Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Hmm?" Shangluo thought for a moment, "Hey, it seems that there really isn't. Although I've been dealing with bread and steamed buns recently, and I've prepared supplies, I haven't really thought about how to eat in space. But eating steamed buns should be okay. I'll ask the chef to make some small steamed buns. Just one will be enough."

"Oh." Zhu Xianxi waved his hand. "Since we are going to the moon, we need to eat space food that is not easy to break. Of course, we have to eat mooncakes. Mooncakes should also be able to build a good relationship with the moon rabbit."

Chapter 1333: Steamed Buns or Moon Cakes

"So this is why you called me here?"

Zhu Xianxin and Shangluo both nodded.

"You two don't know whether Jade Rabbit should eat mooncakes or steamed buns?"

“I think the Moon Rabbit should eat mooncakes,” Zhu Xianxun replied.

"I think there's nothing wrong with eating steamed buns - and even if we eat mooncakes, Senior Brother, do you think we should eat sweet or salty?"

"There should be sweet vegetarian mooncakes and salty meat mooncakes, just like glutinous rice balls. The sweet ones should have vegetarian fillings, and the meat-filled glutinous rice balls should be made salty, at least they should have a sweet and salty flavor."

As a native of Yingtian, sweet and salty food has never been a problem for Zhu Xianxun, because he accepts all kinds of sweet and salty food, and there are many kinds of snacks.

Compared with this, he is more concerned about what Jade Rabbit should eat.

"Let me tell you, these two people next to me are eating mooncakes."

"What kind of filling do they eat?" Shangluo asked.

"I told you. Sweet vegetarian filling, salty meat filling."

"Look, they have the same taste as you, which is obviously because they are your clones. I think we should use some auspicious and symbolic food. For example, steamed buns, which are originally sacrifices. And we can also make corn bread with grains."

"Look, Zhu Ling." Zhu Xianxin looked at his sister, "We were stuck here just now. You are a professional, do you think we should eat steamed buns or moon cakes?"

"Eat steamed buns." Zhu Ling answered without hesitation.

"Oh, I can't keep it. My elbows are starting to turn outward."

"I'm telling the truth. It's you, brother, who doesn't know how to feed animals."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Xianxun asked.

"When it comes to animal food, there is a saying that 'wild boars can't eat fine bran'. This applies to all animals - it means that animals will only eat things that look simple and straightforward, and only eat things that are easy to identify. Feed for animals cannot be made too fine, and it must not be made so that you can't tell what it was originally. Snacks like mooncakes are extremely fine, and it is impossible to tell what's inside. If it's not particularly trustworthy, or the taste is really delicious, I don't think any animal would eat something as suspicious as mooncakes."

"What about your steamed bread?"

"So the recipe and proportions of my wotou are very scientific, completely in line with pandas' expectations of food. This is a special case, specially blended to make it instantly recognizable to pandas. The most important thing is the smell. Wotou smells very simple, just like grain. If the smell is even slightly more complex, no matter how delicious humans think it is, pandas will not eat it. The same goes for steamed buns. The ingredients and smell of steamed buns are very simple, so wild animals will definitely choose steamed buns over mooncakes."

"That's what professionalism is all about." Shangluo replied, "Look, senior brother, I'm right, aren't I?"

"It's my fault, it's my fault." Zhu Xianxi is good because he admits his mistakes, because he doesn't have that much self-esteem that he can't give up. There are many people who can control him. After modern scientific education, he also knows where his boundaries are. He knows what he can do and what he can't do. Therefore, when he makes a mistake, he will naturally admit it without hesitation.

He thought for a moment and said, "Since you two are so experienced, why don't you develop a recipe for Moon Rabbit Buns?"

"Moon rabbit buns?" Zhu Ling was stunned for a moment. "Oh, yes, pandas have their own favorite flavors, and moon rabbits should also have their own favorite flavors. But how can I choose a flavor for something I have never seen before?"

The two that Zhu Xianxi brought back were his avatars. Just like when King Wu of Zhou ate Bo Yikao's meat balls and vomited out rabbits, these rabbits were his own spirit, and they obviously had the same interests as him. They could not represent the Moon Rabbit, but only himself.

"Oh, that's not right." Shang Luo raised his hand. "I think we should use Senior Brother's clone as a food tasting object instead - because only the temptation that even human cognition cannot resist is the most suitable feed for Moon Rabbit."

