Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 392

“Alright then,” Ronan agreed.

“I and you… ah, you…” Isabel was still subconsciously preparing to state her strengths when she didn’t expect Ronan to agree so readily.

"Why?" It wasn't Isabel who asked the question, but Dinya. She knew very well that Ronan disliked some of Isabel's ideas. In fact, a year before leaving France, he even sabotaged the Security Service because there were many radical and extreme people in the Security Service like Isabel. Those people treated the words that Isabel had learned from Ronan and added their own ideas to as sacred scriptures. Their hearts were like those of the Inquisition from hundreds of years ago.

Meanwhile, some of the Seres people that Isabel had her eye on also shared the same traits as those people: anger and fanaticism.

“Because we are going to start a revolution now,” Ronan replied. “And soon, some members of the committee will realize that Isha and I are not on the same side, and the people Isha brings in are not easy to win over. On the contrary, Isha will attract more mortals, so they will feel that it is better to align themselves with me.”

To put it bluntly, Ronan wanted to use Isabel to create a radical faction.

"Hmph, fine, then we'll have a good fight." Isabel knew, of course, that Ronan was using her, just like back in France. But times had changed. Back then, she was in the Security Bureau and couldn't directly influence politics, but now that she was on the committee, things were different. More importantly, she wasn't the naive girl she was thirty years ago.

“This is a good thing.” Ronan welcomed this struggle.

The saying "Without factions within the party, all sorts of strange things happen" is actually bad at times and should be criticized, but it is quite appropriate at this moment.

Suddenly, Ambrina sat up. "Isaka people, I want to join too."

Isabel immediately started cursing, "Idiot, add your head my foot! What kind of trash do you know? Broken-blooded literati who drink and recite sentimental poems, and privileged ladies who only know how to enjoy themselves. We're talking politics here, so get out of here, you worthless bastards."

Ambrina sneered, "Did I ask you? Who are you?"

“I think Anri’s idea is feasible,” Ronan agreed. “Our committee needs all kinds of people to be healthy, and then we can gradually ‘invite’ out the unsuitable people.” How to invite them out is a whole different story; rectification, purges, and all the necessary measures will be taken.

Isabel scoffed, "All sorts of people? Where are the farmers and workers?"

“There will be more in the future,” Ronan said, with a hint of helplessness. How to put it? The representatives of the powerful and wealthy can truly represent the powerful and wealthy, but whether the representatives of the workers and peasants can still represent them after they become representatives is hard to say.

After all, a representative is a privileged person, and his family's generations of poor peasants cannot change that. And the vanguard's approach is simply too unreliable.

That is precisely why workers and peasants must be extremely cautious.

Ronan didn't want to talk about this topic and looked at Dinia, "Dinia, do you want to add more people?"

“I can use what’s readily available. Haven’t a group of people risen to prominence in the last two years?” Dinia said. The people who rose to prominence in the last two years were those who, after Ronan expanded his business, rapidly expanded from small and medium-sized merchants to powerful figures, and also received special treatment.

Clearly, the Prime Minister, who is practicing the "compass" in reverse, is itching to show her skills and wants to let these emerging capitalists experience the same beatings that French capitalists suffered in the past.

"Then I can only take along the filial sons and daughters, and the kind fathers and mothers," Ronan joked. The filial sons and daughters refer to the young men and women from wealthy families in the reading club, while the kind fathers and mothers are young workers who already have families and children but are not very competitive and have joined the military training camp instead.

"After we bestow talents upon these people and arrange cultivation methods for them, we will hold an informal meeting attended by committee members so that everyone can meet in person."

Chapter 910 A Gathering of Heroes, None of Them Are Good People, So I Can Believe in God Too!

Ronan and Isabel led a group to Guangxi to perform the gift-giving ceremony.

There were three groups of people in total. One group consisted of scholars whom Isabel favored, though calling them scholars was actually a bit of an exaggeration.

