Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1694 The Real Pharaoh

The high priest replied, “After everything is over, I will eventually return to Aru. I have already gone to the paradise in the reed plains, but I was summoned and my peace was disturbed, so I had to return to the mortal world to deal with these matters. Once you have settled everything and the Valley of the Kings has returned to tranquility, I will be able to return to my home in Aru.”

Aru was an endless fertile land in the reed beds. It was the Egyptians' ideal paradise, a replica of the best year that could possibly exist in their lives. In their ideal world, an Egyptian's life should consist of farming and harvesting. There was no threat of war, no natural disasters, and every pharaoh diligently performed his duty, ensuring the Nile River flooded on schedule.

"Ah! That's right!" The high priest suddenly remembered something. "There is something very important. Can you still contact the emperor? Please be sure to tell him this."

A moment later, Zhu Xianxi received another call from Shangluo.

"What? A request for a flood?" Zhu Xianxi was stunned. "What kind of strange request is this? This is the first time I've ever heard of it."

"Yes, as the rulers of Egypt, there was indeed this requirement for the monarch."

Because Egypt's flood agriculture is based on flooding, it relies on the Nile River's regular flooding to irrigate the farmland on both banks. Ideally, this process should be fully automated.

As a result, the Egyptians had already "automated" agriculture in ancient times, as they only needed to cultivate the land to have free fertilizer and water.

However, it is precisely this "automation" in agriculture that has allowed Egypt to feed a population exceeding its technological capabilities. Therefore, if the Nile's flooding were to cease, Egyptian agriculture would be paralyzed. Those extra people would become extra mouths to feed.

A 10% food shortage would cause food prices to soar to the point where 10% of the population would starve. And if the Nile River stopped flooding, the reduction in yield would be far more than just 10%.

This is why Egypt holds a ceremony every year to ensure the Nile River will flood.

"What is this?" Zhu Xianxi pressed his forehead. "My brain is about to explode. I just prayed that the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers wouldn't overflow, and now I'm praying that the Nile River will overflow. This back-and-forth is infuriating! Won't Heaven be angry?"

"Well, I don't know, I'm not the emperor."

"Then, in Shangluo, what kind of ceremony is required here?"

“I asked around, and under normal circumstances—that is, if the Nile River floods normally, then a flood festival should be held. Every household should offer Egyptian grains, mainly soybeans, wheat, lentils, alfalfa, and corn.”

"They actually follow the rules quite well." This ritual sounded very familiar to Zhu Xianxi. "It seems that people who like farming also have a fondness for rituals—but then again, what if the ritual doesn't succeed?"

"Ah," Shangluo fell silent.

"Your silence means we're about to perform a strange ritual, right?" "Let me describe the bare minimum: it seems that in earlier times, human sacrifice was required. But now, if the Nile doesn't flood, we throw terracotta figures into the Nile instead of human sacrifices."

“I understand, there’s no need to explain the rest.” Zhu Xianxi understood most of it. “The first step is human sacrifice, right? As for Ximen Bao’s flood control, I don’t even dare to think about what will happen after that.”

"So, senior brother, what do you plan to do?"

"I approve of the ritual of offering the five grains; it is excellent and perfectly in accordance with the rites. But I refuse anything else; that is not something the emperor should do—but then again, the fact that the Nile does not flood indicates an uneven distribution of celestial phenomena. Have they considered building a dam on the upper reaches of the Nile?"

"A dam?!?" The high priest exclaimed in shock upon hearing the news relayed by Shangluo. "The upper reaches of the Nile are several kilometers wide; how could a dam possibly be built there!"

"So you hadn't considered building a dam? What were Rome doing all those years in Egypt?" Zhu Xianxi said angrily. "We're almost finished building a dam on the Yangtze River, so building one on the Nile wouldn't be a big deal."

Zhu Xianxi made his judgment: "It's decided then and there—a dam will replace the ceremony. The Nile will never dry up again, and as a gift to usher in Egypt, I will give the Egyptians a dam. Incidentally, we can also use hydroelectricity to popularize electricity in Egypt."

Zhu Xianxi had no intention of solving the problem through rituals. His first reaction was that a river with problems should be addressed through water management. Crying and lamenting over a natural phenomenon, hoping to gain some divine approval—that was not something he would do.

"Shangluo, you should take stock of the laborers in Egypt and have them prepare for corvée labor. I'll start preparations here, and if construction can begin, we should start as soon as possible. Hmm, you should confirm this first, and I'll also check with the Ministry of Water Resources of the Ministry of Works."

When Shangluo hung up the phone, the high priest was already in a state of utter shock—the last time he had heard of conscripting laborers throughout Egypt was during the construction of the pyramids. He never expected that this new dynasty and its new atmosphere would so suddenly strike at the collective memory of the pharaohs among the older Egyptians.

"It's...it's the Pharaoh back!" the high priest exclaimed excitedly. "He's back! He's all back! Conscripting laborers and mobilizing everyone—that's the grand vision a Pharaoh should have! The Romans are utterly pathetic! Pathetic! A true Pharaoh should be like this!"

“I’m still here,” Victoria muttered. “Don’t get too excited.”

The high priest was furious: “I’m not targeting you personally. You Greeks and Romans are all utterly worthless! True Egypt should be measured against the earth, leaving magnificent wonders on its surface. But you only use Egypt as a granary; you have no idea how to utilize the talents of the Egyptians. You must know that only by piling up stones can the earth remember the existence of humankind.”

He turned to Shangluo and asked, "So how should these laborers be conscripted?"

"That's right, the imperial court will hire one person from each household—this is considered mandatory employment. It means that as long as the conditions are right, regardless of social status, everyone should do this labor. Those who can drive can drive, those who can do accounting can do accounting. Those who can't drive or do accounting can cook. The imperial court will pay salaries and provide meals, and all you need to do is work. Generally, it will be done in shifts according to the region, during the off-season for farming. This is to build water conservancy facilities for yourselves, so you can all be more energetic."

"That's right, that's it! It's back, the old Egypt is back!"

(End of this chapter)