[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

When he walked out of the elders' house, Gilgamesh introduced the basic situation of this decision-making body to Inan.

"The House of Elders was established a long time ago. It was handed down to the late king Lugabanda. It is probably the No. 20 Eighth House of Elders. To me it is the No. 20 Ninth House."

"The duty of the House of Elders is to assist the king, help the king make decisions, and be responsible for the king's decisions. At the same time, they also undertake the important task of teaching the king. I am the student taught by two of them... Unfortunately, those two young The matter is too high, and now they are no longer serving in the Senate."

"The seats in the House of Elders are handed down from father to son, or from brother to brother. Wang's teacher passed their seats to the eldest son and brother, but these two seem to go with Wang unexpectedly."

Gilgamesh sighed a little.About seven of the "white chips" voted today are the children of his "teacher".

Yinan thought: This is right with her guess—the current political decision-making body in Uruk is a bit like the Senate in ancient Rome, but the number of "elders" is much smaller. The status of "elders" is hereditary, so in the long years, the seats in the houses of elders have actually become important political forces that can influence the political situation.

Gilgamesh hopes that all these "political forces" will inherit the ideas of his teachers and always side with him-this idea is obviously naive.

So Yi Nan tried to mention this Wang who had no clear understanding of the way of "power tactics": "Maybe they will consider some other things that Wang usually doesn't have to consider, so they voted against Wang's proposal... ...Is it a white chip?"

Obviously, these "elders" will represent the families and forces behind them, and their interests and forces will influence their decisions.

Gilgamesh immediately stopped in his tracks, frowning as he remembered.

"The seventeen elders... either own large tracts of land and farms outside the city, or own large-scale caravans."

"Those who invested in black chips are mostly responsible for the supply and logistics of the project. The construction of the water city gate is equivalent to directly expanding the content of the project, and they can benefit from it."

"Most of the white-chip investors have mastered the commercial roads on land, and I am afraid that the water business roads will compete with them in the future..."

Gilgamesh thought of all these in an instant, clapped his hands, his eyes were bright, and turned to look at Inan: "Duo, you are really smart."

Yi Nan pretended that he hit the story by mistake, and shook his hand and said, "How can it be? Isn't it all Wang's idea?"

Gilgamesh stretched out his hand, rubbed her hair affectionately, and said with a smile, "Come on, don't pretend! Without you, how could the king think so much all at once?"

"In the past, the elders were always regarded as teachers, but now we really need to consider how their identities, properties, and families will affect the pottery chips they throw." The young Wang smiled and began to meditate.

"After all, if such an influential proposal just now cannot pass the elders' house, it cannot be implemented."

Yi Nan was really surprised at this moment: "Even the king can't have the final say?"

Gilgamesh nodded: "Yes, even the king can't do anything important."

But he still said fairly: "The king thinks this is a good thing. Because the king is also a human being, the king will inevitably make mistakes."

Inan felt admiration for Gilgamesh to have such an understanding in this era.

The Sumerians had already begun collective decision-making on major affairs in this era—the king did not have the power to decide everything, and major affairs needed to be jointly resolved by the council of elders.For a regime where one person monopolizes power, it does reduce the possibility of major governance mistakes due to the monarch's fatuousness and selfish desires.

Such a system clearly has merit.

But the problem facing Gilgamesh now is that the seventeen elders only represent the interests of a very small number of people; moreover, the knowledge of these people may be limited, preventing them from making the most sensible judgments.

"However, the former king Lugabanda left a mouth." Gilgamesh said again, "It is the king's divinity."

Yi Nan: So she guessed right again.

Sure enough, Lugabanda "created his son into a god" in order to obtain the unique royal power from the elders' house.As long as Gilgamesh disagrees with the House of Elders, as long as he says that this is the will of God, he can still carry out his decision.

Gilgamesh: "But the king doesn't want to use this kind of power. Taking advantage of this kind of loophole is equivalent to violating the original intention of setting up the elders' house. But I don't know if there will be special circumstances in this life that require the use of God's will."

Yinan secretly praised in his heart: he really is a calm and sober king.

But the problem now is that Gilgamesh is too young, and his most trusted teachers have quit the elders' house.The young king has not yet had the opportunity to cultivate a force loyal to himself in the elders' house.If it really happened that the elders disagreed with Gilgamesh because of their own selfish desires, Gilgamesh would have to use his "divinity".

Becoming a "god" is a painful bondage for ordinary people.

Not only Inan has a deep understanding of this, but Gilgamesh has obviously felt it long ago.

Yinan thought: Is there any way to prevent the system of the elders' house from being destroyed and prevent Uruk's decision-making from being influenced by a group of dignitaries who only care about their own interests?

