"Fine. I promise you: once this is done, you'll replace the Silverthorn House's main line. We'll promote you from a branch family, and you'll become the new head of the Silverthorn House."
Victor's tense shoulders relaxed at once. A flash of unmistakable delight crossed his eyes, though he still clung to the last vestiges of a nobleman's dignity.
"Remember what you said. If you can't handle those people and the Silverthorn House falls, I'll stake my life on making sure you don't get off easy."
Fu Haoran sneered but didn't reply.
A cornered loser who'd squandered his elite troops had no business making threats.
Victor clenched his fists, then hurried away with his people, his departure as rushed as it was humiliating.
He knew very well that his tens of thousands of elite troops had all been blown to pieces. When he returned, his niece Martha would surely settle accounts with him.
Fu Haoran was his only way out, and the token of allegiance he'd offered looked sincere on the surface—but was really a trap.
"Hmph. There's no such thing as a free lunch. I'm the governor, and I can make promises all day long. Whether you can deliver is up to you."
As an old noble and seasoned politician, Victor knew very well that he must never burn all his bridges unless he had no other choice.
He did need a token of allegiance, but more than that, he wanted to use Fu Haoran to eliminate his rivals and clear the way to reclaim power.
After Victor left, Wade came over. "My lord, how much of that old fox's token of allegiance is genuine? What if he's leading us into a trap...?"
"A trap?" Fu Haoran laughed. "I blew up tens of thousands of his elite troops. If he goes back, he's dead. Now he's betting his life on me winning."
"Besides, even if the intel's fake and he's set us up, what would he gain?"
Yuri crossed his legs and suddenly scoffed. "Governor, you really didn't see through that old fox? I'd bet good money this token of allegiance is riddled with traps."
"Look." Yuri pointed at the coordinates. "These warehouses, treasuries, and cargo ships all belong to nobles."
"The laws of both the Empire and the Hive City explicitly protect noble property. The governor has no right to touch it. If you dare seize it by force, the Planetary Defense Navy will have every reason to intervene."
"They'll brand you a rebel." Yuri shrugged. "Then you'll be as good as dead. I don't want to die with you. I haven't saved enough to buy a small cargo ship and make a run for it!"
In the interstellar age, the navy was far more powerful than the army.
That was the real reason the nobles felt so secure: they controlled a sizable navy.
Fu Haoran frowned. Victor had given him real intel, but not a legitimate reason to act.
"If you ask me, that old fox Victor wants a token of allegiance without completely offending the other nobles."
"He'd love for you to seize the goods, get the nobles united against you, and then sit back and profit from the chaos," Yuri said with certainty.
"More importantly, the moment you seize anything by force, every faction in the Hive City will panic and band together. We'll instantly become the enemy of the entire hive. Then it'll be all-out war, with no way back."
Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow but didn't deny it. "I know. That's why we can't act ourselves."
Wade blinked. "We can't act ourselves? Then how do we get the supplies in those warehouses?"
"Maybe... we should wait for them to slip up before we do anything?"
"We don't have time." Fu Haoran shook his head. "There are only a little over two years left before the Tithe is due. The sooner we deal with those nobles, the better."
Yuri spread his hands. "Then what do you suggest? Seize the goods and it's treason. Leave them alone and we don't get the money."
Fu Haoran fell silent for a few seconds, then looked up.
"We won't seize anything, fight anyone, or kill anyone." Fu Haoran stood and walked to the window. "We'll just conduct a tax audit."
"A tax audit?"
"Exactly." Fu Haoran turned around. "Imperial law says they have to pay the Tithe. It doesn't say where the money for it has to come from."
"Whether it's stolen, looted, or swindled—it doesn't matter."
"Not paying taxes is a crime."
"So why shouldn't we do the same?"
Fu Haoran's smile was especially bright.
"How are you planning to do that?" Yuri asked eagerly. He was finding the young man in front of him harder and harder to understand.
"Simple. We'll make everyone in the Hive City pay taxes!" Fu Haoran said as if it were obvious.
"I'll issue a Tax Decree in my capacity as governor of the Hive City, requiring everyone in the city to pay taxes every year. I don't care where their money comes from—whether it's stolen, looted, smuggled, or swindled."
"As long as they pay taxes, I'll consider it legal."
"If they don't pay, it's a crime. We arrest them, seize their property, and send them to prison."
"I'll treat everyone else the way the Empire's tax authorities treat me."
Yuri didn't understand at first.
Wade was baffled too. "Governor, what do you mean?"
