Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"So, what's going on on the ship?"

"The ice cream from this ice cream machine is dense and smooth, without any ice crystals. The milk flavor is mellow and natural, and not too sweet. If we had an ice cream machine like this in our lounge, I would be able to eat such high-quality ice cream every day."

"Is there enough funding?" Shangluo asked the person on the other end of the phone.

"I don't know. The Jinyiwei's funding is all given by the emperor, and he pays for it all by himself. Even things like ice cream machines have to be approved by him personally."

"Is there anything more important than this ice cream machine?"

"That's it. I looked around and I think this brand of ice cream machine is very good."

"Where are the people on the boat?"

"Them? None of them are the real bosses. But I saw some spies sent by Xu Fu."

"Then you must have caught the tongue? Bring him back now."

"No more." Fu Yuanshan was a little disappointed. "He actually committed suicide. It's really disappointing. But fortunately, he committed suicide on his own and didn't let me do it, so I didn't lose any merit."

"That's good, this is a blessing in disguise." Fu Yuanshan is a celestial being, the top combat force that the empire can directly mobilize. As for Shangluo, he can only mobilize Fu Yuanshan alone, because the leader of the four celestial beings of the Jinyiwei has not woken up yet, and the other one is from the Zheng family. Although Shangluo will definitely come if he asks him to help, Shangluo can't delay him for too long.

There was only Fu Yuanshan. Shangluo and he lived quite close, and their social circles were also nested together. The events they experienced were basically the same, so Shangluo liked to ask him to do the work whenever he had something to do. Fu Yuanshan himself was also happy to come out to do the work, because it could increase merit. Those of them who practiced the way of blessings and fate had to accumulate merit from every little thing.

So Shangluo really didn't want Fu Yuanshan to suffer any loss. He would be too sorry for this diligent senior - the trouble is, if you lose money or something else, you can get it back from somewhere else. But it's different with luck. If you lose it, it's lost, because luck itself depends on luck. If you don't get it once, you can only miss it with regret.

This time, Fu Yuanshan did not bring the spy back, and did not get a 5-star rating for the mission. He felt a little sorry about that. But on the other hand, he did not suffer any loss. For him, no loss is a gain.

"Oh, by the way." Fu Yuanshan said again, "There is also a person named Jing Yi on the ship, did you know?"

"If his last name is Ii, he should be the lord of Hikone Domain in Omi Province. If he is not a senior official of the shogunate, he should be an elder."

"Huh?" Fu Yuanshan blinked. "What are you talking about? Gold and silver medals, and getting rich in the red medal."

"I almost forgot that Japan was closed to the outside world. Senior Fu, you don't know anything about this, right? In short, the guy named Ii is a doctor from Japan."

"Hey, now I can understand it. This guy is quite famous. He sounds like a top doctor?"

"Not really. The biggest one is probably Shimazu whom we captured earlier - or maybe someone else. After all, if we don't check the land, we don't know which vassal is the biggest. But if we don't count the vassals, the biggest feudal lord is the Tokugawa family itself."

"What about the proportion? How big is it?"

"Let me think of how to explain it—the Tokugawa family had many small branches that were divided into fiefdoms. Tokugawa Ieyasu stipulated that the succession to the shogunate must strictly follow the eldest son inheritance system, and the younger brother could not pass the throne after the elder brother. Therefore, when the monarch of the main branch died out, they would bring back a branch from the smaller branch to inherit the throne, rather than choosing another heir from within the main branch."

"What this old Tokugawa does is very much to our liking. What about this Ii? What's his status?"

"How the Tokugawa family was divided into fiefdoms - according to the order of joining the Tokugawa family's sphere of influence, the Tokugawa family had three levels: 'kin han', 'fudai' and 'gao yang'. Kin han were the han of the relatives, and they were the Tokugawa family's own people. The original meaning of fudai was military service registration, and it was extended to mean the old retainers who were loyal to the monarch for generations. After that, those who surrendered in their own generation instead of in the generation of their fathers and ancestors were gao yang yang retainers.

"The Tokugawa family's fiefdom is very interesting. It basically adheres to the strategy of 'whoever gets more land will be marginalized in the shogunate politics'. The fiefdoms of hereditary retainers are usually not much, most of which are less than a complete region, but they can serve in the shogunate. Those lords with more fiefdoms often have nothing but fiefdoms, and they only have the right to spend money. But this Ii is a little different."

"Huh? What do you say?"

"The ancestor of the Ii family was raised as a godson by Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was also a good fighter and could independently support a front. So Tokugawa Ieyasu took extra care of him and let him receive a huge fief as a retainer. Their family genes were also good, and each of the heads of the family lived very long."

"Ah." Fu Yuanshan understood, "Then this person is blessed. A blessed person cannot be killed. Killing him will backfire."

"Is there still such a thing?"

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't have good fortune, I just need to be careful - if that's the case, I'll tie him up and bring him back. In this chaotic time, it's safest to put him in jail."

"That's good. If the shogunate can be saved in the future, this man will be useful."

