The tender moments were but brief relaxation and entertainment. York wouldn't stay indulged forever; he always remembered that he was the master of his abilities, not a puppet controlled by them.
Leaving Gunko's room, York went to the Mirror World.
Wang Zhi hadn't actually been killed by Kaido.
Like York before him, Kaido had contacted Stussy through a temporarily created mirror surface and imprisoned Wang Zhi in the Mirror World.
Now that York had arrived, Wang Zhi was being brutally beaten by Shakky.
Bang bang bang...
Kicks imbued with Armament Haki landed continuously on Wang Zhi.
Shakky had specifically worn long pants so Wang Zhi couldn't see anything.
When York arrived, Shakky paused, panting slightly.
York asked, "Feel better?"
Shakky nodded gently. "About right."
York: "Shall I kill him then?"
Shakky hesitated for an instant, then nodded again. "Kill him. There's no point in keeping him."
York walked up to Wang Zhi.
The latter was bound to a pillar with Seastone. His face was swollen beyond recognition, with only two slits barely visible for eyes.
Seeing York arrive, Wang Zhi spoke weakly: "Yo... York... Spare... spare my life... I can be your subordinate. My strength, ability, and connections are still pretty good."
York's expression showed neither joy nor sorrow, only stating calmly: "Wang Zhi, don't make me look down on you. We are all adults. Whatever you do, whatever consequences arise, you must bear the responsibility yourself. Don't tell me you don't have that resolve."
Wang Zhi opened his mouth but ultimately chose to close it.
York's will was already clear; begging for mercy wouldn't gain forgiveness. So in this final moment, he ultimately chose to leave himself a shred of dignity.
Only when York extended his hand and pressed his fingertip against Wang Zhi's forehead did Wang Zhi speak again: "Spare my family."
"When I made a move on Shakky, she wasn't your woman yet. She was the treasure of Hachinosu declared by Rocks. I didn't touch your woman!"
Hearing this, York paused briefly.
"If your descendants don't actively seek revenge against me, I can pretend not to see them."
After all, York's undertaking was grand, and future enemies would inevitably be numerous. He couldn't pay attention to whether one or two people held grudges all the time, nor could he expend manpower and resources specifically for this.
Of course, if Wang Zhi's descendants came knocking on his door, York wouldn't mind sending them to meet their father.
However, what Wang Zhi wanted was actually just this sentence. He was willing to trust York's credibility.
Seeing Wang Zhi close his eyes completely with no further last words, York hesitated no longer and activated his ability.
"Peaceful Sleep of Death!!"
Dying in sleep—this was York's final tenderness towards Wang Zhi, once a partner on the same ship.
After initially confirming Wang Zhi had completely stopped breathing, York further activated the second stage of his ability.
"Fiery Funeral!!"
Flames reaching 6,000 degrees Celsius burned fiercely, rapidly turning Wang Zhi's corpse and the pillar binding him into a pile of ashes.
Only the Seastone chains binding Wang Zhi were melted into a puddle of iron water, burning a shallow pit on the ground of the Mirror World.
Destroying the corpse to erase traces and prevent potential resurrection—this was York's responsibility to himself and his entire faction.
Shakky watched quietly as York did everything.
Seeing Wang Zhi turn completely into a pile of dust, the resentment in her heart also thoroughly dissipated.
Having dealt with Wang Zhi, York returned to his throne and picked up the documents representing state governance again.
Over the past year or so, his transformation of the Red Flag Empire had mainly focused on people's livelihood.
For example, the measurement of land nationwide, the establishment of a national household registration system, and the precise allocation of land to every household, etc.
Besides that, he made only minor changes to the pirate crew and the army.
Most former pirate crew members were assigned to the external combat corps, responsible for conquering cities and seizing land, while the former Vodka Kingdom army was mostly converted into an internal police force, responsible for public security management.
Now that the battle of Hachinosu was over.
Not only was the old grudge with Wang Zhi resolved, but a formal armistice treaty was also settled with Imu.
As long as he didn't actively attack the Holy Land, Imu wouldn't run out from there.
Although this was just a verbal agreement, for powerhouses of their level, it was actually sufficient.
Thus, York had thoroughly secured a stable growth environment for the entire pirate crew.
At least for the next few to dozen years, the World Government and the Marines shouldn't come causing trouble again.
So starting from this day, York gradually immersed himself in the future development planning of the pirate crew and the empire.
As the saying goes, only with a good foundation can a house be built tall and large.
He didn't take advantage of the prestige brought by Hachinosu to expand rapidly, but instead further deepened internal reforms.
...No more wordiness here; the following is a summary...
[End of Year 1485, Age of the Sea Circle. The Battle of Hachinosu ends. The pattern of the Four Emperors of the Sea is preliminarily formed. They are—
Flame Emperor: Adolf D. York!
Big Mom: Charlotte Linlin!
Whitebeard: Edward Newgate!
Golden Lion: Shiki!]
...
[February 1486, Age of the Sea Circle.
York promulgated the Civil Code and Military Law within the Red Flag Empire.
