[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Trials are time-consuming and boring.

What Herod had to do was to announce the crimes of the trial objects one by one, and give them a chance to speak up.Then another royal ceremonial officer in black robes read out the corresponding clauses in the "Code of Hammurabi" word by word, recommending the punishment of the subject of trial.

But the final judgment is made by Yinan.

She was blindfolded, so she couldn't see the faces in front of her that were either pretending to be innocent or full of regret.

The sound of the subject of the trial crying and begging for mercy continued to reach her ears, but she seemed to turn a deaf ear to it.

But she wasn't just an echo of Herod or the royal courtiers.

She is very concerned about the details. For the charges announced by Herod, she asks for evidence. If it is witness testimony, she asks for testimony. If it is physical evidence, she will choose one person from the people in front of her and ask them to describe it to herself.

The Babylonians who were chosen were all honored.

Even the person being tried would ask Yi Nan to listen carefully to the details spoken by the Minister-General when he opened his mouth to defend himself, and asked the goddess of justice not to believe all the evidence provided by Herod.

She even became the sinner's only hope, hoping that the charges that did not belong to her would not fall on her head.

When Herod witnessed this set of procedures, he couldn't help feeling: She understood people's hearts better than herself, and she knew how to get the people to participate to the greatest extent.She is also more pure than Herod, without purpose and utilitarianism-she is the real "justice".

The entire trial lasted for most of the day, until it was completely dark, and the surrounding torches were lit, illuminating the dense night near the "Gate of Justice".

None of the Babylonians gathered in front of the "Gate of Justice" had left.On the contrary, more Babylonians arrived with their young and old.They could not enter the small square, so they waited far away, praying and thanking the gods for bringing them justice.

Gradually, the trial came to an end.The princes involved and all the nobles who participated in the rebellion received the punishment they deserved—this punishment is extremely serious in the eyes of later generations: all the princes will be executed and thrown into the Euphrates River; all the nobles will be confiscated. Together with the slaves under his name, they all served in the army.

The little princes around Herod were able to deal with all the threats from their elder brothers in one fell swoop - except for one person, Samier.

Prince Samiye was regarded as hopeless for the throne because of his disability and guilt against Hammurabi.

This time the princes rebelled, and Samier was not invited, so he escaped.

But Samier knew that even this time the princes succeeded in kicking that annoying Herod away.In the end, the princes will still kill each other, fighting for the only throne.

He will wait until the end, he will be the one who cleans up the mess——

Unexpectedly, until now, he has no mess to clean up.

The praying mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole follows behind.But the oriole behind is still Herod?

The only advantage Samier's forbearance and waiting brought him was that he saved his life and did not have to be humiliated in public in this public trial.

But when he saw the "Gate of Justice" and the men and women in front of him singing together like that, Samier couldn't hold back the evil thoughts in his heart.

He heard whispers around him. They said that the woman was a god descended into the world, and that other city protectors had sneaked into Babylon, replacing Shamash, the sun god, and Marduk, the god of Jupiter, who had come to hold justice for the Babylonians.

Samiye's lungs were about to explode.

When did the patron saint of Babylon refuse to come forward, but asked you, a fake god, to come forward and "administer justice" on his behalf?

He had determined early on that the woman in front of him was nothing more than a mighty female warrior, and now, together with Herod, it was precisely because the two of them colluded together in private that they jointly staged this scene, tricking those ignorant and innocent Babylonians into submitting to them together. At the feet of the two, paving the way for Herod's rise to power.

In fact, Samier's idea is not entirely wrong.

The direct consequence of this trial was that Herod's path to power was completely wiped out.He will no longer have an opponent who can compete with him.The purple robe on his body can be worn securely, and he can wear it for more than ten years until the little prince grows up.

As for this purple robe, Samier believed that all of this was brought to Herod by the woman in front of him.

Not only did she help Herod "steal" the entire country from Hammurabi, but now she even staged such a big show, fooling the foolish people of Babylon in front of her, and making them believe piously that this is really God's will.

Samiye never believes that gods will appear in front of the world in real body.

The Babylonians built a tall temple of Marduk, but never saw Marduk himself come to enjoy the sacrifices made to him.

As for the existence of Marduk—Samiye was used to believing it. He casually touched the amulet of the god of Jupiter hanging on his chest, and prayed for Marduk's blessing, so that he could succeed in one blow.

Dragging a slightly limp leg, he slowly squeezed into the front row among the crowd in front of the "Gate of Justice".

The palace guards in charge of guarding also saw him, and found his manner and behavior quite unusual.