"That makes sense!" Zhu Ling patted Shangluo on the back. "You are so talented. Let's do as you say. Let me think about how to make this recipe."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Zhu Xianxi raised his hand. "Don't do anything stupid, you two. Don't use me to taste food casually! Aren't radishes and green vegetables what rabbits like to eat?"

"Wrong~~" Zhu Ling replied, "Rabbits actually like to eat grains. Rabbits like to eat whole grains such as oatmeal, corn flakes, and rice bran. My brother is really cute. He actually thinks that rabbits like to eat carrots just like in fairy tales - so rabbits actually like to eat white steamed buns very much. Rabbits also like to eat things like sesame cakes and rice."

"Huh? Why?" Zhu Xianxun asked.

"Because animals always want to eat what they lack. Rabbits have a fast metabolism, so they naturally tend to eat high-energy starch. Vegetables and the like are redundant for rabbits, and they can damage their stomachs and intestines because of too much water. But, but in fact, the steamed buns and rice I just mentioned can't be eaten too much, because rabbits are not good at digesting the refined starch in human food, and eating too much will cause problems with their intestines."

"How do we calculate that?" Zhu Xianxun wondered, "Is it so troublesome to raise animals?"

"Eat steamed bread." Zhu Ling answered, "Actually, it's the same as pandas. Pandas also like to eat high-carb, high-calorie foods. But eating too much of these is bad for the stomach, so we use steamed bread as panda food. When Yuyuan raises rabbits, it also uses rabbit food as the staple food. In fact, the formula is similar to that of panda steamed bread, but the shape is different. In addition, pandas need to eat bamboo to keep their intestines functioning normally. The same is true for rabbits, they also need to eat grass."

"Hmm," Zhu Xianxun thought for a moment, "If we put long-term feeding aside and just want to abduct or bribe them, what should I feed the rabbits with?"

"That's steamed buns, only steamed buns." Zhu Ling replied, "In fact, it's the same if you feed pandas steamed buns. In the wild, we also use fruits and cakes, or fruit cakes to lure pandas. Pandas especially like fruit cakes, preferably those with a thick layer of cream and fruit on top. After taking a bite, even the most ferocious panda will start rolling on the ground."

"Well, you two can decide. Steamed buns, right? Then you can research what kind of steamed buns the Moon Rabbit will like to eat."

Chapter 1334: Wild boar can’t eat fine chaff

"Mantou. So we are going to feed Moon Rabbit with mantou?"

The strategic meeting returned to Shangluo's home, and there was one more person. As a consultant, Zhu Linglai brought the most professional knowledge of animal training.

"Wild boars can't eat fine bran, right?" Victoria repeated. "That actually makes sense. This is not only applicable to wild animals, but also to all barbarians."

"Really?" Shangluo asked, "Barbarians can also be kept as wild animals?"

"They can't be tamed, and the barbarians don't know what's good. All barbarians eat like wild animals, and they only follow the principle of 'what you see is what you get'. If the processing is a little complicated, such as stewing the meat more delicately, or doing some pretreatment when roasting, or using many cooking techniques at the same time, the barbarians will immediately dare not eat it. For example."

She pointed at the sacrificial meat on the table. "It's OK to cut it up and cook it in plain water. But it's not OK to eat shredded pork with fish flavor. It's also not OK to eat vegetable meat rolls that we Romans like to eat. Because the barbarians can't tell what's in the shredded pork with fish flavor at a glance, and they don't have any expectations about the taste, so they don't dare to eat it - they're afraid that we've poisoned it."

"Eh?" Zhu Ling asked in confusion, "Then how do we raise the barbarians?"

"They are very easy to raise. Feed them fried chicken. Fried chicken is very simple. Just fry the chicken. 98% of the barbarians in the world can be bribed with fried chicken. Just add different sauces. Look at the sausage on the table. This is very unique. Except for some Germanic barbarians who like to eat sausages, no one else dares to eat it."

"Yeah," Shangluo nodded, "So what we want to bribe Yuetu should be 'fried chicken'? Fried chicken for Yuetu is high-energy carbohydrates, right?"

"Yes," Victoria replied, "Although this is unhealthy, for hobby reasons, even humans want to consume a lot of energy in a short period of time. With this in mind, steamed buns are a very suitable food. But what kind of steamed buns they are, you have to figure out."

"Leave it to the chef." Zhu Xianxi made the decision. "Let the chef decide on this matter. We should leave professional matters to professionals. And... time is running out now, so we won't bake them on Earth. I'll ask the chef to go to the space station to make space buns. I'll leave right away, and you guys should get ready. Except Victoria, everyone else should get ready to see you in space."

