Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 344

After a long while, once Liu Menglong's excitement had subsided, Ronan asked again, "Another piece of good news?"

"Chen Zuolin is gone," Liu Menglong replied, feeling exceptionally pleased that from now on he was the true leader of Foshan.

Chapter 796 Every day feels like New Year's Day, something's wrong with Seris, whose beauty can only be described in poetry.

The year 1610 passed, and the year 1611 arrived in March.

Since the Lunar New Year, Liu Menglong, the Assistant Magistrate of Foshan Coastal Defense Subprefecture, has felt like he's celebrating the New Year every day.

Luo Nan and his group withdrew from the decision-making level and no longer directly participated in Foshan's politics. The work of the advisor was taken over by the staff team that Liu Menglong hired from Jiangnan.

Liu Menglong himself did not have Luo Nan's entrepreneurial skills, nor did he have Luo Nan's ability to bring together officials, merchants, and gentry. However, he was still capable of taking over a mature "enterprise." After all, he came from a prominent family in Jiangnan, whose family business was very large. He had been influenced by his family since childhood.

Now, he is the real big boss, the person in charge of Foshan.

In the entire Guangdong province, apart from the Guangdong Governor, who holds a certain level of military power, the Provincial Treasurer, who is in charge of civil affairs and the economy, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the highest judicial official, the Provincial Education Commissioner, who supervises and assesses the teaching of superhumans and mortals in academies and martial arts schools in various places, and the Admiral of the Navy, who is the military commander in charge of the Guangzhou Navy, there are only five people in total.

Next up is Liu Menglong.

This was even more joyful than passing the imperial examination or getting married. Liu Menglong was so happy that he took a concubine.

Madam Zhao, who was pregnant, was fine, but Zhao Yingqi was furious. He openly and secretly criticized Liu Menglong for taking a concubine while his wife was pregnant, calling him a despicable person.

Madam Zhao simply smiled at this.

That evening, Astrid dragged Zhao Yingqi and Yang Nian out to dinner. After dinner, the three of them went for a walk by the river.

As they walked, Astrid pulled her best friend closer and reminded her, "There's a saying in Seris: 'Don't meddle with strangers.' Yingqi, that's their family matter."

"Besides, that old man has tons of women, and you don't seem to mind, do you? Don't be hypocritical."

Zhao Yingqi was furious when he heard this and argued, "It's different here. Everyone is free and has their own career. Nobody stays cooped up in a house all day."

"Pah, the old man just makes people work like slaves for him." Astrid said with complete disdain.

"Then why didn't I work like a slave?" Zhao Yingqi retorted.

Astrid smiled mischievously, "Because you have no special skills, you can only be ridden like a horse, not used as a laborer."

"Astrid, die!" Zhao Yingqi was furious when he heard this and pounced on him to hit him.

"Tsk tsk, can't hit her, sigh, can't hit her, sigh, just playing around." Astrid spoke in a tone she had picked up from some northern merchant, mocking and dodging at the same time. Even with Zhao Yingqi using his semi-fusion form, the second-tier Zhao Yingqi still couldn't touch her at all.

Yang Nian could only watch from the sidelines.

She's still just an outsider.

Although she was just an outsider, she really enjoyed the atmosphere.

Compared to her previous desire to integrate out of a mix of self-preservation and revenge, she now genuinely wants to integrate. This is because Ronan's group of people are skilled in political maneuvering and economics, and they strangely possess the kind of human warmth and affection that only exists in families that are content with modest wealth. This is what Yang Nian, who was abandoned as an infant and whose only relative, who was like a sister and mother to her, has lost, longed for most.

At this moment, Astrid suddenly provoked Yang Nian, "Little dwarf, you come along too."

"You long loofah!" Yang Nian cursed and joined the fray.

At the same time, Ronan and Dinah were also taking a walk.

Dinia brushed a strand of hair from her forehead that had been ruffled by the wind. "Lily seems to be in a good mood lately; she hasn't been arguing with Elena anymore."