She thought and thought, and felt that there was only one way to help Gilgamesh, but she was not sure that the young king of Uruk would accept it.

So Yinan carefully threw out another suggestion: "Has the king ever thought about setting up an institution like the Elders' House in addition to the Elders' House, and adopting the Elders' House for some resolutions that concern the public? How about investing in Tao to make a decision to help the king make a decision?"

Gilgamesh was really surprised this time: "Another elder's house?"

He knew that Yi Nan would make some shocking remarks from time to time, but he didn't expect Yi Nan to speak so daringly on such an important matter.

"It doesn't have to be another elders' house, but a place to listen to the voices of the public. There are many more people invited than the elders, and the interests involved are more complicated than the elders. In this way, the king can see See, if more people are together, can they help Wang make a decision from another angle."

Inan’s original intention was to persuade Gilgamesh to listen to voices other than those of the powerful—if the interests of the powerful really conflict with the interests of the public, and the two disagree, it will immediately be reflected in the differences in the opinions of the “two chambers” .

After Yinan came up with this idea, she couldn't help rubbing her hands, thinking: Maybe this time she can take care of Gilgamesh's "image" problem by the way.

Unexpectedly, Gilgamesh asked suspiciously: "The public you are talking about, do you mean the free people?"

Yi Nan: Ah...

She forgot that there is a difference between free people and slaves in this era.

"Duo, the king forgot to ask you, do you want to become a free citizen of Uruk?" Gilgamesh suddenly remembered this trouble.

Yinan: ... what?

She didn't realize it until this time: her identity in this city of Uruk is a "folk husband", and the folk husband is actually the "slave" ① offered to Uruk by Xiparjin.Theoretically, as long as Gilgamesh does not grant her the status of a "free citizen", she will not be able to enjoy independent personal rights in Uruk for a day.

"But it's good to be like this now, so that you will always be the king's man." Gilgamesh said half-jokingly.

The next moment he saw Inan's complexion changed, this thin young man who was almost a head shorter than himself swung his small fist at Gilgamesh without hesitation.

Gilgamesh immediately fled with his head in his arms - he knew how powerful "Enkidu" was in front of him.

So Gilgamesh, the young king of Uruk, who is half-human and half-god, was chased by a small but gorgeously dressed "little man" through half the city and returned to the camp in front of everyone. nearby.

Gilgamesh stopped at last, and said calmly, "Well, Do, the king will consider your suggestion—but the king wants to try first?"

Yi Nan stopped punching: Give it a try?

Gilgamesh resumed his serious face: "You said earlier that you want the king to listen to the voice of the public. But the public is no better than the elders. They can judge whether they are 'wise enough'. This is the king's opinion. I want to know. Duo, would you like to try it with Wang?"

Yi Nan: Why don't you want to?

But what is Gilgamesh going to do?Could it be, as he said just now, to gather all the "free people" in the city together and listen to their opinions?

Gilgamesh immediately puffed up his chest: "Okay, Duo, you come too, and be a witness for the king."

He immediately called for an officer in charge of logistics at the camp, and asked him to get two different pottery chips, fifty of each kind.

Then Gilgamesh came to the camp: it happened to be lunch break time. In order to avoid the heat in the afternoon, the peasants would take a short rest after eating.But craftsmen and officials will seize the time to convey various important matters in the project.

So Gilgamesh and Inan listened side by side for a while to see how they conveyed the king's request for "safe birth".Hearing this, Gilgamesh was very satisfied, and then he named 50 people, mainly including officials at all levels, craftsmen, and engineering designers who were always holding clay tablets on the construction site.

Inan whispered beside Gilgamesh, "Are they...all free people?"

Gilgamesh shook his head, "No!"

He quickly pointed out that among the fifty people, except for Uruk officials and some native craftsmen, they were all "citizens/slaves" recruited from other places. In theory, these people were not "free people" in Uruk. "The identity of the.

It is rare that this Gilgamesh can remember the identities and origins of all these craftsmen - this amazing memory is really impressive.

Yi Nan saw a few familiar faces among those "citizens", and knew that they actually enjoyed the same treatment as most officials and craftsmen, so he was relieved to know that the "slaves" in Uruk were not as constant as imagined by later generations. Live a brutal life. ①

Fifty people of different identities, but all devoted to this "big project" in Uruk, were amazed that the king had brought them all together.

And the king got straight to the point: "Concerning the construction of a water gate in Uruk, the king, I want to hear your opinions."

The astonishment on the faces of the officials and craftsmen was even more obvious: such an important matter... the king wants to listen to their opinions?

There were also people who had completely different concerns, and even showed excitement on their faces: ... what?Water city gate?Such a difficult project?

