Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 464

"Aren't you going to deal with Xingye and Youwei?" Ronan asked.

Guo Xingye and Guo Youwei are the son and daughter of Luo Nan and Guo Hanlu. Guo Youwei is eighteen years old. After giving birth to her, Guo Hanlu felt that having two daughters was not enough, so she wanted to have more. Later, she gave birth to Guo Xingye, who is now sixteen years old.

In fact, Ronan did not want to have children.

The reason is simple: it is very difficult to achieve immortality like them. Few people can learn the art of immortality. Wen Jin's kind of skeleton requires the fifth rank, and most extraordinary people in the world cannot reach that level. The only known method of immortality left is Faith's magical puppet. This is a last resort because people with weak wills cannot even survive the puppetization process. Furthermore, after being puppetized, they will lose their humanity.

Once a child is born, the most likely outcome is that the black-haired person dies out the white-haired person, and the white-haired person is one's own child, while the black-haired person is oneself.

But some of them still wanted children, and more than one at that.

Falek gave birth to two daughters.

Canaan had a son, and she was born to play.

Ashley gave birth to twin daughters.

Alice, who wanted a daughter, gave birth to a son, while Grandine, who simply couldn't stand her sister, gave birth to a daughter.

Ronan now has a large family.

"I regret it now. Those two guys are even more annoying than Ruoyu." Guo Hanlu's face turned irritable as soon as she mentioned it.

Ruoyu is Guo Shiliu, her daughter with her ex-husband, and Ambrina's goddaughter. She is extremely talented and has now reached the fifth level. However, she is in her late thirties, almost forty years old. She has no plans to get married, nor is she the kind of person who focuses on cultivation. She just likes to play.

Her two children with Ronan, though young, are already quite the troublemakers.

Ronan chuckled. "Ha, it's still more fun when we're an old married couple, isn't it?" As he spoke, he touched Guo Hanlu's lower back. After having two children, apart from her breasts getting a little bigger, she hadn't changed at all.

Guo Hanlu also moved closer; she hadn't been intimate with Ronan for many days. "Aren't you worried at all about whether the imperial system will be abolished?"

Ronan rubbed his chest with one hand and grabbed and pinched Guo Hanlu's buttocks through her skirt with the other. "What's there to worry about? From beginning to end, our Chairman Zhao has not established any prestige. His methods have improved a lot in the past twenty years, but his magnanimity and mind have not improved at all. He is unwilling to contact workers and peasants, and has never thought of meeting the soldiers at the grassroots level. In the end, all he has done is win over some high-ranking officials, some marginal mid-level officers who surrendered halfway, and some leaders of some miscellaneous troops within the military."

"However, without the imperial system, the high-ranking officials are still the high-ranking officials, and they won't follow him. It's true that the marginalized middle-ranking officials are his staunch supporters, but how many people can these people persuade on his behalf? As for the leaders of those ragtag armies, they don't lead their original troops, but rather troops that have been reorganized several times. What say can they possibly have?"

If Zhao Junyong is willing to personally participate in actual governance, reform, production, and war, and go to the front lines and immerse himself among the masses, then he may have a chance to completely shed his puppet status and become a true leader within twenty years.

Unfortunately, he didn't do that. He was obsessed with the "techniques" he learned from Ronan, constantly thinking about how to vie for power within the Progressive Society. Little did he know that he was drifting further and further away from what a founding leader should be like.

"What were you doing, drawing and sketching just now?" Guo Hanlu asked.

In the blink of an eye, she and Ronan had been together for over twenty years, and she knew this was Ronan's habit when he was thinking about certain issues.

“I’m thinking about how to delay the suffering of the lower classes,” Ronan replied, lifting Guo Hanlu’s skirt as he spoke and beginning to rub her genitals through her stockings and underwear.

Wearing a red and white Hanfu dress with pink and white stockings underneath, Guo Hanlu looked even younger than she had twenty years ago, showing no signs of being a married woman, but rather exuding a pure and alluring charm.

