Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1564 Yaru
"Hmm, you mean my father saw this wheat?" Shangluo thought for a moment, "It might not be what you think. He probably wouldn't find it very romantic."

"Why? Isn't wheat beautiful? It represents the joy of a bountiful harvest."

Rome's foundation lay in its legions and agriculture. As long as farmland could expand and legions could advance, Rome's rule could be firmly established.

Specifically, Rome would distribute land as rewards to soldiers—essentially the same as the traditional garrison system. However, because Rome lacked a large, dominant population, the areas under Roman rule could essentially be considered as "vast tracts of garrison land." Without a large, supportive population, governing these garrisons was actually quite difficult.

Rome's provinces were built upon these military settlements, each with a vast number of administrative officials. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish Carolingian dynasty briefly took over this administrative system, but ultimately, due to the low literacy rate, they were unable to fill the gaps in the bureaucracy and were forced to acknowledge the status quo of feudal rule, reverting to a system of centralized administration.

This gave wheat a special significance to the Roman Empire, especially to the emperor. Egypt was the region under the strongest Roman control, and in many instances, it was considered the emperor's personal property.

As the empire's "granary," the Roman Empire's "bread and circus" system depended on its control over Egypt—which, of course, was not a good thing for Egypt itself.

But for Victoria, seeing these wheat fields was like seeing her own property. She felt incredibly safe and secure in those fields.

“If my father saw these farmlands, he would probably think that this place needs to be modernized because it lacks harvesters and automated irrigation systems.”

"Um, this isn't real farmland. These idyllic settings are a setting. Come to think of it, these settings were created by him too, right?"

"You're the clients for this project, right? So he's just making it look the way you want it to be."

"What would he like?"

"Hmm, he would actually like the look of a watch shop. Otherwise, he wouldn't have opened a watch shop when he dragged me into seclusion."

"Oh, I almost forgot, you were an apprentice in a watch shop."

“He wasn’t an apprentice, he was the shop owner. I was the one who ran the shop; he was nowhere to be seen after that. But at the time, I didn’t really expect much from the watch shop’s revenue, since his wages as a craftsman were paid into our family’s bank account, and he left me the passbook when he left.”

"I feel like none of us are quite normal. This makes Zhu Ling's life all the more enviable."

“Sigh.” Shang Luo shook his head. “To be honest—but I did get some useful information from my father.”

"Really? I got it too. I heard Amun-Zeus isn't home right now?"

"That's why everyone advises us to wait until he's home before we attack him."

"It's probably because the instance isn't open yet. Like the Golden Bough Ceremony. For people like us, taking the initiative might be the best option in this situation. But the spirit creature has its own thoughts, and I don't know exactly what it's thinking. However, as long as it doesn't come out to provoke us, we can just pretend it doesn't exist."

In principle, this has always been the case. The Romans rarely launched attacks on the spirit world, but the Night Watch Bureau in Shangluo was breaking with old customs and relying on the unified Germanic state to wage wars abroad, allowing the Night Watch Bureau to expand at the same time.

This behavior is actually quite unruly. But Rome was on the verge of collapse, so rules didn't really matter.

However, if Amun-Zeus himself were to declare a truce, the Romans would find it difficult to confront him—because unlike the Elves, Amun-Zeus hadn't done anything to the Romans. He hadn't kidnapped any Romans, nor had he waged war. It was only occasionally that some rebellious artificial intelligences would rejoin him.

Overall, however, both sides are currently only testing each other and have no intention of going to war.

But unlike the Elves—the war between Rome and the Elves had already begun and was escalating. As things stand, a victor will likely be decided before Paris. Once Oberon, the Elven King, is defeated, the last remaining Elves in Britain will pose no threat. The war is ongoing, and there is no longer any possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.

"Speaking of which, Victoria, your health issues still need to be addressed eventually."

The main reason they came to Amun-Zeus was to obtain the status of a demigod from him.

Because Phaethon and Apollonia both derive their power from the sun god. Their power is inexhaustible and ever-flowing—at its peak, of course.

Victoria could also reach this level, if only she could obtain the divine power of Amun-Zeus.

Because Amun-Zeus symbolizes the rising sun among the various sun gods, his energy source is undoubtedly the most powerful, enough to provide Victoria with a continuous supply of energy.

At the same time, Amun-Zeus also has the aspect of a god-king, which is also suitable for Victoria.

Although all three are sun gods, they are different. Amun-Zeus was the king of the gods, Helios was closer to a craftsman, and Apollo was a priest. These three suns did not appear at the same time and showed different aspects of each other.

"So, Victoria, it's okay if we can't get the divine status of Amun-Zeus in the short term, right?"

“I’m fine,” Victoria said, spreading her hands. “I’m staying with you, so what problems could I possibly have? Just put my business aside for now, and let’s deal with things in Europe first. Besides, we were actually planning to use the elves’ things.”

"Wait, why can the elves' be included too?"

“Not all elves will do; only the heart of one elf might be of use to me—the Elf King Oberon, who, according to legend, was Caesar’s illegitimate son. In other words, he was also Roman, and Caesar’s heir. His line of succession was comparable to that of Caesarion.”

Caesarion, son of Caesar and Cleopatra (Ptolemy Philopator Philometholl Caesar), was also the last pharaoh of Egypt.

Although the Ptolemaic dynasty was founded by the Greeks, it at least considered itself a dynasty of Egypt and maintained harmony with the local Egyptians. However, after the arrival of the Romans, the Romans only sought harmony with the local Egyptians. Caesar himself personally intervened with the Ptolemaic princesses to "mediate" with them, successfully producing a perfect successor—Caesarion, who was half Roman, half Greek, and culturally Egyptian. He possessed Caesar's blood, bore the Caesar's surname, and had the support of both Egypt and Greece.

