“Really? That’s great! As long as Mr. Roa gives the order, I’ll immediately lead the troops into the capital!” Gomon said excitedly.
He had long harbored a deep resentment towards the nobles in the city.
Gomon felt this way, and the other cadres who had lived in the Wasteland all their lives felt even stronger.
Their previous lives were worse than slaves, all thanks to those nobles and power-holders in the city.
“We’ll fight, but not like this,” Roa held up his hand, gesturing for them to calm down.
“Charging in directly will easily turn into a siege and street battles. Casualties will be high, and civilians will be caught in the crossfire. Even if we take the capital, the cost will be unacceptable.”
“Therefore, we should try to lure the capital’s guards out for a battle. Then, with a decisive advantage in numbers, we will crush them. Afterward, we will advance straight into the capital and surround the High Town and the royal palace.”
“I should warn you beforehand, this battle will not involve Izo or Naguri at their full strength, so don’t underestimate them.” Roa looked at Gomon and the other army cadres.
At first, Roa’s plan was to utilize Izo and Naguri’s overwhelming individual strength to capture all the royals and nobles in one fell swoop when the time was right, then the army would enter and take over the capital.
However, after his conversation with Garp, Roa changed his mind.
The East Blue was a region under close watch by the World Government, so they couldn’t be so brutal. Once the uprising ended, the CP would inevitably investigate.
If they were to classify this rebellion as an event of a Great Pirate invading the kingdom to seize the throne, it wouldn’t be easy to recover. After all, he wasn’t Doflamingo, able to achieve a coup d’état using such crude methods.
Secondly, as he had told Garp, he had no intention of focusing on the Goa Kingdom. The East Blue was too cramped, and he and Fujitora would inevitably wreak havoc elsewhere.
If anyone investigated and traced back here, it would cause unfavorable reactions.
Therefore, Roa would try to minimize his and Fujitora’s involvement in this uprising. In fact, it was almost time for him to leave the East Blue after this success.
As for Naguri, he had a bounty on his head, and Roa wouldn’t even let him show his face.
Truthfully, the current Revolutionary Army’s combat strength far surpassed the capital’s guards.
The Goa Kingdom, a small country, had a predictable level of strength for its capital guards.
During his investigation of the Goa Kingdom a few months ago, Roa had done a rough estimate. The capital guard’s standing force was around one thousand, at most not exceeding fifteen hundred.
The Revolutionary Army currently had around two thousand troops. In terms of individual physical fitness, fighting skills, and combat will, they were all superior to the capital guards.
If they couldn’t achieve a decisive victory, then Roa and Fujitora’s half-year stay here would be in vain.
“This is a test for you. You discuss the specific battle plan yourselves. I will not participate in any discussions this time.” Roa said to Gomon and the others.
These cadres had been under his tutelage for several months, and their theoretical knowledge was already quite rich. What they lacked was practical experience and a final bit of confidence.
This was the final challenge Roa gave them. He and Fujitora were leaving, and sooner or later, this place would be entrusted to Gomon and the others to develop. They had to learn to shoulder the responsibility.
“It’s time to clean up the garbage mountain around the city walls,” Gomon thought for a moment and said, “Luring the guards out won’t be difficult. Just make those greedy nobles see the benefits here.”
“When the nobles see the changes here, they will inevitably send people to collect taxes. When we refuse, and there are a few conflicts, showing weakness, those nobles will absolutely dispatch troops to forcefully take control.” Jimmy said.
“Then, we’ll eliminate the guards and advance into the capital.”
“We can split into two teams. One team will handle the guards who come to collect taxes, and the other team will board ships disguised as merchant ships and land from the harbor in front.”
“We’ll leave some people behind to take control of the harbor, preventing the nobles from escaping by sea. Some people will be responsible for calming the citizens in the central streets, and the last group will surround the high ground to prevent nobles from infiltrating the civilian area.”
They still need to arrange people to seal off the border towns, as the thugs there are a major source of instability.
Roa remained silent, watching them discuss with a smile on his face.
Who would have imagined that these people capable of formulating detailed battle plans were once thugs, rotten trash in the Wasteland half a year ago?
But in just six months, they had become strong and clear-minded, rising from the bottom of society. Now, they were here, plotting to overthrow the rulers at the highest level of this country.
Roa got up and left. He felt relieved. These people had grown and were capable of acting independently.
Compared to these people who had climbed out of hell, been armed with advanced ideas, and strengthened their bodies through rigorous training, the decadent nobles were no match for them.
In Roa’s eyes, this battle had already become a foregone conclusion.
The following days were spent meticulously executing the plan.
Just as Gomon and the others had predicted, the nobles saw the changes after the garbage mountain was removed.
The vast swathes of fertile land cleared for cultivation spurred the greedy nobles into action.
Several confrontations and intentional displays of weakness led to the arrival of the guards in full force.
It was called a large force, but in reality, it was only about a thousand strong.
It had to be said that the nobles of the Goa Kingdom were truly accustomed to living above everyone else. Furthermore, they were unsure of the situation in the Wasteland, which was right next to the capital.
The nobles hardly left any troops in the city.
As the Revolutionary Army’s one thousand troops clashed with the capital guard’s one thousand, the two hundred soldiers who had infiltrated the border town decisively took control of the area.
Dozens of soldiers disguised as merchants took control of the harbor and landed from there with hundreds more.
A small group headed towards the central street, while the main force surrounded the high ground.
While the front-line battle was one-sided, the entire capital was smoothly taken over, with almost no disturbances.
After seven hours of fighting on the front lines, as dusk fell, the nobles in High Town surrendered. Within ten minutes, the royals in the palace surrendered as well.
When a Revolutionary Army soldier climbed to the highest point of the palace, kicked down the flag symbolizing the Goa royal family’s power, and planted a brand new red flag, Roa looked at this scene and said to Fujitora beside him, “A new era has begun.”