Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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It can be said that the rulers of Villa had tried very hard, but prices still soared.

It can only be said that it is an objective law that no one can stop.

Faced with soaring prices, soldiers who hadn't even gone to the front lines yet immediately tried to buy cheap imported goods as soon as they received their paychecks. Soldiers have families too, and they need to make a living, right? Who the hell wants to buy expensive local food and daily necessities? That would be stupid.

The so-called cheap imported goods are naturally produced in the Kingdom of Fas.

The front lines were even more surreal than the rear. During the day, the Belial soldiers fought against the Kingdom of Phos, and at night, they sent people to trade. The Belial soldiers bought all kinds of supplies from the Kingdom of Phos, some as military funds and the rest to be resold in the rear.

Should we ask the officers to stop it? If we try to stop it tonight, I'm afraid I'll fall asleep and never wake up again, never to see tomorrow's sun.

Seeing this situation, nobles and wealthy merchants felt they were losing a lot of money, so they simply entered the market and joined in the reselling.

It has to be said that when it comes to capital, connections, and methods, the men are still stronger.

Soon, all the money that had been sent out was earned back, and there was even more left over.

The officials were helpless. They had willingly sacrificed their own lives to save the country, but in the end, they could only profit from the national crisis with tears in their eyes.

What the hell is this?

Ultimately, it was because the excessive influx of silver over the past few decades caused the collapse of the country's manufacturing industry. The country's agricultural sector was also relatively small, and while it could be maintained during peacetime and ordinary wartime, it immediately ran into problems when faced with continuous wars. Even if these lords were now willing to distribute the silver they had plundered to their servants, the servants would simply use the silver to buy cheaper foreign goods.

In September, thanks to the naval pressure from Weyland and the fact that the Belial soldiers were no longer willing to fight, the Kingdom of Fas easily defeated the Belial border guards, invaded Belial territory, and subsequently occupied the northeastern part of Belial.

In Ronan's original timeline, Catalonia, Nagada, this place also has some inexplicable connections with the Kingdom of Fas due to certain geographical and historical reasons.

Back then, Varelian made his way to the Kingdom of Fass from here. This time, he has led an army of 100,000 and is about to crush Barcelona.

In October, the Kingdom of Villa surrendered.

The reparations for surrendering are far greater than the reparations for ceasing hostilities.

The Kingdom of Fas immediately asked for thirty million.

For some reason, the moment they heard about the compensation, the group of people in charge of the negotiations in Villa felt a sense of relief. Finally, they could solve something with money.

However, the money was just an appetizer; the main course was yet to come. First, the Kingdom of Fas demanded that Bilia lower its tariffs.

Secondly, for the next ten years, a certain amount of soybeans must be imported from the Kingdom of Fas every year. The Kingdom of Fas may refuse to sell, but if it does sell, Villa must buy them at the current price.

Third, jointly establish a university specializing in shipbuilding to teach shipbuilding technology.

The first two are easy to deal with, since they can't stop the dumping of industrial products from the Kingdom of Phos anyway. And since domestic agriculture is already in this state, we can just start selling them.

But shipbuilding technology is the lifeblood. One Weyland and one Netherlands had already annoyed Villar in maritime trade along the new sea routes. If another one came, there would be no way to play.

This third point already foresees a long and protracted negotiation.

It's estimated that we'll have to talk until next year to get a result.

Chapter 570 New Year, New Landscape, Old Navy Problems

In 1603, negotiations between the Kingdom of Fas and the Kingdom of Villa continued.

Meanwhile, in the Empire, war has begun again. The emperor, who suffered a defeat in his campaign against the Kingdom of Phos, had made too many promises beforehand, all of which were made to the mages. He couldn't fail to deliver on those promises.

Having no other choice, he could only extort money from his old Christian allies on his way back, and then launch another attack on the Protestant lords.

Although the emperor was defeated, he became stronger.

If he can't deal with these damned heretics, he'll just convert to Christianity.

The Kingdom of Fas was focused on consolidating its rule over the Rhineland and developing the local economy, so it could only try to provide the Protestant princes of the empire with financial and material support, as well as a team of military advisors.

To my Protestant brothers, hold on, perseverance is victory.

Of course, no one knows how many years the war of resistance will last.

Meanwhile, a new naval war broke out between Weyland and Villa over the colonies, and the Netherlands also mobilized.

The Netherlands experienced the painful lesson of a financial bubble bursting, leaving the country with countless bankrupts and debtors. Naturally, everyone was eager to try their luck at sea, otherwise their lives would be over.

The Kingdom of Fas also joined the effort, not to seize territory, but simply to protect the rubber and sugarcane growing areas in the western part of the Southern Continent.