But who cares about a crippled prince who fell out of favor? —The palace guards look away.

Prince Samiye pushed aside the crowd gently, and apologized politely: "I'm sorry, please let me go."

The Babylonians moved their bodies away one after another to make way.

But it wasn't until the prince moved to the front row that no one saw clearly: he was dragging a huge ax sword in his hand——cast bronze, the back of the sword was extremely thick, and the blade was polished extremely sharp.Say it is an axe, it is an axe; say it is a sword, it is a sword.

The person behind Samier greeted immediately: "Hey, my little brother, why are you wearing such a..."

The man stopped to consider whether it should be an axe, a sword, or a murder weapon.

Samier suddenly quickened his pace, and walked straight to the woman in front of the "Gate of Justice".

Although he was limping slightly, he was walking faster and faster at this time, the wind was blowing under his feet, and the wind fanned the fire in his heart even more - as long as he got closer, he could take revenge...

No, not only revenge, but also overturned the foundation of the dog thief Herod's power, what legal code, what god's judgment?Isn't everything in the entire kingdom the king's final say?

The guard had already started to move, and someone yelled in his ear: "Prince Samier, you are going to..."

Samiye suddenly grasped the hilt of his sword and raised the heavy weapon high above his head.He just wanted to shout, but he insisted on holding back his mouth at the critical moment—Herod himself did evil and blindfolded the woman, making her invisible and unable to dodge.

Samiye secretly rejoiced, knowing that he was about to succeed.

What god of justice?When she was reduced to a mass of flesh under the brutal weapon, the Babylonians knew they had been duped.

What is justice, what is the rule of law, what is the power granted by God... Anyway, as the most advanced creatures in this world, people have already controlled the world. Everything is designed, controlled by people... and destroyed by people.

The guards around shouted loudly, trying to step forward to stop them, but they were too far away.

The woman in front of him was still blindfolded, completely ignorant of the crisis in front of him.

Herod was very close, and he was rushing towards Samier quickly.But Herod wasn't Samiye's first target, a little Mushchenu, not worth his own hands—

He only wanted, as long as he personally eradicated this woman who had kicked and injured him severely and flogged him mercilessly.

The huge sword in Samier's hand slashed down on his head, stirring up strong winds.

There was only a loud bang of "Dang", and the small square in front of the "Gate of Justice" became silent.

Everyone stretched out their hands to press their chests, their exclamation was blocked in their throats, and they couldn't make any sound in a daze.

What fell was the golden balance in Yi Nan's hand.This balance is indeed made of pure gold, so it is soft in texture. Under Samier's thunderous blow, the whole balance was cut in half flat, half of the base remained in Yi Nan's hands, and the other half Then it hit the ground with a "dang", revealing a glittering golden profile.

The half balance made of pure gold fell to the ground.

Such a huge windfall, but no one noticed at all.

Then there was another "dang", and it was the heavy sword in Samier's hand that fell to the ground.

He stood there dumbstruck, forgetting to turn around and run away.

The other sword, the sharp sword that symbolizes the merciless punishment of crimes, was right on Prince Samiye's neck at this moment.

The woman in front of him was still blindfolded, and she tilted her ears slightly, as if she was listening to the movement in front of the square.

She holds a sword in her right hand, and tightly holds half a balance in her left hand.

Even the gold leaves on her headdress, which were used for decoration, had already been scattered in the air as Prince Samier slashed them down with a horizontal knife just now, and only then slowly fell to the ground.

But she herself is still safe and sound, standing firmly in the middle of the "Gate of Justice".The surrounding torches reflected her face extremely brightly.

Finally, at the end of the crowd, someone began to ask: "Why is it suddenly quiet?"

"What happened?"

They were at the end of the crowd and could not see what was happening in the middle of the square.At this time, they were all curious and asked around.

But no one answered.

No one dared to answer.

Then there was another "dang".

It was a palace guard, and after staring blankly, he completely forgot that he was still holding a weapon in his hand.Unknowingly, the weapon fell to the ground with a loud noise.

This sound seems to be contagious, "Dangdang", "Dangdang".The sound of metal hitting the ground sounded one after another.

One by one the palace guards knelt down.Including the captain of the palace guard who always claimed that he was only loyal to the late king.

Immediately afterwards, a large group of Babylonians gathered around the square fell to their knees.

"Don't ask, asking is the true god!"

Someone quietly passed a message behind him.The news was passed on from mouth to mouth by the people of Babylon, and in the end it became:

"Don't ask, just kneel!"

