[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Yi Nan asked Prince Sal to teach the artisans to say the three words "please", "thank you" and "sorry".

She hoped to reveal the "true skills" of the craftsmen at the bottom of the box, so she drew a triangle inscribed in a semicircle on the "whiteboard".

The heirs from the Greek Ionian School there immediately reported the "Thales Theorem" named after their founder Thales: "Anything inscribed in a semicircle must be a right angle."

Yi Nan invited him up with a smile. Excitedly, he used the square ruler in his hand to measure the right angle that Yi Nan drew casually. At the same time, he also assisted with various lines and wrote a dense row of numbers for explanation and illustration.

He spoke Greek, and none of the craftsmen could understand him except the Greeks.

But the craftsmen gradually understood his "meaning".

Because this Greek craftsman looked at his "audience", and when he didn't get a response, he would anxiously reach out and gesture, using his square, his hands, and his various expressions...

In fact, in the process of human communication, "body language" is also a very effective way of communication, not to mention graphic aids.

Finally, people began to nod, and someone shouted out the conclusion in other languages—it was the content of "Thales' theorem".

Inan smiled and nodded to the Greek craftsman, indicating that he had successfully persuaded others.

The Greek craftsman was overwhelmed with confidence. He took the charcoal from Yi Nan's hand, stretched out his hand to draw a few straight lines on the whiteboard, and even drew a sun pattern on the corner of the whiteboard. ——

Yi Nan watched, and she understood again:

Among the deeds of Thales, the founder of the Ionian school, the most famous one is to measure the height of the pyramid according to the shadow length of the cane and the pyramid - it is said that this method once overwhelmed the pharaoh of Egypt.

Now, what this Greek craftsman has drawn on a whiteboard is exactly how to measure the height of a building.

But the pharaoh who poured down Egypt didn't know it. Anyway, several craftsmen from Egypt suddenly jumped onto the stage together and said in the stiff Babylonian they had just learned: "Please..."

The Greek craftsmen handed over the charcoal pencils to the Egyptian craftsmen, and the two sides came and went, and immediately "discussed" quickly based on the whiteboard and the charcoal pencil as a tool.

At the end of the discussion, the two parties found that they had actually reached the same goal by different routes, and the final result was completely consistent.The two sides looked at each other with a smile, bowed to each other, and said seriously: "Thank you!" Then they both stepped back.

Surprised and delighted, Saar couldn't help but glanced at Yi Nan again, thinking: Sure enough... craftsmen can communicate on their own without spending a lot of time learning the language.

Yinan has her own calculations in her heart: at this stage, construction craftsmen around the world are probably best at plane geometry, solid geometry and some relatively simple mechanics-these are enough to allow them to build strong and stable buildings.

Design and calculation in these fields are inseparable from paper calculations.Humans haven't invented "paper" yet, so it's inconvenient to use clay tablets or parchment to draw pictures—as she did just now, using whiteboards and charcoal pencils is probably the most convenient way to draw while counting.

This is just like the architectural designers all over the world in later generations can use drawing software to draw. Some content, needless to say, can be communicated with graphics and calculations.

Here Saar also gradually understood, and immediately ordered: ask someone to prepare a large number of wooden boards painted white with chalk, and bring some charcoal pencils for the craftsmen to use.

But for Yinan, she still has another important problem to solve: the base system.

The Babylonians followed the number and base system invented by the Sumerians, so they used sexagesimal.At present, the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans... are all using the decimal system.

So just now the Egyptian craftsmen saw the calculation process of the Greek craftsmen and felt that it was really no problem.But the Babylonian craftsmen below looked confused: ——What are these?

After the meeting, Yi Nan spent some more effort, asking all the craftsmen one by one, asking them which base system they are used to and how they are used to calculating, and finally came to the conclusion that the number of craftsmen using the decimal system is the largest, followed by the sexagesimal system .

In fact, the sexagesimal system was very suitable for the early Sumerians and even the later Babylonians: because they loved business, the sexagesimal system could help them record a large number of commodities with less space.

But for the Egyptians and Greeks who were better at geometry and architectural design, they still seem to prefer to use decimal.

The mixed use of the two bases also caused many problems in the communication between craftsmen.

As a last resort, Yinan simply decided: let me do it!

What she wants to introduce is naturally "Arabic numerals", that is, Indian numerals.

Although all these base systems will be unified by the binary system of the digital world in the future, before the arrival of the digital age, it was the decimal notation and the digital symbols from India that pushed human mathematics forward.

She is standing at this point in time, about nine centuries before the Indians invented their numbers.Yinan's actions seemed to be counterproductive.

But in fact, the changes she brought cannot be regarded as huge: many people in this era are already using decimal notation.All she really did was introduce a more easily written decimal number notation.

