"You're saying that the nikancha people in the colony didn't register, and every time the poll tax was collected, tax collectors were sent here to inform the nikancha leaders and elders about the amount of money to be collected. They were then allowed to distribute the money to their respective settlements or use various resources to replace it?"
Claude got off the carriage and looked around the crude hut with interest. Beside him was the envoy sent by the viceroy and general to persuade Claude to serve Prince Hansbach.
Much to his surprise, when he took over the three colonies and ordered Thundercrash to arrest the officials and locals who signed the oath of allegiance to the first prince, the old man was spared from arrest because he didn't sign his name.
Claude found it odd. He had thought that the envoy was a trusted aide of the viceroy, but when he asked, he found out that the old man was just an idler who worked for the viceroy to make ends meet.
He and the viceroy were classmates in middle school, but he had migrated to the colony a long time ago and didn't have much of a life. He could only rely on his glib tongue to make ends meet.
Two years ago, he went to the docks to look for work and accidentally bumped into the viceroy's carriage. He was almost beaten up. Fortunately, the viceroy recognized him as a middle school classmate and spared him a whipping.
There was nothing much to say. One graduated from middle school, the other was poor and prosperous, so the viceroy showed him mercy and let him run errands in the manor.
So, he clung to the viceroy's thigh for personal gain.
Because he had a nimble tongue and was humorous, it made people feel comfortable listening to him, so the viceroy gave him the task of persuading the other generals in the theater of operations.
In the end, he was unlucky enough to run into Claude and suffered three slaps from Gum, causing him to lose a tooth and witness the collapse of the three colonies' garrisons.
After that, he was tied to a horse and marched with the army to the inner city walls of Cobicus. Then, he became the messenger that helped Claude deliver the ultimatum to the viceroy and the generals.
After the viceroys and commanders of the three colonies were captured, the old man lost his livelihood and ran to Claude because he knew some of the secrets of the colonies.
Claude really did lack a local boss. Given that the old man was good with words, he decided to keep him by his side for the time being.
It was all thanks to the old man's hard work that the nikancha elders and leaders of the three colonies were summoned for a meeting. It took them a month to complete the task.
"Yes, General, that is indeed the case."
The old man replied respectfully, "The kingdom's poll tax is actually insignificant to the citizens of the kingdom. A citizen of the kingdom only has to pay one Sunar a year.
However, the nikancha have to pay around one Riyas a year.
Due to the lack of population registration, the three colonies each have a population of one million. The nikancha in the three colonies have to pay one million riyas or something of equal value. "
"How much did you say?
A million riyas? "
Claude's jaw dropped. The poll tax was multiplied tenfold. A million riyas was equivalent to a hundred thousand thales or twenty thousand crowns. How could the nikancha pay such a huge sum?
"That's not right. The total income from the poll tax in the three colonies is only around two thousand crowns. Where did they get so much money?" Claude felt that the number wasn't reliable at all.
"General, the nikancha are actually quite wealthy. You just don't know about it.
Otherwise, why would the local garrisons sweep through the nikancha settlements so fervently? It's mainly because it's a way to earn some extra income.
The old man explained, "Most of the nikancha people in Port Cobicus are poor. They don't know where their next meal will come from, and they just muddle through every day.
The ones with the money were the elders and leaders of the settlements. They used the young men of their settlements to solicit work at the docks as a commission. They took more than the working young men, so the poll tax fell on their heads ….
On the surface, the elders and leaders of these settlements had to pay a tax of one riyas per person every year, but every month, they could earn three to four Sunas from the people in their settlements, so they made a lot of money.
The nikancha settlements scattered throughout the colonies were much wealthier than the ones gathered in the outer city. They had their own territories where they could hunt, fish, farm, gather herbs, and mine resources.
The previous viceroy and admiral suspected that the nikancha had a few small gold and silver mines in their possession, but they couldn't find out anything.
The year before last, the nikancha took out quite a lot of gold and silver as the poll tax. It was worth more than three thousand crowns.
However, the tax officer only gave them two thousand crowns as collateral.
The viceroy and the admiral sent people to find out where the gold and silver ore came from. The nikancha elders and leaders said that they were paying the poll tax, and that they had traded resources with the native Etate tribe in the Opumuk Mountains.
