Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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Agustina recalled the past with great interest: "When I was very young, I saw one of my family's serfs do this. Later, when my family went bankrupt and I came to France to live with other people, I secretly figured it out myself. At that time, there was no meat to eat, so I would go to the neighbor's estate to steal chickens, and then find a place to roast them and eat them."

“That must be pretty tough,” Ronan interjected.

“For successful extraordinary individuals, the hardships of their youth are valuable collectibles, while for ordinary people, hardships are just hardships,” Agustina responded. “Therefore, I really dislike some Seres who preach that suffering is a blessing, especially when those who preach this have never experienced hardship themselves.” She always spoke insightful words at unexpected times.

"And there are people in the guild who are spreading the idea that some people suffer but don't improve much because they didn't choose the right direction for their suffering. It's only in Seris that I'd say that. If it were before, I would have thrown him into a dung heap. People like that only deserve to eat shit." Agustina couldn't help but curse again.

“Agreed.” Ronan said while grilling.

If he were an official in a country with high internal friction, he would certainly disagree, and would have to boast about his spirit of hard work every day. He wouldn't even mind listing "being particular about food and clothing" as a crime. The people's domestic demand only needs to meet the so-called basic needs. As for the real domestic demand problem, what does it have to do with him? The country doesn't belong to him; he's just an official.

But at this point, what he wanted was a nation constantly striving forward, transitioning from agriculture to industry. Suffering was out of the question; it needed to be ambitious, meticulous, and engage in this kind of "involution" to expand the pie. Therefore, he agreed with Agustina's words.

In a capitalist society, to still talk about enduring hardship is truly inhumane.

“I’m planning to set up a propaganda team, and I’ll also need to equip it with a disciplinary team,” Agustina then revealed her true thoughts.

“A violent crackdown is not advisable,” Ronan said.

“You told the guild leader that the weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons.” Agustina’s heart was still on Dinia’s side. “To use the words of the Seres, if we don’t straighten out some people in the guild, do we really think the guild is just for sitting around doing nothing?”

Ronan hesitated for a moment, then said, “In moderation, Tina.” His team of women wasn’t entirely Ronan’s personal domain.

That's just how reality is: people without their own ideas generally lack ability, while capable people usually have their own ideas.

"I'll do the work, don't worry."

Chapter 956 Legal Issues, Upside-Down Sex, Collusion with Outsiders

January 1, 1613, the first day of the new year, Foshan, in Isabelle's small courtyard.

Wearing a white shirt and a light gray wool vest, Isabel leaned against the pillows, half-lying on the bed, her hands pressing Ronan's head down, while Ronan was between her legs, which were only covered by bronze pantyhose with a slightly oily sheen, licking and teasing her with his tongue.

Isabel closed her eyes in enjoyment as she spoke softly about business, “It’s still not easy to deal with the fact that those people are profiting from the war. The laws in Seris are too imperfect, and no new laws have been enacted yet. Apart from new areas, we can only use Seris’s old laws. It’s very troublesome to try to deal with these people through legal means.”

Ironically, because merchants have been suppressed for over a thousand years, there are only laws specifically targeting merchants, while laws concerning commerce are extremely inadequate. In short, Seris's laws contain very few provisions regarding economic crimes, and those that exist are very vague.

Of course, it's not that those people can't be dealt with. Seris's laws regarding people are actually extremely numerous and detailed. Those who profit from war can be easily arrested on charges such as "harming the people," "endangering the government," and "colluding with the enemy and betraying the country."

But this is not what Ronan and his group wanted.

Ronan raised his head slightly and said, "Use this case to legislate."

It's the same old trick: take the opportunity of handling a case to have a big debate, and then come up with new legal provisions.

“If we use a case as a pretext for legislation, then we can only focus on the major issues and let the minor ones go,” Isabel said.

For this tactic of using a case to legislate to work smoothly, it means locking up a group of criminals, holding knives to their throats, and telling them that if they support the new law, only one or two will be killed, but if they don't, something else will be used, which might mean killing them all. Ultimately, the majority of criminals will be spared punishment.

Isabelle dislikes the idea of ​​forgiving most people for their past mistakes.

"Alright, Isa, for the sake of how good I am at licking you, just consider the bigger picture, okay?" Ronan said with a grin.

