Chapter 52: Lilith And Kumar Part:1
The next day, Vijay started the interviews for the new ministers. He began his search by meeting the candidates for the Ministry of Transportation.
Since the Ministry of Transportation was a newly established department in the Empire, its main duties for now will be solely focused on road construction and maintenance. As time passed and new modes of transportation emerged, the ministry's responsibilities would expand.
When Vijay entered the room, he found a group of three people. They quickly rose from their seats and knelt on the ground to greet Vijay, saying, "Long live your Highness, long live your Majesty, long live, long live."
Vijay gestured for them to get up and take their seats. He explained, "With the new government's establishment, there is now a vacant ministerial position in the transportation department. I hope to find a suitable candidate among the three of you, and I trust that you will perform well in my tests."
Pointing to various materials in the room stored in net gunny bags, he continued, "Inside these bags, you will find a large number of various materials. Your task is to go through all the bags and construct a road for me. The road should have a width of 9 meters and a length of 15 meters. You will be judged based on the speed of construction, cost efficiency, and durability. I wish you all the best of luck."
The three candidates exchanged glances, then quickly moved to inspect the materials one by one, preparing to begin their work.
Upon seeing the candidates begin their work on the road construction, Vijay left the room with orders for the guards to monitor the construction to prevent any cheating among the candidates.
He then turned his attention to the interviews for the Ministry of Communication.
Vijay faced a dilemma in selecting the minister for the Ministry of Communication, as it was an unconventional department with its primary task being the transmission of information from one place to another. Currently, the only branch of the Ministry of Communication that is doable right now is the post office, hence Vijay wants to select a candidate with a specific skill set.
As he entered the room where the candidates for the Ministry of Communication were gathered, they greeted him in a manner similar to the previous candidates. After completing the formalities, Vijay got straight to the point, saying, " Due to your jobs being sutradhars, I know that you all have rich experience in conveying news from one place to another, and I assume, given your presence here, that you can read and write. I will ask you a few questions, and depending on the feasibility of your answers, I will consider appointing you as the minister."
With these words, the candidates became alert, understanding that their responses to these questions would shape their destinies and those of their families. Vijay began with his first question, "So, my first question is: How do you propose to disseminate information from one village to another, from one town to another, and from one city to another throughout the empire in a single network?"
The candidates were taken aback by this unexpected question. While they had plenty of experience moving letters from one place to another, they had never contemplated how information could be efficiently transmitted across the entire kingdom. Their perspectives had been limited throughout their lives, but now, in response to Vijay's question, their horizons had been forced to expand as they began to ponder the possibilities.
One of the candidates hesitantly raised his hand, and Vijay encouraged him to speak. The candidate began, "Your Highness, based on my experience, I would suggest assigning a Sutradhar to every village. In each town, there could be a head Sutradhar, and in cities, we could have even larger heads who would relay the news from the Government ."
Vijay nodded in acknowledgement of the suggestion. This structure closely resembled the existing Sutradhar system, expanded to cover a wider area. While it lacked innovation, it was a tried and tested method that had proven effective. However, Vijay's aim was to create something similar to a post office for future generations, capable not only of transmitting information but also generating revenue for the government.
As he continued to listen to similar answers from the other candidates, one man's response caught his attention. This middle-aged man, lanky and thin, had travelled extensively throughout many villages in his life. He humbly suggested,
"Your Highness, I have witnessed the amazing changes taking place across the empire during my travels. Seeing the new innovations brought to the people by the empire enlightened me and inspired my ideas from the recent reforms. So my proposal is the establishment of a department within the Ministry of Communications, similar to the police and judicial departments, to facilitate the smooth transfer of information. All these departments can be connected to one another through regional head offices for the effective transfer of information".
Vijay found this idea intriguing, as it had a lot of similarities to the concept of a post office. He posed a follow-up question, asking, "Interesting. Then How would you suggest we efficiently, let's say, transfer information from a town in the south to one in the north of the empire with the fastest speed?"
The candidate who had initially suggested the idea of a new department within the Ministry of Communications was stumped. He hadn't considered the logistics of such an expansive information transfer system; he was primarily focused on the innovative concept that he had proposed. His face turned red with embarrassment as he struggled to come up with an answer to the king's question. Nervously, he began to sweat bullets, and his mind went blank without a single voice coming out of his mouth. Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly awkward, another candidate seated beside him spoke up with a deep voice befitting his physique, "If I may, Your Highness, I have an idea to address the specific challenge you raised."
Vijay turned his attention to a bulky man who appeared to be in his early 30s and asked, "Oh, what is it? Tell me your idea."
