Ghost Spider's words made Luo a little confused. For a moment, he had no way of reacting to why Ghost Spider suddenly brought the topic back to Tian Shang Jin.
"Is anyone helping to prepare the Heavenly Gold?"
Luo had no idea what the logic behind Ghost Spider's words was, nor did he understand why Ghost Spider felt familiar with the young man's eyes full of hatred and resentment.
Sensing that Luo's heart was probably full of doubts at the moment, Ghost Spider didn't keep him in suspense. Although he really didn't want to talk to Luo about such "the most basic" things, facing such a talented young man with a high-ranking naval background, Ghost Spider still wanted to nag and give him some advice:
"This should be the first time our navy has landed on this island in recent years, right?"
"Generally speaking, our navy has very little contact with the local people, right?"
"Then the question is, what exactly caused that young man to express such hatred and disgust towards our navy?!"
"I think no one should have messed with him."
Having said that, Ghost Spider paused for a moment, giving Luo some time to think, and then a hint of reminiscence flashed across his face as he continued:
"I've been a Vice Admiral for more than a year or two. Unlike Vice Admiral Garp, who is deeply loved by ordinary people, my image is probably more hateful than that of a pirate in the hearts of most ordinary people."
"After I became a lieutenant general, I had several missions to escort Tenshang Jin."
"You know what? When I led my troops onto those islands, the ordinary people gathered at the harbor looked at us with the same eyes as that young man just now."
"Hatred, disgust, and deep in their eyes, there is also fear and dread."
"The image of our navy in the minds of ordinary people is completely different from what you imagine."
"As a lieutenant general, I actually have no way to change this existing image."
"Gold from the Sky"
"Once the lifeblood of the World Government, now the lifeblood of our Navy."
"Before, the World Government helped our Navy Headquarters share the hatred and resentment from the people, but now, we, the Navy Headquarters, will bear it alone."
The expression on Spider Ghost's face was surprisingly calm when he said this. From the Navy's point of view, they had done nothing wrong but had to endure the inexplicable hatred and resentment of the people. However, Spider Ghost seemed to be out of it at this moment.
When talking about this topic, his tone was calm, as if he was used to it.
Luo recalled what Ghost Spider said in his mind, and his mind gradually became clearer. He was a smart man, and once he figured out a certain point in some things, he could apply it to other situations.
Although Ghost Spider's explanation was only superficial, Luo understood why Ghost Spider said that.
"You just said someone is helping us collect the gold from the sky. Is that what you meant?"
As Luo spoke, he pointed in the direction the two men had left. He seemed to have guessed something and frowned.
"Um."
"Although I'm just guessing, it should be pretty close."
"In previous missions to escort Tianshangjin, this kind of thing is actually not uncommon."
"The kings and nobles who rule the country use the name of the Celestial Dragons to collect celestial gold. The amount and proportion of this is very telling."
"Many people use this to make money. The share of the Tianlong people belongs to the Tianlong people. Besides the Tianlong people, the nobles who collect the Tianshang Gold can also get a piece of the pie."
"I think that although His Excellency the Duke always claims to care about the common people, he hopes that we can exempt this country from the heavenly gold."
"But this doesn't mean that there won't be people charging ordinary people for heavenly gold."
"Let's not even talk about whether his men are really that obedient. I'm afraid that someone in the Duke's Mansion would be involved in such a thing."
"How could those nobles let go of a hunt for ordinary people?"
Ghost Spider's eyes were deep, and his words also shocked Luo.
However, everything they said at this time was just based on Ghost Spider's guess, so they did not continue to discuss this topic in depth.
The group walked towards the harbor in this way. The whole team was silent, everyone had a heavy face and did not say a word.
After a long time, the navy arrived at the harbor where the ship was docked.
Ghost Spider did not gather his troops and return to the ship. Instead, he stopped on the shore, looking at the busy harbor with a sarcastic smile on his face.
Today is sunny and the sea is calm, which is a perfect day for going out to sea.
There are also a lot of ships coming and going in the harbor, and fishing boats often leave and enter the port.
The neighboring town relies on deep-sea fishing as its core industry. To some extent, this industry can be regarded as a labor-intensive industry. The crew members recruited on the fishing boats are generally strong people. Any young people in the town who have some labor force become employees of those fishing boats.
As for the women who stayed at home, they were not idle most of the time. They made cotton-padded clothes and trousers to keep warm, repaired fishing nets, processed fish catches, etc. These were all things that the women had to do.
The life of ordinary people on this island is actually very similar to that in traditional society where men farm and women weave.
Luo stood behind Ghost Spider, looking at the busy scene at the harbor, a little absent-minded.
When they arrived at the harbor, several fishing boats happened to enter. The men on the boats shouted slogans in unison, pulled the ropes to fold the huge sails, and after the boats stopped, a long wooden ladder was lowered. Then, the crew carried baskets of sea fish to the shore.
It was already a land of ice and snow, so these people didn't need to worry about keeping the sea fish fresh.
Looking around, there were no small fishing boats in the harbor, only large two-masted and three-masted sailing boats.
It can be seen that the fishing industry in this country is really quite developed, far beyond the reach of ordinary small towns.
"Let's go back to the Duke's Mansion."
After stopping to watch for a while, Ghost Spider seemed to have lost interest in watching any further and spoke to the sailors behind him.
Hearing this, all the navy were stunned, not understanding the point of returning to the Duke's Mansion at this time.
"Lieutenant General? What are we going back to the Duke's Mansion for?!"
"That Duke is not."
Luo was a little surprised and asked.
"Of course, I'm going to ask for the gold from the Duke."
"If you keep shirking responsibility, it will be necessary to take some coercive measures."
Ghost Spider's tone was cold and his eyes flashed with ferocity, a 180-degree change from his previous attitude.
