Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 187

Upstairs, Ashley went into the bedroom first, saying she had a little surprise for him. A moment later, Ashley opened the door, and Ronan saw that there was indeed a little surprise.

Ashley was wearing a bodysuit of stockings, nothing else. The stockings were white, but not just white; they also had a horse oil sheen, with an even sheen. The bottom was open-crotch, and the top was a halter top, completely covering her chest, waist, buttocks, legs, and feet.

Through the open crotch, everything was clear: Ashley's hair was a tuft standing up like a thick black line, and underneath it was smooth and straight.

“Please lie down,” Ashley said to Ronan.

Ronan lay flat on the bed. At first, Ashley lay on her side on Ronan, rubbing Ronan's big penis between her knees. To Ronan's surprise, Ashley's thigh muscles, which were very strong, were not hard at all, but soft and elastic.

After a few rubs, the already hard penis stood erect, and Ashley licked it for a while.

Aside from the novelty brought by Ashley herself, there was nothing particularly special about it. However, Ronan was not disappointed at all, because there was a rotating ring hanging from the ceiling above the bed.

Ashley quickly stood up, grabbed a jar from the bedside table, opened it, and scooped out a dollop of oily ointment, applying it to her skin.

Next came something Ronan had never experienced before.

Ashley did a split, allowing Ronan's penis to be fully inserted.

Ashley's splits were perfectly executed, her thighs, calves, and insteps all in a straight line, resembling the splits of a ballet dancer in mid-air, showcasing ultimate strength and beauty. However, Ashley's legs did not have the overly pronounced muscle lines of a dancer, nor did she have feet that looked rather unattractive.

She is soft yet strong, upright yet tender.

For a moment, Ronan's penis couldn't help but twitch a few times inside.

This was just a starting move. Ashley released magic with both hands, like sturdy ropes, locking onto the ceiling rings, and then she spun around in a split position.

The woman in white stockings performed a split, her legs spinning at high speed like a propeller.

The intense stimulation forced Ronan to suppress and endure it, otherwise he might have already ejaculated.

Ronan was enduring it, and so was Ashley. Spinning at high speed was nothing to her, but being spun around like that with a huge object inside her was really uncomfortable.

After a little over a minute, Ashley stopped, and Ronan breathed a sigh of relief.

Ronan, who was almost embarrassed, suddenly became a beast. He pinned Ashley down, grabbed her legs, lifted her upside down, and thrust into her. He gripped Ashley's calves tightly with both hands and pulled upwards with force, plunging his entire penis deep inside. Then he let go, and then grabbed her again and pulled upwards. With each thrust, he squeezed and spurted out fluid.

Ashley was also screaming continuously.

After a while, Ronan turned Ashley into a side-lying position, with one leg flat on the bed and the other leg almost perpendicular to the bed, draped over his shoulder, and they started again.

Then Ronan lay down and let Ashley take his place. He held Ashley's ankles with both hands, spreading her legs wide apart, then bringing them together, then spreading them apart again, and then bringing them together again, while simultaneously thrusting his hips upwards in rhythm with her movements.

With a blend of softness and strength, Ronan exuded pure, emotionless desire at this moment.

Finally, Ronan made a furious sprint and injected it all in.

Ashley lay face down on the bed.

"Are you alright?" Ronan asked with concern.

Ashley turned around and brushed the sweaty hair from her forehead. "How can this be okay? It's practically turned into mud by your lousy stick inside."

Ronan laughed. He didn't know why, but after being bombarded with criticism, Ashley relaxed in front of Ronan and returned to her usual outgoing and joking self.

Now that they were closer, Ronan spoke his mind, "Heh, your surprise was really something. I almost gave in within the first two minutes."

"Ha, looks like I'm not bad," Ashley said with a hint of self-satisfaction.

"Let's take a shower, you're all sweaty," Ronan suggested.

After taking a shower, Ronan, dressed in a bathrobe, asked Ashley about Camille.