Isabel smacked Ronan on the head, "In all these years, when have I ever failed to consider the bigger picture?"

“Yes, yes, my dear Isabel, you’ve sacrificed so much.” Ronan said, getting up and helping Isabel up as well.

Ronan tore a small hole in the bronze silk pantyhose and inserted it directly inside. The two sat close together, kissing, rubbing against each other, and twisting their waists, keeping Ronan's thick, long penis constantly thrusting in and out of Isabel's vagina.

Soon, Isabel, her lust ignited, felt that the position was a bit too weak. She got up, lifted her buttocks, spread her legs, knelt on the bed, and hugged Ronan. In this position, she could push off with her feet and thrust her body forward, which was enough to make Ronan's penis thrust in and out in large movements.

At the same time, her body moved slightly up and down, and her nipples could rub against Ronan's firm pectoral muscles, bringing a slight stimulation.

Ronan continued to kiss Isabel, responding to her not-so-strong initiative.

After a while, Ronan put his hands under Isabel's armpits, preparing to pick her up and change her position, but Isabel grabbed his hands, saying, "No, just like this."

This position isn't very intense or particularly stimulating, but Isabel likes it. She feels that the intense and stimulating positions involve too much sex and too little love.

“Okay,” Ronan agreed.

After a while, Isabel gradually stopped moving.

Ronan looked slightly puzzled. "Hmm?"

“Your turn.” Isabel smiled at Ronan. “You’re not happy unless you give me a good beating. So, tell me, what position do you want me to strike?”

"So, how about hanging upside down and having sex in the mouth?" Ronan asked tentatively.

Half a minute later, Ronan stood on the carpet on the floor, Isabel squeezed her thighs together and crossed her calves, locking Ronan's neck.

Ronan, on the other hand, held Isabel tightly.

The bronze stockings covering her legs were gilded with a dark gold under the dim light of the oil lamp, and the originally warm silk luster turned into a distinct oily sheen, making her exceptionally sexy.

Ronan felt the fleshy texture of the legs tightly bound by the stockings on his cheeks. With just a slight tilt of his head, he could see the muddy flesh of the vulva through the tear in the crotch of the pantyhose, as well as the glistening silk threads reflecting off the tips of the two buttocks.

Isabel, hanging upside down on Ronan, swallowed the thick, long thing. Because it was already too thick and long, she had some difficulty breathing after swallowing it. Now, being upside down, her brain was congested with blood. When Ronan started thrusting his hips back and forth to fuck her mouth, she immediately felt a sense of suffocation.

During the upside-down oral sex, the sensation of the stockinged legs rubbing against my cheeks and the stimulation of my own penis penetrating deep into my mouth and throat are secondary; what excites me most is always the psychological feeling.

For Isabelle, this strange feeling of suffocation lasted only a short while, but it gave her the sensation of an impending orgasm.

This painful climax is unexpectedly intoxicating.

Within two or three minutes, Isabel's legs clamped tighter and tighter as she hung upside down, her ankles interlocked tightly, her toes digging in so hard they almost tore through the stockings. Her hands gripping Ronan's lower back had fingernails digging deep into his flesh.

She was completely immersed in this bizarre climax, as if her soul had left her body.

Gradually, as Ronan thrust more intensely, Isabel's body began to soften. Her earlier exertion resembled the desperate struggle of someone about to hang themselves, before losing consciousness. Now, she was limp and increasingly powerless. Her stockinged ankles had loosened, her legs were limp and lifeless, and her stockinged thighs could barely hold her up. If Ronan hadn't been holding her tightly, she would have fallen to the ground.

Before long, a stream of vaginal fluid suddenly shot out between Isabel's legs, forcefully spraying onto Ronan's face, and she immediately went limp.

Ronan put her down and then picked her up and placed her on the bed.

When Isabel regained consciousness, there were two pillows under her stomach, her buttocks were sticking up, and Ronan was kneeling and penetrating her from behind.

"Awake?" Ronan asked.

"Uh," Isabel mumbled, not fully awake yet.

As Ronan fucked her, he asked, "How was it? Did it feel like you were ascending to heaven?"

Taking a deep breath, Isabel fully regained her senses and simply snorted, "Hmph."

"Looks like it." Ronan said, suddenly accelerating; it was about time for him to shoot.

