Dreams, the Sword Discontinuation Edict, and Enclosure Movements

"Is there anything you want to do?"

Ian fell into thought.

It's been six years since he came to this world, and he'd never really thought about it before.

Unable to come up with an answer immediately, Ian asked Yamato, "Why do you suddenly ask that?"

"Because Ian, besides training, you don't seem interested in anything else!"

Yamato pouted and sniffled, "You didn't even seem to like those beautiful fireworks just now!"

She looked at Ian with a strange expression in her eyes.

Was that… pity?

Ian's lips twitched. Was this girl pitying him?

"What about you? What do you want to do when you grow up?"

Ian asked.

"I want to become stronger than my dad!"

Yamato said seriously, "And then become the new captain of the Beasts Pirates! Dad said that if I do, I'll be able to do anything I want!"

Ian wasn't surprised.

He could certainly feel that Teacher Kai truly saw Yamato as his successor.

Of course, he couldn't say when that succession would happen.

Teacher Kai didn't expect to entrust his dream to anyone.

"What about you, Ian!"

The girl leaned close to Ian, standing on her tiptoes, her nose almost touching his face. Ian looked down and could see stars in her eyes.

Damn, how can someone have stars in their eyes? Are you the Honey Queen?

"What do you want to do, Ian?"

Ian pushed her away, his hand on her face, his brow furrowed slightly.

What do I really want?

Power?

He was already the King of Wano Country and a high-ranking member of the Beasts Pirates. There probably weren't many people in this world with more power than him.

Wealth?

Wano Country was rich in Seastone. If he profited from it, the wealth would be an astronomical figure.

Beauty?

Ian glanced down at Yamato—no!

As the King of Wano Country, he could easily gather all the beauties of Wano Country if he wished.

But none of these three things seemed to satisfy him.

Then, it must be strength.

The strength he had always pursued, his obsession with it had never wavered for a single moment.

Yet, despite possessing strength, he didn't like fighting and even wanted to avoid dangerous enemies.

What he was pursuing seemed to be more than just strength.

A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Ian's mind, and he blurted out almost subconsciously, "Peace of mind."

"Peace of mind?"

Yamato tilted her head.

Ian's eyes gradually lit up, "That's right, peace of mind."

Because he knew this world was very dangerous, he instinctively felt uneasy.

Because he felt uneasy, he wanted peace of mind.

He knew the Beasts Pirates were a purely villainous organization, but he was still willing to stay because the Beasts Pirates were strong enough to make him feel at ease.

He knew he was too weak to face this dangerous world, so he ignored everything else and never slacked off on getting stronger.

He knew that powerful enemies would bring him danger, so he instinctively didn't want to face them.

It was that simple.

All he wanted was the feeling of peace of mind.

So, what was true peace of mind?

The strongest power?

The highest authority?

The greatest wealth?

It's neither, yet it's both.

But with that, I understand.

I finally understand what I've been unconsciously pursuing all these years.

Ian's lips gradually curved upwards. "What I want is a world where I can feel at peace."

To be stronger than anyone! To have more power than anyone! To possess more wealth than anyone! To have no enemies in the world, that is peace.

Yamato blinked, not quite understanding.

But.

"The world? That sounds amazing! Yeah! If that's what you want to do, Ian, then I'll definitely help you!"

Yamato grinned, revealing her small white teeth, two of which were missing. The gaps were already showing the tips of new white teeth.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Ian burst into laughter.

I can't do something like this alone.

Two days later.

Flower Capital's Tenshu Pavilion.

Ian was flipping through a stack of documents delivered by Fukurokuju.

His army and the Beasts Pirates had already occupied the entire Wano Country, or at least all the towns were under their control.

After all, this country wasn't that large.

Before him, Fukurokuju was respectfully reporting directly to him. "The samurai in various regions stirred up disturbances of varying scales when we moved in."

"But with the assistance of the Beasts Pirates, these disturbances were easily suppressed. Apart from a few die-hard elements, the officials in all the villages and districts have already sworn allegiance to you."

"However, there is one peculiar thing."

"Peculiar?"

Ian looked up.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Fukurokuju nodded. "Kuri indeed lacked organized troops due to the Kozuki family's poverty. The armies of Rano, Hakumai, and Reigou were already annihilated by us. The reception of these areas was very simple. What's strange is the Hakumai region. Although the Daimyo Shimotsuki Yasuie was captured by you, the army in that region should have remained intact."

"And yet, during the occupation of Hakumai, we still didn't encounter any resistance, as if the samurai in that region had vanished."

He said earnestly, "I suspect they've gone into hiding, perhaps preparing to rescue Shimotsuki Yasuie."

That makes sense.