Fu Haoran brought up his Data Pad and briefly explained how the IRS in Eagle Nation, in the 2K World, operated.
Yuri stared at him for three seconds, then managed to blurt out, "That brain of yours... did you escape from some Ordo Hereticus prison?"
Yuri was the first to jump up after hearing the plan. "Have you gone mad? You're saying illegal income is legal? Soon, everyone in the Lower Hive will be robbing people, and everyone in the Mid-Hive will be living in fear!"
"Our headquarters will probably have people showing up with stolen goods to declare their taxes every day. It'll be busier than the Lower Hive's black market!"
Wade frowned. "Imperial law..."
"No, you haven't understood the genius of it." Fu Haoran spoke with confidence.
"I said I wouldn't ask where the money came from. I didn't say it was legal to take whatever you wanted for free."
"Go and loot the places Victor gave us coordinates for. They're noble property, and nobles don't pay taxes on it."
"Just remember to pay fifty percent afterward, and you'll be clean."
Fu Haoran was completely certain. "Someone will inevitably steal from the stores they're supposed to protect, and someone else will be willing to take the risk."
"Once people get a taste of the rewards and stories of overnight riches start spreading, more and more will follow."
Yuri caught on first. He immediately realized the brilliance of the plan: it showed everyone exactly where to go.
They wouldn't have to act themselves, and everything would be within the rules.
The nobles could use gangs to make life difficult for them, so why couldn't Fu Haoran use the poor to get back at the nobles?
Brilliant!
"But what if the people who get robbed report it? The Adeptus Arbites can't just ignore that!" Yuri bluntly pointed out the key problem.
"The Adeptus Arbites aren't under your control."
Fu Haoran smiled. "Simple. Those people have to provide proof that the money belongs to them and that they paid taxes on it."
"If they haven't paid taxes, they'll have to pay what they owe first, plus several times that amount in fines. Imperial law explicitly provides for all of this."
Yuri's eyes widened. "So the nobles either face astronomical fines or have to swallow their anger!"
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Yuri had to admit Fu Haoran was ruthless.
Even if the nobles got robbed, they could only grin and bear it!
Wade was the honest one of the three, and he still found it hard to accept. He tried to talk Fu Haoran out of it. "Governor, can this really work? What if someone files an impeachment with the Ministry of Internal Affairs...?"
"They can't impeach me." Fu Haoran sounded perfectly justified. "I'm temporarily proposing the creation of a tax department in my capacity as governor of the Hive City. It'll require everyone to declare all income truthfully, legal or illegal, legitimate or shady, to make up for the Empire's Tithe shortfall. What could they possibly find fault with?"
"Impeach me? They should think about their own warehouses first. Dare they report what's inside?"
"If they don't report it, that's tax evasion."
"If they do, they're admitting to hoarding stolen money."
"Either way, they're dead. Who'd be bored enough to impeach me?"
"Otherwise, once Inquisitors come down from Terra, the rest of us will all end up hung from the spires of the Hive City as a public spectacle, there for the nobles to laugh at."
Fu Haoran brought up a blank form on his Data Pad. "And I have more to add."
"Anyone from the Lower Hive who pays enough taxes can apply to move into the Mid-Hive, where they'll be protected by the Planetary Defense Force. People in the Mid-Hive can move into the Upper Hive."
"Besides, there's plenty of vacant land in the Hive City. I plan to develop Mid-Hive real estate on a large scale and expand the city to house the people of the Lower Hive. That'll win over the people and make us more money. Why not?"
Wade still looked uncertain. "But, Governor, the people in the Lower Hive won't trust us. They'll think we'll arrest them as soon as they report their taxes."
"Especially the Iron Hand Gang's remnants. After Jack's death, they're bound to hate us."
"Whether they believe us or not, we'll find out when we try." Fu Haoran waved his hand. "Put out the policy, then release vague coordinates for a few noble warehouses. After that, have our people disguise themselves as refugees from the Lower Hive, loot a small warehouse, pay their taxes, and then move openly into the Mid-Hive."
"Once someone sets an example and gets a taste of the rewards, we won't have to do anything else. Even the Iron Hand Gang's remnants won't be able to resist."
"Wait. Isn't that just bullying people?" Yuri retorted.
"Exactly. It's bullying." Fu Haoran grinned. "And it's perfectly legal."
Yuri was astonished. He felt he'd been far too kind in the past.
He even suspected that his own governor was a follower of some Blue Bird Cult!
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