Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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To be honest, if this group of people could learn magic, their fighting power would surpass that of the Kingdom of Phos's Security Bureau and Ministry of Magic.

“If we had come a few decades later, there would probably have been a revolution here,” Elena said with a smile.

Agustina continued, “There are so many people at the bottom, and only a few can rise to the top. But these people at the bottom are not bad off; they are all children of nobles. Sooner or later, they will rebel. First, they will establish a fairer system, and then declare that some people are more equal than others, rendering the fair system meaningless and preventing most people from rising up. They will become fuel for rebellion. It’s not that people’s hearts are like this, but in a place with limited resources and limited positions, only in this way can there be long-term stability. And fairness here belongs to the dregs of the old era.”

“However, this will weaken their fighting strength,” Elena added.

“Without a fair promotion mechanism, the upper echelons will become increasingly corrupt,” Agustina added.

"Systems with no room for improvement tend to self-limit," Ronan summarized.

Chapter 686 Rewards and Punishments, Being Tricked into Speaking Out, The Plan Begins

The mission continues.

On Dinia's side, after leading three groups of people and intimidating more than three hundred regular knights, she did not directly deal with the other three hundred or so reserve knights.

However, Dinia then called everyone together and announced that she would execute more than twenty people, who were the ones who had led the charge and huddled behind to save their own lives during the three raids.

She didn't use the reason of shrinking back to save her life, because if she did, someone would definitely come out to plead for her and explain.

She used the excuse that this group of people deliberately led others back, intending to murder them and let them die at the hands of the monster.

This reason is utterly absurd and completely untenable. Anyone with a brain knows that no monster can pose a threat to Dinia, and very few can even threaten the relatively weaker Grand.

But despite this absurd reason, no one came forward to plead for leniency, nor did anyone raise any questions.

It's like back in the Kingdom of Phos, when Ambrina said someone was rebelling and wanted to kill someone, no one pleaded for mercy or questioned her. But when she said someone had broken the law and should be severely punished, there were plenty of people pleading for mercy and questioning her.

The charge of rebellion was fabricated, and no one wanted to get involved. The crime was a violation of the rules, and that could be justified.

After killing people, of course one should show mercy.

Dinia selected about twenty more people who had been leading the charge, promising to teach them magic in a while, and from now on, they would serve as knight captains, commanding the others. It just so happened that those who had been watching from the back were mostly captains, leaving those positions vacant.

Afterwards, Dinia went to find Fisse and Falek, because the two of them were the experts on the human body and the magical body. The people on this ship were obviously different from outsiders. Even if they weren't different, Dinia, who was only half-baked in terms of magical theory, didn't know how to teach magic to people whose bodies and magical power had reached the correct level.

Later, Astrid also joined the research group to study how to teach these people magic and what kind of magic to learn.

Meanwhile, things were proceeding smoothly for Ambrina. She had entered a new phase, the "getting information out of him" phase. What is the most powerful thing about a tyrant? The answer is feigning madness.

Ambrina always appeared very sincere in conversations, and she was inadvertently tricked into revealing a great deal of information about Ronan and his group to the ship's elders.

This information is mostly true, because it's necessary to let them know some facts, and this kind of unintentional, subtle way of getting information out of them is more credible than telling them directly.

After all, since they were going to take them to the outside world, Ronan and his group wouldn't stay here and pretend to be some kind of charlatans to these people. They might as well make it clear from the beginning that they were outsiders and had a certain status and position. At the same time, Ronan, Dinia, and Kate Pierre had this kind of relationship with the goddess Lavini.

On the surface, Ronan is the man of a group of women, but in reality, his identity is mysterious and unknown. Although he is not as strong as Lavigne, he has a higher level of authority than Lavigne.

Dinia is Lavini's chosen successor, and she possesses special divine powers.

Ketterbill was a relative and friend of Lavigne.

As for how the elders of the Ship Country interpret this and what countermeasures they will take, that is not Ambrina's concern.

In addition, Ambrina said that she had heard that the people under the Ship Kingdom were very dissatisfied with the elders, and whether the elders understood or not was none of her business.

If they understood, they would fight amongst themselves, and then the others would come to settle things – that's good. If they didn't understand, they would choose to suppress the restless people below, giving them a reason to intervene – that's also good.

In any case, a number of elders will die, and the same goes for the priests.

In any change of power, a group of former rulers must always be sacrificed.

At the same time, the training program promoted by Ronan entered the preparation stage.

The ancestors of the Ship Kingdom came from Paradise, and the people of Paradise were brought to this world by Lavini a thousand years ago, around the 500th to 600th century of the Holy Calendar, which is the 6th century.

