a moment the room was so dull that it seemed as if time had to stand still, only Batra's two wives were sobbing softly, the older child gathered around his mother, and the younger child was so frightened that his eyes widened and he kept trying to hold his brother's hand.

Just as Surdak stood up and was about to leave, the tax collector of Batra darkened his eyes and said in a hoarse and weak voice:

"Please all go out and wait a while, I have something to say to Commander Surdak."

When the tax collector said this, Lady Luna swept the room around the room again, and everyone in the room walked out, closing the door by the way.

"Commander, what do you want to ask me?" The tax officer of Batra tried to squeeze out a smile, but the smile was worse than crying.

Surdak looked at him and didn't speak, just stared at him until he was a little weak.

The tax collector of Batra asked tentatively, "Can you really heal my leg?" ”

"Of course." Surdak glanced at him and replied.

He flipped open his palm, and a flame of light danced like a burning flame.

The tax officer of Batra hesitated for a moment, he looked at the legs that had become unconscious, and asked tentatively:

"What do you want to know?"

Surdak was just a little curious, and he didn't have any specific questions, and he landed a cloud of holy light on the legs of the tax collector of Batra, whose swollen legs were actually fading and fading at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

Soon the tax officer of Batra felt as if there were countless steel needles piercing the double. on the skin of the legs.

He cried out in pain.

"Bear with it, if you want to let fresh blood pass through the shriveled blood again, these pains need to be endured."

Surdak stared intently at the white light in his palm, which continued to pour into the legs of the tax collector of Batra.

The tax collector Batra took a deep breath and covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to let himself cry out.

His face was flushed, and his forehead was covered with beads of sweat.

Surdak found that the healing effect of the Holy Light Technique on reducing swelling and eliminating congestion was more significant than that of sword wounds. The leg looks like it's about to die, but it can heal quickly with the healing of the Holy Light.

After a while, the tax collector of Batra only felt that the double . The legs really regained sensation, and the whole person was lying on the bed as if he was soaking wet, so weak that he had some trouble speaking.

He kept his eyes on Surdak.

Surdak sat down in his chair again and said:

"I think what you can get access to is nothing more than the taxes of Dodan Town, and all I want to know is the real tax of Dodan Town, I have to find out who swallowed the money for the armaments and materials of the city defense brigade, and what are the materials in the warehouse?"

The tax collector of Batra shook his head slightly, and whispered:

"There weren't many armaments in the warehouse, and they had all been taken out little by little over the years."

After saying that, he smiled bitterly and said:

"The last thing left is to deal with the last bit of façade for the quartermaster."

"You are here, ready to take over the city defense guard brigade, they all say that you have a good background, Marco plans to transfer the last military materials that belong to the town, and take over the city defense guard brigade for so many years, he may have forgotten that there can be nothing in the warehouse, but he just can't take out the things stored in the warehouse, he just did that, and was caught by the mercenaries of the trading house."

"Originally, I wanted to use the materials supplied by the Quartermaster Department recently to add to this hole, but this time is ...... It's too late to do anything. ”

"The mayor of the town was worried that the belongings he had worked hard over the years would be spit out because of this, so the donation escaped."

Surdak felt that even if the current annual income of Wall Village was not only more than 1,000 gold coins, let alone a border town next to the Warcraft Forest, so he asked, "Won't Dodan Town only have more than 1,000 gold coins in taxes every year, right?" ”

The tax officer Batra shook his head again and said, "It may actually be a little more than that, but it's not as much as you think, the trading houses are only willing to pay one-tenth of the tax due, and many adventure parties are used to selling Warcraft materials to the trading houses." ”

"Marco didn't think I'm going to take you along?" Surdak asked curiously.

Batra glanced outside the door, his eyes were full of reluctance, and he said with a sad face, "Are you leaving?" Where can I go! Besides, my home is still here. Besides, although I know, I didn't reach out, I'm just a small tax collector. ”

Surdak stepped out of the hut.

The family of the tax collector of Batra rushed into the hut with great eagerness, and before long there was a muffled cry in the house.

Surdak said to Lady Luna, "In the mayor's absence, you are in charge of the daily chores of the town, and I think you'll handle it well, right?" ”

"Of course, I will."

Lady Luna stood in the reception hall of the town hall and assured Surdak.

……

In the past few days, Aung San has been undergoing earth-shaking changes in the town of Doden every day, which has made him a little overwhelmed.

He walked into the garrison of the cavalry battalion, and the guard at the door just nodded to him, motioned for him to hurry in, and warned in a low voice: "Don't worry when you go in, the commander is waiting for you at the door of the small building." ”

The barracks weren't too big, and the small building was very eye-catching, and Aung San could see Surdak sitting on the front steps of the small building at a glance.

A touch of the slanting sun shone on his face, casting a golden light on the outline of his handsome face.

Aung San hesitated, but finally stepped out firmly.

"Commander, are you looking for me?"

Aung San saluted Surdak.

As if sobering up from his contemplation, Surdak turned to Aung San and said gently:

"Well, take me to Invercargill Monster Forest tomorrow."

Aung San said cheerfully, "Oh, good. ”

The two people in front of the small building, one sat on the steps, and the other stood respectfully.

