novelAbuy #149 - Death of Casti
#149 - Death of Casti
The smoke and fire damage was still evident when Horn's leather boots stepped onto the cobblestone ground of Citizen's Road.
Horn crouched down, wiping the ground with his fingers. The black dust, thick with the smell of smoke and fire, proved that yesterday's riot was no illusion.
However, judging by the current outcome, both sides had maintained a certain degree of restraint.
Although the citizens had killed several tax commissioners, these commissioners were all hired unemployed laborers, and did not truly harm the Duke's own power.
Although the Duke sent soldiers to suppress the riot, injuring many citizens, most of them suffered only superficial wounds, and no one died.
The cause of the matter was the war bonds announced by the Duke. Citizens, who had just reacted to the first round of taxation, were met with a second wave.
According to Horn's estimation, His Grace the Duke had collected approximately 6,000 gold pounds in the first round of taxation, with approximately 3,000 gold pounds contributed by the town of Jeanne d'Arc, and the remaining villages and towns within the Duchy contributing a total of 3,000 gold pounds.
This time, His Grace the Duke launched war bonds sold at a price of 2 gold pounds each, and forcibly required guilds and citizens to purchase them based on regional quotas.
This clearly angered the citizens.
Even residents of many other villages and towns came to Jeanne d'Arc to join in the grand event.
Amidst the surging public sentiment, His Grace the Duke finally stood up and announced, 'You are wrong. Surely I can take a step back.'
The price of war bonds also fell to 1 gold pound, and the Duke promised to repay them at 2 gold pounds after the war, but with low interest.
Although the citizens were unwilling, they thought to themselves that the Duke had already taken a step back, and it wouldn't be wise to offend him too much, so they gritted their teeth and assumed this portion of the bonds.
After all, it was just an IOU, maybe they would get repaid.
Thus, this struggle ended with a crushing victory for His Grace the Duke.
Initially, Horn really didn't understand. If you want to raise money for the war, you can, but aren't you being too hasty in raising it?
The first wave of taxes had just been collected, enough to cover the initial war preparations, so what was the point of collecting a second wave?
Most importantly, as an asset aristocrat, Danner's means of raising money should be from the assets in various places, such as mortgaging shops or selling shares.
Real estate aristocrats collect taxes from their people because they have large territories with many people and properties. Does the Duchy of Kush have trade fairs?
What's the point of being reluctant at this point?
Walking on this Citizen's Road, Horn looked around, and it was more desolate than before.
One by one, tax commissioners with bruised faces and even bandaged arms were standing in front of citizens' homes, diligently "selling" war bonds.
Those being sold the bonds gritted their teeth and bought these financial products with good returns, although individual citizens bought relatively few.
The most disgusting thing was the allocation to those guilds. Most of the guilds had to bear 300-500 gold pounds of war bonds.
To help the guilds bear the burden, His Grace the Duke was kind enough to allow guild members to be exempt from military service. Even in the most critical moments, guild members would not be forcibly conscripted into the army.
Given the current situation, this round of taxation, or rather, the income from selling bonds, is estimated to reach nearly 8,000 gold pounds.
From Citizen's Road to Craftsman's Street, Cici, with bandages wrapped around her head, dismounted and entered a labor tailor shop. After a while, she came out carrying two yards of cloth.
Horn looked her up and down: "Isn't there a list of alchemical products?"
"I can't show it to you here," Cici lowered her voice. "It's hidden in the cloth. We'll talk about it when we get back. The Roan Party heard it was you and even sent a simple alchemical recipe book."
"Alchemical product recipe book?" Horn asked quickly upon hearing this, "The Roan Party knows about me?"
"Now the entire Thousand River Valley, Black Serpent Bay, and Shattered Stone Plain are arresting 'short hairs'. A large number of citizens and armed farmers are extorting them. You've made such a big name for yourself, how could the Roan Party not know about you?"
Cici mounted her horse, turned her head, and said to Horn, "I guess Carrie reported it to the Roan Party before... Are you really unwilling to join our White Mountain Hermitage?"