Ian remembered something.

The port of Soshiro had been attacked by a group of samurai before; they seemed to be escorting someone out to sea.

After that, the samurai disappeared.

Were they Kanjuro's samurai?

Ian pondered for a moment and said, "Then, issue a national proclamation. Tomorrow, Shimotsuki Yasuie will be publicly executed."

Fukurokuju's expression became excited, and he prostrated himself. "As expected of Emperor Ian! With this, those people won't be able to hide any longer."

"Those people don't matter,"

Ian wasn't particularly concerned about Shimotsuki Yasuie's samurai. As he said, the truly threatening enemies of Wano Country had already been eliminated.

He gestured to the stack of documents in his hand. "I'm more interested in the fact that the samurai in the villages occupy more than half of the local land?"

Fukurokuju looked a little puzzled. "It has always been this way."

Only half?

What did His Majesty mean? Did he think it was too little?

Wano Country's system was a feudal system.

The Shogun nominally ruled the entire country, acting as a major domain. The Daimyo of each village were loyal to the Shogun, acting as minor domains.

Under the Daimyo were the Karo, who were enfeoffed in various territories, making them minor domains compared to the Daimyo.

And these Karo often had various samurai families under them, considered their minor domains.

Both in terms of power and land, Wano Country was structured with such layered enfeoffment.

On the basis that only samurai could hold power, the samurai occupying more than half of the country's land, Ian even felt they had shown restraint.

After all, Wano Country had been stable for nearly a thousand years, and the ruling class had hardly changed during this millennium!

After nearly a thousand years of land consolidation, the land of Wano Country had not been entirely occupied by nobles. Ian could only say that the samurai had been benevolent.

However, even so, the samurai class, which constituted only a few percent of the total population, occupied more than half of the country's land, and most of the citizens of Wano Country were their tenant farmers.

"Then, from now on, samurai will no longer be needed."

Ian said, "Issue a decree, let's call it the Sword Abolition Edict. Prohibit samurai from carrying weapons, revoke all samurai privileges, abolish the title of samurai, and confiscate the lands of samurai outside the Flower Capital, returning them to the state. For lands within the Flower Capital, the government will offer to buy them if the owners are willing to sell; if not, increase their land taxes."

"Land is the most precious wealth? That notion should be outdated.

In the future, the people of Wano Country will surely say, 'The Land of Samurai, our country has been called that for a long time now. Twenty years ago, the expansion of the Beasts Pirates—'

Perhaps a samurai with a wooden sword and silver hair will even appear.

'...'

Fukurokuju's expression changed drastically.

Although the samurai class of Wano Country did suffer heavy losses in the previous battle, the remaining samurai were still a considerable force.

Moreover, they were the foundation of the government's rule.

Without the grassroots samurai, how could edicts be implemented?

Policies aren't something that can be pushed through with a single word from those in power. Without people on the ground to do the actual legwork, how can it be done?

'Furthermore, the governance of each village will directly interface with the central government, letting the civil officials handle it themselves. As for the landless samurai in each village, give them two choices: either join the army or become grassroots civil officials. The government will provide their salaries.'

Your Majesty, you are far too magnanimous.

After just revoking these people's privileges, you intend to employ them?

Fukurokuju swallowed.

But he also knew there was no other way. Where else would they find grassroots officials? Rely on farmers who had been tilling the land their entire lives?

Besides, these samurai, who had even lost their swords, could they stir up any trouble against His Majesty Ian and the Beasts Pirates?

It's just a pity for those bureaucrats. His Majesty Ian merely opened his mouth, completely disregarding the reasonableness and feasibility of the policy, acting utterly arbitrarily. But it's they who will be responsible for its implementation. He wondered how much hair they would have left.

'Yes.'

Fukurokuju nodded respectfully.

He knew that from this point on, Wano Country would be completely disarmed.

The former Land of Samurai would cease to exist.

'Lastly,'

Ian pondered, 'don't you think there are too many farmers leasing land for cultivation?'

'Eh?'

Fukurokuju looked up in surprise.

'First, terminate the lease contracts of some farmers,' Ian said. 'Let them leave the land.'

'But Your Majesty,'

Fukurokuju couldn't help but offer his counsel, 'if farmers lose their land, who knows how many will die.'

Wano Country was a thoroughly agricultural society; land was the source of all wealth.

'Aren't factories being built every month in the country? And the mines in Rano,'

Ian said, 'those places welcome them.'

Fukurokuju lowered his head. 'Yes.'

More brutal than Orochi.

Everyone in Wano Country knew that.

The workers in the factories and mines controlled by the Beasts Pirates were no different from slaves.

One could say, is this the disciple taught by Lord Kaido?