Chapter 94: Tax

Arthur performed with exceptional stability; as he swapped his glaive between his left and right hands, cleaving dozens of times, the Western Lands Army cavalry was pierced through by them.

He did not care whether he had hacked the enemies to death or not; Ma Ke, Patrick, Anguy, and the others behind him would finish them off.

The current situation was that the seven hundred-plus cavalry of the Riverlands, following the spearheading Arthur, had split the Western Lands cavalry into two parts.

The northern part, where the Western Lands commander Luo Qi was located, had about one thousand men, while the southern side had over five hundred.

"Excellent!" Arthur shouted, "Patrick, Ma Ke, Raymond, you take all the Riverlands cavalry to surround and attack these five hundred men on the south side."

"Anguy, Vargo, take your men; we are going to raid and kill the commander of the Western Lands cavalry."

"You got it!" Patrick responded briskly.

Among the cavalry present, those from Seagard were the most numerous; letting Patrick and the others lead the team could boost morale.

Thus, having just completed their charge, they turned back again and headed toward their targets.

Around Arthur were Anguy, two Dornishmen, Vargo, and key members of the Brave Companions, totaling eighteen people. Led by the giant horse in golden armor, they launched a charge toward the northern Western Lands soldiers who had already turned back.

"The enemy commander is that Luo Qi," Anguy suddenly shouted.

As a master archer, his eyesight was naturally astonishing; from far away, he recognized Amory Lorch, who was wearing a helmet.

"An old enemy!" Arthur swung his blade, pointing directly at Luo Qi. "I let him get away last time at Tumblestone; this time, I will twist his head off and use it as a chamber pot."

In front of them.

"Whoever kills the Knight on the giant horse in golden armor, Lord Tywin will reward with one thousand Gold Dragons," Luo Qi shouted casually while charging with his sword raised.

This was naturally a lie; Duke Tywin could not have anticipated Arthur appearing here, and it was just something Luo Qi said off the cuff to boost morale.

But if one really did kill this man, Duke Tywin surely would not be stingy.

These men were all professional cavalry of the House Lannister; their monthly wages were only calculated in Silver Stags, and a single Gold Dragon was enough to exchange for two hundred and ten Silver Stags.

Gold Dragons were very distant things to them, and one thousand was already beyond the range of what they could count on their fingers.

But after they calculated the conversion of countless Silver Stags into Redwyne Wine, big-bottomed brothel workers, and beautiful Quanshen Banji according to their own preferences, the way the thousand-plus men looked at Arthur changed somewhat.

That was a walking treasure boy.

"Bring me his head!"

"My Gold Dragons!"

The entire Western Lands Army suddenly boiled over.

Seeing that the morale was usable, Luo Qi was overjoyed; while waving his hand to signal the cavalry behind him to charge forward, he pulled tight on his reins to slow down the speed of the horse beneath him.

In this way, he would not be the one charging at the very front.

Unfortunately, Arthur had already locked onto him.

"Luo Qi, do you still recognize me?" Arthur led his men to strike directly at the center of the army.

"Go, go, go, all of you, go for me." Amory paid him no mind, directing his own small soldiers to pile up around Arthur.

One thousand men; even just by crowding, they could crush him to death.

Under the stimulation of the Gold Dragons, the entire Western Lands cavalry was exceptionally fierce.

The charge of Arthur and his men was immediately delayed, and a continuous stream of enemies came to kill him.

The difference between a dozen people and over a thousand was soon reflected; the area around Arthur and his men was already completely covered by Western Lands men.

To the left were people, and to the right were also people; the human wall was so dense that the distant skyline could not be seen.

Half an hour passed.

Although the Western Lands soldiers could only last one round in Arthur's hands, after many such rounds, they had actually managed to pile up a mound of corpses around Arthur and the others.

Human corpses—some with heads, some without—and horse corpses, both gasping for air and dead, were all piled together, squeezing them.

Beside the Riverlands God of War, only Anguy, Vargo, and four others remained.

Anguy's hundred-plus arrows had all been shot; he was now holding a hand-and-a-half sword to defend against the enemy.

Vargo and the others were even standing directly on the pile of corpses to fight; their mounts had already been buried underneath.

Fortunately, Red Hare was tall enough to carry Arthur so he wouldn't be squeezed underneath the corpses.

"Arthur, where are you?" A shout came from outside.

It looked like Patrick, Ma Ke, and the others had crushed those five hundred men on the south side and returned to rescue them.

"Here," the stuttering leader Vargo, who had quick reactions, spoke up to respond.

"I see you; charge inside for me and carve out a path."

Luo Qi was directing the Western Lands cavalry to dismount and climb the corpse pile to fight Arthur when he suddenly noticed the Riverlands cavalry's second charge and hurriedly instructed his Personal Guard to block them.

"How about it, my lord, let's retreat."

"Exactly, there's another fresh force of three hundred men over there, plus this invincible Arthur; we won't get any good out of today."

But the Personal Guard cherished their lives and were unwilling to go to their deaths.

Amory glanced at Arthur, who was still killing one person per strike, and then looked far away toward Harrenhal.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat," he said somewhat powerlessly.

