"Sara Douglass - Redemption 1 - Sinner" - читать интересную книгу автора (Douglass Sara)

Jannymire Goldman, the Master of the Guilds, dropped his gaze to his thick-
fingered hands folded politely before him. He'd advised Askam not to take out
such a massive loan with the Emperor, but Askam had needed the money badly,
and the Emperor had been willing to lend.
Now he wanted it back.
And what if Askam could not pay (and Goldman knew Askam could not pay)?
What then? What might the Emperor demand as recompense? Goldman
shuddered to think. The Coroleans would not invade, never that, but they
certainly might lay claim to some lands or, gods forbid, to Carlon itself.
Would that make StarSon Caelum finally take a more personal hand in the
West's affairs? Caelum, although concerned about Askam's increasing debt, had
thus far preferred to see if Askam could not solve his problems himself, but
Goldman knew that Caelum would never stand by and allow the Coroleans to
assume control of even the most barren of fields in Tencendor.
"Well, there's nothing for it," Askam said in a milder tone of voice, "but to
pay the damned man."
Goldman raised his eyes in surprise, as did the other three advisers. Pay?
How?
Askam took a very deep breath and sat back in his chair, staring at the four
men ranged before his desk. All the gods in the universe knew he hated to do
this but… not only would it solve most of his financial problems, it would also
stop the flow of his people north.
And, perhaps, wipe the smirk off Zared's face.
"Gentlemen," Askam said softly, "I have no option. From fifth-day next week
the taxes on goods moving up and down the Nordra, as goods moving along all
inland roads in the West, will be raised to a third of the total value of the goods
so moved."
Goldman could not believe he'd heard right. A third? A third tax on all goods
moved would cripple most merchants and traders, but it would destroy any
peasant bringing a meagre bag of grain to the market. And what of the man who
thought to take a basket of eggs to his widowed mother in the next village?
Would that also be taxed a third?
He opened his mouth to object, but Askam forestalled him.
"Gentlemen, I know this is an onerous burden for all western Tencendorians
to bear, but it should last only a year, perhaps two."
A year or two would be enough to drive most to starvation, Goldman
thought, on top of the taxes they already had to pay.
"And," Askam continued, "think of the rewards we will reap from those…" he
hesitated slightly, "… others who move their goods through our territory. For
years they have taken advantage of our roads and riverboats to move their
goods to market, whether here in Carlon or further south to Coroleas. It is high
time they paid for the maintenance of the roads and boats they use."
And by "others" Goldman and his three companions knew precisely whom
Askam meant. Zared. Zared, who moved the wealth of his grain and gems and
furs along the Nordra down to the markets that made him - and his people -
prosperous.
"Sir Prince," Goldman said, "this is indeed a weighty tax. If I might advise
against it, I -"
"I have made up my mind, Goldman," Askam said. "I called you here, as the
Chamberlain Roscic and Barons Jessup and Berin, not to ask you for advice, but