Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"wrong number."

"Eh? Did I dial the wrong number? Sorry, I'm really sorry." On the other end of the phone, he said sorry and hung up the phone.

【Tsk. What do you think. 】

"What a lovely voice. This elf lady's voice is really cute. I wonder if a real person is this cute."

【The real person is so cute too. I've seen them, and they're so cute. 】

"Latin women are always like this, exuding a sense of clarity and innocence."

Halfway through his words, the phone rang again.

"Hello?" he asked in a low voice, "Is that Shangluo over there?"

Phaethon took the phone and held it a little further away——

"What to do?" she asked Apollonia.

[Answer the phone, what else can you do? Answer the phone first and then talk, don't delay the business. 】

"Hello?" Phaethon picked up the phone, "Yes, this is Shangluo's phone number. I'm his, his secretary."

"Eh? Then you just..."

"Your Sinian language is full of Latin accents, and your pronunciation is not very standard. I didn't hear you saying his name. Are you okay?"

"Um, don't you know about that? Some materials in the Great Library need to be transferred from New Antioch. Since it's happening at the same time as Shangluo's operation, we hope to be able to share some information with him. We've already submitted a request through the Senate."

"Yes, that's true." Phaethon replied, "But Shangluo is very busy right now. Let's talk about the specific meeting time when he is free."

"Ah, when will he be free?"

"Waiting for notification. Is there anything else? If nothing happens, I'll hang up."

"It's okay, it's okay." Karin's voice became softer as she spoke, but she still didn't hang up the phone.

"Sorry, the signal here is not very good. I'll hang up now."

After hanging up the phone, Fae slapped his forehead with his palm: "Is he a flower? Why does every woman seem to have something unclear to say to him?"

[You are wrong to blame him, I can see clearly. First of all, not everyone - for example, Lu Liang was not interested in him as a person, only in his body. Before you come. 】

"ha?!!"

[It means practicing martial arts. She was very interested in Shangluo's celestial body and did not show any interest in him as a person; then, Zhu Ling and Shangluo looked familiar because they were fellow panda lovers, and they also had owners and castes. Hey, there is also Yanqiu. 】

"Ah Yanqiu, I know. She really likes working with Shangluo. She is still looking forward to shooting that commercial with Shangluo. I don't know about things outside of work."

[So the one who is really baffled is actually Victoria. 】

"I can't help it! She is the emperor, and every move she makes contains the meaning of 'great skills'. According to Cathay, every move she makes will attract the power of creation. She has the most legitimate reason to come. Looking for interaction with the King of Rome.”

[Force majeure is excluded for the time being. Our Miss Karin seems to have the highest threat level. 】

"And a Latin guy."

[Yeah, and he’s Latin. 】

"So, what should we do?" she asked Apollonia, "What's your opinion?"

[I also want to ask you. You were a bit over the top just now, and so am I. But I think your opinion is more reliable in the end. Now that you've calmed down, it's up to you to decide. 】

"Okay - then we should now establish a consensus that you have confirmed before: the bottom line is that business must not be delayed. There is indeed business to be done in the Grand Library, and business cannot be delayed. But business is business."

【So, what to do? 】

"You come and inform him." Phaethon leaned on the armrest of the car door, his face darkened, and entered a combat mode, "But remember, you are not allowed to express any subjective opinions - you are only recording the call that Karin just made. Send it to him and then observe his condition.”

【learn. ] Apollonia did so.

【Tsk. 】

"How to say?"

[He smiled, very happily. After all, it is indeed very cute, it is half elf, half human. Her existence itself is a combination of illusion and reality, which makes it difficult not to be fascinated. 】

"Business. Don't go too far, ask him what to do about business. Ask him if he is free - if he is not free, I will go to see Karin for him. As for business, if anyone can't talk, I can talk to him. Greece There's nothing we can't talk about between humans and Latins, right? It's not like we haven't talked about the Trojan War before."

