Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1457: Sword of the Forest King

"I still care. What does the prophecy mean in the end? Will Rome fall because the thread breaks? Apollonia, what do you think?"

【There is actually no way to explain this. This is just like fortune-telling. Whether it will come true depends on whether you can establish an association between the facts and the previous predictions. The more accurate the prediction is and the bigger the matter is, the easier it is to establish an association. For example, if I tell you that your forehead is black, you may not care if you sprain your ankle when you go out tomorrow. But if I tell you that your forehead is black, and you end up getting hit by a car when you go out tomorrow - would you slap your thigh and say, "I regret not listening to my advice"?】

"So there's no certainty at all, right?"

[It can only be said that it has a certain meaning - so, the point that Mr. Agathocles said is very important: the truth or falsehood of the prophecy is not important. What is important is that it can give people hope. Just like when the Persian army broke through the Thermopylae Pass and the Spartans were annihilated, no matter what the prophecy of the "wooden wall" was, it at least gave people hope. The Greeks who got hope began to work hard in their own ways, and finally the Athenians' efforts in the naval battle were successful. ]

The key to prophecy is often not the literal content, especially such ambiguous language. But as the center of Greek civilization, the oracle's prophecies have great appeal throughout Greek civilization, allowing everyone to unite in despair. Although the direction of efforts is different, even a little hope can make many people find a reason to continue to persevere.

[Of course, I said it was a physical effect.]

"What about the magical effect?"

[That is, hope does exist, and it is not just a slogan used to unite people. But the slimmer the hope, the more vague the prophecy. Prophecies like "the thread breaks" are as slim as "the wooden wall". All attempts so far have been ineffective, and even the act of cutting the thread of fate like Emperor Agathocles has caused panic throughout the empire. So, what choice to make at this time is up to you. ]

"why me?"

[Because he just said 'it's up to you', which means you can use any resources you need to build the Night Shift Bureau. Mobilizing resources is not without cost, because whoever makes the decision is responsible. Of course, the responsibility for this decision may not be entirely on your shoulders, after all, he authorized you with this authority, and he is the one who bears the direct responsibility. But he is not someone else, he is Victoria's father. ]

"Ah, this." Shang Luo held his forehead, "This is a bit difficult. Anyway, let me do what I need first."

He did not come here just for Rome. As Rome's rule was getting out of control, he needed the Night Watch to replace the imperial court to establish effective supervision in the West. This was not only for Rome, but also for the imperial court and the heavenly court that was about to take shape.

No matter what kind of blow Rome will suffer, as long as the blow is within an acceptable range, the Night Watch will be established. Because if the West falls into a chain of collapse, both China and Rome will probably have to pay the price for this decision.

For Aurora, the price paid might be just money. But for Rome, the price paid might be a bad death. If you weigh the pros and cons, you will see that if you do nothing, you will definitely die, and the death may be very tragic. If you do something, you may not die. So no matter what, you have to do something.

"They just want me to make the decision. Although I am not the one to take the blame, there is still some pressure. So, I'd better be cautious. Anyway, let's investigate the situation first. Investigate first and then make a decision."

Shang Luo planned to decide how many resources would be needed to establish the Night Shift Bureau, and whether to relocate to Rome or establish it directly in Rome after investigation. However, his investigation certainly could not cover everything, and he could only make a judgment based on one core indicator:

His own safety.

No matter what, he would always base it on his own safety. First, he would not involve himself in other people's affairs. Second, if he could not even protect himself, it would not just be the Roman Empire that would be disappointed.

[Then the core indicator is whether the golden branches can be accommodated to the maximum extent. ]

This is the only threat to his personal safety in this incident.

According to the rules of the Golden Branch Ceremony, the person who picks the Golden Branch can break the immortality of the Forest King. This is fatal to an ordinary Forest King, but "potentially fatal" to Shangluo. How dangerous it is depends on how strong the person who picks the Golden Branch is.

Then the key to everything lies in how to let the "controllable" people pick the golden branches, rather than letting the people whom Shangluo himself cannot stop pick the golden branches.

"By the way, can I voluntarily give up the title of King of Rome to someone else?"

[There is no such mechanism. Unless you create a ritualized death, you can use death to pass on the power of the Forest King. But then again, the power of the Roman King should be worth the risk. ]

"For Victoria, huh?"

[Well, it doesn’t have to be just her. Of course, it seems that we all think that she is the most important.]

"Then let's go."

[I have arranged your itinerary. You can just go out.]

Titus stood at the door of the Vatican Palace, waiting for Shangluo.

"Hey." He waved to Shangluo - this was not very polite, even in Rome. But they were already very familiar with each other, so they didn't need to care about it.

"Then, my Lord, shall we set out now?"

Shangluo nodded: "Let's go and revisit the old place for a while. By the way, was it this car last time?"

This military off-road vehicle was very familiar to Shangluo. When he first came to Rome to perform the Golden Branch Ceremony, he arrived at the scene in this vehicle.

"We used this car last time outside the Nemi Lake area. After we got in, we changed to another car because we had to complete the elements of the ceremony. You had to be treated as travelers in a foreign land."

As he was talking, Shangluo had already sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt.

"Eh? You still remember the seat belt?" "You have to wear it when you sit in this seat. I do this to avoid trouble. If you accidentally crash the car, I will fly out and roll a few times before standing up again. It will be too scary if people on the street see me. My acting skill is not very good, so I'd better not act anymore."

"That's true." Titus started the engine, glanced at the map, and started the engine.

The Vatican Palace is actually not located in the city of Rome, but on the high ground on the west bank of the Tiber River outside the Roman city walls.

