That year, Thomlison was twenty-seven years old when Imperial Tax was levied upon him. His life had just started to improve, having formed a family with his wife, with a three-year-old son and a newborn daughter. He was working hard, with a chance for promotion in sight. But the Imperial Tax was supreme, and he had no choice but to comply.
He could only console himself: having paid the Imperial Tax, his family could be partially exempt from subsequent taxes; they would also receive a subsidy.
The fourth scene depicted him lying in a battlefield hospital.
