Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Unless a person never sees anything in their lifetime, according to the theory of the 'sympathetic hierarchy', they will definitely be able to find everyone one by one. If they can't find the person themselves, at least they can find someone who knows them. As long as we use the Yellow Book, it's only a matter of time to find everyone. So it's not just the Romans who have reserves. We also have billions or even tens of billions of reserves. We can also retrieve people, and we have far more than the Romans, and we are more stable and more trustworthy. But... that Cybele... What is Cybele?"

"Goddess Cybele."

"Does that Cyber Lady save those who don't trust her?"

"That Cyber Lady. She seems like a nice person? I don't know."

"Study it. This needs to be studied thoroughly. It's very important to all of us, to everyone, because we've all lost important people before. Wait a minute, the cabinet is waiting to speak with you. They've sent a suitable person to question you, and I've only sent him alone. I think Minister Wen would be very happy to hear the news just now."

Wen Zhong, whose courtesy name was Henian, was a second-class Jinshi in the first year of Taihe. He was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and was additionally granted the titles of Tongfeng Daifu and Zhengzhi Qing. He was the chief of the Counselors of the Ministry of Rites and was sixty-three years old.

He wore a bright red official uniform, the formal attire of a third-rank official. Official uniform regulations had remained largely unchanged since the Hongwu era, and the uniforms passed down from the Hongwu era were almost identical to those of the Song Dynasty. They all featured bright red, round-collared robes, no patches, only subtle patterns, a wide belt, and a wide-legged fu hat.

Although public uniforms have been around since Hongwu, but later on, regular uniforms with patches became more popular.Although these are the clothes that are worn in the upper court according to the regulations, they are usually worn only for a few court meetings, and they can't be worn several times a year.

However, now that it's the Shaoping Year, fashion has taken a turn. Official uniforms are now the most prestigious formal attire worn at court, surpassing official uniforms. Only the chief officer of a yamen can wear official uniforms, and only officials of the third rank and above can wear official uniforms during court ceremonies. Everyone else must wear narrower official uniforms emblazoned with birds and beasts. Consequently, the oversized, wide-legged futou (a traditional Chinese headdress) that creates social distancing is prohibited, and only a small black gauze hat is allowed.

Wen Zhong listened to Zhu Xianxun's introduction. At the end, he also learned that there was hope of finding the deceased one by one.

Hearing this, he took off his glasses, wiped the mist off the lenses with a glasses cloth, and put them back on.

"Master Wen, what do you think?"

"I understand your majesty and Young Master Shang's intentions. However, caution is paramount. This is a good thing, a good thing." Like Zhu Xianxun, he didn't have the habit of celebrating with a glass of red wine at halftime. But he couldn't hide his excitement, and he took off his glasses and wiped them.

"Yes." He put his glasses back on. "I believe this matter is of grave importance. We must convene an expanded meeting immediately. In addition to summoning the six ministries of Yujing in Southern Zhili, we must also summon the six ministries of Fengjing in Northern Zhili, as well as the governors-general of each province, the governors-general of each town, and the vassal states of each inner vassal state to the Grand Palace for discussion. This matter is not suitable for discussion at court for the time being. It must be kept secret until there is a clear outcome. We must confirm the feasibility of this meeting, and when everything is ready except for the east wind, we can then bring it to the Fengtian Palace and announce it to the world."

"Indeed." Zhu Xianxun nodded. "It's not appropriate to make too much noise at the beginning when we haven't even started. Let's take it one step at a time. As for summoning them to a meeting, since it happened to be the Formula One race, they could have come anyway. I'll send the Imperial Guards to issue a secret decree, ordering all the vassal states and towns to come to the capital. Also, Shangluo, the verification work will be entirely up to you. Wen Ge Lao is here as a representative, and his agreement means the cabinet has agreed. So if your office needs any resources, you can ask the cabinet directly. Even if you need to eat 100 pork elbows every day, we can transfer them directly."

Chapter 261 East Wing and West Wing

After concluding the matter, Shangluo and Wen Gelao emerged from Zhu Xianxun's room. This matter was no longer a problem for Zhu Xianxun, as he certainly wouldn't object to anything approved by the Daoist Ancestor. However, as an intermediary between "Heaven" and "Man," he needed to present this matter to the cabinet.

The first line of responsibility directly responsible for receiving the will of heaven is the cabinet. However, in the past, the "will of heaven" was directly sent by Daozu, but this time it was actually authorized by Shangluo and issued by Shangluo.