This is a turbulent period. In the western continent, the Vena Empire, which is the Rome of this world, is gone. The Toria Empire, commonly known as the Old Empire, was born, which is the defeated court of this world. The Seven Holy Churches began to develop rapidly. Central Asia and West Asia are also in chaos. The Crescent Moon Church created by the Prophet quietly rose. India is still fragmented. Seres, which dominates the order of East Asia, is also divided in the east, west, north and south, just like the Northern and Southern Dynasties in another timeline. It is not just ordinary chaos. Far across the sea, the civilization of the New World has reached its peak, which is also the end of its prosperity.

Lavini led many people to Paradise during a time of global chaos, encompassing virtually every race in the world, including not only the androids created by her comrades, such as the Haidi, but also the Raga.

A thousand years later, the people of Paradise are mostly of mixed race, and they all look quite similar. They have black hair and black eyes, and their skin color is similar to that of the Seres, white but not quite as white. They have less body hair, and while they don't have high noses and deep-set eyes, they generally have high nose bridges and big eyes.

Having assimilated and integrated, they use the same language, and their writing system is a phonetic script. After the collapse of Paradise, they were confined on the ship for two hundred years, and their civilization stagnated and even collapsed for a long time. Their vocabulary is much smaller than before, so it is really not difficult to learn the language and writing system of the Ship Country. When they come to the outside world in the future, they will probably come up with a lot of new words.

The priests also knew another language, written in ideographic script.

The problem is what language to teach them. French? Outside the Western Continent, very few people can speak it, especially in Asia. It's far less useful than the variant of the Old Empire of Biria, the Low Countries of the Netherlands, or even Wieland German.

After much deliberation, I decided to use French, this terrible language.

Many members of Ronan's group had only average foreign language skills, such as Dinia, Alice, Gloria, Ashley, and Isabelle. Elena and Agustina were different; their native language wasn't French. Falek, Faith, and Zhao Yingqi were simply foreigners. However, Ambrina and Ronan's beloved daughter, Astrid, possessed strong language skills and spoke multiple languages.

Language teaching is only one aspect. More importantly, while teaching language, it is also about making promises to people. Even more important than making promises is implying to those in the middle of society that they will definitely get a piece of the pie, but given their status, how much they will actually get is another question.

Simply put, Ronan is implying that the more ambitious members of the Ship Country's lower classes should rebel.

This group of people already harbored rebellious intentions. They came from good families but couldn't inherit the family business. They couldn't compete with others in the internal competition, and they were facing a precarious future. How could they not rebel?

And so the plan began.

At first, the priests and elders were very cooperative, but gradually they sensed something was wrong. They heard voices of opposition from the middle and lower levels. At the same time, Ronan and his group stopped accepting hospitality and instead deliberately distanced themselves. Apart from the daily classes in magic and language, the group would not come to the ship.

Chapter 687 The Elders' Confrontation, That's it, the focus is still on the Priest.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed since Lavini entrusted the large ship and its crew to Dinia. The people of the Ship Kingdom were restless, and the current First Governor finally couldn't hold back any longer. He summoned the other sixteen elders besides himself to discuss the future.

Seventeen elders, including the First Consul, gathered in Training Room No. 3. This training room was specifically used for practicing magic and was now the territory of the First Consul. Compared to places like the mill, canteen, water room, tool workshop, and repair workshop, it didn't earn much money, but it was a place that knights had to come to.

"I called everyone here because I want to resign from my position as First Minister and hope that everyone can help elect a new First Minister."

The current first leader said.

The other sixteen people had varying expressions. In the past, while they wouldn't have been overly excited about such an event, they would have felt a certain level of excitement.

The reason they weren't too excited was that the daily life of the Ship Country wasn't anything major in the past. They were just maintaining survival and order. There was no need for expansion or foreign invasion, so the so-called First Ruler didn't have much power. But even without much power, there was still some. If you asked any of them if they wanted to be the First Ruler, they would definitely say yes.

But things are different now. The situation is really hard to predict, and nobody wants to take on this thorny position that could potentially kill someone.

"It seems that people don't agree with my idea," the First Minister added.

“I think you are quite suitable,” said the elder who was in charge of the No. 3 dining hall at the bottom.

“I think so too,” echoed the elder who owned the mill.

The two started one after the other, and those behind them followed suit, hoping that the first leader would continue to serve.

The first leader clapped his hands, and someone came over to serve everyone a glass of juice, which was a rare treat here. He continued, "Since that's the case, I'll be frank. There have been a lot of rumors lately that people are dissatisfied with us, but ultimately, it's those few who are dissatisfied with us."

