[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Inan's judgment on Hammurabi was accurate.

This talented king, after weighing the pros and cons, naturally understands that after the collapse of the "seven gates of justice", rebuilding justice and regaining the trust of the people is more urgent than choosing an heir.

Yi Nan talked with him about this matter in front of the princes in the back garden of the palace.

Most of the younger princes listened ignorantly, only two shrewd ones kept nodding in agreement.

In the end, Hammurabi made a decision and decided to choose a day to announce to all the citizens of Babylon that it was he who ordered the tear down of the "Seven Doors of Justice" that did not live up to its name.

After the original "Seven Doors" were pulled down, another "Gate of Justice" would be built in front of the Babylonian palace.In addition, the outstanding royal ceremony officer acted as the "host of justice", representing Hammurabi, accepting complaints from Babylonian citizens and making fair judgments.

As for the construction and manpower of this "Gate of Justice", Yi Nan volunteered and was willing to let her undertake it—after all, it was the "Seven Doors" that she pushed down by herself.Such a statement made Hammurabi feel much more at ease.

When talking about the candidate for the "host", Hammurabi blurted out: "Herod! There is no one more suitable than Herod."

"Herod is an orphan adopted by the king. He grew up attached to the royal family since he was a child. He has learned a lot, has outstanding talents, and has no interest entanglements with nobles and officials. This king believes that he is suitable for this position. Two choices."

Yi Nan rolled his eyes, nodded and smiled: "The king's vision is naturally the most accurate."

She glanced at the faces of the princes behind Hammurabi, and found that most of them were still listening absentmindedly.The shrewd ones earlier were either trying to get Yi Nan's attention, or they were showing expressions of disdain and disinterest.

Yinan couldn't help worrying about Hammurabi for a moment: This king who unified the Mesopotamia and established a powerful Babylonian Kingdom seems to have no successors!

She saw Hammurabi stroking his beard and looking at his sons with a smile, knowing that the king wanted to bring the topic back to "choose a prince to marry" now.

Before Hammurabi could speak, Inan immediately said, "I have to tell Herod about such a big news, so that he can get ready!"

As she said that, she turned and ran away, leaving the old king to face his "incompetent" sons.

The next morning, Yi Nan came to Herod's "single dormitory" again, and found that he was sitting cross-legged in his room, staring at the morning light coming in from the small window.

"In fact, I wonder, who am I to judge 'fairness'."

Seeing Inan, Herod said very calmly.

Yi Nan sat down opposite him, looked at the young royal official, looked at the redness in his eyes, and thought: No way, did this guy stay up all night?

But she also had to admit that it was a very important question.

It is possible that Hammurabi will summon Herod today to ask how he intends to preside over this new "gate of justice".

"You judged the inheritance case between me and my sister yesterday, and the judgment was very wonderful!" Yinan encouraged Herod.

The most important key to that inheritance case is naturally the timing of the equal division of property: when the parents of Aligar and Miss Ishta passed away, it was the value of the property that was the basis for a fair distribution—if A person who chooses to divide Yi Nan's current property equally is tantamount to obliterating all of Yi Nan's later efforts, which is tantamount to creating another kind of "injustice".

This is also due to Herod's photographic memory: he was able to remember the value of the properties on the inheritance documents, the production of the farm and the taxes paid by the workshop-this ability is enough to make Yinan, who came from later generations Modern people are amazed by it.

"At that time, it was authorized by the king, and I was responsible for the fair distribution. The king first set the tone for equal distribution." Herod said calmly, without any intention of taking credit.

"Therefore, yesterday I resolved your sister's inheritance case on behalf of the king, but the justice cannot be said to be given by me. You still have to thank the king."

Inan finally understood what Herod meant.

Herod was a mortal, a Mushchenu of low rank.According to Hammurabi, Herod was an orphan who was adopted by the royal family as a servant of the royal family.

In the past, there were indeed old practices of "royal officials" handling and adjudicating civil complaints-but the world has seen that these old practices, and even these royal officials, have been proved to be "unjust", and have been followed by the "sevenfold justice" The overthrow of the "door" was subsequently denied.

Herod didn't think he had the qualification, or the right, to judge the "justice" of the whole world.

——It's not that he doesn't want to, it's not that he doesn't want to.

"Justice" was indeed what Herod was after.Otherwise, he wouldn't have handed out his black robe behind the palace that day to help that poor woman who was treated unfairly.

