After all the twenty huge candlesticks inside were lit, Du Wei casually asked the old housekeeper a few questions about the accounts.

He didn't just ask random questions, every question got to the point! These are enough to prove that this young master seems to be serious! He really read those boring accounts!

This...is this what the news came back saying about the eldest young master who was considered an "idiot" within the family in the imperial capital?

Although he tried his best to conceal it, Du Wei still caught the surprised expression of the old housekeeper. Du Wei still said something, but when the old housekeeper walked out of the room again, he slowly closed the book in his hand that had been turned to the last page.

accounts.

Actually...these accounts are really interesting!

Du Wei spent an entire evening and did not really look at the boring figures, nor did he bother to check whether the accounts had been falsified. After all, he was not a genius. The authenticity of the accounts was very important to him.

If you don’t know anything about the industry, it’s impossible to tell.

I'm afraid no one will know that Du Wei is reading in a different way that others can't guess!

Who says that a ledger must only be used for accounting?

At least, Du Wei learned a lot from these things! And these things are not recorded in those history books and files recording family history!

Judging from the names and contents of the various items in these accounts, Du Wei will immediately have a full understanding of the Luo Lin family's control over the territory.

In the territory, the Luo Lin family is almost a system of its own, and even has considerable autonomy. The fiscal and taxation powers here belong to the family, and even the appointment of local officials is basically the family's final decision.

Although the tax rate is levied in accordance with the laws of the empire, the family can modify, reduce or increase it under some special names.

As long as a certain proportion of the tax collected is submitted to the central finance of the empire every year.

There is also military power. Basically, judging from the details of military purposes in these accounts, the empire officially has very few troops stationed here, and only symbolically stationed two small local second lines on the periphery of the territory.

Reserve Infantry Regiment. And it is worth noting that the supplies and baggage of these two reserve infantry regiments are provided by the Luo Lin family every year! The imperial military does not care!

In most places in the territory, local security and order are maintained by the family's private army in the territory.

Almost through these accounts, Du Wei easily grasped the current status of the entire Luo Lin family in economic, political, military and other fields!

Perhaps, if the old housekeeper knew that he actually "read" the account books like this, his eyes would pop out!

Judging from these accounts, Du Wei has confirmed at least two points: First, in terms of the right to tax, the family has complete control over this place! And in terms of military, this is even more true!

Du Wei, who came from another world, had an important common sense among the knowledge he had learned in that world: for a country to reflect its territorial sovereignty, two very important points are: taxation and garrisoning!

And now, these two points are almost controlled by the Luo Lin family! What does this mean?

This means that the central power of the empire has almost lost the territory of the Luo Lin family: half of the territory of the province of Cote. Here, the central power of the empire has lost its sovereign control over this place! It is almost an independent small kingdom.

Already.

Du Wei leaned on the sofa and pondered. He was a little surprised by this situation! Because when the central power of a country gradually loses its authority, it is often a sign that the prelude to turmoil is about to begin.

Du Wei sat for a while. The room was very quiet, except for the occasional beeping and popping sounds of candles' sparks exploding.

At this moment, Du Wei suddenly stood up, turned around and looked at the wall behind him!

On the wall are huge floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, filled with densely packed books, which seem to be nothing out of the ordinary.

But Du Wei felt a little strange in his heart... Well, what he felt at that moment seemed right!

Because his mental power is much stronger than that of ordinary people, Du Wei is also more sensitive to the movements around him than ordinary people. Just now, he suddenly felt like he was being peeped at!

As if right behind him, a gaze came from an unknown secret corner, watching him quietly!

There was nothing unusual on the bookshelf, and Du Wei looked up again.

Above the bookshelf, hanging on the wall is a row of portraits.

These oil painting-style portraits are arranged in a row, ranging from distant to recent. These are portraits of the successive heads of the Luo Lin family!

The one that is placed first on the left, the one that looks the oldest, the one with the longest history, and the characters are painted with a sense of distortion, is a middle-aged man wearing an imperial military uniform. On the canvas

The man in question was the Imperial Marshal back then! He was also an ancestor of the Luolin family who won the war and made great contributions to the empire, and at the same time won the Luolin Plain from the emperor!

This man looked very energetic, with a cold and tough look between his brows that was very similar to that of Du Wei's father, Count Raymond! And those eyes seemed to be staring at Du Wei!

Du Wei's heart moved. He tried to take a few steps back, then took two steps left and right, while staring at the oil painting. Then he smiled, sighed softly, and whispered: "Oh, maybe

I'm too sensitive...it's just an oil painting."

He turned around and picked up another account...

Just behind him, the eyes of the marshal's portrait on the wall suddenly blinked!

That's right, the character in the oil painting suddenly came alive. His eyes staring at Du Wei's back suddenly blinked!

The eyes of the characters in the painting, which were supposed to be stiff, suddenly became alive as if they were injected with life! The eyes fell on Du Wei, and there seemed to be a trace of curiosity in his eyes...

And at this moment, Du Wei, who was holding the account and seemed to be reading, suddenly turned around without warning and stared at the oil painting on the wall!

One person, one painting, the eyes of both parties suddenly crossed and collided!!

"No need to pretend. I know you are looking at me." Du Wei slowly raised his hand, holding a silver spoon in his hand, which was used when eating pumpkin pie here. It was made of silver.

The spoon is as bright as a mirror!

"You are looking at me, and I was using this thing to look at you just now." Du Wei was smiling, staring at the mural on the wall: "You don't have to pretend anymore... But, don't you know that peeking at others from behind, like this,

Is this a very rude move?"
Chapter completed!