Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

Victoria thought so too. In fact, after Victoria shared this idea, she also thought of something similar. For example, Christianity spread in a similar way, but it was slower.

She took a bite of bread and looked towards Shangluo.

"Ahem." Shang Luo coughed. "Hey, Mr. Chef, I want to ask you, what are your plans for the future?"

"Of course I will continue to serve you, my majesty," the chef replied, "The purpose of my existence is, of course, to assist you in benefiting the entire human race."

"Well, here's something I want to ask: If anything happens and I ask you to stop, will you stop what you're doing immediately?"

"I will, of course," the chef replied. "You can consider that my cardinal rule."

The chef made a promise that he would obey his master's orders completely, just as before.

"Very good." Shangluo nodded. "With this guarantee, I hope our future cooperation can be more in-depth. I hope you can make more automata for Daming."

"As you wish, my Lord. But if you allow us to build automata, I'm afraid the number will be limited."

"What do you say?" Shangluo asked.

"In fact, the automata on these bread boats you see are not all from the inventory we found. The reason why these bread boats can run smoothly is that many automata are personally involved in them."

"You mean, those ships are actually alive?"

"You are right." The chef nodded. "We have limited cores, so we cannot produce those engines for you endlessly in a short period of time."

"How do you define this 'short time'?"

"After we solve your urgent problem, my majesty," the chef continued, "our main goal at the moment is to make it easier for you to rule the world. We don't need to increase our numbers for this. And once the mission is completed."

"Once completed, you should stop the expansion and enter a conservative working state and follow my next instructions."

Shangluo planned to establish a time node to control the behavior of these automata. Before this time node, he could let the automata build on a large scale. But after everything reached a certain node, he hoped that the automata would stop immediately, end their autonomous work, and start accepting more specific orders. By then, he also hoped that the Colombian Automata would be dissolved.

Chapter 1328 Supervision of Machines

The conversation with the chef is over.

Although Victoria was a little surprised by the chef's visit, at least everything was under control. Compared with the ruthless machine she imagined, she was more satisfied with the chef's current state - but no matter what, she could not tolerate the chef's provocation to "bread".

Bread and circuses are Rome's basic national policy. She will not give in.

"I asked him to try making steamed buns, which can be a buffer." Shangluo said, "In fact, my senior brother also told me before that we must be cautious when replacing staple food. Although it is much more sensitive than directly importing wheat or rice, the sensitivity of importing finished products such as bread is much smaller. But after all, we still have to be on guard."

"Speaking of which, this kind of thing is not impossible to prevent. We can monitor some indicators." Victoria said, "We have experience in this kind of thing."

"Oh? For example?"

"For example, Christianity, or religion itself. At that time, religion in Rome was like a supermarket, with all kinds of religions available. Christianity was not a standout among them at first."

Shangluo knew this. In the beginning, Mithraism was more popular in Rome, which is now the Mithraic temples throughout Rome. Mithraism was still passed down in the Roman army and was applied to the magic system.

"So, is there a critical point?" Shangluo asked, "Is there a critical point at which only one of these supermarket-like religions will be left?"

"State religion," Victoria replied. "Preaching to the upper class and convincing them is the most critical time point. I think Zhang Jue, whom you just mentioned, also realized this, so he wanted to establish Taipingjiao as the state religion of the Han Dynasty through a religious action."

"By the way, why didn't Mithraism become the state religion of Rome?"

"Because there has always been a central problem with Mithraism."

Victoria recounted the failure of Mithraism:

Mithraism is highly exclusive and can be described as a "secret religion". It is a miracle that a secret religion has reached the scale of Mithraism. This is also due to the fact that Mithraism entered the Roman army at an appropriate time and spread like a brotherhood in the Roman army.

This spread did have a positive effect on the construction of the Roman army, because only by establishing a deeper relationship can the soldiers be loyal to each other on the battlefield. However, the spread of Mithraism was limited to the army, and no one made the decision to "widely preach".

This is also the second reason why Mithraism failed: Mithraism had no central organization. It only had loose and secret religious groups and did not hold regular religious gatherings.

The third is the most minor, but also the most important: Mithraism does not sell well outside the military. Because Mithraism does not distribute rice, flour, or oil, it is a waste of money. The common people lack the motivation to participate in Mithraism's religious activities.

Combined with these three, even though Mithraism gained the upper hand and had its image appear on Roman coins for a time, the Roman emperor still could not make a religion that he himself was not too keen on preaching become the state religion.

"So Shangluo, you need to observe these points: first, whether it is exclusive. Second, whether an organized chain of command has been established. Third, whether rice, flour and oil have been distributed. If these three are combined, then you just need to bribe the upper echelons and the matter will be done."

“So that’s how it is.” Shangluo thought about it.

Mithraism ultimately failed, perhaps because they did not have the same awareness as Zhang Jue, trying to package themselves as a state religion.

Here, Shangluo is unable to confirm whether the Colombian Automaton Country has similar ideas.

But such a situation is not unimaginable:

Machines may actively and permanently enter people's lives and become a part of everyone's life. At the beginning, they may bribe everyone with bread, and then establish a management mechanism around the distribution of bread, and then take the lead in local public affairs.