After Camille was released from prison, he returned to the rehabilitation center, where his main job was to be studied, and his secondary job was to study people.

The person in charge of studying her was "The Stitcher" Noah, a renowned healer who accepted Ronan's invitation to come to the Ministry of the Interior's rehabilitation center.

"According to Mr. Noah, it is currently unknown how the magic transplant is done, but he said he has made many discoveries and will soon have some results. I don't know the specifics."

Ashley reported.

She doesn't understand those things, and she won't look at them. She wants to know as few secrets as possible.

"That's alright." Ronan nodded slightly.

Ronan spent a lot of money to recruit Noah, not in terms of money. Noah was not short of money at all; he earned a lot of money every year by performing surgeries on wealthy people.

Ronan gave him enhanced magic obtained from the numbered androids in the Celestial Realm, as well as the right to access a portion of the research data that Ussel had donated after the White Tower incident, which originally belonged to him.

Actually, Ronan wasn't very interested in magic transplantation. It was something that could only be passed on by a magician to someone who couldn't use magic, or to someone like Camille who was useless, and most of the time it couldn't be passed on completely.

What Ronan was really interested in was the technique of transplanting magical talents.

Although the vast majority of people with magical talent can only become novice mages in their lifetime, and a considerable number of them cannot even become novice mages, only a very small number of people with magical talent can become full-rank mages.

However, if people with magical talent could be gathered together and study mathematics diligently from a young age, and if Ronan combined this with his own ideas to create the "meditation method" based on the work of his predecessors, ensuring that these people could all become novice magicians, the probability of them advancing to full-rank magicians would be higher than it is now.

Therefore, in Ronan's view, if others control or even know this technology, it is a disaster for the country and the people, but if he, Ronan, controls it, it must be a great thing for the country and society. He is truly a hypocrite.

Once Noah has developed this technology, Ronan will have the orphans at the Egis Orphanage conduct some experiments.

In fact, more than half of the people at the Egis Orphanage are ordinary people.

The orphans at the Egis Orphanage are divided into two types. The first type consists of true orphans, who make up the majority. Of these, only one or two percent are later discovered to have talent and are able to stay. The rest are sent away to learn a trade as they grow up. Dinia is one of the true orphans whose talent was discovered. The second type consists of children sent from all over the country. These children generally have magical talent, but having magical talent does not guarantee that they can stay. Yvette, for example, was not able to stay.

Those who consistently rank low in the assessments will be eliminated and sent away.

Few children from the Egis Orphanage succeed, and even fewer become top figures.

In the past two decades, Dinia has been the only outstanding person to emerge from the Igis Orphanage.

Chapter 427 It's not just a little good, it's a great good; this is the true nature of corrupt officials.

Before you know it, it's the end of the year again.

As the king, Ambrina has had a packed schedule for several days in a row. Although Ronan sometimes teases Ambrina as a tyrant, she is quite professional in both comparisons, and she never misses a match when she is supposed to play, as long as she is not injured.

The first event is the governors' briefing, where governors from all over the country present their reports on the situation in their respective states.

The entire meeting will last for three days. The governors are not alone, but rather a small team led by the governor. Although there are parts in the report that can be freely discussed, there are also some things that must be presented in the form of data. These are all regulations that have been in place since the Lawrence era.

Lawrence initially reversed course by restarting the feudal system in order to "exploit the army," but at the same time he also made some remedies for the civil service system.

Of course, a century has passed and many things have deteriorated. In the time of the late King Lucien, the governor's report meetings had become a mere formality, and all the data was seriously inflated.

However, things have changed this year. With the establishment of the postal system, communication capabilities have improved, and those who were originally monitoring the nobles have been incorporated into the government to report on the overall situation in the localities. The central government's control over the localities has also become stronger. Moreover, Ambrina is the new queen, and since no one knows her tastes, they can only serve her everything.

Therefore, this governor's report was much more substantial than before.

