"Is that really the case?"
The officers present discussed among themselves, frowning. Although they'd visited many countries, it was always as pirates—they never cared about a nation's economic state or national strength.
In the end, it was King who, after some thought, gave his answer. "It does seem that way. Countries with slavery often aren't developed, but what does that have to do with operating costs?"
Everyone else fell silent, turning to Gusion and waiting for his answer.
"To explain this is a bit complicated, so I'll just keep it simple," Gusion began. In truth, he didn't know much about deep economic theory, only bits and pieces from history books. He really wished he had the mind of someone like Aizen, and a tongue skilled at persuasion.
With everyone's attention on him, Gusion continued: "First of all, slave systems lack economic incentives. Slaves have little motivation to work, usually only laboring under force, which is very inefficient. You should've noticed this already by comparing the productivity of old and new factories. So, let's analyze the costs of both."
"Do we even need to analyze it?" Maria interrupted. "You obviously pay higher wages than the old factories. Doesn't that make your costs higher?"
Gusion frowned slightly but patiently explained, "If you looked closely at the report, you'd see the basic wages at the new factory aren't much higher. We're still using the local currency. The old factory paid 5 silver a month, and the new one pays 7."
Maria missed the core issue and just focused on the numbers. "Isn't that still a higher cost?"
Gusion felt a bit hopeless regarding people's intelligence here—Maria was supposed to be one of the smarter ones among the Beast Pirates, yet she compared only the amounts and missed the important part.
He could only patiently explain to a group of illiterates, "Cost analysis needs to go step by step. Aren't you curious why just a slightly higher wage makes my workers so satisfied and motivated?"
This time, the officers began to think, realizing something was off.
Right, they remembered that 5 silver was just enough for one adult to eat for a month. For a family of three, it definitely wasn't enough—they'd be half-starved.
If 5 silver barely suffices, then 7 silver shouldn't make a big difference. So why are workers at Gusion's factory so happy and well-fed?
"It's because grain prices changed, right? Mr. Gusion also intervened in the market recently?" King, who'd always paid attention to Gusion's reforms in Wano, was first to realize. "So the currency has effectively appreciated. The old factory's wage is essentially higher now, too."
"There's such a thing!?" Kaido's voice rose. "Does that mean I lost out?"
Gusion thought, "Even capitalists would shed tears at this." He could understand Kaido's way of thinking—Kaido probably only realized he'd paid more in wages.
But the reality was, Kaido never understood that his real costs were always the same. When he gave food to Orochi or Yamato, he never charged them. The wages he paid weren't in the world currency Beli, but in Wano's local money. Only the imported grain was the real asset cost, and that part he'd never charged for.
"Governor-General, I understand your concern, but please hear me out," Gusion reassured him.
Kaido eyed Gusion suspiciously, but since production was up, he decided to listen.
"Back to costs—if I hadn't adjusted grain prices, both old and new factory workers would be starving, even with higher wages as Maria said. So, where are the savings?" Gusion guided them, but none of the officers could answer. King was wracking his brain.
Gusion continued, "Let me ask another way: Don't you think it's cheap to get a worker for the old factory and have him work?"
"Of course!" Maria replied.
"Miss Maria, you're familiar with factory hiring. From recruitment to when a worker is competent, what must we do?" Gusion asked.
Maria frowned, unsure where this was going, but recalled, "For the weapon factories, we have veteran craftsmen train new ones for three months until they're familiar with operations, then let them work."
Gusion clapped. "Exactly."
The officers looked at each other, seeing no issue.
But Gusion continued, "Miss Maria, you don't think worker training isn't a cost, do you?"
Maria froze, suddenly realizing the point—these were skilled jobs, not simple mining. Craftsmen had to be trained, which took time. During training, veteran craftsmen couldn't work; equipment was idle; and trainees had to be fed and paid, or they'd starve before qualifying—what a loss that'd be.
So, training, personnel costs, equipment downtime, early wages—all of it was cost!
Education itself is the biggest cost.
Worse, as Gusion's analysis pointed out, their workers weren't durable—after months of training, many would die from hunger or illness within a few years. Doing a simple calculation, with a five-year lifespan, the old factory's worker cost was several times higher than that of free workers! Even extending to ten years, free workers were still much cheaper.
As everyone was stunned by this, Gusion added, "And didn't the old factories need many overseers to keep workers in line? Some are pirates, some locals; our own people aren't paid, but isn't that using up our fighting force? And the local overseers—don't we pay them?"
Gusion's words hit hard. Maria's mouth hung open—he was right, overseer costs were high.
Most overseers were Beast Pirates. Even if not fighting, they were still part of their strength—real cost. Local overseers' wages were substantial.
"How do you ensure workers do their jobs properly without overseers?" Maria asked.
"There's something scarier than whips in reality—reality itself," Gusion said. "To eat, to provide for their families, to get ahead, to buy a big house, to live better—life pushes everyone forward. Once basic needs are met, ambition drives people."
He pointed at the report's numbers. "That's proof. I told them if new factory performance is poor, the scheme ends—they'd go back to scavenging. So they work hard."
"But isn't this just short-term pressure? Won't they slack off in the long run?" King asked.
"Some will, inevitably, but the wage system ensures most will work hard," Gusion said, flipping the report. "You probably haven't looked closely, so let me explain the differences between old and new factory pay systems."
The officers looked sheepish—they really hadn't looked, just glanced at the numbers.
Some were even illiterate, only recognizing their own wanted posters.
"Isn't it 7 silver?" Maria asked, embarrassed.
"Not exactly," Gusion replied. "That's just the average. In reality, base pay at the new factory is only 2 silver. The rest depends on performance. The better you do, the more you earn. On average it's about 7 silver, but some get less, and the best get 8 or even 10 silver."
He went to the blackboard and drew. "This idea came from my labor in Udon Prison—pay-for-performance is a great motivator. The Governor's idea was smart."
Kaido nodded. "Yes, that's a good rule."
"And I added another rule: craftsmen who underperform for three months get dismissed; those who exceed the average for a year get promoted—their base wage and status rise. They can reach the top, become technical advisors, and avoid hard labor, with higher pay and social standing."
Gusion drew the factory's personnel structure. "Wouldn't you want to climb up in this system? And to do so, what would you do?"
The officers finally understood—this was like their pirate crew structure. Everyone strives to move up; even without war, no one slacks off.
"Mr. Gusion, this is simple yet brilliant. Why didn't I think of this before?" King looked at Gusion with newfound respect. He and Maria had set up the factories, but now he saw the old model was garbage.
"Mr. King, you flatter me. I haven't even finished on the advantages of free workers," Gusion said. "Since everyone cares about costs, let's analyze those further."
He drew a circle on the board and wrote "Wano" inside. "Have you thought about what exactly we pay our craftsmen with? What is our real cost?"