"I object, boss. Making the Castrated Basic Taijutsu available so the public has a way to train is already enough. There's absolutely no need to make Crystal Rice available too."
No sooner had Lind finished speaking than Axel voiced his objection from Lind's right.
"Boss, we know you believe in the greater good and care about the people, but we're already doing enough."
"The people of the Oran Sea aren't your children. In fact, apart from those on Oran Island and at a few of our core bases, the people on the other islands don't even count as your subjects."
"Making Crystal Rice seeds available won't benefit us at all. Instead, it'll strengthen those reactionary forces and undermine our control over the Oran Sea."
"Exactly. I agree with Axel."
Before Axel had even finished, Zhang Liang chimed in with his agreement.
"Boss, you hope this will let everyone achieve greatness, but is that possible anywhere outside Oran Island and a few core islands?"
"On most islands, the resources are controlled by the powerful families and factions. Even if we give Crystal Rice to the peasants at the bottom and let them grow it..."
"In the end, the fruits of their labor will be handed over to those local families and factions as taxes, protection money, and the like, giving them the strength to resist our rule."
"By contrast, selling Crystal Rice and our various special beverages ourselves lets us adjust prices and shipment volumes to keep their strength within our control."
"We can even bind them firmly to us, making them unable to do without Oran Island's products."
The two most important commanders under Lind were firmly opposed to making Crystal Rice available, and their thoroughly reasonable arguments left him deep in thought.
"That's right, boss. I agree with both