Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 228

Of course, that's another time and space. Perhaps from the moment he traveled through time, the other Ronan took a different path.

Ronan didn't dwell on these matters any further and immediately began to peruse the history books of Seres.

The history of Seris begins with a strong mythological element, perhaps because magic exists in this world. The origins of Seris's history are far more mythological than those of Ronan's original timeline.

Some records even say that Seris's god-like ancestors created "magic".

Well, thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it.

The creator of this world is most likely a geography failure, and also a Ronan alumnus. This creator turned "Dai Ying" into an island, lengthened the distance between the English and French straits, and separated "Malaysia" and "Thailand" by an additional strait, even though they were originally adjacent.

This action effectively rendered "Lee Ka Po" obsolete, making the strait between "Malaysia" and "Thailand" a crucial location.

As for other things like simply erasing "nigger" from the world, let's not even go there.

Returning to history, after the part heavily influenced by mythology, came the Shang Dynasty. Yes, the name hasn't changed.

Those who inherit "summoning magic" through blood ties are royalty and nobles, while those who master "elemental magic" are wizards and priests. In essence, this is not much different from the Western Continent.

Then, remarkably, the Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty.

The story of Ronan's time-traveling princess Zhou replacing Shang was full of coincidences; it was only due to the perfect timing and the cooperation of a traitor that this event occurred.

Although similar coincidences have occurred in this world, there is a huge problem: Ji Zhou is a family known for producing "elemental mages" and being exceptionally prolific. In the history of Seris in this world, King Wen, King Wu, and the Duke of Zhou were all elemental mages, and the Duke of Zhou himself was particularly strong. According to the description, he should be a sixth-order mage.

Given the circumstances at the time, he could have single-handedly destroyed a small country.

It's unbelievable. Normally, elemental mages would never be worshipped as emperors.

Take the Western Continent as an example. In the feudal Middle Ages of this world, countless powerful elemental mages emerged. Many of these elemental mages were stronger than the ones they served. However, most dukes and earls were families of summoning mages. Why? Because summoning magic can be inherited, while elemental magic cannot.

In an era where extraordinary powers exist and ordinary people are like ants, ordinary people are not qualified to be the objects of others' service.

The problem lies with King Wen. He must have done something to give all his sons magical talent and teach them elemental magic.

Fortunately, King Wu's son was a summoner.

Ronan suddenly felt that the Duke of Zhou's regency in this world had become unusually reasonable, or rather, King Wu's son might be a special experiment, just like Ussel's children.

As time moved forward, around 1,800 or 1,900 years ago, roughly 200 or 300 BC, people from another world came to this world through a special passage.

The reason for saying this is simply because Caterpillar, the king of slacking off, failed to provide Ronan with an accurate time of arrival of the otherworldly beings, and the Heidi people only had some historical fragments, which could only provide an approximate time.

After some time in this world, the beings from another world arrived at the Celestial Realm and made some changes to the magical operating mechanism left by the Creator God.

From then on, the world gained two new forms of magic: "fate" and "divine oath".

According to the original timeline of Ronan, it was roughly the end of the Warring States period, the tail end of the Hundred Schools of Thought, when Emperor Zheng was about to step onto the historical stage and turn a new page in the history of Seres.

Logically speaking, the emperor in this world shouldn't be able to complete the unification.

The proportion of people with magical talent should have remained the same at that time, but given the productivity of the time, the proportion of mages was definitely smaller. At the same time, the proportion of high-level mages should have been even smaller than it is now. The vast majority were novice mages, which basically meant that they were just physically stronger than normal people. Moreover, novice mages at that time were definitely weaker than they are now.

It is estimated that the Qin state, with a population of over two million at the time, had at most two thousand magicians, of which there were probably only a few dozen of them at the third rank or above.

However, the gap between ordinary people and even novice magicians at that time was simply too great.

Simply put, a novice mage can kill an ordinary person fully armored with a sword and shield with a single blow using a large wooden club. Ordinary arrows, when shot at an unarmored novice mage, would need to hit at least a dozen vital points to render the novice mage incapable of fighting—incapacitated, not killed. If a novice mage were in the past, arrows would be practically useless.

To put it bluntly, the Qin state's reliance on ordinary soldiers couldn't actually solve the problem.

But history is such that Qin unified the country, and then the Han dynasty came after him.

Starting from the end of the Han Dynasty, the history of Seris began to be completely different from that of Ronan's original timeline.

This seems understandable. Magicians are intellectuals, and knowledge is power. The fists of the Hu people are no match for those of the Han people.

Division is normal. The Five Barbarian Invasions? Impossible.

So the question is, how did Qin manage to unify the country?

The answer is his group of mages, or, as Seris calls them, "scholars."

The proportion of high-ranking "warriors" is higher than in other countries.

Why is this again?

Chapter 518 Fusion Magic, Warrior, School

The Qin state increased the proportion of scholars and warriors in the ranks of the elite by incorporating magic.

Before discussing fusion magic, we must address the issue of priority.

