[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

On his deathbed, Hammurabi handed over Babylon to Herod.

This testament was beyond everyone's expectations, and Herod himself was also very surprised, and it was difficult to accept it for a while.

"For the sake of Wang... who raised you up..."

There was pleading in Hammurabi's staccato voice.Hammurabi's queen also urged: "Master Herod, please agree to come down! Don't you have the heart...to see the king feel so uncomfortable?"

The old queen adopted two young princes at her knees, and her prosperity and stability in her later years depended on whether one of these two sons could successfully inherit the throne.Seeing that Herod hadn't made a statement, the queen quickly brought out the two young princes and ordered them to salute in front of Herod, calling them "Lord Herod".

Herod quickly knelt down and bowed his head to the king.

Hammurabi looked over Herod's shoulder, looking at Inan behind Herod.

Inan understood what Hammurabi meant. The king handed over the country to Herod before he died, just to tie himself with Herod.The old king didn't know that they were a pair of men and women who just said goodbye to each other with a hug.

But seeing Hammurabi's eyes, thinking that the old man's only last wish is that the Babylonian kingdom he founded can continue to prosper and be stable——

In fact, the historical Babylonian Kingdom, after the death of Hammurabi, first suffered a barbaric invasion by the Hittites, and naturally fell apart after the mountains and rivers were broken.

Without a strong heir, the Kingdom of Babylon is doomed to have only a short-lived glory.

But who would have thought that Hammurabi would make such a choice at the end of his life, handing over the country to Herod, who was in his prime and popular.

Yinan thought silently for a while, then turned her face and nodded to Hammurabi: she expressed that she was willing to help the king this time - if all the things that were just established, fairness and the rule of law, would follow Hammurabi's death. Crash, so all the hard work before, isn't it all in vain.

Hammurabi's cloudy eyes suddenly revealed a bit of relief.

He stretched out his hand to Herod: "My child..." Herod quickly took Hammurabi's hand.

"Wang, I haven't changed your identity, I hope you can understand..."

When Hammurabi said this, his voice stopped abruptly, and he held Herod's hand and let it go bit by bit.

The cries of the queen and the two little princes sounded immediately, and then, the cries resounded throughout the royal court.

Herod gently took the old king's hand and placed it on the couch of the dead.He lowered his head and adjusted the black robe of the ceremony officer on his body, then stood up and turned around.

As the regent who governed the whole country, he took the hands of the two little princes from the queen.The queen sat behind him.

He gave orders to the officials and nobles who came in a hurry, and gave instructions for the king's funeral one by one.No one dared to defy.

Inan stood quietly beside Hammurabi's bed, looking at the king who was once famous in history because of a legal code.

The old king, until his deathbed, was still carefully calculating what happened to him after his death.

He didn't change Herod's Mushchinnu status, but Inan understood the king's intention - only by allowing Herod to continue to have the status of Mushchennu, could he be considered a person without selfishness, so he sat safely in the little prince's seat. Behind him, he monopolizes power without being criticized.

Only in this way can Herod follow Hammurabi's last wish and implement the innovative measures that have already begun to be implemented in the Kingdom of Babylon.

Inan understood what Hammurabi wanted, and she knew it too: Herod knew better than she did.

Then came the nobles, ministers and officials, swearing allegiance to the queen, the little prince and the regent.

Herod's former colleagues were crowded in the royal court at this moment, bowing down to the little prince in front of Herod, and bowing down to Herod at the same time.

All of them looked in awe, but they were probably jealous in their hearts: everyone was the same Mushchenu, but in the end, Herod was already a monopoly, holding all the power to control the entire kingdom.The so-called people have the same fate, that is the case.

But in the past few years, what kind of life Herod has lived, what kind of achievements he has made, and what kind of life they have lived... Everyone can see it, and they can't accept it.

Herod was a ceremonial official, and in a few words he had given instructions for Hammurabi's funeral ceremonies.One or two great nobles wanted to deliberately challenge Herod's authority, but they were no match for Herod in the matter of citing scriptures.

In addition, Herod announced that all the systems and rules of the kingdom would be based on Hammurabi's life without any changes.

The great nobles knew that Herod was a confidant that Hammurabi deliberately cultivated during his lifetime, and they expected him to be just a "conservative" transitional role. They were worried, and they just showed sadness and mourned Hammurabi's departure.

Under the auspices of Herod, Hammurabi's funeral was held in a solemn and solemn atmosphere, and there was no disturbance from the beginning to the end, which was surprisingly smooth.

