General manager means to be in charge of everything.
And supervision is simpler, supervision and inspection.
No noble would dare to appoint a city lord or mayor without appointing a supervisor.
For example, the tax collector in a small town, the deputy city lord, the financial chief, etc. in the city are usually directly arranged by the city lord.
The management power and supervision power are combined, plus a military power. It is no problem to say that it is an independent lord. Is this simply a disguised form of enfeoffing all Aini and his castles to him?
That is the count's castle. Sitting in this position is equivalent to being the ruler of the grassland?
However, Xu Lai gave him such an important territory, so what did Xu Lai want?
Although when it comes to profit sharing, Xu Lai must occupy the majority, and he must also occupy the majority. But occupying this position not only brings obvious benefits, but also hidden benefits, and the inability to use profits to Concrete reputation.
It can be said that by taking the position of governor, he, Jimmy Martell, is truly the first nobleman of the prairie.
As for Xu Lai, looking at him like this, his thoughts should not only be on the grassland.
Wouldn't it be great if you help the other party well and try to send Xu Lai out of the grassland so that he can become king and dominate outside?
“Of course, the premise for me to appoint you as governor is that you must act in accordance with the guidelines and principles I set for you.
Otherwise, I can only think of ways to give you other things. Compensation.
After the entire grassland is unified, I can expand your territory and allocate the land and towns around Martell City to you.
You can think about it. , I can give you time to think about it, but as soon as possible.”
The grassland resources are not as good as other places, so Aini occupied the entire grassland and only got the title of an earl.
And Jimmy is already a viscount, and there is no way he can be promoted in the title.
Because even if Xu Lai could unify the entire grassland, he would only be granted the title of an earl at most.
The boss is just a count. He is not even a hero. How can he be promoted to another level?
There are two counts in a grassland. Who should listen to him? I'm afraid Xu Lai will kill himself if he turns around.
The title cannot be promoted, and the only reward is more land.
The land on the grassland is not very valuable. In fact, every feudal noble occupies more or less more fiefdoms.
Even though Xu Lai promised to give him another town, Jimmy felt that this little benefit was far less than what he would lose by betraying him.
Jimmy rebelled. On the one hand, he really looked down on what Aini had done.
In his opinion, Aini's approach was seeking skin from a tiger. If the orcs really destroyed Xu Lai's city, would they give up?
The most likely approach is to use Xu Lai's city as a base to build the orcs' own frontline base, and then slowly stockpile supplies to Qingfeng City.
After Qingfeng City has accumulated enough supplies and got rid of the logistical troubles, the orc army will inevitably invade the grassland again.
Now that the empire is in turmoil and in full bloom, it is impossible for the temple to have any spare capacity to support the grasslands.
Not only temples, towers, and fortresses, but it is also impossible to send reinforcements.
In addition, the grassland nobles like them all suffered a lot before. When the next time the orcs invade, what will they use to resist?
If the entire grassland fell, how could Jimmy be spared?
Jimmy has his own ideas. People with ideas are also very ambitious. A mere town cannot satisfy his appetite.
"No need to think about it, Lord Lord. Since I have pledged my allegiance to you, of course I need to implement your will. I want to challenge the position of city lord."
Xu Lai smiled and said He didn’t say much, but said to him:
“The plan I made may not be so easy for you to accept.
You'd better think about it clearly. I hate it when others do things half-way. "
Jimmy said: "Lord, I have considered it very clearly. Being a stable noble is not what I want. "
Xu Lai put his hands behind his back and smiled and said: "Okay, then I will tell you my thoughts in detail.
I plan to build the city of Conaston into an economic city and an economic center on the grassland. ”
“Economic city? "Jimmy has no idea about this title.
Xu Lai continued: "Yes, economic cities, as the name suggests, are cities whose main task is to develop the economy.
Avic City, have you been to it?"
Jimmy shook his head Said: "I have heard of it, but I have never been there.
It is said that it is a very prosperous city, and the temple even built its cathedral in Aivik City."
