Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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The family dinner ended not long after.

Ambrina went to the gardens in the north of the kingdom, and Louis quickly went over to her.

Lucien and his wife Verma left together and returned to their residence.

Ronan left alone, and Ina immediately ran over.

"What's wrong?" Ronan asked his daughter Ina.

Without hesitation, Ina casually expressed her thoughts, "I want to give up my status as a princess, and I'll give up my public office. I'll start a relationship and maybe even start a company. As for marriage, I have absolutely no intention of doing so."

"You don't want a government job, you want to date, and you even want to start a company. That's great, Dad supports you. But is it necessary to give up your princess status?" Ronan first expressed his support, and then asked another question.

Ina was stumped by the question. Although the Western Continent as a whole grew from the corpses of the old empires, each one was actually different. The Kingdom of Phos had a strong flavor of an agricultural civilization. Although the kingdom did not nominally adhere to royal etiquette or not compete with the people for profit like Seris, as a princess of the royal family, she still had to be mindful of her image.

In short, there is no precedent for a princess to have a free love affair and then start a company.

“This will surely attract a lot of criticism,” Ina said.

“Ha.” Ronan laughed. “Dissent is good. It’s perfect for introducing the laws I’ve prepared. It will tell everyone that the Kingdom of Fas belongs to all its citizens, not just our family.”

"Huh?" Ina was stunned.

“However, the throne of the Kingdom of Phos is our family’s sacred and inviolable private property,” Ronan added, then explained, “Public is public, and private is private. It’s wrong for the royal family to treat the country as their own home and dispose of it at will. The country belongs to everyone, but wealth can and should be private. The throne is one of our family’s assets. Under this premise, is there a problem with you starting and running a company? Moreover, the covenant will stipulate that the king will only have three types of income: salary, bonuses, and allowances. Taking money from the national treasury is absolutely prohibited.”

Although her father-in-law didn't say it explicitly on his deathbed, he meant that Ronan should extend the Golden Eagle Dynasty for another two hundred years. Although Ambrina said that she didn't care about her descendants, she still hoped that her descendants could avoid tragedy. Ronan had no choice but to use this plan.

"I understand." Ina immediately got it.

Still living in the imperial era, the Seres people, accustomed to the patriarchal style, might not immediately understand or adapt to concepts like family and country, public and private matters, and covenants. However, these are things that are easy for the people of the Western Continent to understand.

“Then, are you and Mom considering having a few more kids? Our family has quite a lot of ‘private assets,’” Ina said. As far as she knew, her mother was a major shareholder in many private companies in China.

“No need. In the future, these properties will be distributed to Lucien’s women and children,” Ronan said.

"He only has three, doesn't he?"

"Your information is outdated. Your brother has recently been involved with two more women."

Chapter 609 Rolling Up, Dilemma, Three-Front Battle Situation

Of course, there's one more thing Ronan didn't mention: the fact that the female secretaries who didn't become queen were willing to keep trying because of the carrot of the business.

Only by keeping their positions in check can they avoid engaging in pointless palace intrigues and creating chaos within the inner court. Only by keeping their positions in check can King Lucien treat his lovers and secretaries like high-class servants, and even implement a "promotion-or-leave" system. Only by keeping their positions in check can Ronan's "separation of public and private affairs" law be truly and effectively implemented.

"Don't worry about your business for now, we'll talk about it when I get back."

Ronan said to his daughter.

He had to head south immediately to the southern front, Ambrina to the eastern front, and Lucien to the northern front.

In September, Ambrina arrived at the Eastern Front headquarters. The Northern and Eastern Legions of the Kingdom of Fass, passing through the southern Rhine, advanced into the southwestern region of the Empire, which is the area between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in another timeline of Germany.

Further southeast, one approaches the Osteria region, a territory directly under the emperor's control, which is Austria in another time and space.

This is a region with complex terrain, including mountains, valleys, and forests.

At the same time, the emperor's army arrived.

The emperor was quite satisfied that the battlefield was located here. First, it was close to his headquarters, which reduced logistical pressure. Second, the complex terrain reduced the advantage of the Phas Kingdom's army in frontal combat.

If he fails to win this time, he'll be too embarrassed to continue being emperor.

