Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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On one side, there was close ties with the young military officer, and on the other, there was support from the old aristocracy and emerging capitalists who were nominally powerful but actually powerless.

"I'm afraid the road back to the capital won't be easy," Dinia said with some worry.

“Then let’s fight our way out,” Ronan said. “With me by your side, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

"I'm just worried that the methods are too drastic and might cause internal strife," Dinia said. It's not difficult to fight your way to the capital; the difficulty lies in how to mitigate the consequences.

"It doesn't matter. At most, it's just internal strife. Without Henry and Louis, foreign powers lack the tools to intervene." Ronan was quite indifferent, and even a wicked smile appeared on his lips. "It's better if things get chaotic. When things are chaotic, it will be easier to label certain people as rebels and send them to the gallows."

“I don’t care about those people. I’m worried that if there’s internal strife, many innocent people will lose their lives,” Dinia said. “But if there’s really no other way, then that’s the only option.” After saying that, she looked at Ronan again.

Ronan thought for a moment and replied, "In that case, we can't just split up after we get ashore and then take Ambrina back to the capital secretly as quickly as possible via back roads. We need to find another way, to do it openly and in a high-profile manner, under Ambrina's name, and choose a roundabout route to slowly walk back, putting on a show along the way."

“A performance,” Dinia asked.

“Ambrina will play herself, you will play the representative of the powerful and pragmatic faction, and I will play the hypocritical democratic elite. If we cannot win people’s hearts and minds and make the power of the second and third leaders disintegrate on its own before we arrive in the capital, I will kneel down and lick your feet.”

"Get out of here!" Dinia almost couldn't resist kicking Ronan into the sea.

Chapter 308 Analysis: The Role - Something to Do in the Next Two Months

Ronan spread his hands, looking pitiful and helpless, and said, "Then you can lick whichever place you want."

Enraged, Dinia grabbed Ronan by the neck with one hand, lifted him up, and then pushed him forward, leaving Ronan's feet dangling in the air and half of his body outside the fence.

"What are you doing?" Ambrina's voice came from behind.

Dinia pulled Ronan back, and Ronan coughed twice before replying with a smile, "We're rehearsing a play, Anri."

"Rehearsal?" Ambrina was full of questions.

Dinia tilted her head, thinking to herself, "You're just talking nonsense."

Ronan beckoned Ambrina over and whispered, “As you know, the situation in the capital is very complicated right now. Those people know we’ll be returning together. Normally, a few of us would choose a secret route to get back to the capital quickly, but I doubt they’ve left any ambushes. Although I’m with Dinia, so our safety shouldn’t be a problem, their real goal is just to delay your return. That’s enough time for them to set up some traps. Once we’re back in the capital, we’ll be completely restricted.”

"Even if they didn't make any arrangements, once we return to the capital, we have to play by the capital's rules. That's what they're good at. No matter what we do, we're under their watchful eyes, and they can retaliate in time."

“But it’s different outside. We can do whatever we want. What can they do to us? And if we do something, they won’t know for at least five or six days, and they can only retaliate after another three to five days. By then, we’ve already accomplished our goal.”

"So I suggest we put on a big show, and perform it as we go."

Ronan analyzed the situation and then offered his solution.

"A play?" Ambrina asked.

"Let's put that aside for now and talk about your sister and the demands of the people around your mother." Ronan didn't immediately answer the so-called play, but instead brought up another topic. "Those united around Isabel are mainly some young officers and frustrated mages. Many of these young officers were student soldiers who fought to the death in that war. That defeat is their inner demon. They desperately want to break into the Empire of Will and wash away their shame. They are staunch advocates of war."

Ambrina nodded, but Ronan quickly added, "But that's actually secondary."

"Huh?" Ambrina didn't react at all.

“Anli, people change. Today, those students who were full of enthusiasm back then are now mid-level officers in the army and have power. The so-called pro-war faction is just a banner they use to win over more young people. This is not what they really want.”

"What they really want is status, or more precisely, to break the shackles that prevent junior mages from becoming high-ranking officers." To become a general, one must at least be a full-rank mage, which greatly displeases many junior mage officers. In their view, many superiors do not understand military affairs at all, yet they have been promoted because their magic ranks are higher than theirs.