Although a great achievement was right before his eyes, his own life was still more important.

The place where he was better than the dead The Mountain was that he knew when he should run, he had to run.

Thus, the remaining Western Lands soldiers were gathered by the Messenger and then retreated rapidly toward the west.

Those who could survive until now had their self-preservation skills maxed out, so in a dozen breaths, several hundred men retreated cleanly.

Corpses, the wounded, and riderless horses were all ignored.

"F-finally drove them away," Vargo said with a bitter face. "My lord, I-I need a raise."

Arthur wiped the blood from his face and looked back at this goatee-wearing uncle.

This man was actually still alive.

Arthur's plan had been to use the battle to exhaust the key members of the Brave Companions and then have his own men take over the command of the Brave Companions.

It's just that I didn't expect Vargo to be so capable of surviving.

He is truly a veteran tested in the mercenary wars of Essos, a man who has seen many battles.

"Fine, I'll add it. Given how hard you've all worked these past few times, each member of the Brave Companions who came this time will be paid fifty Gold Dragons. Excluding the five already paid, the remaining forty-five each will be paid in full within these few days."

Thirteen core members of the Brave Companions participated in the battle this time, and now only two are still alive.

Vargo was overjoyed and chuckled incessantly.

Arthur shook his head at his callous attitude, feeling helpless, and then said to the Dornishmen:

"Your mercenary pay will also be increased to fifty Gold Dragons, just like theirs. You two shall lead the distribution of the wages for the twelve Dornishmen who died in battle earlier."

The only Dornishmen still alive were Anguy and a spearman named Da Qi.

"That won't be necessary; you killed The Mountain, and that favor is already great enough," Da Qi said.

Arthur waved his hand, "It is better to settle the Gold Dragons clearly. When the war ends, find a way to get them to their families."

The matter of the mercenary pay was thus settled.

Patrick directed the Cavalry of Seagard to dismount and move the corpses so that Red Hare could come out.

"Your performance this time was not as good as usual," Patrick said to Arthur.

Over seven hundred Western Lands Army cavalrymen escaped, and Arthur, Vargo, Anguy, and the others killed more than two hundred together.

"I was surrounded, there was nothing I could do," the Lord of Red Mill jumped onto the pile of corpses and climbed down first.

Perhaps he was hungry, or the smell of blood had become too much for him.

After paying the price of over four hundred men, the Riverlands cavalry routed the enemy force of more than five hundred.

The task of cleaning the battlefield was naturally left to the residents of Harrentown not far away.

Thousands of sets of cavalry gear could be obtained here, and Arthur couldn't bear to just leave them behind.

Although the equipment of the fallen Riverlands soldiers would be reclaimed by their lords' houses, the gear of the Western Lands Army had fallen into his hands.

Horses were in short supply, but the human armor could be equipped to infantry, and when a cavalry unit was formed later, the saddles and stirrups would also come in handy.

Six days later, Harrenhal, King's Pyre Tower, a certain room.

"At a time when this great war has begun and refugees are scattered everywhere, I think that you, as the actual controller of Harrenhal, really ought to make a profit."

The young girl from King's Landing, Hayley, stood before Arthur and stated her point of view.

"Twelve thousand people have already entered Harrenhal. We can collect some grain as tax from every refugee entering the castle for shelter, and then wait for them to finish the grain they brought themselves, and then use the collected grain to trade for the copper coins they have on them, until they are squeezed dry."

Arthur sat behind the massive desk and looked up at her.

"I just appointed you as the logistics Steward, and you're already quite savvy."

One day ago, the New Army of Red Mill, which had landed at the Ruby Ford of the Trident, arrived at Harrenhal, and along with them came Hayley, who had volunteered to come.

Because Arthur really couldn't find many capable people under his command, Hayley, who could calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within hundreds, had become a high-quality talent.

Thus, Arthur, who actually controlled Harrenhal, let her serve as the logistics Steward, responsible for managing supplies and logistics.

"What you say makes sense, but I will absolutely not do that," Arthur shook his head and rejected her proposal.

"Why?" Hayley was puzzled, "This could multiply your wealth several times over."

"Collecting taxes in exchange for the loss of people's hearts. Wealth gathers people, and wealth disperses people; this is an eternal truth."

Arthur would not be tempted by such petty gains.

"But under these circumstances, isn't it reasonable to collect taxes? In the Crownlands, even if commoners kill a chicken, they have to give the lord a fat chicken leg," Hayley insisted on her point of view.

She was determined to persuade Lord Arthur to let his wealth grow significantly.

This method of tax collection was very common, but not fixed.

Like Arthur's territory, Red Mill, there used to be no such temporary taxes; they only collected taxes in kind during the harvest season each year, as well as currency taxes from craft workshops every quarter.

The taxes in kind collected were mostly wheat, melons, fruits, and vegetables, which the original owner's father and the Steward Amber would take the family soldiers to collect in the nine villages every year.

And it was not a fixed amount of tax, but collected as one-tenth of that year's harvest.

Although clarifying the harvest of each farmer made the tax work much more complicated, it also reduced the burden on the farmers.