With a burst of energy, Ronan pressed himself against Isabel's back, and before he went limp, he thrust repeatedly, injecting all the remaining semen into her.

After ejaculating, Ronan's mind cleared. While stroking his healthy and vibrant stockinged legs, he asked about serious matters, "How are the connections between these bureaucrats and gentry in Guangdong and other factions?"

Investigating the profiteering from the war is secondary; the more important thing is to investigate the connections between these individuals and other factions.

"Since the war situation became clear a few months ago, people from each camp have been secretly contacting people in Guangdong."

Chapter 957 The three major powers of Seris all want to win over Guangdong, and a group of wavering people in the middle ranks

If Ronan, that damned foreign devil, hadn't come to Guangdong, there would only have been three forces capable of re-establishing power.

First was the imperial court, which governed the Central Plains region.

In terms of overall strength, the imperial court is still the strongest, but it is too disunited internally. The decision on the new emperor was delayed for two months, and the division has been further exacerbated in this decision. But overall, the northern faction has completely overwhelmed the southern faction.

Secondly, there was the alliance of various forces in Jiangnan, whose population, economy, and military strength were comparable to those in the Central Plains. While there was internal disunity within Jiangnan, it was able to maintain its balance until it suffered a major setback.

All we can say is that Jiangnan cannot afford a major defeat. If it does, the gentry and powerful will each try to minimize their losses, and minimizing those losses will only lead to further defeats.

Conversely, the northern Central Plains, where the basic unit is collective villages and manors, are more resilient than the Jiangnan region, where the basic unit is small farmers. This is because the villages and manors are considered shareholders as a whole, and they do not want the group to collapse when the losses are not significant. In Jiangnan, however, those below the powerful families, including some small and medium-sized landowners, are all laborers. When their sense of security begins to diminish, they will only desperately try to preserve their strength.

If we use Ronan's previous regime as an analogy...

That is, both the powerful clans of the Han and Tang dynasties and the gentry of the Song and Ming dynasties would engage in a series of undermining activities such as concealing population and reducing taxes. However, the powerful clans of the Han and Tang dynasties would spontaneously organize administrative work and military mobilization, while the gentry of the Song and Ming dynasties would not.

This explains why even though the Han and Tang dynasties were in a terrible state, they could still fight, while the Song and Ming dynasties, which were not as bad as the Han and Tang dynasties, were too bad to fight.

Therefore, the best strategy for the imperial court now is to launch a major offensive against Jiangnan.

The most stable approach for Jiangnan is to establish itself in the Huai River region and gradually expand outwards.

However, the imperial court is not making a major move now because if it fails, it will be difficult to stop the gradual encroachment strategy on Jiangnan. In the end, the imperial court cannot afford to lose.

Aside from these two forces that cannot afford to lose, there is another force: the Northwest.

The Northwest lags far behind in terms of population, economy, and military strength, but it has two advantages.

First, there isn't much internal strife among these marginalized groups. Or to put it another way, the Northwest is now in a state of semi-dictatorship and semi-military control.

Second, they are from other races.

In this extraordinary world, the alien tribes of the Seris frontier have never had, never will have, the opportunity to rule the Central Plains.

However, the alien races in the north and west were not so backward. During the many internal conflicts in Seris, technological diffusion occurred repeatedly and continuously. This technological diffusion was not only in conventional production, but also included cultivation methods.

In cultivation practices, those who are more civilized are more powerful. Cultivation methods in some underdeveloped regions are characterized by four features: low entry barriers, high risks, rapid progress, and low potential. Because of poverty and barbarity, they can only use such cultivation methods, and using such methods further exacerbates their poverty and barbarity.

The northern grasslands, having received numerous "blood transfusions" from the Central Plains, have undergone significant changes in their cultivation methods—in short, they have been Sinicized. Meanwhile, the western border regions have been influenced by the Western Islamic religion, with many areas exhibiting traces of Suleimanian magic in their cultivation practices.

The extraordinary individuals from the different ethnic groups in the Northwest have a strong ambition. This ambition is certainly not to conquer the Central Plains, but to become a superior person in Seris. Being a superior person in Seris is much more comfortable than being a superior person in Seris.

In peacetime, this group of people would only dream of killing and arson and being granted amnesty. If the imperial court did not allow them to study abroad or give them household registration, they would cause trouble, and if that didn't work, they would resort to violence.