"How did you know?" Ronan asked curiously.

Dinia smiled to herself, “Elena doesn’t scold her anymore when we’re playing cards.”

"Ha." Ronan couldn't help but chuckle. Sure enough, his mother and daughter were rivals in love from a past life. "That's right, she's recently made a new friend and has also managed to get in touch with Seris's cultivation method."

"That little girl Yang Nian, speaking of her, I'm curious how you plan to deal with her?" Dinia asked.

Ronan casually picked up a pebble and skipped it across the water ten times in a row. "Why should I deal with her? She's just a kid. Let her do whatever she wants."

“I thought you were planning to have her win over,” Dinia said.

Ronan looked helpless and asked, "Am I that kind of person, going to sleep with every woman I see?"

“You may not have any ideas, but she might,” Dinia said.

“Kids don’t understand, they just want someone to rely on. Besides, these are troublesome times, I don’t have time to play with kids,” Ronan said, his gaze becoming serious.

Dinia nodded. "That's true. The Seris leadership is too strange. Although Foshan hasn't experienced any chaos and is even more prosperous, our identities are now completely unspoken by all parties. Seris hasn't expressed the slightest attitude, which is too abnormal. Unless something has reached a critical moment and they don't want any variables, they simply choose to ignore it."

“Yes,” Ronan responded, completely agreeing with Dinia’s guess.

"Let's not talk about that. I recently discovered a small shop about an hour's drive from here. Their rice wine is quite good. The shopkeeper said they'll be getting a batch of yellow croaker in the next couple of days, and it tastes alright." Dinia suggested going for a drink.

“Then let’s go,” Ronan agreed.

Dinya had just finished dinner and was about to start drinking again, but that's just how she is. She can't eat much when she's eating a proper meal, but when she drinks, her appetite increases dramatically.

The two walked slowly for an hour, until it was late at night. They entered a small alley, which suddenly became brightly lit and noisy.

A small shop with seven or eight tables, old but clean.

There was no signboard, no menu, and the tables were filled with cheap fish, shrimp, and crabs. Yes, cheap stuff, especially yellow croaker. These days, it's something poor fishermen and hardworking laborers eat. Respectable people don't eat these kinds of things.

Ronan and Dinia sat down, leaving only one table empty in the shop.

"Bring three catties of rice wine first," Diniya ordered.

The rice wine in this small shop isn't exactly top-notch, but it's pure grain liquor, so it's not bad. As for the three jin (1.5 kg), that's just enough to soothe Ms. Di's throat.

The wine was served first, followed by a large plate of boiled shrimp.

Ronan conscientiously began peeling shrimp for Ms. Di, of course, peeling two for himself and eating one.

Soon after, the steamed flower crab was served. At the same time, two more people entered the restaurant, two women, who attracted even more attention than when Ronan and Dinia, the two foreigners, came in.

The one on the left is unremarkable.

The one on the right was extremely eye-catching. She was a head taller than Ronan, probably over 1.9 meters. She wore a black and red outfit, with a fox fur cloak, a wide belt cinching her waist, wrist guards, a long skirt and trousers, and black cloth boots. Even though her lower body was relatively loose, you could still tell that she had incredibly long legs. This outfit was very much like the attire of a so-called ancient-style female knight-errant from Ronan's era.

She has excellent body proportions.

She wore her hair up with a crown, but not entirely like the men of Seres. Instead, her hair was parted in the middle, with two long strands framing her face and cascading down her back. Her eyebrows and eyes were very heroic, but her delicate nose and red lips added a touch of femininity.

This woman's beauty can only be described through poetry.

Chapter 797 Breakfast and Early Drinking, Old Fool, Maybe I'm overthinking it.

While others only noticed the woman's unusual height and beauty, Ronan and Dinia also noticed her strength.

Fifth rank is a level that most extraordinary individuals cannot reach in their entire lives.

