Corpus Juris Civilis

On a warm summer morning, Will sat in his office thinking. The growing number of migrants were having difficulty adjusting to Dwarfs and beastmen entering and exiting the city.

"They're stealing our jobs," some migrants shouted.

"There's stealing our women," another migrant yelled.

Will was sure the sweltering summer hear riled up people's anger.

Neither the dwarves nor beastmen lived in the city, mostly they came to eat or drink. The dwarves stayed along with the mountain range, and the beastmen lived on the other side of the mountain.

Yesterday Will saw a human and dwarf fighting.

The human shouted, "Hey you, yeah you, you stupid halfling go back home to your village we don't need your kind here. Those mining jobs should be ours!"

Even worse a Wolfwoman was harassed while going shopping.

The growing animosity between the races led Kurosawa to increase the military in the central market.

Kurosawa even petition Will to set the local tax rate and create a set of city laws.

Will laughed at the irony, him being asked to establish taxes and create laws. In the past, Will did his best to circumvent laws.

The Kingdom of Fermion allowed noble lords to levy several different taxes. But by far, the most common was a poll tax or tax based on family movable assets. The larger, the family the larger the tax. The kingdom's tax poll tax was 40%, only clergy and nobles were exempt. The kingdom's tax collectors came gave families four days to pay before they were sold into slavery.

Many nobles levied their own 40% poll tax, the maximum allowance under law. Which meant most commoners paid annual taxes of 80%.

Will detested regressive taxes, like the poll tax. But he also hated progressive taxes. Instead, Will created a proportional income tax, or flat tax on families, excluding clergy, earning more than five silvers, or 500 copper coins a year.

Wealthy families would pay more and poorer families may pay no taxes.

In truth, Will expected most of his barony's revenue to come from tariffs on his international trade route.

Next, Will put his success of circumventing laws to use, to invent airtight laws. In the end, Will drafted 327 laws for his city.

Of course, there were laws against robbery and theft. Yet, Will's two controversial laws were, "All racial groups had equal rights," and "demi-humans slavery was outlawed."

Will wrote an announcement that read, "the rights of his citizens cannot be abridged or denied in his fiefdom on account of race, color, or previous servitude. Also, slavery was illegal except as a punishment for a crime within his barony."

Will's 327 laws could easily be summed as "do not affect my barony's economy." In Will's barony coin was king. If you had a coin you were treated as an equal. The biggest criminal in Will's barony was a beggar. Loitering was strictly forbidden.

Will's [Body of Civil Law], also created a governing trade council. Will modeled the Trade Union after the World Trade Organization. But, only wealthy nobles and merchants could be elected to the council. The purpose of the council was to oversee the city's trade and increase its collective wealth.

Will wanted Gadreel to be governed as a Mercantile Republic. Will was the Chief Executive Officer, Kurosawa was his Chief Operating Officer and the elected wealthy representatives were the Trade Commissioners.

Will admired the Renaissance period on Earth. That's why he built a Renaissance mansion and embraced the Italian city-state republican ideals of trade-based nations.

As a Knight Academy graduate and an Army Major, Will understood the importance of military affairs. That's why he named his fiefdom after a military god. But he chooses a god more focused on defending, than invading.

Will's purpose for creating the Trade Commission was twofold. First, it encouraged landless wealthy nobles to move to their fiefdom and bring large bank accounts with them. Second, this Trade Commission would increase his barony's wealth, thereby increasing his wealth.

Will ordered Kurosawa to build a massive ornately decorated pagoda that would serve as the Trade Commission headquarters. Will named the building the [House of Medici] in honor of one of his heroes Cosimo de Medici.

Cosimo de Medici headed the wealthiest dynasty in Europe without belonging to a royal family.

The Medici were bankers to Europe. The family organized in Tuscany, but rose to power in Florence. The family rose from rags to riches, becoming influential enough to control the steer election of Catholic Popes in the 16 Century.

What Will admired most about the Medici's were their wealth and influence. Will also admired that the Medici's pioneered the double-entry bookkeeping methods, which Will used.

It was rumored, that a person could deposit money in Florence and withdraw it in Berlin. Medici, we're not just wealthy, but innovative. And that innovation allowed them to dominate their competition.

There were other banks in the 15th to 17th Centuries, but they lacked the innovation the Medici had. According to history, the Medici funded the invention of the piano, opera, countless churches, and painters.

Will wanted to desperately bring this backward medieval era into a Renaissance.

That's why Will wrote 327 laws, many of the humanists. That's why Will wanted to build his barony in this isolated valley. Will could have made every building, but it would render the workers use. Such jobs were fundamental in propelling his territory. It would be detrimental to his barony in the long run if he built everything.

After sending Kurosawa the laws and governance structure, Will began preparing for his Home Debut Ball tomorrow and meeting with the Albanian Emissary the day after.

"Sir, here are Lord vont Ballard's laws. There are 327 of them," the steward said impressed.

"Master vont Ballard is impressive as always!" Kurosawa said.

"Sir, I reviewed the laws earlier…and" the steward hesitated.

"What, saw it already!" Kurosawa commanded.

"Sir, some of the laws are quite progressive," the steward said dismayed.

"Quickly hand these to me, let me see!" Kurosawa said anxiously.

"Ha-ha, go ahead and publish these. Give these to the scribes. I want every civil clerk to have a copy. Tell the heralds to announce the rules this evening.

In the evening when the new laws were announced, people gathered around the herald excited to hear their new lord's laws.

Some lords would announce harsh taxes or harsh laws governing commoners.

It was late in the evening when the heralds announced Will's tax and legal policies.

While the demi-humans, the enslaved, and commoners were pleased with the laws, the nobles and wealth shop owners were upset. Many nobles found the idea that non-humans had the same rights as them insulting. Moreover, the nobles found it bizarre that it was illegal to discriminate against former slaves.

Some nobles found his barony too progressive and agreed to leave after the Home Debut Ball, but Elizabeth and the churches relished the idea.

Yet, the same nobles that complained about his progressive laws, appreciated Will's low tax rate and progressive flat tax idea.

The real excitement came when wealthy nobles and merchants heard of Will's Trade Commission, many choose to ignore his controversial equality laws.

Will's laws soon spread across Fermion? In Fermion, most wealthy nonnoble merchants, and landless nobles had little power, despite their wealth. Since Fermion governance was the feudal system, which favored nobles owning large estates. Will knew this group was an overlooked minority. If Will could convince this group to move to Gadreel, then he could tap into their large wealth reserves.