novelraw Chapter 179
Chapter 179
The idea of embodying the topographic map came from the process of embodying the statue of the god outside the Karnak Temple that day with Erich and Senmut.
At that time, Erich realized that if she just wanted to embody a certain image, there was no need to be limited to the known things in this world——
Just like the statue of Amon she manifested, with the Pharaoh's headgear, her own facial features, Senmut's figure and clothing... It is a hybrid image located in her imagination.
In the same way, even if there is no complete topographic map that can cover the whole of Egypt and all neighboring countries in this world, she can still embody the entire picture imagined in her mind through splicing.
Of course, she didn't just lie down and imagine or recall maps of the area.
She first wants to let things like three-dimensional topographic maps exist in this world—in the past two months, she has asked many craftsmen to help them make the bird's-eye view and three-dimensional map of the Karnak Temple and the entire Thebes. The model, also in the name of preventing the invasion of the Lower Egyptian army, asked each Nome to draw or describe the distribution of nearby mountains and rivers, and then she and Urania, a strong craftsman, made it with white wax, twigs, moss, etc. A three-dimensional topographic map of the vicinity of Thebes in Upper Egypt.
Now, what Erich is showing is based on this three-dimensional map, combined with the terrain and coastline maps of Egypt, the peninsula, and the eastern Mediterranean coast in her memory, the extended topographical map.
There is no such a real map in the world, just like the real body of God Amon does not exist in the world, it is the imagination in Erich's mind.
But this does not violate the law of using spells. She is still using the law of similarity, and the similarity is still the process of the Hittite prince Karsha showing the virtual image of Miss Biola in the Temple of Amon that day. ——It’s just that the content comes from the splicing, extension and imagination of real things.
This move not only surprised the well-informed mercenary leader Gilman, but also shocked Senmut, the high priest of Tut, the god of knowledge and wisdom—and the latter was what made Erich feel a little excited direct cause.
Senmut's pale golden eyes stared at the upper and lower Egypt shown by Erich, the big river from south to north, the neat coast of the Red Sea, all kinds of neighboring countries around, and many Egyptians have never explored yet. The place.
Small and peculiar symbols flashed quickly in his golden eyes, as if he was checking which knowledge was stored in his knowledge hall in advance, and which came from Elyse herself.
Erich has been waiting for Senmut to ask a question, but in the end it was Gilman who asked first: "Master Amon, your country has always referred to the south as the upper and the north as the lower, why is it here... The north is in the upper position?"
Alicia!
Gilman did discover her blind spot: she was used to the up north and down south on the maps of later generations, but she did not expect that the Nile River is such a bottom-up river.
As soon as she stretched out her hand, the image in front of her turned 180°.
Alixi went on to remedy: "It's not a deliberate arrangement, but I just think it will be more convenient for everyone to see in this direction."
The map turned very timely, because doubts had already appeared in Senmut's eyes.
But after Ailixi explained and changed the direction, the high priest's expression turned relieved, nodded, and continued to observe the various details on the picture.
At this time, Gilman had already seen several areas he was familiar with, and the expression of surprise on his face was even greater, and there was an expression of wishing he could carry the papyrus with him and draw a little cheat sheet.
It can be seen that most of the details of this topographic map that combines reality and memory are accurate enough to shock Gilman.
He was full of annoyance, and he seemed to be convinced of Erich's extraordinaryness.Therefore, I am even more annoyed by those subordinates who did not know what to do before.
The mercenary leader stood up, bowed to Elyse and said, "My lord priest, what can I do for you."
Erich stretched out her hand and pointed to an area on the topographic map.
"Here, I want you to lead the mercenaries to explore here—"
What she was pointing at was the southernmost part of the long and narrow Red Sea east coast. After passing through a strait, it faced a piece of land facing the vast sea area in the southeast direction.
Erich knew in her heart that it was Yemen and the Gulf of Aden in the modern world.But she wasn't sure how people called it in this day and age, how much they knew about it—
But she knew very well that it was a traffic artery with extremely important geographical significance.Once the waterway there can be opened, she will be able to bypass Lower Egypt and the area controlled by Delos, and directly contact the countries on the peninsula, and even the South Asian subcontinent.
The line she drew casually on the map may be as far as thousands of kilometers away. Erich didn't know the strength and courage of these mercenaries, and she wasn't sure if they were interested in it.
But when Gilman saw the direction clearly, the mercenary leader suddenly took a breath, opened his eyes wide in disbelief, and asked in a trembling voice: "You are going to explore Punt, you want us to explore Punt?"
Alicia: ... Punt?
She thought back quickly, but she didn't remember which geography book or world travel magazine she had seen this place name in.
But Senmut was also shocked when he heard the place name reported by Gilman, and asked in surprise: "Master Gilman, what do you mean to say that the legendary ancient country of Ponte is located in Azerbaijan?" The direction that the priest of the gods pointed at?"
Gilman collected himself, nodded and said, "Yes."
He then smiled wryly and said, "I never expected that you would want us mercenaries who can add combat power to Upper Egypt to explore the distant ancient Ponte."
Alicia clapped her hands with great interest and said, "Come on, tell me, how much do you know about Punt."
Gilman collected his thoughts, and immediately told what he knew about Ponte—it was a country that was said to have existed before the Great Chaos, and had exchanges with Egypt until before the Great Turmoil.
At that time Egypt conquered and occupied most of Nubia.It is not without coveting Punt, who is across the sea from Nubia.
However, Ponte was indeed too far away from the mainland of Egypt. The Egyptians believed that military conquest was beyond their reach, so they gave up their plan to invade there.