When they heard that it was the Etate tribe in the Opumke Mountains, the viceroy and admiral lost interest.
"As for the poll tax collected from the nikancha, the three colonies only paid around two thousand crowns. That's one sunar per citizen of the kingdom.
The rest will be split into two portions. The larger portion will be split among the governors and commanders of the three colonies. Each of them will receive 2,500 crowns a year, while the smaller portion will be split among the officials who handle them. Depending on their rank, each person will receive a dozen crowns, while those with higher ranks will receive a hundred crowns. "
Claude suddenly felt that it was a pity. If the nikancha had been sent to the nikancha country to the north of Port Vebator, they wouldn't have to pay the poll tax anymore.
However, compared to the trouble the nikancha would cause, it would be better to send them away for 20,000 crowns instead of letting them stay and become a threat to the three colonies.
"By the way, Zar, what was Zar again?" Claude pointed at the old man.
"General, my name is Zakarason." The old man's eyes were brimming with tears. The esteemed general finally remembered to call me by my name.
Even though he only remembered the word 'Zar', he had improved a lot. Usually, he would just call me Hey or something.
"Alright, Zakarason. Are the elders and leaders of the nikancha tribes here?" Claude asked.
The old man replied respectfully, "General, it's impossible for all the elders and leaders of the nikancha settlements in the three colonies to come. We've only informed the leaders and elders of twenty-seven settlements with a population of more than three thousand people.
You might not know this, but there are hundreds of nikancha tribes in the three colonies. Most of them have less than a thousand or a hundred people.
If all the elders and leaders of those tribes come, this place won't be able to hold them all.
In fact, we only need to notify the 27 nikancha settlements of over 3,000 people.
They will naturally help us inform the smaller settlements that are vassals to them.
It's just like how they distribute taxes. A large tribe gets five to six thousand crowns and they'll distribute it to their vassal tribes when they return.
The vassal tribes will get a few hundred crowns based on the number of people they have. It won't take long for the taxes to be collected. "
"Since the elders and leaders of the twenty-seven nikancha tribes have arrived, let's go in," Claude said with a nod.
"After you, General. Officer Myjack has already scouted the area and set up a perimeter." Zakarason bowed respectfully and invited Claude to go first.
There were four guards stationed at the wooden door of the meeting hall. When they saw Claude, they hurriedly saluted and opened the door. Loud noises could be heard from within.
The meeting hall wasn't as big as it looked from the outside. It was probably because there were a few smaller rooms inside.
Claude felt that the hall was about the size of two or three taverns and could barely hold a hundred people.
The hall was rather dark inside. The lighting wasn't that great. There were a few braziers in the middle of the hall. There were many people gathered around them. Some were laughing and talking loudly while others were roasting meat. The smell was rather odd.
"General Claude has arrived!
Silence! "
Old man Zakarason took two steps forward and roared at the nikancha tribe's elders and leaders who were crowding around the brazier.
The crowd quietened down and turned to look at Claude.
Zakarason pulled a chair out of nowhere and wiped it with his sleeve before inviting Claude to sit.
Claude waved his hand and looked at the nikancha tribe elders and leaders.
The lighting in the room wasn't very good, especially under the flickering light from the braziers. Claude felt that the maroon-skinned nikancha people looked rather similar. Apart from their beards, it was hard to tell them apart.
"I'm the deputy commander-in-chief of the war theatre, Lieutenant-General Viscount Claude Han Ferd," Claude introduced himself.
Zakarason had said that the nikancha people respected their officials. The higher their positions, the more obedient they would be.
As expected, the moment Claude introduced himself, not even whispers could be heard.
"Right now, Mormaly, Tyrrsim, and Aduras are under the jurisdiction of our theatre of operations. In other words, all nikancha people in these three colonies are under the control of our theatre of operations!
Today, I've gathered the elders and leaders of the three largest nikancha settlements here, mainly because I have something to tell you … "
"General, are you going to collect taxes?
Just tell us how much you want to collect, "someone asked.
"Ugh …" Claude was a little taken aback by the question. Then, he grew angry. Do I look like I'm here to collect taxes? Outrageous!
