[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

The shepherd dog's warning at night disturbed everyone all night.Together with the local villagers, Dumuzi and other young people searched around the village for most of the night, and did not return until dawn.

The girls stayed by the campfire with Yi Nan, and they were all sleepless after being awakened, and had no sleep all night.

Everyone had heavy dark circles under their eyes the next morning.Even the local villagers are the same.

Before the tour group left, Yi Nan gave the whole bag of malt candy to the local people, and after they were on the road, he gave each young man a piece of candy.Sure enough, this sweet taste relieved them of fatigue and fear, and revived their spirits to go on the road.

Yi Nan quarreled with Du Muzi on the road.

"That won't work!" Dumuzi objected loudly.Fortunately, the two of them were far away from the bullock cart, and there was a group of bleating sheep beside them, so the other young men and women did not hear them arguing.

Yi Nan asked back, "Why not?"

She thought to herself: If the other party can tell a clear truth, she will also consider it.

Unexpectedly, Du Muzi said dejectedly: "That would make me too cowardly...too weak, and I didn't protect you all the time."

Yinan held back with all his strength, and didn't smile in front of the other party.

But in fact, Dumuzi's performance last night was very heroic and calm. Even when he went to search with him, he didn't forget to let Xiao Hei stay by Yinan's side and guard the girls well.

It's just that this young shepherd has not yet established enough self-confidence in front of Yi Nan—and Yi Nan can see this very clearly.

So she smiled and said, "Do you have a better idea than this? If not, listen to me!"

Du Muzi instantly "confessed", and said honestly: "Then I will listen to you."

This day's trip stopped in the afternoon.The tour group arrived at a small village by the Euphrates River, asked the locals about the journey to Uruk, and learned that there were still four or five days before they should arrive.

In the afternoon, Yi Nan arranged for some people to catch up on sleep, while others set up camp, and the sheep went to graze on the mountain.In the village where they were staying temporarily, there was a strong smell of meat from somewhere.The boys and girls showed envy - after all, they don't always have meat to eat, and often they can only take a small piece of bacon they carry with them to satisfy their appetite.

In the evening, the order of the rest was slightly adjusted, and Yinan's bunk was quietly moved to the far side of the campsite.

After a tiring day, the tour group all fell asleep.

When the night is deepest, the collie wakes up first.I don't know if he noticed that one or two of the sheep got lost, and Xiao Hei gradually moved away from the station.

It smelled the meat very quickly, and a meaty bone was thrown in front of it, and Xiao Hei quickly grabbed it in his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, another fleshy bone appeared in front of him.Xiao Hei stepped on it with his front foot, but he didn't expect the bone to move, so he stepped back for a while.

The greedy little black dog was still staring at the one in front of him with his mouth in his mouth. In this way, it was getting farther and farther away from the tour group's campsite.

On the other side of the campsite, Yi Nan was lying on her back with her eyes closed, breathing heavily, and seemed to be in a deep sleep—until suddenly a big hand stretched out diagonally and covered Yi Nan's mouth, and a suppressed voice rang in her ear. He said in a low voice, "Shut up!"

Yi Nan, who has opened his eyes: ... Why do you all have the same routine?

But this time it was somewhat different, Yi Nan felt a sharp object pressing against his neck.The man in the ear threatened rather unskillfully: "Move, and you will die."

Yi Nan really wanted to ask: Are you a novice? ……Me too!

It's a pity that she couldn't make a sound, and she couldn't even see the appearance of the attacker. She could only see a robe dyed blue in front of her.

The man swung the dagger and held Yi Nan up, and the two crept to the side of the camp.

Suddenly, someone patted the assailant on the shoulder twice: "Hey——"

The assailant was taken aback, and he yelled out, "Ah--", which actually woke up the young people who were resting.

Almost at the same time, Yinan hugged the wrist holding the dagger and broke it hard. With a "Dang", a sharp dagger made of jade fell to the ground.

Yi Nan hugged the opponent's arm and took advantage of the trend. As soon as he bent down, he fell over his shoulder——fall, I fell...ah, she didn't even fall.

As early as when he learned that he hoped to participate in the scientific research activities of "Revisiting Civilization", Yinan had already strengthened his physical training and practiced a few simple but effective self-defense techniques, including these two moves: "Wrist Twist Knife" and "Over the Shoulder Throw".

She successfully snatched away the opponent's dagger, but she failed in the over-the-shoulder throw—mainly due to lack of strength, passing through the "time-space tunnel" did not make her infinitely powerful.

But the overall situation is all right.Everyone in the camp woke up, and the one who reached out and patted each other's shoulder was none other than Dumuzi.Instead of resting at the bivouac, he was sleeping in a nearby tree.

