Chapter 288 One month later, a series of policy reforms
Looking at problems with dialectical thinking is a reflection of the people's enlightenment.

But while helping people distinguish between good and evil, it also reveals the evil side of some people.

Taking advantage of public anger to satisfy selfish desires.

Some people have never had power in their entire lives, but once they have a little bit of power, they will unscrupulously show off and become oppressors.

This situation was not uncommon among the 256 islands and towns liberated by the revolutionary army.

After enlightenment, or after the first experience that power can satisfy desires, this mentality will be unstoppable and can be used freely.

The nobles of the various kingdoms in this world cannot be generalized. For example, Cobra of the Alabasta Kingdom in the past, and King Riku of Dressrosa in the past, there are many nobles with good intentions like them.

Even among the Celestial Dragons, a figure like Doflamingo's father has appeared in the past eight hundred years.

The same is true among the nobles of the Kingdom of Goa. Avril's parents used to help the poor, opposed the king's burning of the garbage mountain, and even paid for some of their children's heavenly money out of their own pocket.

But in the chaos, this nobleman was killed by angry people, and the little money left in his residence was looted.

The woman and her daughter fled under the protection of the people who had helped them in the past, but how far could two women, one big and one small, go?

Finally, because of a little noise, they were discovered by the crowd led by Cole and blocked the entrance of the alley.

"Isn't this our Countess? The nobles who oppressed us in the past have all been hanged. You must also atone for your past actions!"

Cole raised the sickle in his hand: "She is begging us! How can the sins of the nobles be forgiven? When we think of our deceased relatives, how can we forgive them?"

At one moment, those who followed behind him also raised their weapons.

"Kill her! Let her atone for the innocent deaths!"

"The revolution will not stop! All nobles should be executed!"

"The property plundered from the people will eventually return to the people!"

"They are guilty, beat the aristocracy!"

For a moment, the shouts at the entrance of the alley were deafening.

Facing the huge crowd, the mother and daughter in the alley hugged each other tightly, their bodies shaking constantly.

Avril couldn't stop sobbing, tears all over her little cheeks.

She didn't understand why these people hated them so much.

Obviously... obviously my father and mother have always helped the people outside the royal city. There were even some uncles who couldn't afford to pay the heavenly gold and begged my father for help, and my father always gave them help.

Because of this, the family had never had much money. Every time, my father would buy seeds and give them to the poor, and the territory would also give them some fields and wasteland to cultivate without charging any fees.

"Mom...why? That uncle..."

The woman raised her head slightly and saw a middle-aged man behind Cole at this moment.

She remembered that the man had been arrested because he had no money to pay the kingdom's taxes, and was released after her husband paid the money.

In an instant, the woman seemed to see hope in her eyes, and she crawled over on her knees, her body lying on the ground.

"Please... please... the Earl once saved you, can you please help us?"

"No, help Avril! I can be punished, but she's still young...she doesn't understand anything. Please!"

The pleading voice immediately attracted the attention of the crowd to the middle-aged man. He looked embarrassed and was struggling violently inside.

As soon as he rushed into the alley, he recognized the mother and daughter who were trapped there, but the situation behind him made him dare not move forward.

So many things happened in these few days. The once high and mighty king was hanged on the gallows, and too many nobles died in the chaos.

"they……"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by a loud shout.

"Do you want to plead for the nobility?!"

"Your current behavior is a betrayal of your own class and the achievements of the revolution!"

"So you're going to be judged like them?"

Cole turned around and raised the sickle in his hand: "The gentleman from the Revolutionary Army said: Only when everyone unites can we defeat those who are high above us!"

"We are all kind people. Even if the other party has been so wicked in the past, we will still feel compassion... But this is wrong! It must be corrected!"

"Everyone! What did our foolish kindness in the past bring us? It only brought us endless oppression!"

"Now they are on their knees begging, but have you forgotten the suffering they once endured?"

For a moment, the crowd was outraged again.

"Correct!"

"Well said! We can't let them go just because we are kind!"

"The aristocracy is corrupt! They must be put on trial and executed!"

The middle-aged man's dazed look finally turned into madness, and the determined voices of the crowd kept appearing in his mind.

He was trying to convince his conscience, even though he knew that kindness needed to be repaid, even though he knew that if the mother and daughter died in front of him today, he would have sleepless nights in the days to come... but he had no choice.

Because the knife called revolution was now pointed at him.

"what!!!"

After a roar, the healer pointed the steel fork in his hand at the woman and the girl.