The navy of the Kingdom of Fas is only this capable; we cannot ask for more.

In fact, the navy of the Kingdom of Fas only began to develop rapidly after Ronan came to power, but in such a short time, how could it possibly catch up with its rival?

The Kingdom of Fas in the past also had a navy, but it always sought hegemony on the continent and its focus was not on the sea.

This is not because ruling groups throughout history lacked strategic vision.

This remains an economic issue.

The former Kingdom of Phos was Seris in the western continent. Relying on its natural land conditions, it had a basic self-sufficient agricultural system. Its manor economy was basically the same as Seris's small-scale peasant economy.

As Ronan, the man who proposed the theory of sea power in his original timeline, said, "Sea power is first and foremost subordinate to commerce. Commerce proceeds along the most convenient sea routes, and consequently, military control promotes and protects trade." Without strong social demand, even with vigorous development of the navy, it will eventually run out of resources and be unsustainable.

The former Kingdom of Fass did not have the social need to develop sea power.

And now, there is.

Because Ronan has established far too many factories in the country, these factories need raw materials and markets.

Ronan probably won't live to see that day. By the time the navy of the Kingdom of Fas has developed, he should have already retired.

In May, the basic framework of the Rhine region was basically established.

As labor unions and farmers' associations began to take shape, over time, the economy of the Rhine region would become deeply intertwined with the Kingdom of Fass, and the tendency toward independence would inevitably decrease significantly.

Of course, this tendency cannot disappear, after all, they are different cultures and different ethnic groups.

However, having accomplished this much, Ronan could finish up the work and then return home.

In the same month, negotiations between the Kingdom of Phos and Bilia ended.

Bilia agreed to three conditions: a ten million in compensation, a new trade agreement, and joint funding to establish a shipbuilding university. However, he added an extra condition: the magic academy of the Kingdom of Fas must accept a certain number of Bilia's government-sponsored students.

Villa has a large population of six or seven million, so there are many people in the country with magical talent who do not receive an education.

In recent years, the Kingdom of Fas has expanded its educational resources significantly. The abundance of its finances and the support of its policies are only superficial reasons. The deeper reason lies in the emergence of the magic revolver, which has made it so that many low-ranking mages no longer have sufficient combat advantages. They have begun to seek legitimate professions instead of joining certain criminal guilds in the capital or simply starting small, semi-legal companies in remote cities.

In the past, not many people were willing to become teachers; many teachers were novice magicians like Yvette back then.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Phos has also improved its teaching standards for magicians. This is mainly due to the widespread introduction of a new mathematics-based learning method developed by Ronan and improved by many others. This allows many people who are not naturally gifted to at least complete their basic studies and become junior magicians.

Therefore, Villa was naturally willing to send some of the people from lower social classes abroad to study.

The Kingdom of Phos doesn't care. Once you've come and learned, how many of you would want to go back?

In June, Weyland and Villa agreed to an unconditional ceasefire.

With the new king of Weyland holding his coronation ceremony, the rise of naval power has become increasingly unstoppable.

In the same month, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands dissolved, with the north becoming the Republic of the Netherlands and the south becoming the Kingdom of Belgium.

In July, Sweden marched south again, and the Great Bopo was no match for Suleiman, who intensified his efforts. In order to put out the fire, the Emperor had no choice but to temporarily withdraw his troops.

Heretics must be fought at all times.

Also in July, Ronan returned to Paristo, the capital of the Kingdom of Phas.

That evening, Ronan arrived at Dinia's home.

At the bar, in their usual spot, the two of them drank together.

After taking a few sips, Dinia asked, "Do you have someone in mind?"

"Who is the candidate?" Ronan asked.

Dinia couldn't help but smile. "The next prime minister."

Ronan then suddenly realized that it was now 1603. Dinah had been prime minister since 1594, nine years ago. Dinah's term was over, and it was time to change prime ministers.

Dinah's statement also indicates that she has no intention of seeking re-election.

"Let them choose. If I try to interfere, that would break the rules," Ronan said with a hint of regret. Then, he changed the subject and asked Dinia, "Where do you plan to go after you leave office?"

The current political structure of the Kingdom of Phos was hard-won. It is important to understand that it was precisely because the king relinquished some power to the bureaucratic group headed by the prime minister, while he himself only held complete control of the military, and the prime minister served a maximum of nine years and was elected, that the several power transitions in the Kingdom of Phos over the past century, even with disputes, did not result in bloodshed.

Dinah is leaving office, but Ronan will not, because the king's spouse will serve as the first secretary, as a tool for the king to supervise the prime minister. This is the new rule and also the last wish of the late King Lucien.