The highest priority is summoning magic, which is inherited and is present from birth. Next is the manifestation and transformation of destiny, where destiny magic may awaken before one discovers their magical talent. Then comes elemental magic. If a person realizes or is discovered to have magical talent, after some learning and completing some basics, and then performing a sacrificial ritual, they will basically become an elemental mage.

There are very few exceptions, such as when Alice performed a sacrificial ritual and she turned into a summoner.

The Heavenly Oath Magic must be placed last. Even if a person has a very deep faith, if he first performs a sacrificial ritual and becomes an elemental mage, then he cannot obtain divine magic or mutated magic through the oath.

This issue of priority is an important fundamental principle for the Qin state, and also for the cultivation methods used by Seris for more than a thousand years thereafter.

If a person is born with the ability to summon or acquire elemental power, then when the summon card is about to mature, or when the elemental card is about to advance, they should make a heavenly oath.

The summoning magic or elemental magic itself acts as a balancing force and a source of power at this time.

Then, using some special means to enhance divine magic and mutation, a triangle is formed.

As a result, the original summoning magic or elemental magic can no longer be used, and instead becomes a kind of "spirit" or "internal energy", which is unusable.

However, once this three-in-one is completed, it can use both divine magic and mutation.

Those who focus on divine arts, or what Seris calls magic, are called "scholars," while those who focus on alienation, or what Seris calls alien weapons, are called "warriors."

However, the spells used by Seris's "scholars" and "warriors" are weaker than the divine spells or transformations used by pure sworn mages.

However, there is also a significant advantage: the constraints imposed on itself by the Heavenly Oath are weakened.

The life of sworn mages in the Western Continent is generally difficult, because in order to improve themselves, they must constantly fulfill their oaths. Once they break their oaths, they will suffer backlash. Apart from a few mental patients who are particularly good at self-hypnosis and people like Elena who are blessed by the gods, most sworn mages progress very slowly.

Conversely, Seris was really into it, thinking, "Hey, I don't believe in gods, I'm just having fun."

In this way, as long as the scholars and warriors of Seris follow the laws of Heaven and revere their ancestors, have a broad and vague belief, and have their own "Dao" in their hearts and pursue it, they can continuously cultivate and improve.

Interestingly, this method seems to have originated in the Central Plains region and spread widely; the Qin state was a later adopter.

However, in terms of steadfastness, the people of Guanzhong at that time were far superior to those of Guandong.

Therefore, since mastering this skill requires talent to begin with and hard work to achieve mastery, there were more people in the Qin state who were able to do so.

So, in this world, it's still Qin who won.

However, even in Ronan's original world without supernatural powers, Zheng Ge (the emperor) couldn't deal with the remnants of the six kingdoms. In this world, he would be even less able to do so, because those remnants can no longer be considered ordinary people.

What was even more unexpected was that with the death of the First Emperor, the Qin Dynasty also came to an end.

Then, chaos ensued, and Liu Bei, leading the people of Guanzhong, beat up the people of Guandong once again and established the Han Dynasty.

The history that followed became increasingly different from the history of Ronan's original timeline.

Regarding magic, it is particularly worth mentioning that some people start with destiny, and then create something else based on the work of their predecessors. They merge and merge again, and finally the six types of magic are integrated into one, creating a more difficult and stronger magic.

Unfortunately, according to the description in one of the books that specifically records so-called immortals, to this day, no one in Seris has truly achieved immortality through this method of cultivation.

The combination of the six methods does not lead to immortality, and it is extremely difficult in the early stages. In the middle stages, one's strength is greater than that of a scholar or a warrior, but in the later stages, one is not much stronger.

"Let's look at the history after the Han Dynasty at another time."

Ronan muttered that he had been studying it for several days and was planning to put history aside for the time being.

However, Ronan did not put the book down.

In the following days, Ronan reviewed the records of the mission members' journey to the capital and their experiences in the Kingdom of David.

Having reviewed these records, Ronan gained a general understanding of the composition of the superhumans within Seris.

The most elite individuals are largely detached from worldly affairs, focusing solely on self-improvement and reaching the pinnacle—a trait shared with the Western Continent. In fact, Seris achieved its current state without the frenzied battles of the Western Continent. It must be said that Seris in this world is also a precocious civilization.

Both "scholar" and "warrior" are scholars, not warriors. When they teach in the countryside, they are teachers; when they achieve fame and enter the court as officials, they are civil officials.

Scholars and warriors both come from academies and sects. There are various schools of thought, each with its own principles, and the academies under each school have their own specialties.

These academies and sects were places for training scholars and warriors, but they also subtly influenced local politics and even the imperial court.

The various factions in the Seres court originated from various schools of thought.

As for novice mages, they are not qualified to be called "scholars" in Seris. They can only serve as minor officials, soldiers, or officers. In a sense, they are not even as good as novice mages in the Western Continent, since there are no restrictions on civil servants in the Western Continent.

It can only be said that Seris has a large population, a good education system, and too many people with extraordinary powers, so they are not rare, which is why many "scholars" are not doing very well.