When the front row knelt down in unison, the Babylonians in the back could finally see the situation in front of them clearly.Although they still don't quite understand what happened, but they saw the weapons that fell on the ground, the scales that were cut in half, and the palace guards kneeling in a circle -- they just thought it was amazing.

No matter what happened, so many people knelt down—this matter must be worth kneeling.

The most frightening one was Prince Samier, his face was pale, and his slightly lame legs were trembling unceasingly.

How is this possible?

He clearly slashed at the head with his sword, but the woman couldn't see him at all, and she had no idea that she should dodge.But the thick sword seemed to be passing through an invisible "shadow".It split the "visible" golden balance, but it couldn't do anything to the woman.

This woman is not human at all.

For the first time Samier felt the fear of piety.

At first he refused to believe in the God in front of him.

Now that he believed it, he felt fear at last.

What did he do? ...Could it be, kill God?

He got shorter inch by inch, and the blindfolded woman grew taller inch by inch in front of him.Finally, his knees touched the ground and he knelt down softly.But the chilly blade followed like a shadow, sticking to his shoulder and neck, never relaxing.

He is going to die.

Sammy thought so.

As long as the other party stretches out his hand to send it forward, his head will fall to the ground, and that's it.

He was bound to die, absolutely dead.

Prince Samiye closed his eyes and waited to die, but suddenly he heard the woman in front of him say coldly: "I can't kill you now!"

Following this clear voice, the heavy and sharp iron sword on Samier's neck was moved away.

He came back to life?

Prince Samiye opened his eyes, and he experienced the feeling of slipping around the boundary between life and death and then returning.He breathed a sigh of relief, and planned to kneel down at the woman's feet, humbly thanking the gods for their tolerance.

"Because you haven't been tried yet. It's impossible for me to directly punish someone who hasn't had a fair trial—even though I know that this person has committed a heinous crime."

The woman "dang" the sharp sword in her hand to the ground, and stretched out her hand to tear off the linen handkerchief from her face.

"Herod, this man is for you."

"You should, as the public prosecutor, review all the crimes of this person. Another person will stand in my position and judge the punishment that this person deserves fairly according to the law code left by the previous king."

Herod in purple robe had already bowed his head to Yinan early, and now he humbly responded, and turned his face to wink at the two palace guards.The two rushed forward immediately, held Samier firmly, and dragged him away mercilessly.

Yi Nan turned his face, looked at the Code of Hammurabi standing in front of the "Gate of Justice", and read aloud: "For the well-being of mankind, the gods who look down on the world order the king of the world, the glorious and pious king, to let the light of justice Shine on the earth, destroy all sin and evil, so that the strong cannot oppress the weak. Make the king like a god of justice, take care of thousands of people, and the blessings spread everywhere where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers flow. ①”

"The gods have never been able to make people kind!" She stretched out her hand and gently stroked the law code carved from basalt.The cuneiform inscriptions engraved on the newly completed legal code are extremely clear, and she can feel the direction of each stroke with her fingers.

"But with this code, at least everyone in this world still has the right to be treated fairly."

After she finished speaking, she turned her head and asked loudly, "Judge!"

This time, Herod had no interface.It was the black-robed ceremonial officer who read out the code for Yinan earlier who answered loudly.

"The succession of the king is equivalent to the succession of the people—who should inherit the throne of the former king Hammurabi according to the law?"

The black-robed ceremonial official replied tremblingly: "The eldest son born to the former king's wife will inherit. If the eldest son is absent, the second son will inherit."

This is the content of "inheritance" in "customary law", which every Babylonian is familiar with, so they can accept it logically.

"If the eldest son of the deceased's wife is young, what should happen to his property?" Yinan asked indifferently.

"The deceased was appointed by a loyal and morally sound person to perform his duties on his behalf. When his son grows up, his property will be returned."

"Then, who is the loyal and perfect person designated by the late king before his death?"

"Of course it's Lord Herod!" an old female voice said.It was Hammurabi's queen who appeared in front of the "Gate of Justice" at this time—she was the witness of Hammurabi's last will.

"Herod, are you willing?" Inan asked loudly.

"You are willing to perform duties and bear responsibilities for the king. Are you willing to work hard for more than ten years, before the young prince grows into a qualified king, and carry forward for the entire Kingdom of Babylon?"

Herod lay on the ground, and the purple robe on his body was shaking with his body.

He tried his best to calm himself down, and said affirmatively, "Herod...is willing."