Inan felt that the anomalies were monsters, especially the older sons of Hammurabi—they watched their younger brothers of the same background, who were much younger than themselves, pretending to be sitting on the ground under the support of Herod. On the throne, can you still stay so honest?

Inan's view, Hammurabi's thoughts were clear: his youngest son hadn't been affected by the daily struggles for power, and if he was taught by Herod slowly, he wouldn't be too bad when he grew up.

But those older princes obviously don't think so.They definitely don't think it's fair.

Inan secretly reminded Herod to make preparations in advance.Herod seemed to ignore it, and Inan could not see any feedback from him.

Until one day, the older princes entangled with a number of Mushiqinnu, and several nobles who supported them, rushed into the Babylonian palace with a dry Valdu.

When Yinan heard the news, he rushed to the palace immediately.

She happened to see Herod in a black robe holding a little prince with one hand, guarded by the captain of the palace guard, rushing down a safe road, and just arrived near Herod's former residence.

There were fireworks rising in the direction of the palace, and the sound of shouting and killing was extremely loud.Inan glanced at Herod worriedly, with reproach in his eyes - this incident did not have to happen in the first place.

Seeing the worried expression on Inan's face, Herod felt a little embarrassed, and said, "Actually...Miss Ishtar, you don't have to be so worried at all. The captain of the guard is here..."

Yi Nan's eyes turned to the face of the captain of the palace guard.

This captain of the palace guard was the one who had been flogged by Herod in front of the "Gate of Justice" and beaten with ten sticks.

The captain of the guard heard Herod's words and corrected him earnestly: "Master Herod, I did not do this because I am loyal to you."

The fast-talking captain of the guard continued in one breath: "I swear allegiance to King Hammurabi throughout my life. I help you only because what you have done does not violate King Hammurabi's wishes."

"If you want me to be loyal to you, I'm afraid you will have to show me clearly in the next few years: you are worthy of allegiance!"

Yi Nan secretly called it a fluke, but fortunately the captain of the palace guard was still loyal and was willing to escort Herod and the little prince out of the palace safely.

She casually asked, "Is the queen all right?"

Before the captain of the guard could answer, Herod quickly replied, "Don't worry, they need a queen, and they dare not disrespect the queen."

If the princes want to covet the power left by King Hammurabi, the first to get rid of is Herod, and then the two little princes adopted by the queen.

After Herod answered this sentence, Inan was stunned, and looked at Herod carefully again—it seems that this man did not ignore her warning, but had already anticipated this incident.

Everything is in his calculations.

Being spotted by Yi Nan at a glance, Herod's eyes flickered, and he said awkwardly, "But...thank you for coming."

At this moment, a young man with the appearance of a soldier rushed to report and loudly said on purpose: "Lord Herod, the soldiers transferred from the northern border have entered the city through four gates. The first batch of soldiers have surrounded the palace. , whether to attack here or not, I will listen to your instruction."

Yi Nan gasped: "You transferred troops from the northern border?"

Hammurabi had just been buried, there was turmoil in the Babylonian royal family, and Herod had transferred troops from the northern border—isn't this an opportunity for the Hittites to rush into Babylon?

Herod looked at her with firm eyes, but his pupils shrank slightly.

Yinan: ...Understood!

This is a chain game.

The first heavy game is the incident in the city of Babylon.He intentionally lured the princes to lead people to the palace, but the mantis caught the cicada and the oriole behind him, opened the city gate to let the soldiers enter, and blocked all the rebellious princes in the palace.

The second most important game is the game against the Hittites on the northern border.He released the news that the defenders on the northern border had gone south because of the civil strife in Babylon, luring the Hittites to attack Babylon.

Once the Hittites launched an attack on the border of the Kingdom of Babylon, the defenders who had already ambushed on the northern border would be able to catch them by surprise and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

If the Hittites can really be fooled and come out in full force this time, the Babylonian border should be able to exchange for ten or twenty years of peace.

In such a short period of time, such a well-planned chain of events—even Inan had to look at Herod with admiration.

Although the first round is a bit suspected of "phishing law enforcement".

Ordinarily, if these older princes kept their own place, Herod would not be able to punish them, at most ordering them to move out of the palace.These princes will wander around as masters in the future, and it is hard to guarantee that they will not have any impact on Herod's governance.

Therefore, Herod deliberately showed weakness, waiting for these "noble" princes to bully him, and then "bringing them to justice" one by one, so as to eliminate future troubles forever.

So far, Herod is no longer a judge who only knows how to hear cases according to the law and pronounce judgments according to the law—the law has gradually become his weapon, which can help him achieve his goals.