"What is the use?"

"Their local specialty is beef."

"Hmm?" Fu Yuanshan's eyes lit up. "What do you mean? Is there anything special about this beef?"

"Because they have beef cattle raised specifically for this purpose - they are the only family in Japan that does this. Beef is not edible because it is used to plow the fields. But beef is really delicious, so the Tokugawa family made up a story and believed that beef is a tonic. The Ii family was responsible for paying tribute to this 'tonic'. They have 'tonic cattle' that are raised specifically for 'tonic' purposes. These cattle are fattened during breeding, and have very beautiful fat marbling. They are said to be very tonic."

"Oh! You should have said it earlier. Who cares if it's a blessing or not? The blessing of eating it is the real blessing. Well, I brought this cattle farmer back to you. He's lucky."

As he spoke, there was a series of clanging sounds from Fu Yuanshan's side, and he picked up some spare parts from the ground.

"Huh?" Fu Yuanshan was suddenly stunned.

"What's wrong?"

"The one who committed suicide just kicked something and seemed to have a little bit of relief - but now he's gone, dead. Tsk tsk tsk, what a shame. He was Xu Fu's spy, if he could be caught, he could be properly interrogated."

Suddenly, Victoria's voice came out: "Do you really want him to come back to life?"

Chapter 1150 Demon God

After a brief conversation with Victoria, Shangluo immediately called Fu Yuanshan again:

"Senior Fu, please bring that person back."

"Why, you can bring the dead back to life?" Fu Yuanshan's interest returned. "Oh, if I can bring him back for questioning, then my merit will be complete this time."

Although Shangluo has never been able to figure out what the standard of Fu Yuanshan's "merit" is, he thinks it's better for him to stay out of Fuyuandao's affairs. As long as he can bring the person back, the technology provided by Victoria can be used to torture him to get useful information.

"How do I bring it? Are there any special requirements?"

"Wait, let me ask." Shangluo connected with Victoria - he originally wanted Victoria to come out and speak, but Victoria was too lazy to come out, she just wanted to lie down and provide advice.

"It needs to be complete." Victoria replied, "I used the Death Judgment Magic on him. The more complete the corpse is, the better the effect will be."

"Senior Fu, they said we need to bring him back intact."

"That's perfect. He committed suicide by taking poison. He can't be incomplete even if he wants to. Wait, I have to walk slowly. If I walk too fast, I'm afraid it will be torn into pieces."

"How about we take it slow first? We can send a seaplane to pick them up?"

"No, I'll bring it back directly. I guess this kind of summoning spell should be used while it's hot. If it cools down completely, it won't be very effective."

"Indeed," Victoria responded, "We need to get it here as quickly as possible. Then I'll find someone to cast the spell."

"Eh? I thought you were going to do it yourself."

"I've already said that although I'm at the top of the mysterious feudal system, I can't cast magic myself. I only have theoretical knowledge - but I can find something else to replace me in casting spells. Wait, let me look for it. I remember I paid for my membership."

"member???"

"Yes. Summoning demons requires a price. Demons don't just come out of nowhere to work for you. But don't worry, just like before, I'll pay for today's demons. I've paid for this in advance, and I remember it was included in the package. I can summon other demons at a discount - these are what I'm best at. Constantinople is the center of the magic, and the magic is the art of communicating with gods."

"So do I need to make any preparations?"

"Yes. You need to prepare symbols of earth, fire, water and wind, which you should have. But it doesn't have to be too complicated, just something like that will do. Because the price has already been paid in advance, and the fact that the demon god can be summoned is already a foregone conclusion, so it's just a matter of going through the process."

"So I just need to prepare a foolproof version? There has to be a standard, right?"

"If you think it's okay, then it's okay - that's the standard."

"Okay. As expected, magic is convenient after you have paid for membership."

"But what kind of questions are you going to ask?"

Shangluo asked back: "What kind of questions can I ask? Is the person summoned real?"

"Well, this is more complicated. You'll know once you cast the spell - so, what question do you want to ask?"

"I've brought the person back, safe and sound." Fu Yuanshan walked in carrying a corpse with a dark blue complexion.

"Oh my goodness, why is it this color?"

"It's probably poisoned, so it changed color. The poison is pretty strong."

He threw the person to the ground - unexpectedly, the figure thrown to the ground moved slightly.

"Eh???" Fu Yuanshan squatted beside him and felt his pulse. "I felt it, it's definitely a dead pulse. How come there's still movement?"

He looked up at Shangluo and asked, "Can you try me like this?"

Victoria gave a negative answer: "As the name suggests, the magic of death judgment can only judge the dead, not the living. Ah, this is a miscalculation, a miscalculation, what should I do now."

"What miscalculated?" Shang Luo looked at her in confusion. "If he's not dead yet, just beat him to death."

"Ah, aren't you going to try a living person directly?"

"No need." Fu Yuanshan stood nearby. "Look at him, he's half dead. Even if he's revived, I can't judge him. It's better to just kill him. But I won't beat him. I'm afraid of losing merit. Shangluo, you do it?"

