[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Yi Nan was baffled by Saar's embrace, thinking what kind of nerves did this man lose before parting?

But she heard Sal say in her ear: "I entrust everything in Babylon to you. Please... please, please help me."

It turns out that Saar's greatest strength is in the army.Now that there is a border conflict between Babylon and Egypt, Saar will lead a large army westward to fight against the Egyptians who came to invade the border.The war is likely to continue for several years, and his own influence on Babylon will be greatly reduced.

The old king is old and his health is worrying. If something happens, only Saar's younger brothers who are eyeing the throne will be left in Babylon.

"Not just for me...but for the people who live here."

If there was a succession dispute when the old king passed away, Saar would definitely return to Babylon.At that time, in the Kingdom of Babylon, there will be powerful enemies outside, and brothers fighting against each other inside, and chaos will abound... The people who will suffer in the end will be the people living in this land.

Saar knew that saying nothing else might not impress Yinan, but for the sake of the people of Babylon, the person in front of him should be able to nod his head.

Sure enough, Yi Nan broke free from Sal's arms, raised his face, looked into Sal's eyes, and finally nodded.

She thought for a while and said, "I will help you and protect what you deserve."

Sal was overjoyed.He knew that in front of him was a woman from a foreign country, who had no roots in Babylon, nor did she have any understanding of the political situation in Babylon.But he just believed that with her around, he would have no worries when he was fighting ahead.

It's that simple to trust someone.

At this moment, Yi Nan stretched out his hand and said, "Where's the thing?"

She sent a message to Gulwin yesterday, asking him to ask for two things: one is a list, listing the names of all the allies in the city of Babylon; the second is a token, so that these allies can trust her.

But today Sal came empty-handed, which made her a little worried.

Unexpectedly, Sal turned his head and pouted: "Here——"

Beside him stood Gurwin, terrified.

"Gurwin is well aware of all my power in Babylon. He will provide you with all the necessary assistance in Babylon. He knows where all the seals and contracts are. And he is an absolutely trustworthy deputy. "

Sal is like this, he employs people without doubting others.He said that Gurwin was trustworthy, and he had [-]% confidence in Gurwin in his words.

Gurwin was so moved that he knelt down beside Saar on one knee and solemnly swore: "Gurwin will definitely live up to the high expectations of the prince, and will definitely do his best to assist the princess."

Yi Nan nodded: "Then you can rest assured. Babylon, I'm here."

After Saar asked, he got on his horse and prepared to leave.But before he left, he did not forget to give Gurwin a few glances, which meant: You have to be careful, if you are in the city of Babylon, dare to think about that soft meal...

Yi Nan stood very calmly, looking at Sal with a half-smile.

Thrall's face turned red immediately: Since he chose to trust Yi Nan and Gurwin, he should believe it to the end.

Besides, he should also have confidence in himself. After all, Yi Nan was never a simple woman: in the entire Kingdom of Babylon, only he, Saar himself, was qualified to stand side by side with this woman.

Thinking of this, Sarton was full of pride, and said loudly: "I will let you witness that I will be the greatest conqueror in this world."

With the sound of hooves, the army set out, and the sand on the ground rose.

Watching Sal leave, Yi Nan couldn't help frowning.I don't know if she didn't like the word "conqueror" or if she found something when the horse's hooves flew and the army left.

As Saar expected, the border war between Egypt and Babylon was very stalemate.

The battle line is very long, both sides are advancing and retreating, and you are coming towards each other, fighting and stopping.Countless villages and cities on the border were reduced to scorched earth.Everywhere he went was a scene of human misery.

Sal was compassionate and sympathetic at the beginning, but later on, his whole body gradually became numb.

In a blink of an eye, the old year is turned over and the new year arrives.Saar received a letter from the city of Babylon, and learned that the old king's health was getting weaker and weaker, and other princes, such as Takchi, were making more and more petty moves in the city of Babylon.

But without the king's order, Saar could not make his own way and rush back to Babylon on his own.Besides, there are tens of thousands of Babylonian troops waiting for his orders.

But what makes Saar feel uneasy is that there are not many letters from Yinan.Even if there is an occasional letter, it is a businesslike report of safety.It seems like she didn't do anything in Babylon.

Saar really wanted to write to ask, but in doing so, it seemed that he didn't trust Yi Nan very much.After all, he suppressed this impulse and continued to wait for news from Babylon after the battle.

Unexpectedly, Gurwin came in person.

The deputy future escorted dozens of horses and several craftsmen.

But when Sal first saw Gurwin, what he noticed was that this guy had changed into a married man's clothes.

"Congratulations on the wedding—"

Although Saar was very puzzled, he still gave his blessing to this deputy who had always been loyal to him.

