#718 - Easy to drive and negotiate! (Two in one)

Ghost Spider's words made Luo a little confused. For a moment, he couldn't react 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 was probably full of doubts at this moment, Ghost Spider did not keep him in suspense. Although he really didn't want to talk to Luo more about such "most basic" things, facing such a talented young man with a high-level naval background, Ghost Spider still wanted to talk to him 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 show such hatred and disgust towards our navy?!"

"I think no one should have troubled him."

At this point, Ghost Spider paused for a moment, gave Luo some time to think, and then a hint of nostalgia appeared on his face, and he continued:

"I have been a vice admiral of the navy 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 Tensho Jin."

"You know what? When I led the troops to those islands, the way the ordinary people gathered in the harbor looked at us was exactly the same as the way that young man looked at us 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 to share the hatred and resentment from the people, but now, our 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 yet had to endure the inexplicable hatred and hostility of the people. However, Spider Ghost seemed to be staying 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 draw inferences about other situations.

Although Ghost Spider's explanation was only superficial, Luo understood why Ghost Spider said that just now.

"You just said that someone is helping us collect the gold from heaven. Is that what you mean?"

As Luo spoke, he pointed in the direction the two men had left. He seemed to have guessed something and his brows were furrowed.

"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 the Heavenly Gold. The amount and proportion of this are very telling."

"Many people use this to make money. The share of the Tianlong people belongs to the Tianlong people. In addition to the Tianlong people, the nobles who collect the Tianshangjin can also get a hand of the oil and water."

"I think that although the Duke keeps saying that he cares 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 money."

"Let's not talk about whether his subordinates are really that obedient. I'm afraid that someone in the Duke's Mansion will be involved in such a matter."

"It's a hunt for ordinary people. How could those nobles let them go?"

Ghost Spider's eyes were deep, and his words also shocked Luo greatly.

However, everything they said at this time was just based on Ghost Spider's speculation, 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 expression on their faces 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 large number of ships coming and going in the harbor, and fishing boats often leave and enter the harbor.

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 and healthy people. All the young people in the town who have some labor force become employees of those fishing boats.

As for the women who stay at home, they are not idle most of the time. They make cotton-padded clothes and trousers to keep warm, mend fishing nets, process fish catches, etc. These are all things that women have 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.

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 standing and watching 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 Palace 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'll ask for the gold from the Duke."

"If you keep shirking your responsibilities, it will be necessary to take some coercive measures."

Ghost Spider's tone was cold and his eyes were flashing 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 big, right?"

"Take a closer look. Are the shapes of these fishing boats somewhat similar?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the fishing and hunting business on this island should have been monopolized by someone."

"Building a ship is not an easy task. You can't just cut some wood in the mountains to build a ship."

"And building a large ship is even more difficult."

"It is impossible for ordinary people to have the conditions 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 or age, and they were all under his control."

"Such a principality will not be short of our heavenly gold."

The reason why Ghost Spider explained 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 sent by him to restrict Ghost Spider 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 Tsugikoku 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 it must be the Duke's monopoly?"

Luo still lacked experience after all, so he asked such a naive question.

"hehe."

"Is there any other place besides the Duke's Mansion that has been the most luxurious building you have 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 for your advice, Lieutenant General."

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 "reach the sky" 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 targeting the matter and not the person, 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, the Ghost Spider, who had originally had a serious face, suddenly smiled, then walked past Luo and walked in the direction he came from.

"yes!!"

The navy men behind him responded in unison, and the group left the harbor in a mighty manner.

When Demon Spider decided to take a tough stance, it became easier to collect the Tenshang Gold. After all, their Navy Headquarters had a bigger fist.

When Duke Taiwu saw Ghost Spider and his group coming back, he thought to himself that something was not good. After the meeting, he still put on an attitude of serving the country and the people, and asked Ghost Spider to plead for mercy from the higher-ups.

However, at this moment, Ghost Spider had become immune to his words, and his wooden look made Tai Wu 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 face 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 people. He asked the navy to "do it themselves" and take the Heavenly Gold from the people.

This is what he said, but Duke Taiwu knew in his heart that how could those fishermen collect the gold from heaven? !

At most, their families only have some food and clothing to barely get by, and all the channels to "exchange for gold" are in his hands.

It is said to be a principality, but in fact it is just a super large fishing company. The boss is Duke Taiwu, and as for the others, they are just his workers.

He will solve the basic food and clothing problems of the workers, but that's all!

In such a world, for the vast majority of ordinary people, they have no way of dreaming of 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 a little kinder.

The pirate's knife cut people and drew blood, which was shocking.

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 diligence, they can live a relatively affluent life in any other country.

Faced with Taiwu's excuses, Ghost Spider simply didn't want to listen, and his solution was very simple. He waved to his subordinates behind him, and those navy men went straight towards Taiwu.

When your fist gets 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 do not, the navy has plenty of ways and means to deal with them.

"Duke Taiwu, you seem to have misunderstood something."

"The reason why you can still talk to us as a duke is 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."