"Can the White Mountain Hermitage get me into the upper echelons within five years? Besides, the Roan Party is the largest secret society in Black Serpent Bay," Horn refused Cici's suggestion without hesitation.
Cici smacked her lips: "Okay."
"I'm serious, are you really unwilling to come with me to Marsh Town? You know, the Thousand River Valley will be plunged into war for the next two or three years."
"I've heard your vision many times, but I also have my companions," Cici refused just as decisively. "I also have important things to do, but if you want to cooperate in the future, the Megedith Merchant Guild... Lord Horn?"
Cici stopped halfway through her words, only to find that Horn beside her was gone. Turning her head, she discovered that he had stopped his horse and was looking towards the opposite bank of the canal.
"What's wrong?" Cici saw Horn stop, grabbed the reins, and turned to Horn's side.
"Look," Horn pointed to the opposite side of the canal with his riding crop.
On the opposite side of the canal, a long line of soldiers was entering the town from afar, heading towards the castle under the leadership of the Duke's attendants.
Leading the way were about dozens, nearly a hundred, of transcendent knights. The markings on their banners indicated their status and wore matching attire.
On their shield's coat of arms, one could also see the [K] mark proving that they were vassals of the Kush family.
Based on the headcount estimation method learned from Jeshka, Horn roughly calculated that this group consisted of about a hundred transcendent knights and nearly a thousand infantry.
Adding the castle guards, sentry tower garrison, and rural militia that Jeanne d'Arc originally had, the total number of troops in Jeanne d'Arc currently reached about 2,000.
Adding the Duke of Kush's mysterious secret army of about 2,000, plus the troops of other small vassals, the total force was about 6,000.
If he hired mercenaries, he could bring the force up to about 10,000. According to Horn's estimation, that would be the Duke of Kush's limit.
In a state of limit, the Duke's current strength could only hold on for three or four months at most.
So the Duke would most likely still construct defenses by relying on various mountain fortresses and rivers.
"The war is really coming," Cici sighed, but suddenly, she stood up on horseback.
"What's wrong?"
"Your Excellency, look at that burned-down house, it seems to be Casti's home!"
Horn widened his eyes and looked in that direction: "It really is. Let's go, let's go take a look."
Crossing the bridge and arriving at the door, Horn almost didn't recognize Casti's small house.
The original house only had one floor left, teetering precariously. In the dark, broken walls, the protruding wooden frame still had dark red burn marks.
A notice was posted on the wall at the door, writing about Casti's life and name, and asking where Casti's family was.
Horn stepped into the small courtyard, the ground was full of rubble and furniture, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of burning.
In the middle of the courtyard was a coffin, and a priest was standing in front of the coffin, chanting devoutly.
According to the teachings of the Messiah, the soul of a person must remain in the human world for seven days.
During this period, if tempted by the devil, it is very likely to fall into hell. If you hire a priest, it can not only protect the soul, but also speed up the ascension to heaven.
"Hello."
"Hello." Seeing Horn, a frequent visitor to the Duke's castle, the notary immediately took off his hat and paid his respects.
"What happened to Casti? Do you know?"
"It is said that during the riot, a rogue who took advantage of the fire broke in. Mr. Casti was injured by the rogue while resisting and died from excessive blood loss."
"This, isn't there a guard at the door?" Horn still found it hard to believe. Casti lived in the core area, very close to the town 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 those robbers an opportunity."
"Yes, my house was also robbed. At that time, my whole family hid in the attic and removed the ladder to escape."
"His Grace the Duke is furious and is hunting down the murderer throughout Jeanne d'Arc."
"This Jeanne d'Arc is getting more and more chaotic."
Listening to the explanations and discussions of the nearby neighbors and the Duke's servants, Horn shook his head helplessly.
Walking to Casti's coffin, Horn put down a flower and went out.
In this backward era, even living in the city does not mean safety.
Standing at the door, Horn looked at Duvalon, who was covering his mouth and laughing, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"Mr. Casti's middle name is too strange, how can anyone be called by this middle name."
"What are you laughing at? His relatives and friends are here. Let the dead rest in peace, let's go, let's go."