If these bread machines are allowed to develop actively with the purpose of "sending out more bread", then these machines may take the opportunity to embed themselves into human life.

"Shangluo, there is one key point, which is also the root of the success of Christianity and Mithraism." Victoria said, "Both of them actually promised immortality."

"Like the Yellow Turbans and the Xingchou?"

"That's right. Because only death is equal to everyone, the promise of immortality can indeed infect everyone from top to bottom. If the Columbian Automaton Country can also promise immortality in the future, then things will probably be very different."

"You can do this? Wait, do I know someone like that?"

"Yes, you do." Victoria nodded. "The Vulcan Core contains wandering lights. However, some unethical experiments are still being conducted - it is not impossible to store human consciousness in the Vulcan Core. Some of them are very powerful, so powerful that they can even be compared with gods."

[Hehehe, it's me. Although the principle is similar, I'm not a robot. I have ignited the divine fire! I have become a true god. This is the only way to control the rules with human will. Now, the power of the oracle's prophecy is in my hands! ]

"So what are we having for dinner?"

[How would I know? You decide for yourself. Oh, don't ruin my plan at this time. I tell you, the more I read fortunes, the more I know that fate cannot be calculated. Let me, who is smart, use my wisdom to answer everything.]

"Look at Zhang Jue, look at the chef, and then look at yourself."

[Do you have any special fetish for uncles? I am a beautiful girl, isn't this the biggest difference? ]

"Yes, it is." He was powerless to refute this. This was the basis for Apollonia to reach a cooperation with him, and it was the basis of the basis. If Apollonia was not a beautiful girl, he would have been driven crazy by her nagging.

"Anyway," Shangluo pressed his forehead, "Let him help with the chef's matter for now. In a short period of time, he can help us a lot. When we are making great strides in the sky, he can improve the services we provide on earth and enhance the sense of touch of ascension, which is very important. Because people often need to realize that the trend of history is happening through events."

Rockets are necessary, but so are steamed buns and soda. When the rocket flies up into the sky with a bang, everyone needs unlimited daily necessities to watch with peace of mind.

"So, now that the chef is in charge of this part of the work, I can be considered relieved of my worries for the time being. After all, what we are about to do may cause permanent changes to the lunar landscape."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Victoria asked.

[In layman's terms, he might accidentally blow up the moon, turning it into a crescent shape or something.]

Chapter 1329 The Dust-covered Moon

"Wait." Victoria realized now, "So your actions could potentially blow up the moon?"

"For the future of mankind, it is not bad to bend a moon. Moreover, the moon waxes and wanes. In ancient times, there was a tree called Dachun, which regarded eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn. The full moon has been with mankind for too long, so blowing out a crescent moon is also a special flavor!"

"Hey, hey, Shangluo! Have you realized one thing: landscapes and the like may indeed be landscapes to you. But everything in Constantinople and Rome is based on the moon! The symbol of Constantinople is the moon. If you blow up the full moon into a crescent, Rome will be finished!"

[Well, in theory, it shouldn't collapse immediately. Because the symbol of Constantinople is the crescent moon. But.] Apollonia thought of another possibility, [In fact, it's not a problem with the crescent moon, but a problem with the bright moon.]

"Why is it the bright moon?" Shangluo asked.

[Do you remember the incident in which the shepherd Stephen released the Archangel Gabriel's dove after 1000 years with the words "I'll be back soon"? This incident protected Constantinople in the following way: as long as the bright moon shines on Constantinople, the city is invincible. If we blow a hole in the moon and turn the full moon into a new moon, the problem of making the bright moon disappear is huge. The weakening of the moonlight will reduce the magic strength of the entire world.]

Shangluo blinked: "What consequences will it lead to?"

[The worst result is that the Holy Lie collapses, and all the barbarians realize the weakness of the Roman Empire, and take advantage of the weakening of magic to devour half of the world. This may have a significant impact on your process of inheriting the Roman legacy. And it's not just that.]

Apollonia thought for a moment and continued:

[The stone heart that sustains Victoria's life may also fail when the moonlight is covered with dust, and then she will be beyond cure. Even the lighthouse of Alexandria may go out for the same reason.]

"Oh." Shang Luo pressed his forehead, "This is troublesome."

This was the first time that the goals of the Ming Dynasty and Rome overlapped. Of course, the Ming Dynasty's goal was the sea of ​​stars in the sky, and Rome's goal was the infinite universe in a nutshell. However, Rome's magic relied on the symbolic moon, while the only way for the Ming Dynasty to conduct space travel was the physical moon.

When there is a conflict between the two sides, which is more important, the symbolic moon or the physical moon?

"I choose to keep both. I want to complete both plans." Shangluo stood up. "I want to strike down the Moon Rabbit while not letting the moonlight be tarnished. You can rest assured."

"I believe you." Victoria nodded, "but I always feel that this matter is a little strange."

"What's wrong?" Shangluo asked.