Chapter 722 Newton’s Fourth Law

"You seem to be smiling happily. Did you receive some message?"

"Ah, nothing."

"Is it information you don't want to reveal? That's fine." Little Pompeo nodded, "There is still some distance from the metropolitan subway station where [Aotearoa] is buried. Taking advantage of this period, I would like to tell you You have a question related to this mission."

"Huh?" Shangluo put the phone away, "Excuse me."

"Thank you for answering me with a simple greeting like 'please'. As a foreigner, it is really difficult for me to learn the complex and solemn greeting system of the Cathayans. It is really difficult for us .”

"It's okay, sometimes we don't use it often ourselves." Shangluo also discovered. In fact, everyone, including Zhu Xianfen, uses vernacular in daily conversations and rarely uses respectful words. Only when you actually write it will you write it seriously - of course, although you don't say it, everyone knows it, and of course they will say it when necessary. But when everyone didn't say much verbally, it wouldn't cause any trouble to Shangluo, who was not very good at using respectful words.

But on the other hand, it was precisely because he had no opportunity to practice that he never knew exactly what was included in this systematic course that he learned from senior elementary school to junior high school. After all, he happened to be absent from compulsory education when this class was taking place.

Now he had a vague feeling - the little Pompeo in front of him seemed to be looking for him for "Chinese conversation practice". This is probably because he usually can't find any environment to use it. It's hard to find a person of equal status who can sit down and talk, so he speaks more and practices more.

"So, ask, what do you want to ask?"

"I want to know what you know about the extraordinary road of the Romans. Where does this road ultimately lead? Just a few keywords."

"Let me think about it" Shangluo pondered for a while, "Alchemy? Triple greatness? Tree of Kabbalah?"

"Ah, your knowledge is very sufficient. These are the basic theories of the extraordinary world. But on top of this, the principles we adhere to must be more specific."

[You really have high emotional intelligence. What he means is that you only know the surface. 】

It is true, but it is also true, Shangluo does know the basics.

"So, more specifically?"

"It's what I mentioned before - in the legend, the first generation of gold humans became angels. The second generation of silver humans became elves. The third generation of bronze humans became the shadowless army of Hades. The fourth generation The Romans, the heroes of mankind, will probably turn into stone after their blood dries up. Let’s not mention the fifth generation of humans for now, the previous process is the most important. No matter which generation, they are all humans after all, right?”

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Humans can also become angels. This is the ultimate goal of alchemy - to restore the golden generation of immortal humans in this heroic age. For this reason, humans must go back step by step along this road. First, Bronze, then silver, and finally gold. First, he returned to the intangible form of bronze, then resurrected in the spiritual world as a silver elf, and finally moved towards the immortal gold. To this end, human beings have made various Try it. Latin or Greek."

"However, you seem to think there's something wrong with the Greeks' route?"

"That's what you mean. If you were a little more serious, I wouldn't be able to keep up."

"It is used to replace the honorific of 'your country'. We only use this for Rome. Well, I don't know if it is appropriate, but it is not a problem to use it for Colombia for now."

Because after the fall of Rome, it is still questionable whether Columbia is qualified to be the "successor of Rome" and the "eyes of the world".

However, Rome has not yet perished. Columbia is still part of Rome, so there is no problem in using the honorific terms used to refer to Rome.

"So, what do you think the problem is?" Shangluo asked.

"We believe that there is a problem with the direction of the Greeks. There is no need to enter the underworld step by step and become a shadowless bronze man. According to God's promise, human beings in the heroic fourth age have their own destination: Elysium (Pure Land of Paradise) . We believe that this Pure Land already exists in the material world. In order to distinguish it from the Greek view, we use the Sinian word 'Blissful Land' to express it."

"Interesting. So it's the same Elysium, but you two use different Chinese characters to represent it?"