"I'm a kind person and don't want to do anything. Wait a minute, I'll call someone over."

Not long after, Ao Zang, with a bandage on his forehead, followed Shangluo in.

"King Ao Zang, do you think he can be a general with this appearance?"

"Not bad. I think he can be a shrimp. But he seems to be still alive. Do you want me to deal with him first and then interrogate him?"

There was a new Victoria in the room. He had never seen her before, but somehow, Victoria's demeanor and movements always made him feel very familiar, exactly the same as when Shangluo was on the stage in the meeting. He couldn't see the right and wrong of this, so he simply stopped watching.

"Then please wait a moment, I'll have someone take care of it." He waved his hand backwards, and two seemingly weak servants came in. With unexpected strength, they lifted up the half-dead assassin, one on the left and one on the right.

There was a muffled sound outside the door, and two people came back with the assassin.

"Wulian Tianzun." Fu Yuanshan said, "Fortunately, this merit is complete."

"So, what should we do next?" Shangluo asked Victoria.

"Next, just perform the ceremony." Victoria looked around, "Does anyone want to watch? If so, please wear a special amulet. If not, please step away for the time being."

Fu Yuanshan was the first to go out: "I'm not very curious - I do have a feeling that this thing doesn't seem very auspicious. I'll go out first."

"Well, I'll excuse myself, too." Out of similar considerations as Fu Yuanshan, Ao Zang also chose to avoid the topic.

"Tsk, isn't there anyone who wants to witness the miracle of Roman arcane?" Victoria was a little disappointed, but the ceremony still had to go on.

Shangluo had already prepared the spellcasting props - because Victoria said that just a hint would be enough, so Shangluo used a chicken feather instead of wind, a conch shell instead of water, an agate bead instead of earth, and finally a candle instead of fire.

"Is this okay? I feel like this is a bit too casual, right?"

"It doesn't matter whether the ceremony is luxurious or not. What matters is whether the ceremony can be successful." After saying that, Victoria took out a piece of paper that looked like a check or a bill from her bag and threw it over the magic circle.

The next second, the earth, fire, water and wind moved together. The candle burst into flames, and smoke filled the conch. A frail old horse walked out of the smoke and flames and looked around.

"The fourth demon god Samkina, welcome."

Victoria conveyed a general goodwill to the demon, who returned the greeting briefly and immediately began to work. The horse's hoof stepped over the assassin's head, and the false breath was focused into his abdomen. He was resurrected - temporarily.

Chapter 1151 Xu Fu's Purpose

The horse half revealed its body in the mist and kicked the dead man on the ground with its front hoof.

Immediately, the person lying on the ground woke up.

The staggering dead man stood up, standing in the mist device that had not yet been extinguished. The horse, having completed its mission, obviously had no intention of staying for tea, and it immediately returned to the heavy fog. This job was over.

"That's it?" Shangluo asked in surprise, "He only showed up for less than 3 seconds. How much did you spend?"

"Don't mention it, don't mention it." Victoria covered her forehead. "This is the price of the Great Demon God. This is different from the ordinary demon gods who can be called out at will. The real body of this Great Demon God shows up here. This is a priceless deal. If I weren't the emperor, he might not be interested in the rates I offer."

"Wow, the effect is really immediate."

With just a touch of his front hoof, his work was indeed done.

The dead man who stood up immediately began the necessary action - he raised his head and grabbed his own neck and twisted it hard, breaking it.

"???"

【? ? ? 】

Both Shangluo and Apollonia who was watching looked at Victoria.

"Ah, this." This surprised Victoria. "This obsession is too strong. I gave him a chance to live again, but he made the same choice."

"You thought he wouldn't choose this?"

"Generally speaking, it's absolutely impossible. The principle of this magic is this - a person's personality has three layers: the reptilian brain, the mammalian brain, and the human brain. They correspond to the id, the ego, and the superego respectively. The innermost layer [id] is the instinct of humans as animals, the outermost layer [superego] is the instinct acquired by humans as social creatures, and the middle layer, the ego, is the coordination."

"So what is the resurrection effect?"

"Before this, he was completely dead. When a person dies and is resurrected, he will lose his superego, all the morals of human society, and all the relationships of domination and being dominated. His choice just now means that his behavior has completely exceeded the scope of being forced by others and has become deeply rooted in the self, and even engraved in biological instinct. In other words, being brainwashed to the point of having your brain changed is almost the same as this."

"Well," Shangluo looked at the man on the ground, "How about, just forget it?"

"No. I've already spent the money. If I don't finish the job, wouldn't it be a waste? Wait, I'll do it again! It's just peeling off another layer. I still have two chances."

Victoria repeated the steps just now, and the horse appeared from the smoke again. The fourth demon looked at Victoria for a second time this time - it was obviously surprised that such a fee could make Victoria patronize twice in such a short period of time.

But since this was Victoria's order, he, like other demon gods, did the job for money and didn't interfere. He was just here to provide magical services, nothing else mattered.