[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

The biggest problem encountered by agricultural civilization in Mesopotamia is land salinization caused by irrigation.It seems.This problem was already quite serious before 5500 BC.

When Yi Nan arrived in the village earlier, she noticed that the field outside was full of stubble—she subconsciously thought it was all wheat, so she didn't worry about it.

But now, according to the high-ranking priest, the land in the village should have been replanted with barley.

Barley is more resistant to salt and alkali than wheat - but this does not work, as the salinization of the land intensifies, these lands will not even be able to grow barley in the future, and the land will be completely abandoned, and the villagers will cry even more It's all useless.

Yi Nan couldn't help showing a smile on his face: Fortunately, she was stuck at this point in time and discovered this problem in time.Everything can still be saved.

Unexpectedly, the high-ranking priest beside him was also afraid that things would not cause much trouble. Seeing a smile appearing on Yi Nan's face, he suddenly said angrily: "Look at her, she is still smiling, still laughing..."

Saying that, the priests turned around with the high priest.

The high-ranking priest said angrily: "Since you have someone else who can ensure the village's good weather in the coming year better than Goddess Inanna, why should you condescend to attend some holy wedding ceremony?"

"Go!" The high-ranking priest turned around, and the corner of his sapphire blue robe flung out a chic arc.The rest of the priests followed behind him, turned around and left.

Yi Nan immediately signaled to the villagers standing in front of the altar: "Hurry up and chase after them? You gave them so much property!" She didn't think that the priests might be trying to get them, but she simply felt that it was a pity to run away after stealing the money. .

Unexpectedly, none of the villagers moved, but each other looked at me, and I looked at you——

At this time, the fat and fat Master Hamti cried loudly at Yinan: "I said, little girl, we are strangers in our lives and have never seen you. But why did you catch our two villages and pit them hard... ..."

Yinan: ...? !

"Yes, girl, you can be young and ignorant, but don't stand in our way - if you make such a fuss, we still have to think about how to accompany the priests." The villagers next to us all cheered.

"What if the priests are really annoyed and the harvest is really bad next year!"

"Yes, a few sheep dedicated to the priests are nothing compared to the blessing of the Harvest Goddess."

"Father, am I unable to go to Uruk?" Several boys and girls who were "selected" before asked each other, and the scene became a mess.

Yinan secretly sighed in his heart: These villagers should not be judged by the word "ignorance".After all, their cognition has been influenced and controlled by these priests for many years.

In the hearts of the villagers, everything is irrelevant, anyway, there are a lot of offerings to the priests every year, and they just ask not to offend the priests, just to not offend the goddess Inanna, so that they cannot get a good harvest.

Affected by this deep-rooted concept, once there is a disturbance, they have various reasons to help the priests explain it, but they blame the whole thing on Yi Nan who made all the inside information public.

Yi Nan curled his lips and said loudly, "What's the point of promising a good harvest in the coming year? I can teach you how to make the land less salty today."

Her voice is very beautiful, even in the noisy human voice, it can be recognized naturally

"real or fake?"

"Little girl, you are not lying to us..."

Yi Nan didn't care about these doubts, she just sat down on the altar, cross-legged, with her chin propped on her right hand, and said with a relaxed smile, "You would rather trust those priests who don't know the trick than believe me Someone who promises you that you can help you solve your difficulties?"

"Listen to me and tell me everything clearly. Is it difficult to go after those priests?"

A good voice is an advantage. Yi Nan calmed down the villagers one by one with just a few words.

"You..." The slender Ake somewhat liked Yi Nan, and felt that although the fact she ruthlessly punctured was very heart-wrenching, it explained his doubts.So Ake boldly asked: "You have to say something, let us believe you!"

Yinan smiled and said, "I have never been to your village before, and you have never seen me."

"But I know exactly what's wrong with your land."

"Your land could still grow wheat many years ago, but in recent years, the wheat seedlings will wither immediately after planting, and you can only grow barley."

"Every year at the turn of spring and summer, white salt frost will be deposited in your fields, taste it, and it will taste salty..."

Everything Yi Nan said was accurate, and every sentence was stabbed in the hearts of the villagers.

"You...you are not a farmer yourself, are you?" Someone asked loudly, "All the farmers in this area know the problems of this land."

Yi Nan smiled and showed them his hands.Those hands were white and soft, without any calluses, and without the slightest roughness—if anyone in the world can grow fields like this, I am afraid only gods.

"Then tell me, how can we keep our land from becoming salty?"

Yi Nan raised his hand: "Who of you can bring two shallow pottery dishes and light two more fires, I'll let you see clearly."

