Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Why are you so troublesome? Wait a minute, I'm in a hurry to catch the bus. I'm quite busy."

[When do you go to school by train?]

"Today we are visiting the Imperial College. Did you forget? Because the enrollment has basically been decided. So there are no classes today. Everyone is going to visit their respective universities. Those of us who were admitted to the Imperial College have to go to the Imperial College today. Don't you listen in class? What are your ears for?"

[Oh, it's you who's in the class, not me. Besides, I have recorded all the lessons, and I'll replay them when I review them later. As an auditor without a student status, I'm already very, very, very serious, okay?]

"Well, alright. You'll be bound to it later anyway. You'll make a lot of money by going to the Imperial College for free."

[Tsk, I can't take the imperial examination, how can I earn money? Besides, isn't the Imperial College free of charge? ]

"Only students like me who are admitted through the imperial examinations are exempt from tuition. Both the Yinjian and the Donjian have to pay for admission. If you include public funds, the students who were admitted through preferential treatment in Nanyang also paid money, paid by the national surname. In addition, the international students selected by various countries also pay their own tuition, just like the national surname. The difference is that the national surname pays money and can participate in the regular imperial examinations. After all, they are citizens. The tribute students are not considered citizens, so they cannot participate in our imperial examinations."

[Wow, wow, wow~ Am I being discriminated against as a foreigner?]

"Strictly speaking, the Romans were not considered outsiders?" Although I had never encountered this in reality, the imperial court did not completely reject naturalization. Although the conditions were very harsh and required the signature and seal of the Minister of Rites, Koreans and Ryukyu people occasionally naturalized. Romans could actually be naturalized as well. Recently, as the Roman Empire was gradually heading for its "end", Shangluo could occasionally see Romans passing by.

However, I have not heard of any systematic naturalization of Romans. Because everyone has to be examined individually - of course, the trouble is only naturalization. Because naturalization is related to the imperial examination. Under the fundamental national policy of the imperial examination republic, the imperial examination is more important than anything else. But if you do not participate in the imperial examination, but just stay and work, there are many department store employees in Korea and Ryukyu, who can live relatively simply, as long as there is a company to recruit them.

For example, Phaethon initially obtained temporary residence rights through this channel.

[I saw your school's announcement posted on the forum. Wow, your school still hasn't enrolled enough students this year.]

"Isn't that a certain Holy Emperor wants to drag me in to fill a hole?" Shang Luo shook his head. "Originally I was going to choose by myself. But he insisted that I go to the Imperial College, so I went. I knew long ago that they would not be able to recruit enough students, because in terms of the difficulty of applying for the unified examination, the cost-effectiveness of the Imperial College is too low. Nanjing University with the same score is definitely a better choice. Apart from being free, there is no advantage in applying for the Imperial College, but these days everyone really doesn't need the tuition fees. People who lack tuition fees will not be able to make money if they go to the Imperial College."

This is what Shangluo encountered, and the biggest difference from my "hometown". Due to the extremely rich educational resources, the population is only about 8 million to 9 million, and the low birth rate for many years, in fact, the college entrance examination cannot recruit enough people.

Only the top universities have fierce competition, such as National Nanjing University in Yingtian. The Imperial College is a second-tier university - but it is only a second-tier university, and it cannot recruit enough students.

However, the Imperial College was not worried about the source of students. This was because the Imperial College was a national university, a private university, a government agency, and a public welfare institution. Therefore, the Imperial College not only accepted examinations like national universities, but also accepted donations like private universities.

At the same time, as a government agency, it was also deeply involved in various social activities organized by the court, so each province also had a large number of recommended students who were exempt from examinations, that is, tribute students, who were among the best tribute students - of course, this was also not enough.

Because of this relaxed environment, Shangluo sometimes felt that the exams here were a little difficult to adapt to. Except for those students who really wanted to apply for top schools, others were almost not in a state of sprint preparation. And as far as his high school was concerned, many people had already passed the interview and entered other schools a year before the official exam. For example, the three people from Suzhou Arts and Crafts Academy, and the school in Yingtian that Qi Yuan was going to. When it came to the final exam, everyone was indeed not in a hurry.