Upon hearing this, Guerwen bowed to Saar overjoyed, and when he got up, he said, "Thank you, Your Highness. The villain just talked to His Highness Princess Yi Nan..."

Saar's face turned pale in an instant.

Gurwin continued to say joyfully: "...to marry Niya, the female officer under the command of Princess Inan."

Thrall's face returned to blood.

He blinked at Gurwin and said, "You have worked so hard from afar, so take a breath before talking!"

The implication: Can you please stop panting next time.

Gu Erwen covered his heart, and said to Sar: "Your Highness, the villain can't help it, really can't help it!"

He really looked extremely excited.

"The horses Her Royal Highness asked me to bring this time are very special."

Saar didn't want to throw Gu Erwen's cold water: if you talk about Xiangma, Saar ranks second in the entire Babylonian kingdom, and no one dares to rank first.

When Guerwen came, Sal had already glanced at the horses he had brought, and concluded that they were all good horses, but if there were any good horses, it would not be true.

Since Gu Erwen said that Yinan asked him to bring these horses, he could only nod his head and praise him, but he would secretly comment: the princess is probably not that good at finding horses.

Who said Gurwin was still full of excitement: "Your Highness, these horses... are all wearing shoes!"

Sal: ...

Shoes on the horses?

He has been in the army for many years, and he has been with military horses for almost half his life.He didn't know that the hooves of military horses often had problems.

The hooves of military horses are surrounded by horny horns. Once the horses travel long distances or carry heavy loads, the horny horns on the horseshoes are prone to problems. Just like human nails sometimes "split", so will horseshoes.

In such a situation, these horses would limp when they walked, and could neither run fast nor bear weight.

Because of this problem, the armies of various countries are currently dominated by infantry, and most of the mounts are only for high-ranking and powerful people to ride, and horses need to be changed regularly.No country dares to think about cavalry.

In other words, raising cavalry is a very expensive matter with a high investment and very limited returns.

Sal himself once imagined that people put shoes on their own feet, why can't they put shoes on horses?

He even experimented with putting sandals on horses.But as long as the horse ran a few steps, the straw sandals would be completely rotten.

At this moment, Saar heard Gu Erwen say that Yinan actually put shoes on all the horses.Saar's curiosity was immediately aroused, and he quickly ordered Gurwin: "Take me to see!"

Gurwin responded loudly, and quickly led Saar outside the camp.

At this time, a craftsman brought by Gurwin was already raising the stove, and it seemed that he was about to strike the iron.Another craftsman was erecting a shelf made of four wooden posts and two horizontal bars.

"What do the shoes look like, let me see!"

Before Saar finished speaking, he was slightly disappointed: "Where are the shoes...?"

The horse in front of him, horseshoe or horseshoe, does it look like it is wearing shoes?

Gurwin smiled slyly, and said, "When the princess told me that horses can wear shoes, I had the same reaction."

He directed a craftsman to bring the horse, tied the three horse legs to the three wooden posts of the frame, and then helped the horse lift up the remaining leg, and raised the horse's hoof to show Saar.

Sure enough, Sal saw a crescent-shaped iron product nailed to the horse's shoe.

Sal stretched out his hand and shook the thing slightly, and sure enough, it was tightly attached to the horse's hoof, and it would never fall off easily.

Saar asked his deputy: "How did this get installed?"

Gu Erwen immediately grinned his teeth in pain, and gestured to Saar: "Such a long, sharp nail... use a hammer, bang, bang, bang... to drive it in."

Sal was taken aback: "Won't the horse get hurt?"

Gurwin stopped playing tricks, and said honestly: "The princess said, the horseshoe is actually a layer... a layer, horny!"

He finally remembered this strange term, and continued to add: "Just like human nails, trimming nails will not hurt. Similarly, nailing this kind of iron ring on a horse's hoof will not hurt the horse."

"But from then on, the horses can run long distances, regardless of the wear and tear of the horseshoes. As long as they are checked regularly, if the horseshoe is broken, it can be repaired." Gurwin said.

This answer answered all the questions in Sal's mind.He looked back at the blacksmith who was about to start work, and the farrier who was untying the horse from the rack, and he knew in his heart: Yi Nan gave him a big gift.

With these horses in the army, the loss of horses will be greatly reduced.Horses will be able to carry people for long-distance raids and quick impacts-the unit that fights on horseback, the cavalry, will become a practical unit.

"However, the princess suggests that you must keep a batch of good horseshoeed horses by your side in case of 'emergency needs'." Gu Erwen handed over the horses he brought to Saar, and took along the horses that Inan brought along with him. information.