Yinan knows very well that if the residents are to believe in the solution to land salinization, they must not rely solely on Balabala's words, but must let them see it with their own eyes.

Unexpectedly, the villagers really liked this trick of "mystery".At that moment, some villagers really ran to follow what Yi Nan said, and fetched pottery plates and firewood, set up two simple stoves, and put the pottery plates on the stoves.

"I also need you to take a pot of water from the Euphrates, and a pot of dirt that you dug from the land in the village."

Yi Nan looked as if she was about to "do it", and immediately some villagers rushed to get what she wanted.

Soon, two shallow pottery dishes were filled with soil taken from the field - no need to think about it, the soil was seriously salinized, so take a little to taste, in addition to taste the thick soil, Naturally, there is that lingering bitter and salty taste.

With a serious face on the floor, Yi Nan poured the Euphrates River water in the clay pot into the pottery dish in a shallow puddle. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to stir the soil and water in the pot to make it cloudy.

Then she placed both pottery dishes on the earthen stove and lit a fire in the earthen stove.

The villagers next to him couldn't figure out what kind of medicine was sold in Yinan's gourd—but it was definitely better than those priests just now.

"These two fields are your fields!" Yi Nan waved his hand.

The villagers all looked at it stupidly: our field?

"Just now I used the water from the Euphrates River to irrigate your fields." Yinan added, "The stove fire below can make the water in the fields gradually decrease as if they had been exposed to the sun, and the soil will gradually change. Dry."

Although not everyone can understand the concept of "evaporation", everyone can still think of the fact that the land exposed to the sun will gradually dry out.

At this time, the pottery dish had been burned to a certain degree of heat, and the muddy water contained in it had also been naturally precipitated, and the water and mud had gradually layered.

Yi Nan picked up a pottery dish, held up the two ears, and poured out all the clear water inside carefully.

The villagers next to them exclaimed and wondered together, not understanding why the field after irrigation had to be dewatered.

Yi Nan continued to pour water on the pottery dish, and when the muddy water in the pottery pot separated again, she poured out the clear water again, and repeated the whole operation twice.

As the fire in the stove got hotter and hotter, soon, the water in the pottery pans on both sides evaporated slowly, and it was still the soil from the two fields.

Yinan took off the pottery dish to cool down.

"Which one of you would like to taste it and tell me which soil is saltier?" Yinan readily pushed the clay plate towards the villagers.

Du was the first to step forward: "I'll do it!"

"Although I don't farm the land, I'm lucky if everyone grows delicious wheat, right?" The shepherd stepped forward with a smile, stretched out his hands, dipped some soil in each of the two pots, and pointed decisively. One of the plates: "This is salty!"

The other villagers were curious. Seeing that Yi Nan only poured water a few times, could it really make the soil in the farmland no longer salty?

These are all related to their vital interests. For a moment, no one cared about the right and wrong between Yinan and the high priests, and they all embraced and tasted it.

"Hey, this is not some sweet cake, don't eat it so fiercely!" Yi Nan had to stop it, she might not be able to fully understand the deep feelings of the villagers in front of them for the land.

"Really..."

"This plate is very salty."

"And this plate can hardly taste the saltiness... Bah bah bah, I actually ate so much dirt."

But there were also people who had no idea, and asked weakly: "But can the soil in the plate be the same as the soil in the field?"

Yinan directly asked: "Do you have some fields on the banks of the Euphrates River, when the river floods, you need to open the dam to release the water into the river. The salinity in those fields is not too serious, right?"

When she saw the big guy's expression, she knew she was right.

"My God, my God... So, there is a way to get rid of the salty taste of this land and restore it to the original fertile fields, right?"

Fatty Hamti, who was most dissatisfied with Yi Nan earlier, was so excited that his eyes were full of tears, and rushed forward desperately.It seemed that he wanted to hug Yi Nan and kiss him—but Du decisively blocked him.

"Of course there is a way. In the future, you can switch back to wheat!"

Yi Nan made a conclusion.The villagers in front of him were as excited as Hamti, and the whole village was enveloped in joy.

"Can we grow wheat back in the future?"

"My God, I really didn't expect that in my lifetime, I could still see wheat growing on our land!"

It seems that the world has suffered from salt and alkali for a long time—Yinan sighed silently in his heart.

Over the years, the Sumerians followed the ancient irrigation methods that have been passed down to the present day.It only pays attention to irrigation, but does not pay attention to drainage. Anyway, both sides of the Euphrates River are fertile and fertile land.

But over time, the disadvantages of irrigation methods appeared.The salt in the depths of the soil gradually becomes superficial with crop after crop of crops planted.However, sufficient sunlight in spring and summer promotes water evaporation and aggravates the salinization of the land.

