Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1670 The Origins of Alexander

If Alexander had lived a little longer, perhaps all of this he envisioned would have come true.

Ultimately, Alexander died young, but the team he left behind that "deified" him paved the way for his successors. Among them, Ptolemy mastered the art most thoroughly.

After all, Egypt has always had a strong religious atmosphere. The pharaohs of Egypt throughout history have tried to maintain their rule through the power of the gods—a necessity they had no choice but to rely on. Egyptian civilization was established so early that the technologies used to sustain human civilization in later generations hadn't even been invented yet. This led to Egyptian civilization being particularly dependent on the natural gifts provided by the Nile River, primarily its periodic floods.

The Nile is a wonderful place. Because of the difference in elevation between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, the Nile's channel has been cut down hundreds of meters, leaving behind hundreds of meters of silt. In other places, river floods—especially the floods of a few rivers—often turn the land into terrible saline-alkali land. Only the Nile, with each flood, churns up the silt from its channel, saving Egyptians many agricultural tasks.

If the Nile's blessings did not come, it was the Pharaoh's fault. And by bearing these faults, the Pharaoh's status as an incarnation of a god was established.

The successors who carried on Alexander's legacy, especially in Ptolemaic Egypt, also revered the incarnations of the gods.

The Temple of Seraphine, where the Library of Alexandria is located, was Ptolemy's attempt to portray himself as the incarnation of Dionysus.

Their design was actually quite interesting—because Alexander wanted to be the "present god." Alexander failed, and Ptolemy, as his successor, naturally couldn't just claim to be the "present god" either, so they chose Dionysus as the center of their faith. Dionysus was the future god.

While claiming to be the "savior of the future" is more plausible than proclaiming oneself the "living god of the present," it is still not as credible as the Romans.

The Romans claimed to be the supreme ruler of heaven and earth, originating from God yet surpassing God, and even the universal parish priests of the Orthodox Church had to obey the emperor.

And the wise men are facing just such a Rome.

This was actually a miracle—the Romans didn't really like pretentious affectations. Although they learned from the Greeks, the Romans always kept Greek and Roman affairs quite separate. And to let the wise men decide all this was the greatest restraint the Romans could muster.

On the other hand, the sages were actually quite cooperative with Rome's work.

Indeed, there were those who did not cooperate, such as Archimedes, a victim who clearly died at the hands of the Romans, so naturally he could not serve the Romans.

However, after recognizing the current situation, most of the others chose to continue cooperating.

After all, they were philosophers. Sometimes, as philosophers, they can easily see the truth of things—if they didn't cooperate with the Romans, the Romans could simply abandon their plans, and everything would be over.

"The sages are actually quite worried about this," Apollonia replied. "Do you remember Las Vegas? Alexandria is essentially Egypt's Las Vegas. Like Las Vegas, Alexandria wasn't even within the traditional sphere of influence of Egyptian civilization."

Alexander's purpose in building the city was very clear: he needed to establish a Greek city on the edge of the Nile Delta as a link between Greece and the rich Nile Valley.

At that time, only one place in Egypt provided the conditions for establishing such a city: Alexandria, located behind Pharaoh's Island and unobstructed by the silt of the Nile's estuary. It possessed the potential to be developed into a good port, eliminating the need for annual dredging of the river. In other words, the city was initially established by Alexander to sustain his own existence.

Its location, far from any village or town, made it fundamentally unsuitable as the center of Egypt; its primary purpose was to maintain the presence of Greek civilization. Therefore, when the outsiders relinquished direct rule over Egypt, Alexander's decline was a natural consequence.

The sages' concerns were also related to the future of Alexandria. If Cyborneia truly lost its value, then it would be perfectly reasonable for the Romans to abandon it.

"Shangluo," Victoria reported, bringing the latest news. "They've reached a conclusion—they want the people of Alexandria and you to discuss this matter further." "Why Alexandria?"

"Look where we are. This is a city modeled after Alexandria, so we naturally have to consider Alexander's own ideas."

"Okay. Then I'll go see him."

He had met Alexander once before. Alexander was a legendary historical figure, and although this was just a fan fiction, he still had an indelible influence on the city of Alexandria.

"What if others recognize my occupation?"

"Then everything will be simple. If Alexander believes your control over the city is justified, then nothing will oppose you anymore. Of course, this is on the condition that he accepts your proposal."

"Okay. Then I still need to figure out how to persuade him?"

“Alexander is a smart man. If there is anything he can decide, and he recognizes that he must do it, then he will definitely do it. You don’t need to worry about what he thinks normally; he believes more in the deterrent effect of reality than in words. Just tell him what’s going on here, and he will understand.”

Inside the Library of Alexandria, in the consul's office.

Shangluo was sitting in the seat of Agassiz. Since his fellow consul was absent, the humans of Alexandria needed at least one person in charge. And he was currently receiving Alexander in his office.

"Your Excellency from China, it's been a long time." Alexander sat down across the table. "I'd like to ask, when will your troop deployments end?"

The army had already reached him, and he wanted to know when this would end.

“Once we’re sure everything is safe, we’ll withdraw,” Shangluo replied.

"Did Agathocles allow this?" Alexander asked. After all, this concerned Agathocles. Previously, they had been negotiating with Agathocles; they never expected Shangluo to appear here, at the heart of power.

"This place is now under my jurisdiction. I sent troops here to ensure the world is not destroyed. The first batch is almost ready, but there will be a second and a third batch later."

"We want to protest! This kind of thing should be discussed with us!"

"What's that saying again? All unarmed prophets have failed. The landowner has already accepted me, hasn't he?"

"The landowner has approved of you, but the houseowner hasn't approved of you yet."

"So that's what you were thinking." Shang Luo pondered for a moment. "It seems there's a big conflict between you two. How about you two have a fight?"

(End of this chapter)