This is the first time, but the importance of this matter is even comparable to the most important decree issued by the Taoist himself, because it is directly related to the critical turning point in the prospects of all mankind.

Wen Ge Lao walked half a step ahead of him as they went downstairs. This wasn't entirely because of Shangluo, but because the futou spread out to the left and right took up the entire corridor space, making it impossible for him to pass. Wen Ge Lao himself was quite used to it.

"Oh~~" Shangluo saw that the huge futou could remain stable even when going down the stairs, and it hardly swayed at all. This skill was at least at the level of a Qigong practitioner.

As if noticing Shangluo's constant gaze, Wen Zhong didn't turn around. Instead, he stared straight ahead and said, "Once you wear this hat, you must learn to weld your neck shut. There's no other choice but to look forward."

This sounds like a profound statement, but it's also quite realistic. The hat stretches nearly 1.4 meters wide from side to side, so you really can't just shake your head around, or it'll hit anyone walking in front of you in the face.

"Do all the ministers wear this? How do they take the elevator then?"

"The ministers don't ride the elevator together," Wen Zhong replied. "They have separate attendants and ride separately. Everyone else wears patched robes and black gauze hats. The black gauze hats are from the Hongwu era, with small, drooping wings, similar to the Tang Dynasty's futou, but more convenient to wear. Recently, some have simply replaced the wings with soft cloth, making them indistinguishable from futou."

"Oh, I see." He was still wondering if a group of ministers would turn around and slap each other in the face while riding in an elevator. Would that lead to a fight? He could vaguely see the muscles in Minister Wen's arms through his robes; he must have been training constantly.

"Are you going to Daozu's place soon?" Elder Wen asked him.

"No. His Majesty just told me to report back tomorrow."

"Yes." Elder Wen confirmed, but didn't nod casually. "I'll immediately submit this matter to the Cabinet for discussion when I return. Daozu will also know that this has been the case since the Jiajing period, and he will be listening closely. However, if the Cabinet has any opinions, they will speak out according to the principle of 'clouds in the blue sky, water in the bottle.' This matter will most likely not change, because everything is better than previously expected."

He turned his head slightly and glanced at Shangluo: "Before you left, we thought Rome was going to start a civil war immediately. The worst case scenario is that Rome would break with us. Although Rome certainly can't defeat us, war costs money and lives. 'The past cannot be changed, but the future can still be pursued'. When people die, everything is gone." After saying this, he suddenly thought:

"However, if all this comes true, then even the past can be brought back. I couldn't say it in here just now, but outside, I still have to say thank you. This incident doesn't only benefit me, and I don't represent others, only myself." As he said this, he stopped, slowly turned around and stood sideways.

"Thank you." He bowed to Shangluo to express his gratitude.

Shangluo returned the gift. While death is always regrettable, premature death at the age of 30 is particularly tragic. And the death of Wen Yan—Wen Yuan's father, the eldest son of the Wen Pavilion Elder—is something even the Dao Ancestor would lament. He was only one step away from building his foundation, and ultimately failed, just that one step away.

"However, please don't tell Wen Yuan about this for now." He knew that Shangluo and Wen Yuan had a good relationship.

"Oh, I know. I won't tell him until everything is certain—I'm afraid he'll do something stupid if I give him hope and can't keep it."

"It seems that Daozu was right about the guy. That kid is as stupid as his father. If he knew, he would definitely do something stupid. Oh, right, do we want to go back now?"

"Uh-huh."

"Let Wen Yuan take you back. You are a national treasure now, and we are worried that something might happen to you along the way. I heard that Master Zhang Tianshi wanted to teach you Tai Chi Xuan Gong directly, but you haven't gone yet. So, you'd better be more careful."

"Eh? No need to bother, no need to bother. I can go back by myself."

"It's not a big deal. He's right at the door."

——"Eh??? You want me to take him back? He has his own legs, why do you need me to do that?"

"Are his feet the same as yours? Send him back, immediately."

"Give me that Portkey."

Elder Wen pulled a bunch of keys from his sleeve and tossed them over. Wen Yuan caught them mid-air and asked, "Grandpa, are you coming back for dinner?"

"No, I'm busy. I'll have dinner in the cabinet tonight."

After saying that, he got into the car that was waiting to pick him up and left.

"Okay, I'll take you home. Get in the car." He patted the seat next to him and let Shangluo sit in the passenger seat of the Chuiwan car.

