The tax collector's gaze fell on a face that seemed familiar, but for a moment he couldn't recall who it was.
"I'm Empton, the head of the Andros Trading Company," the man introduced himself.
"Oh, it's you." The tax collector finally remembered. "Why aren't you flying your flag?"
Empton discreetly slipped a sapphire into the tax collector's hand and whispered, "You know, a lot of things are banned now, and I thought maybe I could find a market here... you know."
The tax collector's face darkened and he said sarcastically, "You don't know anything, do you? You're collecting those pagan objects from Andros Island at low prices and trying to sell them for a high price. That's completely wrong! Rome has ordered the prohibition of all pagan objects!"
Seeing this, Empton quickly added a crystal. The tax collector took the sapphire and the crystal, his tone softening slightly, "Since you seem to be unaware, we'll let this slide, but don't do it again. However, your cargo doesn't have anything related to Dionysus, does it?"
"No." Empton replied, "What about Dionysus?"
"It's not Dionysus, it's the Dionysus Linley. It's said that a foreigner killed Dionysus and took over the god's position." The tax collector explained, "He took over the position of the false god, so to speak. Be sure not to sell anything related to Bacchus, old or new, if you're caught, all your property will be confiscated and you'll be sentenced to death. The informant will receive half of your property as a reward."
"How could such a policy exist?" Empton was shocked.
"I should be asking you that. Didn't Dionysus go to Andros Island and kill the bishop there?" The tax collector said.
"We did have an uprising there because the Holiness wanted to confiscate all the slaves and turn them into believers. Of course, the nobles wouldn't agree, so they started an uprising, and some people flew the banner of Dionysus during the uprising." Empton explained.
"That's too much, how can you confiscate all the slaves? If they could be ransomed, that would be fine." The tax collector frowned.
Although he didn't have many slaves in his family, many of his relatives and friends were farm owners with many slaves. If the Holy Father decided to confiscate their slaves, the tax collector couldn't guarantee that his relatives and friends wouldn't rebel, even though they were all Romans.
"If they could be ransomed, there would be no trouble." Empton said, "You should be careful too, maybe the Holiness' people will confiscate slaves in Crete too."
"No, it's impossible." The tax collector said confidently, "What's the total amount of cargo you're bringing in this time?"
Empton handed over a list, which was filled with various miscellaneous goods. The tax rates for various goods ranged from two to five percent. Usually, a fleet would only transport one or a few types of bulk cargo, and this kind of miscellaneous cargo was rare.
"Why are there so many different types?" The tax collector looked at the list, feeling a headache coming on.
"I bought them all at low prices." Empton explained innocently.
In this era before computers or calculators, these complex calculations were done by hand, a process that could be quite tedious and time-consuming.
As the tax official reviewed the list, he found that the total value and taxes for all goods had been calculated. Despite accepting bribes, he decided to randomly pick out a few errors to increase tax revenue. He took a branch and repeatedly calculated on the ground, finally confirming the taxable amount of the first item, which was completely correct. He then tried to calculate another item, and the result was still correct.
At this time, Empton presented another diamond, and the tax official finally gave up trying to find errors. He collected the taxes according to the amount on the list and issued Empton a tax receipt. He also warned Empton again not to sell anything related to Dionysus, then left.
In fact, there was no statue of Dionysus here at all. Andros Island had only a simple temple of Dionysus, and there wasn't even a dedicated priest. As for the statue, Linley certainly wouldn't sell his own.
"Alright," Empton said to Linley.
"Is that all?" Linley asked.
"With the tax receipt, we can transport it to the market for sale," Empton showed the tax receipt.
Linley took the receipt, which was a piece of vellum, the paper itself being quite valuable. Was it necessary to invent real paper? It seemed there wasn't much demand on the island. China may have already invented paper, and Cai Lun's improved version may have also appeared, but it hadn't spread to other places yet. If there was an urgent need, Linley could invent paper later.
The vellum bore the tax official's signature and seal, which was needed to pass through checkpoints. Otherwise, the goods would be confiscated. If Empton hadn't helped, Linley would have come himself, not knowing the rules or how to bribe, and might have exposed his flaws, even leading to conflict.
A conflict on Andros Island might be manageable, but on Crete, the situation would be much more serious.
The devotees unloaded the goods from the ship and hired carriages to transport them to the market. They passed through several checkpoints along the way, each time needing to show their tax receipt, undergo inspection, and pay bribes to pass.
"This cost is too high," Linley sighed inwardly.
"There's no way around it, it's like this everywhere," Empton said.
Large empires are prone to decay from the root, due to the presence of too many corrupt officials. Especially in remote areas, far from the emperor's rule, local officials are prone to corruption, which is hard to avoid.
At this moment, a large convoy passed by, the carriages loaded with goods, and crosses inlaid on the frames. Soldiers stepped forward to inspect, and the owner produced a document with a cross on it.
"Tax exemption certificate?" The soldier was stunned when he saw the document, "What is this?"
"This is our Church's tax exemption certificate. All goods belonging to the Church are tax-exempt," the owner said proudly.
"I don't know, I haven't heard of it," the soldier replied.
"How dare you intercept the Church's goods! This is something for the Bishop!" The owner said angrily.
The soldier hesitated, and the owner slapped him, sending him tumbling to the ground. The other soldiers immediately drew their swords. However, the owner was fearless, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Help! The infidels are robbing the Bishop's goods!"
A decurion ran out and asked, "What happened?"
He saw the owner and asked, "Mr. Wonna, what are you doing here?"
"I'm transporting goods for the Bishop, and you dare intercept them. Are you trying to rebel?" Wonna questioned.