Chapter 141 Land Divide, Ennoblement and Tax Collection

Maximus said loudly: "The lowest level of tribal people is the reserve people. Most of us are slaves, so we will not keep slaves in the future. But in the future, if there are foreigners who are defeated and captured by us, there will be Foreigners who volunteer to join the tribe will be reserve tribesmen. In addition to ensuring their right to survival, they will not enjoy other rights of the tribe for the time being. However, as long as they work diligently for the tribe for three years, they will become official members of the tribe. nation.

The upper level of the reserve people is the ordinary people. The tribe will allocate land to them and enjoy the rights given to them by the tribe, but they also have to fulfill some obligations of citizens, such as military service and paying taxes——"

As soon as Maximus said this, there was a buzz of discussion in the tent.

Although Maximus had expected it, he pretended to be dissatisfied and asked: "Do you have any different opinions? Say it directly, don't whisper below!"

There was silence in the tent for a moment. Under the push of the people next to him, Volenus said helplessly in a low voice: "Chief, Roman citizens do not pay taxes, and there are many Greek city-states who do not pay taxes either."

"Yes, Roman citizens did not pay taxes, but citizens of Roman provinces had to pay heavy taxes. Rome used provincial taxes to support its citizens, which could make itself stronger; although many Greek city-states did not usually collect taxes, But when there is a war, the direct taxes collected are as high as 20 to 30% of the people's income, which is enough to bankrupt many people..."

Maximus plausibly said: "With farmland tax, the tribe has money to buy weapons and armor. It can give free food to the hungry people in times of famine, and it can hire craftsmen and laborers to build roads and bridges. We can pay salaries to tribal officials instead of requiring them to contribute to the tribe without any compensation... Do you think this tax should be collected? "

"It should be collected... it should be collected!..." Someone in the tent responded one after another, and finally converged into the same voice. Everyone thought that Maximus was right, especially the last sentence.

"Chief, how many acres of land can ordinary people get?" Quintus asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

"50 acres!" Maximus said without thinking. He had been thinking about this number for a long time, and it was not until he made a decision today that he became clear about it.

"50 acres!!" There was an exclamation in the tent.

For former Roman citizens such as Quintus and Frontinus, citizens in the early Roman Republic owned more than 50 acres of land. But now, the land in mainland Italy has basically been divided up. Marius and Sulla used their power to forcefully allocate land to their soldiers, which is basically less than this number of acres.

Therefore, they were all pleasantly surprised by the number of acres of land they would be allocated, not to mention people from other places. Some of them had never owned even an acre of land since birth. Now they were completely shocked: "50 acres How big of a piece of land should it be?”

Just when everyone started to discuss, Aconis stood up again: "Chief, will we women be allocated land?"

"Of course we will give you points, the same 50 acres!" Maximus said without hesitation: "I have said before, the contribution you women have made to the team is there, it is natural to give you land, no one will I have objections. But we will discuss later whether women who join the tribe in the future or women who were born in the tribe should be given land.

In short, my opinion is that everyone in our team is an ordinary citizen, and they are all allocated 50 acres of land, but they have to pay taxes! The children have to wait until they reach adulthood before being given land, otherwise if it is given to them now, they will not be able to plant it, which is a waste. "

Maximus paused and asked loudly: "I say this, do you all agree?"

"Agree!!!" Everyone responded in unison.

"Chief, how much tax do ordinary people have to pay?" Quintus asked the next question that everyone was concerned about.

"Ten percent of the nation's annual farm income." Maximus answered.

Everyone immediately began to calculate: Is this 10% tax high?

In the end I thought it was acceptable.

Maximus saw this in his eyes and said in a more serious tone: "The upper level of ordinary citizens is second-class citizens. As long as ordinary citizens kill an enemy head-on in battle, they can be promoted to second-class citizens, and they can Get another ten acres of land——"

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the tent.

