Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Where is it?" Shangluo looked around, "There's nothing around me."

"I saw it." Zheng Shijie replied, "Isn't this the effect you want? This is the PPT you wanted."

[Ah Shangluo, there is no way. You can't see it yourself. After all, this data is transmitted in the spiritual network, and there is no light signal. If you want to see it, I'm afraid you have to prepare a projector yourself. There is no equipment here. ]

"Forget it, I'll make do with it. I've seen it before anyway."

Shangluo pretended that the words were behind him. Like a weather forecaster, he pointed at the empty space on the screen:

"First, let me explain the plan and purpose of this operation. You also know the country's surname, right?"

Zheng Shijie nodded: "But I know that our mission is only to launch. The other half should be left to you."

"Then everyone should get to know each other. I have made a page introducing you and Syracuse. You can take a look at both. After all, you will be dealing with each other later, so you should get to know each other better. This is Syracuse, this is Archimedes the Sage, and this is Vulcan Core."

"Wait. Can we go back one page?" Zheng Shijie ran over as if he saw something strange. "Who is that strange man in the bathtub?"

"That's Archimedes the Sage, the lifelong honorary president of the Syracuse Institute of Physics."

In the picture, Archimedes was taking a bath in the bathtub.

Like many others, these sages born from the "Philosopher King System" have complete wisdom, but they prefer to stay in their "comfortable" place, just like a painting under magic would want to remain in its original state.

In the common perception, Archimedes was in the bathtub. Because the famous "Eureka" was the exclamation of Archimedes when he suddenly realized the law of buoyancy while taking a bath - at least that's the legend.

Another moment that belongs to Archimedes is when he was killed by Roman soldiers on the beach. There are many versions about the scene at that time. Some say he was sitting in meditation, while others say he was writing equations or something. But no matter what, Archimedes was killed by the Romans, and this is a fact.

"Why would Archimedes, who died at the hands of the Romans, be willing to serve the Roman Empire?"

"No Syracuse Academy was actually involved in the Columbia affair."

"They were involved? They weren't dealt with?"

"No, it is their duty, just like Troy and Greece are destined to go to war. Syracuse is a Greek city-state west of Troy, and Rome considers itself the successor of Troy. Today's Rome has actually overturned the structure of the Trojan War and is commanding the entire Greece as a Trojan. Therefore, it is reasonable for Syracuse to refuse to cooperate."

"What about this time? Why are they willing to cooperate again?"

"Because if the experiment succeeds, the Romans will go to the other side once and for all and never come back - Archimedes is a staunch supporter of the nutshell plan, and he can't wait to let all the Romans enter the infinite universe in the nutshell."

"Okay. Then he has no opinion about us, right?"

"Probably not. In fact, he doesn't know us. The events in Syracuse have nothing to do with us."

"Will he come to the meeting today?"

"In principle, he will at least show up. Although the specific agenda of the meeting is for us and other sages to advance, we may need his 'Eureka'."

"What do you mean?"

[Let me explain. This is Archimedes' trait. Whenever we ask Archimedes to think, he often enters the 'Eureka' state - which means 'I found it! '. He often has very unique insights and then proposes solutions that really make people shout 'Eureka'. ]

"That's right." Shangluo nodded. "In fact, I just found out that there is such a useful technology accelerator."

"Wait, Shangluo, can he help me think about other problems? Any problem is fine?"

"What do you want to ask?"

"Of course I want to ask how to improve the lunar cannon! Isn't this related to today's topic? Let him have a Eureka too."

Chapter 1270 The Lord of the Oracle

Shangluo, Lanfang Company and representatives from Syracuse Academy of Sciences began tripartite talks.

Shangluo has already sat firmly. Although the background behind him is a bit fake, it doesn't look fake when he is still. In front of him is not only his own sign, but also the sign of Dragon Palace. Because he was commissioned by Ao Zang before, Shangluo represented Dragon Palace to negotiate all the details related to the sea area in this experiment.

Zheng Shijie, who represented the Aerospace Department of Lan Fang Administrative Services Co., Ltd., sat in another window. He was the most prepared and had already changed into a real formal suit that did not require any special effects to pull off.

