How did the King and the Duke play on the confidences of people to get their money? What do they have to know about the towns, local people, and human nature in order to perfect their scams?

One of the things the King and the Duke used to dupe the residents in different towns was to play on their religious faith. This would make it important for the men to know what churches and denominations would be found as they traveled from town to town. Th

The two men also played upon people's grief and sympathies. They're adept at conning grieving women, playing on Jim's fugitive state, and making people believe they care about them.