Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

She pulled Shangluo to the seat prepared for her.

Then he pushed Shangluo up.

"?" Shangluo looked at his seat. "Should I sit here? That's fine. I'll serve the dishes."

"Then I'll sit here." Victoria came to the seat next to her and sat on Shangluo's left.

Chapter 1004 The most distinguished guest

"So the most honorable person in the audience is Shangluo, right?" Phaethon covered her forehead. She didn't expect Victoria to take action directly.

"What do you mean the most honorable? How did I become the most honorable? Isn't this the seat for serving dishes?"

[Tsk, that's why I said there's something interesting waiting for you inside - in order to receive Victoria, they sat according to the Roman seating order. Roman etiquette stipulates that the first person in the seat is the most honorable person.]

"Why?" Shangluo was confused. Not only was he confused about the meaning of this understanding, but he was also confused about Victoria's purpose.

“Ahem.” Victoria said, “I think Shangluo is indeed the most distinguished person in the whole place. Because Shangluo is a guest of this world.”

"So, Emperor Victoria, what about you?" Zhu Ling asked from the opposite side, "How about I let you sit?"

"You are the emperor's sister, and I am just a tourist. Of course you are more noble than me. Therefore, you should sit opposite me."

"Okay." Zhu Ling shook her head. She didn't object. From this angle, she could face Shangluo and watch him eat.

"Wait a minute." Phaethon said, "The seat next to Shangluo is not yours either. You are a guest here, but I am still a Roman, and you are my monarch. So you should let me sit there."

[Great! The Greek drama has begun! They have started fighting! ]

"What the hell is going on here?" Shang Luo was still confused. "Smart Miss Apollonia, please send me a manual. How should Romans arrange their seats at a meal?"

【Please see JPG.】Apollonia sent him a picture.

The picture shows the seating arrangement for a Roman banquet. If there are five people, they should sit in an arc from left to right in the order of 5. The most distinguished No. 15432 and the second most distinguished No. 1 sit at the two ends facing each other.

"I see." Shangluo stared at the picture, "Let me study it carefully."

Although he could understand the content of the picture in one second, in order not to be involved in the fight between the gods, he did not dare to look up.

"Oh, really." Victoria tilted her head slightly. "I almost forgot that Mr. Phaethon is the special consul of the Senate and the executive commissioner of the Twelve-member Committee. Although he is a senior member of the Senate with honors, he is still a minister of the Empire."

"So, Your Majesty still remembers this matter. I thought that during the time I was in Zhendan, the Empire had stripped me of my position."

【Let me explain to you. The Senate currently has 2193 members. In theory, all senators are equal in the Senate, but it is impossible for more than people to vote on all matters. So in actual implementation, the senators will form various committees, which are named with numbers. The Committee of Ten is the Cardinal Committee, which is the primary bearer and responsible person for major military and political affairs, and the person who actually runs the empire; the Committee of Forty constitutes the Supreme Court of the Empire, which is responsible for handling the final appeal of all appeals and deciding the use of the death penalty, eye gouging and castration; and there is also a Committee of One Hundred and Twenty that handles the municipal affairs of Constantinople, and a newly formed Committee of Eighty-Two for the Civil Court.

[Phaethon's Twelve Committee is a special committee set up for demigods, symbolizing the twelve gods of Olympus. Elders with extraordinary qualities handle extraordinary affairs here. Phaethon is part of this committee - well, but she mostly attends the meeting remotely, she doesn't have that much time to go to Constantinople to attend the meeting. The other demigods basically attend the meeting via video. ]

"In that case, Mr. Phaethon, who do you think has the lowest status among those present today?"

Victoria's eyes moved between several people. When her eyes swept over Yanqiu, the latter raised his hand:

“Please don’t consider me. I don’t want to sit next to Shangluo.

"Ah? Why?" Victoria was stunned. She couldn't understand why someone didn't want to sit here.