But he needs a reliance, a starting point, and a foundation.That's what he's been thinking about all night, with his eyes open and up all night.

"Then think again, what did King Hammurabi rely on to preside over 'justice'?"

Herod turned his head to look at Inan in astonishment, as if surprised that the woman dared to doubt this.

Yi Nan said with a playful smile, "I'm a country woman from Uruk. I don't understand these things. You have to tell me!"

After a moment of shock, Herod fell into deep thought again.It seems that this unavoidable question finally came to the front again: what did King Hammurabi rely on to uphold justice and judge good and evil?

Yi Nan also looked at the silent young man in front of him, wondering what kind of answer he would give him.

Now is not the first era she arrived in through the "space-time tunnel".In that era, people acted on instinct and struggled for survival. It was their concept of good and evil to keep themselves and important people alive.

But now, people's lives are generally guaranteed.The land can provide them with enough food, and more people no longer depend on farming for their source of life.As long as some people farm, all can be fed.

Business was flourishing, and countless contracts were signed in Babylon every day. Some transactions were successfully executed, but many were facing failure or breach of contract.

People are in different social classes. Some people hold the wealth and are superior. They worry all day long about which children should pass on the glory and wealth that they can't enjoy in this life.There are also some people who are at the bottom of society and have no personal rights other than working for survival...

This society is already complicated enough that the concept of "justice" has to be abstracted. At this moment, Inan asked Herod.

Herod lowered his eyes and meditated for a while, then raised his head and said, "The power possessed by the king comes from the gods."

Yi Nan leaned back slightly, thinking: This is indeed the answer.

Remember that prophecy? —"The kingship came down from heaven, and fell on Eridu."

In 5500 BC, when she handed over the scepter to Dumuzi, she actually set a tone for human society for a long time in the future: the divine right of kings.

"Marduk, the god of Jupiter, recognized Hammurabi, king of Babylon, as his spokesman in the world." Herod continued, and it was obvious that this answer seemed logical to him, "therefore, the king has the right to judge any justice in business."

In other words, Herod did not have this power.

"That's what I'm worried about, what basis do I use to judge any case 'justly'?" asked Herod himself.

"You mean, apart from the gods, the king is the only one in the world who is qualified to uphold justice?" Inan turned his eyes and asked Herod.

Before Herod could answer, she had already said with a smile: "But you said yourself that King Hammurabi has a lot of affairs in his daily life, and he often patrols around the country. It is impossible to leave all these matters to his old man's judgment. .”

Herod nodded, taking it beyond doubt.

If Hammurabi really had unlimited energy to deal with all complaints in the country, the "dirty seven doors" would not exist.

But now that Herod is in charge, he has to come up with a reasonable basis to explain the "justness" of his judgment.

"I said, your memory is so good, do you remember all the judgments made by the previous king?"

Inan hugged his knees and sat down beside Herod.

Herod was stunned, nodded, and said, "Except for those when I was very young...but those, I can also read the ones in the clay warehouse..."

Before he finished speaking, the young man suddenly took a breath and turned to look at Yinan.

His amber eyes were round, looking at Yi Nan, his eyes suddenly burst into ecstasy.

"God, I really believe that there are gods in this world." Herod couldn't help but raised his head, "If there are no gods, why would there be someone as smart as you in the world?"

Any new case can refer to previous judgments as long as it can be compared to the cases handled by Hammurabi before.

In this way, he perfectly solved the problem of "basis"-after all, Hammurabi has been in power for many years, and he has solved many cases before.All these cases were recorded on clay tablets as the king's "great achievements".

With Herod's memory, he could compare the case and complaint before him with Hammurabi's "precedent" without hesitation.In this way, with the help of previous judgment results, a judgment suitable for the current case can be derived.

"How can I be smart?" Yi Nan said with a smile, "Obviously you thought of it yourself!"

"Following precedent" is indeed a good method that Herod can use at present, at least it provides him with a "basis" that can be obtained. Even if some people question and object, there is Hammurabi who stands behind Herod and acts as his backing.

The question now essentially becomes whether the cases that Hammurabi has previously judged are really "just".

But there is no better way than this.I believe that in actual practice, Herod can make adjustments according to the actual situation.

On the same day, Hammurabi summoned the royal officials and publicly announced his decision to rebuild the "Gate of Justice".

Hammurabi directly announced his decision: "The Gate of Justice" will be presided over by Herod. Since Herod has taken up this position, he has the power to overturn all the decisions of the previous officials.