[That’s true. But it seems that the Yinjian and Donjian are still full this year. ]

"Of course. The Imperial College is very cost-effective outside of the unified examination. From the perspective of money, the Imperial College is the only national university that can be attended by paying. Other national universities do not accept donations for admission according to the law, and can only accept examinations. Only the Imperial College legally states that it accepts donations. Because this is the law of our ancestors, people came to the Imperial College to donate students during the time of Emperor Taizu Gao."

[Tsk, you guys are so hard-working, and you still have to take exams. ]

"What about Rome?"

【Rome? What university a Roman can go to is decided at birth. And most of the Roman nobles did not receive public education at all, they all studied at home. Generally, several families with close relationships would run private schools together, and the children of relatives and friends would study together. Then when they reached the age and received the admission notice from the school, they could go to school. For a while, the Palace of Muses used owls to deliver letters, because owls are a symbol of wisdom. 】

Chapter 964 Imperial Examination

"Uh" Shangluo had already anticipated the situation in Rome - or rather, it would have been strange if it had not been like this.

"But there's nothing much to say. There are only a few people in Rome."

[Indeed. In fact, the Roman system treats everyone as an isolated case. Everyone has his or her own normal path, and generally does not need to contact the outside world before adulthood - this is indeed the case for Roman citizens. But there are not many Roman citizens. ]

"What about the others?" Shang Luo asked, "Are there others in the Roman Empire?"

【Do you know the demand for this? 】

"We will have to accept the legacy of the Roman Empire in the future, so there must be some."

[Then my answer is - others don't. Those most basic public education and public health care are all traps to appease the barbarians. There is no value in attending public schools, and public health care is not even available. The outstanding barbarians also have the opportunity to receive a complete education, but it is impossible to do so by relying on public institutions. But the empire has not provided them with a ladder, so everyone has to rely on themselves. ]

"I suddenly feel like you guys are more 'realistic' that way?"

[After all, you are the only ones living in the real paradise on earth. The world outside the Great Wall is not so gentle - and I'm not saying that. You don't have to look at Rome, just look at the surrounding vassal states such as Korea and Ryukyu, you can already see the disparity in human destiny. The Great Wall of Rome is in name only. The Romans can only fight against the outside world as a family unit, and there is no complete wall to exclude non-citizen barbarians. ]

"I suddenly understand a little bit."

[Yes, you will understand once you hear it. The complete closure of the Roman aristocratic education was due to the complete separation between the upper and lower classes. The aristocrats had no need to accept public services, nor did they want to accept public services, and they did not even want to participate in public services.]

"By the way, how do Roman nobles generally choose their lives?"

[Generally speaking, after reaching adulthood, Roman nobles would first serve as generals in the army, or as "informal positions" such as military tribunes, usually for 10 years. After the age of 30, they would officially enter the Senate and become treasurers, aldermen, magistrates, and finally consuls. Being a consul was the end of most people's careers.]

"Aren't these all the various offices of the Senate?"

[Yes.] Apollonia replied, [There is only the Senate, and only the Senate is needed. This is the promotion system for Roman citizens. The Oracle and the Palace of Muses will accept some free men.]

"Then it seems like you guys are kinder?"

[I guess so] Apollonia replied, [It's completely different. The Oracle accepts clergy, and the Muses accepts scholars. But in general, there is no promotion system like the imperial examination that extends to the whole country. So, just enjoy your life as an imperial citizen in the golden age. When you become a citizen of the heaven, the taste will change.]

"Change the apple flavor to orange flavor, right?"

[Ah, I really envy you. You have a better future ahead of you than now. Rome is finished, although I am not in it. Forget it, forget it, I have already lived in your place, and I don’t want to think about those family matters. Just do whatever you want.]

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly stopped: [Eh? I seem to hear a familiar heartbeat. That is.]

