[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

When Saar arrived near the city of Babylon, he could only use four words to describe him: "disgraced".

Sand was all over his body, his clothes and shoes around his neck, and the fine sand seemed to be able to seep into his body along the skin texture.His lips had chapped, bled, and scabbed countless times.

With his current appearance, no one would recognize him in front of the world.I am afraid that only the most familiar people can recognize him through those amber eyes and sharp eyes.

He crossed the vast desert located south of the kingdom of Babylon.Only in this way, it is possible to rush back to Babylon in just twenty days.

The road is very adventurous, the desert is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night.At night, both people and horses must sleep between the fires, otherwise the horses will tremble with fear from the howling of the wild animals around them.

But fortunately, the guides who have been found in advance are very experienced. Whether it is finding water sources or guiding the road, it all depends on them.

In addition, Sal's luck was very good. He traveled all the way, and there was no sandstorm in the desert for more than 20 days. The only thing he had to resist was the loneliness in the face of the vast sand sea and the fear of the prospect of water shortage.

Saar also sincerely thanked Yi Nan for the horseshoeed horses that Yi Nan gave him.Every day in the desert, Sal would help his beloved horse carefully pick out the large gravel stuck in the horse's hoof, and naturally knew how much protection these "horseshoes" provided for the horse's hoof.

Even so, when they arrived near the city of Babylon, the group, Sar, Guerwen, the two guards, and the guides, were exhausted to the extreme.

It's just that almost everyone else was about to collapse on their horses, but Saar was still as solid as iron.

He vigilantly observed the scene outside Babylon to judge the situation in Babylon.

What I saw was a piece of fresh green—it was the season of plowing.Although the Babylonians mourned the death of the old king, no one dared to neglect the spring plowing.

The order outside the city is orderly, and in the fields of various farms, people are working in an orderly manner.

Gurwin stood up from the horse's back, looked at it for a while, and said in surprise: "Huh? There is also drip irrigation equipment here!"

In the early years, Yinan asked Gu Erwen to help promote it, so Gu Erwen was very familiar with these equipments, and he could see the pottery pipes laid on the field ridges at a glance.

"It's quite far from the summer palace. I didn't expect the princess to promote these things here." Gu Erwen felt a little incredible.

Saar thought nothing of it: "This is normal, have you forgotten that it has been nearly two years since we left Babylon."

Based on her, even if this kind of drip irrigation equipment is promoted throughout the Babylonian Kingdom, Saar will not feel particularly surprised.

The closer you get to Babylon, the more nervous people get.They did not know what would happen when they reached Babylon.So Sal ordered everyone to dismount first, eat something, and tidy up their appearance.

For the first time, he took out the remaining half bag of wine and handed it to everyone.Everyone took a sip of wine, and immediately cheered up a little.

Suddenly someone pointed in the direction of Babylon City: "Your Highness, look!"

Saar also noticed: in the city of Babylon, a tall tower appeared.

The height of this tower is much higher than the city wall, protruding from the skyline of the city very abruptly, and it goes straight to the sky, which is very spectacular.Even if they are far away at this moment, the group of them can clearly see that there are spiral stairs on the outside of the tower, which can go around the tower.

In front of this scene, Saar stood in place, barely able to move.He felt the shock, and he could already imagine himself standing at the bottom of the tower looking up at the top of the tower.

This tower is exactly what he has thought about and looked up to all his life.

But this was actually built by Yi Nan in about two years?

Sal thought to himself, if it was him, it might not be able to do it.

In fact, there are many things that he can't do alone, and it's because of her that he can complete them one by one.

At this moment, Saar felt sincere gratitude in his heart.

He especially hoped that Yi Nan was standing in front of him at this very moment, and he really wanted to shout: I'm back.

Thank you - the road ahead, please leave it to me to go on with confidence!

Just when his heart was surging, but there was no one to express in front of him, he suddenly heard a neighing sound from the sky.

An adult Saker falcon with a wide wingspan is circling in the sky.

Even Gurwin recognized this guy: "Jiujiu!"

Sal quickly blew a long whistle, and then tied a large piece of sheepskin on his arm.

The adult Saker slowly hovered in the sky, flew lower and lower, and finally landed on Saar's arm——

Saar: Little guy, it’s been a while, you’ve become so heavy!

He pointed to the north gate of the city of Babylon and shouted three times: "Ishtar Gate!" He jumped up hard, screaming "Jiu Jiu" soaring into the sky.

Saar and his entourage also mounted their horses and turned north, slowly turning towards the Ishtar Gate.