Guangdong is a place with developed industry and commerce. There are a lot of people in Guangzhou, and these people are not farmers. However, the government has few people and cannot manage them all. This has created space for dynamic social organizations to survive. Some non-local scholars who could not pass the imperial examinations and were unwilling to continue studying by rote joined these organizations.

There are many such people, but only a dozen or so can be chosen by Isabel. These dozen or so people will be given talents, but only two or three of them will become committee members.

Secondly, there are the filial sons and daughters of the reading group. This group comes from wealthy families, is knowledgeable and insightful, but has no access to family resources. They are natural material for rebellion. Then there are the kind fathers and mothers of the military training camp. In fact, kindness is not really a factor for them. They are cunning workers and shrewish female workers. But their children are still young and their future is uncertain, which is a concern. They themselves come from poor backgrounds, are young, and have a lot of drive.

Similarly, only about twenty people were selected in total.

The last group consists of young people among the "new elites." When any industry grows big and strong, it will bring some ancillary industries. It's not that the employment brought by a factory is just the factory workers. These young people originally didn't have much capital and weren't qualified to join the ranks of those who grew the pie and divided it, but they were young, daring, and smart, so they successfully picked up the scraps.

Just like before, only a dozen or so people were selected, and none of them were good people anyway.

Of this group, even the few who eventually make it onto the committee will not enter the decision-making level; they will only be able to do some paperwork and odd jobs.

But this is temporary.

Ronan's plan was to gradually purge the old guard during the war, the subsequent unification, and the subsequent revolution, and then promote new people and progressives who were willing to join, thus building a new power system while also replacing those in power within that system.

It can be said that most of those who are destined to take power in this committee at this stage will be the ones to be purged in the future.

It took Ronan and Isabel five days to bring the group of mortals to their destination.

It can only be said that the gap between ordinary people and extraordinary people is too great. If it were just Ronan and Isabel, they would have arrived in less than half a day.

These ordinary people, who were all considered strong and healthy young people, had become wilted cucumbers after five days of travel.

Ronan arrived at the temporary training base arranged by Lu Jianling, while Lu Jianling's training had already completed the first phase.

It's normal for a lot of people to die suddenly at the beginning. The lower the requirements for people and the higher the short-term returns, the higher the risk.

Some of the dumber and worse people have already been killed.

The term "stupid" refers to someone who cannot be taught properly, who not only resists but also tries to slack off and corrupt the atmosphere. The term "bad" refers to someone who dares to object to orders and thinks that the army is no different from their village or gang of thugs, and that they can make demands just because they have a little bit of cleverness.

Both of these methods are ruthless and involve direct killing.

After killing these two types of people, the rest became obedient.

The second phase is the formal training, which teaches them how to use firearms, throw grenades, use melee weapons, and, more importantly, some basic military skills and routines.

After completing the second phase, recruit more Zhuang tribe natives to eventually form a superhuman army of three to four hundred people.

The dozens of people who had come with Ronan and Isabel were stunned when they saw this group of trainees.

Although they were mortals and could not sense any extraordinary aura, just by looking at the power and speed those people displayed, they knew that they were not mortals. Moreover, judging from their clothing and appearance, they did not seem to be a regular army, and no matter how they looked at it, they seemed to be local natives.

Recruited from a native village? You must be joking. How could the natives possibly be willing to send their precious superhumans here?

"Soon, you will be just like them. I don't mean you will receive training, but you will receive extraordinary talent."

Ronan said.

These words were like a sledgehammer, instantly freezing the group of people in place.

What is extraordinary talent? Is it power? Wrong. That means you are someone favored by heaven, someone extraordinary, someone with status, someone who has a ticket to enter the ruling class. If you are not extraordinary, no matter how high your official position is, you are still a high-ranking slave, and no matter how much money you have, you can lose it at any time.

"Unfortunately, most of you are scholars who do not believe in God and cannot achieve the same rapid progress as them. They all have physical qualities that are at or above the first rank, and also have some relatively weaker skills."

Ronan added.

Falek's system was originally designed for the "black slaves" that Suleiman brought from the southern continent. Only people with primitive polytheistic beliefs could use it; monotheistic people wouldn't work, and the Seris group, whose beliefs were based on the laws of heaven and ancestors, would be even less suitable.

