Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"Currently, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are only Mihawk, Doflamingo, Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma, and the World Government's recently confirmed Whitebeard Jr. and Edward Weevil. There are still two missing."

As Vice Admiral Tsuru finished speaking, the crowd erupted into discussion once more. The Seven Warlords were no strangers to the group, and many Marine officers even harbored resentment towards the system, much like Akainu had before. They felt the existence of the Seven Warlords was an invisible humiliation to the Marines. After all, the Marines' strategy of using pirates to fight pirates stemmed from their own weakness.

However, since Fleet Admiral Akainu did not object, everyone could only suppress their displeasure and seriously consider finding a suitable candidate.

If you observe carefully, you'll find that although the Seven Warlords system was proposed by the World Government, it is actually implemented by the Navy. The Navy doesn't just randomly select some powerful pirates to serve as members of the Seven Warlords.

First, the members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea must have sufficient combat power. Second, these people must not have too much ambition, or at least not show too much ambition on the surface. Only in this way can they be in the interests of the Navy.

Like the previous members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Hawkeye is a lone wolf who pursues the way of the sword, Boa Hancock guards the Amazon Lily Kingdom, Kuma protects the Sorbet Kingdom, and Jinbe is dedicated to Fishman Island.

Needless to say, Moria, who was recruited into the Seven Warlords of the Sea because of his reputation for escaping from Kaido, was expected by the Navy to rise from the ashes and become an ally in the fight against Kaido. However, he turned out to be a cowardly and useless individual who stayed in the Devil's Triangle and refused to come out no matter what.

As for Crocodile, before the plan was exposed, the Navy only thought he was a law-abiding local bully.

Finally, there's Doflamingo. Although he's quite energetic, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Sengoku, with their wisdom, have long seen through his true nature as a businessman. The so-called Donquixote Family is nothing more than a protector of numerous businesses.

"Everyone, please share any good candidates you have. We need to..." Akainu tapped the table, about to say something.

The next second, Vice Admiral Tsuru stood up and interrupted him, saying, "Fleet Admiral," as he gave Akainu a meaningful look, "I propose that Buggy the Clown and Trafalgar Law fill the vacant Shichibukai positions."

Akainu noticed Vice Admiral Tsuru's gaze and immediately realized what was happening, his expression stiffening slightly. Having just assumed the position of Fleet Admiral, he hadn't yet shaken off many of his old habits and nearly spilled some classified information.

What he didn't say aloud was that the World Government was about to allocate military funds to the Navy and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the list of the Seven Warlords needed to be submitted as soon as possible. However, this kind of classified information could only circulate among the Navy's top decision-makers and could not be known to the lower-ranking Navy personnel, especially if the Navy's intelligence department discovered that there was a traitor within the Navy.

"Buggy the Clown? Trafalgar Law? Why them?" Akainu snapped out of his daze and looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru with confusion.

"Buggy the Clown, a user of the Chop-Chop Fruit, was a former member of the Roger Pirates. However, he has little ambition and has been living in the East Blue for twenty years. Investigations have revealed that he has limited strength but extremely good luck. Currently, most of the criminals who escaped from Impel Down are with him. If we can recruit him, we can stabilize most of the escaped prisoners from Impel Down."

"Trafalgar Law, user of the Op-Op Fruit, former member of the Donquixote Family. He broke with Doflamingo after Rosinante's death. His joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea can help restrain Doflamingo and Mihawk." Vice Admiral Tsuru carefully analyzed the two individuals' situations. Especially when choosing Law, Vice Admiral Tsuru considered it carefully before making her decision. Ever since the intelligence department informed her of the Donquixote Family's unusual behavior, she had been paying extra attention to Doflamingo, as it completely contradicted his previous habits. Especially after learning that he had begun associating with Mihawk, she became even more unfathomable about Doflamingo.

"Restraining Doflamingo and Mihawk? What's going on?" Akainu's curiosity was piqued.