The reason why it was not set up within the city walls is the same as that of many palaces in the Han and Tang dynasties - the city itself is uncontrollable and irrational. The army would blow up the camp, and the city would also be easy to blow up. Compared with the Han and Tang dynasties, it was still difficult to enforce a curfew in Rome, so the ruling center of Rome had to be set up outside the city walls. The Vatican also has its own independent city walls to resist the impact from Rome in a short period of time.

Lake Nemi is located southeast of Rome. To get to Lake Nemi, you need to drive through the entire city of Rome from the northwest.

"It seems pretty good here?" Shangluo looked out the window.

The scene here is like an old city. The disorderly apartments stretch to the end of the sight, filling all the vacancies in the city. The apartments along the street are often taller, but they are all "insula apartments", that is, "island apartments".

This type of apartment can be traced back to the Roman Empire period BC. Many Insuras are even replicas of Insuras BC. From ancient times to the present, what has been built there is Insura, but it has been rebuilt over and over again.

Insula literally means an apartment. The first floor facing the street is a shop, and the upper floors are residential buildings. According to the Code of Augustus, the height of an insula cannot exceed about 20 meters, but there are a few insulas with nine floors.

In ancient times, Insula was not equipped with running water for households, and there were public water pipes on the first floor.

Although such apartments are very simple in today's terms, if we look at it from an ancient perspective, such insulla apartments could provide many foreigners with a cheap urban life that they had never experienced before. Everyone was crammed into small compartments like beehives, living together with the rhythm of the entire city. This kind of life could quickly assimilate all foreigners and turn them into standard urbanites after a generation, breaking away from their original communities.

The role of insulas is the same today, except that most insulas have exceeded the 20-meter height limit stipulated in the Augustus Code, and more people have been squeezed in.

"By the way," Shangluo asked, "where do the rich people in Rome live?"

"The rich live in domus, or 'houses.' That shorter one in front is one of them. Domus are single-family houses, usually with one or two floors, with one family from bottom to top. Domus have had separate running water since ancient times, but nowadays the electricity is directly connected to the house. We have two power supply systems, one for the domus and one for Insula. When Insula loses power, the domus will keep running."

"Wait, then doesn't that mean I live in Domus as well?"

"Yes, that's right. The quality of a domus is not determined by its size, but by whether it has its own entrance and exit and independent water and electricity supply. Although your home is a little smaller, it is indeed a domus. In Rome, only people above the knight class can afford to live there."

“I feel like my living conditions have improved all of a sudden.”

[You live in a poor place to begin with. Although the house is small, it has a sky above and a piece of land below, which is already a very suitable environment for human habitation - but then again, you are considered a "knight class" in Rome, right?]

"Don't say this is true"

He was a registered hukou holder. Although he built the house himself, the land was inherited from his ancestors. As long as someone worked in the garrison, the land would always belong to his family - but in theory, no matter how high the status of a person from a military household or a craftsman household was, their basic obligations were still to follow the lineage. Many people did not forget their roots even after becoming high-ranking officials. For example, Shangluo's family was actually a craftsman household like Yan Song's family. So when Yan Shifan was in charge of the Ministry of Works, he could tell clearly at a glance which beams and pillars were used, because his family had been doing this work for generations.

From this perspective, the Romans who lived in doros were indeed the same. Those who lived in the Insula Apartments were mostly free citizens who had no rights or obligations in Rome. Citizens who had obligations to Rome lived in stand-alone doros.

"Sometimes they really are alike. So, Mr. Titus, what does your family do?"

"Knights. Our family is a knight family," Titus replied. "Knights are below the senators and above the ordinary citizens. According to the original rules, our family would provide horses, cavalry, and infantry. Although we can provide them directly now, it is usually converted into additional taxes."

"So, what about welfare?"

"I can be promoted to a military post," Titus replied. "My family paid some extra taxes, and in return we got a hereditary military post. If you perform well, you can be promoted to a quaestor from the age of 27, and automatically get a seat in the Senate. But compared to the senators, the knight class can also own commercial real estate in addition to farmland, and can obtain more financial sources than the senators who can only invest in farmland. My family runs a trading company. Shangluo, how about your family?"

"Me?" Shangluo thought for a moment. "My father was at the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Before that, he was the technical director of a colony in the New World. My family also has some shops."

"Then we really are very alike! Very alike."

"Yeah," Shangluo nodded, "So, will all this in Rome disappear?"

"In fact, it has already begun to disappear. The land prices in Rome have plummeted recently because the senators who have heard the news have been abandoning their properties in Rome and investing their wealth in Cybernia, where they buy a virtual property for themselves. They will exchange their property for virtual currency, and the empire will use the property they paid for the maintenance of Cybernia."

"Then how long will it take for this place to become a deserted city?"

"In fact, Rome is already quite empty. We are a relatively prosperous area, but you can see in many places in Rome that not only are many insulas beginning to be abandoned, but even the Domus House is beginning to be vacant. After all, Rome is not a suitable place to live. There are too many people here, and the political and economic status is not very high. After knowing that the focus of the empire has begun to change, everyone who has information here will want to move away."

"Interesting." Shang Luo looked at the street. "How about I recruit some extra people to Rome? Since this place is empty, the cost of rebuilding Rome will be reduced. Can I arrange for the empty houses?"

"Of course. I can help you make the connection. I think you can get a lot of land at the price. Why, you want to develop real estate?"

"About that. Buy more while the land price is low. When I start developing Rome and the land price goes up, it won't be this price anymore."

(End of this chapter)