The Grand Duelist

Chapter 144: Start of an Epic Journey[5]

Joseph made his research and used the great famines of history as the basis for the answer that he would give to the author of this document.

However, Joseph soon found himself stuck.

But why was he stuck?

It was because he needed more information.

Joseph shook his head and wrote using a modern pen that he bought from the Cash Shop.

He tried on using the quill pen that sat beside the documents on the desk, but it felt too off for him so, he opted on buying several pens from the Cash Shop and used that as the method of writing his response instead.

After writing his response, he stood up to the door, and there he found a maid near the doors. 

He handed the letter over to the maid and said.

"Give this letter to the recipient. Tell him that if he wants to come here, then he must not let anyone know that he's going to visit me."

Joseph gave a stern warning to the maid and the maid obediently complied, albeit somewhat in a panic.

After staring at the maid's back until she disappeared at the next corner.

Joseph returned to his seat and heaved a sigh of relief. The darkness of the room that he was in didn't scare him at the least... Instead, it gave him a queer sense of excitement due to the fact that he was now too afraid to be in the presence of someone else.

After all, his trusted aide and even his wife betrayed him.

With those harsh lessons, how could Joseph still trust anyone in this world? 

Joseph lifted a bitter smile and he proceeded on taking a look at the other documents since he had nothing to do until the recipient of that letter came to visit him.

Several dozens of minutes passed by and a knock finally echoed behind the doors. 

"Come in..."

Joseph spoke up and the doors creaked open, revealing the figure of a man who really looked like a generic nobleman of a certain era.

"Your Majesty... I came here upon your request." 

The man kneeled down.

"Stand up. We have something to talk about." Joseph replied.

"Yes..." The nobleman stood up, but he didn't dare to stare directly at Joseph. After all, in every Kingdom. There was a well-known adage that common men should never stare directly at the King lest they lose their eyes and lives.

Joseph stared at the middle-aged man and observed him with his eyes.

He seems to be a good man, but the system notification said that there's no one that I can trust in this Kingdom. I should probably not trust him as well...

Joseph concluded before he spoke.

"How did you predict that the's an upcoming famine? I really am curious, are you an Astrologer, perhaps?"

"An Astrologer?" The middle-aged man frowned, "How could I be one of those superstitious people? I am sorry for the harsh words, Your Majesty, but I think that those men are just a waste of our taxes! They aren't really doing anything and they are only working whenever Your Majesty makes an inquiry regarding the progress of their works!"

"All right, let's set that matter aside. I want you to tell me about the current situation of the Kingdom when it comes to the production of crops and what kind of an agricultural production system is in place." Joseph revealed a light smile and started observing the man.

[Information about the person has been made available.]

[Name: Robert Hughes

[Minister of the Kingdom's Agriculture. He's distressed and anxious about the future of the Kingdom's Agriculture. He's a man that puts the interest of the Kingdom more than his own. He's someone that you can trust.]

Really, system? Someone that I can trust? Are you sure about that? 

Joseph revealed a bitter smile. He did expect that the King's Trial was difficult, but he didn't expect that it would be this difficult to the extent that maybe everything in this world wanted to kill him.

Right now, with the trauma that Joseph experienced regarding the betrayal of his wife and his trusted aide. Joseph didn't plan on trusting anybody in this world. Everything that must be done, even if he borrowed a knife to kill, must be done by himself and without relying on others. 

Robert gulped a mouthful of saliva when he felt Joseph's gaze land onto him.

He didn't even expect that the so-called most foolish King of the Epoch was actually a man that could emanate such a gaze. His eyes felt incredibly profound and deep, it was as if staring at the abyss itself. 

Robert calmed himself down and straightened his back.

After seeing that His Majesty was waiting for his reply.

He cleared his throat and started talking about the Kingdom's reliance on a single staple crop.

Several years ago, the situation wasn't like this, the commoners and the middle-class citizens had a lot of variety when it came to their meals.

The main diet was still based on butter, milk, and grain products.

However, as the years went on...

Everyone became dependent on the staple crop, Tuber.

Furthermore, a disproportionate portion of the production of this staple crop only relied on a single variety which became the reason why a certain pestilence surfaced and easily managed to wreak havoc on this single staple crop.