Of course, even if he had the nerve to admit it, if he lost this time, he wouldn't be able to remain emperor. Years of war had left him beyond just being depleted; he had even overdrawn many things. This was his last bit of strength. If he lost, those Protestant princes who had been temporarily suppressed would immediately rise up and cause trouble, and he would no longer have the power to suppress them.

The emperor had no idea that before he arrived, the army of the Kingdom of Fass had moved north to the Hessian region.

The terrain in the Hessian region is more complex than here, with more mountains, valleys, and forests.

But there is one difference: the Hessian region has collaborators.

The reason for leading the way wasn't that this was the birthplace of the Freigo family—hundreds of years have passed, who cares about you anymore—but rather that some people here are Protestants.

Now, the emperor faces two paths: first, to pursue them northwards; second, to ignore the main force of the Kingdom of Phos, head west, penetrate the Rhine, and cut off the supply lines of the Kingdom of Phos's army.

It seems even a fool would know to choose option two: the supply cut-off tactic, forever a god-tier strategy.

However, if he were to advance westward, his supply lines would undoubtedly be exposed, and the army of the Kingdom of Phos could easily cut them off.

Now, the emperor and his entire staff are in a terrible mental state: they want to win but are afraid to lose.

Heading north is passive; heading west is a gamble. How do you choose? You can't choose.

Meanwhile, at the general staff headquarters of the Kingdom of Phos.

Ambrina and her staff and generals held a military conference while munching on roast chicken and drinking red wine.

Ambrina's special space can store food and keep it perfectly fresh. Although she is not strong enough to supply an army with the food she can store, she can store enough food for several hundred people to eat and drink to their heart's content for a year.

"I didn't expect that this damn emperor wouldn't fall for it." Ambrina said with slight disappointment.

She wasn't afraid of being cut off from supplies at all, because it couldn't be. The Kingdom of Fass had two supply lines: one starting from the southern Rhineland, and the other passing through southern Belgium and then the northern Rhineland.

If the emperor were to cut off her supply lines, she would not move south to cut off his supply lines, but would first move west, then south, blocking the emperor's army in the southern Rhine and waging a decisive battle.

If the emperor went north to pursue her, she would continue north, and the further north she went, the less the emperor's supplies would be able to keep up.

Because her supplies could be sent via the northern route, the Kingdom of Fass was bordered by Belgium and the northern Rhineland, which were all considered her own territory. The imperial domains were bordered by Protestant princes to the north, so her logistics could go there. In short, she could send supplies.

But the emperor remained inactive.

Ambrina had no idea that her advisors were overthinking things; the emperor was simply hesitant because he wanted to win but was afraid of losing.

Two weeks later, the emperor made his move and headed west.

Ambrina knew why the emperor had made this decision. On the one hand, delaying was not good for him, as the war resources of his direct territories were not on the same level as those of the Kingdom of Fas. On the other hand, he had made contact with the rebellious forces lying dormant in the Rhine region and made an agreement with them that they would respond immediately when the emperor's army attacked.

"Your Majesty, should we return immediately, or proceed as planned, resupply and rest first, and then intercept him?"

The staff officer inquired about Ambrina's opinion.

"Proceed according to the original plan. We can't let things fall apart. When the time comes, kill those traitors along with them," Ambrina replied.

The marching speed of an army composed of ordinary soldiers is far slower than that of a group of novice mages, and forced marches would easily lead to them falling behind.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Phos has already carried out a forced march in a region with complex terrain and has just recovered somewhat. If they continue to march, they will become an exhausted army again.

“In that case, we must prepare for the fall of the southern Rhine,” another staff officer said.

"It would be even better if the city fell. If the imperial army and those traitors went on a rampage of burning, killing, and looting, that would be even better. It would not only incite public anger but also disrupt our own organization and plans. We would then be able to proceed smoothly and have a reason to kill those who surrender."

"No, this is still not safe. Send a message to the local intelligence personnel and tell them to find a way to lure the Imperial army to plunder and kill."

Ambrina wasn't good at actual combat, but she did have some ideas about political matters.

She was just looking for a reason to massacre the imperial soldiers, and now she has one.

"Alright, the specific arrangements are up to you."

