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A Two-Pronged Approach!
["Toes" is a clear and forceful stance, powerfully awakening the lower and middle-class shinobi to fight for a better shinobi world, and for their own good lives!]
["The Chūnin Exam" serves as a cynical and sarcastic observer, boldly speculating on topics that shouldn't be discussed, maliciously setting the pace for the village towers… ]
Whether their village towers are truly incorruptible, Gojo Kaigetsu doesn't know. Perhaps such high commissions are simply to fund the development of military forces, to counter Konoha's aggressive expansion. But, there's no pain without comparison!
Under Gojo Kaigetsu's baseless and malicious incitement, even Iki would be discredited—it would be considered filth.
The Four Great Villages would have to hold a basin and accept this dirty water!
What would be the scene when the ordinary shinobi of the lower and middle classes realize that the taxes they pay are not being used to build up the village, but to feed the leeches clinging to the village towers?
A direct rebellion might be an exaggeration, but there would certainly be a massive number of desertions. Besides deserting, shinobi would bypass the village towers, taking the risk of illegality, and complete transactions privately with patrons.
Patron commissions have always been an important source of income for traditional shinobi villages.
If the village can't collect money, it will try to find ways to impose additional taxes and levies, exhausting all means to maintain the normal operation of the village.
Clan forces, in order to protect themselves in this turbulent situation, will begin to compete with the "people" and the village for profits. At this point, if Konoha applies some war pressure, in order to raise enough money to purchase shinobi tools, this phenomenon will become even more extreme…
Village, clan, Average shinobi—before Konoha even attacks, the three sides will fall into chaos and dispute.
Hehehe—!
Gojo Kaigetsu put down his article with lingering enjoyment, but it wasn't over yet. He grabbed another sheet of paper.
Was a two-pronged approach enough?
Gojo Kaigetsu believed it wasn't. The threat of war was increasing day by day.
Once it breaks out, shinobi blinded by rage and civilians swept up in the war will have no time to contemplate such ambiguous and dangerous articles. All policies of the nation and the village must give way to the war.
Perhaps even normal trade will be prohibited, and Iki and The Forest Reader will be placed on the banned list… During wartime, the power of shinobi will rise, and the words of the Daimyo and nobles who used to have influence will no longer carry weight. The cultural offensive will end before the war begins!
Then, let's unleash a larger dose of explosive material at once…
This time, Gojo Kaigetsu didn't write 5,000 words, but simply wrote five characters on the white paper—[Tulip Project].
Gojo Kaigetsu smacked his lips.
He wasn't a financial person, and he couldn't learn how to turn other countries' money directly into waste paper. But he had heard of some famous operations in human history.
It was also from a long time ago that Gojo Kaigetsu requested a large number of agricultural scientists to nurture a new flower, the Tulip, planning for this very day. The Konoha Agricultural College recently reported that the cultivation of the Tulip had been basically completed, and various rare varieties had also appeared.
With the right timing, location, and harmony, Gojo Kaigetsu believed the time was ripe to replicate the Tulip bubble in the shinobi world.
What was the Tulip bubble? What did the Tulip Project represent?
The Tulip bubble, also known as the Tulip Mania, originated from a historical event in the Netherlands in the 17th century. It's considered the earliest documented speculative activity in human history.
In the 17th century, Tulips once triggered an extraordinary frenzy in the flower trading market. Tulip bulbs were in short supply and prices soared. The Dutch Tulip market had become a chaotic gambling pool for speculators.
The wealthy competed to display the latest and rarest varieties in their gardens, and wore a vibrant Tulip on their lapels. This fashion led to a frenzy of speculation. People bought Tulips not for their intrinsic value or for ornamental purposes, but in the hope that their prices would rise indefinitely and they would profit.
And at some point, when an unknown small fry sold his Tulips—or even more courageously, liquidated his Tulips—others would follow.
Soon, the frenzy of liquidation would be on par with the previous frenzy of speculation. Then, the price of Tulips collapsed, and tens of thousands of people, from nobles to commoners, were ruined in this catastrophic collapse.
Gojo Kaigetsu never underestimated the heroes of the world. Such a collapse could only happen once in the shinobi world. After experiencing a painful lesson, the finance ministers of various countries might react and implement various measures to prevent such a thing from happening.
The technological level of the shinobi world has always been a mystery, but judging from the fact that the era before the village era was defined as the Warring States period, it's roughly equivalent to the 16th century—which is about the same time as the first appearance of the Tulip bubble.
So, there's only one chance!
A one-time drain of the accumulated wealth of the Four Great Nations for years, decades, or even decades! To bury their national fortunes for the next ten years, so that future generations will sing about this period of history as the "Lost Decade"!
When the Four Great Nations discover that their wealth has been swept away by Tulips…
"Lotteries," "Bonds," and "Stocks" will all be launched, starting the second round of harvesting!
The wealthy nobles of the Four Great Nations who have lost their fortunes—will anyone still vouch for lotteries? Will they still have the ability to compete with Konoha for this business?
Lotteries are best bought when people place their hopes and dreams for the future on a small piece of paper—just as Gojo Kaigetsu told Konan. As long as people entrust their hopes to the lottery, it will sell well!
When wealth is swept away by Tulips, when the shadow of war looms and the path to a better future becomes increasingly narrow, when people lose hope or lack the means to improve their lives and future, they will collapse, become numb, and lose their vitality…
And it seems that lotteries can replace [highly valuable Tulips] as a source of hope, bringing light to the heart.
Under such circumstances, even if a few clear-headed people stand up and point out that the lottery is a Konoha conspiracy, that the grand prize is rigged, no one will care.
For them, even a second or third prize, or even a consolation prize, is a reward worth celebrating.
There's an inside track, so what? Even if the winning numbers are revealed in advance, it doesn't diminish the feeling of hope and anticipation before the prize is claimed.
They will even constantly talk about what they will do if they win the grand prize; they will even imagine quitting their jobs, slapping their arrogant mother-in-law, and riding their overbearing father-in-law…
It's rather sad~
But this sad phenomenon won't happen in Konohagakure or the entire Land of Fire.
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