Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 335

But what happened in the end? Didn't Dinya end up colluding with Secretary Luo?

It couldn't be easier to drag Liu Menglong down with him.

As for the officials in charge of various government departments present, they were stunned by Luo Nan's two blows and never expected that Liu Menglong could gain the support of some of his subordinates.

It can only be said that the officials in charge of various government departments have been here for several years and have become acquainted with the surrounding area. They have forgotten one thing: they are also officials, and they are also outsiders. They are not the same as the clerks who are truly from Foshan. Luo Nan saw through this when he first looked at their place of origin.

Ultimately, this is because Foshan is not a resource-rich city, but rather a major industrial and commercial center due to its convenient transportation. The officials in charge of these subordinate government departments are the representatives of the interests of other regions in Guangdong in Foshan.

Their interests align with, but are not entirely aligned with, those of the locals in Foshan.

When they could no longer protect these corrupt officials who were committing crimes in the area, these people naturally sought a new master, and Liu Menglong was that master.

After the appetizers were served, the subsequent dishes were served one after another.

Raw fish, steamed chicken, roast goose, braised fish head, etc. are all dishes made with common ingredients and not particularly complicated in terms of preparation, but they taste quite good.

As the banquet entered its second half, Liu Menglong began to speak again.

"Gentlemen, did you enjoy the feast to the fullest today?"

"Enjoy it to the fullest."

"I thoroughly enjoyed myself."

The officials echoed this sentiment once again.

Slightly tipsy, Liu Menglong was now completely in the spotlight, saying, "Now that we've had our fun, it's time to get down to business."

"My country, David, is a celestial empire, where all nations come to pay tribute. Even the fierce and warlike Western barbarians, with their powerful ships and cannons, have to submit to my celestial empire and send large sums of silver from afar."

The officials were slightly embarrassed, thinking to themselves, "There's plenty of food, so how did you get so drunk? There's a Western barbarian right next to you, sir. Besides, without this Western barbarian, would you really think that none of us could have had something come up at home and canceled this field trip?"

However, upon secretly glancing at Ronan and his two companions, one discovers that Ronan is preoccupied with drinking with his concubine and doesn't seem to care at all, while Zhao Yingqi, being a Han Chinese, appears somewhat displeased.

Zhao Yingqi already had a poor impression of Liu Menglong, feeling that he lacked talent and was not good enough to Madam Zhao. Now, for him to say such things in front of Ronan was really going too far.

Without Ronan, would he be able to pontificate here?

Ronan himself didn't have any particular thoughts. He knew that Liu Menglong didn't have a problem with him or with the foreigners. He was just suppressing his feelings for too long. He wanted to get things done and have people listen to him when he became an official, but he was inherently proud and unwilling to be corrupt or go along with the corrupt practices. Now, he had won over a group of officials without going along with the corrupt practices, and he was happy. In his happiness, he blurted out his thoughts.

However, Liu Menglong still had some clarity of mind and did not forget the important matter: "My Foshan, although it is only a small corner of the vast China, is still an important town in the country. Otherwise, why would the imperial court set up a coastal defense prefecture?"

"Although Foshan is a prosperous city with a wide variety of goods sold all over the world, iron smelting is of paramount importance, and ironware is the foundation of everything."

"But now that Westerners have come, Foshan's share of ironware exports has greatly decreased."

"The reason is simple: the technology was inferior, both in quantity and quality. This led Annam, South Asian countries, and even India to turn to buying ironware produced by Westerners in Indian ironworks."

"However, Westerners are unethical and profit-driven. I think it is entirely possible to introduce Western talent and technology. What do you all think?"

Finally, the true intentions were revealed.

One group of officials remained silent. They dared not easily express their opinions on such a major issue. More importantly, would they and the interest groups they represented be able to benefit from the introduction of Western talent and technology? If not, then of course they would resolutely refuse.

The reason for refusal was easy to find; just say that foreigners were harming the local area and affecting the local customs.

Of course, if there are benefits involved, then it's a completely different story.

Liu Menglong looked at everyone, somewhat annoyed. Didn't they even reply to a single word?

The crowd met Liu Menglong's gaze without replying, thinking to themselves, "Does Lord Liu really think we've submitted? We're just temporarily avoiding his sharp edge; you, Lord Liu, are far from it."

Liu Menglong thought for a moment and prepared to take out the speech that Luo Nan had prepared for him, but for a moment he couldn't remember it.

"Uh, Master Luo, come here."

"?"

Chapter 776 Everyone gets a share, the boat can't capsize, now it's my specialty.

Well, how should I put it? I gave you a chance, but you didn't use it.

Ronan originally didn't want to steal the show, but since Liu Menglong was a disappointment, he had no choice but to take over himself.

First, introduce more advanced Western technology to improve the quality and production capacity of ironware, and incidentally reduce costs.

Of course, while costs may decrease, selling prices will need to increase.

The extra profit in between, those who know, know.

Secondly, steelmaking requires coal. Buying it from Seres itself is too expensive due to the combined land and river transport costs. It's better to buy it directly from Sulu by sea, which is cheaper and allows us to use it as a market afterward, essentially getting a free coal mine.