Xu Lai said with a smile : "Then do you know why Awick City is so prosperous? In other words, what is the biggest feature of Awick City?"
Jimmy said: "This should be its city wall. This is already a feature of Ivic. Even people who have never been to Ivic have heard of it.
When you mention it, it is not the same Do you want to imitate Aiweike and demolish the city wall of Conaston?"
The expression on Jimmy's face was uncertain. Xu Lai's idea was really too shocking, which made him momentary. Unacceptable.
Xu Lai did not reply immediately, but fell into silence, which made Jimmy even more convinced.
“You must not have such thoughts. The city wall of Conaston has been built for hundreds of years, and the people here have long been accustomed to the city wall.
Moreover, we are in the northwest of the empire, so we can only trade with people from the Western Empire and the Northern Empire.
The caravans from the Western Empire have not been seen for a long time. Although the ones from the Northern Empire have recovered a lot, they still cannot compare with before.
Even if we want to learn from Avic, we don’t have the basic conditions.
Perhaps you don’t know that there is no decent forest in our grassland, and it is difficult to find a tree that is more than a hundred years old.
The biggest shortage is wood, stone and other building materials. It took countless efforts for us to build such a magnificent city wall. ”
Although he has not yet taken office as the city leader, Jimmy has already begun to feel heartache for the city.
Xu Lai frowned. His policy had not yet begun. As soon as he said it, he was already rejected by the city lord he chose.
To be honest, Xu Lai was a little angry. Jimmy seemed a little carried away and felt that he couldn't tell the difference between the big king and the big king.
But after all, he is the only local noble that he can rely on now. Xu Lai still hopes to be able to talk things through with the other party, instead of just enforcing it with orders.
“Don’t just limit yourself to the gains and losses of the city wall. Think about it, that guy Aini built such a high wall, has he ever had the chance to use it?
On the contrary, have you ever thought about how much Conaston has lost over the centuries because of this city wall? "
Without giving Jimmy a chance to think and answer, Xu Lai immediately said:
"Aini and the others only want to border the empire, and they look down on the edge who may be threatened by the stronghold at any time. land.
However, he built a city with such a good location in this central location where the Northern Empire and the Western Empire met, but it failed to play its due role. There are a total of 4 gates in Conaston City. The one on the east side, next to the castle, is probably the one he owns exclusively. ”
Jimmy nodded, that one was indeed controlled by people inside the castle, and they couldn't leave even if they wanted to.
Xu Lai added: "To the west is the military camp, and to the south are the nearby towns and manors. The merchants only have one passage from the north gate inside and outside.
As far as I know, Aini also has a special fee for entering the city. Every day, the city guards have to check the goods and people at the city gate. Even the animals entering and leaving have to be charged a fee. "
Isn't it just Aini? , every noble is like this, including him, Jimmy Martell.
Hearing what Xu Lai said, Jimmy explained awkwardly: "According to the laws of the empire, nobles have the right to tax their own territories."
Xu Lai glanced at him lightly and said: "Of course, I have not denied this."
However, Xu Lai added: "The most popular commodities in the grassland are furs and horses.
Especially during such a war, the demand for mounts and equipment soared. The Western Empire was almost exhausted, and the number of caravans did not decrease significantly.
But even in this situation. , I have inquired, and the trading volume of mounts and furs in the market has dropped.
The price of Conaston's mounts has risen to the sky, but the profit margin and tax revenue are not high. What does it mean? Don’t you know?”
Jimmy is not stupid, and the same situation exists in Martell City.
"Is it because they have completed the large transactions elsewhere?"
Xu Lai said angrily: "Isn't this inevitable?
Change It's you, are you willing to pay the entry fee for hundreds of horses? Or is your caravan willing to pay the exit fee for these horses again? "
Jimmy gritted his teeth and said: "Indeed, now? In the city, there are too many expenses, which affects normal business development
I will find a way to remove all unreasonable charges.
But my lord, we really don’t need to demolish the city wall, right?
