Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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Ronan remained silent, though he certainly had his own ideas; he simply intended to leave the stage to Dinia for the time being.

Dinia already had an idea: "Since we're destined to be mixed with sand, let's bring even more sand. River workers, salt workers, potter's apprentices, blacksmith's apprentices, and those thugs who never know where their next meal will come from—the bottom rungs of every trade. Bring a few of each kind over, and even better, bring in a few people who are directly under the Baron's command. Then they'll all be traitors. How can traitors still play their role?"

“Even so, it won’t be of much use,” Elena said. “Although these people are resentful and even angry from the bottom, it’s impossible to change their minds in a short time and turn them into our force to overthrow the Baron.”

At this point, Ronan, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up: "Learning through movement, and moving through learning, our goal is to build a democratic, republican city."

Everyone present, except for Dinia, had no idea what Ronan was talking about. Only Dinia, who lived in the 16th century in the Western Continent, an era when the intellectual liberation movement was spreading, could understand what Ronan was saying.

“Boss, I think we should try to break one of Baron Doggrass’s legs first,” Agustina said.

"Don't talk about the legs yet, kill the dog first, pick a small one that barks the loudest." Dinia disagreed with Agustina's suggestion; it wasn't good to start by breaking the legs.

“I do know one small but loud one,” Elena said. “There’s an organization in Haijin City called the Aid Society. They’re a bunch of bastards who traffic children. Their main business is to sell little girls from the south to the north as slave girls for the Lovaci people. They also sell little boys from the Dante people in the north to Haijin City, as well as to some nobles in the south, to train them as household slaves and guards.”

“Okay, these are the ones.” Dinia made the decision.

All I can say is that these human traffickers ran right into Dinia's line of fire.

She had always resented the colonists in the New World who used slaves extensively and treated people like dirt, even some immigrants from the Western Continent were treated like slaves. She was seething with anger. However, in the New World, she couldn't change that situation because enslaving and exploiting others was beneficial to the country. As governor, she couldn't destroy something that was good for the country until she found a better solution.

There are many things in China that she doesn't approve of, including some of the things Ronan has done.

But in this dream world, she's just a female bandit, why would she care about the country? She's just going to act on behalf of Heaven.

Chapter 233 Acting on Behalf of Heaven, Daring to Angry But Daring Not to Speak Out, Wouldn't it have been better to say so earlier?

The entire group of slave traders involved in human trafficking was apprehended, but it did not have a significant impact on Haijin City.

From the perspective of the wealthy gentlemen who had the need, slave traders were unimportant suppliers. As long as the market existed, new middlemen would naturally emerge. After all, there were always people in the harsh north who were willing to send their sons to the border to become slaves, and in the south, there were also many who wanted to sell their daughters.

Baron Gates, who was closely monitoring Dinia and Ronan's group's actions, had received this information before the operation, but he didn't understand what it meant, so he didn't send an inside man to sabotage it.

This scale of human trafficking was the smallest of his various businesses. Baron Gates even felt that including it in his business was beneath him. The only connection between this business and him was that the person in charge, who had been killed, was a distant relative of him.

Does the other party really think that just because of one person, they can force him to take action? No way.

On Ronan and Dinia's side, the twenty-seven people who had just become law enforcement officers of the city's supervisory department and participated in the operation to crack down on illegal human trafficking organizations were very excited because the money they received was equivalent to several months' income in the past.

These twenty-seven people all came from different factories under Baron Gate. Yvette had previously said that they were probably unreliable, but she underestimated how disgusting Baron Gate was. These twenty-seven people were all moles who had been given tasks in advance.

But now, they all have the same thought in their minds: "Mayor, Princess, when will you act on behalf of Heaven again?" Of course, they don't dare to actually ask that question.

"Everyone, take a good rest these few days. We'll expand our team in a few days and then pull off an even bigger heist together," Dinia said to the public.

Why does that sound so much like something a thief would say?

Fine, a thief is fine, as long as the big boss comes.

These twenty-seven people didn't expect to stay in this so-called City Supervision Bureau forever; they were just thinking about making some extra money in this ridiculous place.

During the holiday, the twenty-seven people went home. The first thing they did was to buy half a pound of meat so that their families could have a good meal. After all, they were all skilled workers, some even team leaders, and some were even married and had families.

The rest, of course, should be saved.

Of course, there were also seven or eight people who didn't save it all, but instead spent it. In the past, when they were workers, they worked hard all day, and their income was only enough to support their families. They didn't have the time or energy to spend money. But now that they're on holiday and have some unexpected wealth, they naturally started to think about spending it.

These seven or eight men drank some alcohol, went to a dark alley, knocked on a hidden door, and slept with women. Naturally, they put the rest of their money away in the bank.

The next day, something happened.

Twenty-seven people were approached door-to-door by people who wanted to take away all the money they had been allocated.