"Goodbye~~" Victoria waved her hand. She no longer had separation anxiety, her sense of security was overflowing, she could accept Shangluo doing his own thing, and she fully supported him.

That night, Shangluo took a civil aviation flight to Lanfang - in fact, if you take into account the waiting time, the civil aviation flight is not much slower than a supersonic passenger plane like the Ninghe. The Ninghe usually does not take off or land at night, and today is not the time to land in Yingtian.

Shangluo didn't want to cause trouble for Lan Fang Airlines, so he took a civil airliner.

In addition, taking off and landing at this point is considered a red-eye flight, and the airfare is cheaper.

[So it's amazing. How on earth do these pilots manage to take off and land at night without autopilot? ]

"Actually, this is not a common phenomenon. I discovered this when I bought the ticket - only Lan Fang Airlines would take off and land at this time. This also confirmed to me that more than half of Lan Fang Airlines' pilots are probably Qigong practitioners."

In the absence of satellite positioning and airborne radar, night flights and landings at sea are almost as dangerous as seeking death.

While ground-based aviation could still rely on ground lights and radios for navigation, sea navigation was completely dark, as the sea and sky were both pitch black at night. Once the plane entered the open waters of the South China Sea, the pilot had no reference other than the azimuth instrument and radio.

As far as Shangluo remembers, the first red-eye flight that truly crossed midnight did not begin operating until around the 0s.

[Is that so? 】

"Otherwise, where was the captain of the Ninghe trained? He can't start flying a supersonic passenger plane right after graduating from flight school. This shows that Lan Fang Airlines - and even the entire Lan Fang - should have trained a large number of civilian Qigong practitioners. It's really convenient. In fact, it's not so convenient in Kinai."

Unlike the large number of hermit Qigong practitioners in Kinai, Lan Fang likes to send Qigong practitioners to various industries for use. This can also be regarded as a harbinger of the future Qigong society.

When the plane landed in Pontianak, it was already light. Shangluo went to Lanfang Building where Zheng Shijie was and conducted the final calibration with Zheng Shijie.

"Yeah." The two of them looked at the flight log together.

"Shangluo, the launch is scheduled for tomorrow morning. By then, the space station's orbit will be in a suitable position for you to board. As for the Sulong, it is expected to complete its refueling this weekend, and both ships will be operating at the same time - so this time, you will take the cannonball up."

"Okay." He was not so opposed. Even if the launch failed, he could still fall back safely from the outer layer of the earth. It was not a big problem.

"Then your belongings will be carried in the shell. As for what you discussed with the chef about making steamed buns? Because of your request, I freed up some load to carry flour."

"Yes. I'm going to bring some natural flour up there. After all, the chef's flour is all synthetic, and the flavors of the two might be different."

“Feeding steamed buns to the moon rabbit is really a professional suggestion. If it were me, I would probably really want to feed the moon rabbit moon cakes. In short, making steamed buns really needs to be left to professionals.”

"So, when will you arrive, Guoxing?"

"This weekend," Zheng Shijie replied, "I will be part of the second action team and follow the launch procedure of the second batch of Water Dragons. My uncle and other Qigong practitioners will follow me. Just like you did, I have kept the mission confidential. Those who will participate in this operation are all trustworthy senior operators."

"Okay." Shangluo nodded and approved Zheng Shijie's plan. "Then without further delay, I will go to the launch site first."

"Hey, why are you in such a hurry? Why don't you rest for a night in Pontianak?"

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. I'll go check out the venue first so I can feel more at ease."

He had no time to sleep in the hotel, because the research institutes in Syracuse were still waiting for him to "inspect". Going to the construction site for inspection meant raiding without a word, and if he had given advance notice, everything that needed to be cleaned up would have been cleaned up.

Chapter 1335: The Raid on Syracuse

Shangluo attacked the moon artillery base on the sacred mountain overnight.

In the night, the cannon has changed its appearance. The originally smooth barrel is now wrapped with layers of coils, red, blue, and yellow.

An additional floor was added to the base of the cannon, and a huge cabin was added to the middle of the cannon. The lights were on inside the cabin even in the middle of the night, and the noise of the machine could be heard faintly from inside.

"Hey, hey." Zheng Shijie panted all the way. He felt a little exhausted even if he came by plane. "So why did you come overnight? What do you want to check?"

"I already told you my surname, so you don't have to come."

"I won't come? What if you find out something?"

Shangluo was stunned for a moment: "Guo Xing, are you really hiding something here?"