But as the saying goes, there are only so many spots for those who are on the top, and those who get on the bus first will definitely weld the doors shut.

The damn imperial court has already scheduled the quota for amnesty ninety years from now, so they can't accept the amnesty anymore.

Is a court that refuses to surrender still a court?

This is so damn bad, shouldn't we carry out a purge of the emperor's inner circle?

It was precisely because of these foreign tribes that the Northwest Army was able to become a force capable of contending for supremacy.

These three forces are currently making contact with Guangdong.

Jiangnan naturally hopes for cooperation. Firstly, as the saying goes, capital is one family. Secondly, Guangdong has the capability to undermine Jiangnan, and there are two paths: one is to invade Jiangxi, and the other is to occupy Fujian, advancing by both land and water.

If Guangdong were to cause trouble for Jiangnan, it wouldn't just be a minor inconvenience. For the same reason, Jiangnan lacks resilience. Once external pressure becomes too great, various internal factions will seek to mitigate losses, and once they start doing so, the consequences could be disastrous.

As for the imperial court, it naturally hoped that Guangdong would act as a "loyal subject" to provoke Jiangnan, or at the very least remain neutral and not collude with those snakes and rats in Jiangnan.

As for the Northwest, they genuinely wanted to form an alliance. They needed a group of people with political ability and a navy. Since they had all rebelled, they naturally couldn't serve the court or unite with Jiangnan, because Jiangnan had too strong a political presence. They had all rebelled; why would they want to promote someone else to power?

“Guangdong has a lot of talent; I have connections in all sorts of factions,” Ronan remarked after listening to Isabel’s report.

This is actually normal. Under the Seris system, the core leadership of a province is basically all from other places.

“So, it all depends on whether you can handle them,” Isabel said.

Ronan smiled and looked out at the darkness of the night, saying, "A person who doesn't have enough ambition is not a comrade. If they're not a comrade, they're an enemy. And when dealing with enemies, you should do it like sweeping away fallen leaves in autumn."

The vast majority of the committee's upper echelons are comrades, either because they are inherently ambitious, have had their ambitions ignited by Ronan's new economic model, or are already unable to disembark.

The lower ranks are mostly composed of comrades, because they all became superhumans thanks to Ronan, and if they want to go further, the committee must succeed.

Among the middle-level personnel, many were wavering. Their personal interests were not deeply tied to Ronan's labor unions and farmers' associations, nor were they people who could only advance and not retreat. Their positions did not depend on Ronan, but on the committee.

Ronan's plan is to kick out this group of people, as well as the people above them, and then let the lower-level people fill the positions.

Only by placing his own people in the middle management could Ronan ensure that he still had a voice within the committee.

“Ask Ashley for details,” Isabel said.

The following afternoon, in a theater, after a major performance, Ronan met Ashley in the backstage dressing room.

Ashley was taking off her hair accessory and removing her makeup there.

She is truly gifted. In the few years she has been in Seris, she has actually learned to sing opera. Although she is only at the level of a high-level amateur, far from being a proper performer, she is still quite good at it.

Moreover, her stage presence is exceptional when she plays female warrior roles.

"How did I perform?" Ashley asked Ronan, who had been watching from the audience the whole time during the latter half of the performance.

"Very good." Ronan couldn't say anything else besides "good." He didn't understand theater at all. He could at least look at the actresses' thighs and listen to the songs in Western stage plays, but Seres theater was a different story. He couldn't even understand what they were singing.

“That’s really interesting,” Ashley said.

Chapter 958 Broker and Intelligence Officer, Silver-Haired Thick Black Stockings, I Miss You

Ronan braced his hands on the chair behind Ashley. "Seriously, the tea in the private booths upstairs is ridiculously expensive! One hundred taels of silver a cup? Is that robbery?"

As Ashley removed her makeup, she said, "This is the price I get for my performances. People in the VIP seats can meet me briefly and chat about the play."

In an instant, Ronan understood. In his previous life, when he was a civil servant, there were only a few tea shops in his area. Regardless of who owned them, some tea leaves picked from ancient trees in rural areas were particularly expensive. If he bought some, he would have the opportunity to discuss the art of tea with someone.

To be honest, Ronan bought it.

Ashley's case is similar.

Ronan chuckled. "You're certainly adapting to local customs."