This was not actually Baron Gates's intention. Firstly, he didn't care about the amount of money, and secondly, such behavior was too unseemly and would damage his reputation.

Baron Gates might not approve of it, but his subordinates might. Baron Gates disliked its unseemly behavior, but his subordinates didn't.

Without exception, all twenty-seven people obediently paid their money, and even the seven or eight who had made purchases used their own money to make up the difference.

They were somewhat annoyed, but that was all. Faced with people asking for money, they dared not utter a single unnecessary word. As workers, they were already used to being exploited by the servants of the Baron Gates.

Three days later, the twenty-seven people returned to work. Before Ronan and Dinia even arrived, they had already begun their discussion.

"Brothers, we're going to do something even bigger next, and there'll be even more money. I know we're all working for the Baron, so it's not unreasonable for us to earn some extra cash, is it?"

"Not too much."

"Nothing wrong."

“I have a suggestion. We need to agree on a story. We still need to pay the money, but not all of it. Next time we finish the job, let’s not go home first. Let’s discuss the amount and pay part of it while keeping the rest.”

"This is good."

"It's good, but there are new arrivals. I don't believe that none of the Baron's people are among the new arrivals."

“That’s easy. I don’t believe anyone dislikes money. We’ll tell them about our own experiences, and they’ll definitely agree to speak the same way.”

"What if someone leaks the real amount to the person the Baron sent to make contact?"

"Then let's beat him up and report him as a mole planted by the Baron."

The group of people froze. Good heavens, really good heavens, out of our twenty-odd brothers, isn't there a mole among us? So, the mole is the one who reports others.

For some reason, the group felt a strange sense of unity.

Soon, Dinia and Ronan arrived, along with a dozen or so newcomers.

They were all dark-skinned, muscular men; they were all salt workers, and judging by their physiques, they were clearly traitors.

The reason is simple: most salt workers are dark-skinned and thin, the kind whose ribs are clearly visible when they take off their tattered vests. Those who still have a few ounces of flesh on their bodies are living well, at least at the level of team leader, and maybe even supervisor. How could they not be traitors planted by the Baron?

At this moment, all twenty-seven people had the same thought: the princess and the mayor were good people, righteous, and even helped them make money. It was just that their eyesight was terrible; it wasn't that they had bad eyesight, but that they were blind.

"Today's purpose is twofold: firstly, to allow new and old colleagues to get to know each other and exchange ideas; and secondly, to announce the next goal."

Dinia announced.

The workers in the audience felt they could skip this part because they were all the Baron's men. What was there to talk about? Were they going to talk about how to lick the Baron's dogs?

Hurry up and tell us your next target for upholding justice.

"Next target: a pottery factory."

As soon as Diniya spoke.

Everyone was stunned. Rovacs was robbing a pottery factory? The porcelain in Rovacs was all genuine southern goods, but the pottery, though called southern goods, was actually all produced in Haijin City and labeled as southern. Don't be fooled by the low price of the pottery; the volume of production was huge, making it more profitable than porcelain, which was sold as a luxury item.

Even if a pottery factory isn't exactly the Baron's leg, it's at least his toe. They wouldn't dare cut off the Baron's toe even if they had a thousand lives.

“It’s not robbery,” Dinia said.

Instantly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They should have said so earlier; it was terrifying!

Dinia then added, "I'm going to seek justice for the oppressed workers, to establish a union, and to fight for better treatment for the pottery factory workers."

"Uh, this..." The crowd was still hesitant.

“Of course, to join the union, you have to pay money first. Only after you pay will we protect them,” Dinia added.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They should have said so earlier! They knew this place well. Was it protection money? There were so many factories, big and small, in Haijin City, and countless small vendors. They could see two protection money collectors every three steps. They used to be the ones being extorted, but this time they were the ones extorting money.

"Alright, we support Her Highness the Princess and Mayor."

The audience applauded and cheered.

How could it not be good? The Baron didn't even give them a chance to collect protection money.

"We'll rest for a day, then officially set off tomorrow. That'll be all."

"receive!"

The crowd shouted in unison.

Chapter 234 Planting the Flag, Information Cocoons, Giving Them Another Hope

The next day, at the pottery factory.

A fat, dark-skinned salt worker rushed over, shouting, "Princess, Mayor, something terrible has happened!"

"What is it?" Dinia asked calmly.

The fat man immediately replied, "Well, Miss Yvette, oh no, the Treasurer just asked the factory workers, and they've already collected protection money three times this year. The poor folks have no money left."

"Who took it?" Dinia asked.

"Who else could it be? Those guilds in Haijin City, of course," the fat man said.

"Good heavens, how dare you steal my money! Come on, let's get it back!" Dinia shouted, increasingly adopting the air of a female bandit.

The fat man knelt down with a thud. "Your Highness, you can't! Those three gangs—no, the ones in charge of the guilds—are all friends of the Baron. We can't cause them any trouble."