“I don’t want to go to those social organizations. I’d rather go back to teaching at school,” Dinia said. “Ronan, I don’t quite understand how I feel right now either. It’s like a chess player who has spent many years climbing to the highest level and challenging the opponent he dreamed of when he was young. This game can be said to be won, but he doesn’t feel much joy of success. He even wants to leave like this instead of finishing this game that he is sure to win and then accepting everyone’s congratulations.”

"I'm not tired, I just don't feel the joy I expected. It's strange, really. When one piece of good news after another comes in, the excitement I feel is not as great as the little bit of happiness I feel right now from drinking with you."

"Tell me, am I a woman?" Dinia suddenly asked.

Ronan nearly spat out his drink, then chuckled, "Didi, you are a woman, after all."

"Ha, that's true." Dinia laughed, realizing that her question was utterly absurd.

Chapter 571 The Vatican's Invitation, A Vicious Cycle, He Squatted Down

She downed the rest of the drink in one gulp, and with a thud, Dinia placed the glass on the bar.

Dinia regained some of her seriousness and turned to look at Ronan. "Someone from the Vatican sent an invitation. The Pope invited you and me to the Vatican. It's a very formal and public invitation, but the purpose wasn't explained."

"You and me?" Ronan frowned.

For a moment, I couldn't figure out what the other party's intentions were.

In the Western Continent, there is only one person who can refer to himself as Pope in official correspondence: the one in the Vatican in Venaya.

Protestantism does not have a pope; the highest leader of the Fass Kingdom Church is the archbishop, who does not have much authority over the district bishop who manages a state church organization.

Protestantism in other countries was even more chaotic than in the Kingdom of Fas.

Because Protestantism itself is not a hierarchical, tightly organized group.

But the old church was like a bureaucratic government, with a clear hierarchy and each person occupying their own position.

For the Vatican, he and Dinia were, if not thorns in their side, at least a thorn in their flesh.

Especially at this time, it seems no matter how you look at it, the pope has ill intentions.

But if you say he had ill intentions, what could he possibly do to Ronan and Dinia?

With Ronan and Dinia combined, no one in the Western Continent can stop them.

“It seems you can’t guess what he’s planning to do either.” Dinia shook her head slightly and poured herself a full glass.

Ronan also picked up the bottle and refilled his glass. "It's really hard to guess what he's planning, but what prompted this pope to invite us is obvious. The empire has been defeated, Villa has been lost, and the old church's influence in the western continent has been greatly diminished."

One of the biggest differences between the Kingdom of Fas in this world and France in Ronan's original timeline is that the Kingdom of Fas is a Protestant country, while France is an Catholic country.

After the turmoil a century ago, the old religion in the Kingdom of Fas declined, and the nobles who believed in the old religion were driven to the south and separated from the political center. Decades ago, Protestantism was like a spark, and decades later, the spark has become a prairie fire. In these few decades, the Kingdom of Fas has become a Protestant country.

He's no longer a dutiful son, but a rebellious one.

The rise of the Kingdom of Fas was a painful experience for the Pope, a pain known only to the Heavenly Father.

His invitation to Ronan and Dinah must have been in the hopes of doing something to reverse the decline.

But what can he do?

Indeed, this Pope, or rather, the Pope's man, had an army at his disposal. The Knights of the Faith were composed entirely of mages, totaling two thousand men, including three hundred high-ranking mages. They were arguably the most elite armed force on the continent.

The Papal States also have a guard composed of ordinary people, numbering three thousand.

If the Pope is willing to spend his savings, he can launch a massive army at any time.

In this world, he can openly and honestly say, "I truly have a teacher."

However, if he were to use this armed force, all the countries would tacitly unite to strangle him.

Even in Catholic countries, even emperors who believed in the old religion would never want to see the shadow of the church once again loom over the western continent.

In the Papal States, the Papacy can do whatever it wants; nobody cares about it, and nobody dares to. After all, it's a real division.

But if this situation continues, the number of believers in the Old Church will undoubtedly shrink. With fewer believers, the church's income will decrease. With less church income, can the church still maintain its current large Order of the Apostles?

The answer is definitely no.

If the Knights Defenders were to reduce their size, they would likely have to ask the Pope for a generous donation.

With less money, the Knights Defenders continue to shrink. As they shrink, more people will try to extort them, leading to further extortion and a vicious cycle where the Knights Defenders shrink even more.

The Pope must find a way to stop the decline.

To be honest, even if Ronan were in the Pope's shoes, he couldn't think of any way to resolve the situation.

"To go, or not to go?" Dinia asked Ronan.

"You're asking me what to do? Isn't it always you who makes the decisions?" Ronan asked with a smile.

“I said, go,” Dinia replied.