Chapter 2398 Turmoil in Jotunheim

The Jotunheimers dislike the standing army stationed by the suzerain, and there is another reason that is more related to their own interests.

With so many soldiers stationed in the Jotunheim colony all year round, how much does it cost to eat and drink?

The Fizen authorities tried to let the colonial residents share the cost of the garrison, which would be a miscalculation, and the locals would never agree!

The three colonies on the east coast of the New World, from Yalfheim to Midgard to Jotunheim, belong to different suzerains and have different cultures and customs, but they almost All colonists are on the same side!

Anyway, I just don’t pay taxes!

If you want money or not, you need a life!

It's a pity that few of the ruling class in Fizen, from the king to the prime minister, cabinet ministers, and members of the Senate and House of Representatives, have visited the New World in person, and they know almost nothing about the customs and customs of the Jotunheim colony. They also disdain to understand, ignore the strong voice of the colonial people, and legislate for more than four million Jotunheimers with a high-ranking and arrogant attitude.

In January 1625, the Fizen Parliament passed the "Sugar Tax Act", stipulating that sugar and liqueur imported from Van Jotunheim must pay a tax of 1 silver pound per gallon (about 3.785 liters).

In all fairness, this tax rate is not high.

The parliament kept the tax rate very low because it was afraid of causing resistance from the colonists, and the tax money collected was not returned to the mother country, and was used entirely for the colony's garrison expenses.

Although the "sugar tax" was not high, it stirred up a thousand waves like a stone, and immediately aroused strong resentment from the people of Jotunheim.

In the Mineral War in 1622, the Jotunheimers did not take advantage of it, but were beaten up by the Midgardians. Since then, the economy of the Jotunheim colony has been in a downturn, and everyone is living a tight life. Not happy, now the home country has to increase the tax burden, can the people of Jotunheim not be annoyed?

Even more unsettling to the colonial populace was the tyrannical measures taken by the Fijian government to effectively enforce the statute, and the trend it symbolized: one day Parliament could impose a sugar tax on the colonies, and tomorrow another tax could be imposed.

Once this example is opened, there will be endless troubles!

The colonial newspapers and periodicals under the control of the "Sons of Liberty" took the opportunity to publish fierce propaganda articles, calling on all Jotunheim colonists to bravely stand up against the "sugar tax" and say "no" to the mother country government with practical actions ! Prevent the Feizhen Council from making progress and extorting money!

How did the colonial people resist the sugar tax?

Say no to sugar, sweets and rum?

Including Adams, the leaders of the anti-tax movement knew in their hearts that using this method of reducing their own quality of life to protest was like killing eight hundred enemies and losing one thousand at the expense of one thousand, which cannot be sustained for a long time. A better way is... smuggling.

The story that was staged in Yalfheim not long ago has now been staged in Jotunheim for a tour. The behind-the-scenes director is the "Sons of Liberty Association" and its funder-the smuggling business group in the New World.

The script of the story is also nothing new, it is nothing more than a group of instigated extras.

The people of Jotunheim resist taxes by buying smuggled sugar and liqueur, and their quality of life is basically not affected.

At the same time, the "Sons of Liberty" who instigated tax resistance and their gold owners engaged in smuggling and selling stolen goods took the opportunity to expand their market share, and used political propaganda to encourage people to be more inclined to buy smuggled goods, thereby earning more profits.

The colonial people gained spiritual satisfaction by affirming their political opinions through tax resistance. The smuggling group earned more real money and material benefits by inciting tax resistance. foundation.

In today's world, the Fizen Kingdom, which implements a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, is often praised by intellectuals as a typical example of an advanced political system. However, it turns out that "constitutional" and "parliamentary" cannot be equated with "tolerance" and "prudence".

Also in the spring of 1625, the two major colonies in the north and south of the New World, Yalfheim and Jotunheim, successively broke out social movements to resist tax increases in the mother country.

The imperial authorities, ridiculed as the "giant with mud feet", once tried to replace the governor of the Alfheim colony, dissolved the colonial parliament, and used high-handed measures to deal with the tax resistance trend, but instead aroused stronger resistance, and finally had to give up the tax increase, ending in embarrassment .

The younger generation of intellectuals in the colonies, including Joan, have long seen through the slow, short-sighted, and aggressive nature of the imperial bureaucracy, and are not surprised by its poor handling of the colonial anti-tax movement.

So, the Feizhen administration, which claims to be civilized and progressive, advocates civil rights and freedom, and is often used by people to contrast the corruption of the imperial power of the empire, has it taken any more clever measures in the face of the tax resistance trend that also occurred in overseas colonies?

Regrettably, the Fiji authorities have given a disappointing answer.

Unlike the Holy Ashean Empire, which is an absolute monarchy, the executive power of the Fizen Kingdom is in the hands of the parliament. The members of the upper house are hereditary nobles, while the members of the lower house are elected to represent the interests of their respective constituencies.

However, the colonies do not belong to the "constituencies", and there are no members of the Fizen Council who are from the colonies and represent the interests of the colonists, so it is not difficult to understand why the Fizen Council's methods of dealing with the colonial anti-tax movement are even more brutal than the imperial cabinet. overbearing!

Facing the excited Jotunheimers, the lords of the upper and lower houses of Feizhen first felt that their dignity had been offended, and then voted to increase their efforts to strictly implement the "Sugar Tax Act" and impose strict penalties on the colonies. Impose the most severe armed anti-smuggling policy!

This bill, aimed at cracking down on smuggling and selling stolen goods, ordered Jotunheim police and customs officials to strictly pursue individuals and organizations involved in smuggling. The Fizen warship cruising in Maple Leaf Bay was also ordered to ban smuggling cargo ships. The anti-smuggling police officers with blank warrants , have the right to search any premises where they believe a suspect may be hiding.

All of a sudden, the entire Jotunheim colony was in a commotion!

The scene of cracking down on smuggling and selling stolen goods may seem scary, but in fact, the "Sons of Liberty" have seen a lot, and they have accumulated rich experience in anti-smuggling in the southern colonies.

The smuggling group in Jotunheim, through the northern branch of the "Sons of Liberty" under the leadership of Adams, has joined forces with the general headquarters in the Midgard region to carry out transnational smuggling and sales.

As long as the smuggling ships fled into the waters of Midgard, the anti-smuggling ships of Fizhen Customs had no choice but to return home for fear of triggering international conflicts.

The smugglers wanted by the Jotunheim colonial government, including Joseph Adams, the mastermind behind the scenes, have a hundred ways to easily escape to Midgard to avoid the limelight.

The Jotunheim authorities had negotiated with the Midgard colonial government in an attempt to cooperate in arresting the wanted criminals, but there was no progress. After working for more than half a year, they did not collect much sugar tax. It was pure nonsense.

Thanks to book friends: Pale ink, this week rewards 1500 starting coins; tce, this week rewards 700 starting coins