She still clearly remembered what Daniel said to her before she set off for ancient times: If it is true that "weeds grow", history will continue to correct itself in the process of development.

That is to say, she has now introduced "Arabic numerals". According to the law of historical development, people in this era will only use them as symbols of a system similar to Greek numerals and Roman numerals, and will not develop more advanced mathematics. .

So she wasn't too worried.

After making this decision, Inan began to sell her "new" number system that could "bridge the differences" to all craftsmen.

Near the construction site of the Tower of Babel, "comparison tables" between numbers from various places and Arabic numbers can be seen everywhere, which is convenient for the Egyptians and Greeks who use different numbers to compare one by one, and it is also convenient for the Babylonians to use different bases convert.

In addition to these large "comparison tables", Yinan also dutifully patrolled around the Babel construction site every day, acting as a translator and mediator among these craftsmen.

Such a huge project is in charge of different craftsmen from all over the world, bumps and bumps are always indispensable.

Yinan provided them with the tools (whiteboard and charcoal pencil) and foundation (decimal number system) for mutual communication, and also provided three sentences for friendly communication.

But this does not always resolve all contradictions.

Sometimes craftsmen from different places can blush and thicken their necks for opposing opinions. In the end, everyone simply curses in their own language—anyway, the other party can’t understand it, so it’s good to vent your anger.

But as long as Yi Nan appeared beside them, all the craftsmen would jump up in surprise first, then look at each other, bow to each other, say "I'm sorry" to each other, and immediately calm down—it works better than anything else.

Afterwards, Yinan would participate in their discussions and translate some communication content that was not convenient to express with pen and paper to the other party.

The result of the translation is often that the two parties suddenly realize and understand each other, and then with the help of Yinan, they find a solution together, and everyone is happy.

This kind of situation happened every day under the Tower of Babel. Over time, once the craftsmen started to dispute, they all expressed tacitly to each other: they didn't plan to quarrel, they wanted to wait for Yinan to come.

In this way, Yinan unexpectedly became the most "authoritative" director of the Tower of Babel project, even as authoritative as Prince Sal himself.

By nature, she is so easy-going and never minds mixing with craftsmen.

Sal was still entangled in mundane affairs, and sometimes he could only come to inspect the Tower of Babel at night.At this time, he would see Yinan sitting with artisans from all directions, enjoying delicious barbecue and beer.In addition, the artisans can also eat fresh vegetables and fruits sent by the Summer Palace on a daily basis-this is a treatment that even the Babylonian royal court did not have.

During the dinner, Yinan laughed and laughed, and Saar listened carefully, but heard that she was still teaching these craftsmen to speak some common language of Babylon, so that the craftsmen could live in this city more conveniently.

Saar was very relieved, knowing that she did this, he would have a greater chance of keeping the artisans in Babylon for a long time.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Finally, Saar found an opportunity to express his gratitude to Yinan face to face.

"You don't...really, like me that much, do you?"

Maybe it was because he was in such a good mood, Sal didn't know which muscle was wrong, and the moment he opened his mouth, it was just a joke.

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Sal knew something was wrong, and when he realized what he said, he immediately blushed, and was almost so embarrassed that he wanted to burrow into the ground.

People say, "Don't marry He Li", but Saar probably got to know Yinan gradually, became very good friends, and talked casually.But he actually said such a thing, where did this face come from——

Yi Nan looked at him with a smile: "That eye of yours sees that I treat you well?"

Sal: ...!

Also.

Saar suddenly became a little sour—in fact, she may be more enthusiastic and friendly to craftsmen from all over the world than to Saar himself.

Yi Nan: "I'm curious about the Tower of Babel you're going to build, so let's do something together and help out."

"It's still because you help me take care of Jiujiu."

Yi Nan’s favorite young falcon, Jiujiu, hovers over the Tower of Babel from time to time, but there are so many people on the ground, Yi Nan is not at ease letting it down; she has no time to take care of her, so she can only ask Sardo to take care of her.

Sal: ...Okay!I admit, you have a good point.

It is normal for these two people to bicker with each other.Meanwhile, time slowly passed.The new year of 595 BC came quickly, and the reconstruction of the Tower of Babel entered its second year.

At this time, the original foundation of the Tower of Babel has been further strengthened, and the outer part of the extension has also been newly built.

The part above the ground has been dismantled and rebuilt, and now it has been repaired to the same level as before.

At this rate, it will definitely not take ten years to build the Tower of Babel to the design height.Rebuild the tower, and then decorate the whole body with beautiful tiles - these tasks are directed by familiar craftsmen, and with enough labor, Yinan estimates that it will only take another two or three years. Prince Saar's vision The "Tower of Babel" can appear before the eyes of the world.

When spring came, the Medes female officials who lived in the summer palace for more than half a year suddenly received a reply from the Medes Kingdom.