When the shepherd dog Xiao Hei was "took the dog away from the mountain" because of his greed, Dumuzi had already tiptoed down.He was really terrified when he saw a dagger made of jade out of the opponent's sleeve.

But fortunately, the opponent was so focused on dealing with Yi Nan that he didn't notice what was behind him at all, which gave Dumuzi an opportunity.He stretched out one hand, and only said "Hello", which scared the other party out of his wits.

Immediately afterwards, Yi Nan removed the opponent's dagger, twisted his arm, and then shouted at Dumuzi: "Quick, hold him down!"

At this moment, not only Dumuzi, but all the teenagers who woke up rushed up and pinned down the attacker with all their might.

Yi Nan shouted, "Take off his mask."

Only then did everyone notice that this one was wearing a royal blue robe and a mask.It's not very visible at night, but it's very clear around the campfire.

Could it be—a high priest?

The young people were startled, and no one dared to reach out for a while.In the end, Dumuzi reached out decisively and took off the man's mask.

Behind the mask is a 25-year-old face with a beard, but the beard is not long, making the face look young.

High Priests...is that the case?

At this moment, Little Hamti suddenly said, "You...why do you look like Tibila's Uncle Guda?"

The other party was startled, and finally showed shame, nodded and said, "Are you the eldest son of the Hamti family? Yes, I am your Uncle Guda."

Yi Nan: I guessed right again.

When Yinan was in Tibila Village earlier, he had doubts about why the high-ranking priest had to wear a mask to sacrifice. If it was necessary for the ceremony, he had never seen him take off his mask when he arrived and left.

Is the face of the priest really so precious?

This gave Yi Nan an interesting idea, especially when she heard that someone in the village would stay there after going to Uruk to be a "candidate priest".

The person who came to Tibera may not be a high-ranking priest at all, but a person of local origin who later settled down in Uruk and became a priest.This young priest may be facing his original neighbors or even relatives, so he chose to wear a mask to maintain the solemnity of the entire sacrificial ceremony.

As for the real high priests, they probably never went to Tibera at all.Bud and Tibila, the two villages troubled by the salinization of the land, may be nothing in the eyes of the high-level priests, and they don't need to go out on their own.

But when they heard that a woman like Yinan had appeared in Tibila Village and dared to challenge the authority of the priests in a high-profile manner, the high-ranking priest finally couldn't sit still.

This guy named "Gu Da" was obviously sent to find out the details of Yi Nan, and even came to kidnap Yi Nan at the request of his boss.

Yinan sighed, knowing that the person in front of him was just a mid-level priest and a "fellow" from Tibila Village, so he had to be tactful when dealing with him.

So she gave a soft "hush" and said, "Everyone, don't make noise, don't wake up the village again. I have to give away a big bag of malt sugar for nothing."

A group of boys and girls finally calmed down, and some of them went to sleep first under Yinan's comfort.

Sitting down on the other side of the fire and having a "heart-to-heart talk" face to face, only Guda, Inan, Dumuzi, and little Hamza, who is a "relative", were the only ones.

The dagger carved out of jade had already fallen into Yi Nan's hands, and she was playing with it like nothing else.This made Gu Da even more frightened.

He clearly remembered that he was shocked when Dumuzi slapped him on the shoulder earlier.At that time, his whole body trembled, and the jade dagger held in the other hand cut a line in Yinan's neck—it was a complete accident.

But he was so impressed, the feeling in his hand after the dagger was cut was so obvious that he thought he would see blood spattered on the spot as soon as he turned his head.

Unexpectedly, Yi Nan was sitting by the fire, looking at Gu Da with a smile, and even stretched out his hand to brush his hair understandingly, exposing his neck like white jade on purpose.

There was no wound on her neck, she was not injured in any way--this made Guda tremble with fear as soon as he thought about it.

Could it be that according to the legends in the villages of Bud and Tibila, this woman is Inanna herself... Is this true?

He actually had some beliefs, but when he went back and told the high priest, the high priest denounced it as nonsense.

But the high priest was wary of this woman's audacity.

Because of this kind of vigilance, Gu Da was sent out to arrest people, and his order was: bring the other party back intact.

Now, Gu Da has determined that his task cannot be completed.

Little Hamti met "Uncle Guda" whom he hadn't seen for a long time. Excited, he forgot everything, and chased after Guda to ask about his experiences over the years.

Gu Da answered indifferently, but his eyes kept gliding back and forth to Yi Nan.

"To be honest, this time you are really sorry for the fellows of the two villages." Finally, Yi Nan thought up his words and addressed Gu Da.

"These children are your neighbors and juniors. On the day of your ceremony, why did you get so angry, turn around and leave, leaving the whole village behind? What's the matter?" Yi Nan didn't use a tone of reproach, but rather It is an acquaintance who is complaining.

