Yes, Madam Prime Minister

If Dinah is a right-wing person, then Ronan's previous remarks were right-wing as well.

He doesn't care about left or right, as long as he can stay in power, that's all that matters.

"You're willing to support me?" Dinia asked.

"Of course, it's not because you're my boss, but because you genuinely care about the country and its people, because I consider you a friend, and because I'm also a person with ideals. Tell me, who wasn't an idealist when they were young?"

Ronan is not one of them.

“You’re right, but I can’t allow you to put your own people in every department,” Dinia said firmly.

Dinya didn't agree with Ronan's self-proclaimed idealism. After everything they'd been through, how could she possibly believe that? Ronan was a complete realist, and sooner or later she'd teach that bastard a lesson.

She agrees with the statement that change cannot wait until she actually climbs to that position; it must begin now, and she definitely needs Ronan.

But Ronan must not be allowed to run rampant.

"How about this: after the voting is over, we'll hold an internal test, and the three with the highest scores will be shortlisted. Then we'll set up a review committee, with you as the chief judge, to select the heads of each department. What do you think?"

Ronan proposed the seemingly selfless solution of testing.

The question is, does Dinya even know how to conduct such an exam? Forget about her, even Yvette wouldn't be up to the task; wouldn't Ronan be the one to administer it?

In fact, Ronan had already drafted the exam procedures yesterday, but it would seem premeditated to bring it up now, so he didn't say anything.

As long as he can control the exam, there are plenty of ways to achieve a result that satisfies him under the principles of fairness, impartiality, and impartiality.

Of course, two positions have already been decided internally.

One is the head of the security bureau, which is definitely Agustina, a staunch supporter of Dinia; the other is the chief of the court, which has already been promised to the old man, Alves, the former secretary-general.

The Kingdom of Fas was a country that had not yet completely broken away from feudalism, so of course there was no independent inspection agency; judicial personnel were all subordinate to the courts.

"Okay," Dinia agreed, then quickly finished the rest of the food on her plate. "I'll be going now."

“No rush, I have another gift for the mayor,” Ronan said.

Gift?

Chapter Ninety-Two: Fits Well, Feels Comfortable, More Paratroopers Arrive

Ronan took out a box and handed it to Dinia. "Open it and take a look."

Dinia opened the box; inside was a pair of shoes.

These are actually flat loafers, with a suede finish, apricot color, and no fancy decorations. They are more of a men's style.

Ronan made these shoes himself. These days, shoes are all handmade, so it was easy for him to find someone to teach him. However, he didn't have the talent for it and didn't have the time to practice. After several years, he was only recently able to make them look decent. Dinia was the first person to experience shoes made by his own hands.

"The upper is made of antelope leather from the South China Sea. It is soft, durable, and breathable. The shoes are also very easy to put on and take off, and most importantly, they are very comfortable to wear. You can wear them to work."

Ronan explained.

Of course, Dinya couldn't wear such shoes to formal occasions. For formal occasions, she would either wear women's clothing, a long dress with high heels, or modified men's clothing, such as bootcut pants and boots.

"Thank you," Dinia said, feeling a bit uncomfortable sitting in her boots in the office.

"Give it a try," Ronan said, and went to move a stool over.

Dinia sat down, took off her mid-calf boots, and freed her feet, which were covered in flesh-colored pantyhose. Her slender ankles and long, thin feet were covered in flesh-colored stockings, which shimmered with a matte, silky texture in the candlelight of the restaurant.

Dinya lightly stepped on the shoe and hooked it with her finger, and it was on.

She stood up and took a couple of steps before realizing that the soles of her shoes were soft and light, much more comfortable than hard leather soles.

"The raw material for the soles of these shoes is the resin from fig trees."

Ronan began to explain first.

They have a long history of cultivating fig trees here. Fig trees can also be tapped to extract natural resin, but compared to rubber trees, both the quantity and quality are far inferior, so fig resin has no economic value.

"I cut down dozens of fig trees to make this shoe sole. But don't worry, it's just tapping some resin and it won't affect the growth of the trees. It did cost a little money for purification and smelting."

Before Ronan transmigrated, he studied engineering, specifically mechanical engineering, not chemical engineering.

He spent a lot of money experimenting to create such a natural rubber sole.

"How much did it cost to make such a sole?" Dinia asked.

“Not many, maybe a hundred or so silver dragons,” Ronan replied.

Twenty-four silver dragons equal one small golden eagle, meaning Ronan spent at least five or six gold coins to make this sole.

“This is bribery,” Dinia’s voice suddenly turned serious.

