The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

After the nobles quieted down, Nolay turned to the next page of the treaty and said, "And then there's the matter of taxes on trade with the North."

Upon hearing the word "tax," many nobles began to stir again. This was a huge source of wealth, and many people had long coveted this income, especially the Augustinians. After all, while the capital's taxes were nominally the king's prerogative, the tax collectors had always been firmly controlled by the Augustinians.

While it's not to the point of not being able to collect taxes, it has kept Lilith's wallet constantly strapped for cash.

Even Claire couldn't help but swallow hard when she heard the word "taxes," but that was all.

After all, the merchants in the North were very arrogant and refused to pay taxes, claiming that they had already paid taxes in the North and that they only needed to pay the exit tax to the Governor of the North, refusing to acknowledge the taxes paid in the capital.

It's not that these Northern merchants don't recognize the capital's taxes, but rather that the capital's tax system is extremely chaotic. Lilith once managed the taxes, but the results were not significant.

While not as terrifying as the three times taxes were levied on Doug's territory, the chaotic taxation still caused these merchants immense suffering, not to mention the journey from the central region to the capital, where nobles from every territory wanted to tax these incredibly wealthy Northern merchants.

This directly led to tax resistance by merchants from the North in the capital.

Paying taxes directly to the Governor of the North ensures they can act with impunity in the capital and the central regions. At most, they'll need to bribe some nobles and tax officials. This tax is much cheaper than paying taxes to the capital.

So although goods from the North began to flourish in the capital, the capital was not able to collect much tax, which was one of Lilith's biggest worries, but that situation no longer exists.

"After discussions between Her Majesty the Queen and the Governor, Her Majesty the Queen will establish a special agency to tax merchants in the North. The North will also cooperate with the capital to make certain adjustments to the tax system."

If the previous news about trade documents was like a depth charge, causing a huge uproar, then Nora's short sentence was like a nuclear explosion, detonating the entire meeting room.

The nobles, who had only intended to welcome Her Majesty the Queen back from the North in the inner city, never expected to hear such shocking news.

Claire fell backward and only managed to stand up with the help of the Augustins.

Immediately, a nobleman began to ask loudly, "Are the nobles who received trade certificates also taxed by this organization?"

Nora nodded and said, "That's right."

She added, "This institution is directly under Her Majesty's control and is entirely managed by Her Majesty. The use of the taxes collected is also entirely up to Her Majesty."

Upon hearing this, a tax official immediately objected: "Then what are we supposed to do? We were personally appointed by the late king; our people should be directly involved in this tax agency!"

Immediately, someone else chimed in, "Yes, why not just use the existing tax system? We are loyal to Her Majesty the Queen, and we have more experience!"

Originally, these tax officials were quite low-key and had no intention of getting involved in such matters. After all, although the merchants in the North did not collect much tax, they would secretly give money to these officials. These officials were happy to have these wealthy merchants bypass the middlemen, namely the tax system, and send the money directly to them.

But once this agency is actually established, this part of the gray income will be gone. Not to mention that most of these tax officials are from the Augustinian family, and this agency is directly under Her Majesty the Queen.

Looking at the people who objected, Nora simply continued according to the text of the treaty: "The Governor of the North has clearly stated in the treaty that if anyone in the capital has any objections to this content, they can go directly to the North to discuss it with him in detail. He will treat guests from the capital very well."

Upon hearing this, those who had been opposing immediately shrank back.

Because of their royal status, Her Majesty the Queen dared not do anything to them, but that might not be the case in the North. They might sink while on a boat, and there would be no one to reason with them, nor would anyone dare to reason with the North.

After Nora finished explaining the detailed treaty, the nobles' eyes turned red. Lilith on the throne felt that these nobles were a bit scary. Could it be that they were about to stage a coup because she had been too greedy?

This is of course impossible. These nobles are genuinely envious. Those nobles who have just obtained trade certificates even feel that their trade certificates are no longer as valuable, since they have to pay for them with people. Moreover, once they have trade certificates, it is basically impossible for them to enter this institution.

These nobles dared not imagine the extent of this institution's power and responsibilities. Even nobles who had just obtained trade certificates were subject to its supervision. Moreover, although the institution was nominally directly under the Queen, Nora's words had made it very clear that anyone dissatisfied with this decision should go directly to the Governor in the North.

In other words, the governor of the North was the real person in charge of this organization, and could even provide direct violent support to it.

Just as everyone was thinking this, Nora continued, "The Governor is concerned that Her Majesty the Queen might not be able to collect taxes, considering that most Northern merchants are rather unruly and not as civilized as merchants from other regions. And that is indeed the case. Previously, most Northern merchants did not pay taxes in the capital. In order to make up for the previous losses, the Governor of the North has decided to personally fund the arming of Her Majesty's new institutions."

This is no longer a pretense; the Governor of the North is genuinely providing violent support to this organization.

Everyone finally understood that this new tax bureau had immense power and was even allowed to have its own armed forces.

Nonsense about not being able to collect taxes. Those merchants in the North, the governor said they would never dare to go west if they went east, how could they not collect taxes?

A tax bureau targeting merchants from the North? More like Her Majesty the Queen's lackeys!

But what's wrong with being a dog? Nobody dares to imagine how much tax this tax bureau can collect. Even if they don't eat a single piece of meat, just going through the process is enough to make their hands full of oil.

"I'm happy to be a dog, what's it to you?" This is the mentality of most nobles.

If Claire was also a time traveler, then she should know that this new organization shouldn't be called the Tax Bureau, but rather the Eastern Depot.

Claire was about to give up thinking. What was the Governor of the North trying to do? Wasn't this just handing money to Lilith? It wasn't even that simple; it was handing over both money and weapons.

At this point, Claire was even wondering if her best friend had gone to the North to sell her body, otherwise there was no way to explain the Governor of the North's drastic change in attitude.

But after glancing at her best friend, who was sitting on the throne with her feet barely touching the ground, and then thinking about Lena, Claire gave up on the idea. The governor didn't seem like the type of person who would like Lilith.

But what exactly caused the governor's attitude to change?

Claire said to one of Augustine's confidants beside her, "After the meeting, reinvestigate Her Majesty's family background."