Seven Cities

Every era had its own strategies. No system emerged flawless from the start; truly effective rules were hammered out through mutual "adjustment" among all parties with competing interests.

The Nirvana Plan had been rushed into existence. No matter how comprehensive its design, it could not possibly account for every situation.

Since its implementation, countless regulations had been revised. Some were local decisions, while others were orders from the central government.

Yet if they had not encountered "accidents" and "protests," many people would have simply muddled through. Clearly, some things could not be muddled through.

At the very least, the original designers probably had not considered whether, once an outer realm expedition suffered a "great failure," survivors' spoils of war should still be heavily taxed. Strictly following the rules was certainly possible, but that would hurt people's hearts.

Perhaps the distant central government did not care. After all, they needed a constant stream of real cases and special cases to refine the still-unformed "Explorer system."

But could the Four Cities where Ancient City was located withstand such a blow to morale?

At this point in time, no one could say for sure.

Lu PingAn's "statement" merely lit a fire in everyone's hearts—along with some hope and some unease.

But with a little foresight, looking back afterward, the Green Planet tragedy's impact on every front had also clearly affected "tax reform."

From the perspective of the future, Lu PingAn's actions had indeed presented the authorities with an extremely troublesome problem.

Complete tax exemption? That was impossible. It would overturn the existing tax system. Others would use all sorts of excuses to resist paying taxes as well, and once authority was shaken, the stability of the entire system would suffer.

They would rather have you pay the tax first, then find a reason