Before receiving the news from their hometown, these female officials were already "lost to leave", and they couldn't even remember what the royal court of Medes looked like.

They are extremely satisfied with living a free and self-sufficient life in the summer palace.According to their own aesthetics, they directed the craftsmen and peasants to tidy up the entire summer palace beautifully, like a fairyland on earth.

If it hadn't been for the news from Midi, the female officials might have forgotten that they were still burdened with the task of "sending the princess to marriage".

The man from Medes was very embarrassed. He rubbed his hands and looked at the female officials in front of him, repeatedly repeating: "Your Majesty, that is indeed what you said..."

The king of the Kingdom of Medes, Astyages, received a terrible prophecy: the princess married off from the Kingdom of Medes would give birth to a son who would eventually perish the Kingdom of Medes.

Yi Nan happened to be one of the princesses married from the Kingdom of Medes.

"The king is not sure which one it is..." The person who came to report the news said rather depressed, probably also secretly complaining to the gods, since the prophecy is given to humans, at least the prophecy should be clearer.

The princess that Inan "pretends" is the younger sister of Astyages.Astyages had another daughter who was to marry the king of Anshan, a small kingdom east of Media.

The king of Medes weighed it up, and felt that his sister who married Babylon was more likely to give birth to an evil seed that would destroy the country, and the prophecy should indicate Yi Nan's side.

Now I heard that the prince of Babylon refused to recognize this marriage, left his sister in the summer palace outside the city, and refused to welcome into the city to get married.Astyages actually felt more at ease.

He therefore instructed that the kingdom of Media would do nothing in this matter.Anyway, the Kingdom of Medes had already sent people here in accordance with the marriage agreement. As for whether to marry or not, it was Babylon's own business.

As for the princess of Medes, the king's own sister, Astyages didn't care at all what would happen in the future.

The female officer, Dolly, held back for a long time before she said, "Wang... how could Wang do this?"

The female officials also have ghosts in their hearts. After all, the real princess has long since gone away with her sweetheart, and the child may already be born.

But the king of Medes didn't know these details, and his attitude towards his own sister was really chilling.

After Yi Nan heard about this, he nodded and said, "The prophecy seems to be true..."

The female officers collectively gasped.

Yi Nan quickly changed his words: "Even if the prophecy is true, it will be many years later. Why are we in a hurry now?"

Ladies: ... also!

"It's fine for Astyages to care about us, isn't it?" Yinan smiled and comforted her companions, "We live our own lives here, and everything is up to us, how comfortable is it?"

But in the final analysis, the summer palace is still the property of the royal family of Babylon.The king of Babylon heard that the Summer Palace had been repaired and even became a major sight on the outskirts of the city.Curious, he decided to come and see for himself.

One day in early summer, Gurwin, the prince's deputy, came to the summer palace with helplessness on his face and informed that the king of Babylon would bring his royal family and several princes to the summer palace as guests.Princess Medes please take care of the arrangement.

Gurwin is also a sandwich biscuit. The king of Babylon told Gurwin: "Tell Princess Media that as long as she behaves properly this time, the king will make the decision for her and let her marry Sar no matter what."

Saar told Gurwin: "Tell Yi Nan that she doesn't have to worry about preparing. Whatever the king says won't work for me."

Gurwin could only tell Yinan the opinions of both sides, and finally said tremblingly: "Please figure it out."

Yi Nan smiled at Gurwin: "Understood. Is Lord Gurwin coming that day?"

Gurwin nodded silently.

Yinan: "That's great. Don't worry about how I entertain other people. In short, as long as you come to my place, we will greet you like an old friend."

Gulwin felt warm in his heart, he almost left the summer palace in a daze, and when he returned to Saar, he kept giggling, causing Saar to stare at him several times, but he didn’t even think about it. self-knowledge.

When the day came, Naboparasar, king of Babylon, went out of the city with his harem and several princes under his knees.

After leaving the city, the king of Babylon felt that the scene in front of him seemed a little different from before.It turned out that the old king hadn't been to the summer palace for a while, and felt that the road and scenery in front of him were a little strange, but the king himself couldn't tell what was different.

The old king asked his sons one by one. Sal knew it well but was unwilling to say that the other sons of the king only knew about hunting and having fun, and they were all idiots.

In the end, only Gurwin, the deputy of Prince Saar, said happily: "Look here, isn't there a lot more green than before?"

Looking around, the old king felt that both sides of the road were neatly reclaimed fields.The crops in the fields are growing extraordinarily vigorously.That piece of emerald green makes people look fresh and feel comfortable.

The old king couldn't help admiring sincerely: "That's true. I remember that the fields on both sides of the road to the Summer Palace used to suffer severe droughts, and the farmers didn't have people to water them one by one. Most of the wheat seedlings in the fields were yellow."

