Yes, Madam Prime Minister

“They are very interested,” Isabel said.

The "they" she was referring to were naturally the retro enthusiasts. Apart from a few academic researchers, most of the retro enthusiasts were artists who took it upon themselves to spread new ideas. These people naturally hoped that communication would be more advanced, on the one hand to facilitate the dissemination of their works that carried their own ideas and concepts, and more importantly, to make it easier to contact like-minded people in other places, or even abroad, and to exchange ideas.

Ronan smiled. "If you don't mind, you can have them contact your sister."

“Ha, even if I care, they’ll still go after her. You’re undermining my foundation,” Isabel said.

Faced with accusations, Ronan remained relaxed, saying, "Those who can stay will remain even after you die; those who can't stay may leave you at any time, no matter how brilliant you are."

"Goodbye."

Isabel didn't press the matter further and turned to leave.

Shortly afterward, Ronan left the capital and couldn't help but look back. He had originally come with the idea of ​​sightseeing, but it turned out to be anything but relaxing.

After a series of ups and downs, he became the prospective king's husband.

Although no one else besides the King, Ambrina, and himself knew this, at most they thought he was Ambrina's lover, and the King tacitly approved, he was undoubtedly considered to be on Ambrina's side and there was no way he could turn back.

At the same time, he also gained a deeper understanding of the three parties vying for the throne.

Princess Isabelle's faction and the Queen's faction, who hoped for the Third Princess's ascension to the throne, were both somewhat of a paper tiger. But Ambrina had nothing at all; she had neither money nor manpower. Ronan strongly suspected that the King was doing this on purpose. Clearly, the King did not want the existence of a "regent minister" because the "regent minister" conflicted with the system of royal consort regency he had designed.

But the king's actions were undoubtedly playing with fire.

Ronan couldn't change that, so the only thing he could do was have Ambrina undermine the other side by "making friends" and "spending money," not to strengthen himself, but to weaken his opponent.

"Am I really just living off a woman by spending both my money and effort?"

"However, this is quite interesting."

On the carriage, Ronan thought to himself.

He enjoys the routine of a civil servant's life, with regular working hours, but he also relishes the thrill of occasional challenges.

The trip to the capital is over, and Ronan is back, his old friends in New Sea City.

Chapter 181 Secretly and openly, thankfully no major problems arose.

After seventeen days, Ronan returned to Xinhai City. The next day, he arrived at his home, a two-story house of just over 100 square meters.

In July, even at night it's not cool at all. The only time you feel cool is when you come out of the shower and your clothes are still damp.

Elena brought Ronan an ice cream after he had just taken a shower. This was quite a luxury, as the ice used to make it was made from saltpeter.

Saltpeter is an extremely precious strategic resource because it is used in gunpowder. Most of the western continent does not have abundant saltpeter mines, unlike the distant eastern Seris, which has many large saltpeter producing areas.

Here's a joke: in the island nation of Wieland, all the toilets are state-owned. Anyone smuggling saltpeter is punished with hammering, which involves smashing all four limbs of a person with a large hammer.

The kingdom was much more civilized, unlike the barbaric islanders. However, all the stables were state-owned, and those who smuggled saltpeter were simply hanged.

Ronan patted Elena on the shoulder. "Go and call Alice over to eat with us."

Soon, the three of them sat down at the table together and started eating ice cream.

After finishing his ice cream, Ronan listened to the two men report on what had happened during the two months he had been gone.

Before Ronan left, he suggested that Elena go undercover to establish an intelligence network.

Surprisingly, she actually made a name for herself.

First, Elena, representing Ronan, made contact with several of Ronan's original intelligence chiefs. These individuals were important figures in Wright City's "specialty tourism industry." After the contact, she began to expand under their guidance. No one in the entire underground forces of Newsea City could rival Elena. She herself was a second-tier rank with formidable combat power, cutting people down like vegetables. In addition, she had Agustina secretly helping her, and occasionally Alice would even snipe her.

The key point is that she also spent money to hire her relatives as external aid, which is a group of war mercenaries. It can only be said that the gangsters in Xinhai City are really too lucky, enjoying the treatment that only regular troops receive.