Gu Da was so choked by Yi Nan that he couldn't speak a word, stared at Yi Nan and thought: Wasn't it just you who provoked him at that time?

Little Hamti also picked up the conversation: "Yes, Uncle Guda, what you did was really kind of—"

Gu Da, who had been taught a lesson by his nephew, finally lowered his head and said in a low voice, "I...I can't do anything about it. If I don't follow the instructions of the high-ranking priest, I won't be able to do business when I get to Uruk."

"So you also accepted the order of the high-ranking priest to take me away, and then leave this group of children here to fend for themselves?" Yinan's voice gradually turned cold.

Guda was ashamed, but finally nodded, and said in a crying voice: "Yes, the high priest said, if I can't bring you to him, I won't be able to be promoted to a high priest in my life. To be able to do some chores like those apprentice priests..."

Sure enough, it is still for fame and fortune.

Yi Nan nodded, she spread her arms and asked, "Then you can't take me away now, what should you do?"

Gu Da was silent for a long time, and finally said: "I have no choice but to go back like this."

He was well aware of the consequences of returning empty-handed, and seemed determined to bear the consequences alone.

"But... thank you," Guda suddenly raised his head and faced Yinan, his eyes sparkling, "I heard from the villagers that you have already thought of a way to make the land in the village return to fertility. I have served you devoutly for so many years. Goddess Inanna, it will never be in vain."

Even though this Guda stayed in Uruk and became a member of the priests, it was obvious that he still had deep affection for his homeland.

Guda burst into tears, as if as long as the vast fields of his homeland could remain fertile forever, then he would stay in Uruk as a trainee priest for the rest of his life, and he accepted it.

Little Hamti said sadly at the side: "Don't—won't you go back to Tibila?"

Gu Da shook his head: No matter how regretful he is now, he will never be able to return to Tibila.

Yi Nan sat opposite Gu Da with his knees folded, and said with a smile: "Actually, I have a way to let you pass the test smoothly this time. I just wonder if you would like to stay in Uruk in the future. Follow my orders and help I do something."

Guda raised his head in astonishment.

When Yi Nan told her method, even Little Hamti and Dumuzi raised their heads in surprise, a little in disbelief at what Yi Nan said.

Gu Da nodded hesitantly: "If this is the case, maybe I can really explain it."

What Yinan proposed was to ask Guda to push back the two-wheeled cart that little Hamti had been pushing for the past few days—in front of the high-ranking priest, if Yinan could not be handed over, Guda would use this to hand over.

Although he failed to "invite" Yi Nan, Gu Da got a wonderful transport tool used by the tour group.

In the end, Little Hamti and Dumuzi hesitated to agree because of Yinan's face.

"That's it!" Yi Nan clapped his hands and stood up, indicating that the problem was finally solved.

Guda was very grateful, bowed to express his gratitude to Yinan, and said sincerely: "You have arrived in Uruk, but if you have any orders, Guda will do its best to meet your requests."

He knelt down on one knee, clasped his shoulders with both hands, bowed respectfully to Yinan, and performed the highest ceremony belonging to priests, and then, accompanied by Dumuzi, went to take the bag that was originally pushed by little Hamti. That two-wheeler.

Little Hamti stayed where he was, pouted and looked at Yi Nan in distress.

Yi Nan comforted him with a smile: "Your car has been repaired many times, and it is about to fall apart. It is very time-consuming for us to repair it all the time. Why don't we give it to others as a favor first?"

"It makes sense!" The fat boy slapped the back of his head.

Anyway, the means of transportation for the tour group are sufficient now, and it doesn't hurt to lose a two-wheeler.This young man has always been fat and broad-minded, and he can understand as soon as he speaks. He immediately put his troubles behind him, returned to the camp, fell asleep, and immediately snored.

Seeing that the young man was so heartless, Yinan also found it funny.

But what she thought was far more than just "giving a favor".

When she saw the jade dagger earlier, she was so angry that she was indeed invulnerable, and no one could hurt her, but she was surrounded by a group of completely innocent young people.In case someone is accidentally injured, she cannot bear the responsibility.

If Gu Da hadn't shown enough sincere repentance, she would never have let him go so easily.

But now, in order to protect the group of young people around him, although Yinan is very reluctant, he still needs to exert a little influence that belongs to the "god".

The way she looked at Guda just now: from horror to admiration, to complete surrender, this lower-level priest must have exaggerated all kinds of magic that belonged to her to the high-level priest after returning.

After Gu Da took the two-wheeled vehicle back, the priests would definitely study the structure of this means of transportation—based on the knowledge of those people, they should soon be able to realize the significance of the vehicle.

You can also realize that she is a woman who can not only invent the wheel, but also improve the land.

