When the Empire's battle flags covered the last island in the first half of the Grand Line, Chen Yu did not rush to march on the New World. He knew full well that force could conquer land, but only a benevolent heart could win people's allegiance. The fifty-six newly reorganized commanderies and counties had been ravaged by centuries of World Government exploitation and pirate plundering. Unless the people could truly live in peace, even the largest empire would be nothing but a castle in the air.
Thus, while the Million-Strong Army prepared for war on Fish-Man Island, Chancellor Liu Bei volunteered to undertake a six-month border inspection spanning thousands of miles. With strategist Zhuge Liang and bodyguard Zhao Yun, he departed Fish-Man Island at the head of a three-hundred-person internal affairs team and five thousand elite Imperial Guards. He would personally set foot on every stretch of newly annexed land, heal its wounds with a benevolent heart, sweep away all darkness with an iron sword, and truly spread the Empire's blessings to every corner of the Grand Line.
During that time, Liu Bei traveled through all fifty-six commanderies in the first half of the Grand Line, healed millions of sick civilians, restored tens of millions of mu of barren land, mediated dozens of ethnic disputes, and wiped out hundreds of remaining pirate bands. Wherever he went, benevolent governance spread, and the people pledged their allegiance.
The people who had once harbored doubts about the Empire had now become its staunchest supporters. The once-turbulent first half of the Grand Line was now a place where no one pocketed lost belongings and no one barred their doors at night, where the people lived and worked in peace.
When the Benevolence sailed into Fish-Man Island's harbor, Chen Yu personally came to welcome it