"The riches?" The man took a while and realised what the lord before him means. "In the usual peaceful good old days if the poor in the town cannot feed themselves, the riches from other places would take them as slaves or hard labours in exchange for food and shelter… But…"
"But?"
The man bit his teeth and continued. "But ever since the times of peace ended, the riches fearing that the Ottomans might come over and sack their wealth, thus most of them ran to the Venetian controlled islands, and those who chose to remain shut their doors to the increasing poverty outside, some even constructing walls, fences and hiring guards to yield and chase away the poor and famished."
"What about the government on this isle? The tax collectors from Constantinople and Edirne?"