Guo Hanlu hugged Ronan tightly, whispering sweet nothings in his ear, "How could this be? The officials of the Progressive Society are the most, no, the first group in history with ideals and aspirations."

She can't be wrong about what she said.

The Progressive Society was initially composed mainly of old bureaucrats and powerful figures, but these bureaucrats and powerful figures were also inclined to reform under Ronan's guidance. Moreover, from the beginning, Ronan introduced a group of people who opposed the old order, including those from privileged backgrounds who deeply resented the old order, those who were talented but had nowhere to use their talents, and many more who were from the bottom of society. This was achieved through decades of guidance and continuous recruitment.

There are indeed a large number of people with ideals and aspirations within the Gongjinhui today, including some who pursue radical revolution.

But won't these people also fall into depravity?

"It may be worse than in the past few thousand years. In the past few thousand years, development was slow and it was almost a static society. But now, if we don't say it is changing rapidly, we are at least in an era where productivity is still developing rapidly and the collision of ideas is extremely frequent and intense. The faster the development, the faster people may 'fall behind' and 'decline'."

"To put it simply, officials, regardless of their background, are no longer in the same social class as the lower classes. If we consider the fundamental principle that the maintenance and operation costs of society are always paid for by the vast majority of the lower classes, we can even say that as the 'tax-paying class' and 'distributors,' they are inherently opposed to the lower classes."

Ronan said helplessly.

The corruption and depravity of managers is an inevitable phenomenon brought about by the structure of "society".

He couldn't think of a solution, so he could only try to delay and maintain a balance.

“You have a point,” Guo Hanlu replied, lifting her leg to rub against the tent that was forming on Luo Nan’s lower body.

Having served as Ronan's secretary for over twenty years, her level of understanding had greatly improved, and she immediately grasped Ronan's meaning.

"The only solution we can offer right now is to organize farmers and workers into organizations that are not directly led by the government, so that the labor force can be brought together to form a kind of capital, and then achieve a dynamic balance between the capital controlled by a large number of extraordinary individuals or capitalists who have directly become capitalists, and the powerful force represented by the government."

"The current farmers' association system is not enough. We need to add an agricultural mutual aid association to help farmers who cannot join the farmers' association."

"At the same time, in some cities, community organizations connecting workers and peasants have been established, and now there are already some signs of antagonism between workers and peasants, which is not good."

Ronan said.

There was a time when he desperately wanted, and even deliberately created, conflict between workers and peasants in order to exploit the lower classes to the maximum extent possible without reducing their enthusiasm for production, thereby achieving the goal of building a strong country quickly.

But now, Ronan is trying to find a way to unite the workers and peasants.

It's truly a twist of fate that the reactionaries became revolutionaries.

Chapter 1076 The Republic is Here, Time to Go, Life is Unpredictable

A few days later, Chairman Zhao's wish was not fulfilled, and the Gongjin Society passed a resolution to abolish the imperial system.

Following this, a series of organizational adjustments and personnel changes began.

The Gongjin Society has been established for over twenty years and is not some makeshift organization. Over the past decade or so, it has been continuously absorbing and assimilating various provinces and has a mature mechanism for absorption and integration. It will not be an exception just because the target this time is the imperial court. Anyway, it will follow the procedures and at most cause some trouble.

But this little bit of trouble is really nothing. In the end, the Gongjinhui is neither the kind of organization that controls the political center and a few major hub cities and then issues orders, nor does it start in a remote place and then snowball to sweep the world in a few years.

Instead, they fought while simultaneously developing infrastructure according to local conditions and implementing their own systems and laws.

At the end of 1640, the Jiangnan region was completely subjugated.

Thus, the civil war that had lasted for more than 20 years came to a complete end, and Seris was unified once again.