As if remembering something, Surdak suddenly said, "Today I saw a young man named Latu in the city guard brigade, who looks a bit like you. ”

"That's my brother." Aung San admitted.

Surdak nodded, thinking that Latu had the skill of overhauling the bed crossbow, so he said: "The young man is not bad, let him do a good job, and I will let him stay in the guard brigade if there is a chance." ”

When Surdak said this, he wanted to promote Latour.

Because in the city defense guard brigade, only the squadron leader and above are considered official positions, and the other city defense guards, including the squad leader, are a group of young people who are serving in the military.

Aung San glanced at Surdak and said hesitantly, "He can't be a squadron leader." ”

Surdak was noncommittal, withdrew his gaze, looked at Aung San and asked:

"Are you familiar with Mayor Marco? I want to know something about him, no good or bad. ”

Aung San scratched his head in embarrassment and explained with a wry smile: "He is the mayor of Dodan Town, and the aborigines like me can't reach him, but I know who knows him best." ”

"Will he tell me?" Surdak asked with a smile.

He didn't want to force someone else to tell Mayor Marco about it.

He was just a little curious about what kind of person Mayor Marco was.

"Yes, after all, he is also your subordinate." Aung San smiled a little proudly, and said directly: "He is Jeremy, the storekeeper of the city guard brigade, he and Mayor Marko have known each other for a long time, they are both immigrants from Bena City, it is said that they are still fellow villagers, and he also helped Mayor Marko at the beginning. ”

Surdak thought of the fat man who was running back and forth with a shy stomach in the city guard brigade, and said, "Okay, I'll send someone to fetch him." ”

……

Administrator Jeremy was stunned when he received the news that Commander Surdak wanted to see him.

If you want to say that you have any evidence of your own crimes, there is no reason to invite yourself so politely.

Anxious, he rushed to the garrison camp and saw Surdak sitting in front of the small building, standing far away and giving Surdak a military salute, but his fat stomach made his body out of shape, and his movements were not so standard.

Surdak glanced up at him, but said, "Tell me about Mayor Marko." ”

Jeremy leaned over and looked at Surdak with some confusion, not knowing how to start for a moment.

Surdak beckoned Jeremy to sit down and talk, and said, "Just talk about Marko's past, I'm a little curious about how he got to where he is now." ”

Jeremy sat down at the bottom of the steps, and Surdak handed him a glass of ale.

Jeremy, the storekeeper, hesitated, but took it, poured himself a big sip, and took a drink, his face turned a lot redder and his eyes brightened a little.

Perhaps it was the alcohol that emboldened him, he sighed and told the story of Mayor Marco's previous life, Su:

"I'm pretty much the same group of immigrants who came here as him."

"Of course, at that time, we didn't come here simply to dedicate our youth to the empire, everyone came to this border town for different reasons."

"He is a down-and-out nobleman in Bena City, he has no merit and no territory, as a third-class baron, if he doesn't do something, he will get married and have children in the future, and his son will become a knight, but as long as he manages a border town in the Bailin plane for about ten years, he may be rotated to Bena City in the future...... Any neighborhood seeks a position, and his title of third-class baron can be retained. ”

"But people will always change, especially after having rights."

"When he first managed Dodan Town, he was still a very diligent person, and he had a lot of ideas, he originally wanted to make Dodan Town rich, and he also opened a ranch in the Dodan Canyon in the north of the city, and also supported the adventure group to enter the Warcraft Forest to hunt, and the Dodan Town was still good at that time."

"Later, he reached out to the tax, but unfortunately the tax revenue in Dodan Town was not much at all, and most of the tax was concealed by the trading firm, and he had to take out a fixed amount of money every month to maintain the city defense brigade."

"He quarreled with the trading house in the town for so many years, just to get a little more tax back."

"Many people have persuaded him to give up fighting for these, the traders in the town have a background, and some things can't be contested."

"But he can't see it! Behind him is the Chamberlor, and there is a councillor who has been pressing on it, so what can he do with the trading firm? ”

"How's it going to end up? Not only did he get nothing back, but he also offended everyone. ”

"Although that Councilor Camper does not have the right to recommend job rotation, it is not difficult to veto him from the list, and in the end he is not going to continue to nest in this border town!"

"Man, desire. There is no end to hope! ”

"When I came to Dodan Town alone, I was so simple, I didn't have a place to live, so I lived in the town hall, and then I had some rights, I built a house behind the town hall, and I slept with a girl in the town, and then I became a family, and my wife gave birth to a child for him, so I thought my wife was not beautiful, so I married two, and after having a child, I spent more."

"He sent his eldest son to the Knight Academy in Wilkes, and when the town's taxes were not enough, he took some of the weapons from the city's guard brigade and sold them, and once this hand was stretched out, he could never quit again."

"In fact, when there is money in the town, it will also add some to the warehouse, and no one cares about these at all, the whole town is in his hands, who cares!"

"Later, I may have gotten used to it, thinking that as long as I can make the accounts flat, there will be no problems, but where are the accounts so easy to flat?"

"It's just that I didn't expect him to abscond with his family looking for money, he's a nobleman! It's not a capital crime, there's no need to do this......"