Although he didn't know what the situation in Babylon was like, he had already made up his mind: he was the king of Babylon, and he would enter the city through the grandest and most beautiful gate in the whole city, pass through the straight avenue, and let everyone in the city Everyone knows that he is back.

When Saar and his followers reached the Ishtar Gate, the gates were closed.

A city gate guard raised his head from the tower, and when he saw Thrall, he quickly shrank back.Then the figure disappeared.

He could vaguely hear footsteps and voices talking inside the door.

Gurwin followed Saar, couldn't help but gripped the reins tightly, put his hand on the handle of the knife at his waist, and concentrated his attention on guarding against all possible accidents.

Saar looked indifferent, and he just stared at the city gate that he personally rebuilt——

In fact, he is familiar with every brick in this city gate; the only uncertain thing is whether this city gate will be opened for him.

Suddenly there was a rattling sound, and the huge city gate was opened a crack.

A small group of soldiers immediately ran out.

Gurwen and the guards beside Saar got nervous and took two steps back.

Only Saar, sitting on the horseback, remained motionless.

The group of soldiers who ran out from the city gate lined up on both sides, stood still, knelt down on one knee and saluted Sal.

Saar was still sitting on his horseback, motionless, without any intention of greeting anyone who came.

Step through this gate and he will be king of Babylon.He no longer needs to greet anyone, but he needs to carry everyone on his shoulders.

With a few crackling sounds, the Ishtar Gate slowly opened in front of him.

A voice came from inside: "It's Prince Sal!"

"His Royal Highness is back!"

After the city gate was fully opened, Saar discovered that standing on both sides of the city gate, the important officials of the Kingdom of Babylon were on the left, and the priests of the Temple of Marduk were on the right.

"Your Highness, you are finally back! This is great!" The ministers looked very pleased.

"You still need to manage the ceremonies of the former kings. At the end of the month, your enthronement ceremony will be held." The priests also said: everything has been arranged.

Thrall lifted the rein lightly, and entered the Ishtar Gate amidst the welcome of the people.

The four hooves of his mount landed on the road in the Ishtar Gate one by one, making a very crisp clicking sound.

The ministers and priests all said that they had waited for the prince for too long, and everything was waiting for the prince to come back and preside over the overall situation.

But behind these people, Saar saw his cronies—loyal cronies. Although there were not many people left in Babylon, according to Guerwen, when he came out of Babylon, he had all these forces Handed over to Yi Nan.

At such a critical time, with these people in charge, Thrall's heart was finally completely relaxed.

He nods to those who have worked with him over the years.

One by one, these cronies knelt on one knee and saluted Saar, with only one title in their mouths: "King——"

In fact, Saar has not officially succeeded to the throne, but with these people, he is actually the only king of Babylon.

Saar lightly controlled the rein and continued to move forward.The beasts painted on the walls on both sides of the Ishtar Gate: bison, lion and dragon, seem to walk side by side with him.This added to Saar's air of being a king.

And at the end of the Ishtar Gate, stood a woman.

Under the control of its master, the horse under Sal moved forward slowly and came to the woman.

He stared fixedly at the woman in front of him.

The woman let out a long sigh of relief, as if to say: Fortunately, life is not disgraceful.

She raised her eyes again, looked at Sal up and down, and frowned, which seemed to mean: this needs a good cleaning.

Sal crossed the desert, and now he was covered in sand. If he didn't have his own kingly temperament, even if he was treated courteously in front of the Ishtar Gate, it seemed that there was something missing.

But in the same way, there is one and only this woman who dares to express her dissatisfaction with the sloppy Sal in public.

Sal suddenly bent over her and held out his hand to her.

Without this woman, there would be no him now.

When doing this, Sal suddenly felt that this action was very familiar, and he had done it before.

He could even vaguely remember her exhaling warm air behind his back.

But this is impossible, he is sure: he and her have never shared a ride.

But that feeling came back again, if he were to let her go now, abandon her, and run to the Babylonian palace alone, toward that alluring throne——then he would definitely regret it.

The throne would be his, but with her.

So Sal bent his waist even deeper and reached out to her as best he could.

Gu Erwen let out a surprised "ah" behind him, and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

You know, Prince Saar has always resisted marrying Princess Medes, and he never let go even in front of the former king.

Who would have thought that after leaving Babylon for nearly two years—this period of time is enough to make the love between a man and a woman who are passionately in love fade away, who would have thought that when they arrived at Sal and Inan, it would be like brewing wine, getting stronger and stronger?

These young couples are all enlightened?

Gurwin was suddenly tense, more tense than he had been when he proposed to Nia.

Suddenly, Yinan smiled lightly, said something softly to Sal, and put his hand in his.Saar held it firmly, lifted it lightly, and lifted the woman onto the horse's back, helping her to sit upright behind him.