The Civil Code was based on the laws of the former Vodka Kingdom, incorporating ten core principles: patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendliness, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, prosperity, and civilization. Details are not expanded here.
Military Law, besides common regulations for marching and fighting, centered on the military meritocracy system of York's previous life's Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties, formulating corresponding reward and punishment standards, with slightly modified titles and number of ranks.
This military meritocracy established eleven ranks, from top to bottom:
Prince, Grand Duke, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Grand Knight, Knight, Citizen, Labor Reform Convict.
All national populace automatically obtained Citizen status, while war captives and criminals were unified as Labor Reform Convicts.
Among them, all titles including Prince were non-hereditary. Inheritance in each generation would automatically drop one rank.
For example, if Kaido was titled Prince in the future, his children would inherit as Grand Duke.
If his children made no further meritorious contributions on top of being Grand Duke, Kaido's grandchildren would be demoted to Duke.
And so on. As long as no talent emerged in a generation, Kaido's direct descendants would eventually drop to Citizen.
Correspondingly, even if ordinary people were Citizens for generations, as long as a talented individual emerged in one generation, they would also have the opportunity to become a Duke or even a Prince.
Besides, all the above titles held no administrative, legislative, or military power, only the right to enjoy tax revenue in the corresponding territory.
However, using tax revenue for commercial activities was not restricted.
In addition, military positions and titles were not directly related. Aside from those promoted through military merit, those inheriting titles who joined the army could at most serve as Centurions. Higher ranks required solid military merits.
The promulgation of these laws naturally caused quite a stir within the Red Flag Empire.
However, it wasn't chaos, but excitement.
Everyone began to yearn to join the army.]
...
[May 1486, Age of the Sea Circle.
To prevent the entire country from becoming completely deformed, York successively promulgated promotion systems for government officials and scientific research and development, suppressing the national enthusiasm for joining the army somewhat.
But even so, the current Red Flag Empire legions began to become eager for war.]
...
[March 1486, Age of the Sea Circle.
York's reforms of the Red Flag Empire were basically complete. He ordered the launch of a war of annihilation against the neighboring Galzburg Kingdom.
York himself did not participate in this battle; Kaido led the newly formed Red Flag Legion to attack.]
...
[April 1486, Age of the Sea Circle.
The Galzburg Kingdom was completely destroyed, and all its territory was occupied by the Red Flag Empire.
Over 90% of the royal family and nobles were exterminated, with only a few ships escaping the country.]
...
[May 1486, Age of the Sea Circle.
York moved to the Galzburg Province to implement the Red Flag Empire's system there.]
...
[Year 1487, Age of the Sea Circle.
With Galzburg Province pacified, York issued a grand infrastructure order.
To get rich, build roads first.
He began building roads extending in all directions within the two territories.]
...
[April 1488, Age of the Sea Circle.
York dispatched Dragon as the main general to attack the Clawdia Kingdom.]
...
[June 1488, Age of the Sea Circle.
The Clawdia Kingdom was annihilated. Over 80% of the royal family and nobles were killed, with only a few ships fleeing the country.]
...
In the blink of an eye, time reached the year 1489 in the Age of the Sea Circle.
York began ordering grand infrastructure projects in the Clawdia Kingdom as well.
Countless people obeyed the orders, and also for the high salaries issued by York, collectively threw themselves into infrastructure construction.
With major construction starting in all three occupied territories, York decided to suspend the pace of expansion and wait until people's livelihoods were raised to a certain level.
After all, no matter how good his policies were, the implementation time was still relatively short.
Due to human nostalgia, many people still missed the old days.
Just as York temporarily halted his expansion, the Vegapunk quartet, who had been silently researching in the Mirror World for many years, finally produced their research results.
Through Lineage Factor, Vegapunk successfully created the world's first artificial Devil Fruit!
The prototype of this fruit was from Hanafuda's blood, meaning it was very likely an artificial Ancient Zoan: Tyrannosaurus Rex fruit.
Looking at the patterned apple quietly kept in a glass box by Vegapunk, York asked calmly: "Have experiments been done?"
Vegapunk shook his head slightly. "No one has actually eaten it yet, but I'm 90% sure that even if this fruit doesn't grant an ability, it won't cause any harm to the body."
"What about the probability of gaining an ability?" York asked back.
Vegapunk answered: "About 50%."
York pondered slightly.
He ordered the top 10 pirates ranked by merit in the previous two wars to be called over.
These 10 people were all among the 180 who most firmly supported him back then.
"You followed me firmly back then. At that time, I couldn't offer any great rewards. Now, I finally have something good!"
York took the blue-spotted patterned apple made by Vegapunk out of the glass box.
"This is the latest artificial Devil Fruit researched and created by Dr. Vegapunk!"
"It replicates Hanafuda's ability. It is an artificial Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit!"
"I think you've all seen with your own eyes how strong Hanafuda's ability is, so I won't introduce it further."
"Because this fruit is artificial, the probability of gaining the ability is only 50%!"
"Of course, Dr. Vegapunk assured me that even if the person who eats this fruit fails to gain the ability, their body won't be harmed."
"Now, who among you wants to try it?"
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