Saar knew exactly what Yi Nan was referring to by "contingency needs".

Unexpectedly, when Guerwen turned around, he lifted a cage from the hand of the craftsman behind him.Just listening to "cuckoo cuckoo", a burst of birdsong came.Sal saw that there were several gray pigeons in the cage.

Sal nodded casually: "You have worked hard all the way. Just enjoy roasted pigeons tonight."

Pigeons were the favorite prey of falcons domesticated by the Babylonian royal family in the early years, and then people began to domesticate meat pigeons.In the past, Sal had tasted plump pigeon meat in the royal court—his first reaction was that these pigeons were "a delicious meal of love" sent by Yi Nan.

The birds in the cage seemed to understand it all, and they scrambled to make "coo-coo" calls, as if they were protesting loudly.

Gu Erwen couldn't help but laugh, and said loudly: "Your Highness, if you want to write something to the princess, tie it to the feet of these pigeons, and then release these pigeons, within two or three days, you will definitely be able to send them back." Babylon."

Sal was very surprised: These delicious little guys are all messengers!

That night, he tried to write a letter on parchment and handed it to Gurwin.Guerwin tied it to the paw of a carrier pigeon and let the pigeon fly.

And then... nothing.

Saar is so depressed: what about the promised messenger?Did you say you could arrive within two or three days?

Two months later, someone came from Babylon and sent Inan's reply.

Yinan wrote back and said: The letter from the carrier pigeon has been received, but because Saar has not yet tamed the carrier pigeon that makes the barracks his home, he cannot use the carrier pigeon to deliver the letter here, so he can only send someone to come.

It turns out that these homing pigeons are all little creatures who "love home".In fact, they don't know that humans will ask them to send letters, they just know to fly in the direction of "home".

Yinan sent a pigeon trainer to Saar in order to train a batch of pigeons as soon as possible, and then send someone to bring them back to Babylon.

If there is an emergency in Babylon City, Yinan will release the pigeons, and the pigeons can send the news to Saar within two or three days.This is much faster than the current fast horse transmission between post stations.

Yi Nan instructed in the letter that this matter needs to be kept secret, and even his cronies in the barracks should not disclose this arrangement easily.

Saar knew very well that even though most of the generals and soldiers in the Babylonian army were absolutely loyal to him, there were also eyeliners planted by his brothers.That's why Yi Nan told him to act cautiously.

Where does Thrall need Yinan's reminder? ——But Thrall felt very happy after being reminded.After all, she was thinking of him.

Therefore, Sal arranged a tent for the pigeon trainer alone, and asked him to go outside the barracks to train the pigeons every day. He only said that the pigeons would fly for a while, and the pigeon meat would be more chewy.

Pigeons: Coo coo, coo coo -

As the pigeons with the barracks as their "home" were trained day by day, several batches of pigeons were taken to Babylon as "love meals".Over time, the channel of communication between Babylon and Saar's barracks was fully established by the end of the year.

The New Year's Day of the Babylonians is coming soon.

Due to the different calendars of the Egyptians and the Babylonians, the Egyptian New Year is not the same day as the Babylonian New Year.

It happened before that the Egyptians attacked the barracks while the Babylonians celebrated the New Year.Therefore, Saar did not dare to be negligent, and ordered all battalions to never relax, and must stand upright.

But Sal waited for a day, and there was no movement from the Egyptians.It seems that they knew that the Babylonians would not slack off because of the festival, so they didn't bother to attack them at all.

Sal breathed a sigh of relief, but he heard hurried footsteps behind him, and Guerwen rushed in with the pigeon trainer.

"Urgent news from Babylon!"

A pigeon trainer holds a carrier pigeon in one hand.

Sal's heart jumped upwards.

This was an agreement he made with Inan: if there was an emergency, she would send out more than one carrier pigeon from Babylon—the main reason for this was to ensure that nothing would go wrong, and the information would definitely be delivered to Saar.After all, the long-distance communication of homing pigeons needs to be considered that they may be physically exhausted, or even captured by raptors, and it really becomes a "delicious meal".

That is to say, if Yi Nan released more than one carrier pigeon, it must be a vital and urgent matter.

Sure enough, when I opened the sheepskin tied to the carrier pigeon's feet, I saw the words "for a period of one month" written on it.Letters taken from both pigeons said so.

According to the agreement, Yi Nan's notification means: the old king passed away, and the throne is empty.With her current strength, she can last a month in Babylon.

If Sal could rush back to Babylon within a month, the throne was there waiting for him.

According to the previous communication method, it would take about a month for the horse to send the news here from Babylon, and it would take another month for him to rush back.His younger brothers in the city of Babylon would not wait for him so obediently.