"Because the meanings are different and the sources are all Elysium, we use different Chinese characters to express it - this is the use of academic Sinian here. Different from the illusory Pure Land of Paradise established by the Greeks in Alexandria, we The Latin side believes that Elysium should already exist in the known world, and there is no need to sink oneself first.”

"I can understand this." Shangluo nodded. After all, the Romans used "Chinese" as a tool. Of course, they would have some unique usages of their own. "So what is your route?"

"Next, I want to tell you a secret. A secret that even the Greeks may not know. The distant sage Isaac Newton was once hit by an apple when he was a child. He realized a truth."

"Newton's three laws?"

"???" Little Pompeo was stunned for a moment, "How do you know? Forget it, I won't ask. But what I want to say is not Newton's three laws. In fact, there is a fourth law. Newton In his early years, the sage studied science and politics, and lost money in stock trading. But in his later years, he devoted his life's energy to alchemy and made a great discovery - before that, I want to Check, have you read "Jade Record"?"

"I know. The 'up is down, and down is up' part?"

The Jade Record, rumored to have been obtained by Alexander the Great from the tomb of the main god Thoth in Heliopolis, is an ancient Egyptian alchemical secret book and the basis of alchemical theory. It contains thirteen concise and comprehensive maxims. Because it is well written and coincides with the way of heaven, Taozu has also read it. "Up is down, down is up" is the second sentence of Cuiyulu.

"Exactly this sentence. Newton the sage, based on the truth of 'up is down, down is up', proposed the great Newton's fourth law: Heaven and earth are creations of God, so heaven and earth follow the same principles The truth - according to this law, the falling of apples and the movement of stars follow the same law. In the same way, the blissful land promised by God can certainly be found in the earthly world."

"But..." Shangluo thought for a while, "It seems that such a place does not exist on earth."

Chapter 723 Apples go down, stars go up

"My King, there is more than just the earth in this world." He pointed to the sky. "The falling of apples and the movement of stars follow the same laws. There is nothing in this world that humans cannot touch. So, friends of Cathay, We don’t want to sink with those Greeks. We believe that the Elysian Land must exist in the vast sky, and there must be some way to survive the tiny consciousness in the infinite universe. So let’s go up together, not down. .”

[It turns out they are waiting here! 】

"Don't you even know?"

[How do I know what these Latin people are thinking! After working on it for a long time, it turned out that they wanted to take this road! No wonder they started building rockets. I thought they were building rockets to bomb Constantinople with intercontinental missiles. However, to say that it is impossible to guess is not entirely true. You can still vaguely guess some. After all, this is Newton’s great fourth law]

"So what does Newton's fourth law mean? He just said that 'the falling of apples and the movement of stars follow the same laws'."

[Ah, it seems it’s time to talk to you. After all, you have to work. What does the Triple Great Art mean? Have you heard of it before? 】

"Is it alchemy, supernaturalism and astrology?"

This is the "triple greatness" that Shangluo refers to. This is not knowledge unique to this world. For him, the memory of the threefold greatness also existed in the "European history" of that world, perpetuated by the occult studies of the ages.

Among them, alchemy is the most well-known. The ultimate goal of alchemy is to smelt gold—and the elixir that makes people immortal like gold. Alchemy has also experienced a similar transformation from "outer elixir" to "inner elixir", from smelting actual elixirs to "refining the human body", hoping to refine human essence into gold.

The art of magical power can also be said to be the art of communicating with gods. The "Seventy Pillars of Solomon" known to the world belong to the category of magical powers. Through supernatural powers, you can sign a contract with the devil. For example, the first demon god is Baal, the Lord of Thunder and Lightning who rules the east, and has the ability to make people invisible. The true face of the Seventh Pillar Demon God "The Hermit" Amon has never been seen by anyone. He has the power to see through all secrets and cover up all truths.

Astrology seeks to establish a connection between the movement of the stars and the destiny of mankind. Astrologers believe that all invisible knowledge of the past, present, and future is reflected in the starry sky.