"How are you sending me? You're not planning on driving this to my house, are you?"

"Oh, take the subway. If you want to be safe, just take the subway. Besides, I don't have a driver's license, so I can only drive on closed roads."

“Don’t you have a driver’s license???”

"You can only get a driver's license at 18."

"That was in Yangzhou before."

"Yeah, so what if I'm driving without a license? There's no traffic police there anyway, and Master didn't say anything."

As he spoke, he stepped on the accelerator and drove the Chuiwan car out.

"By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get my keys. What else can I do? I forgot to bring them. My grandma is a telephone operator at the post office and she's still at get off work. My aunt Wang at home is also not working today. So I can only come directly to my grandpa to get my keys."

"Oh, then do you know anything about the cabinet?"

He has to deal with the cabinet recently, but he doesn't quite understand the cabinet's situation.

"The cabinet, that's what it is. There are two groups of people whose opinions will never reach a consensus, but they will come up with a plan that everyone can accept, and then each of them will go about doing things. Within the court, there are two factions, the East Wing and the West Wing. Currently, the East Wing is forming a cabinet, but it doesn't have an absolute advantage, so it's pulling the West Wing in to form a cabinet."

"What's the difference between the two?"

"There's no fundamental difference, because often both sides oppose just for the sake of opposing, but they come from different factions and schools. Some are divided by geography, some by personal connections. For example, Yujing is considered the West Wing, while Fengjing in Northern Zhili is the East Wing. For example, people from Fujian are from the West Wing, while people from Guangdong are from the East Wing, and so on. Now the East Wing is forming a cabinet, so half of the cabinet is from the East Wing."

Chapter 262 Office

"Are the six ministries in Yujing and Fengjing the same?"

Shangluo has heard both names before. While there's no specific administrative unit called "Yujing" or "Fengjing," they're often used to refer to two large regions governed by two separate sets of six departments.

In many cases, the two sides operated independently. For example, the six ministries of Yujing did not actually manage Fengjing affairs, and vice versa. In many areas, the two sides were organized separately. For example, the imperial examinations, up to the joint examination, were held separately for the two sides, as were various competitions. When it came to large-scale projects and breakthroughs in key technologies, both sides worked simultaneously to advance them.

"Well, if you really want to say it's the same, it's indeed different. After all, the two sets of six ministries are a tradition left over from the Yongle era. At that time, there were Yingtian and Shuntian. Now, because both sides have added the title of Jing, there are Yujing Six Ministries and Fengjing Six Ministries. Among the eight cabinet ministers now, four are from the East Wing and three are from the West Wing. Well, one of them is my grandfather."

"Oh, your grandfather is standing in the middle?"

"Yes, he didn't side with any faction, so when he retired, he was just a minister. There was no hope, no hope. But it wasn't because he had any sentimental feelings, it was because he was from the Imperial College. The Imperial College doesn't take sides. The Imperial College, as a 'school', doesn't take sides either."

“That doesn’t sound like there’s any future.”

"Rather, not taking sides is actually a good way forward. Because the Imperial College has both political and academic functions, it would be bad for the Imperial College to take on either side, as it would affect enrollment. So, um, this is also a school management strategy. And precisely because he doesn't take sides, both sides will reserve a position for him. Although he has been in the cabinet for twenty years, he has been in many cabinets, big and small, and has formed cabinets in both the East and West wings, but he has never left. Ah."

He sighed, "Even so, I've only ever been a Vice Minister. I can't get promoted. I'll never be promoted in my lifetime. Although I've been awarded honorary titles, I guess I'll only be given the title of Shangshu after I retire. Being a Vice Minister is exhausting. Even at such an old age, I still have to be responsible for the Ministry of Rites' affairs during court ceremonies, as the Vice Minister is the head of the Imperial Guards. Every morning there's busier than Jinjikou, isn't that right?"

He thought about it carefully and found the metaphor a bit strange, because as a Jinyiwei he had been to the zoo. The pandas in the zoo sat there quietly eating bamboo, only making "meow miow" sounds, which was much quieter than here.

"But he's used to it. He's been a court official all his life, rising through the ranks, so he's used to it."

"Oh~~ No wonder the cabinet asked him to come to me." Shang Luo had thought it was because Wen Yuan was familiar with him that they asked his grandfather to come. Now it seemed that in addition to this relationship, Wen Zhong was also chosen because he could be accepted by both sides.