Anyone who disagreed was met with a single word: kill. In just one month, Elena became the underground queen of New Sea City. She then redistributed the territory, set new rules, and then retired honorably.

However, no one dared to really think that she had retired and could launch a counterattack, because during this process, many people already knew that she was Ronan's woman.

While Ronan's reputation wasn't great among some officials, it was only so-so. However, within the underworld, Ronan was infamous.

Ten years ago, many of today's big bosses were just small fry. Back then, who was Ronan? He was the head of the anti-corruption squad. All the important figures in the underworld were captured by Ronan and used as tools to implicate others. Whether you confessed or not, you would first be subjected to "Ronan's Fish Torture." Ronan's Fish Torture is to put a person into a cage that can only be curled up, sink them to shallow sea, give them a breathing tube, and then leave them alone.

Soaked in the sea, unable to move or sleep, completely surrounded by loneliness and darkness, the number of people who can survive this ordeal can be counted on one hand.

After Elena retired from her post, she started a guild.

She was Ronan's woman, and Ronan indirectly controlled many factories. If she wanted to establish a union, no one dared to disagree. If any individual disagreed, then they could only be given a "reason they couldn't refuse."

Thus, labor unions were established, as was an intelligence organization targeting the working class.

"Well done, Elena."

Ronan praised it.

Elena, however, was not happy. She poked at the plate with her ice cream spoon. "There are still too few people who dare to resist. We haven't killed enough people. There are still quite a few old guys left. If you were here, young master, you would definitely be able to think of a way to lure these people into resisting and kill them all in a legitimate way."

"Don't be angry, this is good enough," Ronan comforted her, then turned to Alice, "How are things on your end?"

Alice gave a serious report, "Shortly after you left, it was wheat harvest time at the collective farm. Soybeans were planted not long ago, and quite a few things have happened in the meantime."

“Some directly report low yields and then sell the excess; some exchange old grain for new grain and then sell it; some deliberately fabricate high yields, forcibly collect more and then claim credit; as for those stupid enough to collude with former landlords to deliberately create trouble, there’s not much to say about them. These are nothing compared to what we’ve done. After our supervisory department arrested a few typical cases, all sorts of malpractices have been stopped. We’ve already established complaint channels. In the first year, many farmers didn’t dare to complain, but after seeing that we arrested people, the following year when they encountered such officials again, they dared to complain directly.”

"What's really worth mentioning is that some young civil servants are quite creative. After discovering that wheat production was 20% higher than normal in other places, they actually gathered a group of businessmen in the name of the collective and prepared to trade soybean futures with them. These civil servants were betting that soybean prices would also rise by 20%, and that they would make a small profit from these businessmen."

"We don't know how to handle this right now."

Alice said.

"You don't need to worry about it. I'll just call a halt in a couple of days. Collective farms aren't for doing business. If they are, they'll inevitably be indirectly controlled by merchants. The soybeans will be sold cheaply to local oil mills for oil extraction, and then the soybean oil will be sold to surrounding cities. The remaining soybean meal will be sold cheaply to local ranches as feed."

Ronan said.

The purpose of collective farms is to provide cheap raw materials, stimulate the agricultural product processing industry in Xinhai City, and thus boost the city's economy, not to produce more agricultural products to make money.

Ronan did not allow collective farms to participate in the free market of the entire South, as that would undoubtedly increase the production costs of agricultural processing industries in New Sea City.

Ronan changed the subject and asked about Dinia, "Besides that, how's things going with the mayor? Judging by the timeline, the formation of the council should have been put on the agenda by now."

Alice replied, "I don't know much about it. I just heard that it started off rather unpleasant, but then Mrs. Antari intervened and things seemed to have progressed. After that, two of the frontrunners for speakership were arrested for crimes."

Before leaving, Ronan gave Dinia a suggestion: she should choose a partner from among the top candidates for speaker, and after reaching an agreement, she should deal with her rival as promised.

But it's clear that the top candidates for speaker are no good people at all; they're the kind of people that Dinia absolutely dislikes.