"Judge...Judge them!"

Cheers rang out and many people echoed them.

At this moment, everyone stood on the commanding heights of justice, transformed into the people they hated the most in the past, ignored their own moral bottom line, and wanted to impose a tragic fate on the mother and daughter in front of them.

Wielding a sickle, Cole, the leader, walked slowly forward, his eyes fixed on the crystal necklace around the woman's neck.

At this time she also noticed the other person's gaze. Although she was reluctant, she still took off the necklace without hesitation.

Away from the gazes of the other party, he placed the necklace behind a piece of rubble without leaving any trace.

His eyes were pleading, and he held his daughter in his arms and clasped them together.

"Let Avril go, she's just a child..."

"You can kill me, please...please."

She didn't mention the necklace because she knew the other party's purpose clearly.

As a noble lady of the kingdom in the past, she could clearly guess the other party's motives, and she also understood that only by doing this could she have a chance to save her daughter's life.

"What are you talking about? The blood of sin will inevitably inherit sin. She was born a noble, so she also needs to be judged!"

Cole walked forward, stepped on the necklace with one foot, and raised the sickle high in his hand.

"You filthy nobles! Accept the judgment of the people!"

At this moment, he seemed like a god high above. The sickle in his hand and the words he spoke were the supreme authority. Even the lives of the nobles in the past were in his hands.

There is nothing more comfortable than this feeling.

The fate and humility of being at the bottom of the world at this time became the seeds of his desire for power, growing wildly like a demon.

Yes, as long as he borrows the name of the revolutionary army, as long as he applies the ideas of the revolutionary army to his own behavior, as long as he uses the name of that gentleman, he will be able to be invincible!

"puff!"

The sickle fell, the blade tore the body apart, blood splattered but no scream was heard.

A dark-skinned but strong man wearing a straw hat woven from weeds stood in front of him.

"Uncle Amu!"

Avril exclaimed, and at the same time she saw the figures blocking their way.

The rough-skinned woman helped them up and looked at her husband with tears in her eyes, bleeding all over the ground, but she did not step forward to stop it.

"Ma'am...let's go! Quick!"

The farmer helped the two men to leave, and for a moment the crowd led by Cole became agitated.

"We can't let them leave like this! They are class enemies, Amu! What do you want to do? Want to oppose the revolutionary army?"

"Asshole, charge!"

"Stop them! Quickly!"

……

However, only six figures holding farm tools stopped the group of people.

Amu's face was pale and he was gasping for breath, but he did not fall down. Instead, he used the steel fork in his hand to push Cole, causing him to let go of the sickle and slowly retreat.

"Are you worthy of being a revolutionary army?"

"A few idle hooligans from the village, what do you think we don't know?!"

"You sons of bitches! How many of you have received favors from the master in the past? Have your consciences been eaten by dogs now?"

"Even pirates have to be loyal to each other. What are you doing now?!"

……

The angry voice made the crowd pause.

At the stage when selfish desires begin to take shape and when wisdom is just beginning to emerge, those who are swept up in the greater good now feel a little guilty.

However, Cole, frightened by the opponent's bloody appearance, bravely took two steps forward.

"The gentleman said..."

Before he could finish his words, a steel fork stabbed towards him and whizzed past his ear.

"He said shit!"

"I don't know what sir! I only know that I should remember the kindness of others! If you want to get through today, you bastards, I'll have to die here!"

"We failed to protect the master when the chaos started, so how can we allow you to continue to hurt the lady and the young lady now!"

For a moment, chaos was imminent.

There were only six people in the alley, two of whom were old men over 60 years old. However, these six ordinary people, who were determined to repay their gratitude with their lives, shocked the dozens of people in front of them.

Even the leader Cole did not dare to test the determination of these old immortals at this moment.

He just wants money, and if possible, it's okay to ask for sex.

But if it requires sacrificing his own life, he would definitely not be willing to do that.

"Go! They are the ones who are against change!"

"Yes! Send them to the gallows, too!"

"Like those nobles, they will also be judged!"...

Many people in the crowd agreed, but no one dared to rush forward when faced with the steel forks and hammers.

Even the people in the front of the line held their backs to avoid being pushed out by the people behind them.

At this time, footsteps sounded outside the alley.

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunshots rang out and the crowd panicked for a moment.

Past muscle memory made them immediately squat on the ground with their heads in their hands, not daring to move at all.

"Da da da da..."

