[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

As promised by Uruk officials, in the evening, meals at the bivouac were quite sumptuous.There are a lot of hand-caught mutton, fat duck stewed into a big pot with dates, almonds, turnips and various spices, enough bread, and each person can get a pottery cup of beer as a drink.

The beer of this era no longer needs to be filtered. When it is poured from the barrel, it is already clarified, and the aroma of hops and malt in the liquor is particularly moving.

It's a pity that the peasants from Sipar were overwhelmed by grief. While they were feasting, they couldn't help lamenting their unfortunate fate.

"Too...too horrible!" A man was crying, stuffing a large piece of mutton into his mouth, trying to be a "satisfied ghost".

"Yes, if you escape, you will be executed, and you will be hung outside the city gate for public display... This, this is really a 'tyrant'!"

Another civilian husband took up the quarrel, and as soon as he uttered the word "tyrant", he immediately looked around, as if he was afraid that if someone listened to him, he would be caught and cut out his tongue.

Yi Nan sat quietly at the side, thinking that once this "brainwashing package" was formed, it would be a bit difficult to rectify the name.

Today she heard the Uruk official repeatedly emphasize that those who were beheaded for public display were water bandits on the Euphrates River and thieves in the nearby mountains and forests—not runaway peasants.

It's a pity that no one can listen to the official's clarification; on the contrary, the more frightening the rumors, the more marketable they are.

Inan shook his head, thinking: Gilgamesh, it seems that you are not very good at creating your own image.

Unexpectedly, at this time, the sound of drums and music suddenly sounded from the next table, and someone began to sing loudly.Someone came to persuade these Sipar's husbands: "Guys, don't always put on such a face-it's a happy day, and a sad day!"

"Come on, enjoy the food, let's sing and dance! Anyway, you don't know what will happen tomorrow, when the accident will come, so at least you can have a wonderful night."

The folk husbands who were still sad think about it: ... also!

But Yi Nan paid attention to the musical instruments in the hands of the peasants at the next table——

Needless to say, drums, even in this era, this musical instrument has a history of thousands of years.But the sound of "boom boom boom" made Yinan feel very novel.

She quietly slipped to the next table, sat in the dark and observed carefully: she saw that it was really a plucked string instrument, and its basic shape was already a bit like the banjo of later generations.The belly of this qin is made of about half a gourd, covered with sheepskin.There are no bars or finger grids on the long neck, just three strings are simply tied.

The musicians played this "qin" enthusiastically, and kept making booming sounds without scales, which were out of tune at all. It just added another rhythmic "noise" to the rhythmic drums.

But Yinan was still inexplicably excited: she didn’t expect that there would be a plucked string instrument at this time—since this form has appeared, with the ingenuity of the people, there will soon be a string instrument that can play scales—Benji There will be pianos, and there will be guitars.

Accompanied by the rhythm of plucked string instruments, a group of people sang out of tune songs.The rhythm of music and joy quickly affected the atmosphere of the camp, and the peasants who had been so mourned cheered up a little at this moment.

But at this time an official came to Yinan: "Enkidu, Enkidu!"

Yi Nan reacted for a while before realizing that he was looking for him.She stood up abruptly and asked, "Looking for me?"

Once she stood up, the peasants realized that there was such a beautiful young man among them, and some people stared blankly at Yi Nan.

"Wang said that he will transfer you to another team, and I will take you to the campsite there tonight. Let's get together and work together tomorrow morning." The official said, "Come with me!"

Yi Nan responded and went to pick up his luggage.

When she came out, she heard a few civilian husbands talking in a low voice: "Didn't you say that the king of Uruk is lustful?"

Another civilian husband nodded and said in a low voice: "That's true, but... I only heard before that Wang likes beauties, and he has collected many beautiful saints from all over the world."

The expressions on the faces of several people suddenly became wretched: "...I just found out today that Wang Lian is also a pretty guy..."

Yi Nan immediately rolled his eyes - the other party official clearly said that he was taking him to another team's campsite, so that he could gather for work tomorrow.

She felt a little sympathetic to Gilgamesh.

At this time, some Xipalmen who came on the same boat with her came out to speak for her: "No, it's not like that, we saw it with our own eyes. This guy showed his great strength in front of many people, and it happened to be seen by the king. , I said at the time that he was going to be transferred to another team."

It seems that except for those who are too good at brainstorming, there are still many people in this world who are willing to tell the truth.

The original wretchedness has now become sour.

"So it's like this... Then, I wish this little brother good luck!"