There are still a lot of things to discuss and decide on. Not to mention anything else, just the form of government and the name of the country will be another point of contention.

With the abolition of the monarchy, it was naturally no longer an empire. The Progressive Society's system was in line with the republic, so there were no political problems. Over the years, many of Ronan's works had been distributed, so there were no ideological obstacles.

But what exactly should the republic be called is a big and important question. No matter how much Ronan changes things, he can't change the deep-rooted thing that Seris values ​​"name".

However, this is none of Ronan's business.

Ronan resigned, not only resigning but also withdrawing from the committee, along with his women, completely withdrawing from Seris politics. Even his two business associates withdrew; over the years, Ronan had managed many large companies, all of which were handed over to the state.

Zhao Jun was overjoyed, but cried as he tried to persuade Ronan, his "teacher," to stay, but Ronan insisted.

A group of old politicians who were close to Ronan, as well as the junior politicians who were promoted by Ronan, kept trying to persuade him to stay. They kept saying that Seres could do without anyone but Ronan. In fact, they were also hoping that Ronan would leave.

Aren't they afraid that once Ronan is gone, his policies will end, and they'll be held accountable? The answer is no.

The reforms Ronan carried out over the past twenty years were different from those carried out by powerful ministers in the Seres court over the past thousand years. His reforms had already established several main bodies, such as farmers' associations, banks, and labor unions. These were multiple solid interest groups from the local to the central level, possessing not only money and manpower, but also violence.

To be honest, it was actually the other group of people who didn't have a good relationship with Ronan who really didn't want him to leave.

With Ronan gone, the reformist elites who were once under his control, like a raging flood, are now leaderless and may turn around and label everyone else as "remnants of the previous regime," carrying out a bloody purge.

Reality is just that surreal.

Those who were close to Ronan wanted him to leave quickly, while those who were distant from him hoped he wouldn't go.

But regardless, Ronan should leave.

In the game of Seris, I've already completed it; it's over.

Too many people want to betray their own allies, but Ronan's "bridge" is too strong. If Ronan doesn't take it, there's only one outcome: he'll turn on his own people and purge the hundreds and thousands of reformers he built with his own hands.

"Let's part amicably, everyone. I said more than 20 years ago that I would leave, and today, I'm keeping my word."

And so, Ronan left.

Afterwards, Ronan returned to France with the women and his children.

Although France had broken through the anti-French encirclement and appeared to be a victor, it had actually lost its absolute dominance in the Western continent.

Rebellions are rampant in the Rhine region, and suppression and stability maintenance efforts are ongoing.

King Lucien II fell ill, and Queen Verma became regent, with Ronan and Agustina's illegitimate son, Garcia, serving as prime minister.

It was truly dramatic. Garcia was not like Agustina, who appeared lazy but was meticulous in her work, nor like Ronan, who was worldly-wise but also ruthless. Back then, Garcia was a rather taciturn, honest, and dull person.

Now he is the prime minister.

Upon arriving in the capital, Ronan and Ambrina headed straight for the royal palace.

Humans aren't plants or trees, and Ronan ultimately still missed his first son.

As for Ambrina, even though she hadn't liked her eldest son for many years, she still cried at this moment.

The moment Ambrina saw Little Lucien, she laughed again, then got angry, and then threw a punch, saying, "You bastard, you were faking illness."

Little Lucien laughed, a very happy laugh, then sighed, "Mother, Father, I really am not cut out to be a king. I still prefer doing research in the laboratory."

“I’ve made up my mind. Ronan is getting older, and he has some of the looks you had back then. It would be good to pass the throne to him.”

Ronan was the second son of Lucien the Younger. That's the annoying thing about the West—there are always people with the same name.

Ronan's grandson is also named Ronan, and many veteran officials say he looks a lot like Lord Ronan back in the day.

"Useless." Ambrina said disdainfully.

"As long as you're happy," Ronan said with a smile.