Luo was confused and looked at Ghost Spider quietly, and put down his hands that were folded in front of his chest.
Ghost Spider glanced at Luo and explained indifferently, "The fishing boats in this harbor are all very big, right?"
"Take a closer look. Aren't the shapes of these fishing boats somewhat similar?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the fishing and hunting business on this island must have been monopolized."
"Shipbuilding is not an easy task. You can't just chop some wood from the mountains and build a ship."
"And building a large ship is even more difficult."
"Ordinary people wouldn't have the means to operate a fishing boat of this size."
"Your Excellency the Duke really has good tactics."
"In this way, he controlled the economic lifeline of everyone on the island, regardless of gender, age or status. They were all under his control."
"A principality like this will not be short of our heavenly gold."
The reason why Onigumo was explaining to Law at this time was that he thought it was better to have less trouble than more. Although Luo was lower in rank than him, Tsugikoku Yoriichi had clearly told him that Luo was the one he sent to restrain Onigumo and prevent him from doing anything out of line.
If Ghost Spider and Luo disagree, the best way to deal with it is to report it. It never goes wrong to make more reports.
But if Ghost Spider could get Law's support, he would be able to avoid some trouble. As a lieutenant general, he also has his own pride and self-esteem.
He didn't want everything to go through Tsugikuni Yoshiichi's hands, nor did he want to be restricted by Luo so easily.
"monopoly."
After hearing what Ghost Spider said, Luo looked around the port and found that the ships coming and going in the harbor were just as Ghost Spider said. There were many large ships, but small and medium-sized ships were almost extinct. He agreed with Ghost Spider's guess in his heart.
But this information alone is not enough.
"How can you be so sure that the Duke has a monopoly?"
Luo still lacked experience after all, so he asked such a naive question.
"hehe."
"Aside from the Duke's Mansion, is there another place that has been the most luxurious building you've built along the way?!"
The words were concise and to the point. Hearing this, Luo put away his alert posture. After thinking for a moment, Luo bowed slightly to Ghost Spider and said:
"Thank you, Lieutenant General, for your advice."
Although Luo is only a colonel, the power behind him cannot be ignored by anyone in the navy. What's more, Luo is now carrying the order of Tsugakuni Yoshiichi, so it is not an exaggeration to call him an "imperial envoy".
But such a person who is able to "know everything" actually put on such an attitude in front of Ghost Spider, which surprised the navy present.
Even a proud man like Ghost Spider couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Luo's actions.
In fact, he has become accustomed to Luo's outspoken character. In Luo, Ghost Spider once saw his younger self.
But when I was younger, I wasn’t as “polite” as Luo.
All the unpleasantness between superiors and subordinates disappeared with Luo's bow. Ghost Spider knew that Luo was not targeting anyone but the matter, and Luo also gave Ghost Spider enough face in front of so many navy men.
At this time, Ghost Spider also stood straight and accepted Luo's salute steadily.
"Let's go."
"Don't delay the general's mission."
Patting Luo's shoulder gently, Ghost Spider, who had originally had a serious face, suddenly smiled, then walked past Luo and headed in the direction they came from.
"yes!!"
The navy officers behind him responded in unison, and the group left the harbor in a mighty procession.
When Onigumo decided to take a tough stance, it became easier to collect the Tenshangjin. After all, their Marine Headquarters had a bigger fist.
When Duke Taiwu saw Ghost Spider and his group coming back, he secretly thought that something was wrong. After the meeting, he still put on an attitude of serving the country and the people, and asked Ghost Spider to plead for mercy with the higher-ups.
However, at this moment, Ghost Spider was immune to his words, and his wooden look made Taiwu realize that "this road was a dead end."
However, this guy was not an ordinary person. After realizing that there was no way forward, he immediately changed his attitude and said how incompetent he was. In his heart, he wanted to cooperate with the navy, but due to his limited ability, he had no way to collect the heavenly gold from the hands of the people. He asked the navy to "take action on their own" and take the heavenly gold from the hands of the people.
This was his explanation, but Duke Taiwu knew in his heart that how could those fishermen collect the heavenly gold?!
At most, their families have enough food and clothing to barely get by, and all the channels to "exchange for gold" are in his hands.
It is called a principality, but in fact it is just a super large fishing company. The boss is Duke Taiwu, and the others are just his workers.
He will solve the workers' basic food and clothing problems, but that's all!
In such a world, for the vast majority of ordinary people, they have no way to expect a rich life. Being able to solve the most basic problem of food and clothing is already very satisfying for them.
Tai Wu used such means and methods, with the help of external threats and Tian Shangjin's rhetoric, to make people from all over the country work for him.
Sometimes, when compared with the scheming of people like him, the cruelty of pirates seems kinder.
The pirate's knife was so sharp that it drew blood and was shocking to see.
The knife of a "company boss" like Taiwu cuts people without leaving any blood, and moistens things silently.
Ordinary people who don't know the truth might even thank him for providing them with job opportunities and allowing them to have a relatively peaceful living environment.
Little do they know that with their own diligence, they can live a relatively affluent life in any other country.
Faced with Taiwu's excuses, Ghost Spider didn't want to listen at all. His solution was very simple. He waved to his subordinates behind him, and those navy men rushed directly towards Taiwu.
When the fist becomes big enough, certain rules become meaningless.
For today's navy, it would be easy to deal with the rulers of countries like those in front of us if they cooperate. If they don't, the navy has plenty of ways and means to deal with them.
"Duke Taiwu, you seem to have misunderstood something."
"The reason you can still talk to us as a duke is entirely because we think you are still useful."
"If you lose your value, our navy can take over this place ourselves."
"And now, you have lost the qualifications to continue talking to us."
(End of this chapter)
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