Gilgamesh saw their reactions in his eyes and kept them all in his heart. Then he spoke, repeating what he had said earlier in front of the elders' house.

After Gilgamesh finished speaking, he looked at the fifty people in front of him, most of them were blank.

The king of Uruk sighed a little, turned around and called the logistics officer who had just gone to prepare pottery chips.The logistics officer did not find the exquisite pottery chips used in the elders' house, but he also found a way to find square and round pottery chips, [-] pieces each, and distributed them to [-] people one by one.

The fifty people in front of them, each holding two pottery chips, looked at Gilgamesh very blankly.They didn't quite understand what Wang meant by "listening to opinions".

Yi Nan watched anxiously from the side.

She instinctively felt that the result of this "experiment" was very important to Gilgamesh and Uruk.But the people in front of them are completely incomparable with the "House of Elders" in Uruk. They don't know what the pottery chips in their hands represent, and what is the point of choosing a pottery chip to throw.

So Inan stretched out his hand and tugged at the corner of Gilgamesh's robe, signaling that she had something to say.

Gilgamesh nodded, stretched out his hand and gently pushed Inan on the shoulder, pushing her in front of everyone.

"Enkidu of Sipar, you probably already know each other." Gilgamesh introduced to the people in front of him.

The people in front of Yinan nodded their heads, and some of them showed smiles—either they witnessed the heroic deeds of "Enkidu" yesterday, or they heard about the "gossip" in Uruk when they came together this morning .

"He has a few words to say to you."

Inan was pushed in front of everyone by Gilgamesh, and she immediately greeted everyone with her big flexible eyes.For a moment, both officials and craftsmen held their breaths to listen to her.

"As you all probably know, I'm a peasant from Sipar. Like everyone else, I'm an ordinary Uruk—no, I'm not even an Uruk."

Her opening was immediately recognized by the people in front of her.Many craftsmen with the same status as her nodded their heads after hearing this.

"But I hope that Uruk can build a great city that can provide shelter for ordinary people like me, and that Uruk can become a prosperous metropolis in the days to come, so that people along the Euphrates River City-states benefit from Uruk's prosperity."

When she said this, Gilgamesh kept nodding beside her, as if it meant that the king of Uruk came to consult the opinions of so many people in front of him, and it was precisely to fulfill the "wish" that Inan said.

"Wang came to ask for everyone's opinions because he wanted to know, within the scope of everyone's knowledge, whether the benefits of the project proposed by Wang outweigh the disadvantages, and whether it can really bring benefits to the future of this city."

"I also know that each of you has different responsibilities and areas of expertise. It doesn't matter. What Wang wants to know is whether Uruk should build a city gate on the water from your own point of view and cognition."

"That is to say," Yinan carefully observed everyone's expressions, "assuming that you are the king of Uruk..."

Sure enough, everyone showed extremely shocked expressions, as if they felt that the words Yi Nan just said were simply outrageous.

But Gilgamesh stood behind Inan, which gave Inan the greatest support.He nodded and said, "Duo is right. If you were the king of Uruk, would you make such a decision? This is exactly what the king wants to know."

"You have two pottery chips in your hands, one square and one round. If you support the construction of such a water city gate, then please vote for a square pottery chip, otherwise, vote for a round pottery chip." Gilgamesh what to say.

Yi Nan stopped him and added, "But the most important thing is, do you have any questions? Any questions should be raised with the king before you hand over the pottery chips."

"If Wang can't answer, it's because he didn't think through his plan thoroughly, and he should be beaten back to let him think again..."

All the officials and craftsmen were speechless, thinking that this young man really deserved to be Wang's "close friend" and dared to say such things...and the king was not angry.

"But this is just an example. Regarding this city gate on the water, the king has already thought through it very thoroughly." Yinan hurried back to make amends, "Everyone, please feel free to speak freely and ask all you want to ask."

Probably because Gilgamesh always likes to wear an iceberg face. At the beginning, no one really dared to ask Gilgamesh.

Inan had no choice but to "lead by example" and asked Gilgamesh again the questions she had heard from the elders in the "House of Elders".Answered by Gilgamesh.

"My lord, Enkidu of Sipar, I have a question." Finally a craftsman couldn't help but speak. "I have never figured out what the city gate on the water should look like."

Gilgamesh stretched out his hand and scratched his head. He had never seen the city gate on the water—but the city wall of Uruk itself was something new to the humans in the Mesopotamia.

Yinan immediately answered on his behalf: "Here are two options, which can be discussed."

"The first plan is to dig a river channel, lead the water of the Euphrates River into the city, and build a city gate on the river..."