Dinia wasn't exactly a righteous person, and after spending so much time with Ronan, she gradually realized that the most important thing for a mayor was patience. However, the moral standards of some people who were supposed to represent the people these days were just too appalling, and she really couldn't stand it anymore.

As for Yvette, she temporarily took over Ronan's position and was already extremely busy. Only after she actually sat in Ronan's position did she realize how difficult the job of secretary-general was.

There was no other way; only Lady Antari, who had seen countless battles and witnessed true magical realism in the capital, could resolve the matter.

"Fortunately, there haven't been any major problems in the past two months."

Chapter 182 Summer, Report: Ronan is still the most comfortable.

July is already summer. Although Xinhai City, located near the Mediterranean Sea, is not as hot as the northern part of the Southern Continent, it is still not cool at all, with daytime temperatures reaching 31 or 32 degrees Celsius.

The wealthy wore brightly colored silk short-sleeved robes, well-tailored capri trousers, and black leather sandals. Those with little money wore cotton short-sleeved shirts, loose cotton shorts, and straw sandals. As for the poorest people at the bottom of society, they simply covered themselves with a piece of hemp cloth, tied a rope around their waist, and had no trousers or shoes.

The first thing I did on my first day back at work was, of course, to see Dinya.

Dinya changed her hairstyle again. Now her hair is combed back and tied into a loose French braid, with a simple bow tied at the end with a red ribbon.

She wore a white silk-cotton blend short-sleeved long dress and a pair of off-white square-toed chunky-heeled sandals with ankle straps, revealing only her heels and insteps, not her toes.

Dinya's feet were truly white and smooth; even without stockings, there wasn't a single flaw to be seen.

Her ruby-like eyes glared at Ronan, reminding him to tone it down.

Ronan looked up as if nothing had happened.

Dinia sat back down in the chair behind her desk, tapping her fingers on the surface. "You've been making quite a splash in the capital, my Secretary-General."

"Well, the situation forced us to this, there was no other way," Ronan explained with a wry smile.

“Speak,” Dinia said, as if interrogating someone.

Ronan's smile faded. "Madam Mayor, don't you already know?"

Dinia raised her hand and cast a spell, instantly sealing off the entire office with red mushrooms, isolating it from the outside world. "I know nothing except that you have become the future king consort."

"Ha, so you knew about the king's plan all along. You knew all along but kept it from me, just to make me jump into the fire?" Ronan didn't care about anything else and wanted to take the initiative first.

"You, I... I didn't mean that." Dinia felt somewhat guilty after Ronan's words, but for a moment she didn't know how to explain.

"Oh well, it's already like this." Ronan looked helpless, as if he had been wronged.

Dinia rubbed her temples. "Since we're so far apart, you should write more letters."

"You don't need to worry about that," Ronan said with a smile. "After all, I'll tell you later."

"Hmm?" Dinia's curiosity was piqued.

"Don't rush, let me tell you about my time in the capital first." Ronan began to recount his experiences in the capital over the past month.

It all started when that local thug led him to a shady hotel run by the church.

“Ha, that’s normal.” Dinia was full of disdain for the church.

Although she was appointed as the Apostle of the Church, the reasons for this were complicated. Years ago, when she led a group of mages westward to the supply fleet of Weyland, she killed a regional bishop who was colluding with the enemy. The Church naturally believed that this person deserved to die, but the Dinia had shown too much disrespect to the Church. Even if a member of the Church deserved to die, it was up to the Church to deal with him. The King did not have the authority to do so.

So when Dinia returned in triumph, a rumor began to circulate: a group of ignorant people regarded her as the reincarnation of a saint, and even some heretical sects in Weyland considered her a saint. This rumor was fabricated and spread by the Church.

Then Dinia resigned from all her public office, and the church immediately began to praise her loudly and even appointed her as an apologist.

Ronan continued his narration, mentioning that he met Isabelle, met Ambrina, met three secretaries, and was then summoned by the King.

Next came the Secretary-General's exam, followed by the story of how he was framed, arrested, and how he managed to deceive Count Aquitaine while in prison.

