Naruto Online: Hyuga Branch Family? Let's go all out!

Chapter 312 Believing in the Power of the Common People

"They just agreed like that?" Having witnessed Dalton bow his head and the Drum Kingdom join Alabasta, Nami was completely stunned.

Is conquering a kingdom really that simple?

Or is it that the bones here are too soft?

Ning Yuan smiled. Nami had never experienced the feeling of her will collapsing when being pointed at by the judge, so of course she would think the whole process was too childish.

However, to be fair, conquering a country in the world of One Piece isn't actually that difficult.

Because these nobles relied too much on the protection of the navy, they did not maintain their own armies at all.

In other words, as long as the king, the captain of the guard, and other leaders are taken down, the entire kingdom will basically be powerless to resist.

Drum Kingdom is, after all, a kingdom, and of course, it's not just the town of Great Horn. In fact, Drum Kingdom has eight larger towns and some scattered small villages on the island, with a total population of about two million.

Because the previous king was quite diligent in governing the country, and because the local medical system was originally advanced, not all two million people were illiterate. They not only received basic education, but many of them also learned some medical knowledge.

What? You're saying Wapol killed all the doctors?

Wapol killed only the famous doctors. The locals would take off their white coats and hide among the people. Wapol only had so few people, how could he find them one by one?

In the Drum Kingdom's palace, the one on the mountain occupied by Kureha, Ning Yuan and Nami invited Kureha, Dalton, and the mayors of eight towns to a meeting.

Looking at the anxious faces of the town mayors, Ning Yuan said with a smile, "Don't worry about your future. Now that you've joined Alabasta, you're part of Alabasta. You'll be treated the same as Alabasta citizens in terms of policies and benefits. There will be absolutely no discrimination!"

The town mayors relaxed a bit. The people didn't ask for much. Even if life was tough, as long as it was fair and just, and everyone shared the hardship, they could manage.

The worst thing is that some people live a life of luxury and extravagance, while others are starving and freezing, and can even freeze to death in the snow.

"First, I will open the smart network for you!" Ning Yuan said, and the power-on icon of the Goddess of Wisdom appeared in front of all the town mayors.

One side is engraved with an icon in the shape of a golden goddess. Although it is called a goddess, it is actually drawn based on Vivi.

"The Goddess of Wisdom is the national treasure of Alabasta. From now on, all decrees of Alabasta will be issued through the Goddess of Wisdom. Furthermore, each of you must obey the Goddess of Wisdom's commands; anything the Goddess of Wisdom forbids, you must absolutely not do!"

"What if there are no prohibitions?" a town mayor asked.

"If there's nothing forbidden, you can do it freely!" Ning Yuan said.

Where there is no prohibition by law, there is freedom. Ningyuan does not want to interfere too much. Only a free and vibrant market can create greater miracles.

Of course, there is no freedom in the military industry; Ningyuan makes a very clear distinction.

"The intelligent network also includes intelligent maps and intelligent navigation functions. These functions can be used not only on land but also during maritime patrols. In the future, you won't need to bring navigators and loggerheads when you go to sea; Athena can handle this task perfectly!"

Nami's face darkened; that's how she lost her job.

However, the mayors of the Drum Kingdom were all delighted. After all, everyone knows that doing business with the outside world can make money, but the Drum Kingdom is very advanced in medicine, but its foreign trade industry is not very prosperous.

The main reason is that it's not on one of the seven routes of the Grand Line, so pirates won't pass by unless they deliberately take a detour.

Secondly, the record pointer is very expensive, and navigators are also very rare. The Drum Kingdom simply doesn't have the corresponding talent.

It's worth noting that even King Wahlbod, when he went to sea, would drift at sea for months because he didn't have a logbook.

Even if you want to go to sea, once you've built your ship, there's no navigator to guide you.

Going out to sea like this, it's already quite an achievement if you don't capsize or get lost. You think you can do business? Dream on!

Now that we have the goddess of wisdom, none of this is a problem anymore!

In an instant, the eight town mayors looked at Ning Yuan with a burning gaze, and their resentment at being forced to join Alabasta vanished.

Who complained? I certainly didn't complain. Our Drum Kingdom has been Alabasta's territory since ancient times!