“Mr. Luo, I can believe in God too.”

"Yes, I can believe in God, I can believe in anything."

"We are all born of parents. There is no reason why I can't live without them."

Very good, that's very Seris.

Extraordinary? Not shameful at all.

Ronan took a deep breath and said, "Everyone, although this method is quick to learn, it greatly limits future potential, making it difficult to improve later."

Upon hearing this, a few people backed down, but most were not concerned at all, saying, "What's the big deal? Most talented people don't even get to the top."

"That's right, I'm not exactly a particularly talented person either."

"A first-order position is already better than most people, that's enough."

"Mr. Luo, stop talking. What god do you want to worship? Do you want to practice asceticism or self-harm? Just say the word. If you blink, I'm no longer a human being."

"Mr. Luo, we can't hesitate any longer, let's get it arranged quickly."

A group of people, their eyes bloodshot as if they wanted to devour someone, were people who often came into contact with superhumans but were not themselves. Their desire for superhuman power was extremely fanatical.

“Well, did you guys cram at the last minute?” Ronan said. “While it may not require extreme piety, it does require genuine belief in these totems…” Ronan then explained these things in detail, which was clear to all the scholars present, as well as to the trained and high-achieving workers.

This deterred another group, but some people still didn't give up.

“Mr. Luo, how about I go and get my family’s ancestral tablet to use as a totem? I don’t know how many times I’ve kowtowed to it since I was a child.”

"I pray to the God of Wealth every day, so it should work, right?"

"Um, I'm from Fujian. We believe in an old Buddha Mother. I think this is okay."

"You son of a bitch, you cheated, didn't you?"

"Um, how about the Sea Saintess?" The Sea Saintess is the Mazu of this world.

"If that's possible, I'll believe in one more..."

Suddenly, all sorts of people came. To be honest, compared to the Central Plains, Guangdong and Southern Fujian are quite superstitious, with all sorts of "gods," something Ronan hadn't expected at first.

So, why not give it a try? There's no harm in trying anyway.

Chapter 911 Some succeeded, some failed, some died

Talent is a stable and secure endowment.

But Falek's totem and combination magic are not.

All cultivation methods that rely on religion for powerful self-hypnosis are risky and can lead to adverse consequences. This includes Western pure vow magic, Islamic combined magic, Indian practices, and even mainstream cultivation methods that Seris needs to study classics.

Ronan also told everyone.

But sometimes people aren't scared by risks because the potential rewards are too high.

Some people succeeded, some failed, and a few died.

Those who succeeded naturally cheered and thanked God, and even more so, thanked themselves for coming up with the great idea.

From this moment on, they have transcended ordinary people and become extraordinary beings. As for the difficulty of further progress, that is not a problem at all.

Being extraordinary doesn't mean having high cultivation, wealth, or power. High cultivation only represents the right to speak. People with a right to speak may not be willing to spend their time and energy to gain power and manage wealth.

On the contrary, after the bloody lessons of the past, almost no high-ranking people are willing to do something that is not only thankless but also results in losses for everyone.

"That's enough, that's enough."

This is the heartfelt sentiment of nine successful individuals.

These nine people were basically scholars and workers from other places who had joined the gang and were favored by Isabel. Although they were based in Guangdong, they were not actually Han Chinese. Of course, it is not to say that all of them could succeed. Among them, some did not succeed, and some died.

Of the filial sons and daughters in the reading group, only one succeeded. It seems that ancestral tablets cannot be used as divine totems. Moreover, none of the newly successful young businessmen who usually like to worship various gods for wealth have succeeded.

It's quite obvious that among filial sons and daughters, there are still some who genuinely respect their ancestors, even to the point of deifying them. But among the young people who have emerged in the spotlight, not a single one of them takes the gods seriously.

Then there are those who didn't succeed.

Those who fail are naturally frustrated and resentful, hating that their ancestors and classic texts are of no use at this time. However, their frustration and resentment do not last long. After all, they now have talent, can cultivate, and if nothing goes wrong, they will be extraordinary beings with even greater potential.