“How could that be? I’m just giving you a sample, Mayor. We plan to promote this type of sole in the future,” Ronan said. “This type of sole can’t be mass-produced and the cost is high, but it’s perfect for luxury shoes worn by the wealthy. It can be considered as adding a small industry to the new city.”

Ronan said.

He wasn't doing this to make money, but to build up his technological reserves. Since there's an "America" ​​in this world, mining isn't his forte, but planting rubber trees shouldn't be a problem, as rubber is very important for industry.

Ronan, after all, was an engineering student who transmigrated into another world; he still needed to advance his technological skills and develop productivity.

However, he did not intend to do these things until he had enough power and force.

There was no way around it; the rulers under the semi-feudal, semi-civilian system were far too ruthless. Ronan, a mere secretary-general in a remote city, couldn't possibly control them.

"That's more like it," Dinia said, half-praising.

This is what makes Ronan easy for her: he's adept at political maneuvering and also has a strong grasp of people's livelihood and the economy.

More importantly, although Ronan's style was that of a bureaucrat, he was also a person who understood reform very well. This can be seen from his book "Musketeers, Wizards and Civil Servants". He was a person who had a clear understanding of where reforms were needed and how to reform them. He seemed to be a person who had seen countless reforms and revolutions.

Just like those shoes, they fit perfectly and feel comfortable.

However, the troublesome aspect also stems from the fact that he is a jack-of-all-trades, with no shortcomings in his ability to handle affairs and a profound understanding of theory. Therefore, Ronan dares to ask for power, and he does so with a clear conscience.

Dinya took off her loafers and put them back in the box, then put her boots back on. "I'm leaving. No need to see me off."

"See you later," Ronan said.

After watching Dinia leave, Ronan breathed a sigh of relief. With his two tricks of deliberately making things difficult and having a private chat, he managed to keep his personnel power.

Things should proceed smoothly from here on out.

To Ronan's surprise, the stability was broken three days later.

Dinia called Ronan and Yvette into her office and delivered a series of messages.

Firstly, the new city's tax chief will be directly appointed by the central cabinet after the merger. As Ronan thought, it is only natural that the tax chief should not come from the original tax system of the seven special cities, but it would be more reasonable for the higher-level government, namely the state government, to send someone. What would be the point of parachuting someone from the central government to such a small place? Is it necessary?

Just as Ronan was still trying to figure this out, Dinia told him something even more perplexing: the soon-to-arrive tax official was not originally a civil servant, but a businessman.

This is a bit puzzling.

But this was just the beginning. Dinia then told Ronan and Yvette that the head of agriculture would also be parachuted in.

After all, they want to plant some new high-yield crops, and maybe the higher-ups are taking this very seriously? Ronan felt that he could accept it if they sent a professional agricultural official and a small team.

However, Dinia then tells Ronan that the other person is just one person, and that this person, who is to become the head of agriculture, is a young military officer.

Gold plating? But even gold plating doesn't have this kind of method.

But the second piece of news wasn't the most surprising; the third was.

Dinia's personal secretary was also parachuted in; this person was a middle-aged woman.

The spot that originally belonged to Yvette is gone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you a spot in the secretariat,” Ronan said to Yvette.

Although Yvette was an accomplice in Dinia's attempt to seize power, and although she was not on his side, she maintained a proper balance from beginning to end and did not make any other underhanded moves after Dinia gave up on seizing power. Therefore, Ronan did not mind keeping her around, especially given the imminent arrival of an "external enemy."

Yvette didn't respond to Ronan, but instead frowned and asked, "Didi, who told you this?"

Dinia pointed to the eagle pattern on the gold button of her clothes.

The golden eagle represents the current royal family of the Kingdom of Fas, and Dinia's gesture means that the news was told to her by the king.

Ronan was stunned for a moment, and he was very hesitant about whether to go to Ambrina.

Yvette was also surprised, but she knew something Ronan didn't: the last time Dinia met the capital and the king, the second princess met with each of them.

Chapter Ninety-Three: Systems, Problems, Strangers

As Ronan sat in the carriage on his way to Ambrina's residence, after much deliberation, he decided to go and have a chat with Princess Ambrina, who was very likely to become queen in the future.

The carriage wasn't moving fast. Ronan deliberately told the driver to slow down so he could look through a book called "An Overview of the System of the Kingdom of Fas." As the local civil official, he had certainly read the book before, but he hadn't read it carefully in the past because the special city's system was different from other places. First of all, the special city didn't have a council.

But now, the seven special cities have merged into one normal city, and especially now that things have gone wrong, Ronan has picked up the book again.

In a normal city, a council is common, and its main function is to elect the mayor, and secondly, to enact local laws.

The reason for this is probably because Lawrence, in order to build up an army, went against the grain and enfeoffed the mortgaged magicians and other ordinary soldiers, distributing land to the great nobles. But Lawrence wasn't stupid; he couldn't let these people actually become lords and repeat history.