"What's your name?" Ning Yuan suddenly pointed to a town mayor.

"Me?" The town mayor looked to be in his forties, wearing a brown cotton coat, and appeared to be honest and kind.

"Yes!" Ning Yuan nodded.

"My name is Miansen!" The town mayor quickly stood up and asked nervously, "Um, what's your name?"

"You should quit being the town mayor!"

"Huh?" Mian Sen's eyes widened immediately. "No, I've worked diligently all these years, never embezzled or accepted bribes, nor have I exploited the people. I've even protected many doctors. You can't remove me from my position!"

"It's not dismissing you, it's promoting you!" After taking over the Drum Kingdom, the Goddess of Wisdom had already reviewed all the written records of the entire country.

In addition, the goddess of wisdom also monitors the people of the entire country to obtain their opinions on local officials.

Ning Yuan knew these eight town mayors inside and out, if not by heart.

Of these eight mayors, one stands out—that's Miansen—while the other is just average and can continue to serve as mayor.

The remaining six are all characters who need to be hanged.

However, since the Alabasta people had not yet arrived, Ning Yuan remained still to prevent them from inciting the people to revolt in desperation.

Although he could simply shoot those six people, if he did that, the outcome with the public would be uncertain.

It would be better to hold a public trial and win over the people directly.

"The Smart Map will not only be open to Alabasta citizens, but also to merchant ships. From today onwards, you are the Director of the Alabasta Smart Map Department. I hereby order you to establish offices in all Alabasta's ports of entry to promote the Smart Map!"

"Of course, the Smart Map won't be free for outsiders; it will cost money. I've already had the Goddess of Wisdom send it to you; take a look!"

Miansen scratched his head: "But, Your Majesty, I don't understand this!"

"If you don't understand, just ask the goddess of wisdom!" Ning Yuan waved his hand. When it comes to office work, there's never such a thing as being out of touch with your major.

Can't people with education majors or water conservancy engineering majors govern the country well?

The key lies in learning and experience.

Even an ordinary person, if placed in that position and given three to five years of experience, could achieve something.

Not to mention, they also have the goddess of wisdom assisting them.

Mian Sen lowered his head helplessly and began to study the position of the Smart Map Division.

The panel in front of him already had the Smart Toast icon. When Cottonson clicked on it, he first saw maps of Alabasta and the Drum Kingdom, and then noticed several red dots flashing at the locations of the ports of the two countries.

"I suggest building an office here!"

"Huh?" Miansen was taken aback. They've already chosen a spot for me?

As he continued reading, he discovered that not only had the location been chosen, but the construction blueprints and even the final appearance of the building had been designed.

Looking at the pricing, the basic version includes map and navigation functions, and the pricing options include monthly fees, annual fees, and per-use fees.

The advanced version also includes weather forecasts and pirate warnings, which are clearly designed for merchant ships.

"Hmm?" Miansen suddenly noticed that there were two more advanced versions. One of the advanced versions no longer had the pirate warning, but it did have a navy warning.

Is this prepared for pirates?

As for the third one, it not only adds a pirate role, but also has a function to block pirate warnings.

Clearly, this is intended for the World Government's navy, and the meaning is simple: if you don't buy our map service, you can forget about catching pirates!

"Tsk!" Miansen's cheek twitched, and then he began to think about how to start the work.

The office building definitely needs to be built, but priorities should be set.

If you want to spread the map as quickly as possible, then the best location is: Twin Capes!

"I didn't expect Twin Capes to be Alabasta territory. I remember there was a lighthouse here!?" Cottonmori scratched his head. But that's fine. As the starting point of the Grand Line, Twin Capes sees countless ships every day.

Meanwhile, Ningyuan's meeting was still ongoing.

"You may know, or you may not, but Alabasta is a country with a conscription system. Every adult is obligated to serve in the military!" Ning Yuan continued, "I don't know what happened to the Drum Kingdom before, but now that it has joined Alabasta, all adults here will have to serve in the military!"

"This!" Dalton exclaimed, holding it up. "Is it necessary for all adults?"

"It doesn't necessarily have to be all adults. In fact, Alabasta doesn't need that many soldiers. I'm just letting you know that such a system exists!" Ning Yuan said. "The actual recruitment plan is with the Goddess of Wisdom; you can take a look!"

