Yasuie’s expression changed after hearing Luke’s words. Just as I thought, pirates are still pirates. They want to send the people to work in those filthy factories again. Haven’t factories done enough harm to Wano already?!
Noticing the change in Yasuie’s expression, Luke explained, "Don’t look so grim. I’m not finished yet. Mr. Yasuie, do you think those factories are environmentally destructive and the fundamental cause of Wano’s famine?"
Yasuie nodded heavily. "Isn’t that the case? If not for the pollution from those factories, the land would still produce crops, fish could still be caught from the rivers, and the people would not be starving to death."
"Of course not."
Luke firmly rejected Yasuie’s claim. "Mr. Yasuie, you are a qualified administrator and once served as a daimyo. Then you should know that, even before Mr. Kaido came to this country, many people here still could not fill their stomachs."
Yasuie frowned, unsure where Luke was going with this. "But at least not this many people were starving."
"That is true. But do you think that if the Kozuki Family had continued ruling, everyone would have been able to eat their fill? Do you think the gap between rich and poor would have narrowed?"
Luke raised a question that struck at the soul.
Yasuie froze. He opened his mouth, wanting to say that of course it would have, but then he suddenly realized that was impossible. The Kozuki Family had ruled this land for over a thousand years, and things seemed to have always been this way.
According to his understanding of history, whenever Wano’s population reached a certain point, widespread famine would erupt. The country would then descend into warfare. Only after enough people had died would the famine end and peace gradually return.
"In a closed nation, without a breakthrough in agricultural technology, the land’s productive capacity will always be limited—and may even continue declining."
Luke put forward an idea that seemed to open the door to an entirely new world for Yasuie.
He was an intelligent administrator, so he immediately understood that Luke’s words explained the core of Wano’s thousand-year cycle.
Their food supply... could only support a limited number of people!
So once too many people were born, famine would follow. There could never be an era in which everyone ate their fill.
"Wano is rich in mineral resources, but it has limited arable land. Even if every farmer works diligently, the amount of food they can produce remains limited. Under normal closed-off administration, some people will inevitably go hungry. That cannot be avoided."
Luke continued, "But what if we broaden our horizons? What if we stop relying solely on this country’s food production to feed its people?"
This time, Yasuie caught on. "Overseas trade? But if our food supply is placed in someone else’s hands, the country will become extremely vulnerable."
Luke admired Yasuie even more. That was indeed a problem. In the normal order of the world, a proper country absolutely could not allow others to control its food supply.
If a country lacked the ability to feed itself, never mind suppliers raising prices. During a war, the enemy would only need to cut off its food source, and it would be finished.
"Mr. Yasuie, who do you think would dare play games with food prices in front of one of the Four Emperors, Kaido?"
Luke revealed the core foundation of his plan. Everything he had analyzed before was common sense, but this world did not operate according to common sense.
With Kaido of the Beast Pirates, you were already lucky if he went out and did not rob you. Would you really dare jack up the price when selling grain to Kaido?
Go ask Doflamingo—a Warlord of the Sea and a Celestial Dragon—whether he would dare play games with prices when doing business with Kaido.
As far as Luke knew, Kaido had several long-term trading partners. In addition to distributing weapons for Kaido, Doflamingo also helped him obtain food. Beyond Doflamingo, several major maritime merchants traded with Kaido as well, delivering vast quantities of food and supplies.
Pirates did not obtain everything through robbery. More accurately, pirates robbed money at sea precisely so they could spend it.
Spending money you stole felt like blowing lottery winnings at a nightclub. It was far more satisfying than simply forcing people to give you things.
And to ensure a stable long-term supply, Kaido would not rob merchant fleets and guilds that had worked with him before. He purchased supplies from them at low prices while offering his protection to their guilds, creating a mutually beneficial partnership.
That way, food merchants could purchase cheap grain from countries rich in agricultural output, then sell it to Kaido at a modest profit. Kaido gained a stable source of food, while all he paid was a copied pirate flag.
Well, whenever those merchants encountered other pirates while sailing through the New World, they only needed to raise the Beast Pirates’ flag. Ordinary pirates would flee in terror, never daring to touch a ship under Kaido’s protection.
Therefore, as long as Kaido remained an emperor of these seas, there was no way he would be unable to obtain cheap food.
Anyone who tried to put Kaido in a stranglehold over something like that had to be tired of living.
"So... all food will be imported? Does that mean Wano will have to rely on the Beast Pirates to keep delivering food? Will they really be willing to keep paying for Wano’s people forever?"
After grasping the key to the food supply, Yasuie raised another question.
"Of course Mr. Kaido will not feed this country for free. He needs returns, which is why I said these people need to build factories."
Luke said, "As for the environmental problem, the Beast Pirates already have a preliminary solution. In the future, pollutants will be discharged outside the country. The water quality should gradually improve, and the people will only need to work with peace of mind to eat their fill."
"Discharged outside the country? Then it will be discharged into the sea. What will other countries think of Wano? Wouldn’t we become villains polluting the whole world?"
Yasuie frowned, feeling that this was not a good solution either.