The sound of orderly footsteps was heard, and at the same time, the mother and daughter who had just been taken away and the peasant woman were also brought here.

The new navy G16 branch base commander, Rear Admiral Smoker of the Navy Headquarters, stepped forward at this time.

The cigar in his mouth, the smoke rings he exhaled, and the hideous scars left from the previous battle of protecting the navy's family, made him look like a bad guy at all.

Uncle Amu and others looked solemn, and he even winked at his wife, trying to risk his life to create chaos so that his wife could escape with the wife and daughter of his benefactor.

At this moment, Smoker's arrival also made Cole look happy, and he rushed over and took the initiative: "Admiral! They..."

Before he could finish his words, Smoker's look made him swallow all the words back.

"Since the Battle of Marinford, the new navy no longer uses the title of sir. Also...it is your duty to cooperate with the investigation of public security issues, but you need to do it one by one."

At this point, Smoker pulled out a warrant for his arrest.

"I need to arrest a few people before that."

"Green Village Cole, White Fruit Village..."

A series of names popped up, followed by chaos in the crowd. Several people who lowered their heads and prepared to escape were pinned down by the navy.

Smoker then looked at everyone: "Using the name of revolution to create chaos, in the chaos they robbed others of their wealth, murdered for money, raped and plundered."

"He is currently being detained and will be tried in public later. Witnesses, testimonies and exhibits will be made public in the public trial. The criminal process will be documented and preserved. Anyone who has doubts can go to the branch to read it."

Smoker waved his hand, and a total of nine people were taken away in custody. They argued loudly but no one paid any attention.

The accompanying marine frowned and said, "New things have come down from the Revolutionary Army's research institute. We won't do anything without evidence. Besides, we're not going to execute him right now. The public trial stage hasn't arrived yet."

Several people were detained and taken away. Smoker looked at the people in the alley who were looking at each other in bewilderment.

The emotions that had been so busy these days that they were about to explode were suppressed, and the conversation with the political officer of the Revolutionary Army before this operation was still vivid in his mind.

"It is not difficult to liberate a country or an island by force. The pirate emperors in the New World can do it. But governing a country, or even making the people of a country rich and live a better life, is by no means easy."

"Mr. said that human hearts are fickle. Enlightenment will not only teach people to think about resistance, but also teach people to think about their desires. Don't judge good and evil by the group, but look at a person's words and deeds to see if they meet the bottom line of morality."

"Smoker, the population of the Kingdom of Goa is huge. After the liberation operation, the people are even more unstable and easily coerced by some people. In this case, we must patiently guide them. We are the people's team and must not stand against them."

……

Smoker suppressed his extremely busy mentality in the past few days, calmed his tone, and showed a slightly weird smile.

"Green Village Cole, male, 25 years old."

"Nine days ago, during the chaos, he robbed a man of his property... his sword... and during that time, he even used a false name to accept property..."

"Baiguo Village..."

The crimes committed by the nine people who were taken away were made public one by one, and there were even people in the crowd who were coerced.

At one time, due to the chain reaction, many people stood up and denounced their experiences and the money they gave under coercion.

If you don't join, you will be labeled and suppressed and judged.

Smoker had the navy record what these people said, and they left their addresses, names, and fingerprints, indicating that they would be returned one by one after their property was recovered.

At the same time, Smoker told everyone: "At present, the Kingdom of Goa has been fully liberated. No one is allowed to conduct trials in the name of revolution. If there are any who escape, please report to the Navy Branch."

"Boom."

With a dull thud, Uncle Amu, who had been barely supporting his body, fell to the ground.

Avril, her mother and the peasant woman ran over. Smoker also discovered the middle-aged man and quickly asked a doctor to come forward to treat him.

However, the uncle with his eyes open ignored his injuries, stared at Smoker and shouted, "Navy!!!"

Smoker looked over.

"Cough cough!"

Blood gushed out, but he still did not stop: "There are good and bad nobles too. I have seen everything the Earl has done to help us lowly people!"

"If they are also guilty, then what exactly do the Revolutionary Army want to change when they talk about changing the world? Do they want that gentleman to become a new god like the current Celestial Dragons?"

For a moment, everyone looked at the navy.

Even those who were previously coerced also wanted to know the answer from the navy at this moment.

If we simply replace the god above our heads, is there any hope for this world?

"Do not."

Smoker stepped forward. "When the laws of the Revolutionary Army were first formulated, there was no such thing as nobles being born guilty. Good and evil are determined by a person's actions, not by their birth."