Large transactions can also be completed outside the city. At worst, we can build a large market specifically for these merchants outside the city. ”
Jimmy’s proposal is exactly what Xu Lai is doing in Qingfeng City. He built a market outside Qingfeng City to separate bulk transactions from precious goods transactions.
But Xu Lai had other plans to demolish the city wall of Conaston.
One is that without city walls, the efficiency of entering and exiting the city can be greatly increased, which will be of great help to business activities.
The second is Xu Lai's self-protection. This city is not protected by city walls. Even if Jimmy wants to betray him, Xu Lai can immediately recapture the city by sending an elite cavalry there.
But if there is a city wall to protect them, then only Xu Lai or Reina can take action, and they have to mobilize a large army to go out.
Jimmy is different from other appointed city lords. Other city lords can control at most one city guard. Jimmy Xu Lai allows and requires him to form a legion.
The fact that Xu Lai and only a hundred angels took over the city in a sneak attack was very important.
He had dared to do this while Aini's main force was away. If Aini's main force was there, the damage caused by the dozens of ballistas and ballistas on the city wall would be staggering and terrifying.
There are also high-level long-range shooters, high-level melee troops, and human sword masters who are also very good at single combat.
More than a hundred angels flew up. Wouldn’t they be surrounded by enemies?
Besides, it is not easy to open the city gate. The city gate is relatively narrow. As long as Aini sends some masters wearing magic equipment to guard it, even Elvi will find it difficult to open the city gate.
The third benefit is that Qingfeng City can benefit from this.
"This is something I have already decided.
Your Excellency Jimmy, I have told you before that my policy policy may be very different from what you think, and you may not be able to accept it.
< br>If it were anyone else, I would be too lazy to talk nonsense to him, but because it is you, I will patiently explain it to you
If you have something that you can’t figure out, my previous proposal remains the same. It's effective."
Jimmy was surprised, and Xu Lai addressed him formally, indicating that Xu Lai was already very dissatisfied with him.
Thinking of this, Jimmy wanted to slap himself in the face.
After all, this city was conquered by Xu Lai. Even if he is not a vassal loyal to him, this city has nothing to do with him.
As a result, he suddenly became greedy, because Xu Lai's governor really regarded Conaston as his own city.
This is a city that was conquered by others. Not to mention demolishing a city wall, even destroying the entire city to extract resources, that is their freedom.
"Sorry, sir, I overstepped. I am your loyal executor. I only need to faithfully execute your orders."
Xu Lai said helplessly: "I'm not here to give orders, I'm just telling you which direction you should go in, and what kind of situation I want to achieve.
Take Kauna For Stone, what I hope to see is a huge, unfettered, commercial center for the entire grassland, and even the Northern Empire and the Western Empire.
Here, you can buy everything from the north to the south. Property.
In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to demolish the city wall.
And it is not only the demolition of the city wall, such as entry fees, exit fees, head taxes, commercial taxes, and public security management fees. Let me get rid of all the messy and dazzling expenses like health assessment fees.
From now on, there will only be business tax. People operate normally and pay tax when they have income. If they don’t have income, they don’t have to pay tax.
Also, cities should set up more public security stations. I will send people over to provide guidance later.
In short, the army returns to the army and the people return to the people. The two cannot be confused.
After removing the so-called protection fees in various names, we must instead provide protection and provide a better environment.
In a city as big as Conaston, everywhere is like a smelly ditch. Are you willing to live in such an environment forever?
All these fees will be paid from municipal revenue, and a large portion of business tax revenue will also be allocated to the city hall.
As for you and me, we may have no income for a long time, but as long as the reputation of Conaston City is spread, the endless flow of caravans will bring far greater wealth than before. "
Jimmy thought for a while and said: "My lord, as I said before, I will completely implement the policy you have formulated.
But I also want to ask, the situation of the empire is getting worse and worse, and business circulation will only become more and more difficult.
And without the protection of the city wall, no matter how much wealth we accumulate, can we really hold it? "(End of Chapter)