Of course, most governors come from the civil service system, and many of them have even been writers. Even if they weren't, some of the people they brought with them were writers. Even if the "dish" doesn't taste good, they'll still call it "authentic".

In short, the situation is very promising.

All I can say is that the governors are working very hard, all wanting to become ministers, and the people they bring with them are also working very hard, all wanting to join the central government.

In the kingdom, the typical promotion path from a low-level civil servant to the highest civil service leader is as follows: the starting point is the head of a department in the city hall. Although many people may not reach the top position in a department in the city in their lifetime, if your starting point is lower than that, you basically have no hope of reaching the highest peak of civil service.

This is a feudal society. You're not even a deputy section chief starting out, yet you dream of climbing to the top? Go to sleep early, you'll have all sorts of dreams.

There are so few truly ordinary people among high-ranking officials that they are almost nonexistent.

The starting point is a department head in the city hall. The next level is the city hall secretary-general, which is the head of the city's administrative staff. The next step is to become the head of a department in the state. After that, if the governor is willing to promote you, he will take you to the capital to attend the governor's report meeting, allowing you to show your face in front of the king. If you are lucky, you can go further and join a department in the central government. After that, you will be promoted to a governor in a state. If you do well, you will be promoted again and return to the central government as a minister. If a minister is promoted again, you will become the prime minister.

As for local powerful figures, they generally start as city councilors, then mayors, and then enter central government departments to become the head of a subordinate agency; that's usually the end of the road. Some with exceptional connections, however, can enter central government from the outset and obtain a minor official position.

To reiterate, the kingdom does not allow one person to be both a high-ranking noble and a national leader.

During the three-day report meeting, every speaker gave it their all. After all, there weren't so many informants in the local area before, let alone a "corrupt official" like Ronan. Ronan's reputation among the bureaucratic group was that of the number one villain and the number one traitor.

The governors took it seriously, leaving Ambrina completely bewildered.

Let alone Ambrina, even Ronan before his time travel would be just as pathetic.

Ultimately, when Lawrence designed this system, he made a mistake that wise rulers often make: he made the system conform to his own nature without considering that his descendants would not be able to control it.

Ultimately, someone like Lawrence, who was a top student in his youth and fought against foreign enemies and rebels in his prime, becoming a military strategist through sheer hard work, really thought that manipulating some so-called local officials was something anyone could do.

Ordinary kings, could they outmaneuver this group of people who have grassroots experience, have been trained in the central government, and have also governed a region?

After the three-day meeting, Ambrina was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and had no libido whatsoever—it's no exaggeration.

Left with no other choice, Ronan approached the governors after the meeting and said, "Next year, don't be so serious and practical. Instead, talk more about abstract things. Our emperor is a foolish ruler. Just write all the practical things down in the paper reports and that's it."

Now the governors looked relieved. A tyrannical ruler is good, not just a little good, but a great good.

Fortunately, the rest of the trip was easier; we went to the Igis Orphanage for the opening ceremony.

That's right, the opening ceremony.

Unlike regular schools, which have holidays during the coldest and hottest times of the year (winter and summer breaks), Egis Orphanage has its most intensive curriculum during the coldest and hottest times of the year, with a lot of outdoor classes.

Whoever can't handle it will drop out of school.

After attending the opening ceremony, the ministerial meeting will follow immediately.

At the year-end ministerial conference, the prime minister usually stands up to summarize the gains and losses. These so-called gains and losses are generally the officials' "gains" and His Majesty the King's "losses." This is a kind of political correctness derived from the culture of the Western Continent's maritime civilization.

Lucien once tried to change this by having someone of low status and shallow background, but it was no use.

This time was no different. According to the Prime Minister, thanks to the efforts of all officials, the country's economy and people's livelihoods have developed very well. But Her Majesty the Queen has gone a bit too far. She has taken control of food, coal and iron, and has taken military action without telling the entire central government. Is she trying to become a dictator?