After finishing her meal, Ambrina planned to take a nap.

During the previous retreat, she personally covered the rear, traveling with the soldiers all the way to make them feel that the king was by their side. After retreating to the Black Forest region, she remained on high alert, ready to deal with the imperial army at any time. She hadn't slept well for almost a month and was extremely exhausted.

Now that she's finally not required to appear on screen, it's time for her to get a good night's sleep.

Meanwhile, in Ronan, thousands of miles away, things went much more smoothly.

The Phas Kingdom army on the southern front was constantly engaged in small-scale skirmishes with Bilia, but there were no large-scale ones.

The Kingdom of Phos was advancing slowly, and Villa could only fight and retreat.

Bilia didn't want to win; they only wanted to avoid defeat. In the wars they had fought against the Kingdom of Fas in the previous years, their army had suffered heavy losses in two waves, with nearly 50,000 people dying in total. For a country with a total population of just over six million, that was far too many. If another 50,000 died, the country would be doomed.

Lucien's northern route can be described as both unsuccessful and successful.

The situation was unfavorable because the Belgian army was too weak and completely outmatched by the Netherlands, whose navy was tied down by the Wehlanders. On the other hand, it was favorable because of the support from the Kingdom of Fass, which allowed them to hold some fortresses. Lucien's more important task was ensuring the supply of provisions to his mother, a task that, for the time being, was not a problem.

Chapter 610 "Uprising," stealing that damned "essence law"!

In Ronan's original timeline, Europe had completely lost the possibility of unification, because each country and nation had its own language, script, culture, and customs, and these were all quite mature. No culture could achieve a dominant position in East Asia like Seres.

Without a standardized written language, there can be no unification.

Rome once had the opportunity, but unfortunately it failed to Latinize all of Europe. The Germanic people preferred to remain illiterate and relinquish grassroots governance to the church, insisting on their own system, which led to the long Dark Ages.

In this timeline, the old empire was much like Rome, and the spread of magic meant that the lords were at least intellectuals. However, these knowledgeable and cultured lords were more resistant to cultural assimilation than the illiterate lords of the other world.

So, the same situation still occurred, or even worse in some ways, because much of the knowledge in the other world was still in Latin, while in this world, many books no longer used the language of the Old Empire. When Ronan wanted to find someone to decipher the scroll of records left by the "otherworldly people," only Ambrina was around who could understand the language of the Old Empire.

This led to another problem: the people of the Rhine region were even more resistant to the people of the Kingdom of Fas.

While they weren't exactly welcoming to the emperor, they at least felt a stronger sense of identification with him.

With the cooperation of the "traitors," the two sides should have made peace and quickly captured a large area in southeastern Rhineland.

But then his army went out of control.

First, there was the "rebel army." In Ambrina's eyes, these people were traitors; in the Emperor's eyes, they were indeed rebels. The leaders of this group were originally "minor lords" of the Rhine region. As for the major lords, they were either killed or recruited, while these minor lords were replaced by bureaucrats sent by the Kingdom of Fas and a group of local people who were particularly willing to make progress.

Can we tolerate this? We must fight back against them!

They rebelled for years, but the number of people around them dwindled with each rebellion. Now, finally, the light has arrived. Don't be fooled by their rebellion; they are all sensible people. How can someone who isn't sensible be a lord? Even if the dog emperor defeats that tyrannical woman Ambrina, it won't matter. The Kingdom of Phos is not afraid of losing. They have many people and much money. If they lose, they can come back. When the Kingdom of Phos comes back, these people will be hanging on crosses and turned into dried meat.

So what to do? Plunder a bunch of things, take back what belongs to you, and then take what you've stolen to other countries to start a new and better life.

When the emperor's army saw the "rebel army" starting to loot, they immediately became restless.

The rebels can plunder, but they can't? Of course they can.

The emperor, of course, did not want to see such a situation. He was a "wise ruler," unlike a "foolish ruler" like Ambrina. He understood military affairs and knew one thing: once soldiers had gained something, they were no longer willing to fight desperately and only wanted to save their lives.

On the battlefield, whoever is afraid of death loses.