But at the Syracuse Academy of Sciences, the camera was still dark.

"Shangluo, is there something going on over there? The meeting has already started. Did they get the time wrong and not take the time difference into account?"

[That's impossible. The Academy of Sciences is very rigorous. How could they make a mistake on such a basic question as time difference? Wait, let me ask.]

Apollonia was about to call to inquire when the black screen came on.

A huge nostril pointed at the camera, which scared Shangluo. Because the screen in front of him was very large, his nostril was also magnified to the size of a basketball. The two nostrils were like two basketballs.

"Uh, this distance seems wrong, adjust it again. Eh? Has it already started?" The nostrils suddenly retracted, and a big bearded face appeared on the screen. He had black hair, which was common among Romans (crossed out) and Greeks. His hair volume was a little worrying against his protruding forehead. This was also a common hairstyle for scholars.

Like other Romans (crossed out) and Greeks, he wore a silk robe from Zhendan. The volume of the robe was as much as that of the east, making the two sides look quite similar, both of which were produced by the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau.

"Good morning, everyone - it should be morning where you are, but it is already midnight. Sorry, our people got a little sleepy in the middle of the night, and there was a small problem when debugging the camera, which has been fixed now. Let me introduce myself first: I am Archimedes of Syracuse, an echo of history. The real Archimedes is no longer here, and those Romans dragged me out of history and forced me to lead scientific research. In order to deceive myself, I fled to the place where they all agreed that I should flee to, that is, my hometown, Syracuse. With the permission of the Romans, I will talk to you about the upcoming experiment. So, let's get started."

Archimedes explained the entire cause and effect in a series of words.

"Is it really necessary to say so much?" Victoria watched from the sidelines. Archimedes poured out everything he should and shouldn't say, just like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.

[Ah, is this your first day meeting him? ]

"Yes, Your Majesty Victoria, this is not the first day you have known me."

"Who?" Only Zheng Shijie on the screen didn't understand. "Who are you talking to?"

"Let me explain. As a projection of history, I am not a complete person, but I have gained a convenient phlogiston vision. This allows me to find 'Eureka' and easily perceive the flow of phlogiston. For example, Mr. Shangluo, His Majesty Victoria next to him has been trying to establish a sympathetic connection with him, but he has never noticed."

"Cut! Cut this part! This part cannot be broadcast!" Before Victoria could get anxious, Miss Agatha next to her was already anxious.

"Ms. Agatha, I know you have sacrificed your life for your niece, but you can leave now. You are free."

"What!?" Victoria suddenly looked up. "You—you're not my governess? You're my aunt! Are you my father's sister?"

“That’s why I said don’t connect with him!”

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it." Archimedes continued to talk nonstop. "After being killed by you Romans and then being pulled back with this broken mentality, my mind has lost the separation between the inside and the outside. It's only natural for me to speak out what's on my mind. Lord Shangluo, do you mind?"

"It's okay, it's okay. I quite like it. Uh, well, is there anything wrong with me?"

"The 'virtual projection' you set up to try to explain it to me is very sophisticated. But I don't actually need it. You don't need to project it, just ask [the lord in the Oracle] to send it to me. I can speak the language of light."

Unlike his attitude towards Victoria, Archimedes showed respect to Apollonia. He did not even call Apollonia by her name, but indirectly called her "the one from the Oracle".

[Because Archimedes is Greek. I am the 'Son of Heaven' of Greece, and he still respects me.]

"Yes, you have the wisdom that matches your position and are a competent Pythian priest."

【The second half of the sentence is redundant.】

"Well, Archimedes, if you don't think it's necessary, I'll turn it off?"

"Yes. Our communication does not require so much funding. I think the communication of meaning is more important. Please talk in the manner that you feel most comfortable. I will do the same. For example, my bathtub will be delivered soon. You may not know that this is the 'setting' given to me by the Romans. As long as I stay in the bathtub, I will abide by the setting, which will make me feel comfortable. It's really a sad mechanism."

"Wait a minute, I'll close it."