However, if these people are not given the power to participate in politics, their positions will be unstable.

So a city council was established, which essentially turned the city into a state of limited autonomy.

However, there is no parliament at the state level. The governor is directly appointed by the kingdom's central government, and the governor must be from out of town. Although most civil servants in the state government are locals, more than half of the state's garrison troops are from out of town. At the same time, all local bills of the city council require the approval of the state government, and since the governor is appointed by the central government, it is practically equivalent to local bills needing the central government's approval.

Clearly, Lawrence allowed his original followers and their descendants to wield power locally. In his vision, these people needed a certain amount of power and wealth to become a sustainable source of citizen soldiers and junior officers, but he did not allow them to become too powerful.

Finally, at the central level, department heads may become governors, and governors may become department heads at the central level.

Above that are the prime minister and the king. The king, of course, is a hereditary position.

The prime minister is selected by the Royal Kingdom from among the heads of various departments, who choose three nominees, and then the election committee elects the prime minister.

The permanent chairman of the election committee is, of course, His Majesty the King. The other members are the heads of the various departments at the time. The members after that are not fixed, but they are generally senior nobles, retired high-ranking officials, important members of the royal family, and so on.

The king may seem to have only one vote, but that's not actually the case. Only he can nominate candidates, and if the elected candidate is not someone he approves of, they can only serve one term, which is three years. However, if the candidate is someone he approves of, they can serve three terms, which is nine years, without much problem. This is because if the king does not propose a re-election, there is no need for a re-election.

The above are the standard ones.

The Kingdom of Fas also has many unconventional features, such as special cities, border provinces, royal domains, overseas fiefs, and overseas colonies.

“The state government had already said that in order to avoid personnel turmoil after the merger of the special cities, the special cities should handle their own personnel issues. But now, suddenly, three people are being parachuted in. Moreover, Dinia got the news from the King, so this is a decision made by the central government. But the special cities are not particularly important places. Do they really deserve this kind of attention? Obviously not.”

"The problem must lie with Dinia, otherwise it would be impossible to assign her a private secretary."

Ronan was certain.

"We've arrived, sir," the coachman reminded him.

Soon, Ronan got out of the car and arrived at Ambrina's residence.

Ambrina now lives at Blue Mountain Manor, located on the hillside near Harbourhead, formerly Blackfish Harbor.

The scenery here is beautiful, the transportation is convenient, and you can also enjoy the freshest seafood.

It was afternoon tea time, and when Ronan went inside, he saw Ambrina having afternoon tea in the courtyard, accompanied by a strange woman.

She has fluffy, curly, light brown, medium-length hair, blue eyes, and a relatively soft facial contour. She wears simple, light makeup, and her skin looks quite well-maintained, with no wrinkles or nasolabial folds. However, you can still see that her skin is slightly loose, so she must be in her late thirties or almost forty.

Her figure is quite good for her age, especially considering she has a relatively large frame, slightly fleshy arms, a large but not obviously sagging chest, a belly that isn't flat but not exactly a small belly either, and relatively long legs, but both her thighs and calves are a bit thick. Unlike Elena's firm, toned, and athletic build, this woman clearly shows the slight weight gain caused by sitting in an office for long periods and not exercising much.

"Ronan? Over here, over here." As soon as Ambrina saw Ronan, she beckoned and called him over.

Ronan walked over quickly.

Ambrina introduced the woman beside her to Ronan, "You can just call her Mrs. Antari."

“Hello, madam,” Ronan greeted her with a nod.

Madame Antari stood up, but extended her hand as if to shake hands with Ronan. "I have long admired your name, Mr. Ronan. I believe we will get along very well in the future."

Ronan hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand and shook hands with the other person. "Heh, then let's work together to assist Lady Dinia and serve the kingdom."

"As expected of Lord Ronan, he is truly astute," said Mrs. Antari.

Ronan smiled modestly, "It's not that. It's just that your temperament is so outstanding, Madam. You look like a mature and capable woman. It would be hard for me not to guess."

"Is that so?" Mrs. Antari asked, feigning doubt.

“Of course,” Ronan replied. “I’ve never met a secretary with such poise.”

“I’ve never seen such a young and handsome city secretary,” Mrs. Antari replied.

This woman is probably not easy to deal with, Luo An thought to himself.

The other party might be even more troublesome than I imagined, Mrs. Antari thought to herself.

"Why are you holding hands the whole time?" Ambrina asked.

At that moment, Ronan and Mrs. Antari realized at the same time that they had forgotten to let go.

"Haha, how rude of you, Madam," Ronan said with a smile, apologizing.