Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 307

The pirates all looked at their leader, Faroo.

Faroo had no intention of giving up. Born into a fisherman's family, he had suffered much oppression. A few years ago, he rescued a little boy, and unexpectedly, over the years, the boy had grown up. Not long ago, he used this boy to kill the leader of a pirate gang and replace him as the new leader. This was his first job as the new leader, and if he had to give it up in such a humiliating way, it would not only be embarrassing, but also the dozen or so rockets and hundreds of bullets fired would be wasted.

This ammunition was the last stock of their small pirate gang. Otherwise, their former leader wouldn't have come to rob the small fishing village where Faroo was not long ago. With so much ammunition, wouldn't it be better to gather some men and pull off a big heist?

After thinking for a moment, Faroo decided to reason with them.

Moreover, look at Astrid. Although her clothes are not exactly gorgeous, they are well-made and made of top-quality fabrics. She is definitely a young lady from a noble family. Such people are aloof and ignorant of worldly affairs. Although they are very capable, they are easy to deceive.

Some people, though born into poverty and uneducated, were quick-witted, eloquent, and bold. One of them steered the boat forward, shouting, "Beautiful lady, we are forced into this situation and just want to get by. The boat and weapons were bought with all our savings, and our families are starving. If I am unlucky, may God send down fire to burn me. Since you wish to protect them, we would never dare to disobey. We only hope that you can give us some money so we can cover our expenses. We will go back, sell the boat and weapons, and raise enough money to help the fishing village get through this famine."

The pirates were stunned. Their new leader was incredibly arrogant, swearing oaths to God without batting an eye. They, a bunch of worthless pirates, had no family among the twenty or so new recruits he'd gathered from his village. And their ship and weapons were bought by selling everything they owned? This was utter nonsense! Have you ever seen robbers pay for their goods?

All I can say is that Faroo is judging people by their appearance. Astrid is indeed a young lady from a wealthy family, but who are her parents? She may be a bit stubborn but kind-hearted, but she is by no means ignorant of worldly affairs. Damn it, a bunch of pirates were trying to play the victim in front of her, trying to gain sympathy, and even demanding money before they would leave.

Do you think she's stupid?

"You're asking for death!" Astrid instantly unleashed her magic.

Faroo didn't understand why this was happening, but he didn't hesitate to order his troops to open fire while simultaneously retreating quickly.

However, in the next instant, Astrid was already on his ship, grabbing his neck with one hand and lifting him up with the other. With her strength, she could have easily crushed his throat and killed him instantly, but she ultimately let go, simply sweeping her fist across him with a light swing.

But even this light punch was enough to knock out Farugo, whose strength was already that of a novice mage and whose physique far surpassed that of an ordinary human.

In the blink of an eye, figures flashed, and on more than a dozen small boats, more than fifty pirates lay down.

Astrid ultimately did not kill anyone, but she handed the group over to the people on the two merchant ships for disposal.

Meanwhile, Ronan and his two companions had already boarded one of the merchant ships.

The people on this ship are really interesting. There are indeed Seres people among them. Although they are dressed simply, their hair is just tied up and fixed with a wooden hairpin, and they look tired, they are only tense and wary in front of Ronan and his group, but they are not flustered.

Aside from them, the others wore turbans and robes and had long beards, making it easy to tell who they were. A group of Seres people were mixed up with South Asian Muslims, which really made people quite confused about the situation.

The term "Tianfangjiao" is Seris's name for Islam.

Before long, a handsome man with his hair tied up and wearing a crown, who looked to be only in his thirties, with a short goatee and a slightly haggard appearance, wearing a gray-blue narrow-sleeved Taoist robe and white-soled black cloth boots, walked over, supported by a burly man as tall as a black tower.

The man cupped his hands in thanks. “Thank you all for coming to my rescue. May I ask your honorable names?” But as soon as he said this, he suddenly paused, his gaze lingering on Zhao Yingqi for several seconds before he realized his rudeness and quickly looked away.

