[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

After leaving the elders' house, Gilgamesh was still full of anger, and his whole body exuded a biting cold air.

The little lion Hakesh also seemed to be infected by the king's anger. He just glared at the passers-by along the way, making a grunting sound from his throat.If Yi Nan hadn't tugged hard on the "cat rope" around its neck, this guy would have caused trouble.

However, Gilgamesh did not lose his composure: "In the final analysis, the elders still think of themselves and their interests."

Why the House of Elders made such a decision, Gilgamesh thought about it, and it was easy to understand.

He turned his head and asked Yinan: "Duo, tell me, how about the king using divine power at this time?"

"The king went to the temple and, as the son of the gods, prayed for an oracle in front of the patron saint Inanna. The goddess... will send down an oracle to ask the king to keep his promise and protect everyone, right?"

When he said this, Gilgamesh's eyes flickered.

There was a slight pause and hesitation in his speech, which proves that he is considering "cooperating" with the holy advocates of the temple. decree.

This is essentially the same as when Dumuzi stood on the steps of the Inanna Temple, took out the safety rope left by the wizard Dan, and called on the people of Uruk to defend the city.

"However," Yi Nan poured a ladle of cold water in a timely manner, "If the king can think of this, the elders should also be able to think of it, right?"

Moreover, there are a large number of saints in the temple, and not everyone is of the same heart as the king.The temple is close to the Elder's House, if someone leaks the news, it will be a fatal blow to Gilgamesh's "divinity".

Gilgamesh pursed his lips, thinking about the possibility of what Inan said.

Yinan reminded him in a low voice: "Did the king forget about the 'citizens assembly'?"

Gilgamesh's eyes lit up, he turned around, stretched out his hands excitedly, and held Inan's shoulders, suddenly felt that this gesture was too intimate, his face became hot, and he quickly let go of Inan.

He clenched his fist and said loudly, "Why didn't the king think of it?"

The "Citizens Assembly" of the Uruk people had indeed been held once before, but it was re-discussed based on the issues passed by the elders, and it never involved opposing or overturning the resolutions of the elders.

Wang is not yet used to this kind of collective decision-making.

But this is indeed a new path.

Gilgamesh slammed his right fist heavily into the palm of his left hand, his whole body glowed with brilliance, and brilliance appeared in his eyes.

What he said was mature and prudent: "The king must discuss this matter carefully."

Sure enough, Gilgamesh did not immediately announce the convening of the "Citizens Assembly" in Uruk.He fulfilled his promise first, and promoted the [-] peasants who accompanied him to the Amori earlier to become "citizens" of Uruk (also known as "free people" as people often say).

Several senior craftsmen who have been in charge of Uruk's city wall project have also won this "honor" at the same time, and most of them have met the conditions of "serving for three years" in Uruk.There are about 500 people who are eligible for citizenship as they are.

The House of Elders heard that the king increased the number of "citizens" in Uruk by about 500, but they didn't care: after all, the resolution they made before discussed the difference between "2 people" and "5 people" , not the difference between "2 people" and "1000 people".

Subsequently, Gilgamesh began to arrange in full swing, intending to hold a "citizen assembly".The people who participated in the "Citizens Assembly" last time were basically grown men.But this time, Inan persuaded Gilgamesh to allow adult women to participate.

“Women should also be involved in decision-making — Uruk is their home,” Inan said.

Just when Gilgamesh was frowning and hesitating, Inan added: "Try to put yourself in the king's shoes. Although women don't go to the battlefield, they will be responsible for the logistics of defending the city. Regarding the defense against Ah The Khad people, they also have doubts. If there is no way to convince them now, there will be trouble when defending the city in the future."

In the end, it was Inan's words that made Gilgamesh make up his mind: "Women are the most compassionate and need the most sense of security. Wang thinks they want more people in the city or fewer people in the city?"

Gilgamesh laughed dumbfounded, and immediately made a decision to convene the "citizens' assembly" in Uruk.Eligible to attend the convention includes all grown men and women who hold the status of "free people".

In addition, all the peasants who built the city in Uruk and the representatives of the nearby villages can send one representative for every ten people to go to the "Citizens Assembly" to attend.

In addition to firing pottery bricks, the pottery workshops in the city produced [-] pottery chips in two forms: round chips and square chips, which were distributed to every participating citizen when the citizens' assembly was held.