However, all the people gathered in front of the "Gate of Justice" heard his voice trembling.

Without exception, Herod was thought to be agitated.

Can you not be excited to take over the power bestowed by the gods with your own hands?

Only he himself knows it is not.At this moment, Herod felt as if a thousand swords were added to his body, and his heart ached.

Earlier, when he saw Prince Samier holding up the sharp blade and slashing down with a knife in the air, Herod felt that the knife was like a slash in the chest, and he split himself in two - he clearly remembered that he had seen this scene before It's... the same scene, with red eyes and white hair, slashed down with a single knife.

She is not afraid, she is a true god walking in this world.

But when she was really pushed to come forward, Herod was extremely remorseful and ashamed after being hurt like this...Why didn't he, why didn't he come to protect her, but asked her to shield him from the wind and rain, and help him prove the power in his hands? legality?

Yes, she cooperated with Herod in "acting" today's show at Herod's request.

She used her "divinity" to give him the power to monopolize and legally control the power of this country in the next ten years.

But... Herod fell to the ground, tears welling up silently: in doing so he was pushing her away, out of this world.

Occasionally, the gods will sneak into the human world quietly and quietly help people solve problems.

But when it comes time for them to use their "divinity" to explain human decisions, it's not far from His departure.

Herod's tears flowed endlessly. He felt that after the knife was cut in his heart, the wound would never heal. He would always carry this crippled heart for the rest of his life.

What's worse, if time could be turned back, he thought—he would still choose this path without hesitation.

This is his fate.

Ever since the first time he saw her head-on, he was destined to be so sad and carry such pain for the rest of his life—just like he was destined to meet her in this life.

It was indeed the case, and she sighed softly and said, "I should go!" There was a bit of regret in her voice.

Herod didn't look up, he didn't even have the courage to watch her go.

"Everyone, I am looking forward to you all! Don't let me down—"

She was probably waving at the crowd. Among the crowd in front of the "Gate of Justice", a young woman suddenly called out: "Miss—where are you going?"

It's Miss Ishta's maid.

Then there was a mess of voices, it should be the girl's husband who persuaded her.The young woman burst into sobs.

Herod was even worse, he couldn't even cry.

"Lord Herod, Lord Herod...God has left..."

The little prince came over and pulled Herod up: "The queen said she wanted to ask you, the god went to the palace, why didn't she go to the temple?"

Herod thought: That's because the temple belongs to Marduk, not her... No matter how sloppy she acts, she is still a god with self-respect.

"Lord Herod, why are you crying..." The young prince noticed Herod's tears.Herod suddenly felt that he had nothing to hide—why couldn’t adults cry when they wanted, yell when they wanted, and chase after them like children?

Herod suddenly broke away from the prince's little hand, wiped his face hastily, took three steps at a time, and chased after the slender figure from behind.

She is walking up the road to a higher place.All that dangled in Herod's mind was the dazzling star on the Euphrates River.

No, he still has hope, and he can still save it. Perhaps, he still has the luck to be like the one in Uruk, to have the honey in his life as his companion for the rest of his life.

Unexpectedly, someone behind him stopped him loudly: "Lord Herod, Lord Herod!"

"There is a battle report from the north!" The voice of the visitor was extremely excited, no less than that of the Babylonian citizens at the "Gate of Justice".

"Hittites, Hittites are really fooled!"

This is great news, but it also means that wars will follow.

Herod was filled with tormenting tenderness, and at this moment, someone poured a pot of cold water on his head——

He stopped, he turned around, he no longer looked in the direction she was leaving.At this moment, he tore away all the thoughts and regrets in his heart, turned around to face the world, and became the cold regent again, with the whole of Babylon on his back.

She created all the conditions for him, and if he couldn't frustrate the Hittite attack, then all she had done for him would be in vain.

He pondered for a moment, and issued the orders one after another.Assembling, defense, supplies, logistics... all the clues of a battle are all in Herod's mind at this moment.

The Babylonians had just established justice and the rule of law in their kingdom, but they had to work hard to protect their territorial integrity.

So he and her walked with their backs, and neither of them turned back, until the star, which was hundreds of times brighter than Jupiter in the night sky, rose into the night sky from directly above the Babylonian palace, attracting all the Babylonians to bow Worship.

As Herod looked up at the star—

When Yinan's senses were lost in chaos——

"I will remember it, and from today on, I will never forget it again." He thought so, "Then next time we see you again, I will recognize you at first sight."

"Soul, unique magnetic field... If we can meet each other this time, we will definitely meet again next time." She thought so.