Lieutenant General He then recounted in detail the intelligence that had been passed on to him by the intelligence department.

"Doflamingo is just a clown from the underworld. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on his part. Someone as arrogant as Hawkeye wouldn't even look at him." Akainu chuckled dismissively upon hearing this, and the other officers nodded in agreement.

Only Vergo, standing in the crowd, looked grim after hearing Akainu's disparaging remarks; after all, he was Doflamingo's loyal subordinate.

...

Yuzhang Commandery, the prefectural governor's office.

Zhao Kai sat upright in the main seat at the top, with Han Shengxuan standing respectfully behind him. Below him sat Liu Wenbao, Yuwen Yong, Zhang Bianguan, and several others who had followed him.

"Brother Yuwen, how is the recruitment of troops going?" Zhao Kai asked Yuwen Yong first.

"Your Highness, we have recruited a thousand local militia members to guard the city. However, to turn them into elite troops, they will need rigorous training in the future," Yuwen Yong reported truthfully.

Zhao Kai nodded and looked at Liu Wenbao, asking, "Mr. Liu, what is the current situation in the city? How long will the treasury's funds and grain last?"

Liu Wenbao rose respectfully and said, "Your Highness, due to the news of the barbarian invasion, about 40% of the city's residents have fled, and the Yuzhang Prefecture treasury is empty. If Your Highness hadn't given me 10,000 taels of silver, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to continue." He added with a worried expression, "However, recently prices in the city have skyrocketed, and the recruitment of local militia has been extremely costly. I'm afraid the silver I have will only last for less than a month."

"Brother Zhang, how are you? Have you received any news?" After arriving in Yuzhang County, Zhao Kai valued Zhang Bianguan's social skills and appointed him as an intelligence agent to investigate the movements of the barbarian tribes around Yuzhang County.

“I was just about to report to Your Highness, but after making some inquiries, it seems there’s been some internal trouble among the Baiyue barbarians. They’ve started fighting amongst themselves for some unknown reason, and quite a few Baiyue mountain people have already fled to the outskirts of Yuzhang City, where they were captured by Brother Yuwen’s men,” Zhang Bianguan said.

"Such a thing exists? You should find out the reason right away," Zhao Kai said in surprise.

After parting ways with Shen Qing that day, Zhao Kai, along with Liu Wenbao and Zhang Bianguan and his wife, rushed towards Yuzhang County. Just as they were about to reach Yuzhang, Han Shengxuan and Yuwen Yong, who had received the news, arrived together.

Upon entering Yuzhang, facing the chaotic situation within the city, Zhao Kai arranged for Yuwen Yong to recruit local militia to defend the city, while also having Han Shengxuan cooperate with Liu Wenbao to quickly stabilize the city's order. After Han Shengxuan ruthlessly killed over a hundred ruffians and martial artists who were taking advantage of the chaos, the entire Yuzhang Prefecture became a place where people did not pick up lost items on the road and did not lock their doors, and the city's security instantly reached its best state.

However, unlike Shen Qing's situation of facing barbarian invasion, no signs of barbarian invasion were found in the vicinity of Yuzhang County after he had completely taken control of it. Therefore, he ordered Zhang Bianguan to send people to inquire about the situation.

"Master chef, do you think Brother Shen might not be able to defend Kuaiji City?" Zhao Kai asked Han Shengxuan with concern after arranging everyone's work.

After taking over Yuzhang County, he realized that he hadn't given Shen Qing any money when he left. Judging from the state treasury in Yuzhang, he could easily guess that the state treasury in Kuaiji must be in the same state. He found it hard to imagine how Shen Qing would deal with all the problems in Kuaiji City without money, especially the situation of barbarian invasion.

Faced with Zhao Kai's question, Han Shengxuan bowed and said, "This old servant does not know how to answer Your Highness's question."

"Forget it, after Zhang Bianguan finds out exactly what happened to the barbarians, Master will accompany me to Kuaiji." Zhao Kai hadn't expected Han Shengxuan to answer anyway, so he sighed.