Herod is no longer just a guardian of justice, he has become an excellent statesman.He knew that his goal was to keep the Babylonian kingdom strong forever, and the Code of Hammurabi was only part of the order he needed to maintain.

Inan stared at Herod closely, feeling that Herod had changed a lot in such a short period of time.

He has become a powerful minister.But at this moment, he is using the small power in his hands to leverage greater power, and trying to create a greater cause.

It seems that some dark things deep in his heart seem to have slowly crawled out along a dark net.Even Yi Nan was not sure whether the person in front of her was still the young man she had first met.

At that time, Herod looked hard and fragile, but his whole person did not contain many impurities.

But now, Herod...

Yi Nan turned her face away: she suddenly felt a little uncertain.

All she knew was that she was not qualified to ask Herod to be morally perfect, because she was not.

She is also a person who uses various means to achieve her goals, and she is exactly the same as Herod in this regard.

But Herod seemed to see through her doubts in an instant, and quickly led the two princes to take a step forward, came to her, and explained in a low voice and earnestly: "The soldiers who are rushing to the palace now are all the liberated Val. Du."

Yi Nan let out a "huh"—Waldu who was liberated?No wonder they acted so bravely and so faithfully to Hammurabi's legacy.It is absolutely impossible for these fighters to sit back and watch the nobles continue to support those empty-skinned and ignorant princes.

She must admit that Herod's move was very beautiful.

"And the oath I swore before King Hammurabi and the gods will never be changed in this lifetime—" Herod continued.

Yi Nan immediately recalled how he tore off the black robe of the ceremony official, and almost took his heart out.At this moment, Herod still looked at her eagerly, as if hoping she would understand:

No matter what he will become in the future, there will always be a small pure land in his heart, which will never change and cannot be changed——

After all, it has been thousands of years, and it has never changed.

Inan nodded, raised his head again, and looked at Herod calmly: "What do you need me to do?"

Herod stared at her intently, but said nothing.

The two princes around Herod, one was about six years old, and the other was about four years old.Both immature faces looked at Yinan, and one of them whispered, "Miss Ishtar...are you really...the god from Uruk?"

Such rumors were rampant in the city of Babylon, but this was the first time that Inan had heard them.

Inan also stared at Herod, her eyes became brighter and brighter, and the menacing gaze in those eyes even made people tremble with fear.

But Herod didn't look away.

Herod looked at her, and seemed to say silently: You are——I haven't forgotten.

Yi Nan nodded suddenly, clapped his hands lightly, and said to Herod, "Okay, as you please, I will fulfill my promise."

Herod put his hand on his left chest and nodded slightly, as if paying tribute to Inan.

"You will go to the 'Gate of Justice' later, where you will publicly announce the new king's enthronement, right?" Inan confirmed to Herod.

Herod nodded.

The six-year-old little prince quickly squeezed Herod's hand, and at the same time pushed out his chest vigorously, expressing that although he is young, he will not be afraid.On the contrary, the four-year-old was still ignorant, huddled behind Herod's robe, peeked at Inan, and dared not say anything.

"Very well, I'm going to fetch two things that the old king left for me. We will meet at the 'Gate of Justice'."

Inan made an agreement with Herod, and she quickly turned back and rushed to her own house in the downtown area of ​​Babylon.Herod stood in place, staring at her back, until the captain of the palace guard and the soldiers who came to interrogate her repeatedly urged him to rush to the "Gate of Justice".

By the time of the "Gate of Justice", the overall situation in the city of Babylon has basically been settled.

The princes and Mushichennu who rushed into the palace were tied up in a string like crabs caught from the Euphrates River and brought to the "Gate of Justice".

Herod had also brought the two little princes to the door, standing right on the side of the stone pillar engraved with the Code of Hammurabi.

Fortunately, the nobles who did not participate in the rebellion and attack the palace were all "invited" to the "Gate of Justice" by the palace guards.Behind them, there was a huge crowd of Babylonian citizens.Most of them were fans and supporters of Herod.

Someone praised: "Master Herod is so handsome in this purple robe. He looks so noble, so it is more appropriate to wear a purple robe."

Someone noticed this just now, and asked "Hey", "Why is Lord Herod wearing a purple robe? Hasn't he always been a black-robed judge?"

Indeed, Herod was no longer the unchanging black ceremonial robe.He now donned a gorgeous purple robe.Everyone in the royal palace of Babylon knew that it was a bequest from King Hammurabi, and that Herod would only wear it in extremely important ceremonies; those who didn’t know it might think that Herod, as a Mushchinnu, was a little bit flustered.