"Among those involved in this matter, there are researchers from Syracuse, who are also Romans. Why didn't they take the initiative to mention the need to protect the moon during their participation?"

[It seems that there is only one reason, and the answer is self-evident: Syracuse, as a physics party, has nothing to do with the moon. It is better to say that if they blow up the moon, they can get rid of the remaining half of Rome, let the Oracle, the Palace of Muses and the Senate all explode, and finally they will inherit the ruins of Rome. ]

"How blasphemous!" Victoria exclaimed. "Is this really possible?"

"Don't tell me yet," Shangluo touched his chin.

Things have been going really well for a long time—which is a good thing. But the problem is, they have been going too well.

The Syracuse Academy of Sciences mobilized almost its entire staff for this matter. They provided support regardless of the cost and reached an in-depth cooperation with the Lanfang Company, just to advance the space program as quickly as possible. It seemed as if this was the most important thing in the world to them.

If Apollonia's suspicions were true, it would mark a new height of Roman internal strife. For no matter how fiercely they fought before, the New Antiochus simply sought to carve out a stranglehold on the New World. As the successor to the New Antiochus Exarchate, the Columbian Automata State was merely seeking to replace the Empire's bread and butter with the bread of the circus.

But Syracuse was really powerful. They wanted to blow up the entire Eastern Empire—the Senate, the Oracle, and especially the Palace of Muses, which they hated the most.

The six Romes in this world are distributed according to the combinations of people, worlds and symbols.

The Senate in Constantinople studied the relationship between the world and symbols - that is, the theurgy.

The Muses of Alexandria studied signs and symbols, the purely symbolic realm - that is, alchemy.

The Greek oracles studied the relationship between symbols and people - this is astrology.

Correspondingly, the city of Rome on the Western Empire side symbolizes the sociology between people; the new Antioch symbolizes the relationship between people and the world, and summarizes all practices.

Syracuse's research direction is the relationship between the world and the world, which is physics in a broad sense (the truth of things), or natural science.

This is almost the category farthest from symbol magic, especially the farthest from the Palace of Muses that studies pure symbols. Because physics is a natural principle that has nothing to do with humans.

Although Victoria didn't mention it, there were actually some mirror-image confrontations on both sides of Rome.

The mirror image of Syracuse is the Palace of Muses in Alexandria. One studies the rules of the pure world, and the other studies the field of pure symbols, and both are ruled by a group of intellectual supermen.

In other words, they are fighting for the right to define the world.

In the past, in the era of magic, Syracuse was more like the least important of the six Romes. Because all progress came from magic, and all practice was born in New Antioch. The Syracuse Academy was not the only research institution, but was subject to ethical review by the Palace of Muses.

In this way, researchers of Syracuse would naturally think: if the Palace of the Muses is moved away, then the entire Roman funds will have to be injected into Syracuse.

This is a battle between scholars, and their fighting style is often quite simple: to blow each other up.

"Ah," Shangluo shook his head, "Now that you mention it, Syracuse is becoming more and more suspicious."

[The fact that they are so diligent is actually very suspicious. I have never seen them so diligent before. Shangluo, what should we do? ]

"What should I do? Of course I have to continue. I can't stop here. I will take care of Syracuse and keep all plans as usual. However, I have to keep a trick up my sleeve. At least I have to make sure I can remedy the situation if the worst happens."

Chapter 1330 Syracuse's Purpose

"Traitors! These shameful traitors!"

Victoria was furious. She was the biggest victim in the whole thing because she was kept in the dark from beginning to end. In order to help Shangluo, he even took the initiative to introduce the Syracuse researchers to Shangluo.

I didn't expect that their reward would be to blow me up into the sky.

At this moment, her hatred for Syracuse even exceeded that for the chef.

At least the chef had just brought a plate of delicious lye balls, but Syracuse didn't offer her anything.

"Shangluo, I want revenge on them!"

"Wait a minute, this has not been confirmed yet."

Although it is almost certain, as the saying goes, if you catch a thief, you should catch him with stolen goods; if you catch an adulterer, you should catch him with his partner. Conviction should be based on facts, and it is best to catch him in the act. Although the behavior of the Syracuse Academy is questionable and they have sufficient motives, they have not yet committed the crime.

"Shangluo, it will be too late once they start committing crimes!"

"Victoria, there is something I want to explain." Shang Luo said seriously, "From our perspective, it is worthwhile to exchange the moon's dust for the conquest of the moon. Although this will cause a catastrophe to Rome, if we cannot eradicate the possible alien life on the moon here, then once the rabbit retreats back to the rabbit hole, there will be endless troubles."

Shangluo saw this very clearly. Although it was important to preserve the future of Rome, it was more important to preserve the future of Ming. This was true in every sense.

At present, only the Ming Dynasty has the ability to lead mankind forward. Even if Rome suffers great losses, it can still be saved. If the Ming Dynasty suffers losses, the whole world will be doomed - and although he is the King of Rome, he has never considered himself a Roman. If he has to choose one of the two, he will undoubtedly choose the Ming Dynasty rather than the other side.

A new conflict has emerged. Again, this time it is a question of the lines between the two worlds.