The crisp sound of horseshoes sounded again.The horseshoes carefully wrought by craftsmen now tap on the white and rose pavement inside the Ishtar Gate, over the lines of cuneiform inscriptions.

The Prince of Babylon, who rushed back to the Kingdom of Babylon to take the throne, picked up another man on his way slowly along the avenue to his throne.A person he never wants to let go of in his life.

Saar returned to Babylon, personally presided over the funeral of the former king Naboparasar, and then put on the royal robe and ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Babylon.

News also came from the border with Egypt, saying that the Pharaoh of Egypt had heard of the death of the old king and expressed his condolences and condolences.The border between the two countries is willing to truce for half a year for the two countries to rest and reorganize.

Saar accepted such a high-sounding "truce request".

Although the Egyptians demanded a truce, it was mostly because the Egyptians on the border had found it difficult to maintain the daily consumption of a large army.

But on Sal's side, he also needs to free up his hands to stabilize the political situation in the country, and at the same time deal with his dishonest brothers.

In less than a month, the Kingdom of Babylon has become stable and everything is operating as usual.Takochi and the other princes who secretly recruited the courtiers and wanted to usurp the throne have already been deprived of all rights and sent far away to "think about their past" in a desolate province.

Saar has completely controlled the entire kingdom in his hands.

At this time, the courtiers all suggested to their king to marry Princess Medi as soon as possible: "The king always needs a queen."

Saar thought to himself: It's time to make a decision.

Unexpectedly, at this time Astyages, the king of the Kingdom of Medes, made a fool of himself again.When he sent envoys to Babylon to congratulate Saar, the envoys proposed that they would take Princess Medes back home.

"The king has not married the princess of Medes for so long, so he must be dissatisfied with the princess." The envoy's attitude was very arrogant, "The princess of Medes is not virtuous enough, so naturally the Kingdom of Medes will discipline her, so don't bother the king. .”

Sal's face suddenly became very ugly.He said in a deep voice, "Whether the princess is virtuous or not should be judged by her husband."

"If it is only the princess of the Kingdom of Medes, as the king of Babylon, I will warmly welcome the princess and come and go freely in my kingdom."

"But now she is the future queen of Babylon..." The last words were almost squeezed out by Thrall through his teeth.

The Medes envoy was also very embarrassed: after all, his royal mandate was to bring the princess back to Medes.The purpose of Astyages was to prevent the princess of Medes from giving birth to an heir who would threaten the Kingdom of Medes.

"As for the envoy—please stay in Babylon and wait for the wedding ceremony of the king and queen!"

Medes Envoy: Huh?

In this way, not only would he not be able to complete the task of inviting the princess back, but looking at the current situation, he himself would be directly imprisoned here by the king of Babylon!

But why, the princess of Medes came to Babylon for three years, and the prince was still unwilling to marry, but now he suddenly turned around, and she had to stop marrying?

Not only the envoys of Medes were puzzled, but even the subjects of the Kingdom of Babylon did not quite understand the reason.

The only reason they can explain is that Saar wants to marry in a grand manner: Think about it, would it be more honorable for Princess Medes to marry a handsome prince, or marry a king?

This reason sounded so plausible that it immediately spread throughout Babylon.People think this is a touching story: the young prince was unwilling to wrong his beloved princess, and he didn't marry him until he ascended the throne.

The answer to this puzzle needs to be solved by the two of them themselves.

Sal decides to propose marriage to Yinan.

But before that, he needs to pass his own level first.

He carefully recalled the obsession in his heart since he was a child, and he was sure that there was no other possibility, it must be an oracle—it was the gods who made him always remember a certain woman, the woman he was destined for .He waited for so many years, but never showed up.

If he wanted to marry Yinan, it would be against the wishes of the gods.

——What will be waiting for him, is it God's punishment?

Saar is not afraid of God's punishment, but he is afraid that Yi Nan will be hurt.

Just when he was hesitating and didn't know what to do, Yinan suddenly invited him to "watch the stars" at the Tower of Babel.

The Tower of Babel built by Yinan has not yet been fully capped, but because the tower is built layer by layer from the ground, the current top floor has been modified to a certain extent and can be used as a platform.

Seen from the ground, the top of the tower is already extremely high.

The citizens of Babylon even spread word of mouth, saying that on cloudy days, the top of the tower has been protruding into the clouds.Even when the showers hit, someone saw the flames on the top of the tower.

"It means that this is the 'Gate of the Gods'!"

In the evening, the fire clouds in the west covered the sky and covered the sky.When Sal came to the bottom of the Tower of Babita, he just heard the craftsmen sitting and resting talking.

