Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"The big one? That's from the banquet can. The braised pork elbows for banquets are different from ordinary pork elbows - the pork elbows you usually see are cut into pieces, but the ones for banquet cans are all whole pork elbows. The whole thing, including the skin and bones, is stuffed into a big can."

"Eh? Are there other styles?"

"Yes. There are also braised fish, canned fruits and so on. They are all whole. You want to know why it is so, right? Because a banquet is a party, and eating a whole piece of food at a banquet is in accordance with etiquette. According to Zhou Li, even the fruits at a banquet are not to be peeled, and the oranges and grapefruits are not to be split, so they must be whole. Look, there are also canned yellow peaches for the banquet, all of which are also whole. We are people who pay attention to etiquette. People who pay attention to etiquette must pay attention to etiquette at all times and in all places, and banquets on the battlefield are even more important. Eating according to etiquette and giving everyone a whole braised fish and braised pork elbow will help boost morale."

Chapter 1196 Pathfinding

【That makes sense. Providing this kind of banquet food that is not so convenient to eat is, to some extent, a manifestation of "we can easily cope with the current environment". Rome has conducted experiments, and you should have done it too. Compared with battlefield cooking, the most important thing is heating. Heat as much as possible. At the very least, there must be a cup of hot drink, and then there must be hot soup, and then hot dishes, hot porridge, etc. These are all very important. Because being able to provide hot meals means that there is still room for continuing the battle - based on this concept, this whole braised fish is really...】

"That's amazing," Victoria muttered, "I didn't think of that. Rome fell, in part because they didn't provide canned food for the front. I learned that."

"What's the point of learning all this? Rome is already destroyed anyway."

"Well, even though I'm dead, I can still have a meal with you guys. Look over there, Titus is eating so happily."

Shangluo hadn't noticed that Titus was no longer there - there was no tableware prepared for him, but he took out chopsticks and a lunch box from somewhere and sat next to the Jinyiwei dining car to eat. At the invitation of everyone, he even used his own meat knife to cut pork elbows for everyone to eat.

"They... They are quite happy."

"Because they trust you very much." Lu Huaiyang held a cup of tea, "You see, I am not worried. Anyway, you are here, and Xu Fu will attack you first. I am afraid he will not be able to attack us for a while."

"So you guys can come on the outing as long as I'm there, right?"

"Ah." Lu Huaiyang took a sip of hot tea, "Look at this mountain of Kumano Mountain, it's really a mountain."

“This is too mountainous.”

"Ahem." Lu Huaiyang put the tea aside. "Strictly speaking, I am different from them. They trust you because you have shown your skills in front of them. I trust you half because I have seen you show your skills before. The other half is because of Daozu and the Heavenly Masters. If Xu Fu really wants to do something bad to you, I think the old men will definitely take action."

"Yes." Shang Luo slapped his forehead, "If I think from this perspective, can I assume that Xu Fu has no ill intentions? Or at least this is a test I can pass, and it's not just to make fun of me."

"I think so." Lu Huaiyang nodded, "But I think that things have come to this point, and it must be something that only you can accomplish. After all, the world is undergoing great changes now, and you have deep roots, and countless expectations are placed on you. I think Daozu and others will not let you waste time on meaningless things. So this must be very important, and only you can do it, no one else can do it."

"So that's how you have to guess. Is this what it means to understand the intention of the person who set the question?"

"I think it may be because I understand Daozu better. Daozu is a narrow-minded person."

"?" Shang Luo was stunned for a moment, "How dare you say that? You even told the Confucian scholars to be careful before, and you said behind the old man's back that he is narrow-minded. Aren't you afraid that he will come after you?"

"You see, this is because you don't know him well enough. First of all, he won't spend his time and energy on me - secondly, even if he does, the more petty-minded a person is, the more he likes to act like he is generous. You see, when I say this, there is no thunder to strike me, and no bells to ring, right?"

Having said that, Lu Huaiyang still looked up at the sky. After confirming that there was indeed no thunder striking, he looked towards Shangluo.

