Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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With Marcus, that old fox, gone, Carl lost his support, and his system naturally couldn't continue.

"Is it for real or just a joke?" Dinia asked again.

Dinia asked whether they were really planning something big, or just trying to put out a rumor to discourage Marcus.

“Of course it’s true,” Ronan said. “Setting up a steel plant on the western coast is beneficial for exports. The natural conditions in Wieland are too good. It’s an island nation with both coal and iron. We must compete with them, even if it means incurring losses in the early stages.”

Ronan had this plan in mind for a while, but he wasn't in a rush. This time, he used it to strike at that old fox, Marcus.

As long as there is another channel for coal imports, coal prices will no longer be able to be raised at will.

“Alright, that’s settled then,” Dinia decided.

This morning, there were both farmers' association and labor union representatives, but it's finally resolved.

In the afternoon, Ronan and Dinia went to the Technical Research Department to check on the progress of the research on the red bead.

The special advisor, Caterpillar, Canaan, the child Dinia picked up, Karl's wife, Lena, and Noah, the human biology expert "Suturing Master," are all present.

To Ronan and Dinia's surprise, the results were in a week.

According to Noah, the red bead has a very simple and crude method of use: eat it. Eating it will enable children who originally had no magical talent to develop magical talent.

"It's a pity there are only a little over two hundred in total, and we even broke more than twenty of them during our research," Canaan said. "Otherwise, we could have just used them."

The Kingdom of Fas received all of Weyland's share, while Weyland, the Empire, and Suleiman each received one-third, which is estimated to be seven or eight hundred. This is enough to form a small, elite force that can ensure loyalty, and it would serve a good tactical purpose.

For the small island nation of Wieland, and for the emperor who actually only controlled "Austria," the number seven or eight hundred was quite a lot.

For the Kingdom of Phos, using it directly is not cost-effective; two hundred is far too few. With such a large population, investing more resources to build schools and cultivate talented individuals who lack the opportunity to attend school would yield far more than two hundred.

“We can take eighty of them and put them into the orphanage, and use the rest for further research,” Ronan said.

Dinia nodded slightly. "That's enough for now, we're leaving."

After leaving the technical department, Dinya asked about Zhao Yingqi's situation. She was surprised that in just one week, the little girl had mastered more than twenty short phrases and was able to have some daily conversations.

"Did you notice anything special about her?" Dinia asked, getting to the crucial point.

Ronan shook his head. "All I know is that she's a summoner, but I haven't noticed anything special about her."

Chapter 513 Only the natives were injured; identity; competition.

A month later, the "protective minimum purchase price for agricultural products" plan, which will be led by the government and jointly participated in by labor unions and farmers' associations, will be put on the agenda and is expected to be implemented next year. This policy aims to protect small farmers, but in reality, the biggest beneficiaries will be large landowners and workers, because this will give land financial value, and workers can enjoy "commodity grain" with relatively stable prices. There is no way around it; using agriculture to support commerce is an established national policy.

Those who can't accept it can go to the city to work, or they can go directly to the New World.

Another major project, the plan to build a steel plant on the coast, has also been launched, and this plan was put into action immediately.

As soon as the project started, the miners' riot in the northern iron ore area was quelled on its own.

Besides these two plans, there's another implicit policy concerning the colonies. Of course, this policy won't be officially announced, after all, the kingdom prides itself on being civilized and claims to be different from the bandits of Weyland and Villa.

In short, the farmers' associations and trade unions were doing well, and only the world of the colonized natives was finished.

In September, the weather turns cool, with daytime highs only reaching 16 or 17 degrees Celsius, whereas in previous years the daytime highs could reach 20 degrees Celsius.

It is now 1594, the end of the 16th century, and we are about to enter the 17th century. It seems that the legendary Little Ice Age is coming.

Fortunately, during Ronan's years in power, the kingdom's agriculture had developed quite well. Wheat and soybeans were rotated, and potatoes and corn were broadcast. Reduced yields were inevitable, and people might starve to death, but it was unlikely to lead to a large-scale famine.

From this perspective, war is truly unavoidable. With factors such as religious conflict, regional hegemony, and reduced food production combined, how could war not break out?

On this day, Ronan's family had a picnic.

The adults gathered in one group to fish, while the children played on the other side.

Ronan's youngest son, Louis, didn't come; he was only a year old. Ronan and Agustina's son, Garcia, did come. The boy seemed a bit dull, but he was actually quite precocious. He was a good student and had magical talent. He had already vaguely sensed something. Agustina, having discovered this, simply confessed the truth to Garcia, who was called her nephew but was actually her son, and then brought him over.

Garcia wasn't very sociable, but he got along well with Lucien, who was also quite sociable.

On the other side, Ina was instilling her "bratty kid" wisdom into Zhao Yingqi. Although Zhao Yingqi didn't understand most of it, Ina was still very enthusiastic.