The elders in the Presbyterian Church, who are also citizens of Uruk, also received invitations and pottery chips sent by the king.

Several elders found Hebo and handed the pottery chip to Hebo, expressing that they didn't want to bother to go to the meeting, and it was enough for Hebo to attend the meeting on his behalf.

"The king didn't let people rush to build the city wall, but instead spent this time holding a 'citizen's assembly', it's really confusing."

"Could it be possible that the 'Citizens Assembly' can be overturned for the resolution already made by the Council of Elders?"

"Why doesn't the king believe in human nature—at a time like this, people are all selfish."

Heb thought the same way. He thought that Gilgamesh was wasting precious time in building the city—but the people who helped them build the city had been decided by the elders to be kicked out of the city and could not be sheltered by the city wall. ——The elders couldn't think of this at all.

The people who participated in the meeting for the first time were wondering with these two pottery chips, when someone came over and explained: "The king wants to hear your opinions-if you were the king of Uruk, what choice would you make? "

What if we were... kings of Uruk?

People's eyes widened: Is this possible?

Wang actually asked them to imagine this?

"Yes, if you were the kings of Uruk, what choice would you make!" Gilgamesh stood on the high steps of the temple, speaking loudly.He held a hollow cone made of bronze in his hand. The majestic voice was gathered by the cone and echoed in the vast open space in front of the temple.

"But before that, the king will tell you all the truth about what this city is facing now."

While Gilgamesh was speaking, Inan sat at his feet, silently observing the people below.The last time she did this was more than 2000 years ago, when Uruk was a small city of 5000 people.

Now, the "resident" population alone has reached [-]. People are engaged in all walks of life and communicate with the entire Mesopotamia.

Will they... still be like the residents of the previous city, shouting "the strength belongs to us", willing to give everything to defend the city?

Or, there are still many people who are willing to contribute to defend their homes, but are they willing to share their homes with outsiders?Those ordinary peasants who built walls for their cities, and those farmers and herdsmen who farmed and grazed outside the city to provide food for the Uruk people, but had no home in the city.

Sure enough, when Gilgamesh raised this issue, everyone present was very surprised.

The people of Uruk were very uncertain whether their city could accommodate 5 people, and the representatives of the people were amazed that they had worked so hard to help the Uruk people build the city wall for so long. There is no place for them in the city.

Gilgamesh restates his arguments at the House of Elders.He believed that when the Akkadians attacked Uruk, it was impossible for Uruk to just stick to its defense, and the people in the city had to be able to prevent resistance and counterattack.There is not enough population and troops in the city to support them to break the siege of the Akkadians.

Furthermore, the peasants have made great contributions and sacrifices in the process of building the city of Uruk. It is reasonable to ensure their safety and allow them to be sheltered by the city wall.

Hearing these words, people nodded repeatedly.Inan watched from the sidelines, and she felt that the public opinion was obviously beginning to tilt to Gilgamesh's side.

But just after Gilgamesh finished speaking, Herb, a member of the House of Elders, suddenly opened his mouth and asked the king loudly: "But, king, have you ever thought that the food in the city can only supply two of the free people in the city?" months, but you leave so many 'outsiders' in the city, there is only enough food to feed all of them for a month."

"King, you were born noble and have never experienced hardships. Do you know what it means to eat with fifty thousand mouths?"

Herb's words instantly resonated a lot—

"5 people..." Finally, some people began to panic.

Some time ago, the granary of the Uruk Temple was desperately buying grain in the name of the king, and everyone in the city saw it.Seeing it at the time, people felt quite comforted in their hearts, but now that they think about it, they actually want to share the food with twice as many people.

this is too scary.

Enthusiasm began to fade, and selfish desires began to spread in my heart—when some peasants and representatives of neighboring villages protested, some Uruk people shouted at them excitedly: "Shut up—"

Human nature is such that no one can be completely selfless.

Inan sat on the steps with her knees crossed. She looked up at Gilgamesh, hoping that the young king would not lose his temper.

Unexpectedly, Gilgamesh was calm and relaxed, with a confident look.During Herb's speech, he kept listening, and even took the initiative to ask people at the end: "Have you finished?"

Herb nodded awkwardly: he's done.

Gilgamesh smiled at him: "The more you argue, the more you understand. The king welcomes all kinds of voices."

"However, in Wang's eyes, talents are the most important thing. With people, there will be a steady stream of food."

