Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 105

In truth, Baron Gates was not unaware of the greed and cruelty of his subordinates; it was just that he had been in power for too long and had become accustomed to the feeling of having everything under control. He believed that his subordinates might dare to embezzle his money, but they would not dare to be disloyal to him.

As his power and wealth grew, the information cocoon that obscured him became increasingly airtight.

"If this baron thinks we're just trying to gain fame, then he's a bit old-fashioned."

At the same time, Dinia, unaware that Baron Gates had been misled by his subordinates, said this, using the adjective "old-fashioned" instead of "stupid."

It's perfectly reasonable to describe an "ancient person" as stupid, impolite, or old-fashioned.

Dinia knew that the pottery factory owner would never allow a proper union to be formed, and might even use the opportunity to recoup his losses from the workers.

This is the effect she wants.

The same thing will then be repeated in other factories.

What she wanted was for all the workers in Haijin City to have one more hope: to establish an organization that could truly help them solve their difficulties. And when they had this thought, the first thing they thought of was the City Supervisory Administration led by Dinia and Ronan.

Chapter 235 Rebellion must be swift, and it also requires treating everyone to a meal; a scale.

“Baron Gates isn’t stupid. After a few more times, he should realize what’s happening,” Ronan reminded him.

“I know, but if you’re one step behind, you’ll be behind every step of the way,” Dinia said. “Those who rebel, no, those who reform, must be one step ahead of these old forces to become the winners.”

This is also a lesson that Dinia learned from Ronan during his two-plus years in power. Ronan was able to sweep away the old forces in New Sea City as easily as sweeping away dust because he was faster. Those old forces always had to retaliate as a last resort.

“Okay.” Ronan nodded.

To be honest, he's starting to find it hard to believe that he trained Dinia, and in just two years, Dinia's construction level is still unseen, but its ability to fight is already almost as good as his.

This is actually quite normal. Ronan's abilities haven't been weakened, but his memories have been sealed in this dream world, which means his accumulated experience has been sealed as well.

Before his time travel, he became a section chief at the age of twenty-eight without any powerful backing, and his abilities were beyond doubt. However, his level of expertise improved rapidly after he time-traveled.

At fifteen, he led troops in a mutiny; at sixteen, he became the head of the anti-counter-revolutionary squad; at eighteen, he became the head of a powerful department; at twenty, he became the second-in-command of a city; and for the next five years, he governed a region. This decade was the period of Ronan's rapid advancement, a period in which he grew from a junior civil servant with outstanding personal abilities into an excellent administrative official.

Without that period of time, Ronan's level isn't much higher than Dinah's at 29 years old.

Of course, in terms of construction capabilities, Ronan in the Dreamland is still far superior to the current Dinia.

"Take a break, you'll be busy for the next few days."

Dinia said she was going back to catch up on her sleep.

Don't be fooled by how easy their operation seemed that day. Whether it was the gang or the pottery factory, they were slaughtered like tofu. But this was the result of several days of continuous intelligence gathering, situation analysis, and contingency planning. In order to carry out this operation, neither Dinia herself nor the others had slept well for several days.

Two days later, the operation resumed.

The same routine was used: the lime factory, the ironworks, the textile factory, and the river workers' quarters along the southern canal were all raided.

The workers briefly benefited, only to have it taken back by the factory owners. The situation did not improve; in fact, it was worse. In the past, the gangs were not actually affiliated with the factory owners, and after receiving protection money, they would at least offer some symbolic protection. But now they were gone. Unions were formed, but the union leaders did not advocate for any benefits from the factory owners, because these union leaders were either directly bribed or already had close ties with the factory owners.

"Damn it, a bunch of bastards!" Baron Gates slammed his fist on the table and cursed.

These factory owners are so greedy. Even when they're making money, they should consider sustainability. Don't they understand that?

Baron Gates was furious but powerless. Although he either owned shares in these factories or the owners were simply his dogs, he couldn't just replace his partners or kill his dogs at will. If he did, chaos would break out inside.

At that moment, he realized what the mayor and the princess were up to: they weren't trying to gain fame, but rather to incite the workers' anger and then use that anger to overthrow him.

These two men, or more accurately, Ronan, who was preparing to become the mayor of Haijin City, were using fame and fortune as a pretext. What he wanted was power, the power of Baron Gates.

"Master, how about we announce that this princess is fake, and then say that the mayor colluded with the fake princess?" The head butler, Pink, tentatively suggested. So many days had passed, and they had also used their connections to find out about this princess and confirmed that Dinia was not a real princess at all.

"You say she isn't, so she isn't?" Baron Gates retorted.

The head butler was completely stumped by the question; that was definitely not the case.

Baron Gates was annoyed and didn't want to say anything more. "Go and invite the mayor and the princess. I'm treating them to hot pot tonight."

"Yes," the head butler replied and quickly withdrew.

In the evening, the usual place, the usual seats, the usual three people, the usual hot pot.

