Chapter 150 In the Lounge
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I am Rai El Yugan, Emperor of the Freehold City Yugan Alliance, the symbol of our nation itself.
This morning had already been a trial. My Minister of Internal Affairs, Wyndham, had pressed me insistently to approve yet another tax increase, and it had become an exhausting back-and-forth. So, to spare myself further headache, I ordered a servant to summon Sanai—the youth said to have come from another world. He hurried into my presence without delay, and now, before me and Wyndham both, he was engaged in a duel of tongues with the minister.
Truly, a most useful man. Reliable, even.
”By the way,” Sanai asked in his polite, measured tone, “under what pretext is this tax to be collected, Your Excellency? Forgive me if I overstep, but might even a lowly official like myself be permitted to hear?”
Wyndham sniffed, his voice oozing disdain. “Hmph. I do not approve of a servant like you intruding upon our discussion… but since His Majesty has allowed it, I will make an exception. Consider yourself fortunate.” His arrogance filled the room as he revealed his idea.
”A tax on bachelors. There are too many unmarried adults since the end of the imperial era.”
Indeed, there was some sense in what Wyndham said. My late father, Emperor Yuri, had partitioned lands among the great lords, which meant we no longer needed to maintain vast borders. Funds once tied up in defense could now be turned to economic reforms. The result: tariffs and levies had been reduced, the long-stalled economy began to move again, markets revived, and young couples could just barely afford to raise children.
But the truth remained bitter. The nation’s economy was still sluggish. And so—even with new children born—poverty meant many infants were abandoned. In Yugan, it was common enough to find newborns left in street gutters until they decayed into bones, or abandoned on the outskirts to be devoured by beasts like Gynsar. Such tragedies were almost ordinary.
”Bachelors’ tax…?” Sanai’s face tightened at Wyndham’s words.
”What is that look?!” Wyndham snapped, ever the irritable sort. “If you have objections, then say them!”
Sanai bowed slightly, then spoke calmly. “With the utmost respect, Your Excellency… any tax, if applied poorly, reduces revenue rather than increases it. In this case, a tax on bachelors may well achieve the opposite effect.”
He continued, “The reason so many remain unmarried is simple: they cannot afford it. You know that I come from another world. There too, many nations attempted a bachelors’ tax. Ancient Rome. The Ottoman Empire. England. Even the state of Missouri in the United States, South Africa, Italy, Poland, the Soviet Union, Romania—the list is long.”
Sanai’s voice was steady, his gaze unwavering. “Yes, in some cases there were small gains. But in most, economies worsened. In Romania, such a tax even became one spark for revolution, collapsing the regime and leading to the ruler’s death.”
He drew a breath. “Taxes of this punitive nature breed strife between the married and unmarried. And, as an old saying from the Chinese Empire goes, ‘where there is policy, there will be countermeasures.’ People will resort to sham marriages. The policy will collapse under its own contradictions.”
He pressed further, noting that such revenue would be squandered on noble luxury rather than investment, dooming the state to decline.
Wyndham’s pride bristled. “Tch… just because other countries failed does not mean mighty Yugan will!”
But Sanai’s quiet reply cut deep. “I do not claim to know every detail of Yugan’s internal affairs. Yet I have lived here long enough to feel it in my bones: Yugan is not strong enough to escape the fate of those nations. I am certain of it.”
Even Wyndham could not deny the truth. His face flushed red with rage, but words failed him. Still, he refused to yield. “Then we will simply take from others instead!”
”No, my lord. Such measures will lead families to abandon their elders and children to reduce mouths to feed. Abandoned, these souls will be swallowed by crime, and law and order will collapse further.”
”Then a tax on livestock!” Wyndham barked.
”It cannot be done. People would slaughter their animals to avoid it and starve come winter.”
”Then a tax on buildings!”
”That too will fail. They will demolish not just homes but productive facilities. Before long, you’ll be taxing shacks in desperation.”
”Damnation! Then a tax on trees!”
”It would only drive people to cut down forests indiscriminately for firewood. Timber costs would soar, housing prices would follow, and loggers themselves would revolt. Worse, soil and water balances would collapse. Crops would wither. Landslides could sweep entire villages away.”
Each of Wyndham’s schemes fell to Sanai’s careful logic, until the minister at last exploded. “Enough! This is impossible! You shoot down everything—then tell me, what is your solution? Surely you have one, or else shut your mouth!!”
Sanai paused, almost as if waiting for this outburst. Then, with a serious face, he said, “In that case… let us tax the dead.”
Both Wyndham and I blinked, sure we had misheard. “The… dead?”
”Forgive me, my phrasing was poor. Allow me to explain simply.”
Sanai’s true proposal was this: restore the ancestral rites of my imperial line. By demanding offerings of flowers and drink for the ceremonies, the state could manipulate supply and raise prices. Markets could be steered without direct levies, reducing public resentment.
It was a roundabout plan, and Wyndham’s face twisted in distaste. But even he had to admit it would avoid backlash.
”I see,” I mused. “If demand for flowers rises, so too will their price. That much is clear even to me.”
Sanai nodded. “Yes. Florists and girls selling blossoms will profit. And the people of Yugan, notorious for their love of drink, will reveal their black-market dealers at once if we track illicit buyers. Easier than chasing smugglers directly. More efficient, too, since we need not tally the tax ourselves—we simply force the brokers to calculate and remit it in one sum.”
”Bah! And how will you stop them falsifying sales records?” Wyndham sneered.
”By squeezing them. Criminals who cheat will know what fate awaits. Besides…” Sanai’s eyes gleamed as he added, “Lord Wyndham, if anyone is skilled at inventing excuses to push demands through, it is you. Is it not?”
”You insolent—! Watch your tongue, upstart!” Wyndham snarled, barely restrained fury boiling over.
I cut in sharply. “Enough! Both of you. Wyndham, hold your temper. Sanai, do not provoke. Your brilliance is marred when you bait others.”
They bowed, chastened. “Forgive me, Your Majesty,” Wyndham muttered. “I apologize for the unseemly display,” Sanai added.
Seeing the matter settled for now, I declared, “Then it is decided. This tax increase is not urgent. We shall adopt Sanai’s counsel. Draft a proposal with him and submit it. That will suffice, Wyndham.”
And with that, the two men withdrew.
”Good grief… one problem solved, at least,” I sighed, my weary voice echoing through the lounge after a morning of endless strain.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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