The moment the words were spoken, everyone's expression froze. Wasn't it a bit too blunt to just say it like that?

"Well, I'm only in charge of tool production. The Senate plans how much to produce, the price is fixed, and it's all centrally purchased and sold. I only earn a little management fee. At most, I might overstate some losses, but the personnel on this ship have nothing to do with me. I'm just a machine that supports everyone. At most, I might consume a little more oil. This dissatisfaction has absolutely nothing to do with me," said the elder of the tool workshop in the territory, firmly stating that he never participates in politics.

"If that's the case, I only oversee the water room, providing drinking water and domestic water for everyone. At most, I might offer some discounted prices, but this political matter is none of my concern," the elder in charge of the water room added.

"Me too. At most, I take care of the food for my own people and occasionally take the opportunity to discipline certain people. It really has nothing to do with me." The elder who owned the No. 3 canteen followed the lead of the person in front and immediately shifted the blame.

This flick of the wrist was like a domino effect, landing on the last four people.

These four individuals held truly high positions of power. One controlled a workshop that performed preliminary identification and processing on the collected relics containing magic stones, another managed a breeding center, and the other two were responsible for maintaining and operating the small airships and the power room, respectively.

Simply put, it's about energy, food, logistics, and half a captain.

"So you're saying we're wrong? I'm the one who really did the hard work," said the elder in charge of the artifact processing workshop, his face showing the most displeasure and resentment.

"What's the use of you trying to distance yourselves here?" said the elder who had been in charge of the breeding center. His voice was loud, but he seemed a little uneasy.

"If you ask me, if we're really going to take action, we'll definitely start with you guys." The elder in charge of the small boat spoke louder; he was the one with the closest ties to the Knights and was the most nervous.

"What does this have to do with me? My place is no different from being in prison. If you ask me, you guys are stupid. It's obvious that they want to target those priests. Both training classes are aimed at them," said the elder, who was also known as a half-captain.

The four of them would never normally stand in the same line, but now, out of worry, they have unknowingly joined forces.

“There’s no need to argue, gentlemen,” said the elder who owned the mill. “The important thing is to figure out what they mean.”

"Nonsense, if we could figure it out, would we need to gather here?" The elder who controlled the entertainment room said with some disdain. For so many days, they had been trying to figure out what Ronan and his group planned to do, but Ronan and his group had not given them a single hint.

At this point, the First Executive spoke again, “Gentlemen, if you ask me, the most important thing now is unity. Not to unite against them, but to explain our value to them. I have an idea: let’s all resign and hand over our powers so that they can arrange for someone to handle it.”

You don't consider this confrontation? Do you have to call it a head-on confrontation?

Although no one thought it was a good idea, they had no other ideas for the time being, so they decided to give it a try. They couldn't just kill someone because they wanted to resign, could they?

"This isn't a public meeting, so there won't be a vote. Everyone can decide what to do," the First Executive said, then stood up to leave.

That's a lie. The First Consul is not elected by the elders. The elders are just candidates. The Knights are elected by the captains of the Knights Order. The Knights have always operated in small teams and avoided becoming too powerful, so there is no Grand Master. The captain is the highest rank.

To put it bluntly, the first person in power is the one with the most military support. They tell you what to do, but in most cases, there's no "watching" but only "doing".

An hour after the secret meeting ended, Ronan, Dinia, Ambrina, and Isabelle learned about the meeting from Ashley.

"That's it?" Ambrina wanted to laugh, but felt that laughing would lower her class.

"Too naive," Dinia commented.

“It was right that they assumed we wouldn’t use violence to cleanse them, but these people have forgotten that they have sons,” Isabel couldn’t help but say.

“And he’s definitely a filial son,” Ronan added.

The elders' heirs are all alive and well; they are the kind of knights who go through the motions but don't actually put in the effort.

Because they weren't like those whose ancestors were nobles but who had fallen to the bottom of society after several generations, and who were eager to prove themselves and stand out after finally becoming knights. Nor were they the typical second-generation knights who would let their power go to waste and plan to form cliques and become captains in the future. They just wanted to accumulate enough seniority, then go back to learn how to manage the family business, and smoothly take over as elders when their fathers got old.

But their father was also a knight, so he's in great shape.

Who wants to be the crown prince for sixty years? He must be filial.

Ambrina pulled out a roasted chicken wing. "They took over suddenly, their foundation is unstable, and they also have a group of brothers who are somewhat capable, but they haven't been able to beat others, and it looks like they'll be stuck at the bottom for life. We're going to have a good show to watch."

“That’s all they are. Our focus is on the priests,” Isabel said. They hadn’t really taken the elders seriously anyway.