"Are you kidding? Am I that kind of person?"

"Hmm." His eyes wandered up and down Zheng Shijie's body, unable to make a decision.

"Don't look at me like that. Little Imperial Envoy, if you want to investigate something, you should let me know, right? We're already downstairs now, are you afraid that I might make some arrangements?"

"Haven't I said all along the way that you have nothing to do with Guoxing? I'm not here to check you out. You're the sponsor of our project, and I can't wait to please you."

"Then why are you here?"

"Ahem, speak softly." He whispered to Zheng Shijie and explained to him that the Syracuse Academy of Sciences might want to completely collapse Roman magic by blowing up the moon.

"Good fellow!" Zheng Shijie suddenly realized, "I was wondering why they were so proactive and even sold me projects with extra money. If I didn't buy them, they would add extra money in the name of investment. So that's how it is!"

"Is this true?" Shang Luo asked in surprise. If this is true, then it can be basically confirmed that Syracuse really has this intention.

Because according to the original plan, the payload launched by the lunar cannon will be inspected, and what will be launched is planned by Shangluo.

The Vulcan devices were all approved by him and Victoria. Although they were weapon-grade, they were unlikely to "blow up the moon."

The only thing he was worried about was whether Syracuse would do something to make the entire Lianshan crash directly into the moon.

The impact force is not only related to speed, but also to mass. It is very difficult to accelerate a shell of only a few hundred kilograms to the point of blowing up the moon. However, it is much easier to accelerate a hundred thousand tons of steel to the point of breaking up the moon.

Moreover, to render the Roman magic ineffective, the entire moon wouldn't need to be cracked; simply dusting it would be enough. Considering the gravity of the lunar surface, a minor modification would be all that's needed to knock the moon to that point.

This was unimaginable in the past, but now, if there really is a 100,000-ton man-made object floating in space, and it can be driven at will by humans, it's hard to guarantee that someone won't have some ideas about it.

The most motivated one was undoubtedly the Syracuse Academy, because they would be the biggest beneficiary of the moon's dust, which could help them directly gain control of the entire Rome in the chaos of Rome's demise, and make everyone bow down to the light of "science" - although this science itself was not very scientific.

"Wait a minute." Zheng Shijie asked in surprise, "Why would they do this? It is indeed good for them, but the disadvantages are greater! I would rather die than let my fellow Taoist die. Is it a consensus among them that we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression?"

"Guoxing, you may have made a mistake. If you really want to resist foreign aggression, you must first stabilize the internal situation. But the purpose of those who said this was only to stabilize the internal situation, not to resist foreign aggression. Don't assume that Syracuse will resist foreign aggression. They may not resist foreign aggression at all."

"Then why is this?"

[It is to build a new world dominated by science. The Syracuse Academy may not care about the survival of the Roman Empire, but the status of science in the new world order. Outsiders may not realize that each of the six Romes is capable of establishing a world order, and there is no need for six Romes to exist at the same time. ]

Science is also a worldview.

"Science?" Zheng Shijie asked in surprise after Shangluo relayed Apollonia's words, "What is science?"

"Science can be summed up in two points: infinite progress and falsifiability. Anything that meets these two points can be regarded as a scientific spirit. For example, alchemy is completely unscientific because alchemy does not believe in "infinite progress". Alchemy believes that gold is the end of everything. There is no progress after gold. Gold is the end.

"For example, alchemy may be falsifiable, because alchemists can attack each other - but astrology is not falsifiable at all. Because astrology has many restrictions, such as having a stupid illiterate girl to convey the oracle, so that the oracle can be interpreted in a way that is beneficial to the oracle under any circumstances."

"But science sounds pretty good." Zheng Shijie thought for a moment, "Didn't we receive scientific education as well?"

"Yes, it is very good. But we don't support Rome just to make the world a better place. We want to make the world controllable. We should have the power to define the world, and we should promote scientism. It has nothing to do with him."

This is the root of the conflict. Although Shangluo himself accepted science, and most people in the Ming Dynasty grew up under the current scientific education, Shangluo would never let science itself jump out of the temple to hit people.

And once science is used as a weapon, there are many things they can define.

Science is and can only be a harmless idol. The right to define it can only be in our own hands, not controlled by a mysterious group of people in Syracuse who claim to be scientists but are actually alchemists or even magicians.

"I understand." Zheng Shijie nodded. "Wait, I think if you want to check, it would be best to check the compartment on the upper half of the gun barrel first."

"What's that for?"