"So my grandpa is here to see you. What's going on?"

"I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else~~" What he wanted to talk about was not the resurrection, but something beyond the resurrection, the matter of the 100 elbows.

"Office??? Oh!!! This is like a carnival! The Daozu authorized you to set up an office outside the Emperor to handle heavenly affairs? You're also going to bring in the Imperial Guards? Alas! You're going to set up the East Factory!"

"What East Factory?"

"The Imperial Guards sent someone to set up another agency to handle this, and that's the Investigation Bureau. If we're going to set up an Investigation Bureau, of course it's the Eastern Investigation Bureau! Of course it's the Eastern Bureau! Please, please let me in!"

"But why?"

"Because the East Factory is so cool. This is a fan! Isn't it very cool? Super cool! Court lackeys, I will do whatever you can't do. Please! Please, you must become the factory master!"

[Dragon Gate Flying Daggers! Dragon Gate Flying Daggers!] Apollonia also joined in the fun.

"I say, why do you think Dongchang is so cool?"

"Hmm," Wen Yuan thought for a moment, "it's hard to say. But in all sorts of novels and comics, secret agents like the Eastern Depot are so powerful. 'Swish, swish, swish!' They throw out a blood-dropping device and take someone's head from ten feet away. So cool! They're secret agents!"

"But the Jinyiwei are also secret agents of the Imperial Palace."

"Oh, the Jinyiwei are different. They're not discreet at all and are always working for others. But the Dongchang sounds very oppressive. Please! Please, you must become the factory master!"

"It's this factory manager who's got a problem! I don't care if being a Dongchang agent is some weird hobby, but the factory manager sounds like a eunuch!"

"You're not a eunuch. The commander of the Eastern Depot isn't necessarily a eunuch, he could be a minister. Right? Minister of the Eastern Depot."

"But if you keep calling me 'factory boss', anyone who hears it will think the wrong thing."

"That's impossible. Eunuchs have been gone for hundreds of years. No one would have wrong ideas. Even if they did, so what? For the sake of everyone's desire to be a Dongchang servant, can't you make a sacrifice?"

"Tsk, anyway, I'm not the factory manager, you can be one if you want."

"Then the Governor can also do it?"

"Neither of them will work." Shangluo clearly expressed his objection. "Anyway, I'll invite you in, but I won't talk to the Supervisor or the Factory Master."

"Sigh~~~tsk tsk tsk." Wen Yuan gripped the steering wheel and shook her head, "How disappointing. This is obviously very handsome, isn't it?"

"So cool!" When they came out of the subway station, the two of them also said to Han Xingzhi in the discussion group, "Please! Big brother! Please become the factory manager!"

Shangluo directly flipped down the lid of the jade token.

"Listen to everyone's voices~~" Wen Yuan followed him out of the subway station because he couldn't move while typing.

"How about I let you take my seat?"

"Forget it. I don't want to be a factory manager."

"Look! You don't even want to admit it yourself! You know there's something wrong."

"But there must be a factory owner!"

Shangluo shook his head. "You've brought me here, can you go back now? We can talk tomorrow if there's anything."

"Wait a minute, I'll send you back to the west." Wen Yuan suddenly remembered, "It's been so long, have you paid the water bill, plumbing bill, or anything like that?"

Shangluo was stunned for a moment: "Is there such a thing?"

It seemed that up to now, he had not paid any water bills for Yujing's house.

"I knew it wasn't there. Okay, enough kidding, I'll take you there. First, let me ask, have you got any electrical wiring installed?"

"Yes," Shangluo replied. Although the power grid had only just arrived, his family had already had electricity lines installed long ago. They mainly powered appliances like lights, but there was no air conditioning.

"Then you need to prepare more. Do you have money? A few months of expenses, add up to about three or four hundred wen?"

"Yes, I brought it." Shang Luo checked his wallet. There was still quite a bit left, probably enough. Lao Shang's wages were still counted with him. Lao Shang himself didn't seem to spend much money in Alexandria.

"Let's go. I remember this place, huh? Why does this vending machine look a bit different? Is it a new model?"

Chapter 263 Vending Machine

A new vending machine stood at the entrance of Shangluojia Alley. Compared to the old one, this one was red. But there were no advertisements on it; it was just a red square box.

"Has this vending machine broken down before?" Wen Yuan asked him.

"No, I was fine when I came back last time. Ah, that one."