Just as one of the Sheikhs, presumably the translator, was about to speak, Ronan waved his hand, "No need, I understand."

Ronan's words surprised all the Seres. It was not uncommon for white people to speak Seres, but what was rare was Ronan's accent, which was not strange. However, what was even stranger was Ronan's northern accent, which sounded like Mandarin, yet not quite.

Of course not. Ronan was speaking Mandarin before his transmigration, while the Seres Kingdom in this world was named David. Its founder was from Henan. He had been recruited by the government and served as the Duke of Wei. Many of those who fought alongside him were also from Henan. However, David established its capital in Yanjing, controlling the south from the north, separating the political and economic centers to prevent the south from becoming too dominant. The official language was the result of the fusion of Hebei and Henan dialects, so it was both similar to and different from Ronan's Mandarin.

The man breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows furrowed again in an instant.

Before he could say anything more, Ronan spoke again, "I see you seem to be quite badly injured, brother. Perfect, I have someone here who is very good at healing."

The man glanced at Zhao Yingqi again, as if he had thought of something. He hesitated for a moment and then politely declined, "Thank you for your kindness, but I really cannot disturb you."

Ronan had noticed from the start that the man was particularly interested in Zhao Yingqi. He had originally planned to invite him over and then subtly probe the matter, but now he could only ask directly, "Brother, do you know her?"

The man hesitated and sighed, "This, alas, this young lady looks extremely like my wife, but it's also clear that they are not the same person."

Upon hearing this, Ronan and the other two were all taken aback.

Chapter 707 Invitation, surnamed Luo, confessed to a crime

Ronan thought that this man had only seen Zhao Yingqi in this world. After all, Zhao Yingqi's father was a high-ranking local official, but it seemed that he had been summoned back to the court to be punished before the new year due to the bad war situation, and then exiled to the north. He never expected that he might actually be Zhao Yingqi's husband in this world.

In this world, Zhao Yingqi of Seris is five years younger than Zhao Yingqi of Ronan, meaning he's only seventeen. He's already married at seventeen... well, that's actually quite normal.

The man looked puzzled; was it really necessary to be so surprised?

Ronan recovered from his shock and pointed at Zhao Yingqi, "Brother, she, well, you can think of her as a concubine. Anyway, we're quite destined to meet. Brother, you look like you're badly injured again. Why don't you come aboard our ship for treatment?"

"Sigh, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that... sigh, to be honest..." The man hesitated, sighed, but finally said, "I'm being chased, and I really don't want to involve you."

Ambrina understood, and asked with a hint of disdain, "Chasing you, is that strong? We're very strong."

The man clenched his sleeves and sighed, "In terms of strength, those people are naturally no match for you." The leader of the group that killed him was a fifth-level scholar, plus a few second- or third-level martial artists. These few people should have been quite strong, but even if they were all put together, they might not be able to defeat that blonde woman who subdued dozens of pirates in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Astrid descended from the sky and landed on the deck. She glanced at the people around her and said, "It's all taken care of. You can deal with those people yourselves." She also spoke Seres language, but her wording was rather strange.

The man was interrupted by Astrid's sudden arrival. He had been about to speak, but now he hesitated, "It's just..."

“You’re so hesitant and indecisive,” Astrid said.

Ronan chuckled, afraid that Astrid would add a thieving bird to her name. The other Seres present also suppressed their laughter, finding Astrid's blonde goat-like words hilarious, sometimes uttering strange phrases, sometimes sounding like something out of a storybook.

“Lily, I told you to stop reading those novels that Seris brought over. You even imitated the characters in them, acting like a complete idiot,” Ronan said, then turned to the man and said seriously, “Brother, do you think you can escape like this? If you can, we won’t waste your time. If not, I think you should stay here. I’d like to test what kind of Indians these are.”

After all, besides Indians, the only other people around here are the sea pirates from the Western Continent. If they were sea pirates from the Western Continent, their first reaction upon seeing him wouldn't be so calm, so it must be Indians.

