"Hmph!"
Hearing the clamorous voices in the hall, Count Winter snorted coldly. The pressure of a Saint Domain descended, and his gaze turned hostile.
The 1.5 million in taxes had indeed disrupted his plans, but there was absolutely no way he would take the lead again and contribute more money.
His Flying Wolf Cavalry had suffered grievous losses, and there were plenty of places demanding funds. Two hundred thousand a year was already the result of the family's deliberations. There was no room for negotiation.
The Empire had practically half-abandoned Northwind Province. If the orcs invaded later, they could only rely on themselves. Without money, how could they protect their wealth?
Thinking of this, Count Winter felt somewhat discouraged.
Indeed, when the orcs invaded in the future, they could not rely solely on themselves.
After the three counts exchanged glances, they tacitly loosened their purse strings.
"Considering the devastation caused by last year's southward orc invasion, how about the three of us contribute fifty thousand Gold Coins each year for the next five years to make up the difference?"
Count Winter spoke with a sigh in his tone, but the mere fifty thousand Gold Coins still made quite a few nobles curse inwardly.
Of the Empire's one million annual construction funds all those years, did you three counts really have no idea how much you took?
"If we still can't collect enough by then..."
"The Empire should understand Northwind Province's difficulties. If it is a little short, I imagine the Empire will not say much."
With those words, it was basically set in stone that this year's taxes would absolutely not reach 1.5 million.
One million would not be reduced, while 1.5 million was impossible. Every family had its own troubles, didn't they?
But Northwind Province as a whole was