As long as the irrigation method does not change, this problem cannot be solved.

But the solution is also very simple - just like Yi Nan did, the water that is irrigated into the fields is drained from the fields.

This means that villagers need to build more complicated irrigation channels and pay more labor.But this kind of change can save the fields that are almost abandoned and turn them into high-yield fertile fields again.

Yinan looked at the villagers' reactions: No matter what they are asked to do now, they are probably willing to do it.

She explained the truth in a few words, and then told the villagers how to build a canal, one end is to divert water for irrigation, and the other end is to drain the water out of the farmland.

This is a bit complicated, and it cannot be solved simply by talking.But all the villagers had "tasted" the soil with their own mouths, and they were all fooled by Yi Nan's "earth taste experiment". All they saw was hope—what is the difficulty?nonexistent.

At this time, someone woke up like a dream: "Oh no, this method is so simple and clear, why have we worshiped God for so many years, and the high priests never mentioned it to us?"

Yi Nan almost didn't laugh, she saw a group of people staying in the same place and doubting life: "Is it because we are not religious enough?"

Du hurriedly reminded everyone: "Fellows, why don't you ask those priests?"

"After so many years, everyone has handed in wheat, sheep, and participated in the festival, so why are you not pious?"

"Also, if they say that we are not pious, does Goddess Inanna really think we are not pious?"

One word woke up the dreamer: what is considered pious and what is considered impious, isn't it possible to ask?

Witches and priests are also human beings. They say that others don't understand the will of the goddess, so they must understand?

Master Ake, who was belatedly aware of it, finally remembered at this time, stretched out his hand and patted his leg, his goatee trembled on his lips: "Sheep... our sheep!"

"Have all the sheep been taken away by the priests?"

For a while, all the "fathers" who bribed the priest but failed to win opportunities for their children became anxious.

If it was true as Du said, what the priests said could not represent the will of the goddess, then wouldn't their sheep be given away in vain?

"As for the sheep..." Du stood aside, proudly reaching out to touch his chin.

Following several loud barks outside the village entrance, a small, pitch-black shepherd dog suddenly appeared, followed by dozens of bleating goats back to the village entrance.

Yinan hurriedly lowered her head, and stretched out her fingers to touch her forehead, lest others find that she was laughing wantonly and silently.

Apparently, the young shepherd had already let the shepherd dog Xiao Hei out when the priests had just left the altar with their sleeves shaken.

When it comes to the ability to herd sheep, those dignified priests are definitely not as good as an ordinary shepherd dog.

Besides, there is absolutely no way for them to let go of their arrogance, take off their precious royal blue robes, drive around and intercept the flock of sheep, and fight against the shepherd dogs, right? !

That night, the rich and powerful "Silver Willow Branch" Ake slaughtered the three sheep he bought from Du, and invited all the people in the two villages to eat together.

The old man thought to himself: even if his precious son was chosen to go to Uruk, he might not have the good fortune to be chosen as the bridegroom of the goddess.

Rather than coveting that little vanity, it's better for the family to stay in the village honestly. According to Yi Nan, use this winter to repair the canals, irrigate and drain the water. When the next spring begins, the fields will be suitable for planting .

Since there was a treat, the residents of the two villages were happy to eat with their stomachs open.Everyone sat around the bonfire, and the food handed out was not only delicious barbecue, but also freshly baked bread-this bread is made of wheat flour mixed with barley flour, the taste is rough, but it is very tough , and the bread made of pure wheat flour is somewhat different.

The residents of the two villages gathered together and talked about what happened during the day, and they all felt quite amazing.Only then did they remember the young buck-toothed young man selected by the high-ranking priest as a candidate for the "Sacred Groom". The two groups of villagers asked each other, only to find that the buck-toothed young man's family did not know anyone.

After the high-ranking priest was pissed off by Yi Nan, the buck-toothed youth and his noble-looking father disappeared.Thinking about it now, he might have been determined to give his son a chance to go to Uruk, so he came here with Tibila.

As soon as the priest ran like this, the buck-toothed youth naturally followed suit.

Yi Nan couldn't care less about eating, she was very busy, and by the light of the bonfire, she told the details of water supply, drainage and irrigation to several crops in the village one by one.

She drew schematic diagrams on the sandy soil, and explained carefully, and finally explained the truth so that the other party could roughly understand it.

Almost all of these "veteran" villagers have become Yi Nan's believers. When Yi Nan said, they kept nodding, and they believed whatever Yi Nan said.

And what Yi Nan said is really exciting——

"It is estimated that your land will take another two years to completely desalinize. So you only need to plant barley for another two years, and then you can slowly plant wheat again!"

