Misdirection By Mislabeling

He had been known as Arnold the Blind, primarily because his vision was shot and not even the most powerful lenses available could help him see more than two inches past his nose.

Or at least that is what he allowed everyone around him to believe. The truth was, he could see quite well, but he feigned having poor eyesight as it allowed him to closely observe those who served him without appearing intrusive.

He coupled that ploy with pretending he couldn't hear without his horn, which again worked out in his favor as most people, once they were sold on the disabilities he was selling, would speak in his presence as if he were invisible.

The information he gathered, especially information as to the personality quirks and shortcomings of various officials in his government, he used to steer the ship of state, so to speak, with the assistance of a number of extremely low-ranking members of the bureaucracy who also were extremely loyal to him.

He was able to do this for well over two decades, years that were remarkably peaceful and prosperous. That did not come without costs, of course, but in the Kingdom that Arnold ruled the costs were borne by those who could most readily bear them, and who most deserved to have to bear them.

King Arnold was a rare sovereign, for he had no patience for court intrigues or Machiavellian machinations. He awarded various positions of authority to people he thought were well-suited for responsibility, and the first time he received verifiable word that one of his trusted officials was abusing their position in any manner, he quietly made them go away.

Sometimes they were simply dismissed from their positions, sometimes they were exiled to a far away land, and sometimes, in the instances where not only was a position used for personal gain but people, innocent people, were harmed in the process, well, sometimes those officials fell deathly ill, or disappeared while out at sea or on a diplomatic mission.

For early on King Arnold had learned to be decisive, and that being thought of as being incapable of making clear distinctions was a decidedly ingenious method of being decisive with being disrupted.