"Sir, you said that there is no distinction between noble and inferior lives. This is not only against the idea that the nobility are born noble, but also against the idea that the nobility are born guilty."

"We only learned about the Earl's deeds later, but chaos had already broken out."

Having said that, Smoker turned to Avril and the Countess and bowed to apologize.

Following closely behind are all the navies behind.

"The territories and wealth granted by the Kingdom of Goa to the nobles should be returned to the people, but everything that the Earl did in the past should not be forgotten, and he should not die in the chaos."

"This is the negligence of our navy, and also the negligence of the revolutionary army during the liberation operation. Although an apology cannot bring back the dead, the navy branch will provide compensation later, and I hope you can forgive me."

Smoker stood up and then announced the placement of the nobles drafted by the political officer.

From now on, there will be no more nobles in the Kingdom of Goa, but nobles such as the count will also need to be resettled.

An hour later, Smoker's drowsy head became even more drowsy, but the trust that gradually brightened in the eyes of the people made him feel like he had a last burst of light.

Avril, who was currently in her arms, also started crying as she looked at her mother who was crying inconsolably.

But she knew... her father had been recognized, and from today on, no one could bully them anymore.

……

For seven consecutive days, the navy was busy liberating the area centered on Upside Down Mountain.

The entire new navy, in addition to Sengoku who was in charge of the overall situation and constantly communicating with all parties, even admirals like Borsalino and Kuzan were sent out to carry out guidance and explanation work.

Borsalino, who possesses the power of the Pika Pika Nomi, now wishes he could change to another fruit.

His extreme speed made his workload three times that of Kuzan, and he basically had to travel all over the four seas and part of the Grand Line.

That is to say, at present, in places like Nine Snake Island, because the king or the emperor is loved by the people and is only in the stage of ideological awakening for the time being, there has been no trouble.

In other places like the Kingdom of Goa, the saying "people's hearts are fickle" is perfectly demonstrated.

"Shh!"

Light particles broke in through the window, gathered into a human shape, and then slumped on the sofa.

Borsalino's mouth was not crooked at this moment, and he had no energy to mutter any scary words.

His eyes were dull, and he missed the leisurely days when he could lie down and drink coffee while earning his salary.

Also slumped in his office chair was Zhan Guo, his beard all tangled and he had no time to take care of it.

"Boom."

The office door was pushed open and Zefa's voice came in.

"How many times have I told you, I'm a drill instructor! Not a mediator, asshole!"

Zhan Guo glanced at him weakly and said, "If you can still roar, it proves that there is no problem. The branch in Lulucia Kingdom can't take care of it, you have to go there quickly."

"I……"

Zefa Buman only said one word, and Zhan Guo stuffed it back.

"Three children have been killed. The bandits in the mountains took advantage of the chaos to come down, bringing a group of former hooligans with them to do whatever they want in the name of revolution. This is a public security issue."

"If I don't hurry over, I'm afraid the consequences will be..."

"Oh!"

The office door was smashed to pieces and Zefa left without looking back.

At the same time, Zhan Guo looked at Borsalino: "There are more urgent issues here, you..."

Borsalino took the mission report and turned into light particles and left through the window.

Zhan Guo smiled and then rubbed his swollen forehead.

If they really didn't want to do it, then these two guys wouldn't have rushed straight into his office as soon as they came back. Borsalino even turned back into an element, just because he was afraid that delaying time would allow those who were dominated by desire to succeed.

Even old man Garp is so busy these days that he can't stop.

The true justice in my heart, which has been suppressed for decades, can now be released without any scruples. How can I stop?

However, the gentleman said that it would not be long before the chaos ended.

The next step is to cooperate with the civil servants.

By liberating the islands of various countries in the region, an economic circle will be formed to achieve the flow of materials. At the same time, trade communications should be carried out with countries outside the region to allow information and wealth to flow.

Only in this way can people's lives become better, instead of being hungry as in the past, and now just having a few more bowls of rice.

Separation of military and political power and independence of the navy.

This is a foundational policy that is laid out and implemented during the first meeting to prevent future problems.

Zhan Guo looked at the broken wooden door, thought for a moment, and then picked up a pen to take notes.

General Zefa damaged a wooden door and his allowance for next month will be deducted from it.

No one is outside the law, not even a general.

Freedom is not about doing whatever you want, but about pursuing your dreams based on morality and laws.

Pirates will be eradicated from now on.

……

(End of this chapter)