At that moment, Alexander thought Ambrina would get angry, but to his surprise, Ambrina nodded and said she understood.

Subsequently, several ministers stepped forward to make suggestions, hoping that these enterprises would be fully nationalized and then officials would be dispatched to supervise and manage them.

Ambrina nodded again, repeating the same phrase: "I understand."

"However, in principle, based on the actual situation and comprehensive consideration, such a major matter must be handled with caution. As the king, I must be responsible to all citizens. As you all know, in short, so..." Ambrina began. It's just a long and complicated sentence, isn't it? After being with Ronan for so long, do you really think she's not good at this?

The officials' faces turned green. Who the hell taught him this? Well, that question doesn't seem to need to be asked.

It's all Ronan's fault, that corrupt official!

She knew, but she wouldn't agree; that was Ambrina's attitude.

Unless the bureaucratic group voluntarily relinquishes some of its rights, allowing the queen to have greater power, this matter can only be discussed, and even then, it will only ever be a matter of discussion; otherwise, there will only be a "yes" response.

It's important to understand that under Ronan's management, Ambrina was not only a queen, but also the head of a conglomerate. The various companies she owned held shares in were cross-shared, and she owed a lot of money to various banks, effectively becoming their patron. This led to the formation of a unique conglomerate that encompassed all aspects of the industry and wielded significant influence in finance.

In this situation, if she were to renege on her promise, the bureaucratic group would be powerless to do anything about it.

In the end, the ministerial meeting ended in discord.

As the officials left, they all glared at Ronan in unison, while Ronan gave the Prime Minister a knowing look.

Chapter 428 Unable to handle it, conditions, wanting to have one's cake and eat it too

It's still that same little tavern.

Ronan didn't mince words and went straight to the point: he also supported the state-owned enterprises of these companies that controlled agriculture and manufacturing.

This is Ronan's true thought.

The reason is simple: can his descendants handle the complicated relationship between king and tycoon? No, they can't; they don't have the ability.

In reality, Ronan himself didn't have that ability; his previous smooth sailing was only temporary.

Whether it's seed companies, feed companies, sugar mills, wineries, or textile mills and steel mills, all the people in power were promoted by Ronan in the name of Ambrina. They were the first generation, and they still had some loyalty. Of course, more importantly, they had not yet cultivated their own power and did not have the strength to "seize power".

Loyalty is hard to find in a ruler, because even if they are loyal, their confidants, while not expecting them to "become emperor," at the very least hope to "establish their own independent regime."

An interest group will continue to split into more interest groups over time.

This is a problem that no large organization can avoid, and it is beyond the control of any individual.

It's not so important that an organization has a bunch of parasites; what's important is that these parasites aren't all on the same page.

"Name your terms." Alexander was direct. He, the "external minister," had been colluding with Ronan, the "internal minister," for so long, and he knew that Ronan was someone who could only profit and never suffer losses.

"First of all, after the state-owned enterprises are established, the big aristocrats will be allowed to exchange land for shares. They will only be shareholders who receive dividends and will have no right to interfere in the operation and management."

"Secondly, these enterprises do not belong entirely to the state. The shares that were originally allocated to the operators will remain unchanged and will be managed by the Bureau of Industry and Commerce Security of the Ministry of the Interior."

Ronan said this.

The nobles had essentially moved to a different place to collect rent; they could no longer control the peasants through land, which was a good thing for the bureaucratic class.

It is acceptable for enterprises not to be completely state-owned, but only for the state to invest and hold shares.

But if the Industry and Commerce Bureau manages these state-owned enterprises, doesn't that mean they're still in Ronan's hands?

“This is not appropriate,” Alexander said.

“Ha, if I weren’t in charge of state-owned enterprises, I guarantee that anyone who took that position would enjoy free room and board for life within a month,” Ronan said.

Free room and board for life? That means you'll be in jail.

Alexander had no choice but to accept it.