"With enough warriors, Uruk will be able to launch a counterattack against the invading enemies and ensure the smooth flow of trade routes—the king uses the wealth accumulated by the temple and the royal family for many years as a guarantee to everyone, even if Akkad If people besiege the city, Uruk will definitely be able to buy food for everyone in Uruk from other places."

"The wealth accumulated by the temple and the royal family for many years" - as soon as he said this, Herb's face turned into papyrus again.He never expected that Gilgamesh would dare to make such a promise in public.

Indeed, the temple and the royal family have accumulated a lot of money over the years, and as an elder, Heb knows the inside story very well.It just said that all the wealth should be used to buy food and feed all the residents in the city. No king had ever done it before.

When Gilgamesh said these words, it was equivalent to giving many people a reassurance.

But Gilgamesh didn't finish speaking, he continued: "Everyone, this kind of 'citizens' assembly' was held once before, but the question everyone discussed at that time was whether to build a water park for Uruk. If you want to build a city gate, how will you build it?"

"At that 'citizen meeting', many of you put forward very wonderful opinions, which gave Uruk the opportunity to have a gateway directly to the waterway of the Euphrates River."

"This time the king went to the upper reaches of the Euphrates River and received assurances from the city-state consuls that as long as the channel on the mother river is not broken, they will spare no effort to support Uruk."

"That is to say, as long as the waterways and commercial roads can continue, our city will never run out of food!"

"Okay—" Someone suddenly cheered.

Gilgamesh is right. Facing the Akkadian attack this time, the Uruk people actually have an unprecedented advantage. As long as they are united, there will be no obstacles that they cannot overcome.

"Without the resolution of the last 'citizen's assembly', Uruk would not be where it is today."

"It is precisely because of this that the king decided to hold this 'citizen meeting'. I hope you can think carefully about what choices you would make if you were the king."

"Think about your friends, the people who have been building the city with you by your side for so long. They also need the protection of the city wall and a safe shelter."

"With them in the city, they will be like us, a tenacious force against foreign enemies."

When Gilgamesh said this, a representative of the peasants immediately grabbed the robe on his chest and patted his chest vigorously, responding to Gilgamesh's words.

"In short, if the king is here, this city is here. The king will never sacrifice any of you easily. This is the king's solemn promise to you."

"Okay, so citizens of Uruk, you have all heard the voice of the king - the king has almost cut open his chest and took out his heart for you to see."

Hearing Gilgamesh's sincerity, many women in Uruk were moved to tears.Inan watched from the side, knowing that Gilgamesh's image was as good as his sincerity, which added a lot of points to him.

"Please take out every pottery chip in your hand and carefully identify their shapes. Then, imagine that you are the king of Uruk and the masters of this city. After you have weighed all the pros and cons, use your With all my sincerity, cast this most important pottery chip."

"You don't need to worry about the consequences of casting this chip. You just need to take the pottery chips in your hands seriously."

"As for the result...the king will respect the opinion of the 'Citizens' Assembly'—all the consequences will be borne by the king."

As soon as Gilgamesh had finished speaking, a crowd of officials and holy advocates poured out from behind him.These men and women walked into the crowd with a sack in their hands, and took the pottery chips from them.

The civilian husbands and representatives of neighboring villages who were listening on the sidelines also shouted and begged to the friends they knew: "Stay with us, we hope to be with you."

"We won't let you down!"

"Vote for the square chip, invest for the square chip!"

"Oh, for the sake of the goddess Inanna, cast your proposal!"

Inan, who was sitting at Gilgamesh's feet, carefully observed the pottery chips thrown by the people nearby, trying to deduce whether there were more people supporting Gilgamesh or the Presbyterian Church.

But as far as she could see, she saw both square chips and round chips.

She also saw Herb—this guy had a look of resentment on his face, but he took out a large handful of round chips from the pocket of his robe, and dumped them all into the sack handed by the official.

——This is a loophole!

Yi Nan really wanted to shout.

She knew that Hebo was acting as a voter, so she probably brought all the pottery chips received by the men and women of the elders' homes in the elders' house, and let him vote alone.Maybe the family members of the elder came to the scene and heard Gilgamesh's sincere statement, and they would also be moved by him and voted for it?

It seems that if such a "citizen's meeting" is held in Uruk in the future, it must be done on the spot.

However, these systems can be explored in the future, but this conference must accept the immediate results because it did not say in advance that proxy voting is not allowed.