Shangluo also raised his eyes slightly from the mobile phone screen and secretly glanced at Yanqiu out of the corner of his eye.

"Because I think Shangluo's 45° side profile looks better than his front profile~~"

"Really?" Victoria tilted her head and looked over. "It seems so. I think everything is good."

"Well, I just need to watch him quietly from a distance. It's this sense of distance that makes it more beautiful than getting close. Well, you guys have your own conversation. And it's my treat tonight, so it's reasonable for me to sit in the middle."

"Yes, it's a reasonable proposal." Victoria nodded. "According to the etiquette of Aurora, the host should indeed sit in the middle. Then Phaethon, there are only two of us left."

"Your Majesty Victoria," Phaethon asked, "You are not going to say that you are lower than me just for this position, are you?"

"Are you interested in the throne?"

"If there is no curse, then it is indeed possible. Now, forget it. My fate after carrying this name is already heavy, and I really don't want to bear it twice. I dare not imagine how much karma I must have as a demigod emperor."

"Ah, look at this." Victoria spread her hands. "You are all immortals, and I am the only one trapped in this pitiful body. Am I not the smallest among all the people present? I... My weak body is telling you the pain of mortals, Lord Phaethon."

"." Phaethon covered his forehead. Although Victoria showed a formulaic acting like a Greek drama, her words were true.

Everyone present, including Yanqiu, has reached a state beyond mortals. Although Phaethon once fell, the golden hair on her hair is slowly coming back, and it is just around the corner to return to her original state. Among the people, Victoria is actually the only one who is trapped in her own body.

"Well... since you've said that, just sit there. I always feel that sometimes my empathy is too strong."

"Thank you, Lord Phaethon~~" Victoria sat down. Excluding Phaethon from the legal point of view and excluding Phaethon from the human point of view, this seat is finally hers. Today, Victoria did not live up to the name of "Goddess of Victory". She won again.

"Why do I feel like it's been hard to refuse you since we were little? You always get the upper hand." Phaethon muttered as he sat down at seat 3, "Is it because your name is Victoria that I can't beat you?"

"A name is indeed part of destiny." Victoria took a sip of water from the glass in front of her. Suddenly, she frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" Yanqiu, the host, leaned over and asked, "Is there something wrong with the water?"

Chapter 1005 Fujian Cuisine

"No, it's just that I can sense the changes in my body's condition from the taste of water. It's okay, I'm used to it. By the way, Miss Yanqiu, do you have milk-fed snails here? They're really amazing. This dish is too classic, and few visitors in Rome know how to make it."

Victoria didn't want the topic to stay on her physical condition, so she quickly switched to a new topic.

"Rather than saying it's classic, it's more like a stereotype?" Yan Qiu thought for a moment, "Our knowledge of Rome is quite limited, after all, you live on the other side of the world. So when it comes to Roman cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is some stereotypes. For example, this milk-fed snail is a stereotypical Roman dish. If someone wants to taste the exotic Roman cuisine, they will most likely order this."

"I see. It's pretty much the same over here."

“Do you eat our food too?”

"Yeah." Victoria nodded. "Especially the dishes from Fujian and Guangdong. They are also very popular in our place. Because the Romans also like to make soup."

"Oh! I am from Fujian. Fujian is quite big, with many cuisines and many dishes. I wonder which Fujian dish Her Majesty Victoria likes?"

“I love mapo tofu!”

“???” Yanqiu was stunned for a moment, then immediately returned to normal.

Victoria noticed something was wrong with her expression, though only for a moment, and added, "It's Fujian-style mapo tofu."

Even Yanqiu couldn't hold back her expression now: "I thought I just remembered it wrong. Is there really Fujian-style mapo tofu? How is it made?"

"With fish sauce, of course! It's so delicious."

"Is there actually such a way to eat it?" Yan Qiu was still in shock. "Do you want to try it?"

