Chapter 312: Dividing the Pirates and Breaking the Balance
"Lu Kai, do you really not understand why I stopped you from dealing with the Four Emperors without authorization?" Sengoku asked Lu Kai, "If there is, the Five Elders only told the Marshals, and even the generals don't know all the considerations of the World Government.
“The reason I’m telling you this specifically is that in hundreds of years, there hasn’t been an admiral as powerful as you in the navy.
“So the Five Elders asked me to talk to you specifically because they are worried that your actions will cause unnecessary turmoil.
"It stands to reason that with your strength, it shouldn't be difficult to deal with the Four Emperors. Plus, you have the support of the Marine Headquarters, other admirals, vice admirals, and marines. If you are determined to end the rule of the Four Emperors, it shouldn't be difficult. Do you know why I still want to stop you from doing so?"
"I don't know!" Lu Kai answered truthfully.
"It's simple, the world needs the Four Emperors!" Sengoku said shockingly.
"The world needs the Four Emperors?" Lu Kai began to think thoughtfully.
Lu Kai began to understand what Zhan Guo said. He had learned a lot of information over the years.
So it was enough for Lu Kai to infer many results based on this one sentence about the battle results, but he still listened carefully.
"Lu Kai, there are so many pirates in this world, like a swarm of carp crossing the river, they will never end!" Zhan Guo began to explain.
“You have to know that most of the world is ocean, and all the land is made up of independent islands.
“The climate, environment and products of different islands are very different. There are poor islands, rich islands, uninhabited islands that have not yet been discovered, and many civilized islands with a long cultural history.
“What I want to say is that it is precisely because of this characteristic of the world that there is a gap between any two islands, any two countries, any two regions.
“If you want to communicate, travel, and trade, you have to take a ship.
“There are countless inhabited islands around the world, so can you imagine the number of ships sailing on this sea every day?
“Among these sailors, some want to make money through trade to obtain legitimate profits, but some want to make money without working, so what should they do?
“Those who wanted to gain something for nothing set their sights on trading ships and became pirates on the sea. This is the origin of pirates.
"It is precisely because the ocean is so huge and there are so many ships, so even if pirates are only a small part of it, the number is still quite astonishing.
“So, pirates have never been extinct. Instead, they have become more and more numerous with the development of the times, and they are increasing in every era.
"Especially since Roger's death, in just four years, the number of pirates has increased more than tenfold, reaching an unprecedented peak, and it is getting worse and worse. This is what people call the Great Pirate Era.
“Pirates don’t work, produce, or trade, so their way of survival is to hunt for treasures and steal other people’s property.
“Pirates would fight each other over treasures or because of thieves robbing each other, so as the number of pirates increased, the sea became more and more chaotic.
“Many powerful pirates, although they are independent and unwilling to submit to each other, have a certain tacit understanding between them and have their own territories, so they generally won’t fight each other easily.
"Because this kind of fighting has no substantial benefits for them. Unless there are conflicts of interest, they will all live in peace. But pirates are pirates after all, and their essence is robbers.
"Especially for some extremely powerful pirates, they no longer care about ordinary treasures.
"But do you know where the wealth in this world is most concentrated? It is in the hands of the Celestial Dragons, who are the rulers of the world. The Celestial Dragons control a large amount of wealth.
"Our navy's military expenses are paid by the world government we rule, and so are our warships, guns, and cannons. The expenses are so huge that you can't imagine.
"And this is of course done to keep the world going. Can you imagine what the world would be like without the navy?
"However, in many times in the past, many pirates came together to openly fight against the World Government in order to plunder this huge wealth.
"You know, a single pirate group is not scary, but if these pirates unite together, they will be a huge force that will cause unimaginable impact on the world." Sengoku continued to say to Luke.
“So many, many years ago, in order to deal with this situation, the World Government came up with a solution, which was to separate the four strongest pirates from the other pirates.
“They were called the kings of the sea, the emperors who ruled over one side, and the concept of the Four Emperors was born.
"Just this one move immediately disintegrated the former pirate alliance and broke the delicate balance among pirates.
“To be called one of the Four Emperors, I am naturally extremely happy and feel that this title is worthy of me.
“But there are also many unruly people among those who have not been given the title of the Four Emperors. How could they submit to being called the Four Emperors?
"So people have been challenging the Four Emperors. Since then, the old Four Emperors have been falling and new Four Emperors have been rising. This seems to have become a tradition among pirates.
"Since then, a large part of the conflicts between pirates and the World Government and the Navy has shifted to conflicts between pirates, and the world situation has immediately been greatly stabilized.
“The number of pirates who choose to openly confront the World Government has also decreased significantly, because the pirates are all fighting for the so-called Four Emperors and have no time to care about the World Government.
“As for the strength of a single pirate group, no matter how strong it is, it is difficult to pose an effective threat to the World Government. Of course, those pirates do not want to have another enemy, the World Government, when they are surrounded by enemies.
"At this time, the pirates had become a pile of scattered sand and could no longer gather together. So although the Four Emperors seemed to be an honorable title, it was actually a bloody crown that made the pirates compete and fight with each other.
"In this way, the World Government no longer has to worry about the pirates uniting to fight against the World Government. It only needs to sit back and watch the fight. This is a clever check and balance.
"And later, in order to consolidate their positions, the Four Emperors continued to expand their territories, recruited people, strengthened their strength, and intimidated others. The territories ruled by the Four Emperors were places that many pirates dared not touch or wreak havoc on, and the world even became more stable because of them.
"When the old Four Emperors fall, new Four Emperors will immediately take their places, eliminate their followers, and take over their territories.
"Then let's assume that what would happen would happen if you defeated all four emperors at once?" Zhan Guo said.