She immediately asked in the channel: [Phaethon, are you coming to take the tram too? ]

"Yes." Phaethon replied, "I just saw you. We are not at the same entrance."

【Didn’t you have a part-time job this morning? 】

“I don’t just work at McDonald’s.”

[No, I remember you only worked at the McDonald's.]

"That was yesterday. I have a new job today."

[Then why don’t you go out together? ]

"Cough cough cough" Shangluo suddenly coughed violently a few times.

"Ah?" Phaethon's voice suddenly grew distant. "Apollonia, what did you say? I can't hear you. There are too many people here. Let's talk later. I'm hanging up now."

[Eh? That's weird.] Apollonia sensed something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it. [Let me figure out what it is.]

"Hey! Look, little Apollonia!" Shangluo pointed to where the tram was coming into the station. "Your favorite train is coming!"

[Where? Ah! So beautiful! It’s green! Such a beautiful green. Do you want to take this bus? ]

"I'm afraid I'll be sitting here every day from now on."

[Wow! Then you must wake me up every day! I must watch her enter the station. Ah! What a beautiful car! The front of the car, the headlights! ]

Shangluo suddenly felt that she had said something nasty - but she was indeed talking about cars.

The car stopped and Shangluo walked out of the station.

Although in theory, the Imperial College in Confucius Temple is the main body of the Imperial College, in reality it is now mainly the location of the Imperial College's affiliated middle school, which is Zhu Ling's school. The university part of the Imperial College is not there, but in Shangyuan County outside the city wall and inside the city, near the Grand Palace.

"This door seems unexpectedly small." Shangluo looked at the navigation on his phone and found that this was indeed the place.

Although it didn't look like the main entrance, there were students coming in and out from here, and he also saw Han Xingzhi and his sister Han Xingsi standing at the door.

[I checked and this is the west gate, not the main gate. But if you take the tram from your house, this is the only gate that you can go directly to. If you want to go to the main gate, you have to change trains.]

"You only need to go through the main gate when you enter school. At other times, it's better to go somewhere nearby."

He greeted Han Xingzhi in front of him, and also greeted her sister - Han Xingsi, whom he had met before, was studying social engineering in the Imperial College, and he also came here to pick someone up today.

"Brother! You are here. I brought you breakfast! Do you want to eat? It is the steamed bread that my mother made."

"Don't say anything yet." Shangluo took a bite and said, "Forget it, let's not say anything."

[What's wrong with that? It's indeed better than what you make, and better than what Phaethon makes. But the recipe seems different? This is not the recipe given by Zhu Ling, it seems to have been improved? ]

"It's just that she makes it every day, and she says it's not as delicious as others, which doesn't seem good."

[When did you start to be so considerate of her? Tsk tsk tsk. It's okay, just raise your opinions if you have any, she's not here anyway and can't hear you.]

"Oh, right." Shangluo suddenly asked Han Xingzhi, "When are we going in?"

"You have to wait." Han Xingzhi replied, "My sister said that the other students have arrived. But today's instructor has not come yet."

"Who is Mr. Instructor?"

"It's Associate Professor Zhu Ye." Han Xingsi looked at him, "Yes, the one you know."

"Didn't he go on vacation?!"

"So today, Zhu Ye's teaching assistant is here to show us around. She just sent a message saying that she might be a little late this morning because of some personal matters! Here she is! Let me introduce you to her. She is a Roman. Teaching assistant Phaethon! Here, here! All your students are here!"

Chapter 965 Photos

"I say, why are you leading the team today and you didn't even say anything?"

"You already knew that I was recruited by your senior to be a graduate student in his laboratory. And I can be a teaching assistant at the same time."

"How do I know you've started working so soon? I haven't even started school yet, and you've already started working as a teaching assistant?"

"I just found out about this yesterday. When I was sweeping the floor at the Golden Arches, I got a telegram sent to me. It briefly arranged your schedule for today and asked me to be your assistant to guide you in visiting the school."

