Chapter 25 Half Tax Collection Order (Part 2)

"Does it mean that we have to return the land to the temple? Do we have to allocate land to the entire 13th Legion and the Serapis Legion? But after killing so many Egyptian dignitaries, haven't their farms already been allocated to soldiers as resettlement sites?" Sabo carefully verified and answered cautiously.

Lepidus chuckled and said that Sabo was half right:

I am going to return half of the land to Thebes, and then the remaining quarter will be used as the public land of the Nome chief to provide supplies for the river transport guards and the tomb guards.

But the trick is in the returned half of the land. I will not return it completely to the temple, but it will become the property of the resettlement legion and the Medger Guard.

"Sorry, I don't know." Sabo Kemus said with some difficulty. He is the smartest among his subordinates. His reaction made Lepidus very proud.

So he explained his plan in detail. The flute player had actually approved another new decree, but I have not yet announced it to the temple. That is to give the titles of "farm treasurer" and "workshop treasurer" to the low-level officials of the Serapis Temple Fortress, as well as the river transport guards, the tomb guards, and the decapitation officers of the new Serapis Legion (now expanded to have ten battalions, 6,000 people).

Treasurer, when Sabo read out this strange new word awkwardly, he felt that it was full of the bad taste of the commander-in-chief in front of him, "Yes, the rationed land of the Thirteenth Legion is mainly concentrated near Alexandria. It used to be the manor of the rich and powerful, but now it is all owned by the Ptolemaic royal family. Every month, the officials of these manors will convert part of their income into money. It is called "Lepiduskin" to support us officers and soldiers from Rome. After all, we are still foreign garrisons. The soldiers only love money and are not very sensitive to the land fertilized by the mud of the Nile River. interest. The treasurer was a black Nubian Kusi officer who I recruited and reorganized after entering Egypt. They usually followed me in battle, but they also served as administrative functions. Every manor and workshop under the name of a noble or a temple had to be "managed" by a treasurer. Pharaoh has issued an order that the wheat, linen and oil produced by these manors and workshops must be sent to the treasurer first, and then paid to the capital or Thebes. "

"You mean, the treasurer has the right to take a commission in the middle?" Sabo seemed to understand something.

No, the most basic one is indeed a commission, but Sabo, think about it, over time, will these treasurers be satisfied with the commission? They will use this authority to send less and less income to the temples and the nobles in the capital, and more and more will be withheld by them. Then, guess what? In time. The temple will find it difficult to support a large group of priests without property, and the Macedonian dignitaries in the capital will also worry about the piles of slaves and extravagant expenses. All they can do is to do one thing.

"I guessed it, that is, to sell the property rights of the fields to these treasurers, and then in exchange for the remaining tax guarantee, their power will gradually decline, and the manors and workshops will slowly be completely swallowed up by the treasurers."

Li Bi Da pointed his finger, indicating that Sabo, you are very perceptive, "Above the treasurers, elect the Nome treasurer to replace the previous local governor. The Nome treasurer is directly appointed by the pharaoh and is responsible to the pharaoh. Generally, he is selected from the level of centurions and legion lieutenants."

"But I still have a question, that is, who is the treasurer loyal to?"

"What do you think, Sabo? I am the designer of this blueprint, and I am also the one who can suppress these black people." Li Bi Da said arrogantly.

"But the treasurer has power, what should we do if he starts a rebellion?"

Lepidar chuckled and said that it was very simple to prevent the treasurer from launching a rebellion within fifty years, that is, the treasurer is not hereditary, but can be appointed and dismissed. As long as I hold this power, everything will be fine. In addition, don't forget that my most elite troops are stationed in Alexandria."

"Not Pharaoh's?"

"Of course not, I will be exiled by the Republic soon. This time my money and people have nothing to do with the Republic. I wrote a letter to Caesar to talk it over. He said that I can keep the number of the 13th Legion because I paid off the 1,500 talents that the flute player owed him in advance. He was so happy that he couldn't wait. You don't know how important this money is to his connections in the political world. As for Sabo, we are in the gray area between Rome and Egypt, making a fortune and fighting. Soon, I will further expand the "Royal City Guards", of course, they will obey my orders. "

"Dear Commander, I don't have any other ideas about this plan. I just want to wake you up. This road is like the alleys in Rome. When you walk happily to the alley with a garland on your head, please be on guard against the attacks of drunk beggars who may appear at any time." Sabo's words did not sound like a joke.

Two market days later, the city of Thebes handed over everything. The priests cried bitterly in the temple. They fell from the clouds to the dust so quickly, but when they heard that Lepidus presented the Pharaoh's document and requested the return of half of the property, everyone celebrated again. Even when the cunning general added the item "Pharaoh appointed the treasurer" in the footnote of the contract document, 99% of the priests could not see the clear situation in front of them. The most important thing was the mountain of tributes piled up in front of the altar in the temple. Even if only half of it was left, it would be enough for them to splurge and enjoy, right?

"Ten years later, you will be even weaker." Lepidus smiled darkly in his heart. His half-tax order was also accepted by Thebes. With strong financial and human resources, the magnificent Serapis Temple with a huge dome and Greek Ionic columns was completed. Three hundred "holy servants" appointed by the pharaoh, who were not from the Theban faction at all, took a gorgeous boat and went south along the Nile River to take over the temple. Three thousand black "tomb guards" began to build barracks, walls, and warehouses around the temple, and collectively swore in front of the statue that they would be loyal to the god Serapis as they were to the god Amon, protect the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and monitor the city of Thebes (of course, this was tacitly understood and not publicly read in the oath). The "River Transport Guard" to the north of Thebes also sandwiched the Nile River, built two fortress camps, and had a light river fleet. In this way, the city of Thebes was completely sandwiched between the west and the north, and "could not move."

It is said that the deformed bull, which symbolized the evil spirit, was also found among the people and was killed and sacrificed in front of the altar of the god Serapis. The holy servants carefully examined the internal organs of the animal, and through the analysis of the liver and intestines, they publicly announced to the world, "General Lepidus, the regent, will surely win a great victory in his expedition to southern Cyrenaica!" (To be continued...)