Chapter 269： to punish

Landlord Baden was brought to the lobby of the Lord's Mansion.

This is a well-built middle-aged man, with two small mung bean-like eyes dotted on his round face. Although he tried his best to pretend to be in a catastrophe, he still had a few greedy eyes from time to time.

After this person entered the hall, he performed the etiquette of a commoner meeting the lord in a proper manner.

"Respected and great Earl Greiman, Baden, a loyal subject under your rule, is here at your summons."

The young lord sat on the main seat in the hall. He didn't say anything after hearing what he said, but just looked at him straight and expressionless.

Baden's heart tightened, and he felt a little bit bad: it's bad, it couldn't be that the [war tax] matter was known by the lord.

The hall was quiet, only the ticking of the grandfather clock could be heard. Paul did not speak, and Baden could only stand there, waiting in embarrassment.

"You are Baden?"

The lord finally spoke, but Baden almost collapsed on the ground with his legs limp. For a person of his stature who has been pampered for a long time, standing for a long time is very tiring.

"Yes, Honorable Earl Greiman, I am Baden."

"Where have you been a while ago? Did you go home after the riot subsided?"

"Thank you Earl for your concern. I was hiding in a hidden farmhouse in the field before. I have already returned home... Ah, my house is really horrible. Everything has been robbed, and several honest and loyal servants have also died. .”

As soon as the riot was mentioned, Baden's face became more miserable, and he complained endlessly about the atrocities committed by the salt people.

Paul didn't stop him, and let Baden speak.

"...It's all the fault of those **** poor ghosts, Earl Greiman, you must uphold the justice and strictness of the lord, and hang all these lawless animals. They are a group of living animals!"

Seeing that the lord didn't respond at all, the voice of Baden, who was complaining, became smaller and smaller.

"Cough... Honorable Earl Greiman, please give justice to us good people and peace to the land of Arda."

Baden ended with these words, and the hall finally returned to the silence just now.

Only then did Paul ask: "Then tell me about the so-called [war tax] first?"

"War tax? What war tax? I haven't heard of it."

"Oh? Didn't you collect war taxes from the salt people?"

Baden showed a look of being wronged, and said aggrievedly, "My lord, you must never listen to the lies of those mobs. They can fabricate any lies in order to mitigate their crimes and win your sympathy. For these mobs For poor ghosts, there is no such thing as shame, honor or disgrace."

Paul sneered: "But Baden, it's not just the salt people who said that you once collected war taxes. Bring people up!"

As soon as the voice fell, the guards led a few people into the hall.

Baden almost fainted after looking at them. Isn't this the thug he sent to collect taxes? Why haven't you died yet? Shouldn't they have been slaughtered by the mob long ago?

These thugs bowed their heads one by one, with bruised noses and swollen faces. It seemed that they had suffered a lot in the hands of the salt people.

A smile appeared on Paul's face, and he asked, "Baden, do you know them?"

Baden hurriedly replied: "No... I don't know! My lord, I don't know these people."

Paul turned his attention to the thugs: "Baden said he didn't know you, so do you know him?"

The person standing at the front said: "My lord, he is our former master Baden."

Barden hurriedly defended: "Nonsense! Your lord, please don't believe them!"

Paul glared with stern eyes, "That's enough, I'll talk about it when I tell you!" The landlord was so frightened that his whole body was fat and trembling.

He asked those thugs again: "Then tell me, did Baden send you to collect war taxes other than the poll tax?"

The man glanced at Baden just now, and replied honestly: "Yes, we have sent a group of people to collect poll tax and war tax before us, but they were returned, and then Master Baden sent us to go there. , and let us give the salt people a little color."

Paul looked at Barden coldly: "What else do you have to say?"

Baden was dripping with cold sweat, twitching all over his body, but he still tried to defend himself: "They...they...they have been bought by the mob, and they are already part of a gang."

"So you really lied to me just now? Are these people really your former subordinates?"

"I... I... My lord is so clear!"

Paul chuckled: "I still have some people here for you to meet, bring them up!"

The guards led another group of people in, all dressed as ordinary villagers.