This was arguably the most suitable ruler in the entire known world (for the Roman Empire). For to this day, the Roman Empire consisted of three parts: Latin Rome, Greco-Roman Empire, and Egypt. And Caesarion naturally possessed legitimacy in all three.

The only obstacles preventing him from succeeding Caesar were two "minor" ones:

First, Roman law prohibited illegitimate children from inheriting their father's power. Caesar and Cleopatra were not married, and their son was indeed illegitimate.

Secondly, Emperor Taizu Gaodi Caesar already had a successor, namely Emperor Shizu Wendi Octavian.

“Wait a minute.” Shang Luo pondered for a moment, “Comparing the right of succession to Caesarion doesn’t seem like a good thing. Caesarion doesn’t have any right of succession at all.”

“Yes, Oberon didn’t either—but that doesn’t stop them from having Caesar’s blood and blending local cultures. Caesarion had both Roman and Greek blood, while Oberon had both Roman and Elven blood. You can’t look at this from a purely Roman perspective. From the Greek perspective, the Greeks weren’t nearly as strict about illegitimate children as the Romans were. Otherwise, Caesarion wouldn’t have been able to become the Ptolemaic Pharaoh.”

Although Caesarion's position in Rome was not very secure, his position as Pharaoh in Egypt was widely recognized—and because of this, his influence in Egypt was confirmed, making him the last widely recognized Pharaoh of Egypt.

[The two men were indeed evenly matched in their right to succession. But that was then. From today's perspective, the Isaurian family has absolutely no connection to the throne back then. In this case, Caesarion's right to succession is actually more reasonable.]

“Wait a minute.” He asked Victoria for confirmation: “When it comes to the succession to the Roman emperor, does bloodline really matter?”

"Shangluo, you've asked a crucial question—how important is bloodline to the Roman emperor? The answer is not important at all. Bloodline only determines the clan's rule, not the throne. The throne has always been held by the strongest military force. Only established families, like our Isauria family, can guarantee the throne's succession from father to son."

"Then, would Oberon also be eligible to be a Roman?"

“Hmm,” Victoria thought for a moment, “Theoretically, it is indeed possible. Theoretically, Oberon could become a true Roman. But he is currently leading the Elves against the Roman Empire, which is clearly not something a Roman should do. The Romans can also expel him from Roman citizenship, and ostracism is not out of the question.”

"So in other words, negotiation is possible?"

“It is theoretically possible. At least legally speaking, Oberon, who has Caesar’s blood, is indeed qualified to return to Rome.”

"Then we must exterminate them all."

"Huh? I thought you were going to negotiate with him?"

"Isn't it precisely because there is a possibility of negotiation that it is necessary to eliminate the root of the problem? Caesarion was eventually executed by Octavian, wasn't he? That is a very decisive way to eliminate the root of the problem. Hesitation will only lead to trouble. If Octavian had not executed Caesarion because of a moment of mercy, then his opponents would have found a way to rally around Caesarion and resist his rule."

Sometimes, eliminating problems at their root isn't due to distrust, but rather because any seed can grow given the right sunshine and rain.

Even if an emperor is ordained by heaven, he will inevitably face opposition. These opposition groups are usually disorganized. But if a more legitimate heir emerges, a faction will form to support that new successor.

Sometimes, all it takes to start a rebellion is a pretext, because many people's resolve isn't so firm. When there's no reason, many seem perfectly content to stay put. But once a reason, an opportunity, or a temptation arises, it's hard to say what will happen.

Mencius said, "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen." King Xuan of Qi, sitting in his palace, saw an ox about to be slaughtered passing by and felt reluctant to do so. However, the sacrifice had to be performed, and it was impossible to break the ritual by letting one ox go. So, he replaced the ox with a sheep.

Mencius's point here is that one should not test a gentleman with such a question—it is perfectly normal to be reluctant to kill animals, and if you are not prepared to take responsibility, you should not interfere with the kitchen's work. If you do not want to waste your energy on such a question, the most direct choice is not to look, to stay far away from the kitchen, and not to casually place yourself in such a moral dilemma.

Octavian killed Caesarion for this reason. Throughout history, royal families have often killed each other, even fathers killing sons and sons murdering fathers, mostly for this reason. Sometimes the bond between father and son was not severed, but to prevent someone from relying on a relative to rebel, sometimes it was necessary to kill them.

[To take a more recent example, the Tumu Crisis during the Ming Dynasty is a vivid illustration of this.]

"Therefore, this matter needs to be handled as soon as possible."

Shangluo was calculating, determined not to let Oberon gain any advantage in this process. Victoria already had many rivals, and the decline of the Roman Empire wasn't solely the decision of all Romans. At a time like this, if the son of Caesar, a powerful Elf King, stood on their side, who knows what might happen?

"So, do we have any elven assassins or anything like that?" Shang Luo asked.

"Yes. It is said that there are some assassins among the elves. They are powerful in combat and appear and disappear unpredictably."

"That's wonderful. Where can we hire an elf like that?"

"The Great Spirits of the Springs. Their leader, Irodiasa, has been killed by you."

“Okay.” Shangluo covered his forehead and thought for a moment. “However, on the other hand, we actually have another option.”

"You mean, Karin?"

Shangluo nodded: "We need to consult Karin herself on this—we don't want her to assassinate Oberon directly. What we need to ensure is that when Oberon's kingdom falls, he doesn't run off to Britain or anywhere else across the sea to form a government-in-exile. This is very important, extremely important."

(End of this chapter)