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The approach in northern Guangdong was similar, except that they had already contacted patriotic individuals in Hunan.
Western Guangdong is a similar model, but with a bigger slogan, claiming to be independent.
At first, it really surprised the committee members.
However, after reading their manifesto and learning what they had done, the crowd could only express on behalf of the deceased that they were emotionally stable.
Simply put, these poor bastards from outside the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong are envious of the Pearl River Delta region. So, before the enlarged meeting was held, they staged this rebellion and recruitment drama, hoping to enter the committee and become a member of the rebel group. If they are not allowed to enter, they will continue to declare rebellion.
They won't actually rebel, but this approach is enough to create widespread panic and severely damage the economy.
The annual leave will continue until after the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the lunar calendar, while the expanded meeting will not be held until the 20th.
On the seventh day, Luo Nan was still on vacation at home. Somewhat impatient, Chairman Zhao Jun quietly entered through a side door once again to consult with Luo Nan in person.
He wouldn't ask the other members of the committee; he didn't trust them. As for his advisors, he had asked them, but each of them offered some kind of best, middle, or worst advice.
Finally, after much deliberation, Zhao Jun decided to ask Ronan.
In fact, his advisors advised him not to do this, because by doing so, he was inadvertently weakening his own authority and expanding Ronan's power.
But Zhao Jun was in a hurry. None of his advisors had a clear answer. If he didn't ask Ronan, who else could he ask?
The staff members also had a bitter pill to swallow. If they gave the right answer, wouldn't they be the ones to take the blame later?
Zhao Jun didn't even drink his tea before speaking directly, "Mr. Luo, what should we do now? Should we spread the word and hint to them that we can let them in?"
"Sigh, there are bad people in there," Ronan sighed.
Zhao Jun has made terrible choices in personnel, so what are you saying that's completely irrelevant?
Seeing that Zhao Junyong couldn't keep up with his train of thought, Ronan shook his head and became serious. "Accepting them is possible, and it could even be said that it was necessary in the first place, but not now, and not in the future either."
"There are two reasons. First, if making a fuss brings benefits, then everyone will follow suit, and we can't let that precedent be set."
"Secondly, there are too many of them; where are we going to find enough seats for them?"
"And to put it bluntly, didn't they get a chance during the previous six months of war? All they did was go through the motions without putting in any effort, they weren't patriotic at all, and they didn't know how to actively align themselves with the great Party, oh no, I mean the Committee. Now they want to make progress? Damn it, is it better to have a late revolution than an early revolution, and a counter-revolution better than a late revolution? Damn it, our Committee will not allow such a thing to happen, am I right, Chairman?"
“Yes, that makes sense.” Zhao Jun said repeatedly, not just echoing Ronan, but because he truly believed it.
In his heart, he already considered himself the future emperor, so his mentality was "If I don't give it to you, you can't take it." That's why he couldn't listen to his advisors and insisted on coming to Ronan. They all advised him to compromise.
Damn it, Zhao Junyong has already compromised with that damned foreign devil Ronan, and now he wants to compromise with a bunch of useless trash? Is he still Chairman?
"Therefore, we must resolutely crack down on these traitors. They don't even respect the Chairman; they're no ordinary rebels. We must strike hard!" Ronan said, raising his fist. "Isn't that right, Your Excellency?"
Zhao Jun felt that the word "Your Excellency" sounded a bit off. He nodded, then quickly shook his head. "Well, they..." He actually wanted to say that those few officials were fine, since they were originally government officials from other provinces. But most of them were deeply entrenched in their local areas. If they were removed, firstly, Guangdong itself would suffer a great loss of vitality, and secondly, the power vacuum would be difficult to fill in a short time.
"So I didn't say it in the first place, did I? There are bad people in the committee." Ronan repeated what he had said at the beginning.
"Huh?" Zhao Jun still didn't understand.
Ronan sighed. The young man was still too naive; he couldn't even understand what he was saying.
Left with no other option, Ronan had to explain, "First, we publicly declare that we are absolutely loyal to the court. However, there are some traitors within our ranks who are waving the banner of patriotism against the country. It is precisely because of the existence of these traitors that some patriotic individuals in the local area have misunderstood our committee."
