National Protection Package Plan for the G-5 Marines!
The New World, the Sotan Orlov Kingdom.
At this moment, in the Capital Palace, Ortolan was sitting casually in a VIP chair, discussing something with the king.
In the very center of their palace, a large group of bound and gagged pirates were kneeling.
"This group of pirates is the same group that plundered your Sotan Orlov Kingdom's Tanka Port more than half a month ago. We happened to run into them during our G-5 training exercise and took care of them. However, it's a bit of a pity that these pirates are big spenders. It seems they've squandered all the treasure they looted from you, and we didn't recover any of it, so we can't return the loot." Ortolan said to the king with a regretful expression, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
The king looked at the group of pirates, gritting his teeth in hatred. But soon, he put on a kind and friendly smile, even with a hint of flattery, and said, "Vice Admiral Bane, thank you very much for your success in eliminating this group of pirates. With your G-5 Marines protecting our seas and national security, our people will feel much more at ease."
Ortolan waved his hand, and soon after, Momonga led his men to take the group of pirates away.
After everyone had left, Ortolan said with a smile, "These are all internal matters of ours and are not worth mentioning. Our Marines is dedicated to eliminating pirates and striving to restore peace and order to all countries in the New World."
After a slight pause, Ortolan said with a troubled expression, "However, it's a bit embarrassing to say... I don't know if Your Majesty is aware, but I've only been in G-5 for a short time?"
"I know, I know." The king nodded quickly, then said with great sorrow, "I had heard that the former G-5 Marine Base Commander, Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Wolf, led his troops in a heroic pursuit of the Demon Successor, Douglas Bullet, but due to a moment of carelessness, he failed and caused serious damage to G-5. At the time, I was very worried, fearing that something big might happen. It wasn't until I learned that the Marine Headquarters had sent you to take over G-5 that I was finally able to sleep soundly."
"Yes, I'm new here too, and G-5 has indeed suffered heavy losses. Right now, we have neither troops nor money..." Ortolan said with a look of great distress.
The king was a shrewd man. Seeing Ortolan's reaction, he tentatively asked, "We are all members of the Heavenly Realm's government, so we should help each other. If you have any needs, we hope to lend a hand..."
"Ahem..." Ortolan cleared his throat dramatically, then said, "Since you're so generous, I won't beat around the bush anymore. It's like this: my military funds are indeed insufficient. Everyone comes out to fight not only to uphold justice, but also to support their families. If the funds aren't enough, morale will collapse. If morale collapses, the troops won't be able to be led. If the troops aren't able to be led, who knows, the surrounding seas might descend into chaos..."
Upon hearing this, the king's heart sank; Kuang had come to ask for money!
He didn't refuse outright, but instead asked, "How much are you still short?"
"Support for justice is always welcome. The more you give, the stronger we become. The stronger we become, the fewer pirates will survive here, and the safer you will be!" Ortolan didn't answer directly, but gave a vague reply.
The king hesitated for a moment, then held up two fingers and said, "Two hundred million?"
Ortolan looked troubled and asked, "One billion?"
"Huh?" The king was stunned and quickly said, "Vice Admiral Bane, we in Sotan Orf don't have that much surplus grain either. Besides, we have to pay a large amount of Celestial Gold to the World Government every year. The World Government also said that this Celestial Gold will be used for the Marines's protective expenses against us..."
"Do you believe that?" Ortolan asked, shaking his head helplessly.
Then, before the king could speak, Ortolan continued, "Moreover, you must know the special nature of our G-5. We don't take a single Belly from headquarters; we're completely self-sufficient. The Celestial Gold you give to the World Government has nothing to do with us. If you feel this is inappropriate, how about this: I'll leave you a Den Den Mushi signal wave so you can call Mary Geoise yourself and have them send people to protect the country immediately. That way, everyone will save time, right?"
Just kidding, our G-5 doesn't get a single penny from headquarters, so what's the Celestial Gold deal?
"Ah..." The king was even more distressed. If he had the ability to talk to Mary Geoise, would he be stuck here in this predicament?