“You, you really are…” Dinia didn’t know how to describe it for a moment.

"Actually, it wasn't that I easily fooled him with a few words. Rather, he already thought the Third Princess's chances were slim and had been looking for a clear path, so when I pointed him in the right direction, he believed me."

Ronan said.

Count Aquitaine wasn't exceptionally clever, but he wasn't truly stupid either. In fact, the truly stupid are not so easily fooled.

"After that, it was about me, the King, and Ambrina. In short, I learned about the King's scheme."

Ronan said that even now, he is still somewhat surprised.

This king must be out of his mind to come up with such a crooked idea.

“I was very surprised when I first heard it,” Dinia said. “I just didn’t expect that you would be chosen. When I brought Ambrina here, I thought that with her personality and interests, she wouldn’t like a civil servant like you who is full of lies and accustomed to flattery.”

Ronan gave a knowing smile. "Ha, if I were really just a liar and a sycophantic civil servant, the mayor would have kicked me out long ago. Would I even have the chance to meet Her Highness the Princess?"

"Before I left, Isabel came to see me, and we watched a play... I must say, although she has some extremely radical ideas, she understands the suffering of the lower classes and has done some practical things. I'm not just talking about putting on a stage play." Ronan brought up Isabel again.

Dinia didn't speak. Back then, she was nominally just the private tutor of Princess Marian, but she also taught Isabel. In fact, she spent more time with Isabel. It was during the period when she was gradually moving from youthful impulsiveness to maturity, but it was also the period when Isabel was moving from naivety to the adolescence of daring to stand up to the world.

She always felt that she bore an undeniable responsibility for Isabelle's transformation.

“And now, about Ambrina,” Ronan continued. “I’ve given her two plans, and they’re like this… This is going to cost me a fortune, so if anyone reports me in the next two years, Madam Mayor, please ignore them.”

Dinia was both annoyed and amused. "Do you need to tell me? In the two months you've been gone, the letters reporting you have piled up like a mountain. If I cared, you should be in jail right now."

"I was just saying that. We're comrades who've been through thick and thin together. By the way, do you still have the letter of denunciation?" Ronan smiled, but then a hint of murderous intent flashed across his face. Damn it, how dare they report me.

Dinia's face turned cold. "Don't even think about revenge."

“How could I possibly retaliate? If I did, I would lose, and you would lose too. They weren’t trying to bring me down with a mere whistleblower letter; they were trying to undermine your impartiality.”

"I'm planning to pick out a few completely false ones, and you'll come out to refute them and demonstrate fairness. Then I'll pick out a few that are somewhat true, and you'll promote them."

"After that, I'll randomly pick a few unlucky people and have someone report them."

"As a result, this group will inevitably become suspicious of each other, and naturally, they will fall apart."

Ronan explained the other party's intentions and the corresponding strategy.

“Alright, I’ll leave the matter to you,” Dinia said. When Ronan wasn’t around, dealing with these civil servants felt like wearing a pair of high heels that were constantly rubbing her feet; it was always uncomfortable. Even Mrs. Antari could only offer temporary relief. But as soon as Ronan returned, she felt much better.

“You should tell me what really happened between you and Ambrina,” Dinia said, still preoccupied with the question.

Chapter 183 Job Leveling, Job Changes, and Awkward Moments in Life

Hearing that Dinia had entrusted the matter to him, Ronan was slightly pleased. The familiar feeling was back; he could once again be "loyal" to the mayor, recharge his shield, and incidentally increase his magic power and magic intensity by a tiny bit.

In a cheerful mood, Ronan stood up and stretched. "Actually, it's just that Ambrina's magic has advanced, and the details are quite amazing..."

He gave Dinia a general description of Ambrina's magic, though Ronan omitted some important details.

The magic of fate is not as strict as the oath of heaven, so it does not violate the principle of "sincerity". After all, human memory is limited, and the ability to express oneself is even more limited. It is impossible to say everything you know, right?

As long as it's not a complete concealment, it can't be considered dishonesty; it's just incomplete expression.

“We can see each other for fifteen minutes every day, so you don’t need to worry.”