"Really? Then should I do Xu Fu's mission?"

"I think you have to figure out Xu Fu's intentions - what does he want from you? He can't trick you into coming here and not let you into the mountain. It's possible that he wants you to see the current situation in the mountain so that you can guess what is happening now."

"Wait, if we talk about what Xu Fu has been most concerned about, isn't it the Dragon King? Wait, where is the Dragon Palace now?"

"Wait a minute, let me ask." Lu Huaiyang dialed the phone and gave a reply after a few words:

"The Dragon Palace is still fighting hard in front of Chiba Industrial City. Chiba's firepower is endless and almost absurdly dense, while the Dragon Palace's soldiers and generals are suffering casualties every moment. But it doesn't matter. The more casualties on the other side, the more soldiers and generals can be resurrected here at the Dragon Palace - that's what Commander Li said. Therefore, the Royal Army is not participating in the battle in Chiba for the time being. Other units of the Royal Army are landing in the old Edo Castle area to investigate what happened there."

"Any progress there?"

"Edo Castle is surprisingly peaceful. Although the battle in Chiba next door was fierce and chaotic, and we also fought hard here, the Royal Division does not seem to be affected at all." Lu Huaiyang looked at the Jinyiwei who were eating over there. "It's just like them. There is no pressure at all now, just like a spring outing."

"Wait a minute." Shangluo waved to Titus, who was eating breakfast and walked over with a bowl of rice. In the bowl was steaming hot rice and a large piece of pork elbow cut from a whole bone-in pork elbow, with both fat and lean meat. The lean meat was soft and boneless without losing its shape, and the fat part was as gelatinous as the skirt of a turtle, which made Shangluo want to take a bite.

"Your Excellency, King of Rome, what do you want to talk to me about?" As he spoke, he held the rice bowl and chewed the rice, looking exactly like a Roman enjoying a banquet. The ingredients here seemed to suit his taste very well, and he also expressed great interest in being able to hold a banquet on the battlefield, and he didn't stop eating until his mouth was full of oil.

"Hey, Mr. Titus, could you please go explore the way later? I'm sorry to bother you again."

"Oh!" Titus shook his head. "Why bother? I'll go now."

"Now?"

Titus said nothing, holding his bowl and walking up the mountain path in Kumano. Everyone looked at him in shock - you know, they were killed by the overwhelming Tengu not long ago, and now Titus dared to walk in alone.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lu Huaiyang pointed at him and said, "Come back! We didn't go there, and if you died on the mountain, no one would rescue you!"

"It's okay, look." Titus walked up the mountain backwards, holding the bowl steadily in his hand, "It's okay, nothing will happen."

"What the hell." Shangluo rushed over to see what was going on.

“Hey! Don’t! I’m fine because I realized I’m not a participant in the ceremony, but you…” Before Titus could react and stop him, Shangluo had already stepped onto the mountain road—

Titus ran back with his bowl in his arms, but was hit by a heavenly dog ​​that suddenly rushed out from behind him. He was so anxious that he escaped into the spirit world and returned to the bottom of the stairs in an instant. There were icicles on his body that were visible to the naked eye, but he still hadn't let go of the bowl in his hand.

The Tengu that was chasing him also disappeared as Shangluo retracted his foot.

"This feeling is only directed at me, right?" Shang Luo suddenly realized, "It turns out it has nothing to do with other people, it's just directed at me, right?"

Titus took the can of rice to reheat it, then came back and said to Shangluo: "That's what I guessed just now, and now it's finally confirmed. Shangluo, you are the participant in this ceremony, and we are not. The ceremony will only happen when you go in. But I'm afraid you are not the only one this time. I'm afraid you encountered a similar situation in the Dragon Palace in Chiba County."

“But why is this?”

"Generally speaking, in this situation, according to the rules of the Hero's Pilgrimage, there is only one possibility: the treasure after that level is only useful to you, and is useless to those of us outside the ritual. This is an obvious question."