Ronan continued, "So, once we're ashore, we'll make a public appearance, and Dinia will publicly make some statements. First, we'll say that Weyland and Villa are entangled at sea and have no time to deal with us. Then, we'll promote the threat of the Will Empire and call for their destruction. That will appeal to those people, but it won't be enough to win them over."

"The key point is that Dinia has invented a weapon, a magic revolver, which allows novice mages to kill first and second-tier mages. She also hinted that she will break the restrictions on officer promotion in the future."

Dinia suddenly interrupted, "That magic revolver hasn't been made yet, has it?"

“Just make promises first, that’s enough to win them over,” Ronan said. “We don’t even need to actually win them over. As long as we get a group of people around Isabel to decide to bet on both sides, we’ve succeeded.”

It's not entirely fair to call it empty promises, since a basic concept has already been developed.

“Then what about my mother?” Ambrina asked.

"This time, I'll play the role of an elite who supports democratic governance. What those capitalists want are two things: first, democracy, so that they can have the power to influence politics; and second, protection of private property, so that they don't have to be so afraid of the iron fist of imperialism."

“If I just bring up these two points, they will definitely waver,” Ronan said.

“But can’t my mother give them these things?” Ambrina retorted.

"To be honest, your mother and your uncles have neither the ability nor the competence. Think about it, what would happen if your third sister took over? She wouldn't be able to hold that position for long, and there would definitely be a fierce political struggle. During this period of political struggle, your mother would only be asking the capitalists for money and wouldn't have the spare energy to fulfill their demands."

“But you’re different. Once you’re in power, your position will be very stable. In their eyes, I’m someone who’s very good at using the capitalist system. If the capitalists see that supporting you can help them achieve their goals, then what’s wrong with supporting you?”

As Dinia listened, she couldn't help but wonder if Ronan had foreseen the current situation all along, which was why he wrote the books "A Short History of Democracy" and "Communitarianism" to create a persona for himself and others.

“Hmm.” Ambrina finally understood, and then asked, “Then, what about those nobles?” Ambrina was referring to the old nobles in the Empress’s faction who were nominally powerful but actually powerless.

Ronan waved his hand, "Don't worry about them. What they want is to take away your power. This is an irreconcilable conflict. Besides, other people may not necessarily oppose our marriage, but they definitely will."

When she heard that they wanted to take away her power, she wasn't too upset. But when she heard that this group wanted to stop her from marrying Ronan, Ambrina got angry. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Let's pick a few to kill, but don't kill too many."

Ronan nodded.

Some people can offer him empty promises, some can be temporary allies, but some are destined to be enemies.

Those feudalistic and wicked people still dare to jump around and court death.

Ambrina wasn't concerned about the nobility; she asked the final question, "So, what kind of role am I supposed to play?"

Ronan laughed and patted Ambrina on the shoulder. "Anri, of course you'll just play yourself. When I'm at odds with Dinia, you just mediate. Make those idiots think you're easy to talk to."

"Oh." Ambrina thought this was easy.

“We still have plenty of time. We can discuss the details slowly,” Ronan said. They had only just boarded the ship and had two months to go before reaching the shore. If they finished everything at once, how boring would the next two months be? They couldn’t just do that kind of thing every day, could they?

After finishing their business, Ronan went to the cabin and called Elena and the others out to have some snacks together.

It's called a snack, but it's really just jarred fruit. It's specially made with lots and lots of sugar added. You wouldn't find this much sugar in regular canned goods because sugar is so expensive these days.

The other crew members could only eat canned food with very little sugar added, but even canned fruit with very little sugar was a rare treat for them.

Chapter 309 Returning Home, Becoming a Sensation, the Stage is Already Set

After drifting at sea for more than two months, in late April 1587, Ronan and his party of several dozen people returned to the Kingdom of Fass.

He did not choose to land in Le Havre, a port city in the northwest. As is well known, Le Havre is the fastest route back to the capital, which is along the Seine River. However, Ronan did not intend to go directly back to the capital, so he did not choose to land there.