However, the emperor's army consisted of three parts: one part was his own directly subordinate troops, which had begun to become professional; the second part was the troops of other surrounding Old Catholic lords, which were still feudal armies; and the third part was a force of magicians he had bought with some land and property, which was a semi-mercenary army.

The emperor could only control his own troops, and soon he couldn't even control his own troops anymore, because those people thought, "If outsiders can rob, why can't we rob our own people? What kind of logic is that?"

Seeing the situation, the emperor and his advisors discussed the matter and made a decision.

Instead of heading south to threaten the northern part of the Kingdom of Phos, because the soldiers who had already plundered would be reluctant to fight, they simply headed north to plunder the northern Rhineland. The "traitors" in the north were richer than those in the south because they sold coal to the Kingdom of Phos.

This caused the soldiers to roar with excitement, unleashing an astonishing surge of morale.

"After we've looted the north, tell the soldiers that if we can't defeat the French, not only will they lose what they've taken, but they'll also lose their lives here."

The emperor addressed his advisors.

On the other side, Ambrina and her advisors were dumbfounded. Had the emperor gone mad?

His northward march effectively shortened the return distance for the Kingdom of Fas and led the imperial army to a point from which they could not return.

“He’s not crazy, he’s finally stopped hesitating,” Commander-in-Chief Earl Alan said to Ambrina. “When they robbed a little money, the soldiers were hesitant and didn’t dare to fight. But now that they’ve robbed a lot, they’ve become propertied persons and they dare to fight.”

"Unfortunately, they lacked a bit of determination. If it were me, I would definitely burn down the farmland and destroy the factories. Even if we lost in the end, I would make it impossible for the Kingdom of Phos to launch an offensive for a short period of time."

Count Alan, that was a wolf in sheep's clothing too.

“If he does that, some of us will go crazy. Many of our soldiers are from the Rhine, and many mages have investments here,” Ambrina said.

Alan adopted the role of the imperial commander, thinking, "If he's crazy, so be it. Only by going to extremes and eliminating any thought of surrender or escape among his men can we truly fight to the death."

"It's a pity that the commander on the other side isn't you, Earl," Ambrina praised.

"Ha, if I were the commander on the other side, I would never dare to oppose His Majesty. I would break my legs and never lead my troops over here," Count Alan said with a smile, praising Ambrina quite highly.

“Focus on attacking the emperor’s direct troops. As for the vassal lords, let them go if you can,” Ambrina said. “I’m also counting on these electors to unite and depose him from the throne.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Count Alan and his generals bowed to acknowledge the order.

A week later, the battle began.

The emperor's troops originally planned to fight a defensive war relying on the defensive fortress system in northern Rhine, but later abandoned the plan because the emperor found that they were very unwelcome in northern Rhine. The emperor did not understand why this was the case.

Why not? The men in this region make a profit by selling mines to the Phos people, then use that money to buy goods from the Phos, which they then resell to the locals for another profit. They've become compradors. As for the lower classes, their lives are much better than before thanks to the policies of building factories and distributing land. As for the lower-ranking officials, they still have room to survive. After all, in the atmosphere of urbanization, although they have lost their power and land, they are still local bigwigs. They can engage in tertiary industries and outsource some urban management work. Making money isn't shameful.

They are different from the small landowners in the south who have lost their power and land.

The emperor was unaware of the details; he only knew that the people of this place lacked national integrity, were traitors, and deserved to die, and were utterly unworthy of being called Germans.

In short, if they dare to rely on the defense system, they could be attacked from behind by these "elite mages" at any time, leaving them with no choice but to engage in "open field battles".

However, the emperor soon realized that the situation was not in his favor, as the feudal lords' armies were not putting in any real effort.

"Damn it, these guys are faster than anyone when it comes to robbing money, but now they're playing dead!" The emperor couldn't help but curse. But he was, after all, a "wise ruler," and he quickly calmed down, began to think of a solution, and summoned his advisors to discuss countermeasures.

Chapter 611 Another Advance, Mobile Warfare, the Front Line Called Waterloo

After more than an hour of deliberation, Emperor Antolo and his advisors made a new and even bolder decision. They decided that while the skirmishes were still small-scale and the main force of the Kingdom of Phos hadn't yet locked onto the Empire's main force, the vanguard and rearguard would advance—and then... well, they decided to... advance!