"Hey! Wait!" Zheng Shijie suddenly raised his hand. "You can see it, but I can't! I can't read the 'language of light'."

"You can't read it?" Archimedes asked in surprise, "There are cracks of light on your body. I thought you were already walking in the light. If that's the case, you should stay as you are."

As they were talking, the bathtub arrived. Archimedes, wearing a robe, soaked in it directly, and the warm steam rushed up. He reached out to wipe the screen and lay back comfortably in it: "Although it is a setting. But taking a bath is still a pleasure. Then, Mr. Shangluo, I would like to ask a question at the beginning of the meeting."

"Hmm? Go ahead."

"I see the label 'King of the Romans' displayed above your head. What does this mean? Are you the King of the Romans? Or are you married to the Byzantine Emperor and this is your title?"

"It's the former," Shangluo replied, glancing to the side. Victoria was obviously very angry about being called the "Byzantine Emperor", but she managed not to jump into the screen.

Chapter 1271 "Byzantine" Emperor

Briefly, Shangluo began to play the PPT content on the screen.

Because Archimedes had just introduced himself, Shangluo did not play the detailed presentation on the PPT, but started with the introduction of Lan Fang Company.

"Interesting." Archimedes asked, "So the Lan Fang Company is a sovereign entity whose main motivation is economic activities? Is this system legal in Aurora?"

"Yes." Shangluo replied, "The Lan Fang Company has obtained a special charter from the court, so Lan Fang can do this. Moreover, the court usually only pays attention to its own affairs and does not interfere in the affairs of the princes."

"Oh!" Archimedes raised his hands. "I originally thought that you were power-mad control freaks like the Romans, but I didn't expect that China showed the glory of civilization. In you, I see the 'philosopher-kingdom' that the Greek sages dreamed of. This kingdom of heaven has been established on earth, just as the sages Plato and Aristotle said. I think the two of them must have been China people for a long time! At least China people in spirit."

"Well, maybe." Shangluo had talked to them before. They had a very good impression of the current Ming Dynasty, at least much better than Rome. This might be the beauty created by distance. However, Shangluo did not intend to expose this beauty for the time being. It was easier to do things by keeping this distance.

"Then, Mr. Shangluo, may I ask you a question - do you believe that there are other lives outside the universe?"

"Maybe." Shangluo thought for a moment, "The universe is so big, even if we enumerate everything in the universe, there will always be other life forms - at least that's what I think."

"Is it possible that extraterrestrial life is closer than you think? For example, on the moon?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Whenever I look up at the starry sky, I can't help but look at the moon. Do you know that there are many elves living in places we can't see? And in your body, it seems that there is such a 'lens'. When I was lucky enough to peek at the scene on the moon, there were so many rabbits. Why are there so many rabbits?"

"Are you talking about this?" Shangluo took out the golden elixir he got from Xu Fu from his pocket.

"Oh, yes, that's it. From another angle, there are more rabbits than before."

"Ah," Shangluo thought for a moment, "So you mean, this thing is on the moon?"

"It is absolutely true, my lord. This thing looks like the moon, but the moon that is right in front of us is like a reflection in a pond. It is born from moonlight and is not the real moon, but only its projection. However, this constraint seems to be two-way, and everything I see seems to be constrained to a specific position - on the shadow of the moon."

"The shadow of the moon? You mean, on the dark side of the moon? But shouldn't the moon and the earth be tidally locked? This means that the moon always has only one side facing the earth, and the earth cannot be seen from the dark side of the moon."

"So, it's like seeing the dark side of the moon in a mirror that you can't see normally. Peeping is a two-way thing. Maybe those moon rabbits are also setting up a mirror in the sky to spy on the earth."

[Wait, is it true that the Xu Fu's Hall of Eternal Life that we visited before is on the moon? Then wouldn't our trip there and back be equivalent to landing on the moon? ]

"If landing on the moon counts as landing on the moon, then it probably counts, but I still find it hard to believe that the place I went to before was the moon. Unless..."

[Unless what? 】

"When I was teasing Xu Fu before, I asked him to build a roller coaster park for me to play. I remember that a large part of the roller coaster has not been dismantled. If we can find those roller coasters on the back of the moon, we can probably determine the location of the Moon Palace."