Extraordinary power has the effect of slowing down aging. The higher the rank, the slower the aging process. If one can achieve immortality, like Ronan and his group, aging will stop completely. However, before the end of their lifespan, they need to use a soul transfer technique to change their body and then assimilate to achieve rebirth.

Ronan and Dinia didn't even need to take this step, because the original power represented almost endless life force.

The woman at the next table looked to be in her early twenties. Although she was definitely older than that, it was enough to show that she was at least a genius of the same level as Golan. She had completed her first qualitative change, that is, advanced to the third tier, in her early twenties.

She is only slightly inferior to someone like Dinia, who reached the fifth rank before the age of twenty, or a peerless genius like Astrid.

While Ronan and Dinia were curiously observing the woman, the woman also glanced at Ronan and Dinia. The reason was obvious: they couldn't discern each other's strength at all. Apart from special methods, there was only one other possibility: the other party's cultivation level was higher than their own.

The woman glanced at it only once and then paid no more attention.

Alongside this extremely tall woman, the young girl, who was probably quite young, had a much more interesting and varied expression. She had likely never even seen anyone with the cultivation level of Ronan and Dinia.

However, the young girl didn't look at it much, nor did she say much.

"Mr. Lu, it's been a long time." The boss came over to greet him personally.

The tall woman picked up a bag and placed it on the table, saying, "Hmm, long time no see. Make this, and a couple of side dishes, and two servings of congee."

The woman's accent was clearly not from this region, but from the north. Her voice was like a drop of water falling into a basin in the still of the night, low and clear, much like the voice of a late-night radio anchor in Ronan's original timeline.

She is beautiful, and her voice is beautiful too.

"No problem," the shopkeeper agreed, picking up the cloth bag to look inside. Inside was a large golden-ringed sea serpent, a rare and enormous creature that was also venomous.

It has the smooth texture of snake meat and the sweetness of seafood.

He definitely wouldn't sell them in a small shop like that, because they're too difficult to catch and too expensive.

The two women cut in line and their dishes were served in no time. A large snake was prepared in three ways: steamed with black bean sauce and then drizzled with peanut oil; stir-fried over high heat with diced cuts; and finally sliced ​​thinly and poached in chicken broth, served with the broth.

The two side dishes were really just small dishes: braised edamame and cold shredded lettuce.

The two women didn't say a word the whole time; they finished their meal, paid the bill, and left.

Dinia and Ronan drank until midnight before leaving when the club changed staff.

This is a shop that starts operating at night, changes staff midway through the day, and continues until the morning selling breakfast and early drinks.

Although Foshan is not a port city, it is because of its developed river transport that it has become what it is today. In addition, there were already signs of capitalism here, and Luo Nan added fuel to the fire, resulting in a large number of workers unloading goods in the middle of the night and working night shifts.

Thus, these kinds of spots came into being, catering to those who finished get off work late at night and to night shift workers who finished their morning shift. The night shift workers would come over for a bite to eat, have a few drinks, and then go home for a good night's sleep.

On the way home, as they were walking, Dinia suddenly looked up and kicked Ronan in the butt. If Ronan hadn't been so experienced at being kicked, he would have landed in a spectacular fashion, leaving three long ditches on the dirt road.

Ronan rubbed his bottom. "Didi, that's going too far."

"Is that too much? Who is it that's staring so hard their eyes are hard?" Dinia said, teasingly, since her eyes were indeed hard; she was referring to Ronan's erection.

"I'm just taking a look, and I'll think about it some more," Ronan said, expressing his innocence.

He's 1.8 meters tall, which isn't particularly tall, but it's really not easy for him to give off the feeling of driving a big truck.

Dinia squinted and uttered a disdainful curse: "The older you get, the more lewd you become."

I originally thought it was just a minor, unexpected incident.

But to his utter surprise, two months later, in May, Ronan saw the woman again.

Moreover, it is related to Liu Menglong.

Simply put, Liu Menglong, along with seven or eight other officials, including this tall woman who is the General of Guangxi, will set off together in late June, taking the same route north to the capital to participate in the grand winter solstice ceremony.