"You bastard, how dare you slander Baron Gates as being friends with the mafia? You're asking for death!"

No sooner had Dinia finished speaking than Agustina darted forward, her axe flaming, and with a single, swift stroke, chopped off the fat man's head right in front of everyone.

He stretched out his leg and kicked the head off the ground.

"Take a good look, everyone! This is what happens to those scoundrels who slander the Baron!" Agustina pointed her axe at the dead head in the distance and shouted, "Next, we're going to act on behalf of Heaven. Those who want to come, come with me; those who don't, go with him."

Soon, a group of people stormed into the stronghold of a gang.

Dinia personally led the charge, while Ronan watched from the sidelines. Agustina and Elena acted as forwards, with Yvette, Alice, and Canaan providing support from behind, and the others cheering them on.

They didn't bother with any small talk; they just started chopping people up. After killing about twenty people, they finally started negotiating.

The gang leader was so scared he almost wet himself, but when he heard that all they had to do was hand over the protection money they had collected from the pottery factory workers, he was stunned.

Is it really worth killing someone over something like this?

Agustina brandished the still-dripping axe in her hand, "Listen up, from now on, wherever our boss—I mean, Her Highness the Princess—plants her flag, you're not allowed to collect protection money, or you'll all be chopped up."

The gang leader lay prostrate on the ground, "Yes, sir, I will do as you say. Anyone who dares to cause trouble at the place where His Highness planted his flag, his ashes will be scattered into the river within three days."

"Let's go, next stop." Dinia walked away immediately.

The moles who had infiltrated the City Supervision Bureau left with the money and headed to their next destination.

The other two gangs suffered the same fate, with about twenty people killed first, and then forced to hand over their money.

The group then returned to the pottery factory, and at Dinia's command, the money was returned to the factory workers.

Just as one of the moles emerged, preparing to reclaim some of the money that had just been given out, Dinia stopped him, asking, "Who told you to take their money?"

"Um, didn't you ask them to pay their membership fees?" the man asked awkwardly.

“I never said I was going to take money from poor people,” Dinia said.

"Who else would I take if not the poor?" That's what he thought to himself, but he didn't dare ask. The last talkative guy had already moved and his head was still warm from the experience.

“The pottery factory has to pay for this, and a union must be established,” Dinia said.

The pottery factory owner understood the word "union" immediately. The area outside Haijin City was either mudflats or saline-alkali land. There were few farmers among the lower-class citizens; they were mostly workers or small vendors. In this city, seven people could form eight unions. Moreover, unions had actually existed for a long time, but they had changed their nature, becoming more like barons or gangs.

The pottery factory owner readily paid the money and readily agreed to establish a union. He had no choice but to agree; otherwise, the "Pottery-Killing Princess" would have made him get his head moved somewhere else to "finish his business."

As for money, that's easy, just take it back from the poor. Union? The three gangs are severely weakened, so he can just arrange for his troublemaking nephews to get involved.

Unions are great! From now on, we can collect protection money from our own workers.

Win-win, win twice, and you'll be numb with the success.

With the matter settled, Dignan led his entourage back to the government office.

Back at the government office, the first thing to do was naturally to distribute the money. They had just squeezed a sum out of the pottery factory owner. This time there were more people, and it wasn't a raid on their homes, so everyone received less than last time. But even so, it was still equivalent to more than a month's income.

This act of upholding justice is so comfortable.

This time, none of the original twenty-seven people went home, and they also stopped the newcomers from going home. They then told the newcomers about their previous experiences and suggested that they keep a unified story so that when the Baron came to ask for money, they could say that each person received an amount equivalent to about half a month's wages, and that the mayor and the princess took the lion's share.

The newcomer immediately nodded in agreement.

Who would willingly give away money if they could keep it in their own pocket?

The following day, Baron Gates received a report from his head butler, Pinker.

The report states that Dinia first robbed three gangs of protection money, returned it to the pottery factory workers, and then extorted money from the pottery factory owner, pocketing all the money.

That's right. The worker mole said he only received half a month's wages. A group of liaison officers took the money and reported to the head butler, Pink, that the workers only received about a week's wages. But when the head butler Pink reported to Baron Gates, it was that the worker mole hadn't received a single penny; all the money had gone into the pockets of the mayor and the princess.

"Ha, trying to make money while also gaining a good reputation from the workers, how naive."

Baron Gates said dismissively.

If someone only wants profit, they're a bit difficult to deal with; if they only want fame, they're also difficult to deal with; but if they want both fame and profit, they're too easy to deal with.

At this time, Baron Gates had not yet realized one thing: as the supreme ruler of a region, and a greedy one at that, the people under him were bound to be no good either. His orders would inevitably be distorted when they reached the bottom after being relayed through layers of intermediaries, and the feedback from the bottom would also inevitably be distorted after being relayed through layers of intermediaries.

Like owner, like dog.