It's been over a month since Zhao Yingqi arrived here, and he still doesn't know how to describe his feelings. Ambrina is indeed the queen, and she has a lot of power. She is definitely not just a tribal leader. The Kingdom of Fas is not a backward little country, but a country with more than 20 million people, and it is very powerful in agriculture and military.

In the East, apart from her homeland, no country can rival her.

But Ambrina and Ronan's family had none of the airs of royalty; they were very free, easygoing, and warm, but lacked any rules.

Just like right now, Ambrina caught a small fish, and Ronan lifted her high and celebrated loudly. Zhao Yingqi, who had always lived in a secluded mansion and only occasionally went out, had never seen young men and women in love, but she thought that this was probably what young men and women in love were like.

But Ambrina and Ronan's children are all the same age as her.

I don't understand, I really don't understand.

At this moment, Ina seemed to notice Zhao Yingqi's strangeness and patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, don't misunderstand. My dad is usually very powerful and authoritative. None of the old bureaucrats in the central government are his match. No one dares to be disrespectful in front of him. But my old mom is always like this. She's so old, yet she acts like a child. She's far inferior to my aunt."

Zhao Yingqi roughly understood what Ina meant, "Aunt?"

Ina pointed, "That's the one, the one my dad was joking with her about."

Zhao Yingqi looked over and saw Ronan chatting and laughing with a woman who looked somewhat like Ambrina.

She was instantly startled.

How could I possibly dare?

“Don’t be surprised, she’s also that old geezer’s lover.” Astrid suddenly interjected.

Zhao Yingqi turned around, looking puzzled. "Lover?" She had never learned this word.

"It's someone who has that kind of relationship with a man, you know what that kind of relationship is? Uh, it's, it's, you know, you get it, understand?" Astrid didn't know how to explain to Zhao Yingqi what a lover was for a moment.

Astrid explained, and Ina also explained with exaggerated gestures. After a long while, Zhao Yingqi finally understood, and then he was completely stunned.

In her understanding, Ronan was a "queen," but how could this "queen" be...

“What’s the big deal? Those women over there are all that old geezer’s mistresses,” Astrid said.

Zhao Yingqi was completely terrified.

It's not unusual for a man to have many women. Seris is an example of this kind of thing. Her father had quite a few. But, Ronan is a "Queen." But thinking about it carefully, what kind of "Queen" is Ronan?

After more than a month, Zhao Yingqi had a basic understanding of Ronan's identity: he was the "Queen," the "Chief of the Prime Minister's Office," the "Chief Eunuch," the "Head of the Imperial Guard," and the "Commissioner for the Defense of the Rhine."

It doesn't seem like it's impossible?

But then Zhao Yingqi suddenly realized another problem: Astrid said they were all lovers, so wouldn't that mean the white-haired female prime minister was one too? Oh no.

Strangely enough, these women actually got along quite well.

Her father only had three official women, and they were all fighting each other at home. Even a child like her could see that. With so many women, how could Ronan not be in a mess?

It can only be said that Zhao Yingqi is, after all, just a child, and she doesn't understand a certain principle.

Ronan's women didn't live together, and each had their own careers, so what was there to fight about? Only women living in secluded mansions, where everything depends on men, would fight each other.

Ina suddenly appeared in front of Zhao Yingqi. "Never mind them. You can use magic too, right? Come on, let's have a contest."

"Well, I haven't started cultivating yet," Zhao Yingqi said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Huh? Aren't you a summoner? Summoners need to learn too?" Ina exclaimed in surprise.

Ina, however, was unaware that in Seris, very few people used simple magic like those in the Western Continent. Generally, "scholars" or "warriors" combined three elements, while "monks" combined six. It was impossible for someone who had not studied magic to do so.

Zhao Yingqi meant that she hadn't even entered the basics, hadn't practiced at all, and only possessed innate power.

“I’ll be the referee. Don’t worry, I’ll absolutely ensure your safety,” Astrid said. She was also eager to see what was so special about Zhao Yingqi, this special person.

"Let's forget about it." Zhao Yingqi shook his head. How could a girl just casually get into fights and competitions with others?

She didn't want to compete, but Ina wouldn't accept it. She transformed her hands into longswords and slashed directly at Ina.

The next instant, Ina's attack missed.

So fast, it was almost like teleportation. Even Astrid was a little surprised, as she hadn't caught Zhao Yingqi's movements at all.

Chapter 514 Rules, Speculation, Children Fighting is a Daily Routine

Meanwhile, when Ina issued the challenge, Ronan and Dinia had already turned their attention to this side.

Ina didn't go all out, but Zhao Yingqi shouldn't have dodged the attack so easily.

Ronan and Dinia knew very well that although Ina was young and her physique was not as good as a normal first-level mage, her physique was already much better than that of a typical novice mage. It was precisely because of this that she was able to hold her own against a first-level mage when she and Noodles' group were attacked.

Zhao Yingqi's physique is relatively poor. As a summoner, she was born with the rank of first-level mage, but her physique is currently worse than that of a typical novice mage.