Gu Erwen did not miss the opportunity to help Yinan promote: "This is really due to the princess from Medes. She personally passed a technique called 'drip irrigation' to the nearby farms... By the way, She even sponsored farmers who couldn't afford the equipment."

"It is said that the output of farms using this technology has increased a lot. The land that was about to be abandoned before can also be cultivated now. That's why you see fresh greenery everywhere."

The old king heard it fresh, and even stopped specially, and went to the farm on the side of the road to check the pottery pipes buried in the fields, and was very satisfied.

"It turned out to be a technology from Medes!" The old king looked back at Sal, smiling without saying a word.

Sal's heart was full of complaints about Gurwin's troubles.But he thought that this was Yi Nan's achievement, and he was not qualified to conceal it, so he nodded and told the king's father that it was true.

Following Saar, the other young princes were mostly unaware of the great significance of this technology because of their limited age and knowledge.

Finally, a group of people let go of the pottery pipes scattered all over the field and continued to march towards the summer palace.

"Look, that's the Summer Palace!" Saar's younger brother Takchi pointed it out to the old king.

Appearing on the horizon in the distance is the summer palace allocated by the Babylonian royal family to Princess Medes for a temporary stay—but it doesn’t look like a summer palace, it is simply a lush hill that jumps abruptly from the horizon Come out and come into view.

As the horse team approached, people gradually saw the appearance of the summer palace.

It was a layered three-dimensional garden.The platform built with stone pillars, stone slabs, pottery bricks and asphalt is several stories high, soaring into the sky.The platforms narrowed one level at a time, making room for the sky above the platforms.

In these spaces, there are all kinds of exotic flowers and plants, vines and weeds.These plants climb down from a high place, like fairy flowers and grasses hanging from the sky in the garden, they are extremely beautiful.

Around the garden, it has been reclaimed into a row of farmland and vegetable fields, with various fruits and vegetables, and a unique pastoral style.

"Sar!" The old king called out to his eldest son excitedly.

"I heard that you also built this place for your fiancée?" The old king heard early in the morning that although the eldest son left his fiancée in the summer palace outside the city, he still contributed money and effort, and sent people to renovate the residence for her.

It's just... I didn't expect that the old and dilapidated Summer Palace would be renovated into this appearance.

Saar still resisted the word "fiancee".But Father Wang's question was correct, so he could only agree with a vague "Yes".

The old king praised it, and asked his son: "Is this a garden in the style of Medes? Did you design and build it according to the preferences of Princess Medes?"

Sal: This...

He could only explain that he only lent a few craftsmen and provided some materials, and all the design and construction of the summer palace came from Princess Medes herself.

The old king seemed to know what his son was thinking, so he smiled and stopped talking.

Sal rode his horse and walked forward silently, when suddenly he heard a few younger brothers whispering behind him.

"Big brother is really hypocritical. He said that he would not marry or not, but in private he used state funds to secretly build such a beautiful garden for her..."

Sal was expressionless and didn't even bother to explain.

"As long as I can give birth a few months earlier, I should marry Princess Medi..." It was Takochi who spoke, "I heard that she is very beautiful and capable."

Takchi seems to be very dissatisfied with his brother's behavior of "secretly pleasing" Princess Medes in public, but in private.

"Is it really beautiful?" Several young princes secretly laughed, "If you are really beautiful, how can you..."

Sal, who rode ahead on horseback, frowned immediately.The thought of his brother thinking about his "friend" made Sal uncomfortable.

The old king ignored the thoughts of the princes.He came to the gate of the Summer Palace and was carefully helped off his horse by the attendants.

Yi Nan had brought all the ladies from Medes forward to welcome the royal family of Babylon.

"Are you the princess from Medes?" The old king heard a lot about this "princess" along the way, so he had a preconceived impression of her.Now seeing such an outstanding beauty with his own eyes, the old king clapped his hands vigorously and praised three times:

"it is good!"

The princes following the old king were all dumbfounded when they saw Yi Nan's true face.

This is really unexpected, the elder brother has such concentration, in front of the beauty, he can't help but refuse to speak.This is too...

Sarah grimaced.

Obviously, he was very dissatisfied with the arrangement of this "royal banquet", 12 points.He actually let his ineffective younger brothers meet his most cherished "friend".

But the old king who walked in the front seemed to have no idea what his sons behind him were thinking.

When he saw Yi Nan, he called her to his side very kindly and said, "I have been to this summer palace once or twice before, but now I can't remember what it was like before."

The old king raised his head and looked at the tall building in front of him. The green vines with pink flowers were hanging down from the high stone pillars.The breeze blows, the flowers and leaves tremble slightly, and a burst of fresh water vapor hits the face.From this point of view, the garden seems to be faintly floating on the second and third floors...even, in the clear sky.

So the old king sincerely sighed to Yinan: "My child, you have built a garden suspended in the air!"