Two days later, the army arrived with convoys of cargo trucks to pick up the tax payment.
With their expected efficiency, they spread through the Baronies, collecting the King's share. That would be roughly one tenth of the harvest, by standard convention. Minus any deductions that they had made, and allowances they were given.
Neither of those applied in great quantities this year, as they were looking for a market for their crops, so they could save the best in storage.
The soldiers laughed with the Barons as they picked up the shipment.
Normally, what was given was the wilted and withered leftovers of last year's crop, destined for the compost heap if not for the tax collectors accepting them. So, even the off quality produce from Wistover, the things that weren't quite the right colour or shape, were still a vast improvement on what the soldiers got used to eating during the war.
