https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-596-Someone-Must-Root-in-the-Darkness/13081725/
Chapter 597: Desires Bring Progress
Chapter 597: Desires Bring Progress
The Tele Worm connected and appeared on Sage's desk.
He took a puff of his cigar, the smoke slowly rising in front of him, while the receiver was placed to the side.
"Kou Sha."
Looking at the connected Tele Worm with sunglasses and scars on its face, Sage smirked, "I know you, the former rebel leader. You've become a minister now, haven't you?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end before the Tele Worm spoke, "Catastrophe, I didn't call to chat. What do you want?"
"Hmm."
Sage paused for a moment, then laughed, "Let's talk about the recent events first. Koubra is dead, right? And the heir is missing. Is the whole of Alabasta now shrouded in a sorrowful atmosphere?"
"I don't need you to remind me of this news," Kou Sha clenched his teeth. "Get to the point!"
"Haha, some things must be preceded by certain conditions. Don't be impatient."
Sage laughed, "The sea level rose by a meter. I wonder if your country's coastline has suffered any damage. But with that area, a little damage doesn't matter. It's all desert anyway, so there's no loss."
"You..."
Kou Sha's tone clearly showed his impatience, but Sage didn't give him a chance to speak and continued, "In the first half of the Grand Line, a country called Louluishia has disappeared, most likely by the hands of the World Government. Do you know what this represents?"
"It represents that the World Government has the power to destroy any force," Sage said.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Kou Sha mocked, "Only by eliminating pirates like you can the world achieve peace!"
Sage sneered, "Do you really think so? The death of your king during the World Meeting and the World Government, which has the power to destroy any force—do you really think it's as simple as you imagine?"
Silence fell on the other end of the Tele Worm.
"You're right, just as you imagined!"
Sage laughed, "What he destroyed is not just pirates; it's more than that. And between countries, how can we completely entrust the decision to one side?"
"What exactly do you want?"
"Let's work together!"
Sage said, "Since you took the initiative to call, you must have something in mind. Let's collaborate. You want to protect your country, and I want to make my territory stronger. Since our homeland is no longer the safest place, why not change the way we cooperate?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Kou Sha objected, "Even if I agree, what can we do? Alabasta is poor and barren. We don't even have enough food to eat. How can we cooperate with you? I will not start a war; that would be slaughtering the lives of our citizens!"
How could a desert kingdom ever be well-fed?
Even without Crocodile's past attempts at overthrowing the kingdom, as a resource-poor land, coupled with the annual Celestial Dragon tax, many people still went hungry.
And this was with a good king; if it were a worse one, like the former king of Drum Kingdom, Alabasta would be living in hell.
"Who said anything about starting a war? I just want you to be hungry."
Sage laughed heartily, "Send over all those who can't survive, those who you think need a change of environment to live!"
"In return, I will set up factories in Alabasta to produce weapons for me. I will give you jobs, food, clean water, and everything you need!"
Kou Sha fell silent again, this time for much longer. Sage exhaled smoke, patiently waiting.
After about five minutes, the Tele Worm on the other end spoke, "We are not connected. The location of Fishman Island is not suitable; it's even more dangerous there!"
"That's not for you to worry about. You just need to agree or disagree."
"How long...?"
"That depends on the results on my end. We can sign a letter of intent first. Once I find a safe route, our cooperation will officially begin."
"Agreed. I hope I won't regret this."
"How can one possibly regret lifting one's nation out of poverty and hunger? Even if it means allying with pirates, let alone devils, you would do so willingly!"
Sage burst into laughter, hung up the call, and exhaled more smoke before stubbing out his cigar in the ashtray.
"A great deal indeed, Lily."
"Is this a deal?"
Lily asked in confusion, "Alabasta is not our territory. Is it really appropriate to set up factories there?"
"Then you won't be able to collect taxes, Sage," Lily said.
Sage smiled at her, "Who said I'd be collecting taxes there? The people of this land and those from other nations will definitely receive different treatments."
Sage turned to Lily and smiled, "There are many companies on the high seas, especially in the underground world. Some are based on islands, while others are in foreign lands, but regardless, they only rent a location."
"I'm different. Since there aren't enough people, and it's not feasible to transfer a large population, we'll just have to change our approach."
As he spoke, he suddenly bared his teeth, revealing a set of white teeth that made Lily's heart skip a beat.
That strange feeling, akin to being devoured by a colossal beast, returned.
"The worthless desert land can accommodate some of the heavily polluted industries. Of course, I'll keep my promise about everything I've said, after I control all of Alabasta's economy."
Sage spread his hands, "I'm not that unreasonable. Since I've agreed to cooperate, I won't annex them. But if they're already free-range, having one more place to dump products isn't a problem!"
For Sage, a population of at least ten million, or even several tens of millions, was the perfect dumping ground for his products.
Alabasta alone, not to mention Carpoen Beige in the West Sea and the Vinsmoke family in the North Sea, was a significant step up in terms of population and resources. They helped Sage with his 'unification' efforts, but their population was already small, and the unique nature of the Four Seas had to be considered.
The World Government's sphere of influence made it unrealistic for Sage to dump all his products there, even if he wanted to. Aside from the World Government, there was the Altoona, and transportation was too much of a hassle.
He'd have to find his own path.
With Alabasta's cooperation, things would be much simpler. He didn't even need them to be a low-cost raw material producer, as Sage had no shortage of raw materials. He valued this aspect the most.
However, he also valued industry.
And so, he always needed more labor.
Others played the game of importing cheap raw materials and exporting high-value industrial goods. Sage, on the other hand, needed both. He stubbornly relied on exporting more industrial goods to raise the wages of those who provided raw materials.