Ronan and his party went to Breteau, which is actually Brest in Brittany, France. It is a seaport in the west, a military port and a commercial port, but it is also very famous for its oysters.

Upon arriving in Breteau, Ronan and his group split into three groups.

The first group, consisting of Noah and two others, along with the young officers who had stayed behind to help instead of leaving with old man Raven, a few colonial officials whose terms had expired and who had returned home, and those sent by the king who had not stayed in the New World, all headed directly north and then traveled from the Seine to the capital. They were not Ronan's people and also needed to return to report.

There's nothing to worry about with these people.

The second group consisted of a group of technicians led by several veteran craftsmen from Ronan's consulting firm, talents Elena recruited from the gang, several Haidi people who had followed along, and several civil servants transferred along the way. Except for a very few, such as the mixed-race youth who improved the lathe, they were mostly from New Sea City. Although Ronan would still need them in the future, they had been away from their hometown for two years, and it was time for them to go back and see their families.

Moreover, some unexpected things might happen next, and these people don't have the ability to protect themselves, so it's inconvenient for them to stay.

The third group consists of those who remained. Besides Ronan and his group, there was only Canaan, whom Dinia had taken in, and the multi-faceted spy Faith, each of whom was a high-ranking mage.

Upon arriving in Breteau, Ronan did not find a place to rest. Instead, he sent Elena to the city hall to inform the mayor and the city secretary.

The mayor was someone Ronan didn't recognize; he was an old man in his sixties.

The secretary general was an old acquaintance of Ronan's, a short man named Abelard who had some connections with him back in the capital. Ronan had known Abelard for three years, and in those three years, he hadn't been promoted or moved. It just goes to show that sometimes it's not a good thing for someone to be capable but not quite that capable; it's easy for them to be stuck in one position and not allowed to move.

To Ronan's surprise, Elena hadn't returned yet, but Abelard had already arrived. Seeing that he looked out of breath, Ronan said, "You're acting a bit strange."

Abelard pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat. "Is there?"

“Logically, you should have suddenly fallen ill,” Ronan said half-jokingly. The reason he said this was because his instructions to Elena were not to secretly inform the mayor and secretary-general, but to make it seem as if he wanted everyone else in the city hall to know, and to loudly announce that Princess Ambrina had arrived.

Given the current situation, Ambrina's arrival here has become a political event. A smart person like Abelad would normally say that he ate too many oysters yesterday and had diarrhea.

Abelard touched his large, hooked nose. "Ha, that's how it should be, isn't it, because of you?"

Ronan extended his hand in a gesture of invitation, "Explain in detail."

Abelard dragged a chair over and sat down opposite Ronan. "Ates, you don't know how popular you are right now, do you? The 'retro faction' is now calling for you to be their leader, and some are even advocating for you to be the president, overthrow the monarchy, and establish a democratic republic."

"Huh?" Even though Ronan had anticipated that he would become famous, he didn't expect it to be this popular.

"Your book, 'A Brief History of Democracy,' is now their bible. You should know who the financial backers of the 'retro faction' are, and you should also know who the real power holders are in this city of Bretude right here."

Abelad said.

The patrons of the retro faction and the people in charge of Breteau are all the same type of people: capitalists.

"So?" Ronan asked.

"So, knowing that you have come, and that you have come with the princess, many people have become obsessed. As the saying goes, if one does not know Ates, it is futile to call him a hero." Abelard sighed, referring here specifically to the heroes who emerged during the revival movement over the past two hundred years.

Back then, he and Ronan were recruited by Isabel and took the exam for central intern officials together. Now, their statuses are worlds apart.

To be honest, he was very jealous, but at the same time, Abelard was also glad that he knew Ronan and that Ronan had brought the princess here, giving him the opportunity to curry favor with Ronan.

“You’re acting like a gambler. The Juan people never gamble,” Ronan said. The Juan people are like the Jews; they make easy money, but they are stingy and never bet easily.

“There are always exceptions,” Abelard chuckled. “May I see Her Highness the Princess?”

“Okay,” Ronan agreed.