The man wanted to say they weren't Indians, but their own people. Then he thought about it and realized that they were indeed delayed by the sudden appearance of the pirates, and they probably couldn't escape. They could only deal with them for now.

The man cupped his hands in thanks again, saying, "My name is Liu Menglong, and I thank you for your kindness, sir."

“Ronan, just pretend my surname is Ronan,” Ronan said.

Astrid asked irritably, "Old man, your surname is Luo, so what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to be called Luo Lili?"

Ronan chuckled dryly, pointing to his head. "Sorry, I'm a poor father and I haven't been very good at disciplining him. Please don't take offense."

Liu Menglong was also taken aback. A daughter? She doesn't look like her. However, out of politeness, he still smiled and said, "Your daughter is naturally simple and talented. She doesn't need to be bound by the usual customs like ordinary people."

Ambrina thought for a moment, then said, "Then I'll take the surname Am."

Ronan glanced at Ambrina and introduced her, "This is my wife."

"Not taking her husband's surname?" Liu Menglong, and others, were somewhat puzzled. They had dealt with foreigners before and knew that foreigners were even more strict about taking their husbands' surnames than the Chinese were. Could it be that Mr. Luo was a son-in-law living with his wife's family? It didn't seem likely. What kind of son-in-law would take a concubine? No, it should be said, a mistress. They knew that it was common for foreigners to have mistresses, but for a mistress to appear openly with her wife was not normal.

At this moment, Ronan and Dinia's fleet also approached. The other ships dispersed around, and Dinia's group went directly to the merchant ship.

For a moment, everyone on the ship was stunned.

Dinya was so beautiful. Although she was a foreigner and looked like a monster in the eyes of the Seres, she was still a bewitching enchantress. If a white fox spirit were to become a spirit, it would probably look like this.

Then came Alice and the Golan sisters, whose oriental features were considered extremely beautiful by the Seres.

As for the others, they were just okay. After all, Seris has always believed that fair skin is beautiful, and Ronan and the other women are generally very fair-skinned. However, their three-dimensional facial features and large frames, especially Elena, Agustina, and Kate, who are so tall, don't really fit Seris's aesthetic standards.

Ronan went over and explained the situation to Dinia and the others.

Immediately, Dinia and Elena worked together to quickly heal Liu Menglong's injuries.

Having just finished her treatment, Dinia said softly, "A ship is coming in the distance." She spoke in French, which Liu Menglong's people couldn't understand.

"She said a ship is approaching in the distance," Ronan translated, then asked Liu Menglong, "Brother Liu, what are your plans?"

"Brother Luo, there's no need to address me as 'brother'," Liu Menglong said. Luo Nan's daughter is already so grown up, while his daughter is still breastfeeding. He's definitely not older than Luo Nan. "Brother Luo, could you please do me a favor and capture them?"

“Didi, you come here. They’re not good at capturing people alive,” Ronan said to Dinia.

Among Ronan's women, aside from Dinia, the stronger ones are Agustina and Ashley, but one is a violent artillery mage and the other is a super assassin, neither of them are good at capturing people alive.

"Then let's just move around a bit," Dinia said. The other party had failed to kill this weakling in front of her, who was only at the third level, so he was just a weakling and couldn't arouse her interest at all.

As soon as she finished speaking, Dinia soared into the air, transforming into a red flash that streaked across the sky and disappeared from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

The magical aftershocks that rippled out the moment she took off were enough to make most of the people on the ship struggle to stay upright.

Fortunately, Dinia wasn't well-known in the East; otherwise, with her appearance and that signature red magic, these people would have guessed Ronan and his group's identities.

Not long after, Dinia returned carrying a net bag crocheted from fungal threads, inside which more than a dozen people were crammed together.

To Ronan's surprise, they were all Seres. It turned out that the people chasing Liu Menglong were Seres.

Seris's territory is in the Bengal region east of India, while their current location is in the west of India.

