A population ranging from ten million at the least to several tens of millions is the perfect market for Sage to offload products.
Just taking Alabasta into account easily surpasses the achievements of Capone Bege from the West Sea and the Vinsmoke from the North Sea. They helped Sage with 'nation-building,' but their populations were inherently small, and the unique characteristics of the Four Seas had to be considered.
That region is under the influence of the World Government, so cooperation isn't easy. Even if Sage wanted to dump products completely, it wouldn't be realistic. There's the World Government and the Calm Belt, making transportation quite troublesome.
A new path must be found.
With Alabasta's cooperation, things become much simpler. He doesn't even need it to be a hub for cheap raw materials, because Sage isn't lacking in raw materials, which is an aspect he values the most.
Nonetheless, he also values industry.
So he consistently faces a shortage of labor.
While others import cheap raw materials and export high-value industrial goods, he wants both. He uses the strategy of exporting more industrial goods to raise salaries on the raw materials side.
Lily understands this, which is why she finds establishing factories in Alabasta somewhat perplexing.
"Won't we fail to collect taxes over there?" Lily asked.
"Then just deduct that portion of taxes and pay them wages. Add the original taxes to the goods sold over there," Sage replied, completely unconcerned.
Lily nodded thoughtfully.
With this calculation, taxes deducted from O'Hara might reduce wages slightly, and while taxed goods could mean less freedom, they would surely ensure food, drink, and shelter.
After all, it's better than being destitute in the desert, baring teeth at large lizards.
This step is inevitable.
Lily sighed inwardly, knowing that while this wasn't oppression, it was far better compared to Alabasta, even though by comparison to O'Hara, it was too lacking.
But Lily was no innocent. Understanding the conquered new islands, as Sage puts it, it's a standout scenario of an unstable tenant farming economy dependent on nature.
What?
Peasant farmers?
How could you be that? You're not even the owner of the properties; you're simply tenants.
For those conquered, in simple terms, it's like saying Sage has arrived and the days are brighter.
There's no choice; he offers too much!
"Lily, you know cheap raw materials inevitably mean low wages and worthless labor. Without them, there's no returning on investment."
One person might manage the materials needed for dozens, but only if it's nature-dependent. Standardized factory extraction and cultivation can effortlessly generate higher scale, more stable materials.
But that requires people.
With many people, unless you don't pay at all, as soon as the prices are low, you'll definitely incur losses.
Ultimately, while you can price the raw materials high, they can refuse to sell to you. Forced acquisition may work well, but only once; if you exploit them completely and they have no money, naturally they'll stop buying from you.
Even if you squeeze them dry, no money is still no money; even killing them yields no money.
The final result will be favoring foreign, cheap goods.
Sage can't make his own raw materials expensive. He also considers the local people's buying power, to ensure good living isn't just a hollow promise but is action.
Cheap raw materials mean that even if people below have no money, they can still eat enough. Once they're fed, they have energy to work and dream.
If Sage were an ordinary capitalist, he'd amass riches through exploitation.
But crucially, he's a landlord—a major landlord—entirely controlling everything within his grasp.
He's O'Hara; he's the embodiment of Disaster Pirates.
In his view, losses don't exist. They'll always be recouped elsewhere.
Sage laughed:
"People's rising wages enable purchasing surplus goods, stimulating consumption, and ensuring their dedicated work for me, creating a virtuous cycle leading to prosperity. Thus, losses on the raw materials side have never mattered, right?"
Lily nodded.
She's responsible for internal affairs, including finances, and recalls the shock when the Assistant Officer brought the statistics.
Because the salaries for those involved with raw materials far exceeded the profitability from raw materials, even significantly, the glaring red numbers were impossible to ignore.
This was when she first consulted with Sage over it.
She didn't want oppression, yet the approach had to be reasonable. Such destabilizing of the Disaster Pirates' foundations wouldn't work; it wasn't sustainable.
How could they rely on Pirates to subsidize those below? People needed to rely on themselves, not just them; this contradicted her philosophy.
Sage explained at the time.
Losses weren't the main concern; other profitable aspects mattered, and their raw materials wouldn't be exported.
Sage had never exported raw materials, even during past business ventures. Even grains had to be canned for export.
All raw materials, except for local purchases, weren't allowed to leave.
Because his materials were cheaper than similar ones elsewhere globally—especially food items—thanks to the Tontatta Little People Race's natural abilities, food production completely exceeded the local population.
Currently, the population is over four million, yet food supplies are abundant enough that over four million can lie idle, eating for five years!
Additionally, mercilessly logging undeveloped islands is universal across the seas, lacking effective methods. Not like Sage's comprehensive approach, where once logged, it's akin to an unparalleled cultivation effort, liberating usable land from the trees.
This naturally drove down timber prices.
Of course, this includes cultivation where suitable areas are, with logging and planting aimed at the future.
His population isn't extensive, certainly not facing resource scarcity—rather, now is the time of flourishing.
Cheap raw materials and high wages mean Sage's earnings from selling industrialized products outside are most profitable.
Timber can be made into warships, showing the potential of cheap raw materials and high-value industrial goods.
Abundant iron ore, regarded as worthless here, can become weapons, similarly high-value products.
And these are tightly controlled by Sage; no merchant can share the profits. Despite this, he's profitable, comfortably funding bottom-up wages.
More key is taxation.
With full control, O'Hara maintains positive development, continually growing.
This demonstrates what others lack—no one can match his control.
"When an individual embodies the state's will..."
Sage smirked, "then that state inevitably grows stronger."
It wasn't just an absence of allure but the severity of his desire overshadowing temptations.
Beauty?
His maid selection was meticulous.
Once the thrill waned, it settled into mundanity.
Wealth?
Sage deemed it unnecessary. Those below him, impolitely put, are his tenant farmers and servants.
Power?
No one's influence surpassed his.
Everything was easily obtainable, yet such accessibility drove his intense desires further unsatisfied.
Sometimes, great desires lead to ambitious drive.
Thus, he advanced intentionally, resolutely, diverging from any decline or fall.