Seeing the king's somewhat disapproving expression, Ortolan felt the time was right, so he changed his tone, saying, "However, I am a kind-hearted person and cannot bear to see others suffer. This amount of money is indeed a bit too much. I'm sure Your Majesty has your own difficulties, and it was indeed my presumption..."
"I'm grateful that you understand, Vice Admiral Bane. Although we can't afford the 1 billion Belly, we can still afford 200 million Belly..." The king didn't dare to completely offend Ortolan, so he offered to pay again.
"Let's put the 200 million Belly thing aside for now. Actually, I have another plan here. What do you think of it? Can you accept it?" Ortolan grinned and said.
The king was also very interested. The New World was a very dangerous place. The pirates were incredibly powerful and would often massacre cities and destroy countries. His throne had only been passed down for three generations from his grandfather. His grandfather's predecessor, the king, was killed by pirates because he had not paid the Celestial Gold.
So if he could establish a relationship with the Marines, he would indeed sleep more soundly.
In particular, the local officials are more powerful than the county officials. G-5's current responsibilities fall within their area of responsibility. If they can establish a good relationship with G-5, things will be much more comfortable in the future.
"What do you mean?" the king asked curiously.
"That's right. In order to further strengthen maritime security, coordinate the combat arrangements in the New World Seas, the frontline area under the responsibility of our G-5, and enhance the security of the various Affiliated Nation in this area, I plan to launch a comprehensive protective plan!" Ortolan said confidently.
Before the king could ask, Ortolan continued, "The first key point of the plan is to establish our G-5 Marines patrol force, which operates 24/7, and Military Supply and Rest Protection Center in the major ports and central cities of each Affiliated Nation!"
Although it sounded impressive, the vocabulary was too vague, so the king asked, somewhat confused, "No, Vice Admiral Bane, I don't quite understand what you mean..."
"Ahem..." Ortolan lowered his voice slightly and said, "To put it simply, I plan for various countries to directly station troops in the areas under my jurisdiction!"
Upon hearing this, the king was first startled, then delighted, and said, "Vice Admiral Bane, is what you say true?"
In fact, among the Affiliated Nation of the World Government, there are some countries that have Marine Base built directly within their territories. Some countries even designate an entire island as Marine Base.
Generally speaking, such countries are either long-standing Affiliated Nation of the former Soviet republics, possessing strong comprehensive national strength in terms of finance and capital, and maintaining long-term and stable cooperative relationships with World Government. Only through mutual reliance and trust can such treatment be achieved. This situation often occurs worldwide.
Either they really have too much money, and they've managed to appease the World Government so that their Marines will allocate a base for your country's development, providing close and priority protection!
That's right. The Marines has a hierarchy and a priority order for the various Affiliated Nation under the World Government. If you pay more money and have a better relationship with the World Government, then you will definitely be protected first if problems arise at the same time.
Due to the high turnover rate of Affiliated Nation in the New World, the high level of danger, and the relatively weak control of the World Government over the New World, very few countries are willing to allow the Marine Headquarters to build bases in their territory.
If G-5 were willing to station troops directly in their country, it would greatly improve security! G-5's deterrent power would even be strong enough that pirates might simply avoid them!
Perhaps it has some impact on sovereignty. In this historical context, what is more important to these feudal aristocratic rulers than their own safety and life?
Upon hearing Ortolan's idea, the king's eyes lit up with delight!
"It's true, it's true. But if we do that, we'll need to increase the number of personnel in G-5 many times over, and my military budget isn't enough. So I was thinking, wherever the troops are stationed, that place will be responsible for the military expenses of the G-5 Marines in that area... Do you think that's reasonable?" Ortolan revealed his true intentions and asked with a smile.
That's right, how can you maintain a large-scale regular army in the long run by just robbing pirates?
Especially since Ortolan plans to expand the original G-5 scale as much as possible without any restrictions, it's even less likely that they can rely solely on raiding pirates, otherwise they simply can't afford to support it.
So Ortolan directly chose to learn from the Americans: I'll station troops in your home to protect you, and you just pay to support them. Tell me how professional that is!