Chapter 149: Death of Casti

When Horn's leather boots stepped on the stone pavement of Civic Road, the traces of smoke and fire were still obvious.

Horn squatted down and wiped the ground with his fingers. The black dust with a strong smell of fireworks proved that yesterday's riot was not an illusion.

However, judging from the current results, both sides have maintained a certain degree of restraint.

Although the citizens beat to death several tax commissioners, these tax commissioners were hired unemployed laborers and did not really harm the Duke's power.

Although the Duke sent out soldiers to suppress the rebellion and injured many citizens, most of them only suffered minor injuries and no one died.

The cause of the incident was the war bonds announced by the Duke. The citizens, who had just reacted to the first round of taxation, were faced with a second wave of taxation.

According to Horn's estimation, His Excellency the Duke received approximately 6000 gold pounds in taxes in the first round of taxation. Fort Joan of Arc alone contributed approximately 3000 gold pounds, and the other villages and towns in the dukedom together only contributed 3000 gold pounds.

This time, the war bonds launched by His Excellency the Duke were sold at a price of 2 gold pounds each, and guilds and citizens were forced to purchase them according to regional apportionment.

This obviously angered the citizens.
Even many residents from other villages and towns came to Chateau Jeanne d'Arc to join in the celebration.

Amid the public outcry, the Duke finally stood up and announced, "You are wrong. I will at least take a step back."

The selling price of war bonds also fell to 1 gold pound. The Duke promised to repay 2 gold pounds after the war, but at a low interest rate.

Although the citizens were reluctant, they thought that the Duke had already taken a step back and they did not want to offend him too much, so they gritted their teeth and took on this part of the bonds.

After all, it's an IOU, maybe it can be paid back.

Thus, this struggle ended with the Duke's complete victory.

At first, Horn actually didn't understand. You want to make money for the war, that's fine, but you are making money too hastily.

The first wave of taxes has just been collected and is enough to cope with the early preparations for war. Why is the second wave of taxes being collected?

The most important thing is that as an asset aristocrat, Danai’s means of making money should be to make money from assets in various places, such as mortgaging shops or selling shares.

The landed nobles collect taxes from their subjects to make money because their territories are large, their populations are large, and they have a lot of land. Does the Duke of Kush have a trade fair?
It’s already this late, are you still reluctant to let go?

Walking on this public road, Horn looked around and found it was much more desolate than before.

Tax commissioners, with bruised faces and some with arms in slings, stood in front of every citizen's door, trying their best to "sell" war bonds.

Those who were sold bonds gritted their teeth and bought these high-yield financial products with tears in their eyes. Of course, the number of individual citizens who bought them was relatively small.

The most disgusting thing is the share given to the guilds. Most of the guilds have to bear 300-500 gold pounds of war bonds.

In order to let the guild take on the responsibility, the Duke was kind enough to allow guild members to be exempted from military service. Even in the most critical moments, guild members would not be forced to join the army.

Under the current circumstances, this round of taxation, no, the income from the sale of bonds is estimated to reach about 8000 gold pounds.

They walked from Citizen Road to Craftsman Street and came to a tailor shop for workers. Sissi, with gauze wrapped around her head, dismounted and entered the shop. After a while, she came out with two yards of cloth.

Horn looked him up and down and said, "Don't you have a list of alchemical products?"

"How can I show it to you here?" Sissi lowered her voice. "It's hidden in Brie. Let's talk about it when we get back. If the An party heard that it was you, they would send you a book of simple alchemy formulas."

"Alchemical product formula book?" Horn heard this and asked quickly, "Does the Ruo An Party know me?"

"Now the entire Thousand River Valley and even Black Snake Bay and Gravel Plain are catching short-haired people. A lot of citizens and armed farmers are extorting you. You have made such a big name, how could the Ruoan Party not know you?"

Sissi climbed onto the horse, turned her head and said to Horn, "I guess Carrie also reported back to the Ruoan Party before... Are you really unwilling to join our White Mountain Hermitage?"

"Can the White Mountain Priory allow me to enter the upper echelons within five years? Besides, the Ruoan Party is the largest secret party in Black Snake Bay." Horn rejected Sissi's proposal without any concealment.