[Then how do we get up there? ]

Shangluo looked at Archimedes the Sage: "So, you already have an idea, right?"

"Yes, everyone." Archimedes suggested, "Since we are going to launch it, we hope to let the satellite carry out some experiments after it is launched, including taking pictures of the dark side of the moon. This process is quite complicated and also very valuable for testing. Because this is to test whether the Vulcan device can help us put other gravity systems into orbit."

This is very important indeed, because a large part of the reason for aiming the Vulcan into the sky is to try to use the Vulcan core to make an interstellar jump.

And if you just rush forward like crazy, then there is no point in jumping out. Because if you can't locate yourself, it would be impossible to return to Earth in the vast sea of ​​stars.

So this time, the plan of the Syracuse Academy of Sciences is to verify whether the Vulcan device is controllable by photographing the lunar surface.

"Then there may be these difficulties." Shangluo thought for a while, "First, whether the jump process can be positioned, whether the position can be controlled at extremely high speeds - secondly, it is low speed. Because the gravity on the moon is very small, if the speed is too fast, it will not be able to enter the lunar orbit, and will only continue to fly into deep space."

"Ah," Zheng Shijie also nodded, "If these experiments can be completed at once, it would be much easier. If it is really possible, then the lunar cannon might also be successful?"

"I have read your plan before." Archimedes looked at Zheng Shijie. "It is really a genius plan. The Syracuse Academy of Sciences once conducted a feasibility study on a similar plan under the name of Daedalus Ladder. This plan was very promising. But the stupid Byzantine Senate stopped our research in the name of 'funding'. I didn't expect that there are fellow travelers on the other side of the earth. I am really relieved."

[What he meant was that Lan Fang was setting off fireworks for him to watch, so he would definitely have to pay for it.]

"But, Sage Archimedes, with the help of the Vulcan Device, we can actually complete the Moon Cannon, right?"

"That's what I've always believed. As long as we innovate technology, we'll never need uninspired rockets again. Humanity deserves better solutions—"

Suddenly, Archimedes in the bathtub was stunned:

"Wait, everyone. I suddenly remembered something. If we can build a lunar cannon on Earth, have you ever considered building a Jupiter cannon on the moon to explore deeper into space?"

"Is this even possible???" Zheng Shijie asked in surprise, "We are going to launch bricks to the moon?"

"Bricks are just fired building materials. Since we have bricks on Earth, we can definitely go to the moon to fire them."

Chapter 1272 Video Conference

Archimedes suggested that space missions should not be carried out only on Earth, but should be carried out directly on the moon.

"Everyone, when I take a bath, the tub will displace water equal to my weight. But on the moon, the water will also displace my 'weight' - the weight of the water will change, but the power of the cannon will not change. The gravity of the moon is one sixth of that of the earth. If we use the same cannon on the moon, we may be able to launch six times the payload or more. Because there is no atmosphere on the moon, the shells will not be slowed down by wind resistance."

"Right!" Zheng Shijie also reacted, "The lunar cannon should be built on the moon. And the moon is full of craters, which is just right for repair."

"Well, Lord Guoxing, I have another small suggestion - I wonder if you have ever considered further deep space exploration based on the base on the moon. According to common sense, the Vulcan device should also be more efficient when working on the moon. If we can integrate our technologies, then we can deploy a real deep space exploration base on the moon."

"You are right! I was thinking about these things, and you helped me to express them, and you thought about them much more comprehensively than I did myself!"

The two hit it off so well that Shangluo didn't need to talk at all in the second half. The two of them finalized the general process of the entire plan. Zheng Shijie's side would provide the venue and funds, and the Syracuse Academy of Sciences would send a large number of people to help on site and participate in the manufacture of experimental equipment. The technology that needed to be shared would be negotiated by Archimedes himself with the Palace of Muses, and then unconditionally and free of charge.

Zheng Shijie and Archimedes had a lot in common, mainly because Zheng Shijie was willing to spend money, and Archimedes was good at using his "Eureka" to make Zheng Shijie feel that his money was well spent.