But now, relying on the ability of the carrier pigeon, the death of the old king should have happened just two or three days ago.As long as Saar can come back on time, Yinan's ability should be able to help him survive this period of time.

Saar ignored his grief and immediately called Guerwen: "Prepare dry food and clean water for me. Especially clean water, prepare more."

"In addition, invite all the guides arranged earlier."

Gurwin paled, and said, "You... do you want to cross the desert?"

Sal nodded: "Yes! I can't let her just struggle in Babylon. If I can go back one day earlier, she will be less stressed."

It turned out that Saar had already looked for a guide who could cross the southern desert and return to Babylon from the barracks.The normal way to drive back to Babylon from the barracks is to go north along the coastal area, then turn east, and go downstream along the Euphrates River to the city of Babylon.

This path, if you don't sleep and rest, everything goes well, you can reach it in about a month.

"A straight line (line segment) is the shortest between two points! This is, this is what she said." Sal explained.

It is a shortcut to cross the sandy sea in the south and cut directly to Babylon from where he is, and it only takes about 20 days to get there.

But this road is relatively more dangerous.After all, the sea of ​​sand is vast, once lost direction, the whole team may never return.

But Saar has made up his mind: "I can't support everything by her. I will do nothing and pay nothing on my side."

He turned to Gurwin: "Please, go and help me prepare for my departure."

Gu Erwen was stunned, knowing that Sal still had to seize this last bit of time to teach the generals in the camp face-to-face tips.He hurriedly responded loudly and rushed to help Saar make arrangements.

Although it was dangerous to cross the desert, Gurwin was not afraid at this moment.

Because he is going home now, he will soon be able to see his newly married and soon separated wife.

He is going back to Babylon with the prince—no, with the king of Babylon.

Yi Nan was sitting in the palace of Babylon at the moment.Opposite her sat the priest of the temple of Marduk.

It is hard for ordinary people to imagine that this Princess Medes, who was once mercilessly rejected by Prince Saar, would be treated as a guest of honor by His Majesty the King during the last period of the old king's life.Even the king personally left a will to deal with the affairs of the afterlife, and handed over to Yinan to take care of them all.

Therefore, Yinan has almost absolute dominance over the events behind the old king—but not including the new king's enthronement.

Ever since the old king died of serious illness, the city of Babylon has been undercurrents.But whatever happens, it must wait until the old king's funeral is completed.

"Are you sure, His Highness Saar will be able to come back within a month?"

The head of the priest asked with some suspicion.

Yinan smiled and nodded, "It's definitely possible."

Under the auspices of the priests, the funeral of the old king will be completed within a month.During this period of national mourning, official duties of officials at all levels were suspended.

But a month later, if Saar cannot rush back to Babylon to take the throne, there will be a power vacuum in the entire kingdom.The chaos at that time can be imagined.

Although Yinan answered so positively, the priests couldn't believe it.

Everyone in the world knows that it would take at least a month to rush back to Babylon from the border with Egypt, and the time to deliver the letter had to be counted.

Unexpectedly, Yi Nan raised the corners of his lips slightly and said, "No rush! Everyone can make a decision after the person arrives."

Several priests looked at each other and nodded.

This is feasible, anyway, during this period of time is the funeral for the king.Even if the other princes dared to act in private, they did not dare to take any action on the surface.

After one month expires, if Prince Saar returns, the priests will naturally know who to support.If people don't come back, it's not too late for them to play by ear.

After sending off several priests, Dolly turned out from behind the curtain.

The royal court of Babylon was no more crowded than the summer palace they used to live in, and there were always people watching Yi Nan.

So Dori just talked with Inan in Median.She said, "Do you really think His Royal Highness can come back?"

Inan smiled and nodded.

"But..." Dolly was clearly very worried.

"But no matter how worried you are now, you can't do more. It's better to relax and do everything you can do."

Dolly took a deep breath and nodded in response.

Yi Nan stood up, picked up a charcoal pencil in his hand, and drew a line on the white wall of Babylon's royal court to record today's day.

Dolly was secretly surprised: recently, the princess has been using this symbol to remember the day.This symbol has a total of five strokes, and it takes exactly five days to complete the entire symbol.

But this symbol is very strange, neither the five horizontal lines of one water, nor the five number lines of one water, but five lines of long, long and short.Dolly had absolutely no idea what the symbol meant.

Yi Nan laughed secretly, thinking: How can I explain to you that I am actually marking the word "positive"?

On the day when she was about to close the fourth word "positive", Yinan suddenly heard the sharp but joyful cry of the falcon chirping outside the royal court:

"Chirp—"

"Chirp—"