I'm not a lord

Chapter 189 Diplomatic Offensive
That night, Lynn spent the night in Leah's room.

Leah's belly grew bigger every day, and her due date was in about three months.

Despite being heavily pregnant, her enthusiasm for work remained undiminished.

During the day, she still had to handle all the financial affairs of the entire territory, and at night she had to discuss the subsequent construction of the territory with Lynn.

Having received professional training from courtiers, Leah's views on territory building tend to be more traditional.

"My lord, if we want to balance the wealth holdings in the territory, there is a simpler and more convenient way, such as levying a new tax like a fireplace tax."

The so-called 'fireplace tax', as the name suggests, is a tax levied based on how many fireplaces and chimneys your house has.

Fireplaces are an essential heating tool in the North.

In winter, every larger bedroom must have a fireplace.

The more fireplaces you have, the larger your house, the more people in your family, and the wealthier you are, so you should naturally pay more taxes.

This type of tax is a combination of poll tax and property tax. Because it is convenient and efficient to collect, it is mostly applied to relatively wealthy urban areas such as municipalities.

After all, one had to have cash on hand to pay taxes, and serfs in poor rural areas were neither entitled to live in multi-room houses nor had extra money to pay fireplace tax.

Currently, with the support of Lynn's new policies and technologies, artisans and farmers in some parts of the White River Territory have already become wealthy.

These people also moved into spacious and sturdy stone houses, with more fireplaces than before, and had more spare money.

Lynn gently stroked Leah's pregnant belly and said softly, "This is indeed a feasible solution, but the fireplace tax will be temporarily limited to towns with a population of more than 500. Rural areas will not be included in the tax collection scope because fireplaces are few and scattered."

Territory building is always a series of interconnected steps.

Lynn liberated the serfs who were bound to the land and reaped the benefits of their burst of enthusiasm.

He also took advantage of the serfs' yearning for freedom to conscript a large army, obtaining nearly two thousand professional soldiers.

Driven by this enthusiasm, the entire territory is undergoing rapid changes. Large tracts of wasteland have been reclaimed, roads have been leveled to connect the various districts and counties, and small towns are springing up in each county.

In the past, the stewards and estate managers in each territory only needed to urge the serfs to work and supervise them to harvest and transport the wheat in the fall.

However, as the status and wealth of serfs increased, the corresponding management systems and structures also needed to adapt to the environment and be rapidly innovated.

Taxing farmland is easy; the land is static, it's there, and there's no way to escape it.

Lynn only needed to send reliable tax collectors to accurately measure the size of the farmland and assess its grade to collect the full amount of agricultural tax.

However, for small towns that have gradually developed through handicrafts, the method of taxation must be adapted.

Currently, Shirokuma Prefecture, at the northernmost tip, has a sizable handicraft manufacturing industry, including paper mills and large carpentry and blacksmith workshops.

The high-quality paper produced in Shirokuma Prefecture could meet the needs of the entire Shirokawa Territory, and the output of civilian ironware and military weapons was equally astonishing.

This was all thanks to Lynn freeing up the workforce and providing ample orders.

In the near future, the discovery of limonite in Chixi Territory will lead to the establishment of a larger-scale handicraft town, and it may even gradually evolve into a city.

Lynn needs to plan ahead and come up with a suitable tax plan to implement.

The fireplace tax is a very good type of town tax, which can basically achieve precise taxation of the wealthy class.

Lynn has a completely clear conscience regarding the matter of collecting taxes.

All the taxes collected were used to protect and develop the territory; he didn't dare to squander a single grain of rye.

In fact, the professional army of just over two thousand men alone could consume eighty to ninety percent of the entire White River Territory's revenue. The following morning, Lynn and Lia discussed the first draft of the fireplace tax plan, intending to implement it on a small scale in White Bear County first, and then gradually promote it to the towns and cities of other counties.

He then packed up all three butlers sent by the little princess and sent them to Canglu County in the north.

The new school for beginners was also established in Heron County, with Timo the sixth son serving as its principal.

With the first batch of students graduating and becoming teachers, Lao Liu's teaching workload lightened considerably, allowing him to focus on setting up the elementary school as well.

Lynn always used his five brothers who had gone through thick and thin together to the point of near death.

The second, third, and fourth sons all lead troops in the army, responsible for training the troops in peacetime and commanding battles in wartime.

The fifth brother was training a thousand new recruits in Baixiong County, a task that carried an even heavier burden.

It's normal for the founders to be a little tired, since it's a newly established company.
Lynn never stopped; even when his body occasionally rested, his mind never stopped.

While planning the development of his territory, he also had to keep an eye on diplomacy and military affairs.

Unlimited power may feel great, but it also means unlimited responsibility.

Previously, when bidding farewell to the royal envoy, Earl Brun, Lynn had given him five handwritten letters.

A letter to King Maurice, thanking the illegitimate son of the king for the two titles bestowed upon him.

A letter to Princess Chloris, thanking her for providing three outstanding talents free of charge.

The other two letters were given to the Duke of the Valley and the lecherous priest Caleb, respectively.

Lynn hoped that the Duke of the Valley would blockade the passes and ports within his territory as much as possible, and restrict his vassals from exporting grain to Three Rivers.

Of course, it would be even better if the Duke of the Vale could gather an army to put pressure on Golden Deer Castle.

As for the letter to Caleb, it was a reminiscing session while urging him to recommend some capable individuals as soon as possible.

Lynn is facing a huge talent shortage; both government departments and schools are in dire need of manpower.

The final letter, however, was to be delivered to the Sanhe City Council.

"What on earth is Lynn thinking? A while ago he was demanding our allegiance to him, and now he's come to us to negotiate?"

Inside the city council, Mayor Jürgen publicly displayed Lynn's handwritten letter to a group of councilors.

The King's special envoy, Earl Brun, was present to listen and responded appropriately:
"Mayor, Earl Shirakawa's meaning is very simple. He does not want to see the prosperous city of Sanhe City reduced to ruins, nor does he want the citizens of the city to flee their homes. Therefore, he is willing to offer a portion of his precious grain and sell it to the city at a fair price."

Count Brune was nominally of high status, and even if Jürgen disliked him, he had to give him face, making him a suitable messenger.

The head of the brewing guild, the barrel guild leader, was the first to ask: "A fair price? How fair?"

“Four times the price of grain two years ago.” Earl Brun held up four fingers.

Before the councilors, whose expressions varied, could ask questions, Bren continued, "I think this is already a very fair price, so Earl White River has one small additional requirement: only merchants he designates may enter White River Territory."

The small-scale sale of grain to Three Rivers City marked the beginning of Lynn's new plan.

He needs to break the trade blockade imposed on Three Rivers.

Once the port was opened, more than just grain was brought into the city.

(End of this chapter)