"Purple robe, isn't it always the king who wears purple robes at ceremonies?"

"Are you stupid?—Herod is now the chief regent, equivalent to the regent, do you understand the regent?"

"However... I heard that a long time ago, witches who served gods all their lives also wore purple robes..."

"Oh, so to speak, Lord Herod is also..."

"Shh, Lord Herod is up!"

Under the attention of all the people, Herod suddenly stepped forward quickly, then bowed his head respectfully and saluted. He was dressed in a purple robe and prostrated himself on the ground.

This move shocked everyone, and they all turned their heads in the direction of Herod's salute.Many people screamed.

"This is……"

Walking slowly towards Herod was a woman.A woman in traditional Sumerian clothing.

Her para dress fit perfectly, exposing her extremely beautiful shoulders and waistline.The jewelry she wears is also very complicated.From tiaras, to necklaces, belts, to anklets.

But in her hand, she was holding two extremely special items - a balance and a sharp long sword.

The balance is no different from the balances used by everyday people, but it is made of pure gold, which is particularly dazzling.

The long sword is an iron sword with a copper handle. The sword has been sharpened and polished to be extremely sharp. At this moment, it is clearly reflecting the golden light of the balance.

"Isn't this Miss Ishta from our family?"

Apu squeezed in the crowd, protected by her husband Abu, and said something without holding back.

"Miss of your family?" Someone beside him cast a disgusted look at Apu, as if he felt that Apu had no knowledge at all.

"Which mortal woman have you ever seen, who was so beautiful that no one dared to have any evil thoughts?"

Apu and Abu looked at each other, and the young couple stuck out their tongues at each other.

The man was still looking into the distance in fascination: "Look at that balance, it's made of pure gold, it's so heavy, but she holds it effortlessly..."

This is true.The balance in the woman's hand looks extremely heavy, but she is like holding a feather and light feathers, as if there is nothing.

"This... this is... the god that Lord Herod serves!" Immediately, someone followed Herod and bowed down.And this worship, like a wave, quickly spread to the surroundings wave after wave.In an instant, a large area fell in front of the "Gate of Justice".

Even the chained rebel felt his knees go weak for a moment, and fell down at the edge of the woman's skirt involuntarily.Smelling the faint scent at the end of their noses, the rebels trembled like sifting chaff, with infinite fear in their hearts:

It must be the gods to judge them.

Who could have imagined that Herod would be so powerful that he invited the gods to judge their crimes and judge them for their greed, and he tried in vain to get involved in the power left by King Hammurabi.

Must be.

Look at the golden scale in the woman's hand, isn't it the golden scale on the embossed tile painting on the "Gate of Justice" that fell to the world?

Looking at the sharp sword again, doesn't it mean that those who commit rebellion will face the most ruthless punishment?

Unexpectedly, the woman came to Herod and said something softly. Herod immediately got up from the ground, bowed to apologize, and then pulled out a thick linen handkerchief from his sleeve.

The woman came to the center of the "Gate of Justice" and turned to face the crowd.Her eyes slowly swept across the crowd, and everyone felt the pressure immediately, so they dared not look at her again, and all bowed their heads, staring at the ground.

The woman turned her head to look at Herod, and gave him a slight nod.

Herod was tall and tall, barely half a head taller than the woman in front of him.He stretched out his hand, and carefully covered the woman's eyes with the thick linen handkerchief in his hand, and then tied the corner of the handkerchief tightly behind the woman's head.

After that, Herod stretched out his hand and waved it slightly before the woman's eyes.The woman did not respond, indicating that her eyes were covered by a thick handkerchief and she could not see the person in front of her at all.

Finally, the people lying on the ground dared to raise their heads slowly, looking at the woman standing upright in the middle of the "Gate of Justice".They seemed to be slightly relieved, but then they were shocked by the scene in front of them and the deep meaning behind it.

In fact, as early as when the "Gate of Justice" was first built, Inan had discussed with Herod what "justice" should look like.

"I think 'justice' should at least have the following characteristics: fair and just trials, just force to sanction crimes, and the spirit of the rule of law that is equal, objective, and treats everyone equally."

Herod nodded in agreement.

When the real "Gate of Justice" was erected, Inan looked at the golden scale painted with tiles on the lintel, and felt quite regretful—because Herod had not yet fully possessed the force to punish crimes. There is no way to treat people from all walks of life in this world equally.

Therefore, Inan had personally promised Herod one thing:

"Herod, all my powers can be used for righteous purposes."

"As soon as you open your mouth—"