"Eh? Can we order this dish here? It really is the temple of authentic Aurora cuisine, Jinling Hotel."

"Ah," Yanqiu thought for a moment before speaking, "It's not actually on the menu. But at Jinling Hotel, even if it's not on the menu, they can still make it if you order it."

Jinling Hotel is indeed qualified to call itself a "gourmet palace". If a hotel is compared to a martial art school, Jinling Hotel is a famous school like Wudang Mountain - this is a common concept.

There are five signs hanging outside the hotel, representing the five cuisines of Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Huaihai and Southeast Asian cuisine, all of which Jinling Hotel can cook.

As for "Fujian cuisine", because Fujian is composed of multiple cultural areas, the broad sense of "Fujian cuisine" is divided into Huaiyang cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Nanyang cuisine. Mainly Nanyang cuisine, because Nanyang cuisine is the "official cuisine" of the Yanping Marquis family, who are Fujianese. The entire Nanyang cuisine was promoted by the successive generations of Yanping Marquis.

But even the well-informed Jinling Hotel probably couldn't find something like "Fujian Mapo Tofu".

However, Yanqiu remembered that when she and Shangluo first came here, they did order the strange "stewed chicken legs in an iron can", which was even faster. Although they were regarded as challengers for a while because they put three big coins in the can, the kitchen still adapted to the situation and modified the "Javanese coconut milk curry chicken" from Nanyang cuisine and cooked the chicken legs in an iron can.

"Eh?" Victoria asked, "If I order something that's not on the menu, do I have to pay extra? I just happened to have brought some funds."

Victoria said as she laid out five large coins on the table.

"No, no, no, no." Yan Qiu recalled the last time she hired the head chef and quickly shook her head, "It doesn't require a lot of money. Wait, I can just talk to the outside. Wait a moment."

Because she was afraid that ordering "Fujian Mapo Tofu" here would cause the waiter to make further associations, Yanqiu simply stood up and went outside to find their manager. Yanqiu was also a regular customer of this kind. Jinling Hotel was like a cafeteria to her, and she knew who to find.

Not long after, Yanqiu came back with an expression that seemed a little unsettled on her face - it was obvious that the person who had just talked to her was also a little unsettled.

"Okay, it's time to order." Yanqiu sat back in her seat. "The kitchen said they recalled it carefully and they don't have this dish. But if you really want to order it, they will make it. But you have to wait a moment, they need to hold an expert consultation."

I heard the phone line. They've called in the executive chefs from Sichuan, Nanyang, and Cantonese cuisine. Half the chefs from Jinling Hotel are here. They don't know who's going to order 'Fujian Mapo Tofu,' and are having preliminary discussions to figure out what it is—because the guests are important.

"Ah," Shangluo said helplessly, "Victoria probably won't be able to tell the difference. Don't add chili peppers. Replace some of the sauces with fish sauce. She probably won't be able to tell the difference."

[Perhaps, the five signs outside are really important to them. As long as they look like someone is trying to challenge them, they will definitely respond carefully.]

"Why do you always act like you're challenging me every time you come here? Will you be blacklisted next time?"

[This is the Roman emperor. There is no greater foreigner than him, and you don’t encounter him every day.]

"Okay." They had assigned seats and had almost finished ordering the dishes. Shangluo finally looked up from his phone.

He looked around and first saw Zhu Ling across from him. He had noticed that Zhu Ling had been staring at her from beginning to end, with an interest similar to watching an animal behavior display. No matter what Shang Luo did, in her eyes, he looked like Feng Rong.

Seeing Shangluo looking at her, Zhu Ling stretched out her little hand and waved to him.

Shangluo was puzzled and didn't know how to respond to her, so he waved his hand.

Zhu Ling clapped her hands happily, her face full of joy. She was happy every second with Shangluo.

"Ah" How scary.

He looked to the side again and saw Phaethon staring at him from behind the menu.