[Come to think of it. After all, he is still on vacation and doesn't want to communicate with anyone. So if there is something, he will just send a telegram to notify them unilaterally. ]

"No wonder you asked me to help you with your hair later."

[After? After what? After what, her hair became messy? ]

"Ah?" Shang Luo was stunned for a moment, "Hey! Look, Apollonia, there's a tram coming over there!"

[Wow! It's true!] She paused, [Do you think I would be fooled by the same trick twice? What are you doing? Huh? Ah! What is this?]

"Someone sent me a high-resolution star map. It seems to be from my teacher." Phaethon replied, "Can you help me find a first-magnitude star in this star map? Please, Miss Apollonia. He and I searched for a long time this morning but couldn't find it. Otherwise, let's finish searching the star map before interrogating him?"

[Okay, I'll give you some time to think of the answer. I'll be busy now.]

Apollonia's voice was silent. Instead, there was the rustling sound of folded papers, as if she was taking something out of the printer.

"Hey," Shangluo lowered his voice, "Why is she so easy to talk to?"

"Don't you realize that it's the same as yours?" Phaethon covered his forehead. "After your cultivation was suppressed by that 'counterweight', not to mention her, even your behavior is not as stable as before. Children are children, they get carried away all of a sudden."

"What did you say, something high or something?"

"Anyway, thanks to you for showing off your 'boyfriend feel', otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take such a good photo."

[Ah? What are you talking about? What boyfriend feeling? ]

"We are talking about 'Nanyougan', a variety of yougan that is very delicious when used to make beverages."

[Wow, I want to drink too. Remember to let Shangluo drink two cups.] After saying that, she went back to work. It seemed that looking for something on the star map was very much to her taste, and it allowed her to temporarily ignore external interference.

"Could she be..." Shangluo blinked at Phaethon.

This situation made Shangluo guess the reason - perhaps this was Apollonia's original character. She had no entity, so her character was often mixed with her behavior. As the human-god priestess "Pythia" who dominated astrology, she loved to look at the stars.

"Wow, so this is how she thought in a single thread when she was a child?"

"That's true when we were little. But now, she's actually holding back. She wants you to figure out how to answer on your own. I'm just giving you a way out temporarily. You still have to explain later. Apollonia is kind and wise. She just doesn't want to force you to say the wrong thing."

"Am I the only one who needs to explain?"

"Of course! Didn't you suddenly come up to me to take a picture?"

"That's a matter between two people. You can't blame me alone. You had to agree to take the photo."

"Okay." Phaethon paused. "Anyway, let's think about how to explain it to her. Well, isn't it good for me to control her like this? She may have guessed that this answer is not what she wants to know, so I'll give you some time to think about how to answer."

"It's hard to talk about this kind of thing at other times, so let's just control her now. It's nothing, but if she starts to think too much and thinks there's something wrong, it will only make things more troublesome. Besides, it's nothing, so at worst I can show her the photos later."

"Speaking of which." Phaethon thought for a moment, "Can that really be considered 'nothing'? After all, that boyfriend feeling doesn't seem to be acting at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, I also heard from Yanqiu that your acting was so realistic that you even fooled Senior Fu. It didn't look like acting at all. So I want to confirm whether you are really good at acting. Even the blushing face this morning was acted. Or... you will use your true feelings to anyone, but you were more restrained last night and not so restrained today?"

"I also look at people." Shangluo replied, "I won't force myself. Everything I do comes from my heart."

"Okay." Phaethon shook his head. "This is my satisfactory answer. Anyway, if you want to take photos like this next time, will you do it again?"

“Isn’t this one enough?”

"." Phaethon hesitated for a moment, "That's true. Let's talk about it next time. Anyway, this is a deal, right?"

"Oh, yes, yes." Shangluo nodded, "As a star, I am willing to give convenience to my fans. If she likes my photos, of course I can take more photos for her."

"Really?" Phaethon glanced at him. "Actually, we can take pictures now. If Yanqiu wants pictures of you, we can have pictures of you at all times."