This will make the high-ranking priests even more afraid of her, so they don't dare to act rashly towards those around her.

In addition, she is more willing to believe in Gu Da's sincerity - the jade dagger is now in her hands.Gu Da left a message, this dagger is a token.No matter when and where, as long as Yi Nan brings the dagger in front of him, Gu Da will go through fire and water to fulfill all Yi Nan's orders.

At this time, Dumuzi had already sent Guda away, returned to Yinan, and sat down with his knees hugged like her.

"You gave the two-wheeled vehicle to Guda, do you think the priests can make better vehicles?"

"That's right!" Yi Nan nodded.

She wasn't at all afraid of the wheel's secret being leaked—as long as the priests couldn't monopolize the technology.On the contrary, the current priests have more resources, and if this technology falls into their hands, it can develop more quickly.

Besides, things like wheels are rolling on the road all day long, and they have to stop at some places, so it is difficult to keep them secret.

It's better to be generous and let the priests study and study, so as to save them from searching all day long and not knowing what to do.

"You think so far." Dumuzi followed Yi Nan's train of thought without any difficulty, "I admire you very much."

"It's just that just now... I was really scared." Dumuzi put his chin on his knee and said quietly.

Apparently, he also saw the scene of Gu Da's "accident". Like Gu Da, he thought Yi Nan was injured and was frightened out of his wits.

"I just thought, why was I so useless just now, I couldn't protect you well..."

This is the sincere remorse from the shepherd youth.Even though Inan wasn't hurt, he was still deeply frustrated.It's not difficult for Yi Nan to understand his psychology.

So she turned her head and patted the other person's shoulder boldly: "But big brother... As long as I think of you protecting me, I will feel at ease."

"Don't worry, you will definitely become stronger and stronger!"

After this "night attack" farce, the tour group set out on the road the next day with only one ox cart and a two-wheeled cart left on the road.

But more than half of the food brought out at the time of departure has been consumed, even if one car is missing, it will not have much impact.In contrast, the one that remained was made of better materials and less likely to break down.

And after Guda left, the tour group did not receive any harassment, and the daily life was uneventful, so that the young people no longer had any extra expectations for "travel". Meet Uruk, the city of the goddess Inanna.

Inan has heard many legends about Uruk along the way.It is said that the foundation laying of Uruk was led by wizard Dan. It was originally just a small village, but this village developed very well, and a number of satellite villages gradually appeared around it.

Later, with the increase in the number and population of villages, these villages were simply connected together and became a "city".

But the word "city" in Yinan's mouth is still very new to Dumuzi and the others.All they knew was that the whole place was called "Uruk."

It is said that the most central area of ​​Uruk is the Temple of Inanna, centered on the Temple of Inanna, surrounded by property belonging to the temple, including the residence of the priests, the residence and work place of the apprentice priests and accountants.The outer circle is the industry of the rich and ordinary residents.

"Accountant?" Yi Nan was very surprised when he heard about this position.

"Yes, the person in charge of the warehouse." Dumuzi explained to her, "The wheat, honey, cattle and sheep that are sent to Uruk from all over the world to be offered to the gods... All kinds of sacrifices have to go through their hands. Check it out before you can enter the warehouse."

It seems that a fairly clear social division of labor has emerged in this society.Priests and their subordinates were not directly engaged in agricultural production activities. They relied on the worship of gods by residents everywhere to collect various means of production and feed a large number of people.This group of people led the residents from all over the country, built temples, held sacrifices, and continued to consolidate the people's trust in them.

That's why Uruk came into existence and continues to evolve.

While chatting, the tour group found that there were more and more low-rise dwellings around them, and the boundary between "village" and "field" became more and more blurred.

In the distance, a tall temple built with bricks and earth and rocks appeared on the skyline.

This is Uruk - a naturally formed city, but because there is no city wall, there is actually no clear boundary between the city and the suburbs.

Inan and the others have reached the edge of Uruk.

It was getting late, so the tour group had to find an open place, and stayed overnight after obtaining the owner's consent.The next day they continued to march, and their goal was the temple on the horizon—after all, if they wanted to get scalped tickets for the "Holy Wedding Ceremony", they had to go to the place where the ceremony was held first.

The group of them had just set off when they suddenly heard a violent neighing. They followed the sound and saw a group of people surrounded by a nearby open space. In the middle was a tall maroon wild horse standing tall and raising a pair of horses. forepaw.

Yi Nan's spirits lifted: she finally saw the horse.

very good!This proves that horses are indeed on the human domestication list.

——However, the domesticated horses obviously do not include the one in front of you.

Some shepherds in the crowd whistled loudly, waving leather ropes, trying to wrap their horses around their necks.But that steed was very cunning, avoided all the rope loops, even rushed out of the crowd, and charged directly towards Yi Nan.