Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 451

Is there a problem with living a secluded life behind closed doors? No, it's wonderful.

Conversely, they disliked the Jiangnan way of life, which was characterized by extravagance at the top and a corrupt atmosphere at the bottom.

After taking this important first step in forming an alliance, Ronan left.

The remaining details can be discussed by the delegation led by Luo Gang.

This will be a long process, probably lasting until before the Chinese New Year. Luo Gang, a native of Sichuan, can even spend the New Year here, as he hasn't been home for over a decade.

Ronan had to deal with the matter of conscripting men from the Yi ethnic group in Liupanshui, Guizhou.

This matter may seem trivial, but for the sake of future cooperation, it is best not to damage national sentiments. Given the extremely brutal way Han Chinese officials handle such issues in this era, they might just order their subordinates to pick up firearms and start shooting if things don't go well. Therefore, it is still necessary for Ronan to make a trip.

Next, the alliance matters with Guizhou and Yunnan will also be handled by Luo Gang.

Firstly, someone in Ronan's position really doesn't need to waste time arguing over trivial matters. Secondly, it's an expression of full trust.

More importantly, Ronan didn't have the time.

As the year draws to a close, Ronan has to review a mountain of reports to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation in Guangdong and Guangxi, and then prepare for the upcoming war against Hunan.

The Guangdong and Guangxi regions under the jurisdiction of the Gongjinhui had a small population and not enough livestock to sustain the war effort, unlike the imperial court and Jiangnan, which each controlled tens of millions of people and could simply send guns and ammunition to the front lines. The Gongjinhui had to adopt an elite force strategy, and in the age of firearms, an elite force meant having top-notch logistics, ample food, plenty of ammunition, and good guns and cannons.

This is really dangerous.

Guangdong has plenty of silver, but anyone who thinks that silver can be converted into goods is simply daydreaming.

If silver could be directly converted into goods, Ronan would have already withheld all the customs duties and not given a single penny to the court.

Money needs to be spent to buy things, but the problem is that at this time, some things cannot be bought even with money, and it takes time. Time is of the essence now.

Forced conscription?

This will not only damage the credibility of the Progressive Association, but also harm the economy. It has finally gotten on the right track and entered a period of rapid development. This kind of drain on resources may wipe it all out.

Fighting and looting simultaneously?

If they've already robbed them, will those superhumans who possess vast amounts of assets still surrender so easily?

"Damn it, France is still the best, damn it, it has colonies."

Ronan couldn't help but deeply miss France. At that time, the production capacity of Guangdong and Guangxi was far behind that of France. Moreover, France had a large colony to exploit. In the later years of Ronan's rule, some parts of "Africa" ​​also became colonies, constantly supplying the mainland with resources through sea routes.

"There's no other way. We'll just have to borrow, buy, and pay back as we go."

Ronan still has a way.

Guangdong had plenty of silver, so they borrowed supplies from the people while also buying from outside, using a portion of the purchased goods to repay the debt.

This is essentially a forced requisition, with repayment to be made in installments.

"When we march into Hunan, we can't appease everyone; we have to win over one faction and fight against another."

You can't take everything, but you can't not take anything either. There are also conflicts among the superhumans. You have to win over one side and take from the other.

The logistics relied entirely on supplies from Guangdong and Guangxi, and it was really becoming unsustainable.

"Damn it, couldn't that damned emperor have waited a few years before he did his stupid thing?"

Ronan once again began to curse the one who was already the late emperor.

His initial plan was to farm and develop in Guangdong for ten years, waiting for a conflict to break out between the North and South, and then seize the opportunity to act.

Little did anyone know that the damned emperor would ruin himself and ignite a civil war.

Is it true that as soon as the country starts to decline, we should step on the gas pedal?

Having already vented his anger, Ronan quickly recovered and returned to his work.

That's just how he is; otherwise, he would have suffered a stroke from high blood pressure during his decades in France.

Upon returning to Guangdong, Ronan immediately summoned Liu Laosan, Falek, and the rest of the team responsible for talent bestowal, and they headed to Liupanshui, Guizhou.

“I didn’t expect Seris to have so many good materials available,” Falek said.

“There are quite a few in the southwest and some in the northeast, but they are too far away to reach,” Ronan said.

There are also people in Northeast China who practice primitive religions.

"Indeed, things are different when a country is big," Falek couldn't help but sigh.

Ronan lamented, "Big things have their own difficulties. Economic development can never be balanced, so we have to 'rob the rich to help the poor.' In this era, such a civil war is destined to break out."

The strange thing is that Jiangnan not only has money, but also many extraordinary people. Extraordinary means martial power. When their dissatisfaction with the country's economic policy reached an extreme, and they could not change the situation through politics, they could only resort to violence.

