War Tax

In the Capital of Glory, at the Silver Moon Palace.

"Dragon Spine Pass is in dire straits. The front is sending three pleas for reinforcements a day. We must settle the matter of deploying troops today!"

With those opening words, Nicholas set the tone for the day's military meeting.

It was absurd, really. A month had already passed since news of the defeat at the front arrived.

More than a dozen rounds of military meetings had been held. Apart from dispatching several nearby garrison armies as reinforcements at the first meeting, they had failed to produce a single effective response.

At every meeting, they either argued or took turns complaining about the difficulties their departments faced.

Actually solving the problem was out of the question. Whoever proposed a concrete measure would have to shoulder the corresponding responsibility.

In the Holy Glory Empire now, the more you did, the more mistakes you made. Do less and you made fewer mistakes. Do nothing and you made none.

The front was in imminent danger, yet life in the rear went on in peace and revelry.

After more than a dozen rounds of arguing, they had reached no consensus, though they had increased military spending.

Apart from officials who hailed from the northern frontier, no one took the safety of Dragon Spine Pass seriously.

"Your Majesty, you are absolutely right!"

Prime Minister Benjamin was the first to voice his agreement.

He had no actual solution, of course. His contribution was moral support.

If asked, his answer was that civil officials knew nothing of military affairs.

He supported others' proposals if they served his interests and opposed them if they did not.

That was all there was to being an official.

"The defeat in the northern frontier has dealt a severe blow to the empire's standing on the continent.

"In the battles to come, we must win. Defeat is not an option.

"The War Ministry's plan remains unchanged. To resolve the crisis in the northern frontier, we must mobilize at least four main battle armies and twelve garrison armies.

"That does not include the Northern Frontier Corps, which is still rebuilding, or the garrison troops already sent to the front!"

Lawrence responded with a solemn expression.

The best way to avoid problems was to make the battle plan more conservative.

With two hundred thousand reinforcements and the troops already at the front fighting a defensive war on home ground against an enemy unskilled at sieges, he really could not see how they could lose.

The only problem was that doing so would make military expenses just a tiny bit higher.

"No!"

"Has your War Ministry gone mad?"

"The remnants of the Northern Frontier Corps, several garrison armies, and the nobles' private armies conscripted from the north have brought the strength at the front to between two and three hundred thousand men.

"If we send another two hundred thousand troops, the current logistics system simply cannot meet the front's needs.

"To meet the needs of the fighting at the front, we would have to conscript at least another million serfs to serve in this war!

"The empire's finances would collapse!"

Finance Minister Scott hurriedly objected.

The Holy Glory Empire's military logistics system was a tangled mess.

Besides the supply convoys organized by the logistics department itself, there were also numerous contracted merchant caravans.

The original purpose of establishing this mixed logistics system had been to save money.

Several hundred years ago, before the empire's bureaucracy had grown corrupt, the system had indeed worked and reduced military logistics costs.

Over time, things changed.

Embezzlement was rampant among the logistics department's own transport teams. Whatever supplies they carried, losses were always high.

The contracted caravans were even more outrageous. After taking an order from the logistics department, it was normal for them to pass it on three to five times; some orders changed hands more than a dozen times.

After every layer had taken its cut, the budget left in the hands of the people doing the actual work was nowhere near enough.

They resorted to every means possible to cut costs.

By now, a paradox had emerged.

When the government organized transport itself, costs remained high, and officials could siphon off sixty, seventy, or even eighty percent of the strategic supplies.

When the work was contracted out to merchants, the quantity could be guaranteed, but the quality was utterly appalling.

For the sake of their own lives, any officers and soldiers with a little money bought themselves a set of gear before entering service.

Of course, the military supply ledgers still showed that they had received equipment.

"No money? Then levy an additional war tax!"

"If you can't even collect a little tax, what use is the tax department?"

Lawrence immediately sneered.

In fact, the most formidable department in the Holy Glory Empire was the tax authority under the Ministry of Finance.

Murder and arson might go unchecked, but if you dared evade taxes, the tax department would soon come knocking.

Most outrageous of all, officials even had to pay taxes on their embezzled funds and bribes.

As long as they paid, the tax authority would keep their affairs strictly confidential.

In the Holy Glory Empire, the two things a person was destined never to escape in life were death and taxes.

Apart from a few of the most powerful and influential figures, who could legally avoid taxes, no one escaped the tax department's clutches.

The imperial treasury was short of money because no tax reform that touched the interests of entrenched groups would ever pass.

Even if the reformers gained the upper hand and forced a bill through, the policy would soon die with its backers.

"The empire has already levied an additional war tax once this year for the fighting in the northern frontier.

"Under imperial law, noble lords only have to pay a war tax once a year. Any further levy must be put to a vote in the Noble Assembly.

"The Finance Ministry's tax increase proposal was rejected by the Noble Assembly just five days ago."

Scott spoke with an innocent expression.

"My finance minister, are you playing games with me?"

"If we can't raise taxes on the noble lords, can't we raise them on the merchants and craftsmen within the empire?

"Don't forget, freemen have an obligation to pay taxes to the empire too!"

No sooner had War Minister Lawrence finished speaking than he realized he had been had.

Under the feudal system of enfeoffment, the noble lords in their respective territories were all local emperors.

Naturally, raising taxes on that group was fraught with difficulties.

The serfs at the very bottom belonged to their lords themselves, and their private property was practically nonexistent. It was even more impossible for them to pay taxes.

The only ones who could be taxed further were the freemen in the middle.

But raising taxes had always drawn resentment.

Whoever proposed it would take the most abuse.

"No problem. When I get back, I'll have someone draft a proposal for an additional levy as you suggest."

Finance Minister Scott agreed readily.

After dragging things out for so long, he had finally found someone to take the blame.

When the freemen protested later, they could take it up with the war minister.

On the great grasslands.

"Chief, there's the sound of hooves coming from the west!"

"From the sound of it, they're coming toward us. Could it be the Goshawk Tribe's cavalry?"

Grace spoke with a grave expression.

It was hard not to panic. In their current sorry state, who knew what would happen if they ran into their mortal enemies?

If their positions were reversed and he were the leader of the Goshawk Tribe, he would also kick them while they were down.

People disappeared on the grasslands every day; the khanate's upper ranks simply could not keep track of them all.

As long as no evidence was found, it was as good as if nothing had happened.

"Prepare for battle!"

Moriarty had barely given the order when a troop of cavalry appeared on the horizon, galloping toward them.

In an instant, the distance between the two sides had narrowed to two hundred meters.

"What are the Holy Glory Empire's cavalry doing here?"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A rain of arrows answered his question.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

As the arrows fell, screams rang out across the land, and dozens of people went down in an instant.

One volley ended, and another came down.

In the blink of an eye, the cavalry force surrounded them and began shooting from horseback in rotating waves.