This aroused widespread dissatisfaction among the ceremonial officials, and some people immediately suggested that Herod was just an ordinary Mushchenu, who did not have the power granted by the king like a king, and was theoretically incapable of judging whether the world was fair or not.

But Herod thought about it all night, and was instructed and inspired by Inan. He had already thought of the answer, and said it in an orderly manner in front of Hammurabi, and immediately refuted all those who questioned him.

Even Hammurabi nodded again and again: "It's still Herod who thinks well."

"Using the previous judgments made by the king as the criterion, the king's judgment can be used for the same and similar cases. If there is a new case that the king has never judged before, then Herod will report the case to the king again. Come, let the king make a ruling according to the will of the gods."

"There is no better way."

Hammurabi immediately made a decision: "Since everyone has no objection, it is so decided. Herod—"

It occurred to Hammurabi that at the feast last night he had hoped that Miss Ishtar from Uruk would choose a husband from among his sons; but the girl turned away and ran off to Herod , and never appeared in the palace again.

So the king of Babylon asked cautiously, "Herod, did Miss Ishtar look for you last night?"

Herod replied honestly: "Indeed, Miss Ishtar notified my servants of the decision to rebuild the 'Gate of Justice' last night."

Hammurabi's shrewd gaze was always swaying on Herod's face, trying to see from his face whether there was any possibility of "further" development of these two young people.

Hammurabi couldn't see anything, so he asked again: "So, after Miss Ishtar notified you, what is she busy with?"

Herod replied very sincerely: "Return to the king's question. After Miss Ishtar notified the minister of this matter, she went to prepare for the rebuilding of the 'Gate of Justice'."

"She said she was going to buy a pottery yard just for the purpose. She said she wanted to produce pottery bricks with a glass-like surface and use them to decorate the king's 'Gate of Justice' so that the The gates that symbolize justice will always be a symbol of hope for the Babylonians."

"This--"

Even Hammurabi didn't think of this: the little girl broke the "Seven Doors" with her own hands, and volunteered to build and rebuild the "Gate of Justice", that's all. Who knew that she even bought a pottery yard just for this?Want to fire a special clay brick just for the "Gates of Justice"?

People have to be convinced that they are so rich and powerful!

Hammurabi looked at Herod's expression and knew that the young man he had grown up with had nothing to hide and was telling the truth.

Yi Nan never felt that it was a crime for her to smash the "seven doors".

She received the task of "constructing" the Gate of Justice from Hammurabi for no redemption.

She just doesn't want to let go of any technological advancements and opportunities to develop new products.

For a long time, the representative products of Mesopotamia are plain clay bricks fired from extremely finely sieved clay.There has been no technological advancement in this area for many years.

When she stood in front of the "Seven Doors" that day, she saw the scene of the Babylonians inlaying colorful stones among the pottery bricks-this actually inspired her: material life is developing, and people need more beautiful building materials.

Don't look at her exchanging "Rupert's Tears" with the Egyptian mission, and complaining about the "Seven Doors" to Hammurabi—Yinan has never forgotten this business opportunity.

She just took the opportunity of rebuilding the "Gate of Justice" to get the tiles out.

In fact, just as the artisans in her glass workshop can fire glass, they can also fire tiles.All the front-end technologies and devices are mature - the layer of "glaze" on the tiles comes from the sodium gas decomposed by salt in a high-temperature environment. A layer of "glass" forms on the surface.

Artisans in glass workshops already know which seaweed will produce the same color glass—a skill that can also be applied to ceramic tiles.

As long as a layer of glaze is applied to the surface of the plain pottery body fired for the first time, and then fired at a higher temperature, the original plain pottery brick can be covered with a smooth and crystal-clear "glaze" like glass. , so that the pottery bricks changed into "tiles", and their value has been multiplied since then.

The pottery and brick fields in the Mesopotamia are all over the place. If they can upgrade their technology again, the artisans here must be able to earn more wealth and make this river basin more fertile.

The best publicity for a new product such as "tiles" is the "Gate of Justice" ordered to be rebuilt by King Hammurabi.

At the same time, a "Gate of Justice" that is completely different from other buildings will definitely have a positive impact on Herod's career: Inan thought that she was building a "Gate of Justice" for Herod—— Everyone in Babylon will be attracted, shocked and overwhelmed by this "Gate of Justice".