Inside the net, the leader saw Liu Menglong on the boat and shouted, "Liu Menglong, you actually colluded with foreign barbarians!"

Liu Menglong was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. To put it simply, he was originally the deputy envoy of the negotiating delegation. These colleagues suddenly appeared, shouting that he had colluded with foreigners, betrayed the country, and plotted to murder the head of the delegation, and that they wanted to take him down. If he had reacted even slightly slower, he would probably have already "confessed his crimes" and then "died unexpectedly due to torture."

Chapter 708 The Creator God's Malice: Who is Rare? They're All After Money

Ironically, when others accused him of colluding with foreigners, he actually did, yet he still managed to survive. First, he was helped by these few members of the Islamic faith, which allowed him to escape by sea. Later, he encountered Ronan and his group, which saved his life.

However, the current situation is still very difficult to handle.

Liu Menglong was extremely anxious.

"Brother Liu, what's going on?" What's going on with Ronan?

Liu Menglong stroked his beard, took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and revealed the truth: "In the past few decades, our country has been in constant conflict with foreign powers, and the most important of these conflicts is the Siam-Malaysia sea route."

Siam is Siam, and Ma is Malay. The Siam-Malaysia route refers to the most important strait leading to the Far East. The creator god of this world is deeply hostile to Singapore. According to the geography of Ronan's original timeline, the border between Thailand and Malaya is a long and narrow island. However, in this world, the long and narrow island is broken in the middle, allowing ships to pass directly to East Asia. In other words, the Strait of Malacca has lost its significance.

This important place is coveted by the Western Continent's maritime bandits who have traveled thousands of miles to control it, as well as by Seris.

The world of Seris is a country that is outwardly prosperous but inwardly enlightened. The core region is highly centralized, while in many other places, military and political power have to be entrusted to one person. Although the "Jiedushi" (military governor) is appointed by the central government and has a tight grip on financial power, this has led to a significant division in the country's foreign policy.

Simply put, the struggle between the pro-war and pro-peace factions was intense.

This time, Liu Menglong's delegation came to the West Indies to negotiate with representatives of various countries in the Western Continent, as well as envoys from Siam, Malay, Annam, and other countries.

Liu Menglong is a proponent of peace, hoping that everyone can negotiate, trade properly, and make money together, without fighting anymore.

In the eyes of the peace faction, since they profit from East-West trade anyway, and fighting to the death would only result in losses, why bother about controlling South Asia? The idea that "all land under heaven belongs to the emperor" and that these barbarian countries in South Asia should be turned into vassal states is just empty talk. If it really comes to war, won't it cost money? You war bums may get promoted and make a fortune, but the national treasury can't withstand it.

The pro-war faction had only one suggestion: give them financial control and let them pay for it themselves, wouldn't that solve the problem?

You're kidding me!

The point of contention between the two factions, though ostensibly about righteousness, is actually a matter of financial power.

This negotiation was conducted by a pro-war faction.

Realizing that the outcome of the negotiations was likely to be unfavorable to the pro-war faction, he decided to take a drastic step and fabricate a case, claiming that the deputy envoy Liu Menglong was colluding with foreigners, not only selling intelligence but also plotting to kill him after he discovered it.

Since his chief envoy was assassinated by foreigners, a war had to be fought for the sake of the Celestial Empire's reputation. In fact, it was his chief envoy who was truly colluding with the foreigners, because there were also pro-war factions among the foreigners. Of course, this was just Liu Menglong's deduction.

But it makes sense. If he hadn't colluded with foreigners, how could he have staged this drama of foreigners trying to assassinate him, the envoy, but failing?

Ambrina was puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't he know to make some harsh demands on those people and force the negotiations to fall apart?"

Liu Menglong explained, "Of course he brought it up, and you foreigners, oh no, Westerners, have already backed down a bit. He wanted to bring it up again, but I stopped him and told him not to go too far and ruin the peaceful situation."