Chapter 1197 Promotion

"Now, the problem is clear." Shangluo also took a sip of tea.

As a Roman vanguard, Titus has verified the rules here with his actions, that is - Xu Fu came for him and has nothing to do with others.

"Well, Captain Lu, I will go find another person who is being targeted to discuss a solution. You guys just wait here for a while."

Shangluo was about to leave when Lu Huaiyang stopped him:

"I say, Shangluo, even though you are the only one who can trigger the mission, you don't have to separate us - soldiers are here to carry out missions. If it helps the mission, then we should go. We can't have a meeting at the foot of the mountain and eat a big meal with canned food, and then watch you suffer on the mountain."

"It's not impossible." Lu Liang next to him interrupted.

"Is that what you should say to a friend? You should raise your hand and say, let's go together, right?"

"Why would I go? I'm not his girlfriend or boyfriend. Why would I go through fire and water with him? For such a small salary, why would I risk my life?"

"What about the favor he showed you by guiding you to the Qi training stage?"

Lu Liang spat out a mouthful of tea and said, "Sorry, sorry. I ate too much pork elbow and my blood sugar went up. I almost forgot about this. I have to repay this favor. Shangluo, if you can help me, just let me know."

"Look, Shangluo," Lu Huaiyang said with his hands spread out, "Our child is still very useful at the critical moment, and he will go up when he should. Many Jinyiwei here have been able to embark on the path of cultivation because of your kindness, which is a great favor. We Qigong practitioners are all very particular, much more particular than those alchemists. This karma must be repaid."

"Yeah, yeah." Lu Liang nodded and said, "Look at me, I'm not interested in other people's affairs at all. Just for this favor, I can do anything you ask me to do."

"Some are allowed and some are not." Lu Huaiyang pulled her to the back.

"Aiya! Dad! What are you thinking, you old-fashioned guy? I'm just saying that I can support him. What on earth are you thinking? Aren't you too open-minded? We young people are very conservative."

【In theory, it is true. According to statistics, your country's birth rate has been hovering at a historical low for a generation. Your country first reached 100 million people 8 years ago, then soared, but in recent decades it has fallen again and stabilized at 8 million. Well, you young people are really conservative in this regard. 】

"Uh," Shangluo touched his forehead, "I don't quite understand the current situation of 'complete industrialization' here. After all, before the invention of the car, the country had already laid out a capillary-like railway network. I really don't understand the development process here. The customs here are spirally upward."

He had seen old imperialist countries before. But this was the first time he had seen the old Celestial Empire. The current Ming Dynasty was actually very open in some places that Shangluo did not expect, but it was also very conservative in other places that he did not expect. But after all, they were all his own people. Although Shangluo could not quite understand this spiral process, he could understand the current situation.

"So Uncle Lu, please trust the strategic determination of young people. We have great strategic determination."

"That's right." Lu Liang agreed. "You old men shouldn't interfere. We are very stable. I'm just afraid that you'll be begging me to stop being so stable."

"Uh..." Lu Huaiyang was speechless for a moment, "Sure enough, I am still too old. When I think about how I am only a thousand households at such an old age, it is really difficult, difficult."

"Oh, right." Shangluo suddenly asked, "Uncle Lu, I have a question - isn't your family a hereditary thousand households? Why is your title still a thousand households? Haven't you made any progress over the years?"

"Alas." Lu Huaiyang sighed, "Although it is hereditary, it still needs approval. The Jinyiwei is particularly difficult to deal with, because the Qigong practitioners in the Jinyiwei are all deadlier than the others. The people at the top can't make room, and the people at the bottom really can't move up. There is nothing we can do about it, because the Jinyiwei has only so much funding, and opening one more thousand households means opening one more business. Now there are Jianqi Xuanlei Dan, Shanyi Mingxiangbu, plus Dunjia, Qiyuan, and Shenda Sanchuan. The Jinyiwei Nanzhen has a total of 13 thousand households and 13 businesses, which is already too much. If there are more, the funding will not be enough."