This is also one of the important reasons for the periodic turmoil in Seris. A person with both knowledge and strength cannot get by. If the court is weak and the local authorities are incompetent, guess what he will do?

While the Seris, possessing extraordinary power, no longer rises up in rebellion, a war of righteous rule always occurs every two or three hundred years.

We must fight for power and territory, but the traditional moral order is even more important.

"When knowledgeable people kill, it can sometimes be really terrible."

Ronan couldn't help but wonder.

A person who kills for the sake of justice can sometimes be far more ruthless than someone who kills for money or women.

Elena placed a cup of coffee on Ronan's table. "Why aren't you asleep yet? If you're not going to sleep, I will."

“Me too,” Agustina chimed in. “I have a lot to do during the day tomorrow, and then I have to go drinking tonight.”

"Drinking, with whom?" Ronan asked.

“Don’t worry, he’s not from the union. He was my subordinate in the Ministry of the Interior. He started as Elena’s subordinate, then came to my side, and now he’s been transferred to the economic crime department of the Security Bureau,” Agustina replied. She was well aware that as someone in the General Union’s internal oversight position, she shouldn’t have any unnecessary dealings with union members.

"That girl? She's a nice girl," Elena remembered.

Chapter 519 The people of the capital love politics, workers and peasants, the more they muddle along, the further they go back.

In the capital city, inside a small tavern called Old Uncle's Apartment.

"Old Uncle" is a nickname for a man who was originally the landlord of an apartment that provided all-inclusive room and board. Later, because his home-style cooking was so popular that it attracted people who weren't even guests, he opened this little pub.

As class barriers gradually disappeared and the surrounding industries became increasingly developed, such taverns became more and more common in Wangdu.

Previously, the main consumers were middle-level employees of companies, artisans, small business owners, government officials, and occasionally some low-class nobles and artists. Now, all kinds of people are represented.

During Ronan's years in power, many ordinary workers have accumulated savings, which they can use to spend a little on weekends, enjoying affordable and delicious food and wine.

"Team leader, didn't you say you were going to invite a big shot? Why are you here?" The one who asked the question was a woman who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, but was actually twenty. She had medium-length hair tied in a simple braid and was less than 1.6 meters tall.

“This place is very nice. The food at the royal palace is really just so-so, Anna.” The person who answered was Candice, who was almost 1.7 meters tall, which was definitely tall for a woman. She was the patrol team leader of the 17th Division of the Royal Capital Garrison, equivalent to a patrol captain of a police station division.

"Huh?" Anna was startled. Could the team leader have been to the royal palace?

When it comes to food, Uncle Lao's Apartment Bar can only be considered fourth-tier.

The first tier is naturally the royal palace, and the kitchens of several large noble families' private estates.

The second tier consists of those businesses that don't have physical stores, only provide services, and are not open to the public.

The third tier includes restaurants in several luxury hotels and a few particularly famous upscale restaurants, which are all very expensive.

Further down are places like the Old Uncle's Apartment Bar.

The team leader spoke as if he had eaten at a royal palace himself.

However, Candice had actually eaten it.

When she had just become a civil servant and won first place in the training course, Ronan came to find Elena. Elena went to the palace with Ronan for a free meal and took the top three, including herself, with her.

"Ugh, this is exhausting! It's just working overtime all day long. Those damn capitalists! If I were prime minister, I'd drag these bastards out and hang them!" A middle-aged man who looked like a worker had just sat down, and before the food and drinks had even been served, he had already started talking.

“That’s true. We work hard, and these bastards get rich.” A short, stocky worker on the left chimed in with a curse.

"What can we do? How can we compare to those masters? We're born to be exploited," sighed another lean worker on the right.

The middle-aged man moved his chair a little further in and said, "To be honest, it's all because Ronan is too wicked. He's in cahoots with those nobles and priests. On the other hand, the Prime Minister's woman is quite nice."

"Oh, you know that now?" the short, stocky worker on the left said with a hint of disapproval.

"You don't know this, do you? This female prime minister is Princess Isabel's teacher. You know Isabel, right?" the middle-aged foreman said with a hint of ostentation.

"Ah, if only Princess Isabel had come to power back then," the lean worker sighed.

Isabel was already very popular among the lower classes in the capital. In recent years, she has implemented a petition system and sometimes personally receives petitioners. Many people go there with grievances but are also terrified because they are afraid that Isabel will not solve their problems but rather eliminate the people who raised them. They return home in tears because they have never seen such a good nobleman in all their decades of life.

The short, stocky worker growled excitedly in a low voice, "You shut the hell up! Your Highness? You're asking for trouble!" Everyone in the capital knows that Isabel, who failed in her bid for the throne, is no longer a princess; she's just a commoner. And you're still calling her that.

"What's wrong with me saying a few words? Are you going to arrest me?" The lean worker weighed very little but was incredibly bold and had a loud voice.

Although he was very imposing, he only shouted a couple of times and then stopped talking. He was actually scared inside.

Just then, a man at the next table chuckled, "Why aren't you complaining anymore? Pshaw, exploitation, huh? We might want to be exploited, but we can't."