Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India c8.72

c8.72

The above taxes were of course legal but in order to fill his treasury the king often forcibly exacted taxes by illegal means. Often he appointed his own spy in the garb of a merchant as a partner of some merchant. After amassing fortune that spy spread the rumour that he was looted and thus managed to carry all the accumulated profit to the king. At times the spy declared himself as a rich merchant, received gold, silver and precious goods from others, then under some pretence decamped with the goods.⁴⁰ The king made his spies in the garb of merchants to do many dirty works. Before marching his army, he despatched them to the camp. There they managed to sell the king's goods amounting to the double of what was required and promised to realise the price later on and in this way the king was able to dispose of his own accumulated goods.