Chapter 688 The Flag is Important, Similarities and Differences, Cultivation Method

The difficulty with priests lies not only in their mastery of basic education and the training of knights, but more importantly in their control of the guiding spirit, which is the banner of humanity, guiding the way forward.

Human beings were originally united by abstract concepts, and it is under the banner of abstract concepts that we can move forward together in the same direction.

There was once a country whose people resisted foreign enemies and gained autonomy. In the process, they abolished the old flag and raised a new one. Under the new guiding spirit, countless people were willing to dedicate themselves and forge ahead. But later, the new flag was overthrown, and countless people fell into confusion, no longer willing to dedicate themselves or forge ahead. Their minds were filled with only self-interest, and the whole country began to degenerate rapidly. The older generation even questioned the younger generation about why they were unwilling to endure hardship and why they were unwilling to strive.

Without a high-flying flag, without ideals, what is the point of sacrifice and striving? We have only heard of sacrificing for ideals and striving for honor, but never of burning oneself out to fulfill the pleasure of others.

That's right, I'm talking about the United States.

It's easy to overthrow the priests and raise a new banner, but it's not so easy to make that new banner stand firm.

The priests on the ship are currently working on ethics to maintain order within this closed system, and Ronan and his group are going to take them out, but what they will do after they leave is still undecided.

This is why Ronan and his group had to target the priests, yet they couldn't act rashly.

“In short, we should first clarify what we need to do in the future, what role they will play in the process, what they will gain after the event, and what their goals will be after that,” Dinia began.

Ambrina was not interested. She had come on vacation after retiring, but she had already spent a few days sightseeing in Suleiman. She might not even have anything to do next, so it was really boring. If things went her way, the people on the ship could do whatever they wanted.

"Our ultimate goal is, of course, to give everyone the talent to learn magic." Isabel was very concerned. She wasn't like Ambrina, who lived a simple life. If she had a choice before, she wouldn't have retired or left the Kingdom of Fass, but she didn't have a choice.

Isabel continued, "I think we should find a place to settle them down before we go into Seris."

"The banner is simple, the core of which is 'Rebuild Paradise'. We can refine the specific details later. Anyway, for them, Paradise is almost a legend. We can just get some past records from the priests and adapt them."

“I think it’s feasible,” Caterpillar said, expressing his support.

“We should compile a book that provides guidance and spread it before we leave,” Dinia said. “I’ll take charge, and Ronan will write it.”

She can only speak a little bit of the language of the Ship Country now; if she wants to write a book, she'll have to get Ronan to help.

“No problem,” Ronan agreed. Writing books was his forte.

“Compiling a book is also an opportunity,” Ashley said. “The priests certainly don’t want us to compile such a book. They won’t easily hand over historical materials. Moreover, they have passed down their knowledge for so many generations, so there must be a lot of recorded statements. By using this book-compiling project, we can force some priests to rebel, label some priests, and then we will have a reason to deal with them.”

As a secret service chief, Ashley might be so-so when it comes to doing serious business, but when it comes to messing with people, she's a professional.

Alice knew immediately that Ashley, that old rogue, was going to start a literary inquisition. "Don't escalate it."

As a former partner, Ashley knew that Alice had always been against making changes to the cultural sphere, and even more against ruining the atmosphere as a result, so she assured her, "Don't worry, it won't escalate."

Dinia didn't say anything; she knew Ashley was sensible. She turned to Falek and Faith and asked about another important matter, "How far have you gotten with your research on letting them learn magic?"

Faith answered first, “Although the people on the ship are the offspring of many different races, including some races that have undergone special modifications, in essence, their physical structure is no different from that of humans outside. Their differences may not be as great as the differences between Elena’s race and ordinary humans.”

"Isn't it just that I'm a little taller, a little stronger, and have a little more magic power?" Elena asked curiously. As for her special abilities, none of her other clansmen had them.

Faith smiled. "Then you're mistaken. Your race's body organs are different from those of ordinary humans. You have extremely strong resistance to disease and stress, and your bones are different too. Don't you think you're very heavy? The biggest difference is in your eyes. Don't you think you're exceptionally strong, whether it's day or night?"

Elena thought about it carefully and realized it was true. She wasn't fat, but she weighed 85 kilograms, which was heavier than Ronan, who was taller than her, had a well-defined muscular physique, and was a man. Ronan only weighed 80 kilograms.

At this moment, Agustina suddenly said, "I knew you were really heavy. You always say that when we're stacked together, I should be on the bottom."

"Ahem." Ronan quickly coughed lightly, reminding everyone that they were talking about serious matters and shouldn't drive.