Soon, Ronan led Abelard to Ambrina's room.

Upon seeing Ambrina, Abelard immediately knelt on one knee, head down, and raised his hands to present her with an exquisite, gilded wooden box.

Ambrina reached out and lightly tapped the back of his hand twice to indicate that she accepted it.

Abelader then stood up, opened the wooden box, and showed the gift to Ambrina.

A string of pearls gleaming with silvery light, each one nearly perfectly round, large in size, and almost uniform in size. In the era before cultured pearls, the cost of assembling such a string would have been astronomical; even royal palaces might not have possessed such a thing.

Ambrina took the wooden box with one hand without saying anything; she was a rare woman who wasn't particularly interested in jewelry.

Abelard, being sensible, didn't say anything and left after giving the gift.

Arriving at Ronan's room again, Abelard said, "Artes, I've arranged a rather quiet manor for you and His Highness to move there for now."

“Ha, you’re quite perceptive,” Ronan chuckled.

Clearly, Abelard had guessed that Ronan wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

Before Abelard could respond, Ronan suddenly raised the corners of his mouth and asked, "Can this estate host parties?"

"When?" Abelard asked directly when it would be held.

“Three days later, let’s make it a big event,” Ronan said.

“No problem.” Abelard agreed. Since he had already decided to latch onto Ronan and get on Ambrina’s coattails, the money at the party was nothing to him.

“Dinia will also be participating,” Ronan added.

A hint of worry flashed across Abelard's face. Ronan was very famous now, as was Dinia. Although many people loathed his book "Communitarianism," it was undeniable that some hardliners who advocated national priority, hated capitalists, and constantly talked about how powerful the kingdoms of the Hollande era were, really liked some of the book's contents.

“Don’t worry, the princess is here, she won’t turn against me,” Ronan added.

"That's good." Abelard breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that even a smart man like Abelard didn't suspect anything, Ronan breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, his persona as an adversary of Dinia was firmly established.

Chapter 310 The book is good, the person is even better, it's all the woman's fault.

That evening, Ronan and his party checked into a manor located on a gentle hillside overlooking the sea. The manor was surrounded by low, angular, polygonal stone walls, with small towers protruding between the walls.

Anyone who sees this will understand that this is not a manor at all; it is a simplified version of a bastion, not as exaggerated as the multi-layered, multi-pointed star-shaped bastions that serve as military fortresses.

This place truly lives up to Abelaad's earlier comment that it was "quiet and peaceful."

While Ronan and his party enjoyed a long-awaited seafood and land-based feast at the manor, the situation in the distant capital was becoming increasingly tense.

At that moment, Isabelle held a piece of bread, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, dipped in beef broth in one hand, and a copy of "Communitarianism," which she had almost worn out from reading it so many times, in the other.

"Your Highness, can't you stop reading while you're eating?" Ashley, the maid beside him, chided softly.

Isabel remained engrossed in her book, not at all acting like a princess as she ate and spoke, "You're becoming more and more nosy."

“You’ve read this book several times already. You could at least go and read ‘A Short History of Democracy’,” Ashley sighed.

“Even a dog wouldn’t read ‘A Short History of Democracy,’ which is full of lies. This one is much more interesting,” Isabel said.

She had read "A Short History of Democracy," but it was nothing special and not to her taste. "Communitarianism" was to her liking, but just because it suited her taste wasn't enough for her to read it repeatedly. She read it repeatedly because she realized that the author of the book was not Dinia.

Although she had only been in contact with Dinia for a few years, and although Dinia was actually her third sister's private tutor, based on her understanding of Dinia, she realized on the second reading that Dinia was not the author.

If Dinah isn't the author, then who is? The answer isn't hard for Isabelle to guess.

Isabel suddenly put down her book. "Ashley, do you think some things are predetermined at birth?"

"Huh?" Ashley was a little confused by the sudden question. After thinking for a moment, she nodded. "Of course, you were born a princess."

“When I was born, she wasn’t like that,” Isabel said with a laugh, then couldn’t help but sigh. “Sigh, what makes her so special?”

"Who?" Ashley didn't understand.