The Freigo family has a strange, hereditary disease that prevents anyone from living long. Many die before they turn fifty, far below the lifespan expected of superhumans. It's hard to say whether young Lucien will develop the disease in the future. If he wants to pass the throne to his son, then so be it; it's better to be happy.

After meeting his eldest son, Ronan and Ambrina went to see their eldest daughter.

Ina is now a grandmother, no longer as arrogant and unruly as she was in her youth. Now she is a very calm businesswoman, or more accurately, the head of a conglomerate, owning companies that cover all aspects of society, from luxury goods like jewelry to food that is related to the most basic needs of ordinary people.

"Sigh, I don't even look as young as you, Mother. What a failure! You old geezer, you even shaved your beard, did you do this just to annoy me?"

With a smile on her face, Ina remarked that upon seeing her parents, she instantly reverted to her old ways.

“You are of a slightly higher rank than Lucien. If you wish, that’s fine too…” Ronan was interrupted by Ina before he could finish speaking.

“There’s no need for that, I’m dying.” Ina said calmly.

Then Ronan and Ambrina learned that Ina was seriously ill.

Lucien, who appeared very depressed and in poor condition, was fine, while Ina, who seemed energetic and optimistic, was already nearing her end.

Ambrina immediately hugged Ina and burst into tears.

She was finding it hard to accept that her daughter was about to pass away.

Ronan also silently turned around, covered his mouth and nose, and took a deep breath.

He has been in this world for almost sixty years. He has experienced countless difficulties and even life-or-death crises, but these difficulties and crises have never caused him pain or discomfort. At this moment, however, he is in great pain, as if his chest has been crushed and his heart has been flattened, making it difficult for him to breathe.

For the first time, he deeply experienced the loss of a loved one, realizing how painful it was, as if all his past "victories" had become meaningless.

It's too painful.

Chapter 1077 A Blow, Raising Children, Choosing to Sleep for a Hundred Years

More than a year passed, and in October 1642, Ina died.

Ina's passing left the ever-smiling Ambrina depressed for more than three months.

This also caused Ronan, who had never really cared about his children, to suddenly change his mind and begin to focus his energy on his young, independent children born in Seris.

Three sons and six daughters.

Ronan and his women, along with their nine children, are preparing to travel the world together.

While experiencing the local customs and traditions, Ronan also analyzes the various countries he encounters from the perspective that geography shapes people, people shape culture, and culture, in turn, influences people, leading to the birth of different civilizations. He also examines the people in these countries who have left their mark on history.

He wanted his children to connect theory with practice to understand how power and wealth operate in this society dominated by extraordinary individuals, and to guide them to think deeply about the essence of this world.

At the same time, Ronan and the women also imparted their knowledge about supernatural powers in a comprehensive way.

This is more important than the former.

Ronan and his group encompassed a wide variety of cultivation methods and had mastered various mysteries.

He is more than qualified to be the teacher of this group of teenagers who are not yet twenty years old.

Ronan was extremely strict in educating his children about supernatural powers. While he could tolerate and even care for and encourage his nine children who were not particularly talented in practical skills, he did not allow any of them to fail to memorize and understand the vast amount of theoretical knowledge that contained many things that ordinary people did not need to learn.

Can't remember? Can't understand? Then lock them up.

If you don't want to spend three days in a cramped, dark room, then work hard.

Of course, combat training is also inevitable. After all, they are all superhumans, and with Dinia around, they won't die.

Since you can't kill him, beat him to death.

It was only then that Ambrina realized that she, who had been grieving and heartbroken for months, had already emerged from the shadow of her daughter Ina's death, while Ronan, who had been calmly by her side and comforting her, had not.

Ronan still feels responsible for his daughter's early death and for not giving her enough love, having only thought of himself for decades.

Self-blame and regret led Ronan to do everything he could to raise his still young children, hoping to pass on everything he had to them so that they would have the resources and ability to pursue what they wanted.