This was the first time Ronan had ever heard of a grand sacrifice.

According to Liu Menglong, this was a ceremony held every five years, in which the emperor led his officials to the Temple of Heaven in Luoyang to offer sacrifices to Heaven.

This sacrificial ceremony to Heaven is not merely a ritualistic formality; there are real benefits to be gained after the sacrifice. It is a ceremony that has continued for a thousand years, spanning several dynasties, only ceasing during periods of war. The annual sacrificial ceremony held at the Temple of Heaven outside the capital is simply a formality.

Perhaps this was the first time since the young new emperor ascended the throne that he had specially summoned some local officials.

"Brother Liu, I estimate that Your Majesty will inquire about Foshan and about us at that time."

Ronan said to Liu Menglong.

"Then, in Brother Luo's opinion, how should we deal with this?" Liu Menglong asked, his tone flat, even tinged with impatience. In the past six months, since he had truly taken power, his relationship with Luo Nan had become somewhat distant.

It wasn't a case of crossing the river and then burning the bridge; rather, Luo Nan had remained silent and not sided with Liu Menglong on several occasions when he tried to rectify the "unhealthy practices" in officialdom and among the people. Furthermore, Liu Menglong and his team of advisors were no match for the group of officials in Foshan who acted as representatives of various interest groups in Guangdong.

Despite Chen Zuolin's departure, Foshan's officials are actually more united than before, thanks to the promise of a "bright future," and their ties with businessmen and gentry are even closer.

Liu Menglong's advisors were well-versed in the ways of officialdom and also understood economics. After all, they were advisors from Jiangnan. However, they couldn't withstand the dirty tricks of these officials who would directly use "a few bowls of cold noodles" against them. They were personal, not businessmen. They were advisors, not people who would risk their lives for him. Faced with this kind of behavior, they could only be helpless.

Liu Menglong himself didn't have Ronan's ability to distort the truth and call a deer a horse, so he could only endure it.

"Of course, you should answer whatever His Majesty the Emperor asks, Brother Liu. After all, Chen Zuolin is most likely one of the Emperor's men."

Ronan replied in this way.

"Before I get back, I'll leave Foshan to you," Liu Menglong said helplessly. Luo Nan was certainly not a good person, but the officials in Foshan were even worse.

“There’s still a month left, Brother Liu. Why don’t you write home and ask for some experts to guard you? I think this grand ceremony might not be so peaceful,” Ronan said. His reasoning was simple: the ruins of the otherworldly beings were in Luoyang.

Liu Menglong laughed, "Ha, even if there's trouble, it won't affect a nobody like me, especially since my master is here."

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it," Ronan chuckled. There was no point in saying more; if things went wrong in the future, he'd be criticized for not planning ahead enough; if nothing went wrong, he'd be criticized for being too talkative.

Chapter 798 The Grand Sacrifice to Heaven: The Hot Weather and the Helplessness of Being a Foreigner

In late June, it was time to set off.

Madam Zhao is already eight months pregnant and will give birth soon, while his eldest daughter is only two years old and it is impossible for him to take her with him on the journey.

Liu Menglong planned to set off with his old servant Zhuo Lao, several servants who had always followed him, a few guards, and his newly acquired concubine.

His wife and daughter were temporarily entrusted to Ronan's care.

Other officials simply did not have family members with them.

In the Wei Dynasty, most officials of a higher rank were appointed to posts in other regions. It was rare for someone like Liu Menglong to reach such a rank at such a young age. Usually, their children were already adults, so they did not bring their families when they came to take up their posts.

Strictly speaking, there was one exception in Liu Menglong's group: the tall woman who had met Ronan and Dinia before, Lu Jianling, the General of Guangxi. She brought a relative with her; the young girl was her subordinate and also her niece.

This is normal.

David's core elite guards mainly came from small landowners in Hebei, Henan, Shandong and other places who were allowed to engage in manor economy.