Looking to the side again, Yanqiu was holding half of his cell phone sticking out from under the table.

He looked to the side again - this time with his neck twisted, he found Victoria drinking water.

Finally one that looks more normal.

"Oh, right." Victoria suddenly raised her head from her water cup. "Phaethon, have you written the report on Aotearoa?"

"Huh? What does it have to do with me? Shangluo has already set him off."

"You were there, right? Write a report. It's rare to hit so many targets at once."

"Let him write."

"The documents submitted to the Senate must be written in Latin. Can he write it?"

"You said this to me in Aurora, don't you want him to understand it too?"

"Huh?" Shang Luo looked up suddenly, "Is there anything about me?"

"Tsk." Phaethon looked over. "Since 'your Victoria' has mentioned it, why not help him write a report. Oh, by the way, why not let him attend the meeting as a nonvoting delegate? Isn't he the King of Rome? Let's set up a committee for him. I think a one-person committee is good. He is enough for the committee."

"Good idea. Then let's assign the Technobarbarian affairs to this one-man committee. I'll vote."

"I agree too." Phaethon raised his hand. "I'll contact the 12-member group later, and this matter is basically settled. Shangluo! Congratulations on your promotion! You see, it's really good to have dinner with big shots, right? You're on a meteoric rise. Wow, you've been promoted so quickly, and people who don't know would think you had some connections."

[Ah, it’s good to have dinner with the boss. I have made progress without realizing it. How many people want to be promoted but don’t have the chance. You are really lucky.]

Chapter 1006 Responsibilities

"Wait a minute, I'm here to eat, what are you doing? How come I got promoted while I was eating before I even had a bite? What on earth is this one-person committee?"

"It's an honor." Phaethon held her chin up and looked at Shangluo with interest. This expression seemed to indicate that she had known that Victoria came with this "honor". "That's why I said that you are very blessed."

[An empty promise that makes you work for nothing. The 10-member committee, 12-member committee, and 40-member committee mentioned above all have one thing in common—they don’t get paid. Even the 10-member committee that truly controls the empire has the same voting rights as other ordinary senators in general affairs, and can only get discretion from the committee in their own specialized affairs. But at the same time—]

"At the same time, you can also get the entire Roman Empire. The complete Roman Empire." Victoria took over.

[Another check from you? You want to hand over your broken empire to him?]

"Wait. One-man committee." Phaethon raised his hand. "You mean, dictator?"

Victoria nodded.

"Why does this name sound so familiar?" Shangluo asked.

[Because this is Caesar's job. The dictator is a special kind of committee. In short, this position is parallel to other committees, but it does not need to hold meetings because it does not need to hold meetings with itself. Within the scope of the committee's functions, the dictator can act arbitrarily and does not need to be accountable to anyone. ]

"???" Shangluo was stunned for a moment, "Why?"

[I want to ask, why? The dictator was abolished when the empire was founded, because that was the emperor himself.]

"Because the Empire is about to end, it's that simple. As you said, this is an empire full of holes. With the entire Senate about to enter Cyberlania, someone is needed to serve as the dictator to complete the goal of [LEGENDO SENATUI]."

"What does this mean?" Shangluo asked.

【LEGENDO SENATUI means "filling the vacancy of the original Senate." Like other committees, dictators need to be established for a reason. For example, Caesar was a war dictator, a wartime position. There are other dictators, some of which are ceremonial. LEGENDO SENATUI means regent dictator - the full power to act on behalf of the Senate when the Senate is unable to perform its functions. 】

"Wait, I'm not even Roman, why am I being asked to take on this position?"

[I also want to ask. Why is it him? ]

"Because soon, there will be no Romans." Victoria shook her head. "Compared with other options, Shangluo has taken on the position of Roman king in mysticism. So, this is the decision of my father, the co-emperor Agathocles, and the 10-member committee. Of course, this is not my opinion. I am just conveying the proposal of the Senate."