"Secondly, although the actions of the local people are out of patriotism and loyalty, there are also bad people among them. These bad people collude with the bad people within our committee and try to undermine the excellent situation and glorious image of Guangdong. They must conduct self-examination and take the initiative to report."
After Ronan finished speaking, Zhao Jun was stunned, but he understood.
This kills two birds with one stone. First, it eliminates dissidents within the committee and implies to those people that they can be recruited.
Secondly, while appeasement is possible, it cannot be done indiscriminately. Instigating infighting among troublemakers and successfully defeating others, even if someone rises to power and joins the committee, will damage their image and make it impossible for them to maintain such a strong influence over the local area.
"What a brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone!" Zhao Jun couldn't help but say, while inwardly sighing, "If only my advisors were half as good as Ronan."
Ronan waved his hand. "Actually, this is the only way we can do it. Chairman, you have to understand one thing: we must turn most of these rebels into good people. Otherwise, we will really have no choice but to eliminate them, because we are irreconcilable enemies with bad people. By the way, the key is to keep the power to judge good and bad in our own hands. That little trick we just used was just a minor one. Don't focus your attention on it."
Although Zhao Junyong was merely a pawn, Ronan still made some gestures, which could be considered as doing his utmost.
Ronan has always been kind-hearted and hopes the other person can walk the right path.
"Ha, Mr. Luo's vision has truly enlightened me." Zhao Jun said with a grateful tone. However, as a somewhat impatient young man, he still admired Ronan more for turning crisis into opportunity and effortlessly employing methods to eliminate internal dissidents and dismantle the opposing camp.
"It's nothing. Your Excellency Chairman, please gather the others in a moment and then issue the order."
Ronan added.
Zhao Jun was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Ronan to not take any credit at all. "Mr. Ronan, really..."
"It's nothing, just doing my bit for prosperity and stability. What use is public opinion to me? This is what you need," Ronan said with a smile.
Zhao Jun nodded, "That's really true."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Zhao Junyong left.
He left, and Dinia arrived shortly after.
Chapter 1002 The Magician Goes to the Construction Site, Not Enough Cake, Didi's Roll Call
"Was this something you expected?" Dinia asked.
“No,” Ronan replied. “I thought I would need some pushers to stir things up before they would jump out, but I didn’t expect them to be so proactive. I can only say that I underestimated the Seres’ pursuit of power and wealth, and I also underestimated their decisiveness.”
“It seems that they are not going to escape this calamity no matter what,” Dinia said, as she couldn’t help but recall how Ronan had manipulated the bureaucrats, nobles, and priests of the Kingdom of Phos back then.
"There's no way around it. The cake has gotten bigger, but there are also more people who can eat it in big bites. We can't do without eliminating some of them."
"This is just a minor issue."
"The real problem is to prevent newcomers from having too big an appetite."
The real problem Ronan faced was figuring out how to prevent the new recruits from overeating. The idea of using rebellion to seek amnesty seemed impressive, but it was nothing more than pointless fuss, a minor issue that could be easily resolved with a wave of the hand.
"How do you plan to resolve this?" Dinia asked.
“We’ve actually already started preparing for this issue,” Ronan said, holding up a finger. “Didi, do you know that throughout history, after the end of a chaotic era and the establishment of a new dynasty, Seris has always implemented a policy of allowing farmers to reclaim wasteland and then granting them certain tax exemptions?”
“I know, and then?” Dinia asked.
"Those we've endowed with talent, those who have strayed from the lesser magic methods, should be guided to learn elemental magic as much as possible, rather than the Seris training method, which is better suited for one-on-one killing. Elemental magic still has a great advantage in engineering. As long as they are willing to do it, we should give them preferential treatment. For example, if a construction company builds a bridge, they are considered the construction machinery and also the company's shareholders. They make money during the project, and they share in the profits from subsequent projects."
Ronan offered an explanation.
"Why would they be willing to learn elemental magic and act as engineering machines?" Dinia questioned.