"It's been a long time. You two have been very busy these days. You must be exhausted," Baron Gate greeted them warmly.

Dinia sat down directly. "Sigh, I felt a sense of familiarity with Haijin City as soon as I arrived. This is my second hometown. Doing things for the citizens of my hometown is not tiring at all."

“If the princess isn’t tired, then I’m not tired either,” Ronan chimed in.

“I am truly grateful for your concern for Haijin City,” said Baron Gate. “However, there are bad people in this city. They are ungrateful and insist that you, the princess, are an imposter. They also claim that the mayor is in cahoots with you to swindle money. It’s just that I haven’t found the culprit behind this rumor. Otherwise, I would have killed him on the spot.”

"Oh, is that so?" Dinia asked, not flustered at all.

"Yes," Baron Gates replied with certainty.

“Ronan, what do you suggest we do?” Dinia asked.

Ronan pretended to think for a moment, then said, “I think we should have the Baron send someone to invite the Duke over. If we travel at full speed, it should only take about twenty days for him to go and come back.”

“Alright, I’ll take care of this,” Baron Gate said, clearly indicating that the other party intended to settle things with him within the next twenty days.

Dinia cooked a plate of meat. "The Baron invited us to hot pot, surely not just to talk about this little thing?"

“Of course not.” Baron Gates waved his hand. “I invited you two here to ask what your thoughts are on the future of the southern district of Haijin City.”

“Yes, quite a few,” Ronan said, “but to sum it up, there are only four.”

"First, the management of the southern district of Haijin City is too chaotic. There is a mayor, a baron, and a garrison. I think a joint committee should be established. From now on, the laws and regulations of Haijin City will be formulated by this committee. The chairman of the committee will naturally be elected openly. I don't know who others will choose, but I will choose Baron Gates."

"Secondly, there are all sorts of problems in the city, whether it's the market or people's livelihoods. It's necessary to establish a large-scale law enforcement team. I think we can use the current Urban Supervision Bureau and the law enforcement personnel under the courts as a foundation to build a law enforcement team."

"Third, the Haijin City Court is involved in too much but actually can't manage anything. It would be better if it only focused on adjudicating cases and sentencing."

"Fourth, and finally, we need to establish some legitimate unions, and above those unions, we need to have a general union. I think Your Excellency the Baron is very suitable to be the president of this union."

Ronan's words sounded like he was directly elevating Baron Gates to the top rank.

But the actual task was to cut Baron Gates into four pieces and put them into four boxes.

Baron Gates raised an eyebrow. If Ronan’s idea succeeded, he would seem to have gained a lot, but he would have lost his most important thing: his status as the most impartial judge in Haijin City. Why was he able to control such a city? Because he was the most impartial person in the city. All disputes had to be arbitrated by him. He was the scale that weighed everything.

In the future Ronan envisioned, he would no longer be the only, self-adjusting scale.

"Okay, that sounds really good."

Chapter 236 Four and Three Hands, How to Ride, The Sun Rises as Usual

It sounds great, but the subtext is that it's actually terrible.

"Come, come, eat meat and drink wine," Baron Gates called to the two. Ronan's words made one thing clear: from now on, there was no room for compromise between them.

After a meal and drinks, Ronan and Dinia left.

Pink, the head butler, came in and asked, "Master, what should we do next?"

Baron Gates held up three fingers. "Three options."

"First, immediately send someone to invite the princess's father, the Duke, over. Don't say she's a fake princess; just say she's staying in Haijin City and doesn't want to marry into the Empire."

"Second, go and invite a few powerful mages over here, and at the same time contact the garrison in Haijin City, including those in the northern district."

"Third, I will invite all my business associates in my name."

Baron Gates's first move was obvious. Twenty days later, when the Duke arrived, he personally exposed the fake princess's identity and dealt with Ronan along with her.

Secondly, twenty days is too long; things could change in the meantime. He has to be careful that Ronan and Dinia's group don't completely break ties with him and resort to force instead of trickery. Moreover, these two are full of tricks, so he has to strike first if necessary.

As for the third option, he must get the wealthy and powerful people in the city to form a united front with him. Firstly, this would allow him to control the situation for the next twenty days. Secondly, he should consider the consequences before making a decision. If all else fails, he can simply step down and become the chairman of the committee based on "public opinion." Although he can no longer resolve things with a single sentence like before, he will still be the master of this city.

Leaving the Baron's castle, Dinia and Ronan walked back.

“He lost,” Dinia said.

Ronan chimed in, "He lost because he had too many things to consider."

Dinia stepped in front of Ronan. "Come on, my dragon. We're going to give this baron another surprise. I don't think I need to explain what a surprise is, do I?"

“No need,” Ronan said, taking a step to catch up. “However, I am a dragon, and what are you? A dragon slayer?”

“I am a dragon knight,” Dinia replied.

"Haha, how do you ride it?" Ronan asked jokingly.