This was also one of the sources of the original owner's father's good reputation.

You must know that many counts and Viscounts in the Riverlands, in order to save trouble, would set a fixed amount of grain to be collected per plot of land, and only collect that amount every year.

As for the taxes from the craft workshops, they were collected through the ferry at Riverbank Village; the Village Chief Jiesi was responsible for registering the quantity and price of the handicrafts transported from the ferry in a ledger, and then summarizing it once every quarter, collecting once at one-tenth of the market price at which the goods were sold.

Arthur thought for a moment; he still had to make it clear to the young girl so that she wouldn't keep thinking about it.

"Do you know why the people of The North love to say 'The North Remembers'?" he asked Hayley.

"I don't know, maybe they have good memories," the young girl shook her head.

"No," Arthur held up his right index finger and shook it, "First, it is because of the extremely low tax rate in the North—one-thirtieth. Which commoner would not be grateful for the generosity of House Stark?"

Throughout Westeros, except for The North, it is basically one-tenth. Although it doesn't seem high, considering that winter can sometimes last for several years, plus some mandatory labor for the lords, the tax burden is still very heavy.

It barely allows the commoners to live decently during the long summer and have enough to eat in the winter.

And there are two reasons for the low tax rate in The North: the long winter and the sparse population.

The former requires that the Northern nobles cannot collect high taxes, otherwise the commoners would starve to death in winter, and sometimes it would incite civil unrest; the latter greatly increases the cost of tax collection.

Because the tax collectors and soldiers sent by various castles could eat up quite a bit of grain on the road.

Arthur held up the second finger of his right hand.

"Second, it is because of the generosity of House Stark toward their vassals. The Manderly family of White Harbor was originally from The Reach; after being defeated by their neighbors, they fled to The North, and then House Stark waved a hand, and a countship was given to their family. Although this had the intention of guarding against the Bolton family, the generosity of House Stark is evident."

The family name of the Manderly family evolved from the Mander River in The Reach.

"These two points—one satisfies the commoners, and one satisfies the nobles—how could House Stark not be supported by the people of The North?"

"Now is a time of panic; if I destroy the reputation I have built up for a little petty gain, wouldn't that be too short-sighted? Don't you think?"

Arthur explained the reasoning to her and then dismissed her.

Hayley performed a curtsy, "Thank you for your instruction."

Then she turned and left the room.

Immediately after, Dickon and Bill, who were training the New Army in the Hall of a Hundred Hearths, walked in.

Bill was one of the ninety-seven mercenaries Arthur had hired in King's Landing; he had been elected leader by his peers and was responsible for communicating with their employer.

When the New Army was delivered by the captains of the Red Fork, the ninety-seven mercenaries from King's Landing and the remaining sixty-four members of the Brave Companions had all been sent over as well.

On the lands of Red Mill, there were also one hundred and sixty-one mercenaries and thirty-four house soldiers from the Reach, as well as strong peasants selected during the ongoing screening process.

Eleven days ago, when Arthur led his men downstream from Riverrun, he had taken the opportunity to dismantle all the bridges on the Red Fork.

Coupled with the fact that the vast majority of large ships and small boats on the south bank had been brought to the north bank, it was impossible for Tywin's grand army to cross the river all at once.

Therefore, the north bank was relatively safe.

These men were enough to maintain order and repel small groups of enemy troops.

Most of the soldiers from Raventree Hall were also at Riverrun and had no time to cause trouble for Red Mill; of course, they likely wouldn't dare to oppose the God of War of the Riverlands now anyway.

"Lord Arthur, I have arrived." Dickon walked in and greeted him.

Bill, in his thirties, followed behind him, first quickly observing the room before nodding to their employer.

Arthur said, "I called you two here because I want you to have two military songs composed for the New Army."

"Military songs?" Dickon felt it was strange, "I've never learned how to do that."

"I'm not asking you two to compose them, but to oversee the matter. Among the refugees who have taken shelter in the castle, there are always a few who love to sing. Let them compose them, and after I review them, you will be responsible for having the New Army sing them a few times every day," Arthur explained.

Bill found these military songs curious and asked, "My lord, do you have any requirements?"

Arthur thought for a moment and said, "I'll provide the song titles, and they can compose them; a four-beat rhythm will do. The titles are: 'Arthur's Command Reaches Every Ear' and 'We Only Listen to General Arthur's Orders.' Once they are composed, let me review the lyrics."

The New Army was different from borrowed guest troops; this was the foundation for Arthur's future bid for the world, so he had to be attentive to every detail.

Using lyrics with such strong suggestive implications could subtly influence the psychology of the New Army soldiers.

To put it another way, it was to imprint their thoughts.

"Interesting." A hint of a smile appeared on Dickon's stern, long face, "This is the first time I've heard of such military songs."

Bill nodded in agreement, "Me too, but we will get this done."

Arthur waved his hand, signaling for the two to leave.

Next, he had to discuss how to hold Stone Hedge with Patrick, Ma Ke, Raymond, Vargo, Anguy, and the others.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly votes.

(End of chapter)