Therefore, Herod was in a hurry to select a site for the "Gate of Justice", draw up an architectural form, and bury his head in the vast sea of ​​clay tablets.

And Yi Nan is in the pottery brick factory she bought newly, conducting repeated experiments with the craftsmen, trying to burn out "tiles" with the same surface as glass of various colors.

The two are busy with their own affairs, and occasionally meet to exchange their progress.

Inan always reported good news that made Herod feel novel: "This time blue tiles are fired!"

"The blue tiles are getting more and more consistent in color quality - trying to fire gold, red and white tiles later!"

"Firing two colors on the same tile - a craft we've finally achieved!"

"Herod, don't worry. Your 'Gate of Justice', I will guarantee that it will be the most beautiful, eye-catching, and at the same time the most solemn and solemn building in this city. Anyone who sees it will never forget it .”

After Yinan finalized the design of the "Gate of Justice" with the officials in charge of palace construction, the craftsmen began to dig the foundation and use clay bricks to build the theme of this majestic palace gate.

At this time, no one realized that this would be an absolutely unique building.

This "Gate of Justice" was still extremely simple until the roof was built and the shape of the entire palace gate appeared in front of the Babylonian citizens.

Even Hammurabi laughed at Herod: "Did Ishtar build this 'Gate of Justice' according to your personality?"

In Hammurabi's view, this "Gate of Justice" is made of colorless plain clay bricks, and a single decorative gemstone is useless-does Miss Ishtar think that this building is not related to Hessia? Is he as serious and upright as this man?

Herod nodded at the king: It means that he is indeed such a boring person, with a strict eye, and he wears the same black robe of a ceremonial officer every day.

But he refrained from revealing to King Hammurabi the miraculous crafts Miss Ishta was developing and her special plan.

After all, what Miss Ishtar told him was a secret he kept alone, which belonged only to him.

When the overall construction of the "Gate of Justice" was completed and the craftsmen began to make the final decorations for the building, there was a sensation in the whole city of Babylon, and they all flocked to the "Gate of Justice" to see-see how these craftsmen did their best for the building. The "Gate of Justice" in the color of plain clay bricks is affixed with an extremely magical building material.

This building material is a piece of thin bricks of exactly the same size. One side is plain clay brick color, and the other side is smooth, hard and shiny like glass.

Most of the bricks are royal blue, and they are neatly attached to the "Gate of Justice" one by one, which immediately gives the city gate a royal blue tone as deep as the sea.When the sun shines on the "Gate of Justice" at an angle, these royal blue bricks can emit dazzling dazzling light.

In addition to these pure blue bricks, golden patterns appeared on the surface of another part of the bricks.But the Babylonian citizens who watched could not see what these patterns were at all. They were not only different from the common flower decorations of the Babylonians, but also different from the traditional "swallowtail" blessing decorations of the Sumerians.

The craftsmen marked the reverse side of these bricks with charcoal to remember their positions, and laid these patterned tiles to their proper positions one by one.

Gradually, on the "Gate of Justice", the golden patterns began to connect into pieces, and gradually the shape could be seen.

In front of this unfinished gate, the lively and fashionable Babylonians surrounded the construction site with three floors inside and three floors outside, waiting to see what kind of pattern would appear on the lintel of the last palace gate.

"Come out, you can see it!"

The last few tiles were left unattached by the craftsmen, and someone was already shouting loudly.

"Scale, look! It's a balance!"

On the lintel of the Gate of Justice, on a dark blue background, there is a golden balance, the balance beam is horizontal, and a golden shallow plate hangs on the left and right sides of the beam.The whole balance is dazzling and brilliant, and the colors are extremely bright.

The scale even protruded slightly from the surface of the lintel, like a relief in a temple telling the great deeds of the gods.

Soon, the craftsmen finally put up the last few tiles and announced that they had completed the project.

"Everyone, these are the tiles that have just been pasted and cannot be touched yet. Don't be in a hurry to reach out and touch them!"

The craftsmen told the Babylonian citizens who were watching nearby that they did not forget to tie a long rope to a "no entry" area, and asked the trembling palace guards in front of the new gate to help guard it.

But the Babylonians are already amazed by these magical building materials they have never seen before.Even if they couldn't get close, the Babylonians still surrounded the palace gate.When the sun went down, the Babylonians even lit torches to observe how the "tile" walls reflected the firelight.

Overnight, everyone in the city was talking about the gate.

This is the new "Gate of Justice" in the city of Babylon——