Xixi smacked her lips: "Okay."

"Seriously, are you really unwilling to follow me to Chiswamp Town? You know, in the next two or three years, Qianhe Valley will be plunged into war."

"I have heard your vision many times, but I also have my companions." Sissi refused decisively, "I also have important things to do, but if you want to cooperate in the future, Megdi Chamber of Commerce... Mr. Horn?"

Sissi was halfway through her words when she realized that Horn was gone. She turned around and saw that he had reined in his horse and was looking towards the other side of the river.

"What's wrong with you?" Seeing Horn stop, Sissi grabbed the reins, turned a corner, and came to Horn.

"Look." Horn pointed his whip across the canal. Across the canal, a long line of soldiers was entering the town from a distance, and led by the Duke's servants, they were heading towards the castle.

Leading the group were dozens or even a hundred extraordinary knights. The marks on their flags indicated their status, and they wore the same attire.

On the family crest of their shields, one can also see the mark of [K] proving that they are vassals of the House of Kush.

Based on the method of estimating the number of people he learned from Jeshka, Horn roughly calculated that there were about a hundred extraordinary knights and nearly a thousand infantrymen in this group.

Together with the existing castle guards, watchtower garrisons and rural militia, the total number of troops in Joan of Arc now reaches about 2000.

Add to that the Duke of Kush's mysterious secret army of about 2000 men, plus the troops of other small vassals, and the total force is about 6000.

If he paid for mercenaries, he could increase his military strength to about 10000 men. According to Horn's estimation, that was the limit of the Duke of Kush.

Under extreme conditions, the Duke's current strength can only last for three or four months at most.

Therefore, the Duke will most likely have to build a defense line using various mountain fortresses and rivers.
"War is really coming." Sissi sighed, but suddenly, he stood up from the horse.

"what happened?"

"Sir, look at that house that was burned down. It seems to be Casti's home!"

Horn's eyes widened and he looked in that direction: "Really? Let's go and take a look."

After crossing the bridge and reaching the door, Horn almost didn't recognize the cottage where Casti lived.

Only one floor of the original house was left and it was still crumbling. Among the dark ruins, the protruding wooden frame still had dark red marks of burning.

There was an obituary posted on the wall at the door, which listed Casti's life story and name, and asked where Casti's family was.

Horn stepped into the courtyard. The ground was covered with rubble and furniture, and the air with a burnt smell filled the small place.

A coffin was parked in the middle of the yard, and a priest was standing in front of the coffin, chanting devoutly.

According to the teachings of Messiahism, the human soul must stay on earth for seven days.

If you are tempted by the devil during this period, you are likely to fall into hell. If you invite a priest, it will not only protect your soul but also speed up your ascension to heaven.

"Hello."

"Hello." Seeing Horn, a frequent visitor to the Duke's Castle, the notary immediately took off his hat and saluted.

"Casti, what's going on? Do you know?"

"It is said that during the riot, thugs who were looking for trouble broke in. When Mr. Casti resisted, he was beaten by the thugs and died of excessive bleeding."

"Aren't there guards at the door?" Horn still found it hard to believe. Casti lived in the core area, very close to the city hall.

"Wasn't there a riot yesterday?" A neighbor explained, "The soldiers guarding the gate were all transferred to the castle to maintain order, which gave the robbers an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"Yes, my house was also robbed. At that time, my whole family hid in the attic and pulled out the ladder, so we escaped."

"The Duke is furious and is searching for the murderer throughout the entire Chrysanthemum Castle."

"This Castle Joan of Arc is becoming increasingly chaotic."

Listening to the explanations and discussions of the nearby neighbors and the Duke's servants, Horn shook his head helplessly.

Walking up to Casti's coffin, Horn laid down a flower and went out.

In this backward era, even living in a city does not mean safety.

Standing by the door, Horn looked at Duvalon, who was laughing with his hands covering his mouth, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Mr. Casti's middle name is so weird. How can someone have such a middle name?"

"What are you laughing at? His relatives and friends are all here. The dead are the greatest. Go, go."

(End of this chapter)