Chapter 1047 A New Year, the Source of Servants, Didi is Back

The year was 1614.

There's still some time before the Lunar New Year in Seres.

The Ronan family's manor house on a small hill is basically completed, except for the large garden on the third tier, the rest is basically finished.

We plan to move here after the new year.

They are currently working on recruiting servants. The land covers 100 acres and there are many things to manage. Ronan's family is large, and although he and his women don't often live at home, when they do come to stay, they can definitely move in immediately. Under these circumstances, it would be impossible to maintain the place without a well-organized team of about 100 servants with clearly defined roles.

We expect to recruit two groups of people.

One group consisted of slaves from Suleiman's side. Suleiman didn't just sell "black slaves"; he also sold "white slaves." Falek, the legendary woman who went from being a female slave to the third wife, then the first wife, and finally the queen mother, was a typical "white slave," captured by the Suleimans from "Eastern Europe."

Although the slave trade in Suleiman has taken away a significant share from the people of the Western Continent, when it comes to training slaves, they are still the best. They are a century-old business, unique in their field. Moreover, their specialties are different. The people of the Western Continent mainly buy slaves to work, and female slaves are brought in for breeding. However, many of Suleiman's slaves are used to serve nobles, and their professional skills are absolutely top-notch.

The other batch was purchased from Jiangnan.

Both the previous and current dynasties of Seres prohibited the keeping of slaves.

But where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure. Slavery is forbidden, so can't I adopt a goddaughter?

This is very clear, which is why Ronan said that the current Davidic Kingdom of Seres was "outwardly Tang and inwardly Ming". Externally, it was like the Tang Dynasty, able to subdue foreign tribes in a single region. Although the border areas were becoming increasingly uncontrollable, its ability to fight was undeniable, except that it could not defeat the Westerners in the navy.

The interior, however, is filled with a strange atmosphere that is both decadent and conservative, yet also wild and radical.

There are many professional "god-daughter" training institutions in the Jiangnan region.

However, these were not matters for Ronan to worry about. All matters concerning the inner quarters of the house had been entrusted to Madam Zhao, who was now the head housekeeper of the Ronan family.

Meanwhile, Dinya has finally returned.

"You've worked hard, Didi," Ronan said.

Dinia started with a loving punch, "I'm not locked up and unable to move, I'm just confined to a small area. I read books every day, and I don't have you bothering me. I'm doing just fine."

Ronan stared at Dinia expectantly. "Really? I don't believe it."

"How's the situation here?" Dinia asked.

"You just got back and you're already asking these questions." Ronan didn't want to bring this up, but seeing Dinia's glare, he said, "Okay, the situation is roughly..."

Ronan gave a general account of what had happened in the six months or so since Dinia left.

Dinia's expression turned serious. "The situation is getting a bit tense."

“Actually, everything is very urgent; the imperial court has already started selling official positions,” Ronan said.

"Are you that short of money?" Dinia asked.

Ronan shook his head. "The money is just a side benefit. The important thing is to make empty promises. The government is selling official positions to mid-level superhumans, intending to get them to do the work."

"The consequences will be endless," Dinia commented, quoting Seris.

“There’s no other way, we can only think about surviving first,” Ronan said. “What’s even more outrageous is that after the Jiangnan faction within the court was forced to go west to fight against the Northwest Army, the court began to impose an economic blockade on the Jiangnan region.”

The imperial court, with the Central Plains and the north as its core, was not afraid of economic blockade because the villages and manors on the plains were not only convenient for collecting agricultural taxes, but also had a variety of trades and industries. Although the output was low, the cost was high, and the quality was not good because they were not produced on a large scale in large factories, they could barely meet the demand.

Without goods from Jiangnan, one can only say that living conditions have declined sharply.

In the Jiangnan region, food is not a problem. If there were a food problem in Jiangnan, there wouldn't be so many people. At worst, we can buy food from Hunan and Hubei.

But the merchants were anxious. The north was their important market, and without this large market, they would become poor.

Their status as mere landlords could not support their extravagant lifestyle.

As for overseas markets, what kind of overseas market can compare to the tens of millions of people in the North? In fact, the reason why the South would rebel is because the system in the North severely hinders their desire for a "free market" and insists on maintaining those inefficient small workshops, preventing them from completely destroying those backward things.

"Are we going to fight?" Dinia asked.

“Both sides either disrupt each other’s spring planting or plunder during the autumn harvest,” Ronan said. “I was originally planning to wait for a major battle between the two sides, but the newcomer reminded me that neither side will ignore us now, so they won’t give us a chance to reap the benefits. Therefore, we should also take the initiative to strike after the New Year.”