This made Foshan's smelting industry even more prosperous. It could be said that they were worthy of the imperial court and the people, and they could also make a quick buck in the process.

Chen Zuolin could only let Xu Zhongting, the head of the Ironworks Department, make easy money, but he couldn't promote him. Luo Nan could make him more money and also give him achievements to promote him.

Because it involves foreigners, it will inevitably cause conflicts with the locals.

Therefore, it will be tough on Zhang Changlin, the head of the Department of Justice.

Seris's legislative power was entirely in the hands of the central government, but Seris was accustomed to the ancestral laws. Apart from the edicts of successive emperors, the laws were still the same as those in the early years of the dynasty. The north was fine, but the economic model in the south was no longer the same as it had been more than a hundred years ago. Commerce was very prosperous, and some places liked to litigate. In the eyes of some officials, this was a sign of moral decay and the emergence of troublemakers. But in reality, this was an inevitable phenomenon after the development of commerce.

In the business of industry and commerce, how can you avoid lawsuits?

Therefore, many local officials in the south, or in places like Foshan where there are officials who specifically control judicial power, can only provide some annotations.

In some simple and honest places, an official like Zhang Changlin would be nothing but a nobody, but in Foshan, he's a king.

Ronan brought his master even more business—yes, business. For judges of this era, lawsuits were simply business.

After this whole ordeal, Luo Nan effectively neutralized Chen Zuolin's right-hand man in the Foshan Coastal Defense Sub-Prefecture.

With the further development of industry and commerce, the fiscal and tax departments have more room to maneuver.

As long as Liu Menglong, this bigwig, is willing to turn a blind eye.

Therefore, Su Fangwen of the Finance and Grain Bureau and Bai Yuheng of the Tax Bureau could both reap real benefits and achieve better political results.

In addition, there was salt transport and waterworks.

Salt transport involves not only salt but also transportation. Ronan's meaning was simple: he invoked what civil servants loved most—expansion—arguing that river transport management was chaotic and required additional personnel.

Li Mingli, the head of the salt transport, was all smiles. This meant he could arrange for someone to receive government pay again. If someone wanted government pay, he had to make sure they got a meal first.

As for improving management, that's really not difficult.

All he needed to do was gather the heads of the various local associations for a meeting and formulate a relatively unified set of rules. He hadn't done this before because he didn't have enough manpower. Now that he had manpower, he could manage things. Expanding the organization meant expanding power, and expanding power meant money. It was that simple.

Regarding the waterworks, there's nothing else to it but engineering projects. Those clans willing to support Lord Liu and mobilize their members to contribute to the construction of a better Foshan are the righteous ones. The government will fund the project there. Those unwilling to support Lord Liu are illegal constructions. To win over the people, they must be demolished. If you have the ability, go to the capital to appeal to the emperor. I just don't know if you can leave Guangdong alive.

Then, the Agricultural Administration, Ronan prepared to introduce Western crops that produce special plant silk.

Seris also produces magic stockings, with Foshan being one of the production centers. The main raw material is the silk of a magical spider, but since it is sourced from wild animals, the production volume is really low. However, Ronan cultivated magical plants through the Haidi people, and the silk produced could be used to weave magic stockings.

Others can't get their hands on those seeds, but Ronan can.

Incidentally, Ronan could also obtain many crops from the New World.

Undoubtedly, agriculture in Foshan and the surrounding areas will further develop.

In the present day, doing well in commerce is not considered a great achievement in Seris, but doing well in agriculture is a tremendous achievement.

Finally, the Yimin Division.

Ronan's idea was simple: recruit some mountain people to come to the city to maintain order. Of course, maintaining order was actually a way of suppressing the workers.

It's inconvenient for locals to do this, but very convenient for outsiders.

For the Yiminsi (a local administrative unit), this was called "civilizing the barbarians and integrating them into the Chinese culture," a great achievement.

"Gentlemen, are you satisfied with Lord Liu's plan?" Ronan asked. Although it was all his plan, the credit nominally belonged to Master Liu Menglong.

"Lord Liu, your talent for governing the world is a blessing bestowed upon the people of Foshan by Heaven."

"That's right, that's right, I must do my best to serve the country alongside Lord Liu."

"Enough said, let's raise a glass to Lord Liu."

"I'll do it first."

The officials in charge of various government departments have now completely changed their tune.

After a round of toasts, Zhou Chongren from the Ministry of Finance spoke up, "Lord Liu is indeed wholeheartedly devoted to the country, but some people in Foshan may not agree so easily. Scholar Chen is a good person, but he is too lenient, to the point that some of his friends are not good people at all."

Zhou Chongren's words were euphemistic, but they were actually an implication that it was best to strike first. Chen Zuolin could not be touched, nor could he be touched, so his henchmen should be eliminated first.

At this moment, Huang Xingbang from the Agricultural Administration Department waved his hand and said, "Actually, there's no rush. The most urgent task is to resolve the issues of the other two people."

"First, there is the naval admiral who truly holds military power. He only needs to be communicated with properly. Chen Zuolin cannot persuade him to cause trouble for us."