Wang Fang initially intended to use words to infuriate the foreigners, making the negotiations stall and forcing them to resort to force—that would be ideal. However, Liu Menglong refused, constantly trying to smooth things over and even accusing Wang Fang of initiating border conflicts without authorization.

Liu Menglong never expected that Wang Fang would do something like killing his own people.

The man in the net, who was in the lead, became anxious. "You dog! Lord Wang is devoted to the country, while you, a despicable person, only think about your own safety and have no idea about the ambitions of a great man."

Liu Menglong was generally good-natured, but he couldn't help but sarcastically remark, "Whoever colludes with foreigners is the real traitor."

The leader laughed loudly, "It's no use saying anything now. If I die here, the case will be completely confirmed. Anyway, when the war starts, you'll be a traitor, if not a collaborator. However, if you come back with me, I can explain things and maybe you can save your life. I heard you just got married and only have one daughter, who is still an infant. You don't even have a son yet. Ha, if you're reasonable, you'll let me go."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Liu Menglong roared.

Although he didn't want to bear the blame and was worried about his wife and children, he knew that this guy's words were absolutely not to be trusted.

However, now that things have come to this point, he doesn't know how to prove his innocence.

Ronan said, “Brother, this matter is actually quite simple. My wife is French, and she's considered a first-class noblewoman in France. She can find some French people here to take the lead, and then arrange for people from Weyland, Villa, and the Netherlands to come out and talk. As long as they're willing to vouch for your innocence and come with you to Seres to prove it, isn't that enough? Then, we can bring a few foreigners who were colluding with that envoy Wang over to your country for them to deal with. This will surely bring great prestige to your court. At that time, Brother Liu, you will not only be innocent, but you will even be credited. Promotion and wealth will be just around the corner.”

Liu Menglong was somewhat tempted, but still shook his head. "These are matters of national importance, how could they be resolved with just a word from a nobleman? Moreover, the representatives of the Western companies here are like local emperors. Even if the kings of these countries issue an edict, they can still be stationed abroad and disobey military orders."

He thought Brother Luo was a righteous man, unlike other foreigners who only talked about money, but he was still too naive and unrealistic.

Your wife can summon people from all over the West with just a word, and they have to listen to her. Is your wife the Pope or the Emperor? Even the Pope or the Emperor probably don't have this kind of influence.

"Brother Liu, you don't believe me?" Ronan asked.

"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just... sigh." Liu Menglong was unwilling to admit that he truly didn't believe the statement.

"Alright, just take it as me talking nonsense," Ronan said. "But in any case, that envoy Wang should have already gone back ahead. Brother Liu, you absolutely cannot go back to Seris now. As for these people, just let them go."

"Release him?" Liu Menglong could hardly believe it. He considered himself to be somewhat sentimental, but Ronan was even more sentimental than him.

"Hehe, you're still a threat now that you're alive, and you've become a deputy envoy at such a young age, so you must have connections in court. Therefore, I plan to release a few and report it to Lord Wang. He'll definitely use your wives and children as hostages to prevent you from turning against him. That way, he won't harm your wives and children. Of course, the brother who was shouting earlier can't be released. After all, you need to have some bargaining chips, right?"

Liu Menglong was momentarily surprised, never expecting that Brother Luo, whom he had just thought was naive, was so shrewd and skillful.

After saying that, Ronan looked at the people in the net and said, "Alright, everyone else except this guy can leave now."

"Heh, Lord Wang and I aren't related," the man said.

"But you can be a witness against the prosecution."

Chapter 709 Hostages, Surprise Attack, No Escape

"Ha, you foreign barbarian, you've learned a few human words, but you don't understand the meaning of 'righteousness' at all. You think you can make me betray my friends? Do you think that's possible?" the man in the net said with contempt and disdain.

Ronan just smiled. "If that envoy truly considers you a friend and a loyal person, then aren't you an excellent hostage? If not, judging others by his own standards, he might suspect you'll betray him."