Robert predicted that if the upcoming second wave of pestilence wasn't stopped, a full-on famine would begin causing the mass emigration of people away from the Kingdom which would result in a lowered number of people in the workforce.

Such an event would ultimately lead to the collapse of the Kingdom itself.

"Collapse of the kingdom? That idea of yours seems to be quite on the negative side, isn't it?"

Joseph asked with a raised eyebrow.

Robert almost staggered backward from the intimidation, but he managed to hold fast on his wits as he replied, "Yes, that is indeed the case, Your Majesty. But to tell you the truth, this estimation of mine is actually a conservative estimation. If I were to examine the future based on the variables we have right now..."

"I think at least 70% of the Kingdom's population will die if nothing is done to prepare against the upcoming famine..."

Robert squeezed these words out of his throat as he stared seriously at His Majesty like he was giving the King a stern warning.

"Mhmm..." Joseph thought for a moment, "Take a seat, I'll draft you a plan for a while. I trust that you follow this plan religiously because if you will, we will definitely survive against the so-called second wave of the pestilence that you said to me."

Joseph started scribbling down some words while occasionally glancing up towards the ceiling.

Robert bowed his head and didn't speak when he saw how serious His Majesty was while writing.

But he couldn't find the urge to also glance at the ceiling when he saw that Joseph was occasionally glancing at the ceiling as if there were answers to the burning questions that he had in his mind plastered on the ceiling.

After several dozens of minutes of waiting.

Robert's back was already drenched with his sweat.

Being in the presence of the so-called the most foolish King of the Epoch should be laidback and relaxed for him, but after being under the gaze of His Majesty which made him feel like he was naked and had no secrets in front of the King...

Robert didn't know how he should feel towards His Majesty.

Should he disdain him due to his foolishness that pushed his Kingdom into the brink of destruction?

Or should he...

Robert shook his head.

Nevermind... I'll just do what I must do. Obey the King and do his orders.

That is my duty as a loyal citizen of the Kingdom.

"Robert... I'm done, take this and tell me what you think about it."

Joseph casually handed over a scroll.

Robert received the scroll while kneeling and when he opened it and skimmed through its contents.

His figure trembled and his eyes widened in shock.

"C-Crop rotation... Why did I not think about this earlier in my career..."

"But will this method really work, Your Majesty?"

Joseph nodded his head, "Yeah, that will work. But if you want me to explain even further. Let's just say that dependency on a single staple crop without any variety is bad since specialized pests that like that particular crop tend to accumulate over time..."

"But if we grow other crops other than the Tuber and isn't closely related to it..."

"Those pests will definitely starve and die," Joseph revealed a light smile on his face.

His eyes radiated the light of wisdom, yet his finger stealthily dismissed the several windows of Wikipedia opened right around his peripheral vision.

Robert had an enlightened look of excitement and joy on his face, but then he quickly turned somber when he realized that there was something more to the problem than what meets the eye.

He kneeled to the ground and said in a pleading voice, "Your Majesty... To tell you the truth, this plan of yours is incredibly brilliant to the point that it made me doubt my own capabilities..."

"I couldn't help but ask myself as to why I didn't discover such a method early-on?!"

"I could've prevented the first wave of the pestilence using this method!"

"Unfortunately, Your Majesty... There's no cure for regrets in this world and time cannot be turned back. This draft that you gave me, Your Majesty, is indeed brilliant but without sufficient funds, there is no way that I can implement this plan in time!"

Joseph turned to look at Robert and frowned.

Is this Kingdom really that poor that it can't afford to buy some seeds to plant, what the fuck? Just where the hell did our funds go? Into the casino or something?

Joseph couldn't help but sigh.

Staring at Robert who was still earnestly pleading, he said...

"Stand up... You do not have to worry about the funds, I also have some plans for that... You go now and do your work, request for the funds that you need from the Minister of Finance!" 

Robert stood up, straightened his back, and promptly replied, "By your will, Your Majesty!"

He then turned around and left as excited as a kid that had just received his favorite toy as a gift.

After summoning the Minister of Agriculture.

Joseph summoned the Minister of Finance.

This time, what came to his office was an elderly man who looked to be in his sixties. When the man went inside the room and saw that Joseph was staring at him. He almost immediately kneeled down and said, "Your subject, Daniel Smith is here, Your Majesty!"