Maximus ignored it and said in a louder voice: "The upper level of the second-class people is the first-class people. If the second-class people kill two enemies in a frontal battle, they can be promoted to the first-class people. Citizens, and can be allocated an additional 20 acres of land; first-class citizens who kill three enemies in frontal battles can be promoted to knights, and can be allocated an additional 20 acres of land!"

Maximus paused speaking, because the tent was already boiling: "You only need to kill six enemies, and you can get another 50 acres of land! A total of 100 acres. In Italy, only the nobles can own such a large place. !”

"Yes, this 100 acres is such a big piece of land! I'm afraid I won't be able to plant it at all!"

"100 acres of land can produce a lot of food. Then we can use some of the food to hire people to plant it!"

"Hey, this is a good idea!"

…

Maximus looked at everyone's excitement and smiled secretly in his heart: This is just the beginning, and you guys can't control their emotions. What will happen next?

"Everyone, do you still want to listen to me?!" Maximus shouted, and everyone quickly calmed down: Yes, twenty knighthoods! The leader just talked about the first few levels and it was so good, wouldn't the later ones be better? !

In everyone's expectant eyes, Maximus cleared his throat and said unhurriedly: "The reserve people, ordinary people, second-class people, and first-class people will be the lowest four people in the Nyx tribe. For each ethnic group, the main reward is land.

But Jazz is different. Jazz has entered the aristocratic class of the tribe. A citizen who becomes a knight should be respected among ordinary people. When ordinary people see him, they should take the initiative to salute and say hello. They will be given priority as vacancies arise in various departments and the Army.

At the local level, if our tribe develops quickly and there are many villages, the knight can be given priority to serve as the village chief. Even if he does not serve as the village chief, the village chief must respect him when executing government orders, even in important situations. We still need to discuss the matter with him...

There are 5 titles above the knight level: baron, viscount, earl, marquis, and duke. Each title is divided into three levels, such as third-class baron, second-class baron, first-class baron... There are a total of fifteen levels, each of which enjoys different benefits. Tribal rights, the most important one is food.

What is a food town? For example, a third-class baron can enjoy one food town every year, which means that in addition to his annual farming income, he can also get an average annual farming income equivalent to that of a ethnic family. This can be grain. , can also be converted into money, which is given directly by the tribe without paying taxes.

In addition, tribesmen with titles may also be gifted varying amounts of land by the tribe, and can enjoy rare artifacts that ordinary tribesmen cannot enjoy; they can own possessions without being blocked by the guards, and can directly meet with officials to discuss political affairs with me. rights; some important tribal positions can only be held by tribesmen with high-level titles...

In addition, titles can also be inherited by descendants. The descendants of tribesmen with high titles will receive preferential treatment from the tribe even as soon as they are born, and will have the right to serve as officials early..."

The more Maximus talked, the more excited everyone became. They used to hate the nobility because they were the oppressed party. When the great opportunity to be rich, powerful, and benefit their descendants was presented to them, no one was not moved. , no one will be crazy about it.

"Chief, how can I become these dukes... dukes, uncles, and barons, or continue to kill the enemy?" Tolerugo asked eagerly.

Everyone focused their attention on Maximus, and the heat in their eyes seemed to melt him.

"No." Maximus said seriously: "The promotion condition for knights and above is no longer based on the number of enemies killed, but the promotion condition for leading the army to victory.

For example, if a centurion with a knighthood leads a centurion to defeat an equal number of enemies, he may be promoted to a third-class baron; but if he leads a legion to defeat an enemy army of only a hundred people, he will only be credited with a small number. Merit, and the title cannot be promoted, unless you win many such small victories in a row, you may be considered; and if you lead the army to win a big battle with less, you can destroy a big one. Tribe, it is much easier to ennoble a noble or a noble... In short, the greater the credit you get, the easier it is for you to be promoted to a noble title!

Regarding some detailed conditions and rewards for promotion to knighthood and above, I will discuss it with the heads of various departments in the political hall before announcing it in the tribe. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Civil Affairs are the departments directly responsible for verifying military merit and reporting promotion candidates to me, so you must pay more attention to the twenty-nobility system. "

Quintus, Frontinus, Lebilus and Carina listened, feeling nervous and excited.

