mine as follows:
> Given that the top brass are Solars, they will tend
> to concentrate on
> collecting in the cities and towns, not quite
> understanding the
> distributed authority among the Heortlings*.
OK, but (a variant of Yesbuttism :-)):
the clans have to pay a tax to the tribe (in TR):
Lunars simply take the King of each tribe and say: how
much the clans of your tribe give you?
100 cows (Yelmic and Ontori divination helps them to
force Truth in the king)? Ok you give us 100 cows too.
And me, wails the kingling.
You ask double the tribute: 100 to Us and 100 to You.
What if the clans say no, asks pitiously the lickboot
king.
You smite them and in case you are in trouble doing so
ask Us for military support.
<Grin>
My point is that the Lunars don't bother, IMO, to send tax collectors everywhere. They use Orlanthi and force them to collect taxes for them. _When_ things become harsh (because the Tribal King lies to them or is cheated by the clan chieftains and the empire doesn't get its due) they effectively ignore the king and send a tax collector. If the tax collector is mistreated, even if the king is so weak not to ask Lunars for support, they send the army to avenge the collector (as in the Dundealos episode: who says that the tax collector was not _instructed to_ rape the Dundealos girl, just in order to provoke a strong reaction so that the Empire could crush the heortling?)
Ciao,
Gian
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