"Bastard!
Shut up! Do you think His Excellency is here to collect money from you?
Just keep your ears open and listen to His Excellency's words. Stop interrupting! "Zakarason yelled as he pointed at the crowd.
Claude looked at Zakarason and the old man hurriedly smiled apologetically and shut his mouth.
"He's right. I'm not here to collect taxes. I'm not in charge of that," Claude said.
"What I want to tell you is that your nikancha brethren have established an independent nation in the mountainous region north of Port Vebator.
They're currently taking over Shiks' inland colonies and have taken over a huge area. "
"Boom!" The nikancha elders and leaders sitting around the table almost jumped up. This news was too shocking.
The nikancha people had always wanted to establish their own nation, but they had no chance to do so in the colonies.
Even though the nikancha people in the north had established their nation for nearly two years, the nikancha people in the three colonies didn't receive any news at all.
However, the nikancha in the three colonies didn't receive any news due to the distance between them. Even the nikancha miners in Anfiston didn't know about the new nikancha nation to the north of Port Vebator.
That was mainly because the theatre didn't take the nikancha nation seriously at all. Claude had encouraged the nikancha to rebel and establish their own nation only to cause trouble for Shiks.
Also, having the nikancha take over Shiks' inland colonies was much better than having the theatre wipe them out.
Shiks' inland colonies were the size of four colonies, and they were mostly in the wilderness and hilly terrain. The theatre couldn't afford to waste their time there.
After taking over Port Vebator and making it the kingdom's eighth colony, the theatre decided to have the nikancha nation in the north act as a barrier for the colonies.
At the same time, the nikancha would be allowed to take over Shiks' inland colonies. That way, the theatre would only have to deal with threats from the sea. That would be of great help to the theatre in maintaining the safety of the colonies.
"Sir General, is this news true?" an old nikancha with a white beard asked Claude excitedly.
"This is the elder of Gonggong Bird Village. His name is Chali. There are four thousand of them and they live on the riverbank west of Manledor," Zacharrason introduced him to Claude.
"Elder Chali, this news is true," Claude said kindly.
Claude said kindly to the old nikancha, "You might not know this, but due to the war in Cromwell and Balingana, not a single nikancha can remain. That's why news has been cut off north of the Dorinibla River.
However, the Nikancha nation has already requested for assistance from our theatre. They hope to relocate all the Nikancha settlements in the colonies to them.
They say that the nikancha nation they built will be the home of all nikancha and any nikancha will be able to live a free and happy life there.
We've already agreed to their request. In half a month, their emissary will arrive and they hope to convince you to move to their nation.
If you have any questions, just ask the emissary. We'll help you move by using ships to transport you there for free. That should cut the journey by half. "
There were times when Claude really admired Borkal's brain. He sent a messenger eagle to General Eiblont in Port Vebator to ask if there would be any negative repercussions for sending the three million nikancha to the nikancha nation in the north.
In the end, Eiblont left the matter to Borkal, who was in charge of the arms trade with the nikancha nation.
That was when Claude received Borkal's messenger eagle. When he opened it, he was dumbfounded. Borkal had actually used the three million nikancha as a bargaining chip to trade for a large amount of resources and gold from the nikancha nation.
Borkal explained why he did that. The nikancha nation in the north had a population of less than two million and they lost close to ten thousand men when they attacked the Shiksan colonies in the interior.
After all, most of the Shiksan colonies in the interior were mining companies. There was no lack of vicious criminals and the slave guards of the nobles there.
The newly established nikancha nation had no problem fighting in numbers, but the nikancha who had just learned how to use firearms still paid a heavy price.
So far, they only managed to occupy a third of the interior before they ran out of stamina and couldn't continue attacking.
They desperately needed more soldiers and more people, as well as weapons, ammunition, equipment, and rations to support them.
So, Borkal and the nikancha didn't have any problems in their talks. They were overjoyed when they heard that the theatre was willing to let the nikancha tribes move to their nation.
Borkal took the opportunity to ask for a large amount of resources and gold as compensation for giving up on the nikancha tribes. At the same time, he allowed the nikancha nation to send an emissary to persuade the nikancha tribes in the three colonies to move north.