Joseph slightly nodded his head, his right hand was currently writing something on a piece of paper, while his eyes sometimes darted towards the ceiling. 

Sensing the awkward silence within the room...

Joseph chose to find a topic to talk on and asked the Minister of Finance, "Can you tell me about your plans on increasing the funds of the Kingdom for the long-term and the short-term?"

"I really am interested as to how the Minister of Finance works regarding the securing of the Kingdom's funds."

The elderly man gulped a mouthful of saliva.

Despite the fact that the King in front of him was the so-called the most foolish King of the Epoch.

He was still a King, and a King must never be disrespected...

Just his title alone served as enough motivation for him not to mock the King, but that didn't mean that it invalidated his anger towards the King.

Yes... 

He was angry at the King.

But why?

It was because instead of redirecting the funds of the Kingdom towards the well-being of the citizens.

This foolish King actually wanted to use that money to fund the Kingdom's battle against the other Kingdoms!

It was really such a bad move considering that the citizens of the Kingdom weren't even loyal to the King anymore in the first place.

They needed to be placated, yet the King did such a move...

He really did think that the King was definitely the true definition of a foolish and retarded King back then.

Even now, he still thought of that as the truth.

Holding back his anger and dissatisfaction towards the King...

He chose to answer the King's question as honestly as possible.

"With Your Majesty's recommendation several months ago, I planned on gathering our plans for the short-term and long-term by increasing the amount of taxes that the cities of the Kingdom needed to pay annually..."

"Through this method, we can get the funds that we needed without spending any capital."

The Minister of Finance replied.

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and inwardly facepalmed.

So, that is the reason why practically everyone in this place wants me dead. It turns out that the original owner of this body that I am using right now is actually retarded.

Increasing taxes may indeed give the Kingdom a lot of funds, but that is incredibly bad for the long-term and even for the short-term for it decreases the morale and faith of everyone to the Kingdom!

Joseph heaved a deep sigh, he rolled the scroll on his hands and handed it over to the Minister of Finance who received it while kneeling.

"Read it and tell me what you think."

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

The Minister of Finance opened the scroll and started reading it while Joseph closely observed him.

[Information about the person has been made available.]

[Name: Daniel Smith

The Minister of Finance for the Kingdom. He's not a man that's as loyal to the Kingdom as others due to the fact that he is dissatisfied with the current King. However, he values knowledge the most and if you displayed knowledge worthy enough for his admiration then he can be the most loyal man in the world to you.]

Interesting... So, he's quite a hot potato. By hot potato, I mean as long as someone is smarter than him he will definitely follow that person all for the sake of quenching his thirst for knowledge?

In that case, I can easily have him in my grasp... After all, apart from me who has Mister Google as my backer, who else could be more knowledgeable than me here?

A light smile escaped Joseph's lips and at this moment, the Minister of Finance was finally done reading.

"Wha... What is this... Treasury Bonds? Just what does that mean, Your Majesty? It's the first time that I heard of such a combination of words... I'm flabbergasted and speechless..."

The elderly man wore a look of excitement on his face as if he was a child that discovered a new and more interesting toy.

"Treasury Bonds is a debt security instrument that we can use to gather our funds. For now, offer those Bonds to the nobles according to my instructions and as for the commoners of the middle-class and lower. Offer them that Retail Treasury Bonds described just below the Treasury Bonds..."

"Remember that the maturity date of both instruments is ten years later, interest payments are paid semi-annually, and the interest is 4.37% subject to 15% withholding tax that I'm sure that you already know about since it's described at the beginning of the document..."

"As for the redemption price, it will be at least at par with how much they paid for the Bonds since it is guaranteed by me..." Joseph promptly explained and the look of excitement on the Minister of Finance's face deepened.

However, a frown suddenly appeared on his face when he realized something.

"Your Majesty! This proposal of yours is indeed magnificent and brilliant, but we all know that you are at odds against those nobles, wouldn't it be incredibly hard for us to convince them to join despite these interest rates?" 

Joseph nodded his head and smiled.

It seems like this Minister of Finance isn't completely a fool after all...

Joseph repeatedly tapped on his desk, seemingly in deep thought before he replied, "Yeah, what you said made sense. I will definitely not be able to encourage them to buy those bonds. However, what if you told them this?"