"So my dad wasn't promoted to a thousand households until I was in the fourth grade of elementary school. He waited until he was 4 to be promoted. Normally, you get promoted to this level at around 40. Even so, it was accelerated because my dad had the hereditary position of a thousand households in the Jinyiwei. In theory, he could be given priority under the same conditions. If he hadn't had the merits of his ancestors, he probably wouldn't have been able to get promoted to a thousand households until he was 40."

"Then after this time..." Shangluo touched his forehead, "Captain Lu, shouldn't you be promoted?"

"It's not that easy, we still have to wait?" Lu Huaiyang was stunned, "Yes! Shangluo, promotions in the Heavenly Court are under your jurisdiction, right?"

"Yes, it's my responsibility. I think you should have been promoted a long time ago. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wouldn't have thought about this if you hadn't told me. So, can I get promoted?"

"That's too much!" Shang Luo replied, "It's reasonable for you to be promoted to Lu Qianhu - then how do you get promoted? The next level is the Pacification Division?"

"Not really. The Zhenfusi is supposed to be lower than the Qianhusuo. Let me put it this way, Shangluo: the Weisuo here is a unit that manages military households, but it can also be a unit that handles affairs. The Zhenfusi is a special office that handles affairs. Although its rank is actually lower than the Weisuo, it is similar to the difference between the six ministers and the university scholars who enter the cabinet. The university scholars are only fifth-rank officials, but the ministers plus this 'small' fifth-rank official can enter the cabinet. This is the same. With the title of Zhenfusi, you can be called 'Seal General'."

"That and the weaving general are"

"Yes, just like the General of Weaving. But the General of Weaving belongs to the North Town, not our South Town. There is a division between the generals of the South Town and the North Town. The North Town is in charge of things outside the Grand Palace, and we are in charge of things inside. The Weaving Bureau is outside, so the General of Weaving belongs to the General of Seal of the North Town. And the position above me is the General of Seal of the South Town. The official title has not changed, but the power has changed."

"They are all generals, what's the difference?"

"There are many titles for Jinyiwei generals. The generals holding seals in the north and south towns are the most powerful ones under heaven and man. As for the general of weaving, it's the same thing - if there is a government office or a headquarters, there is a general. That's how the generals in charge of weaving, casting and other affairs came about.

Chapter 1198 Waiting for the War to End

.

"Of course, the Han general is also a general, and he is usually responsible for standing guard. So the title just changes with the position, and it is not called a general, but it is the same level."

[Ah! I understand. This means that the positions of the former eunuchs in charge of seals and weaving were moved here, and the eunuchs were changed to generals. That's what it means. It's just that there are no eunuchs now, so all these positions are done by the Jinyiwei. But logically speaking, shouldn't there be a general who is the commander of the Jinyiwei above them? ]

"So there is an admiral?" Shangluo asked.

"Admiral? There is an admiral, but it is the title of the commander of the Jinyiwei who is assigned the job of 'in charge of the Jinyiwei'. Our place is a little different from your place in Shangluo. When the official position and the actual assignment are matched, there will be variations. For example, when the governor has the job of 'cabinet minister', he will be called the commander-in-chief."

"Who is currently in this position? And who is the general in charge of Nanzhen?"

"The current post of Jinyiwei is actually vacant, because the emperor himself is in charge of Jinyiwei - the post of general in charge of the southern town is also vacant. After the previous general was promoted to heaven, this position has been vacant. Anyway, each thousand households of Jinyiwei do their own things, so there is no problem if no one is in charge of both the southern and northern towns at the same time."

“So that’s how it is”

"Shangluo, you're not going to give me another promotion, are you? No need, no need, the Pacification Division is good enough."

"I was thinking, I can give you a promotion in the Heavenly Court. So I have to first understand how the court promotes officials." He looked at the other Jinyiwei again, "Thank you for your hard work today. Although most people just sit there and eat canned food, you have worked hard. After the war is over, everyone will be promoted together. I will also give myself a promotion."

