Chapter 2710 Hold On

With nothing to do, I strolled over to the Prince Regent's exclusive desk and took a look.

The old Duke raised his eyelids and continued to review.

When only one-third of the review was completed, he suddenly picked up the document in hand and handed it over.

I didn't understand his intention and looked at him blankly.

"Here, take a look."

"I am no longer the prime minister."

"No one stipulates that you have to be the prime minister to see it," the old Duke retorted.

"I'm not from Dashai City either."

The old Duke frowned: "Is this important?"

"I am even your enemy."

"Do you want to watch it or not?"

"look"

I responded in a low voice, took the document, spread it out, and read it carefully.

This is a statistical table. The statistical content is the income and expenditure of Dasai City last month and the total amount of various taxes.

I held up the statistical table and looked left and right. I put it back in embarrassment: "Sorry, I can't understand."

"You don't need to look at the process, just look at the results," the old Duke said. At the same time, he handed over another statistical table, which was from the previous month.

After comparing the results, I found that the total tax revenue for the two months was slightly lower, so I murmured: "Reduced?"

"Yes, it has been lowered." The old Duke put down his pen, leaned back on his chair, took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said melancholy: "I raised the tax rate, but the tax rate did not increase but fell."

"Is someone evading taxes?" I asked tentatively.

"This is still a small problem," the old Duke said, "there are more serious ones."

I looked serious and asked, "What is it?"

"Many people have suspended the use of currency and resorted to bartering."

"Bartering?" I was a little surprised: "What a primitive method. If it is really like this, it is simply a step back in time!"

"It's just the regression of the times." The old duke sighed: "I remember that the last barter incident recorded in historical documents happened in the past. Anyway, many billions of years ago, today's Dashai City actually had that faint appearance. The style of the time!”

His tone was full of sorrow and anger.

"Have you ever thought about the reason?" I asked suddenly.

The old Duke looked at me melancholy and said quietly: "What do you want to say?"

"What I want to say is that the main reason why taxes are on the downward trend and why people have suspended the use of currency and adopted barter transactions is probably because of the tax rate that is rising year by year."

"You mean, the tax rate is set too high?"

"It must be inseparable from this aspect," I said: "Whether you are now the regent or you were the old duke, how many times did you really leave the capital to understand the sentiments of the people?"

I stared at the old Duke with burning eyes and observed his expression. I found that his expression was a little stiff.

nervous?

I smiled and continued: "Let me take the liberty of guessing, not even once?"

The old Duke nodded stiffly.

"Really?" I said, "I haven't had a single experience of understanding the people's sentiments. So how can you tell the difference in life between people in other towns and people in the capital?"

"Let me tell you, I have experienced living in other towns. There are not so many luxury stores, and there are even surprisingly few hotels and restaurants. Oh, by the way, there are more barbecue restaurants than in the capital, mainly because of the food. The livestock are large in number and easy to feed. People living in these towns need a stable life rather than a bustling and changeable life like the capital city. Your sudden policy of raising tax rates across the country may have a negative impact on the capital city. , it won’t have much impact, after all, there is money, but for some other towns, it is as painful as cutting meat and skin. It is easy to make some money, but it is turned over as tax, and there is not even a copper coin left in my hand. No less. Haha, if it were you, would you still be willing to spend money?"

"The construction of Dashai City requires funds, medical care requires funds, education requires funds, and many aspects require funds. If the tax rate is not increased, it will not be enough to support the normal operation of these industries. Why am I telling you this?"

After getting excited, the old Duke beat his head with regret.

"Now that you have said it, you might as well answer my question, old Duke. No, Lord Regent, how did His Majesty the Orc King solve the same problem when faced with it?"

As soon as he heard the words 'His Majesty the Orc King', the old Duke shuddered, pondered for a moment, and said: "At that time, he could only balance his income and expenditure. Once he encounters a disaster or other disasters, the country will soon fall into an abyss of eternal destruction. !”

It's over. The old Duke has completely fallen into an endless cycle where if the tax rate is not raised, the country will be finished.

We have known each other for a long time, and I have a general understanding of this old man's stubbornness. Since he is stubborn, why should I bother to convince him?

We are enemies anyway.

I sneered three times in my heart and said no more words.

I silently put the statistics table on the desk, sat there boredly for a while, then got up and left.

This time, I left the palace directly and went straight to a nearby hotel.

Due to the increase in tax rates, the price of apartments in Dasha City has also increased.

The surrounding towns where I lived before were fine. The increase was not big and I could hardly feel it. But when I arrived in the capital, I finally realized the horror of the tax increase.

A mid-level suite that originally cost two silver coins per night instantly cost ten silver coins.

It’s increased five times!

I said, the tax rate increase rate should be less than five times, right? Is your rate of increase a bit too exaggerated?

With this attitude, I changed to a dozen hotels in a row, and I was shocked to find that the prices of mid-range suites in a dozen hotels were surprisingly consistent.

If the locations of these hotels were not far apart, I would even suspect that they teamed up to trick me.

Forget it, just ten silver coins. Anyway, it's much more comfortable than a lower-class suite with ten copper coins.

As for the two-gold-coin upper-class suite, I would rather not thank you for it. Firstly, the comfort is not worth the price. Secondly, the service is also poor. There is no hot water in the shower.

Lying on the relatively soft animal skin, I began to think wildly.

First, I thought of the Orc Queen's sparkling snot bubbles, then I thought of the drunken Orc King expressing his emotions, then the sweet couple Cecil and Tachibana Jiemei, and finally the tired old Duke.

Especially when I think of the old Duke's melancholy face, I want to laugh.

There is a saying that goes like this: If you don’t have diamonds, don’t do porcelain work.

The old Duke was a good player in war, but his government management was far from perfect. He was simply a bad chess player.

Even though he doesn't understand the situation clearly, he still insists on making a bed like a toad - holding on for dear life.

Hold on, hold on, I'm just melancholy today, and I may become depressed at some point. When you become depressed, and then you want to abdicate and hand over the power to the Orc King again, humph, I'm afraid you won't be able to do it.