Dinia was stunned for a moment, wondering how to ride, but then she realized what was going on and kicked Ronan away. If Ronan's shield hadn't caught him in time, he would have fallen into the ditch.

“I haven’t told you this yet, and that is, don’t make such vulgar jokes with me,” Dinia said to Ronan very seriously.

On his way back to shore, Ronan, using his levitation shield, thought, "It's only because of me. If it were someone else who took that kick, their bones would probably be shattered."

“It’s you,” Dinia said, no other man had ever had the chance to joke like that with her.

After saying that, Dinia threw a mushroom and teleported away.

The following day, Dinia told her underlings about Ronan's four conditions, adding that the Baron was very interested. The underlings weren't concerned about the Baron's future; what mattered was that if Ronan's conditions worked out, they would no longer be workers, but true enforcers of the law.

If someone had asked them to become real law enforcers ten days or so ago, they certainly wouldn't have dared. They were just workers; how could they be law enforcers? Only the baron's dogs could do that kind of work.

But after ten days or so, they felt they were perfectly capable of doing it. Wasn't it just acting on behalf of Heaven? I could do it too.

Not only is it feasible, but I really want to do it; it's much more lucrative than being a factory worker.

Another day passed, and Dinia and Ronan led their group on another mission, this time ostensibly to check on the establishment of unions in various factories.

The factory owners were initially terrified, since the union they had formed was far too illegitimate, even more ruthless than a gang.

But soon, the factory owners breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the princess and the mayor had only brought people over to eat and drink for free.

It's great that you can eat and drink for free without taking anything for free.

During their free meals and drinks, Digna Ronan's group of traitors couldn't help but boast to the union members about the inside information they knew. The union members found out, the factory owner found out, and the workers found out as well.

The factory owners weren't sure if the Baron was truly interested in Ronan's four offers, but they were certain they were.

If there were a legislative committee, and they also set up an enforcement team, and finally a general labor union, then they would have a voice in the future.

The workers also thought this was good, at least they could unite as a force, although they would mostly still not be able to resist, but at least they could express their voice of resistance, right?

And so, one investigation after another was launched. Whether or not the investigations were actually carried out was not important; what mattered was spreading the word.

Ultimately, the Baron still didn't realize that he held onto too many things tightly in Haijin City, to the point that while the entire city seemed to be subservient to him, deep down they all wanted to rebel against him.

In the blink of an eye, thirteen days have passed, and there are still seven days left until the Duke's arrival.

This time, all the important merchants in Haijin City gathered at the Baron's castle.

After some polite conversation, someone started by asking the Baron if those four points were true.

Baron Gates frowned immediately, indicating that the matter needed to be discussed and considered carefully. He dared not say directly that it was absolutely unacceptable, because saying that would put everyone, including his own dog, on the opposite side.

When the Baron said he would consider it, the group immediately became disheartened and rushed to express their opinions, suggesting how the committee or the general labor union should proceed.

The baron wanted nothing more than to kill all of them and stuff them inside the city walls, but he had to listen with a forced smile.

What was originally intended as a rally to unite people and jointly attack Ronan and Dinia has instead turned into a rally for a group of people who want to "persuade" Ronan to take the lead. They are eager to form a committee tomorrow, with the Baron as chairman the day after, and each of them becoming a member.

The baron, who was furious, couldn't stand it any longer and said he wasn't feeling well, so he sent everyone away.

"You bunch of bastards, every single one of you owes your current status to me, and now you all want to rebel against me?" Baron Gates roared madly.

After taking a deep breath, Baron Gates calmed down again. "Kill them, we must kill them! First, kill the mayor and the princess, then slaughter these ungrateful bastards!"

Baron Gates was glad he had made an extra preparation; the magicians were now in place, and the army had been contacted.

At the same time, Dinia and Ronan sat facing each other.

“It’s time to close the net,” Dinia said to Ronan.

"Should we make the Baron look decent?" Ronan asked.

“A dignified death,” Dinia responded.

"Tomorrow?" Ronan asked again.

"The moon is very round tonight, so let's do it tonight." Dinia reached out and ran her hand through her hair, which returned to its original snow-white with a hint of gold, and her eyes also returned to their original red. "Tomorrow, the sun will rise as usual."

Ronan smiled and whistled a melody she had never heard before.

"What's this tune?" Dinia asked.

Ronan stood up and looked at the moonlight outside the window. "The song is called The Sun Also Rises."

Chapter 237 Killing you is none of your business; after you're done, we'll still have to make a list.

As they approached the mayor's residence, Ronan suddenly stopped. "After you've dealt with the Baron, what are your plans?"

Dinia did not answer directly, but said, "It was not the slaves who defeated the slave owners, but the landowners. What this city needs is a group of energetic new people to achieve true reform."

"So it's not enough to just change the boss; those big factory owners and other officials who are dependent on the baron also need to be purged. They are too corrupt."