At this point, Ning Yuan suddenly realized something was wrong. The Goddess of Wisdom could directly manage individuals, so why was he telling them about these personal matters?

The main reason is that I haven't been with the goddess of wisdom for very long, so I'm not quite used to it yet.

"Alright, let's call it a day!" Ning Yuan waved his hand. "The mayors can leave now, but Doriel and Dalton, please stay!"

The town mayors looked at each other, still having many things to say, such as how to select officials and how to collect taxes.

But they dared not ask any more questions and could only leave the palace in silence.

In a short while, only four people remained in the palace.

"Dalton, you'll be coming back to Alabasta with us soon. As for Dr. Doriel, the medical university I promised will be established. An Alabasta engineering team will be coming to renovate the palace shortly. You can discuss with the Goddess of Wisdom how to conduct teaching at the school!"

"Does the Goddess of Wisdom even know this?" Doriel looked at her Goddess of Wisdom interface with curiosity, and then noticed that there was a new icon for "Doriel Medical University" on the interface.

After she clicked on it, her eyes widened as she looked at the rules, regulations, subject allocations, enrollment plans, and teaching materials set up by the Goddess of Wisdom.

She really understands!

Moreover, it seems like they know even more than I do!

Ning Yuan had already dispatched Alabasta's people to the Drum Kingdom as soon as he learned of Nami's illness.

However, he flew fast, while the ship moved slowly.

Even so, five days later, Alabasta's reserve officers and a thousand soldiers were in place.

Although there are few soldiers, the Drum Kingdom currently has no soldiers at all, and a thousand soldiers are enough to maintain order.

As for fighting pirates, that's definitely out of the question. But Drum Kingdom isn't on the Grand Line, so Blackbeard only comes here when he has a special need. Otherwise, they never encounter pirates.

Once the officials and soldiers arrived, all tasks were carried out in an orderly manner, and the six corrupt and incompetent town mayors met their end.

Alabasta has had many public trials, and the officials are very experienced.

Although the people of the Drum Kingdom had no experience, they immediately understood what was happening after just one demonstration.

As the public trials were held and corrupt officials were punished, the hearts of the people of the entire Drum Kingdom, or rather, Drum State, quickly settled down.

To be fair, public trials are indeed a way to quickly win over the hearts and minds of the people.

Letting the people judge the crimes of officials themselves not only allows them to vent their anger at years of oppression and enslavement, but also lets them see the new government's determination to be masters of their own destiny.

This move was even more effective than Shang Yang's "moving a log to establish trust" in ancient times.

The only problem is that it might offend the aristocratic families, but the number one idol in Ningyuan's idol group is the teacher, and Huang Chao is next!

Is he afraid of powerful families?

He only wanted to trample the bones of nobles and officials on the streets and burn the imperial treasury to ashes!

Moreover, Ning Yuan believed in the power of the people, so much so that whether he unified the world in the Naruto world or went to the One Piece world, Ning Yuan rarely acted as a personal hero.

He prefers to cultivate local talent and then leverage the collective strength.

I don't expect them all to reach my level, but at least they shouldn't be too far behind.

As for whether ordinary people are useful in a world of the extraordinary?

Don't forget, while Luffy is a second or third generation, Zoro isn't.

He also came from a commoner background, yet he possesses the strength of a vice-royal.

Not to mention Admirals Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Hero Garp, and another one who activated a 200x effort boost.

There's also Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, and the legendary Golden Lion from back then.

And what about Silver Axe, Wang Zhi, and the later Pirate Supernovas? Aren't they all from commoner backgrounds?

Oh, and the future generals Fujitora and Araki Green Bull were also commoners!

The Seven Warlords of the Sea include Hancock, Hawkeye, Jinbe, Crocodile, Moria, and later Edward Weevil.

Among all the Seven Warlords of the Sea, only Kuma and Doflamingo were not commoners!

Ordinary people truly have a lot to offer in this world!

Even if only one in a million people possesses Conqueror's Haki, with two million people in Drum Kingdom and 5000 million in Alabasta, you could still get 52 people in total, right?

(End of this chapter)