Without magic, Zhao Yingqi would have no chance of dodging this attack.

She clearly used it, but Ronan and Dinia didn't notice at all.

“This is the power of rules,” Dinia said.

"Impressive. The summoning system has accomplished what only the divine magic system could do." Ronan agreed with Dinia's assessment.

Ronan had encountered divine magic with rules. The magic they encountered on their way back from the North that could trap them in a wicked church and play "games" was divine magic. When faced with this kind of power, you either get hit or you don't. There is no situation where being stronger can offset some of the power.

However, these rule-based divine spells have indiscriminate effects, and both sides will be subject to restrictions.

Moreover, the caster must follow a certain oath, whether in ordinary times or when using magic, or they will suffer a backlash.

Divine spells imbued with rule-based power are strong, but not as strong as they appear. On the contrary, some simple and straightforward divine spells, such as Elena's healing spell, are far stronger than they seem.

On Ina's side, she launched a series of slashes. Zhao Yingqi dodged and fled a few steps in a sorry state, but suddenly, in an instant, he widened the distance. Ina missed again, and her two swords struck the ground.

Given Ina's abilities, she should have stopped and changed her move when she realized Zhao Yingqi had suddenly dodged quickly, instead of pouncing like a clumsy bear.

"Is this a complete blockade of everyone else's perception?" Dinia asked.

“Why not be a little bolder?” Ronan said, then pointed to Ambrina, who was eating on the other side while waiting for the next fish to bite.

After a while, Zhao Yingqi dodged again as if by teleportation, and this time, Dinia noticed the sudden change in the fries in Ambrina's hand.

Ambrina had been nibbling on her fries like a little hamster, and the moment Zhao Yingqi dodged, a large chunk of the fries suddenly disappeared.

"Predicting the future? No, even if she could, she couldn't avoid it." Dinia mentioned a word, then carefully observed the grassy area where Ina and Zhao Yingqi were. She noticed that Zhao Yingqi was actually dodging by taking small steps. "This..."

Dinia was somewhat skeptical of her own reasoning.

Ronan also had his own guesses.

This isn't about accelerating itself while slowing down others within range; if that were the case, the footprints on the grass wouldn't look like that.

It's not time stop either. If it were time stop, Ina would change her move instantly instead of knocking her to the ground.

“It’s more like seeing the trajectory of the future. After casting the spell, the target still moves along its predetermined trajectory, while only she herself is unrestrained within the range, directly jumping to another point in time,” Ronan said. “This is a time-based ability, which seems to explain why he didn’t disappear with the people from another world before.”

How should I put it? It's more like the Stand "King Crimson" from a certain comic.

But it's just a resemblance, because she didn't erase time, otherwise there shouldn't be footprints on the ground.

"Luckily, Ina didn't go all out. If she had launched a wide-range sweeping attack, it would have taken only a few seconds, and she wouldn't have been able to dodge it no matter how she tried."

Ronan analyzed.

Zhao Yingqi was too weak; he lacked strength, speed, attack, and defense.

“It has great potential,” Dinia added.

Inside the battle, Ina missed several times in a row and began to get angry. Just as she was about to unleash her magic and fire rapiers from her body in all directions, Astrid stopped her.

“Sister Ina, that’s enough,” Astrid said.

"Tch, boring," Ina muttered, then looked at Astrid, "Why don't you try?"

Astrid laughed. "Me? Even if I stand still, you have no chance of winning, sister."

"Lily, you've gone too far with your arrogance." Ina's fighting spirit was immediately ignited.

"Fine, I'll stand here. If I move, I lose." Astrid wasn't exactly a good kid either; she was deliberately provoking Ina.

On the other end, Lucien, who was discussing math problems with Garcia, also noticed this and said, "Garcia."

“What is it, Your Highness?” Garcia asked.

“No need to call me Your Highness. Although we can’t be called brothers, we are indeed brothers,” Lucien said, preferring Garcia to be his younger brother. “I’m telling you, never be like those two over there, always fighting and killing.”

“Your Highness is right.” Garcia still insisted on using honorifics. Although he was young, he knew very well that he was already extremely lucky to exist in this world as his birth mother’s nephew, rather than as an unknown illegitimate child.

While the two were talking, Ina and Astrid had already started fighting.

Not far away, Zhao Yingqi was already stunned.

Because Ina's behavior was completely different from when she had just picked up two swords and was attacking her. At this moment, Ina was charging forward to try to get close while constantly shooting out rapiers to attack Astrid, while Astrid stood still and was surrounded by a dazzling array of elemental magic.

In the blink of an eye, the area where the two were located looked as if it had been plowed up by artillery fire several times.

In the distance, Ronan, who had already discovered the secret about Zhao Yingqi, turned his attention back to fishing. As for his two daughters' fight, he didn't intend to interfere at all. Anyway, it wasn't the first time. The two little girls looked reckless, but they were actually quite sensible, so there was no need to worry.