"I heard that the strongest people always do the most dangerous work. I don't know if I can see this guy again..."

"..."

Yi Nan just carried her luggage and came to another campsite.Unlike the camp just now, it is quiet here, without any sound of talking, laughing or playing music.Occasionally, people could be heard talking to each other, mostly in unusually solemn tones, as if they were talking about business matters.

"In addition to 'hercules' like you, there are also the most powerful craftsmen and technicians around Wang. Each of you has a separate room."

Yinan: Such a good treatment?

She looked around, and she saw that the camp was full of neat rows of houses.Light streamed from the windows of every hut—the whole camp looked tense and busy.

"Artisans need to study tools and crafts at night, and everyone is very busy." The official reminded Yi Nan not to provoke others, "Close the door of your room at night."

Yi Nan nodded and accepted the arrangement: it was definitely a great convenience for her to be able to rest alone at night.

Finally freed from the night's rest surrounded by a large group of men, Inan planned to welcome a full night's sleep.

Unexpectedly, in the dead of night, she suddenly opened her eyes, feeling that danger was approaching.

There was the low growl of a big cat in the distance—yes, big cat, that roar was too far removed from the "meow" of a kitten to be mistaken.

Yi Nan sat up all of a sudden, but didn't dare to make a sound.

Ever since ancient humans began to build settlements, wild animals have avoided such a group of upright creatures, and rarely appeared near human settlements, let alone in a bustling metropolis like Uruk.

Most of the animals that appear are raised by local residents.

When Yinan heard the roar, his first reaction was: Is this a lion or a tiger?Escaped from the zoo?

But in this era...there should be no zoos, right?

While she was still thinking about it, the feline parked outside her house.Yi Nan could hear the panting sound of "wheezing and wheezing" just opposite the door panel.

Yi Nan: ...don't come in, I don't want to punch you to death.

The big guy on the other side of the door probably couldn't read Yi Nan's thoughts. Not long after, the sound of claws scraping against the door was heard, and there was a hissing sound.

Yi Nan was heartbroken, lay down and continued to sleep—the big cat will not offend me, and I will not offend the big cat.

Sure enough, the animals outside couldn't resist the thick door, and they weren't smart enough to open the doorknob like a cat.After a while, the low growl gradually faded away.

Yi Nan put this episode behind her and fell asleep again. When she opened her eyes again, the foreman of the camp had already sounded a gong—this should be the wake-up call of the ancient artisan camp.People came out of their huts one after another, preparing for the whole day's work nervously and orderly.

How orderly is the whole camp? ——Inan can hear his own name in everything he does.

"Enkidu - wash here!"

"Enkidu - dine here!"

"Enkidu - use the toilet here, huh? Just don't want to use the toilet for a while!"

"..."

"Enkidu—you have to memorize all the morning procedures in the camp. Anyone will only be reminded on the first day of camp."

Inan was forced to quickly increase his familiarity with the name "Enkidu", otherwise problems might arise at any time.

No one in the entire camp mentioned the presence of a big cat last night—Yinan was sure that he was not dreaming, so it could only mean that everyone was used to it. There was indeed a big cat here, and it often appeared at night.

It only took about 40-50 minutes for the entire camp to complete the preparations before the start of work.

This efficiency is based on a concrete and complete logistical foundation.Before the gong was sounded, clay pots filled with hot and cold water had been prepared in the camp; hot barley porridge and bread had been placed on the dining table, along with preserved fruits marinated in honey.

When Yi Nan left the camp, he found something—a small sundial.A small copper bar stands vertically, and in the direction of the copper bar facing north is a wooden chip marked with a scale.The diluted sunlight in the morning is reflected on the sundial, and the shadow of the copper bar points to a certain scale.

The work and rest time of the entire camp is obviously arranged with this.

But what is surprising is that there is another support above the sundial, on which is placed a piece of transparent mica like a crystal, through which the sunlight shines on the sundial①.

This device is supplemented on the basis of ordinary sundials to make a general-purpose sundial that can be used even on cloudy days.Theoretically, this mica can gather the light scattered through thick clouds, so that they can be projected on the sundial as if it were sunny.

Timekeeping devices appeared very early in human society, but this kind of sundial that "can be used even on cloudy days", even Yi Nan, only heard about it and never saw it with his own eyes.

"Enkidu, follow!"

In the camp that operates strictly like precision machines, Yi Nan has no chance to observe these auxiliary facilities and devices, so he hastened his pace to keep up with the group.

Uruk is known as the "Mother of Ten Thousand Cities", mostly because it is the first large-scale city with walls in the world, and it is a real "city".

