Economists' Ecstasy!

As dusk approaches, thick clouds and mist hang heavy in the sky above the sea, allowing the setting sun to peek through only a few gaps, shooting out streaks of crimson hues.

Perhaps due to the light outside the window, the cabin, despite being brightly lit, still appeared somewhat dim.

This is a private ship used by officials, flying the flag of the World Government. In the distance ahead of it stands a towering Red Line wall that reaches into the clouds, its top completely invisible.

At this moment, on the nearby sea, there were more than a dozen ships that looked exactly like it. They all came from various kingdoms, cities, or islands in different sea areas.

[Knock knock knock]

Inside the cabin, John, with his brown curly hair and freckles, wearing a simple bright yellow suit, gently knocked on a door.

"Please come in."

"Professor, those people said they'll be there in forty minutes." John walked into the room, closing the door behind him, and looked respectfully at Professor Smith as he spoke.

"Okay, I understand."

The latter, who was sitting in the chair, looked up and nodded kindly. He then stood up, put the pen cap back on the pen, and began to tidy up the text documents on the table.

"Let me help you, teacher."

John quickly went over to help tidy up. Professor Smith smiled and didn't refuse, but instead asked, "I heard that the World Government didn't originally invite you; you requested it yourself. Can you tell me why?"

John smiled shyly and said, "There are two main reasons. First, I don't want to be separated from my teacher, since I haven't finished your class yet. Second, as you know, students are very interested in currency, and I thought that coming here would allow me to observe the issuance of the Beli up close."

Both of them came from the Kirkcaldy Kingdom in the North Blue, a large island with a land area about half that of the Kingdom of Alabasta.

It is also the most modernized and wealthy country in North Blue. Gentlemen in suits and leather boots and ladies in long skirts and high heels can be seen everywhere. It also has self-sufficient production industries, universities, and banks.

If a time traveler's starting point is here, then he might think he has traveled to 18th-century London, Britain.

Their prosperous economy, coupled with modern military equipment, gave their army the firepower to easily defend against One Piece attacks, and their national strength was among the top in all the Affiliated Nation.

Naturally, this has become a key target for the World Government's recruitment of administrative and financial personnel, especially Cambridge Royal University in this kingdom.

Professor Smith is the university's most famous economist and chief economic planner. This professor, who is nearly sixty years old, has spent nearly forty years building the entire financial industry for the Kirkcaldy Kingdom and has pointed out many construction goals and development plans based on the country's economic foundation and environmental resources at that time.

Therefore, when the World Government's official ship arrived in this kingdom and requested the King of Great Britain to recruit Professor Smith to serve in the Finance Department, they actually encountered some obstacles.

But just as the atmosphere between the two sides became serious, the professor took the initiative to agree.

"Really? Looks like you're the same as me. I also want to see more economies from higher places," Professor Smith said with a smile.

"I had always thought that it was too narrow and a pity that all my knowledge could only be applied to one country. I never expected that they would actually come looking for me. I always thought that the World Government didn't care about economic matters."

After tidying up the documents, the two took their bags and left the room, heading to the spacious main cabin to join the others, who numbered at least one or two hundred.

Although their clothes, skin color, pupils, and hairstyles were all different, as if a group of people from different eras had inexplicably come together, each of them exuded wisdom and intellect in their eyes.

These individuals were all well-known in their respective kingdoms, and were all elites, leaders, and scholars in the political and economic fields.

Unless they come from the same kingdom, due to the difficulty of communication between islands, even though they are all active in the same industry, they are completely strangers to each other.

This resulted in a large number of people gathered, but apart from breathing, there was no noisy conversation. Such high-quality behavior made the Maritime Affairs Department in charge of management feel very relaxed and satisfied.

About fifty minutes later.

Professor Smith, along with John and over a hundred other scholars from the Kirkcaldy Kingdom, followed the crowd off the deck and officially set foot in this small town known as Red Port because of its proximity to the Red Line.

"So many people, so many ships. Are they all scholars?"

John excitedly looked around and saw ships flying the World Government flag anchored in the harbor, and a group of men and women exuding intellectual charm disembarked from each ship.

That should be the case.

Professor Smith nodded, squinted, and looked up at the massive, awe-inspiring Red Line, which appeared incredibly close.

Soon, a group of officials from the finance department arrived and said that they would be in charge of leading the team from now on.

However, Professor Smith was called out separately and, along with nine other unfamiliar scholars, became the first group of people to ride the Bubble Ship.

Professor Smith and the others then lined up and walked through the wealthy town inside, and then took turns riding Bubble Ship, slowly rising along the walls of the Red Line to the very top. This process alone took more than half an hour, as the Red Line was several thousand meters high.

"It seems impossible to bring everyone up before tonight. Send word to prepare enough rooms!" The official, who was riding the Bubble Ship with Professor Smith and the others, took out Den Den Mushi and gave the order.

"Yes, Vice Minister."

"Are you the deputy director of the finance department?"

Smith waited until the other party put the Den Den Mushi back in his pocket before asking, and the latter turned around and smiled warmly, "Yes, my name is Jeliff. I look forward to learning from you, Professor Smith. Our finance department has collected all of your previous works!"

"That would be my honor, but why would a vice minister like you personally lead the way?"

The other nine scholars also looked puzzled.

Deputy Minister Jeliff laughed and said, "Of course, I'm not qualified to be here as an ordinary person, but you are all recognized by our Ministry of Finance as the top scholars and will also be members of the 'Heavenly Tribute Collection and Management Committee,' so I took the initiative to act as your guide in order to get to know you all in advance."

Smith and nine other economists subconsciously pondered the keywords they heard and asked, "So our next task is related to Heavenly Tribute, what should we do?"

"Reform the 'Heavenly Tribute' system, changing the existing unified collection into a proportional sharing system. Your task is to provide us with a quota table based on the economic foundation of all Affiliated Nation, including their ability to pay, productivity, and population!"

"."

Upon hearing Deputy Minister Jeliff's words, Professor Smith and the other ten economists were all taken aback and their eyes lit up.

They had long seen that the current system of collecting Heavenly Tribute was extremely unreasonable, but it had not been improved for hundreds of years. Now, the World Government was finally going to change it, and they had even asked him to personally take charge of the reform!

Surprise!

Professor Smith, in particular, was overjoyed, feeling that all his knowledge could finally be put to good use on the world stage.

"The direction of this reform is that large countries should pay more, small countries less, rich countries should pay more, and poor countries should pay less, or even none at all. But we must plan for their economic development so that even those poor countries that cannot afford to pay the Heavenly Tribute' after the reform will one day be able to afford it. There are still four years until the next Reverie, which is not short, but not long either. Please give it your all!"

"Yes!"

Ten of the world's top economists, with an average age of around 45, were flushed with excitement.

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