Ronan calmly sipped his tea. "First of all, if they want to be given a talent, they have to sign a contract. If they want to learn elemental magic, the fee will be relatively lower, but it will still be charged, and it will definitely be beyond their ability to pay. Of course, they don't have the money, so we will lend it to them. Doesn't a loan have interest? In order to repay their student loans, the best thing for them is to choose elemental magic, then become a construction engineer, pay off their debts, become a merchant, or change careers to become an administrative officer, or something else, it's all fine."
"I've just listed the best options; it's up to them to choose."
"As for those whose parents are already superhumans, they naturally don't want to go down this path. We can just take a hefty cut of their money, since they can only inherit their parents' things anyway."
Ronan is still the same Ronan; everything was planned in advance.
Dinia sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. "But even so, I'm afraid it's still not enough."
She meant that there still wasn't enough cake to go around.
Ronan smiled slightly. "Heh, once the committee expands and occupies several provinces, do you think it will remain as moderate as it is now? Even if I wanted to be moderate, others wouldn't allow it."
The wealthy and powerful people in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian are nothing more than slightly richer paupers compared to those in Jiangnan and the Central Plains.
Ironically, since there was no national policy of prohibiting maritime trade in this world, the people of Guangxi, Guangdong, and even Fujian, although poorer than those in Jiangnan and the Central Plains, had a very broad knowledge base. They understood Islam, the Seven Saints Religion, and were clear about what the Middle East and the West were like. They also had an unparalleled understanding of Annam, a country ruled by the Seres, whose political system seemed primitive yet had been able to maintain its vitality for a long time.
Furthermore, they are also very clear about the situation in India.
Even Ronan underestimated them at first, thinking that the promotion of farmers' associations, labor unions, and the farmers' banks and commercial banks that maintain them would face greater resistance, but the reality was not so.
Their values are already different, and their economic models have also changed since Ronan arrived. It is foreseeable that after the committee occupies these three provinces and the number of superhumans within them expands to a certain extent, serious contradictions and conflicts will inevitably erupt once they begin to move north.
Revolution is inevitable, and so is the killing that accompanies it.
The timeless truth is that if fewer people eat, there will be enough cake to go around.
“How about leaving this suppression of the rebellion to me?” Dinia suddenly said.
The truth has been revealed; she came to find Ronan, clearly for this very reason.
"Are you going to blast fish in the pond?" Ronan joked.
After the death of Lavini, a combat-type AI, in a one-on-one fight, there might not be any superhuman who could stand against her.
If Ronan remembers correctly, there is only one seventh-level settler in Guangdong, living in Leizhou, which is close to Qiongzhou. This person has no interest in worldly affairs and did not participate in the previous annihilation battle against the other Ronan. Ronan and his group have been here for so long and have changed the appearance of Guangdong, but he has not shown his face to ask a single question.
Everyone else, except for this person, is a fish in front of Dinia.
Dinia said calmly, "After the New Year, I have to go to another world to take her place for a while. Before I leave, I'll make one last contribution. Although the superhuman community knows our strength, rumors can't compare to experiencing it firsthand, can they?"
I think you've just been out of practice for a while and are itching to fish. Although that's what he was thinking, Ronan certainly wouldn't say it out loud. "Alright, go ahead. Need any help?"
"It's just a demonstration, and I'll just convey what I want to convey. No assistance is needed. I'll call out the names of all the fourth-level and above superhumans one by one."
Dinia spoke in a nonchalant tone.
What a convenient way to call out names one by one!
"Won't they even name names from within the committee?" Ronan asked.
“Of course, this is to eliminate internal troubles. How can we not show them?” Dinia retorted. In fact, she didn’t really know anything about some of the “bad guys” outside the committee, but she knew very well about some of the people inside.
"Well, it seems Bai Li Kui is making a comeback." Ronan could only sigh like that.
“I don’t kill people, and besides, killing first and then saving doesn’t count as killing,” Dinia stated.
Dinia then took her leave and began her roll call.
The next morning, Wang Sizheng came to visit.
“Brother Luo, what kind of mess is this? I was eating hotpot and singing when your wife suddenly appeared out of nowhere and beat me up right in front of my wife and kids. We’re half-brothers, after all.” Wang Si was pouring out his grievances to Luo Nan.