"What is the copper wire that the princess asked us to pull down from the top of the tower?"

"Copper wire?" Saar was also curious when he heard the words. He walked around the tower and found a thick copper wire extending from the top of the tower to the ground.

The end of the copper wire that touches the ground is deeply buried in the ground in front of the base of the tower, and it is surrounded by a fence. A burnt clay tablet is hung on it, and it is written in various languages: "Danger!"

Saar circled around the base of the tower and returned to the craftsmen.They were still discussing: "The princess said that with that copper wire, the sky fire can be directed to the bottom of the earth. This tower and the people on the ground don't have to be afraid of the sky fire anymore."

Another craftsman said with a smile: "That's very reasonable! Think about it, the fire in the sky is the product of the anger of the gods. The princess used a copper wire to lead the fire from the sky to the ground, so that the deep god of the earth can extinguish the anger of the gods." .isn't that the most useful way?"

"Yes, according to me, Princess Media is probably the smartest and wisest person in this kingdom. Only she can come up with such a way."

"Yes, yes, the credit is all due to the princess."

Saar listened and nodded secretly.But he always felt that what Yi Nan said had some deep meaning, it was not just as simple as leading the fire from the sky to meet the God of Earth.

He was about to ascend the tower to go to the appointment with Yinan, when he suddenly heard an old Judaean man beside him speak in Babylonian with a strong accent: "Even so, this is also the will of the gods."

Sal had achieved great victory in Judea and captured thousands of Judeans.He was very familiar with the Judean accent.

I just heard the Judean old man continue to say: "Even this tower was completed by the gods with the help of the princess and our hands. Once someone thinks that this is their own great achievement, the punishment of the gods will come immediately①. "

These remarks were quite sensational, and the craftsmen from all over the world around the old man were frightened when they heard this, and they dared not speak for a while.

Saar was behind the old man, and there was a [-]% impulse in his heart to refute.

He wanted to say: Without Yi Nan, even if it was just another person, or even himself, the Tower of Babel would never have been built so quickly and well.

He can imagine: If there is no Yinan, there will inevitably be disagreements among the craftsmen on this construction site, the peasants will be lazy and lazy, and the construction period will be delayed again and again...Maybe one day another sky fire will be attracted, and the completed part will be ignited...

But such remarks immediately reminded him of his own confusion——

Is everything in the world really the will of the gods?

If this is the case, how does the god view all living beings?

There are tens of thousands of people on the earth, and people are so different, how can the gods distinguish them, and choose the most suitable person to do the most suitable thing?

Let's go back to Yinan, she obviously did better than others, why was she deprived of the qualification of "merit" for no reason?

If everything in the world has been determined by God, then why do people need to work hard while they are alive?Can't you just lie down all day?

When he received the bad news from the former king, why did he have to cross the desert, rush back to Babylon, and just stroll back slowly?

Sal thought for a long time, and came to such a ridiculous conclusion?He clearly knew that the answer was absolutely not the case.

"Are you more willing to believe in the 'will' imposed on you by the gods than in your own feelings?"

Sal suddenly remembered Yi Nan's question.

"No, that's not the case. I prefer to believe in myself and the choices I make!"

This time, Sal gave a completely different answer in his heart.He suddenly quickened his pace and began to climb the tower.

The tower of Babel is huge, and the steps are built on the outer wall, and the spiral steps spiral up.Because the tower itself is very high, the stairs seem to have no end—Saar walked for a long time, thinking while walking, suddenly raised his head, looked out of the tower through the window, and found that he was already at a high place.

Here, the air moves significantly faster than the ground.

The cool wind poured in from the window and brushed over Sal's face, making him more awake.

He found that looking down from here, he could overlook the whole city of Babylon without any difficulty.The waves of the Euphrates sparkled in the distance.He has reached unprecedented heights.For the first time he could see that far.

Saar felt his heart beating excitedly, he took three steps in parallel, and quickly rushed up the stairs to the top of the building.

Yi Nan was already waiting for him here.

In her hand she held a long black wooden cylinder that looked like a flute.But she held a section of this wooden tube in front of her right eye.

At this moment, she was leaning out from the fence on the top of the tower, as if she was looking down at a certain place in the city of Babylon through the long wooden tube.

Sal was startled when he saw it, for fear that Yi Nan would lose his balance and fall off the edge of the tower.He hurried forward, and then grabbed the woman's waist, dragging her down from the danger zone.

Yi Nan laughed "puchi" and said, "I'm not that afraid of heights."

As she said, she stuffed the wooden cylinder in Sal's hand.

"This is for you, take a look!"