"The other one is a bit more troublesome, and that is the King of the South Sea."

He had already made up his mind to board Liu Menglong's ship, so naturally he couldn't allow it to capsize.

For a moment, everyone's attention was focused on Huang Xingbang, the head of the Agricultural Affairs Department. For the past few years, he had been a nobody. Foshan was a land of fish and rice, and his position as the official in charge of agricultural affairs was, to put it nicely, stable and reliable, but to put it bluntly, he did nothing and was like a salted fish.

I never expected him to be so perceptive.

His words caused everyone to fall into thought.

The title of David was passed down through generations, and after a few generations, it would be nothing. They would have to fend for themselves. Living princes were usually the emperor's uncles, brothers, or sons. Princes generally did not have real power, but not having real power did not mean they did not have privileges.

The Prince of Nanhai, whose residence was in Nanhai County, was the current emperor's younger brother and had a close personal relationship with Chen Zuolin, a "commoner".

As a prince, he shouldn't interfere in the affairs of the Foshan Coastal Defense Subprefecture, yet he can still try to extort money and act like a rogue.

Once he does that, there's really no good way to deal with it.

"May I ask, what's the story behind this prince?" Ronan asked, as he hadn't really had time to pay attention to this person.

"His younger brother is eighteen years old. He is neither fond of money nor women, but only of cultivation. However, his talent is, well, rather mediocre," Zhou Chongren of the Ministry of Finance replied. "Mediocrity" was already a very polite way of putting it; to put it another way would be that he had none at all. Clearly, he would never become a scholar or a warrior in this lifetime.

Ronan couldn't help but smile. "Oh, then I'll pay you a visit another day." Making even a useless person reach a high level of competence was something that happened to him.

Chapter 777 No way, petty tricks, your Brother Luo is the real deal.

"That bastard dared to bully my brother Chen, do you think I could stand for that?"

The young man who uttered this angry curse was none other than Zhao Junyong, the eighteen-year-old Prince of Nanhai, the younger brother of the current emperor of Wei.

The man who looked like a black bear, Yu Xiong, nicknamed "Big Boss Bear" by Chen Zuolin, chuckled sheepishly and replied, "Uh-ho, then I definitely won't agree."

Just minutes earlier, while delivering a gift to the King of the South Sea, he casually mentioned Chen Zuolin's recent predicament.

It wasn't Chen Zuolin's idea to talk to the King of the South Sea about this, but Yu Xiong felt that Chen Zuolin had this intention, so he did it on her behalf.

After all, his counterattack against Xiong was not going smoothly.

To put it bluntly, some officials didn't respect him.

To be precise, they don't respect his subordinates.

As the eldest brother, if he had a problem, he certainly wouldn't go and negotiate with the government officials himself, much less Chen Zuolin. Otherwise, what would that look like? To put it bluntly, he wasn't the eldest brother, but a righteous merchant, while Chen Zuolin wasn't a merchant, but a specially appointed teacher at the academy, a renowned scholar.

Once the government stops respecting him, he can't handle the problem and can only deal with the people who have problems. This kind of brutal behavior is not a good sign, and he has to do something.

"Alright, I understand. I'll take care of it. You can go now."

King Zhao Jun of the South Sea waved his hand and said.

Just then, a servant approached, saw Yu Xiong, slowed down a couple of steps, then walked to the King of the South Sea and whispered a few words in his ear. The young King of the South Sea, Zhao Jun, had his expression change several times before finally revealing a smile.

Yu Xiong didn't ask any questions or even say anything; he simply bowed and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Mr. Yu, please stay. We have an important guest coming soon." After asking him to stay, the King of the South Sea said to his attendant, "Go and invite our important guests in. Also, please have some tea and snacks prepared. I will have tea with our two important guests."

Yu Xiong became curious, his eyes darting around, somewhat puzzled as to what the King of the South Sea was up to.

The King of the South Sea gestured, "Boss Yu, there's no need to be so polite with me, please sit down."

Yu Xiong hesitated for a moment, then found a seat and sat down.

The King of the South Sea let out a long sigh, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

The distinguished guest the waiter was referring to was Ronan. He didn't know much about Ronan before, only that he was a foreigner and an advisor to the newly arrived Tongzhi Liu Menglong. He had just learned more from Yu Xiong: Ronan's wife was the sister of the former Queen of France, Ronan himself was a prince consort, and his cultivation was very high, no less than Chen Zuolin's.

The fact that Ronan's wife is the Queen's sister was told to Yu Xiong by Chen Zuolin, which is of course incorrect information.

Moreover, even Chen Zuolin herself got one thing wrong: Ambriina was not a queen, but a female king.

As for the claim that Ronan's cultivation level was no less than Chen Zuolin's, Yu Xiong found out on his own, but he was wrong again. Ronan was actually one level higher than Chen Zuolin.

But mistakes aside, that's not the point. The point is that Ronan said he came to ask the King of the South Sea about cultivation.

Zhao Jun laughed. Ask him for advice? He's a complete waste.

It was clear that Ronan was implying that there was a way to solve his problem, and that he wanted to see it regardless of whether it worked or not.