Lily understood this, which was why she was puzzled by the idea of setting up a factory in Alabasta.
"If we do that, won't we lose tax revenue?" Lily asked.
"Then we'll deduct that portion of the taxes and pay them their wages. Just add the taxes to the goods we sell," Sage replied nonchalantly.
Lily nodded thoughtfully.
With this calculation, based on Ohara's wages after tax deductions, the cost of goods with added taxes might be slightly lower, and while it might not be as free, it would undoubtedly ensure a full belly and a roof over their heads.
After all, it was better than being poor in the desert, baring teeth at giant lizards.
This step was inevitable.
Lily sighed inwardly, feeling helpless. While it wasn't oppression, it was still a far cry from Ohara's standards, even if it was better than Alabasta's current situation.
But Lily wasn't naive. Aside from their conquests across the vast sea, even the locals on the islands they had conquered, in Sage's words, relied on an unstable peasant economy, at the mercy of the heavens.
What?
Peasants?
How dare you!
They don't even own their property; they're pure peasants.
For those who were conquered, it was simple: Sage arrived, and their world lit up.
There was no other way; he gave them too much!
"Lily, you know that cheap raw materials inevitably mean low wages and undervalued labor. Otherwise, it's impossible to recoup the investment."
One person might be able to manage the materials needed for ten or even several dozen people, but it relies on the whims of nature. Standardized, industrialized mining and farming can effortlessly produce materials on a larger scale and with greater stability.
But that requires people.
With a large population, unless you don't pay them, low prices will inevitably lead to losses.
After all, you can set high prices for raw materials, but they can choose not to sell to you. While the tactic of forced buying and selling is effective, it's a one-time strategy. Once you've exploited them, they'll have no money left to buy your goods.
Even if you squeeze them dry, they'll still have no money. Killing them won't bring back the money either.
In the end, you'll be forced to choose those foreign, low-cost goods.
Sage would never allow his raw materials to be expensive, considering the purchasing power of the locals. He wanted to ensure a good life for his people, and this was not just empty words; he intended to make it happen.
Affordable raw materials meant that even the poorest of his people could afford to eat their fill. As long as they were well-fed, they would have the energy to work and the freedom to dream.
If Sage were merely a capitalist, he would undoubtedly have built his wealth through exploitation.
But the key difference was that he was a landlord, a major landlord, who had complete control over everything within his domain.
He represented Ohara, and he was the embodiment of the Calamity Pirates.
Losses were non-existent in his eyes; he always found a way to make up for them elsewhere.
Sage laughed and said, "When people's wages are high, they can buy more goods, stimulate consumption, and work harder for me. It's a positive cycle that will make our nation even more prosperous. So, our raw materials may always be in a state of loss, but that's not important, is it?"
Lily nodded.
As the person in charge of domestic affairs, she also managed the finances. Long ago, when the junior officers brought in the statistics, she was shocked by what she saw.
The wages of those in charge of raw materials far exceeded the profits from the materials themselves, and the glaring red numbers were hard to ignore.
She had even confronted Sage about this issue.
She didn't want oppression, but at least it should be done in a reasonable way. Undermining the foundation of the Calamity Pirates was unacceptable; it would not lead to long-term success.
It was unheard of for a pirate crew to support the people beneath them. People should rely on themselves; they couldn't depend solely on the pirates. This went against her principles.
Sage had explained it to her back then.
Whether there were losses or not was insignificant. What mattered was that other aspects of the business were profitable, and their raw materials were never meant for export.
Since his early days in business, Sage had never exported raw materials. Even food was processed into canned goods before export.
No raw materials were allowed to leave, except for those purchased and used by his people.
His raw materials were cheaper than any other similar products in the world, especially food. Under the racial talent of the Dongtata, their food production far surpassed that of any other group in the territory.
With a current population of over four million, their food supply was so abundant that these four million people could do nothing but lie down and still have enough to eat for five years!
Additionally, the rampant logging of undeveloped islands was nearly universal across the entire sea. There was no effective means to stop it, unlike in Sage's territory, where logging was done in a land-clearing manner, freeing up usable land from the trees.
This also resulted in extremely low wood prices.
Of course, this included the cultivated wood. In areas suitable for tree growth, they would cut and plant simultaneously, with an eye towards the future.
Sage's population was not overly large, and it had not yet reached a point of resource scarcity. In fact, it was a time of rapid growth and prosperity.
With low-cost materials and high wages, the most profitable way to generate revenue for Sage was to sell industrial goods externally.
Wood could be used to build warships, combining low-cost raw materials with high-value industrial products.
The abundant iron ore in his territory was also inexpensive and could be crafted into weapons, another high-value industrial product.
Sage had complete control over these resources, and no merchant could get a share. With his system, he earned from both the input and output, easily covering the wages of his people.
Additionally, there was the matter of taxes.
With complete control, Ohara was developing positively and becoming increasingly prosperous.
This was where others fell short compared to Sage; no one else had such strong control.
"When a person embodies the will of a nation..."
Sage grinned maliciously, "Then that nation will naturally become stronger."
It wasn't that he was immune to temptations; it was just that those temptations paled in comparison to his deep-seated desires.
Beautiful women?
His attendants were handpicked.
That desire was easily satisfied.
Wealth?
What more wealth did he need? His people, to put it bluntly, were his tenants and servants.
Power?
No one had more power than him.
He could obtain anything with ease, but the deeper his desires, the harder they were to fulfill.
Sometimes, having such grand desires could drive one to strive even harder.
So, Sage could set his goals and move forward with determination, never succumbing to sudden decline.
(End of Chapter)
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