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Chapter 53: Lilith And Kumar Part:2
Hampi City:
In a room, Vijay continued the interview with a pair of men he was talking to before. The bulky man confidently replied, "Your Highness, I believe it would be appropriate to have a fleet of dedicated carriages to transport paper-based information from one town to another through a dedicated road network. We can also establish multiple pick-up points for transferring information within urban areas and, as my friend here suggested, we can set up small branch offices in rural areas. This way, we can pass information throughout the kingdom at the fastest possible speed, making governance easier with faster information channels. Additionally, if we accept civilian letters to be sent to their relatives in faraway towns, we can potentially generate revenue from this service. Moreover, we could develop special codes to encrypt the letters, ensuring the secure transmission of urgent military news throughout the empire within a matter of days."
Vijay was pleased with the bulky man's suggestion, as it considered the practicality and profitability of a postal system. He wasn't worried about the cost of installing dedicated roads across the empire because he had already decided to build roads throughout the empire. At that time, he would simply reserve a lane for the purpose of postal delivery. Most importantly, the bulky man recognized the credit where it was due. Although the bulky man lacked innovation in his ideas, he more than compensated with his comprehensive planning and the ability to view the situation holistically. Vijay then asked the two candidates for their names. The lanky man replied, "I'm Lilith, Your Highness, the Sutradhar from the Doddamangalore region."
The bulky man introduced himself, "I am Kumar, Your Highness, the Sutradhar from the Dakini Kota region."
Vijay nodded, remembering their names, and said, "Very well, Kumar, I hereby appoint you as the Temporary Minister of the Ministry of Communication. Your comprehensive understanding of the entire system has satisfied my requirements for this ministry. I trust that you will fulfil this mission entrusted to you."
Kumar was stunned by the sudden elevation in his social standing. Although this was the chance he had been desperately fighting for, everything happened so fast that he couldn't process the information out of nowhere. He quickly pinched himself to confirm that he wasn't dreaming. Feeling the pain in his hand, he didn't wince because of the pain but instead jumped all over the room with joy, like a little kid who had just received his favourite toy.
Lilith, on the other hand, felt a huge sense of disappointment. He had come this far to impress the Emperor and improve his social standing, But he was really not reconciled with how the result turned out for him. Unfortunately, he had no one else to blame for his misfortune except himself, as he had not succeeded in answering the questions asked by the king. Just as he was about to leave the capital in disappointment, Vijay's next words stopped him in his tracks. Vijay said,
"Lilith, you are hereby appointed as the Temporary Head of the Department of the Post Office. It is my opinion that your deep understanding of the Sutradhar system and your grassroots experience of over a decade make you the ideal candidate to assist Kumar in implementing his plans for the ministry."
That was all he needed to hear as Lilith's aura completely switched when he heard those words. He was overjoyed by this unexpected appointment, looking nothing like his gloomy appearance before. He quickly bowed in gratitude to the king.
Vijay was super happy with the two candidates that he had selected. If he had to make an analogy about both of them, Kumar was like an engineer who turns scientists' innovations into reality, similar to Elon Musk, while Lilith was more like a scientist who creates entirely new fields of study, similar to Einstein. He believed that an engineer would better fit a CEO position than a scientist. He really hoped they would make a good match and work together to build the nerves of the empire.
But his work was not yet finished, as he patted both of them on the back.
"Do well, both of you. If I get satisfactory results from your work, I will make your positions as the minister and the deputy permanent," Vijay said as he left the room, with both of them looking at him with worshipping eyes.
Vijay had just used the new improved ability that he gained, to implant the seeds of knowledge into both of them. This was his new ability, where a person with the seed of knowledge could gain instant enlightenment when facing a bottleneck. For example, if Edison had possessed the seed of knowledge, he would have needed far fewer attempts to invent the lightbulb compared to the thousands he attempted in history.
Vijay decided to provide this help because, although both of them were talented, they were from lower castes. Vijay was not discriminating against them, but What he feared was that their heritage and worldview might not be rich enough to lead one of the core important limbs of the government effectively. For example, This was similar to the stereotype of Jews being good at business; no one had to teach them, But it was developed over centuries of time by how their parents, society and culture raised them, which gives them a little edge over other races in matters of handling business.
Hence, Vijay imagined both of them struggling to keep up with the empire due to their lack of systematic teaching from a young age and low self-esteem developed by an oppressive social order whose sole aim was to put those of lower caste beneath them for hundreds of years. So, he gave both of them seeds of knowledge about management, post office workings, politics, and more. It should be noted that possessing these seeds wouldn't make them magically geniuses, but it would help them reach the same level of confidence and heritage as the higher-caste people, Granted they would have to put in a constant amount of hard work to reach their eventually. Additionally, it would assist them in breaking through their doubts and bottlenecks more easily than normal people.
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
1,530 Power
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