“Brother, do you think I can control her? She used to be my boss. She was the prime minister, and I was just a chief eunuch. When she gets angry, she can punch the pope three times. You know the pope, right? He’s the one from our side.” As he spoke, Ronan gave a thumbs up.
"Sigh, brother, you marry a virtuous wife and take concubines based on looks, what's wrong with you?" Wang Sizheng couldn't help but sigh.
Ronan was taken aback. "Well, An Li is my wife. You know your wife, right?"
"Ah, this..." Wang Si was just realizing that Dinia was not Ronan's wife.
The 1003rd operation, a call to arms against traitors, unfortunately failed to escalate.
Two days after the roll call began, in a villa in Meizhou.
With a wave of her left hand, Dinia unleashed a torrent of tentacle-like red threads that grew and coalesced into a standing red and black cross. The cross then produced a rope formed from the twisted red threads, which dragged the man, who was lying on the ground unable to get up, up and pinned him to the cross.
The man's bones were shattered, his body torn apart by internal strife, and his head drooped. If he hadn't been a fifth-tier superhuman, he would have been dead by now.
Picking up the earring that had been knocked off during the fight, Dinia sighed with heartache. It was a gift from Ronan. Then she took out a small notebook from her pocket, flipped through it, and turned to the name of the man currently fixed to the cross: Yu Chengye. She also noted some information about him, and at the very end, the two most striking words were: "Killable."
The reason why this guy can be killed is simple: he controls the supply of clay and limestone in Guangdong, and he likes to raise prices, which seriously affects the ceramic industry and engineering construction in Guangdong.
However, he can still repent and return to his patriotism, so he is only punishable by death.
There are quite a few more people on the list who are marked as "damned".
Dinia calmly put away her notebook, swung her warhammer, and smashed Yu Chengye's head to pieces with one blow.
When she saw that this guy had killed so many miners and didn't care about human life at all, she had already sentenced him to death.
After killing the person, Dinia left a piece of paper. It wasn't a claim that she was the killer, but rather a propaganda slogan. It was Ronan's version that there were bad people inside the committee, and there were also many bad people outside the committee, but most of them were patriotic good people.
Then he swaggered away.
The operation was less than halfway through. She visited every person in Guangdong who was at least at the fourth rank and considered someone of importance. Most of them were just for sparring; some were beaten to a pulp and then treated, while others, like Yu Chengye just now, were simply killed.
In just a few days, Dinya's name had spread throughout Guangdong.
However, the superhumans in Guangdong didn't take it too seriously. First, Dinia didn't care about people below the fourth level, and most superhumans didn't even have that level. Second, even among those at the fourth level and above, only a minority were killed.
This devilish Mrs. Dee was neither indiscriminate nor intolerant of any wrongdoing.
Some astute individuals have even discerned clues from the identities of the few deceased: those killed fall into three categories. The first category consists of individuals with significant economic influence who are at odds with the committee; the second category comprises individuals with a long history of crimes committed by themselves or their subordinates; and the third category comprises individuals who possess both of the first two traits.
More importantly, there are "rebellions" everywhere in Guangdong now. Dinya is killing people in the name of respecting the imperial court and eliminating traitors. At the very least, those killed are "bad people among the masses". Who would dare to object to this?
Since that's the case, let's do it that way. Anyway, I'm not qualified to be a "traitor" yet.
Most people are not afraid, but some are terrified.
On the morning of the tenth day of the lunar month, in a courtyard house in Foshan.
Yang Hao stepped out of the room and stretched lazily.
He was originally from the Ship Country, a descendant of the Seres people. Although countless generations had passed, and he was born and raised on ships, he knew nothing about Seres anymore, yet he still bore the name Seres. He had come here with Ronan, initially in a technical position, but later, due to his management skills, he rose to a management role, and is now an important leader in the steel industry's management department.
Within Ronan's team, he was nothing special, but to the average person, he was already a person of high rank and power whom they had to look up to.
In just a few years, he has adapted to life here and is among the fastest to integrate. He has also started a family and has two concubines and children.
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