"Don't look down on barley so much! Barley is a good thing. In addition to making bread and livestock feed, it can also be used to make malt sugar and brew beer..."

"What? You don't know how to make maltose? You haven't heard of beer?"

"Let's not be in a hurry, let's do it one by one. After everyone has rehabilitated the land and planted enough barley, I promise you, there will be maltose, and there will be beer..."

The flames of the bonfire danced brightly, illuminating Yinan's bright face.

In the distance from the fire, the shepherd Du kept looking at Yinan with great interest, and occasionally raised the earthen cup in his hand, gulping down the tea made from roasted barley grains.The tea tasted bitter, but Du didn't seem to notice it at all.

Soon a villager from Bud approached and asked Du, "I said, shepherd, where did that girl come from?"

Du shook his head: "I don't know, I just... met like this." The young shepherd didn't say a word about the details of meeting Yinan.

"To be honest, I've never seen a girl this pretty. At least not around here."

Du turned his eyes and turned his attention to Yinan again.The flames of the bonfire reflected in his eyes, flickering and dancing.

He laughed suddenly, then turned around and elbowed the people around him, with a little guidance in his tone, he said in a drawn-out voice, "Then who do you think—who could she be?"

"What kind of person is there in this world who has never been here before but knows the conditions of the fields like the back of his hand?"

"What kind of woman has such beauty that you have never seen before?"

"Think about the name she uses."

"Also, remember? She sometimes doesn't even use honorific names for Goddess Inanna..."

Du lowered his voice, speaking more and more mysteriously.

All the people around were attracted by his argument for a while, and they quickly recalled: the mysterious girl who suddenly appeared in front of the priests did indeed call Inanna girl □□ with confidence, and didn’t care about the surprised eyes of everyone .

"Yes, in this world, is there anyone who doesn't need to address such an important god?"

A group of villagers looked at me and I looked at you, and finally came to a conclusion——

"Then only she herself!—"

This was an astonishing discovery—the villagers looked at each other and I looked at you. For a while, no one dared to speak, and could only convey tacit understanding with each other's eyes.

But this secret was particularly exciting, and the more the villagers thought about it, the more excited they became. Compared with Yi Nan's words and deeds before, the more the villagers thought about it, the more they felt that it made sense, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt that this was Inanna herself, without a doubt.

Seeing that everyone came to this conclusion logically, Du lowered his head and smiled, and raised his hand to bring the earthenware cup containing barley tea to his mouth.

Unexpectedly, someone remembered what happened during the day at this time and hurriedly reminded Du.

"Shepherd, I remember that Goddess Tiantian mentioned in front of the high priest that you are more qualified to be the husband of Goddess."

Du had already taken a sip of water in his mouth, and spit it out with a "poof" when he heard this.

All the surrounding villagers gathered together and looked at Du earnestly, with expressions like "Don't forget brother after you get rich" on their faces.

Only now did Du realize that he seemed to have just dug a hole and jumped into it by himself.

He couldn't help turning his head to look in Yi Nan's direction—the flames jumped, reflecting Yi Nan's pretty face brightly and secretly. She was talking about something interesting with a few crops around her, and they laughed loudly at the same time.And the boldness in Yi Nan's laughter is in harmony with her beautiful appearance, making her look heroic and refined.

Du looked dumbfounded.

The people next to him booed together: "No way, little shepherd, do you take everyone's joke seriously?"

"I said shepherd, you have such a beautiful idea—"

Du didn't listen to a word, and waved his hand back casually: "Shh, don't make noise—"

"How do I feel, how do I feel..."

Du's attention was all focused on Yinan, and his expression was strange, as if he remembered something from a long time ago, with a vague memory, not clear at all.

For a while, he put down the pottery cup in his hand, stood up abruptly, stood still and stared blankly at Yi Nan.

Yi Nan had just finished talking with a few veterans, and when his mouth was dry, he asked for a cup of barley tea and took a sip with his head down.

Suddenly she heard several villagers shouting his name to the stunned shepherd: "I say, shepherd, Du! Dumuzi!..."

What, this guy is actually called Dumuzi?

Yi Nan lowered his head, and decisively sprayed out all the tea in his mouth.

She suddenly remembered that she had said during the day that even a shepherd is qualified to be the husband of a goddess—she seemed to have dug a hole for herself.

Because in Mesopotamian mythology, the goddess of Venus, Inanna, had a husband who happened to be also a young shepherd.

Even more coincidentally, the shepherd's name was actually "Dumuz".

Yi Nan: I seem to have dug a hole for myself and jumped into it by myself.