Soon, more than 2 "citizens" (only about 7000 people except minor children) cast pottery chips and all were collected in front of the Inanna Temple.

All the saints in the temple appeared in front of the world at this moment. They prayed devoutly in front of Inanna's temple, and then divided their work and began to count pottery chips.

The counting of pottery chips is strictly divided. Each procedure is completed by two people, one for execution and one for inspection.

The pottery chips collected in the sack are first screened to separate the square chips from the round chips; then they are counted, and every sixty pottery chips will be recorded by the saints on clay tablets.

Anyone can step forward to supervise the process of counting pottery chips, but most of the residents of Uruk held their trust in Gilgamesh and the goddess Inanna and never stepped forward.On the contrary, Herb, frowning with his hands behind his back, went forward to read all the counting process carefully, as if he wanted to go forward and do it himself.

Yi Nan just waited to see whether the square chip or the round chip would reach 3600 pieces first.Unexpectedly, to her surprise, 3600 round chips were filled first.

Gilgamesh had a bad expression on his face, but Herb was triumphant, and he left the temple with his hands behind his back, and went directly to wait for the result.

However, gradually, Sheng Chan, who was in charge of counting the round chips, had finished counting and waited idly.And there are still mountains of pottery chips in front of the people who counted the square chips, which are inexhaustible.

Inan saw that the women who were counting the round chips were still busy, with thin beads of sweat on their foreheads, she was finally relieved, raised her head, and glanced at Gilgamesh.

Unexpectedly, Gilgamesh was also looking at her. Seeing her looking over, Gilgamesh quickly turned his face away.

"This guy..." Yi Nan whispered, "he must be nervous."

She believed that Gilgamesh must also be nervous about raising money for the Citizens' Assembly, and she also knew that Gilgamesh would occasionally look away when he was nervous—so Inan didn't think much about it.

The final result was announced by the oldest saint in the temple, holding a clay tablet on which freshly baked numbers were inscribed with reed stalks.Immediately after the announcement of the holy admonition, this clay tablet will be sent to the pottery kiln to be fired into a pottery tablet, and this pottery tablet will be placed in the temple of the goddess Inanna, and the goddess will witness the result.

"The number of round chips is: 210 seven pieces."

Hearing this number, Yi Nan let out a long breath.Without listening to another number, one can imagine that the people of Uruk have listened to the most sincere explanation of the king, and are determined to open the gates of the city and embrace those who have worked side by side with them.

Sure enough, Sheng Chang said loudly: "The number of square chips is: 560 pieces!"

Good guy! ——This square chip is three times as much as the round chip.

Gilgamesh immediately took a step forward, put his right hand on his heart, and said solemnly: "Everyone, the king has heard your voice. The goddess Inanna testifies that the king will respect your opinions and act according to the opinions of the majority. "

When he spoke, his eyes were serious, and he looked at Herb standing at the bottom of the steps.

Herb tensed his face, but he just didn't have the courage to refute the result of the "Citizens Assembly".

After all, there are more than 3000 people in favor of Gilgamesh, each of whom can drown the Council of Elders with a spit.Gilgamesh opposed the Presbyterian Church on the basis of such public opinion, instead of coercing it with theocratic and royal power. The Presbyterian Church had no reason to stick to its original point of view.

Therefore, although Herb may be cursing "nonsense" and "nonsense" in his heart, there is no room for change in the matter—it is a foregone conclusion to absorb the townspeople who built the city and the residents of the surrounding villages into the city.

After this meeting, the city of Uruk continued to strengthen its combat readiness.

The folks all seemed to have taken a reassurance, and turned their attention to the last section of the city wall that had not been repaired.

The farmers living outside the city of Uruk harvested all the mature barley and wheat, packed them into Uruk city, and then set fire to burn all the young crops in the field without giving them any food. The Akkadians stayed.

Many of them had heard the rumors about Gilgamesh's "Right of the First Night" before, and they refused to move into Uruk; , Everyone is scrambling to move, and they want to move everything into Uruk before the gates of Uruk start to be blocked and the people start to control them.

While the people of Uruk were busy making various preparations, the first group of Akkadians appeared on the plain outside Uruk.

Their "equipment" is very special, just like those Egyptian businessmen back then, so that people can recognize it at first sight.

All the Akkadians ride on the back of a bull—as long as they hold on to the horns of the bull, they can come and go like the wind.