[But the triple greatness is actually not these three. The true threefold greatness refers to: symbols, people, and the world, knowledge in three fields. By interacting in pairs in the three fields, all the knowledge in this world can be divided into six parts:

[Symbols and the combination of symbols, the study of the combination and difference of symbols, is alchemy; the combination of symbols and the world, the study of meaning and cognition itself, is magical; the combination of symbols and people, the study of the correspondence between symbols and people , that is astrology. The above three are knowledge in the invisible field.

[In addition to the invisible, there are also three combinations - the knowledge of the world and the interaction of rules and rules. This is physics, which generally refers to natural science; the study of knowledge between people and the study of people's clusters is sociology. , generally refers to the humanities; the study of knowledge about people and the world is practice.

[So the great thing about Newton’s fourth law is that it provides a path: up is down, and down is up. This also means that truly great skills can also exist in the world without symbols and in the tangible realm. Because 'the fall of apples and the movement of stars follow the same laws'. Study the movement of the stars - what goes up is what goes down. Study the fall of an apple—what goes down is what goes up. Cuiyulu ends with this: 'The world is created in this way, and miracles can be achieved in this way. This is what I call great skills. 】

Saying that, Apollonia paused:

[So you should also realize: Theurgy corresponds to Constantinople, alchemy corresponds to Alexandria, and astrology belongs to Delphi. In the tangible realm, there is Syracuse for physics, Rome proper for sociology, and the ideal city that brings together all 'practices': Neo-Antioch in Colombia beneath our feet. 】

"So that's it, so the double-headed eagle on the Roman flag refers to the two realms, the tangible and the intangible?"

And the two heads point in two different directions. So we don't know what the New Antiochus is doing, and they don't understand what we are doing either. Because apples point downward, stars point upward. The apple pointing downward will ascend, and the stars pointing upward will descend. This, I guess, is fate. The Emerald Records predicted it long ago: up is down, and down is up.

"Ah, if you think about it that way..." He looked at the little Pompey next to him. The other party was still as polite as ever, looking at him politely.

"I think I can't answer your question for the time being." Shangluo replied, "If you want to reach cooperation, you can first propose some specific scenarios."

"For example, as I said before, we will inform Cathay one month before the rocket is launched?"

"I don't think the problem is big. After all, this is your unilateral information disclosure. However, this may require contact and communication between New Antioch and Yujing. I think you can try to contact them directly."

"This doesn't seem possible." He shook his head. "Victoria and the Senate do not allow us to cross Constantinople to communicate with the outside world. It's not that we are afraid of Constantinople, but I don't think Cathay is willing to cross. Constantinople contacted us.”

"That's true."

"So what I'm talking about is a unilateral notification. And..." He looked at Shangluo, "I can make a promise: before Sinian successfully launches a manned spacecraft, all Columbia's space launch activities will be on standby or frozen."

[Tsk, tsk, tsk, this is the fault of not learning Sinian well. Student Shangluo, you can immediately tell that this is retreating, right? Choosing to act later does not necessarily mean giving in; it may also mean that you want to strike later. 】

"Of course I know what you mean, and I definitely believe you instead of him. But do you have any emotions towards Latin people?"

[I said it straightforwardly. It's not good to do politics with these Latin bugs who don't respect etiquette. 】

"My king. It is because those few are not here that I am telling you this." Pompeo said in a low voice: "It is not good to do politics with those nagging Greeks."

"This...this" Shangluo pressed his forehead, "Anyway, I will inform the relevant departments. Please wait for good news."

"Waiting for good news means..." Little Pompeo got stuck again.

"Just please wait."

"Ah, I understand when you say 'please'. We will definitely, we will patiently 'wait for good news'."

"I'm more interested in one thing than this - Newton, where did you know about it?"

Chapter 724 Sage

"So, I'm more confused than this - how do you know Newton? Who is Newton?"