Ortolan: Only When G-5 Has Money Can the New World Prosper!
The New World, not too far from the G-5 Marine Base, is an uninhabited desert island.
This place has now been selected as the G-5 Marines shipbuilding base. The uninhabited island is also under development. Ortolan didn't even go back to the base, but came here directly to inspect the work.
In the newly built, hastily constructed dock, Ortolan sat on a stone pier, holding a report in his hand and looking at the information on it. Momonga and Master Tom stood beside him.
This report, compiled by Master Tom, is a plan for this shipbuilding base.
"As for these production equipment, contact Doflamingo and have him gather them for me as soon as possible and send them over... As for the money, deduct it from his two billion." Ortolan looked at the plan for a while, then looked up at the Momonga and said.
Upon hearing this, the Momonga nodded and quickly wrote it down in its notebook.
Hearing this, Vergo's expression twitched slightly, and he silently mourned for his young master for two seconds.
Then, Ortolan looked at Master Tom and asked, "Do we need this many workers?"
Master Tom nodded after hearing Ortolan's question and said, "If you set a high target, like producing twenty warships, it would take at least 20,000 people to manage it. After all, warships are very large. Moreover, you also mentioned building other standard ships, such as armed transport ships, for sale. That would mean a very high demand for our workers. They need to be healthy, light, and strong."
Ortolan pondered in silence for a moment. Although the New World was chaotic, its population was still quite large. It wasn't wrong to say that the Saint Saturn among the Five Elders was actually quite large. Humans are really like insects; once a batch is wiped out, they can quickly reproduce again.
So recruiting enough workers isn't a big problem, but paying wages for at least 20,000 workers is a huge problem. Seriously, where would G-5 get that much money?
"So, how much will the wages be for one-tenth of the total?" Ortolan asked after thinking for a moment.
Master Tom thought about it carefully for a moment and replied, "Normally, in Water 7, the monthly salary for these workers, depending on their skill level, is roughly between 10,000 and 150,000 Berries... Let's take the middle value, 100,000 Belly per person per month, that's 2 billion Belly per month, and 4 billion Belly in two weeks..."
"What?" Ortolan exclaimed in shock, "One unit requires more Shichibukai?"
Master Tom?
What unit of measurement are you using?
"Where am I going to get that much money to pay their salaries?!" Ortolan slapped his thigh, saying reluctantly.
At that moment, he seemed to understand somewhat those capitalists who deserved to be hanged on the streetlights.
I'm building warships to strengthen the G-5 Marines's capabilities. Strengthening the G-5 Marines's capabilities is for better maintaining peace and stability in the New World, so that everyone can live a peaceful and prosperous life. And for this righteous and grand goal, I'm going to spend over two hundred million? Is there no justice? Is there no law?
The flying Momonga beside him reminded him, "This only covers the basic salary expenses; it hasn't even factored in the cost of materials and other such items..."
Hearing this, Ortolan was completely bewildered. No, if he remembered correctly, the headquarters would only spend 200 million Belly per ship Water 7 after 2020. Now, it would only cost around 80 to 90 million Berries.
Twenty warships, if bought, would only cost a maximum of two billion Belly. How come when I build them myself, two billion Belly isn't enough? How Water 7 make money? This doesn't make sense!
After asking Master Tom about this question, Ortolan finally understood. Water 7 had Full Industry Chain, and the efficiency of its workers far exceeded that of workers who were just randomly recruited. It already had a systematic and mature operating system.
Therefore, costs will drop significantly. According to Tom, if this Shipbuilding Island can operate stably for five years and produce a large number of skilled workers, then there will be more than twenty warships per year. The island of Water 7 can supply the Marine Headquarters with all the giant standard warships it needs, which shows its high productivity!
Therefore, it is certain to lose money in the early stages, but if the sales channels are stable in the later stages, these losses can be made. Moreover, according to Master Tom, the shipbuilding industry is an industry with a very long return cycle and is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
"Equipment and timber expenses actually account for a small portion; the real bulk of the expense is in the workers' wages, right?" Ortolan finally came to this conclusion and asked Yu.
Master Tom nodded in agreement. "That's right, that's the situation."
"Then it seems we can't pay this salary," Ortolan said without hesitation.
Master Tom looked at Ortolan with astonishment. "Is this something a Marines admiral should say? Are you trying to build a sweatshop? This is utterly inhumane!"
"Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged people are everywhere. We can't use workers, we have to use slaves!" Ortolan said firmly.
The Momonga paused for a moment, then hesitated and said, "This... this is too cruel! We're the Marines..."
Ortolan waved his hand. "Of course I'm not saying we should just grab people and use them as slaves. What I mean is, do you know that in the two years since the Great Pirate Era began, the number of pirates has surged to the point that Impel Down is almost overflowing? As brother units, we should help each other, right? Those criminals they can't handle, they can be sent here to me for Labor Reform. Isn't that reasonable?"
"Huh?" The Momonga was stunned by Ortolan's statement. Such a thing was possible?!
"Letting these bastards eat and drink on public funds in Impel Down, keeping them like big shots, is not as good as letting them come out and shine for the cause of justice, so that they can atone for their sins as soon as possible. So, write this down. I will contact Admiral Sengoku later and ask him to issue an order to Impel Down. You go and assemble a fleet to prepare to escort prisoners over there to work!" Ortolan was a man of strong will and immediately made the decision.
Impel Down, historically, is a subordinate agency of the Marine Headquarters, and the appointment of the warden requires the signature of Fleet Admiral Chief Warden Admiral.
In the original story, Magellan wanted to resign because of the Great Escape break incident, and he reported to Sengoku, who was then the Fleet Admiral, which shows that the relationship between the superiors and subordinates was clear.
Therefore, as long as headquarters issues an order, Impel Down will absolutely have to cooperate with Ortolan's arrangements.
Just kidding, Kaido doesn't even pay people when he organizes mining in Wano Country, so why should I, Ortolan, pay them?
If pirates can do it, why can't our Marines?
Even the supplies are similar. Kaido's supplies consist of pirates who refuse to submit to him and some Wano Country gangs. I, Ortolan, also consume pirates, all for the sake of justice.
The Momonga felt that something was wrong with the process, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that what Ortolan said was right. Those bastard pirates were of no use in Impel Down. Putting them here and using them as slave laborers would actually make an outstanding contribution to justice!
Since it's something that helps bring justice, then it perfectly meets the Marines's standards, no problem!
"I understand, I'll arrange the fleet right away." The Momonga immediately wrote it down in its notebook.
Master Tom watched as the two Marines leaders calmly and swiftly resolved the problem, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The Marines... its composition is truly complex!
"Hmm, we need to broaden our thinking. Look, now that we think about it, pirate slaves can not only build warships and provide us with value, but with such a large number of cheap laborers, we can also consider developing other industries. Tesoro, boss, you need to come up with a relevant plan based on the ideas we just discussed. See what other industries can make these bastard pirates shine. Open up more avenues for wealth for me. When we have money, the New World can be more prosperous! This is a great opportunity that benefits the entire New World, so put more effort into it." Ortolan said matter-of-factly.
Tesoro also felt that Ortolan's logic was a bit off, but after thinking about it, it did make sense. If G-5 had money, the New World could prosper more. No problem!
What is this called? This is called Common Prosperity, Rich First Drive Later!