Paul asked: "Maybe Baden has collected [war tax] from you?"

As soon as the lord spoke, the villagers became emotional all of a sudden.

"Master Greiman, you are right, he did force us to pay the war tax."

"We never heard of war taxes when your father and your grandfather were in power."

"Originally our income was not much, but being messed up by Baden made life even more difficult."

The villagers complained one after another that they already knew that Baden was lying to them, and it can be said that they were full of resentment.

Looking at Baden with a pale face, Paul slowly took a sip from his water glass.

"Baden, these are residents of several villages in the area you are in charge of, but they are all good citizens who have never participated in the riots. What do you have to say now?"

Baden's lips trembled: "I...I..."

He suddenly opened his eyes, and his eyes sparkled, "Master Greiman! The reason why I am obsessed with ghosts and **** for profit is all because of your subordinate Hansel Abbott!"

"Oh? Why did you suddenly get involved in him?"

Baden complained as if he was going all out: "That damned Jingyao guy, what the **** is going on with the land transfer, a large piece of good land in my house has been exchanged by him for bad land. He relied on the support of the Lord's Mansion and took chicken feathers as arrows, but We, the honest and diligent landlords and squires, have been miserable."

"You? Besides you, are other people dissatisfied with him?"

"Yes, Lord Graeman." Baden roared anxiously: "Many people are dissatisfied with him, and we all call him [Baron Peeling] behind our backs. Please uphold justice, replace and punish this wrongdoer. The agricultural director who is in charge of personnel, calm down everyone's grievances."

In the process of land replacement, it is inevitable to exchange good land for bad land. Under the entanglement of two factors, quality and area, it is impossible for anyone to get it right, and the matter of a big landowner like Baden The benefits far outweigh the losses. Now his family's arable land has become a large area, which is more conducive to large-scale planting and water conservancy operations. He bought several harvesters alone. But most people focus on what they lose and take for granted what they gain.

Moreover, Baden's resentment towards Hansel was actually focused on another matter: in the process of checking the property, the large area of ​​public land that his family occupied was found out. This cost Barden a fortune and a large tract of land that he believed was rightfully his. But Baden also knew that he violated the law first, isn't it short-sighted to say it at this time? So just point the finger at land replacement.

A trace of imperceptible joy flashed across Paul's face, and he continued to ask: "What does this have to do with your private collection of war taxes?"

Baden said "aggrieved": "It's because I lost too much in the land replacement, so I came up with this stupid trick thinking about how much I can make up for."

"Ah... No, no! I didn't come up with this stupid trick, it's all my butler's fault, it's his bad idea!"

Baden suddenly remembered something, and quickly changed his words.

"Your butler? Where is he?"

"He hid with me in the farmhouse in the field for refuge. He never came back after going out to inquire about the news. He may have been killed by the mob..."

Paul thought about it: "The housekeeper? Missing? Interesting!"

He remembered the interrogation information Cecil gave him. When the salt people surrounded the Baden family's mansion, it was the butler who first made a mockery and then asked the servants to attack with slings, which intensified the conflict.

"Okay, Baden, I don't have time to talk nonsense with you! In any case, collecting war tax without the lord's mansion's back is a violation of the law, and this riot is also caused by you."

Paul stood up and was about to make a final decision.

Baden knelt down with a plop: "My lord, the Greiman family is known for its benevolence!"

Paul ignored his pleading and continued: "You should have been given extremely severe punishment, but since your family has served the lord for generations, I declare—"

"First, deprive you of your status as a tax collector. The areas that you were responsible for collecting taxes before will be collected by tax officials appointed by the Government Council in person!"

"Second, confiscate half of your property to make up for the losses caused by the riots—of course not including the losses of your own family!"

As soon as Paul finished speaking, Baden rolled his eyes and collapsed on the ground with a plop.

The guard hurried forward to check, and saw that his eyes were narrowed into a slit, and only the whites of his eyes could be seen in the slit, he was foaming at the mouth, dripping non-stop, and he was already unconscious.

It seems that these two penalties have hit him too hard.