Dinia nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

“I have to go to the front lines. To win this civil war, politics is more important than anything else. Our greatest advantage is politics, not military strength,” Ronan said. “You stay here and hold the fort. While I’m gone, this system needs to be maintained. If those monsters dare to show up, there’s no point in talking about politics. If they’re caught, it’s treason.”

“Ha, that’s something I’m good at,” Dinia replied with a smile.

Her forte is never solving problems, but rather dealing with the people who have problems.

Some people act recklessly in normal times, but compromise when it comes to political consequences. If they act recklessly during wartime, then there's nothing more to say; they'll be killed outright.

“But you, how do you persuade others to surrender?” Dinia expressed her concern.

"I wasn't entirely sure at first, but a trip to Sichuan and then to Guizhou confirmed one thing for me: the North is willing to accept the Gongjinhui's economic model. As for the South, they want to turn everything outside their region into their own source of sustenance. They not only want to be the masters of the economy but also the masters of the politics. They believe they represent progress. Admittedly, I must also acknowledge that their system is more efficient in the production of industrial goods, far surpassing the small workshops run by villages and manors in the North."

"However, they went against the very core of this nation's aspirations."

"This unified country, to some extent, must engage in 'robbing the rich to help the poor' in order to maintain itself."

Ronan had thought so too.

But after visiting Sichuan and Guizhou, I became even more convinced of this idea.

"I didn't expect the time to decide the winner to come so soon," Dinia couldn't help but sigh.

Ronan couldn't help but smile helplessly, "I didn't expect this either. I had originally planned to stay in Guangdong for more than ten years."

The Gongjinhui was only officially established last year, and this year it will enter a war that will determine victory or defeat.

The next few years will likely be filled with constant warfare, and large-scale wars at that.

It's really quite surreal.

But that's reality. Reality is that you're never truly prepared; you just have to bite the bullet and go for it.

“I believe we will win. There is no place more vibrant than the Gongjinhui.”

Chapter 1048 Shadow World? Cyberpunk? This doesn't make sense!

Despite being very busy, Ronan still managed to take a couple of days off for Dinya, who had just returned.

The two had traveled from Guangdong to Northeast China. It was nighttime, and in a hot spring surrounded by snow, Ronan and Dinia sat quietly, saying nothing and doing nothing, simply enjoying the tranquility of the world as if only the two of them remained.

This continued for a long time until Dinia broke the silence, saying, "Shortly before I returned, they captured a strange man in the Rhine region and brought him to the Celestial Realm, who is also an acquaintance of ours."

"Who?" Ronan asked.

“Noah,” Dinia replied.

Noah is the man known as "The Mad Doctor." He is a skilled doctor, but what truly made him famous is his unique magic, which allows him to transplant organs from other creatures into humans without any rejection.

In this timeline, Noah has long been recruited by Ronan and is now a civil servant. He works with many mental patients at the Isabelle Mental Hospital.

Ronan opened his eyes and asked, "Did that guy finally create some kind of monster, and then get attacked by everyone?"

"No, or rather, it's not that simple. He was involved in a project..."

Dinia began to tell the story.

This project involves attaching items that control and output magic power to superhumans, some of whom are already cybernetic.

"This can't be true, even superhumans don't dare to get plastic surgery."

Ronan was somewhat incredulous; if Bourdinia hadn't told him this herself, he would have thought it was utter nonsense.

If a superhuman tampers with their own body, it can cause serious adverse reactions.

Some superhumans can be cut into pieces without any problems, and some are even permanently disabled, missing limbs or something, but their physical form can be affected, and their magic can be affected. No one knows why this is, but there is plenty of evidence to prove it.

If superhumans can have plastic surgery at will, then Ronan's handsome face and his large member are nothing special, as are Dinya's face and her large, perky breasts.

Even so, they directly attach magical items to people's bodies, or even use prosthetic bodies.

"That's the truth. There are some adverse reactions, but they're not that serious. After installing it, you almost never have to worry about running out of magic power or not having enough magic strength. In fact, for some people with lower ranks, it's even a kind of enhancement."

Dinia added.

Ronan frowned. "The only explanation is that the people in the two timelines are fundamentally different."

"That world was already strange. According to your concept of parallel universes, it was completely abnormal. For thousands or even tens of thousands of years, it was no different from this world. It was almost like a shadow. In such a long period of time, didn't any figure at a turning point in history make a decision that influenced the world's direction? Okay, if everything in the world is inevitable, then what about the outsiders? It's not just you who are outsiders, but also those otherworldly beings, that group of so-called artificial intelligence. Were their choices predetermined?"