In a world of power and money, it's true that having the biggest fist doesn't guarantee more, but having the biggest fist is always better, at least it's safer, isn't it?

This is not self-consolation, but a reminder that the world is unlikely to be peaceful going forward.

"Temporary gains and losses are nothing; the one who laughs last is the winner."

Those who fail generally tell themselves this.

Especially those few filial sons and daughters, they were born into good families and now they have the ability to compete for the family property. However, it would be too low-class for them to go back and compete for the family property now. Once they have power and position, they will look down on their parents, brothers and sisters and beg them to take over the family property.

It must be said that their intellectual level has "elevated" after joining the Reading Club.

As for those who died, they were exactly the same kind of people as the successful ones. They were either future "blank slate fans" or future "worker representatives." Perhaps their personal qualities were lacking, perhaps it was bad luck, or perhaps they had problems with their faith in God.

But no one cares about these things or tries to find out, because the person is already dead. Some people are still useful after they die, but others are no longer useful.

Ronan would help, but he would only give them some money to their families, and that was it.

After dinner, Ronan found Lu Jianling.

"It seems to me that you're using them like musketeers in the middle of a phalanx," Ronan said, expressing his doubts.

“That’s right.” Lu Jianling confirmed Ronan’s statement.

"Well, the phalanx formation isn't really popular in the West anymore..." Ronan said, referring to the current Western warfare tactics.

Although Ronan himself was not very good at leading troops, barely able to command a thousand men, which was equivalent to being a regimental commander, he still had a thorough understanding of Western warfare tactics.

The root of everything was the war between the Kingdom of Phos and the Empire. The Empire was the first to abandon the phalanx and began to use superhuman soldiers independently, gathering them together as a highly mobile skirmish force. Later, the Kingdom of Phos quickly learned from this and defeated the Empire. Then, by sheer accident, Ambrina had superhuman soldiers carrying field artillery in a mobile warfare situation, which completely defeated the Emperor of the Empire.

"It won't work. If it's not a square formation, and the superhuman soldiers are in the formation before the lines connect, then the ordinary people on the outside will easily collapse. After the lines connect, if it's not the superhuman soldiers leading the charge to break through the formation, the ordinary people will still easily collapse," Lu Jianling explained.

Simply put, the super soldiers are both the supervisory team and the assault team; otherwise, ordinary soldiers would easily be overwhelmed when facing muskets and artillery.

Lu Jianling continued, "The ordinary people in the villages and manors in the north are better off, but the soldiers from peasant backgrounds under the small landlords in the south are much worse off. In any case, neither of them are very good at carrying out the Western style of fighting."

In terms of superhuman soldiers, the South is slightly better in both quality and quantity. However, in terms of ordinary soldiers, the South, with its better economy, is actually worse. This is not a matter of whether the soldiers are more martial or not, but rather an economic issue. Respectable young men from respectable families in the South do not become soldiers; the soldiers are mainly poor farmers. As for workers, capitalists will not easily let go of their money-making tools.

In contrast, ordinary soldiers in the North were either members of village communities with a collective agricultural nature or militia recruited from manors that were only allowed to exist because of military obligations. They were stronger than the peasant soldiers in the South who were simply family units under the scattered small landlords.

However, neither of them is as good as the Western workers-peasant soldiers, who have certain characteristics of citizen soldiers.

At this point, Ronan also realized that it was his and Dinia's continuous reforms, which extended the agricultural and labor associations throughout the country and abolished the industrial guilds and serfdom, that allowed the Kingdom of Phos to have such a group of mortal soldiers. They copied the Empire and used it to be two parts stronger than the Empire. On the other hand, the mortals recruited by Seris could not do that. Without phalanx formations and without being watched by superhuman soldiers, they were prone to collapse.

Ronan moved closer. "But I still think this batch of Zou people can be used independently. They are not easy to integrate into your army."

Lu Jianling pondered for a moment, "Hmm, that makes sense."