But until now, there are still various legends circulating in the land of Egypt, most of which exaggerate the prosperity and peace of the ancient Ponte country, and all the legends express the yearning for a better life there.And such legends also passed through Egypt and spread to neighboring countries such as Hittite and Babylon.
Gilman, as the head of the mercenaries running around, is naturally no stranger to the legend of Punt from all over the world.
But in fact, he has a special feeling for Ponte Ancient Country.Because when the small city-state of his hometown was destroyed, there was also such a legend circulating in the city-state: go to Bonte, it can satisfy all your wishes.
Bonte is what the Egyptians called the ancient country of Punt.
Gilman's wish is naturally to restore the country, but after many years of mercenary career, he has become quite sober. He knows that a small city-state the size of his home country is sandwiched between major powers to survive. There is no way it will last.
But the legend about the ancient country of Ponte was deeply engraved in his heart, which made the head of the mercenary have to repeatedly consider the proposal of the priest of the god Amon on the opposite side.
"What would you like us to do if... we did arrive at Ponte?"
"I want you to act as envoys to contact the Ponte people. I hope to open up trade routes between Thebes and Ponte, open waterways, carry out regular trade, and exchange supplies with them."
Gilman did not expect that this request was actually made by Erich.
He pondered for a moment and reminded Erich: "We are a group of mercenaries..."
What he wants to remind is that his subordinates are all lawless and sharp knives used on the battlefield. Who is willing to meddle in these trivial matters of doing business with people for you?
Alixi replied very patiently: "I know."
"But you have no use in Upper Egypt. You want to leave Upper Egypt, but I will not allow it."
When she said this, the aura of pride and control in her tone slowly revealed, and Gilman instantly felt an invisible pressure: Yes, what he is facing now is a priest of a true god.These mercenaries came here for profit.
But now that they have arrived in Upper Egypt, in order to prevent them from switching to the Pharaoh of Lower Egypt, Erich will naturally find a way to control them and not let them leave Upper Egypt.
Gilman looked at Alicia's pair of dark eyes that were so deep that they seemed to have no bottom, and suddenly realized that if they were unwilling to follow Alicia's will, they might have to pay an incalculable price——
Seeing Gilman's pupils shrunk, Alicia felt horrified, knowing that he had already figured out some tricks, and immediately continued with a pleasant face: "I know you are mercenaries, and you live a life of licking blood on the blades of your knives." , the purpose is to seek money.”
"Help me establish a business route between Thebes and Ponte, and I will give you enough wealth."
"Egypt will trade spices, seeds, leather, ore, and gold with Punt. You should also know that the profits of this trade are huge. As long as you share [-]% of the profits with the business road pioneers, you are enough to obtain wealth."
"In my opinion, the difference between you is just the danger you face. From the opponent's tens of thousands of Egyptian elite troops, to unknown roads, unpredictable oceans, strange beasts of unknown origin, and unknown whereabouts." Trap... Of course, your minions can no longer bully and enslave unarmed civilians, so avoid facing their reprisals."
Erich said frankly, when Gilman recalled his mercenary career, he couldn't help sweating on his forehead, knowing that the person on the other side would definitely not be fooled.
He bowed his head in thought: As Erich said, there is no difference between mercenaries and adventurers, all they do is seeking money.
Of course, there are also some mercenaries who enjoy killing recklessly during the war, and then immerse themselves in the joy of looting after the battle——
But they will all suffer retribution without exception. As a cautious mercenary leader, Gilman has seen many, many examples of this in his many years of career.
This is also the reason why Gilman has been able to live in peace and stability until now - besides luck, he also believes that there will be gods watching this land.
He would therefore do everything in his power to restrain his men, as he had done earlier on the steps of Karnak, lest they commit irreparable crimes.
Or, deep down, Gilman also hopes to find such an ancient land: it is as warm and humane as the homeland; it has inexhaustible wealth, so that everyone will not go hungry or cold;
It has great strength, it can deter the enemy without using weapons, and save its people from the suffering of war...
At the same time, it allows people to negotiate their own affairs and manage themselves...
Its operations and decisions are transparent, and no one has ever played any conspiracy...
Thinking of this, Gilman was in a daze for a moment: Is this the ancient Puente country he imagined?Or, the city of Thebes has affected his yearning for Ponte?Didn't he actually have to leave, and had already found a place of desire?
Gilman was stunned for a long time before saluting Erich respectfully, and said, "I hope to discuss your proposal with my subordinates, and I will collect some more information about the ancient country of Ponte so that we can finally make a decision. I hope you can give us some more time."
Alicia nodded slightly: "This is what it should be."
Unexpectedly, Gilman asked: "Noble and wise priest of Amon, may I ask, why are you trying to establish a relationship with Punt?"
Gilman was a little agitated at the moment, because he suddenly asked something that a mercenary should not care about at all, nor would he want to know.
However, Erich didn't blame him for his abruptness, and replied seriously while thinking: "This is because, through trading with Punt, I got far more than what I could get by launching a war against Lower Egypt."
Erich said in her heart: Of course, this is to find another or some trading partners to replace Lower Egypt before starting a fight with Pharaoh.
Of course, this is not just for the immediate short-term interests - opening up new shipping routes and new business routes will bring benefits to the Egyptians and will benefit generations to come.
"It's because it helps me fulfill my promise to the people of Thebes ... well, to the people of Egypt as a whole."
Hearing this, even Senmut couldn't help but prick up his ears and listen carefully: How could Erich make a promise to the whole of Egypt?What is this promise?
"My promise is, to give food to the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to give clothes to the naked, and to give a boat to what is needed②."
Alixi looked solemn and solemnly responded.