The city wall did not exist more than 2000 years ago. At that time, Uruk was a free-growing city, and there was no obvious boundary between the city and the suburbs.

But now, there is already a busy construction site around the city.

Countless workers and materials are being transported to Uruk from afar.There are at least a dozen pottery kilns next to the construction site, firing clay bricks day and night.

In addition, the Euphrates River went down with the water, and many giant logs and giant rafts were transported. Large pieces of rock were piled up on the giant rafts, and they were dragged to the shore as foundation materials.

On the road from the wharf to the construction site, rolling logs were laid everywhere, and the huge stones were pulled by ropes by the peasants, dragged all the way to the city wall, and then pushed into the gentle slope and sent into the foundation hole dug in advance.The "crane" made of giant wood looks like a monster, with a long boom extending out to assist in the lifting of smaller stones and other materials.

After the foundation is filled with boulders, workers will carefully pour mortar mixed with water and clay into the only gaps in the boulders to fill and level them.

On such a solid foundation, the city wall built of clay bricks rose from the ground.

The city wall of this city is planned very grandly, including some green areas on the outskirts of the city and areas that look like farms.It's hard to imagine that the city wall is being built on one side, while the other side is idyllic and grazing.

Inan thought: This is really... I don't know whether to praise Gilgamesh for his foresight, or to scold him for his great achievements.

Building a large city means that a lot of manpower and materials have been invested in this project during this period; but the city of Uruk will expand in the future no matter what. This is the reason for enjoying the cool.

The team that Yi Nan was in looked like a team composed of senior engineers and senior technicians.As soon as her companions arrived near the construction site, they dispersed automatically, and went to work separately.

Some of them immediately went to get the rope ruler and started measuring the site; some took out the clay tablets that had been fired in advance, and there were all kinds of data and geometric figures on the clay panels.Yi Nan thought, this should be the early engineering drawings.

In terms of engineering and geometry, the ancient Egyptians are the most famous in the history of civilization. They built huge temples for the gods and magnificent tombs for the pharaohs——

In contrast, the people of Uruk built the city wall.Yinan felt that compared with this, the projects of the Uruk people seemed to have more secular and practical significance.

With her hands behind her back, like a supervisor, she walked around the construction site, watching the construction process of the Uruk people and checking their tools, and suddenly found that no one assigned her any tasks.

She is like an idler wandering outside the entire team.

Yi Nan asked a few people casually, but no one needed her help, and most of the people said casually: "The king told you to come, and when the king comes, he will naturally make arrangements for you."

This is also very good - Yinan is happy to sit down and rest at the side of the construction site.

An official from Uruk nearby kindly reminded her: "Young man, you can rest if you want to, but you have to be careful when Wang's 'supervisor' comes over later."

King's overseer?

Yinan quickly agreed, thinking that the officials here probably knew how to "fish", and the supervisor should be careful when he came over, and just "pretend to be busy".

At noon day by day, the sun rose and the temperature continued to rise. The peasants working on the construction site of the Uruk city wall were sweating profusely.The logistics in the city quickly caught up, bringing people cans of clean water.Yinan also participated in the distribution of drinking water, once again realizing how much the stability of logistics can help the efficiency of the project.

After a short "tea break", the chant sounded again on the construction site.Yi Nan still had nothing to do.

Suddenly, she felt something strange.The civilian husbands on the construction site were obviously nervous, and they began to work one by one.

Most of the engineers holding the clay tablets also showed serious looking at the clay tablets - not to say that they were not serious at first, but now they obviously "show" and "more" serious.

Yi Nan suddenly heard a low roar of a ferocious beast, and her heart skipped a beat.

This is a large construction site full of people, how could there be the roar of beasts?Reminiscent of last night's experience, Yi Nan had a question: Is it possible that this construction site really raised a beast as a "supervisor"?

The next moment, she really saw it, saw Gilgamesh, the young king of Uruk, walking like a tiger, walking towards Inan.

— What a smug fellow!

Yi Nan evaluated secretly in his heart.She thought so because Gilgamesh changed his clothes again today. He wore a short gown with an open front casually on his upper body. The knees and the hem are decorated with tassels woven with gold thread.

This guy is still wearing a necklace today, a necklace with gold leaves, and each gold leaf is tightly attached to his wheat-colored skin, as if it grew from there.In the middle of the necklace is a bloodstone the size of an egg. The surface of the gem is intertwined with red and black. It seems that the bloodstone on this necklace is this guy's amulet.