Luke nodded. "I agree with you. Why don’t you explain the pros and cons to Mr. Kaido?"
Yasuie fell silent. He knew Kaido did not care about that. And shamefully, he could not think of a better solution himself. If factories had to be built, then of course it was better to discharge the waste elsewhere. At least it would not harm their own people.
In fact, he had studied the pollutants discharged by factories. In narrow rivers, those substances caused obvious contamination and posed great harm to the human body. But in the boundless ocean, perhaps they would amount to nothing.
Thinking it through, he felt that the other side’s plan was not entirely unacceptable. At the very least, it could improve the current situation first.
"Lord Luke, you said the environmental problem is already being addressed. But if canals must be dug to discharge waste into the sea, that would be an enormous project, wouldn’t it? It could not possibly be completed in just a few years."
The moment Yasuie finished speaking, a tremendous boom rang out. As the ground shook, he saw dust and smoke billowing into the sky in the distance.
Luke glanced toward the source of the noise. "The Numbers really do make a lot of noise when they work. I specifically told them not to disturb the residents too much."
The previous night, the leader of the Numbers had come to see him in the Flower Capital, frightening quite a few people.
After asking around, Luke learned that Kaido had temporarily placed the Numbers under his command. Their canal reconstruction project was not finished, so Luke had simply told them to continue working until further instructions arrived.
Ancient Giants truly possessed absurd labor capacity. They certainly could not handle delicate work like building houses, but when it came to digging canals, they were merciless road-making machines.
A single Number could dig over a hundred kilometers of canal in a day!
That was despite the fact that the Numbers were always slacking off, going to drink and stuff their faces after digging for only a short while.
By Luke’s estimate, at their current rate, they would connect the canals within a week and create a wastewater network that would smoothly discharge waste from the major factories out of Wano without damaging the local river ecosystem.
Well, Luke had drawn up the route himself. He directly brought in seawater, making it entirely separate from the original freshwater rivers, with the two systems completely isolated.
If he wanted to create a perfect wastewater system, he should have had the Numbers seal off the canals as well to prevent the wastewater from seeping into the ground and spreading contamination.
But his ultimate goal was not to dump wastewater into the ocean. It was to persuade Kaido to build waste-processing plants. For the current stage, this would do.
"See? With the Beast Pirates’ power, infrastructure work is easy. Starting next week, the rivers will gradually become clear again."
As Luke spoke to Yasuie, he took out a document. "This is the factory construction plan for the Kuri region. Please look it over, Mr. Yasuie. After that, you will oversee the project’s progress in this area. Of course, I will come inspect the progress from time to time."
Yasuie accepted the document with a complicated expression. He had never imagined that one day he would join Kaido’s daughter and help Kaido build the factories he hated most.
Yet Luke’s words had made him realize that the plan was entirely feasible.
As long as the factories were built, the people of Kuri would no longer need to scavenge through garbage. They would have proper, stable jobs and could naturally use their wages to buy food.
"When do I take office?"
Yasuie asked.
"Oden’s castle has already burned down, but there is another residence nearby that can be assigned to you as an office. As for personnel, I will send over a batch of guards. Find your own trusted aides. You probably know more capable people than I do."
Luke made the arrangements. He believed there were still many talented people lying low throughout Wano. As long as Yasuie could persuade them, infrastructure construction could advance swiftly.
"Leave it to me. At this point, I no longer seek fame or profit. I only ask that Lord Luke and the shogun govern this country well and let its people live good lives."
Yasuie spoke firmly. At that moment, the infant in his arms began wailing again.
"Go feed the child first, Mr. Yasuie. Work hard. Then there will be fewer and fewer infants like the one in your arms."
With that, Luke turned and left. He was busy, after all. The official documents and identification papers would reach Yasuie by tomorrow morning.
After leaving Okobore Town, Luke traveled through the villages and towns, inspecting the food distribution. Only after confirming that the plan was proceeding smoothly did he return to the Flower Capital.
During the time Luke was busy, Yamato had not been idle either. Following Luke’s instructions, she traveled through various regions alongside a convoy, personally handling problems for the people as their ruler. Combined with the food distribution, her popularity among the people rose sharply in only a few days.
When they met again in the Flower Capital, both could see the exhaustion on the other’s face. But Yamato’s expression carried an even more obvious happiness.
She was not only enjoying the people’s gratitude and affection. She was also happy that she had truly done something for her citizens.
"Brother Luke, the food has all been distributed, but I heard you promised Dad that the factories would be built quickly. Can that really be done?"
Yamato excitedly asked Luke for guidance. She had also read Luke’s three-step strategy document. The first step was now more or less complete, so she was curious about how the following plans would be carried out.
"Of course it can."
Luke answered with complete confidence.
"But... I have looked over the blueprints for the major factories. They are all enormous, and their interiors have plenty of intricate designs. Every factory is a massive project. Even if we sent every unemployed person to build them, it would still take a long time. Wouldn’t it take at least a year or two?"
Yamato asked in confusion. Lately, she had become quite good at thinking things through.
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