She is very eloquent, even speaking with gestures.Gilgamesh watched, and simply asked someone to bring a ball of clay to her.Yi Nan actually made a "city gate" on the spot - at the end of the two sections of the city wall, there is a tall giant pillar, between the pillars is a river, and a wooden fence can be lowered slowly through a winch to stop it. In and out of the entire river.

"Another solution is to build a defense tower on each of the two sections of the city wall when it is unrealistic to dig a river channel, and build a dock in the middle for ships to park, but they are all within the range of the defense tower—that is, bows and arrows. Throwing stones can protect the pier and prevent foreign enemies from docking or landing at the pier..."

Yi Nan casually said two thoughts.

She is a layman who has absolutely no knowledge of the actual situation in Uruk-but these people in front of her are all experts.What she wants to play is just to "throw bricks to attract jade".

Sure enough, looking at the soil in Yinan's hands, a designer really took out his daily design clay board, demonstrated the feasibility of the two solutions in a few words, and put forward his own suggestions.

Gilgamesh said happily when he saw the hunter: "This is good!"

Yi Nan glanced at him, and quickly said: "This is a matter of details, but we are discussing these now, in fact, we want to prove to everyone that it is absolutely possible to build a city gate on the water."

Gilgamesh looked away from Yi Nan, but for the first time, he did not speak, helping Yi Nan to maintain this "open" discussion atmosphere.

"Our wise king, there is another problem on the logistics side..."

The officials in charge of logistics also began to ask questions. They wanted to know how much extra work the addition of this "water city gate" would bring to the entire project, so as to judge how much materials they needed to mobilize, and how much they needed to recruit from various places. Civil husband, and how many extra days of food to prepare.

Neither Inan nor Gilgamesh could actually answer such a question, but those engineering designers and craftsmen just now helped them explain: After all, the city wall surrounding the city was originally designed, and now the city gate on the water has been changed. It will increase too much construction volume, but it is necessary to take into account the increased construction difficulty caused by possible excavation of river channels.

Therefore, during this vigorous discussion, the questions of the logistics officials were answered by the craftsmen and designers.

In this way, questions are asked and quickly answered.In the end, seeing that no one asked any more questions, Inan asked Gilgamesh to announce "beginning of funding".

Gilgamesh stood up and said earnestly: "Please don't just invest in this proposal because the king made it—the king sincerely wants to know what you would do if you were the king. s Choice."

Gilgamesh's statement was unprecedented, which made all 50 people present feel a great responsibility, so their expressions were serious, and they did not dare to be slighted.

At this time, Yinan also brought a wooden box containing pottery chips from the logistics officer. Holding the wooden box in her hand, she accepted the pottery chips from the people—there were square chips and round chips, and square chips were the most common. most.

At the end of the count, there were 41 square chips, and nine people voted for round chips—compared with the results of the Elders' House, more people were willing to support Gilgamesh's proposal.

The fifty people selected by Gilgamesh were involved in all aspects of the construction of the city wall. Among them were officials, free citizens, and "citizens", with different identities.But their final result is more biased towards technology and the possibility of realization - because most of their "funding" starts from their own point of view, unlike the elders who mostly have to consider the interest entanglements behind them.

Seeing the results of the investment, Gilgamesh has fully understood Inan's suggestion to him.

The young king turned his head to look at this "friend" whom he had just known for two days. His pride as a king did not allow him to do anything outrageous in front of others, but he was really grateful in his heart, because Yi Nan, outside the elders' house, A new path was found for him.

He may not need to use his talent of "two-thirds of gods and one-third of human beings" to be able to contend with the opinions of the elders' house.

At critical times, perhaps this could become an extremely important weapon——Gilgamesh clenched his fist.

Unexpectedly, Yi Nan happily said to the group of people in front of him: "Please tell the people around today's incident when you are free! Although it may not be as interesting as the wedding story last night."

Gilgamesh:……?

Yinan said: "Everyone, I mainly want to ask you to help convey more information. Wang is actually very sincere, eager to listen to your voices, and wants to understand your opinions. When Wang wants to hear your opinions, he really wants to know your opinions. What do you think..."

"So everyone, when you are talking about the wedding story, I would like to mention by the way that besides never exercising the 'right of the first night', the king also respects the craftsmen and technicians from all over the place, and the peasants can get a good job." treatment……"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and they all took it for granted: the king of Uruk is indeed like this, so they didn't think of clarification.But since Wang's "friends" specifically mentioned it, let's try their best to help "propaganda".

Gilgamesh gritted his teeth and dragged Inan out.

"The king doesn't need your help to clarify..."

Yi Nan still didn't forget to say loudly to the people behind him: "It's not just Uruk, everyone in your hometown, when someone comes or sends a message, they are also forgotten to say a good word for the king!..."

Before she could finish speaking, she had already been dragged away.