Gilgamesh is only about the age, but this young king has obviously secured his position, and he is the king admired by thousands of people in Uruk.

But Yinan's expression changed, because next to this stinking guy, roaring in a low voice was the "King of Beasts", a male lion with a mane that had just grown around its neck.It followed Gilgamesh closely, walking forward with steady "lion steps", and even the strides were exactly the same as its master.

One person and one lion, just like this, slowly walking through the noisy construction site.

All the peasants and craftsmen are busy on the surface, and everything is as usual, but the tension can be directly felt in the crowd.

Everyone showed a serious and busy look in front of the king, and they dared not look up at the lion beside the king.It seemed that as long as he was distracted, the lion would immediately rush towards him.

——Sure enough, it's the "overseer", Yinan thought.With this lion around, no one would dare to desert.

However, at this time, she had forgotten what the Uruk official said earlier, telling her to "pretend to be busy".She forgot that she actually became a "lazy" "idle person" because she was not assigned a task.

It was too late when this idea was finally willing to turn around in Yi Nan's mind.

Yi Nan suddenly heard the roar of the lion beside Gilgamesh, and everyone on the construction site seemed to be shocked.Then the young male lion suddenly accelerated and rushed towards Yi Nan.

"Hakesh, sit down!" Gilgamesh obviously didn't expect such a thing to happen, and hurriedly shouted.

The lion he raised was actually called "Hakesh", not "Overseer".

But the lion went straight to Inan, ignoring Gilgamesh's orders.

Before Yinan was pounced on by the lion Hakish, his only thought was: Gilgamesh, this guy, went out for a walk with the cat, but he didn't put the cat on a leash. He really has no sense of public morality!

Gilgamesh was also surprised when he saw this.His "Hakesh" is his favorite pet since he was a child, and he is only a little over three years old this year.He often took Hakesh to inspect the construction site. Hakesh's majestic appearance really played a certain role as a "supervisor", and there were indeed private rumors that the king would bring a lion out to "supervise" or something.

Even Hakesh's nickname is "Overseer".

But Hakesh has never been so excited to jump out and hurt others like today.

"Damn it!" Gilgamesh saw the lion cub he raised with his own hands, and threw down a very thin peasant man—even though the peasant man had been doing nothing before, like an idler who shouldn't be on the construction site, but Gilgamesh Meish also decided that the man should not have been injured because of this.

He strode forward and stopped himself, "Hakesh, get up!"

Seeing that the little lion stretched out its two front paws, resting on the shoulders of this skinny peasant, it slapped him in the face——

Gilgamesh's heart sank a bit: he had carefully observed the way the lion ate, and knew that there were many barbs on the lion's tongue, and usually the prey would be covered with blood immediately after being rubbed by the tongue.Let alone people.

What's more terrible is that the civilian husband who was thrown down by Hakesh looks like a thin-skinned and fair-skinned man. He must have been seriously injured. Even if he recovers in the future, he doesn't know if he can still see his face.

It was his fault, it was he who brought Hakesh to the construction site and met this strange man.He has to take responsibility—Gilgamesh is already thinking about how to arrange for the healing after saving the person, and how to bear the other person's life.

Unexpectedly, the young man's laughter suddenly sounded in front of the little lion. The laughter was clear and joyful.

Gilgamesh was as dumbfounded as everyone else on the wall site.The engineers staring at the clay tablet couldn't help turning their eyes secretly.

The young man sat up from the ground, stretched out his hands, and quickly and gently scratched between the lion cub's chin and neck. After scratching, he even began to rub his ears and pull his mane.

It was he who was laughing, and he seemed to realize that the little lion was joking with him, and Hakesh's swift rush forward just now was just a consistent performance of trying to please the person he likes.

The little lion squatted down immediately, showing a cute appearance that he had never shown before Gilgamesh and the craftsmen and peasants. He even squinted his eyes halfway, as if enjoying the "scratch, rub, rub" given to it.Its two front paws lightly rest on each other's body, as if obediently hugging each other.

Gilgamesh looked closely at the thin peasant man again, and saw that although his complexion was fair and his face was soft and beautiful like a girl, his snow-white skin from face to neck was not even broken.

Gilgamesh really stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyes: -- did he really read right?

Even as the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh never experienced such a thing.No matter how arrogant and stern he is usually, he can't keep calm like before.

So, under the eyes of everyone, the king of Uruk squatted down next to a little lion and an ordinary little man, stretched out his hands and scratched the back of his head, staring at the fair and delicate young man like a girl, as if he was asking:

Come on, this is a lion, why are you...really masturbating like a cat? !