After this, the Heavenly Court will take the first step towards its establishment - but whether it can be promoted depends on how great the merit is and whether it can play a key role in the ascension. Because if it is just an ordinary merit, it will be enough to be promoted within the Jinyiwei. But if it is a merit that reaches the sky, then you have to find an appropriate position in the Heavenly Court.

"Is that so? To be promoted to an official in the Heavenly Court," Lu Huaiyang thought for a moment, "there is actually a precedent."

"where?"

"The five sects of the Dao League share a copy of the Jade Code of the Supreme Temple of Heaven, which is used to measure ranks within the five sects of the Dao League. The advancement sequences of the five sects of the Dao League are different, but they all have 5 ranks. For example, the fifth rank of our palace is 'Shangqing Yiwei'. The fifth rank of Sa Tianshi's Shenxiao Sect is 'Shenxiao Fumoshi', and the fifth rank of Qiu Tianshi's Xuanzhen Sect in Shuntian is 'Jiutian Youyishi', but they can also be 'Shangqing Yiwei' at the same time. Because Xuanzhen Sect is in Shuntian, it is of the same blood as Yingtian's palace, so it also has the title of Shangqing Yiwei."

"So there's a ready-made one! That's so convenient, let's do it this way." With a ready-made one, it's easy to deal with now - Shangluo has actually been quite troubled by this problem since just now. After all, the things here can be imagined to become a big event that they had never expected before setting out, because Xu Fu's talent seems to be more and more real, he has real stuff.

So after the matter was done, Shangluo thought that he had to settle everyone's merit book anyway - after confirming that Shangluo was the only one who could trigger all this, Lu Huaiyang still planned to go with Shangluo, so the merit must be counted. Even if they were not actually asked to do it in the end, the official title of the same level in the Heavenly Court could be officially conferred.

"Well, everyone wait here for a moment. I will go and discuss countermeasures with the Dragon King." After all, now, Xu Fu's "national protection" formation seems to be only sensitive to Shangluo and Dragon Palace, and the real target is hidden behind this formation.

He traveled light, taking only Phaethon with him.

"How do we get there?" They left the crowd and stood on the beach. "Use phlogiston to teleport?"

"I don't quite believe in your stuff. But don't worry, I have the magical powers I just learned." As he said that, he used the dragon ball to disperse into a ball of clear air, carrying Phaethon, who was also a Qigong practitioner, all the way eastward. They rushed forward all the way and landed next to Ao Zang who was on the cloud.

The Bo Chens of the Water Palace also surrounded Ao Zang and stood on the clouds.

Before Phaethon could calm down, the shrimp soldiers and crab generals came to protect the Dragon King and Prime Minister Turtle behind them.

"How dare you!" Ao Zang turned around suddenly, "Who do you think this is? Get back now!"

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals then moved aside like the receding tide, making way between Shangluo and Ao Zang.

"Shang Tianjun, you are here too. How is the situation over there?"

"King Ao Zang, how about you?" Shangluo asked.

"The situation here is not good. I think it's similar over there, otherwise you wouldn't come to me alone."

"We encountered an overwhelming number of Tengu over there"

"Tengu? This is unreasonable. Monsters should be born from human hearts. Now that things have come to this, combined with the current situation, there seems to be only one explanation." He looked at Shangluo, "This country is sick."

"sick?"

"Yes. We found two main lesions. I think these lesions are just expressing a fierce reaction to us and resisting our treatment. The Dragon Palace will not let this situation continue. Even if we have to use strong medicine, even if we kill 990 enemies and lose of our own, we must completely drive out the evil spirits in this place today. We must cure this disease."

"What if it relapses?"

Ao Zang shook his head: "That's what I'm worried about. It seems that there are only two obvious lesions at the moment, but there are countless lesions lurking in the dark and not yet discovered, and we don't know how many lesions are not sensitive to them. I think we still have to treat them."

"King Ao Zang said so, does that mean there is already a solution?"