"Chief, this is a bit unfair. Can't those of us who can't participate in the battle be knighted?" Capito asked loudly, also asking the thoughts of many people.

"Of course not." Maximus replied sternly: "Ordinary people farm hard and herd seriously. When the time comes to harvest, your fields are better than others, and the cattle and sheep you raise are stronger than others. Then, then The Property Department will record their merits and report them, and I will promote them.

Of course, ordinary people can also work hard to cultivate their children, raise them well, and find good teachers to teach them knowledge and military skills. When they make great achievements in the future and become public officials, they will naturally enjoy the blessings as parents. right? ! "

"Yes!" Someone smiled knowingly.

"For those ordinary officials who work for the tribe, as long as they have done a lot of practical things in their positions and are excellent in every assessment of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, they can also be promoted, but in the end they can only reach the rank of knight.

Further up, if the chief officers and adjutants of each department want to be knighted, they also need to make great contributions. For example, Pigris persuaded a tribe to surrender to us; Volenus taught the people better farming techniques, so that Grain production increased greatly; the Ministry of Works under Capito made very good weapons and armor, and produced a lot of them, giving our army the upper hand in battle; Sidonius compiled a perfect tribal law; Corneille The Ministry of Finance led by Liu Si opened up new financial resources without harming the people, greatly increasing the wealth of the national treasury... These can all be knighted!

In addition, for people with special talents in the tribe, the twenty-nobility system is even more good news for them! Like Minuccius, as a doctor, if you discover a method that can cure a certain terminal disease, then you should be knighted! Like Spukala, if you improve the design of the water hammer and make it more efficient for blacksmiths to strike iron, you should be knighted; a farmer who improves the plow to make plowing faster should be promoted; If a blacksmith invents a better weapon, he should be promoted; if a carpenter creates a boat more suitable for navigation and fighting on the rivers here, he should be promoted...

In short, as long as the tribesmen contribute to the tribe, the tribe will reward them with promotions and titles! If you want to make yourself richer and have more status in the tribe, then work harder for the tribe! "

What Maximus said made everyone excited, but some people came out to pour cold water: "Chief, the system of twenty titles does sound very good. It is a major institutional innovation that I have never heard of! However, it It is more conducive to the army. Soldiers and team officers can get a big promotion after winning a few battles, but it often takes a long time for us to make achievements. This seems... somewhat unfair!"

"How unfair!" Frantinus glared at Capito with dissatisfaction. The two long-time friends who had shared hardships were about to fall out.

"Officials who have worked hard for more than half a year may not necessarily be promoted. Soldiers only need to win a few battles to be knighted. It seems that the twenty knighthood system is more beneficial to the army. Maximus persuaded loudly with a serious look on his face. : “But you have to know that ordinary people and officials only give time and sweat, but soldiers pay blood and lives in battle! Regardless of victory or defeat in a battle, there will always be casualties. It is only natural to award multiple titles to warriors who may die in battle at any time! not to mention--"

Maximus said with emphasis: "There are wars everywhere in the Mediterranean today. Every year and every month, tribes, races or countries decline and perish due to wars, and our current situation is also very bad!

The Roman army may come into the mountains to seek revenge on us at any time, so we need a strong army to resist! The Pannonians to the north will not allow us to gain a foothold here, so we need a strong army to defeat them! Whether it is land distribution or ennoblement, we need more land, more people, and more wealth so that everyone can share more benefits, and all of this requires a strong army to serve the tribe. Open up territory and expand territory, and become powerful in all directions!

Therefore, the twenty-nobility system is to encourage every young and strong man in the tribe to pick up a shield and sword and rush to the battlefield, bravely kill the enemy, be awarded a title for meritorious service, and become a hero respected by the people and respected by the tribe! "

"Chief, that's so well said!" Torrelugo was the first to applaud, and then Frontinus, Phissarus and other officers and generals also responded excitedly, and even Pecot and Quintus He also looked excited.