Joseph decided to lay down his trump cards at once for the short-term benefit as he said, "What if you told them that they will earn 1.5% of their total investment in returns daily for the entire tenure of their investment?"

"What?!" The Minister of Finance uttered in shock, "1.5% daily returns? How can something like that be sustainable, Your Majesty? Please reconsider!" The Minister of Finance who was about to look at the King in a new light for devising such a brilliant plan was disappointed once again.

1.5% daily returns? How can that be sustainable? Was he mad?!

The Minister of Finance inwardly panicked.

Joseph turned to look at the Minister of Finance and smiled, "Yes... Something like that is indeed not sustainable, but what if I told you that it doesn't have to be sustainable?"

The Minister of Finance's pupils constricted, "Does that mean that...?"

"Yes... Since those nobles are actively trying to push me down..."

"Then, I will push them down too with my methods..."

"Tell them everything that I have told you regarding that document. Convince them to join that High-Yield Investment Program, but don't promise them anything apart from the 1.5% daily returns..."

"If you do that then you won't have any liability towards them and if they complained towards me that the Treasury Bonds were guaranteed by the government. Tell them that they didn't sign up for the Treasury Bonds, but for the High-Yield Investment Program!"

"In other words, those Treasury Bonds are nothing but mere bait!"

"I can trust that you can at least do something like that, right?"

"The Minister of Finance, Daniel Smith...?" 

Daniel Smith gulped a mouthful of saliva. Staring at the dark eyes of the King felt as if he was staring at the infinite darkness of the abyss.

Daniel took several deep breaths and calmed himself down. When he returned to his senses, excitement could be seen on his face when he thought about the King's plan...

It was true that those greedy nobles couldn't possibly resist the allure of such high-interest rates.

"But what happens if they request an early pay-out of their returns?" Daniel Smith inwardly uttered, or so he thought. 

"Hahaha..." Joseph chuckled, "In that case, give them the money of the latest investor..."

"The money of the latest investor will serve as the payment for the returns of the earliest investor."

"In that way, we won't run out of money..."

"We will only run out of investors and when that happens, the scheme would be over..."

"After everything is over, we can easily wash our hands from any liability by saying that the reason that the investment failed is because of the intervention of the other Kingdoms..."

"Just tell them that the times are too chaotic and if they don't believe your explanation, tell them to come over here and I will personally explain everything to them..."

"You don't have to worry, Daniel Smith... You just have to follow my schemes..." A smile escaped on Joseph's lips once again as he stared right at Daniel Smith. However, his hands underneath the desk were already prepared to attack and end Daniel Smith's life as soon as he refused his request.

Daniel Smith also stared at Joseph and the gazes of the two met in mid-air.

After a few seconds of stalemate, Daniel Smith bowed his head and respectfully replied.

"Let me handle this plan of yours, Your Majesty... " Daniel Smith didn't even raise his head as he replied.

His actions right now were vastly different from the actions that he did in front of Joseph recently.

But why had he suddenly decided to respect Joseph?

Well, it was because Joseph had shown enough knowledge that he acquired Daniel Smith's loyalty.

As for if this loyalty would still continue in the future...

Well, that's something that could only be answered in the future.

What's important was that right now, Daniel Smith was indeed loyal to Joseph.

After experiencing betrayals one after another, words couldn't describe how relieved Joseph was right now when he realized that Daniel Smith was now ready to devote his time and even life for his sake. 

If not for the fact that Daniel Smith was still in this room...

Joseph would've already been jumping up and down in joy as a celebration for acquiring a loyal follower.

"Good... Good... Good! You are indeed a decisive man! Then, go forth! Do your job at ease for I will be backing you up from the sidelines!" Joseph lightly chuckled.

Daniel Smith slightly nodded his head as he said, "Yes, Your Majesty." He then turned around and was about to leave the room when he suddenly stopped on his tracks and asked.

"By the way, Your Majesty... If you don't mind me asking... May I know the name of this brilliant scheme of yours?"

Daniel revealed a look of anticipation on his face for he was sure that His Majesty's incredible scheme would definitely be recorded in history and immortalized.

Joseph turned to look at Daniel and smiled.

After furtively glancing at the Wikipedia window on his peripheral vision, Joseph dismissed that window and proudly declared.

"You can call it..."

"The Pyramid Scheme!"