King
Chapter 785 - 785 54 The Change Triggered by Huge Losses_1

785: Chapter 54, The Change Triggered by Huge Losses_1 785: Chapter 54, The Change Triggered by Huge Losses_1 Ultimately, Hudson secured the title of Honorary Dean with his status as a Dragon Knight at the Arcane Academy.

As far as the remaining matters were concerned, they had nothing to do with him.

Hudson realized that these old fellows were just using his name, and they had never intended for him to step up to the lectern.

Admittedly, these people had a knack for assessing others.

If it had been a military academy, Hudson might have been able to share his strategic experience.

But the Arcane Academy?

That was out of the question!

Theoretically, Master Hudson had some knowledge to share.

When it came to practical training, however, he was at a loss.

As a Knight who had hung his armor, Hudson’s experience would mislead the younger generation more than it would enlighten them.

In a show of unity, all the Alpha Kingdom’s major nobles became founders of the Arcane Academy and even sent their direct descendants to study there.

Most of the major nobles were oblivious to this news, but it didn’t stop the executives of the Arcane Academy from making the decision on their behalf.

Even if they disagreed, the decision had already been made by their elders.

It wasn’t that every major noble family had a representative, but eighty percent of the kingdom’s major nobles had someone there.

There was no choice but to step into the pit dug by their elders, regardless of the obstacles ahead.

With so many people to share the burden, Hudson was suddenly less anxious.

It wasn’t going to be easy for the clergy to retaliate with the entire Alpha Kingdom on board.

The first Arcane Academy and the second one seemed similar, but they were completely different in nature.

The clergy’s power had already decreased once they failed to suppress the Arcane Academy established by the Frank people.

In fact, calls for the formation of an Arcane Academy in the Alpha Kingdom had already arisen in the Caesar III Era.

However, limited by their power and fearing the church’s relentless revenge, they chose to wait and see.

The default wave thoroughly enraged the “Hawk Faction” within the kingdom against the clergy, making the establishment of the Arcane Academy a matter of course.

…

In the Jade Palace, Caesar IV warmly received the returning heroes, but unfortunately, they didn’t give much face to the king, merely greeting him before going home.

Whether it was growth or habit, Caesar IV didn’t show any dissatisfaction when they challenged his authority.

The kingdom was run as a joint-stock country.

As the king and majority shareholder, he needed to make noteworthy contributions before he could genuinely win the loyalty of the other shareholders.

If the shares were further divided, the Royal Family didn’t even own twenty percent, while the major nobles held over a third.

Only by combining their shares could they effectively rule the kingdom.

Their relationship resembled more of a partnership than a dominance-subordinate one.

Correspondingly, the interest of the kingdom could not be equated with the interest of the Royal Family.

The country wasn’t the King’s country; it was every noble’s country.

Everyone worked together to maintain the country for mutual benefit.

Still, they could simultaneously undermine the country for their selfish gain.

In practice, it depended on both benefit and integrity.

It was similar to running a business.

As in any listed company, some major shareholders derived private benefit from their power, while others promoted the company’s development.

…

“Has the data been tallied yet?”

Caesar IV asked cheerfully.

His good mood was evident.

It was no easy feat to trick the clergy, after all.

Alpha Kingdom rarely gained an actual advantage in past conflicts with the clergy.

“Your Majesty, in this wave of defaults, we’ve invested eight million gold coins in cash, and recovered bonds worth 31.837 million.

All of these bonds were publicly destroyed.

Though the Kingdom’s total debt remains the same, we have significantly increased our cash flow.

Thanks to the clergy’s contribution, after deducting all costs, the kingdom made a profit of two million gold coins.

According to our intel, the church still has bonds totaling over seven million gold coins.

Due to the rise in bond prices, we expect a profit of one million gold coins if they continue the exchange.

Relative to the kingdom’s enormous debt, this small profit is insignificant, but our international reputation has significantly improved.

Unfortunately, the church withdrew too quickly.

If they had continued, our profits would’ve been much higher.”

Marquis Delgado said excitedly.

Being finance minister was tough.

To gather the eight million in cash, the finance department had to borrow money.

Luckily the default wave earned Alpha Kingdom a profit.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have known how to recover.

“Don’t be insatiable.

It’s already very good that we could make a profit this time.

If the church had recklessly continued, we could only have dragged them into a lose-lose situation.

After all, we borrowed all the war bonds we could.

If this bond exchange war had persisted, it would have drained our cash flow.

At that point, the best-case scenario would’ve been to declare a default when the church held a large number of war bonds.”