Aphrodite stood by the pond in his war robe and looked at his reflection.
Sangira exclaimed, "goddess, you are so beautiful."
Aphrodite shook his head and said, "this is not true beauty, but pretended beauty. When I led the Spartans to fight, that was true beauty."
Sangira shook her head: "that era is too far away. There are many things I really don''t understand."
"What don''t you understand?"
"Why did you give up the right to war?"
Aphrodite went under the porch. In the spring breeze, the beautiful faces almost made Ningfu lose their breath.
"The military uniform is beautiful, but the broken bodies are ugly, the war of protection is beautiful, but the war of conquest is ugly. I can''t accept too many ugly things. I can hold my lover and enjoy the sweetness of love. Why should I choose to fight with strangers in flesh and blood with weapons?"
Sangira was ordered by Hermes to invite Aphrodite to Hermes'' dinner.
Hermes''s banquet is different from others. He doesn''t like the gathering of the gods. He only entertains one guest in most cases. Today''s guest is Aphrodite.
Seeing Aphrodite put on his long lost uniform, a cold Hermes rarely showed his amazing color.
The main purpose of the banquet was to ask Aphrodite''s evaluation of the sacrifice. He was one of the few God who was willing to tell the truth to Hermes.
Aphrodite was very satisfied with the sacrifice in March. During the banquet, he was full of praise for Manda''s performance.
"I''ll find a chance to reward this little guy," Aphrodite gently shook his glass. "He made my believers a general. He poked the years I miss most. His wisdom is really similar to you."
"I''m more serious than him," Hermes shook his head. "What do you want to reward him and give him some beautiful girls?"
Aphrodite smiled, "he doesn''t lack women. I know what he needs, although it may not seem so important."
……
Manda returned to the king''s capital and was planning the sacrifice of Dionysus with Millo.
Millo kept insisting that he didn''t fall asleep in front of Manda.
He was really not interested in sacrificing such things. In addition to promotion and performance of the contract, even he rarely offered sacrifices to the God of wine. The God dependents were so willful.
Late at night, Millo couldn''t hold on any longer. Manda had no choice but to let him go back to his bedroom and plan the sacrificial activities alone.
"Choose a day, just drink and revel, and do nothing else. This is Dionysus''s favorite activity."
The familiar voice appeared in her ear. Manda nodded and knelt down to salute.
When Hermes came, Manda had long been aware of his breath, but pretended not to know.
"Well done, little fellow," Hermes praised. "The order of sacrifice is very satisfactory to the gods, and the performance of the gods is very satisfactory to me."
"I just did something under your command."
"You did your job, and you also did your extra job. You exempted some taxes in exchange for their belief in the gods. That''s good, but don''t go too far and don''t empty out your family,
Governing a country is not as easy as you think. After you become a God, I don''t want to see the decline of Romulus. This is the source of Olympia''s faith. "
Manda nodded and said, "I''m still trying to find a better way."
"Silly boy, don''t say anything. You can only stay on earth for a few months. Have you received Gaia''s Oracle recently? Has he told you about the land of the first order?"
Manda sighed, "I''m thinking of preparing a sacrifice for the Earth Goddess."
This is a truth. Manda really wants to arrange a sacrifice for Gaia. As for the extended meaning of this, Hermes must understand it. It obviously means that Manda has not got the first order.
Don''t tell lies directly, it can cover up many flaws.
"It''s good to prepare a sacrifice. When you become a God, I don''t know when ordinary people can think of the Earth Goddess. Haven''t you encountered any trouble recently?"
"There''s nothing troublesome. The troublesome people met one. I met my brother."
"Pan? Where is he?" Hermes''s eyes lit up.
It''s strange that Aphrodite has been tracking Pan''s whereabouts. Why doesn''t Hermes know?
It seems that Aphrodite doesn''t want pan to get in touch with Hermes. Pan is a prisoner exiled by Hermes. If he gets in touch with the secret, he will leave something to the gods.
Manda didn''t hide anything. From Pan meeting Qin Gus in the drawing city to pan going to ice Rock City alone, Manda reported the situation to Hermes, but omitted the things related to Odysseus.
Odysseus had a way to escape the gaze of the gods. Manda didn''t mention his name, and Hermes didn''t notice it.
His greatest concern at the moment was Pan''s safety.
"You fool, you dare go alone!" Hermes pinched his chin and looked worried. If pan could see this scene, he would be moved to tears.
"Father, if I can get your permission, I would like to go to ice rock city immediately to help my brother."
"You can''t go!" Hermes shook his head again and again. "If you receive the news of pan, tell me immediately that you can''t deal with the Qin Gus who have become God."
……
After Hermes left, Manda felt a little tired. He lay in bed and was about to dream. Suddenly he heard Aphrodite''s sweet voice.
"The north of the city is a good place."
……
Millo stood in front of the temple and looked drunk at the believers of Dionysus.
Most of them are wine merchants and wine farmers. There are also some drunkards who are addicted to alcohol.
Maybe he drank too much the night before yesterday. Millo forgot all about the process of prayer and sacrifice.
After a long and awkward look at each other, Millo belched loudly and shouted to the crowd, "drink, no money!"
The priests were stunned. Under Millo''s command, they carried out all the jars of wine used for sacrifice. Everyone drank, and the sacrifice directly reached the climax.
Dionysus stared awkwardly at the mortal world and muttered, "this family member can''t have it..."
Hermes pointed to the fountain of faith behind him: "count the pearls and then speak. Devout faith is not so complicated."
……
Longson drank two cans of wine and said to Manda, "is it going to be exempted from wine tax again?"
"You guessed," Manda said happily. "Just guess. I''ll save myself writing a decree!"
"If it goes on like this, the kingdom will be over! Our Treasury will be almost empty."
"How long can the vault last?"
"Up to may, not even may."
"Wait until May!"
Longson had the courage again and asked Manda, "are you going to be a God?"
"Why do you ask this?"
"Do you want to go crazy to the end before you become a God, and then let Romulus live and die? Don''t forget, even if you leave the world, we have to continue to protect this land and the people on this land!"
Manda looked at longerson and said, "the people on this land are also guarding you. You don''t know farming and construction methods. You don''t know anything except war. You can''t even eat without the pay of civilians."
"I admit that we guard each other, but this does not mean that civilians can no longer fulfill their obligations and responsibilities."
"They have been fulfilling their obligations. When you don''t fight, they have to pay taxes. When you fight, they have to pay more taxes. They also have to send the strongest man in the family to fight with you. You can have a rest in peacetime. Why can''t you let them breathe a sigh of relief? Just one bite!"
When she said these words, Manda always smiled, but longerson was ashamed of her sharp words.
"What else can we do? Won''t we charge taxes from now on?"
"One year, just this year, let them live a relaxed year." Manda moved her shoulder and took a deep breath. "I should relax, too. Do you want to go to the conqueror castle?"
Longson tried to restrain his anger: "do you think I didn''t get much humiliation there?"
"That drinking girl, I think it''s very good. If you don''t go, I''ll have it tonight."
Longerson hesitated for a long time and said, "I''d better go with you. Protecting you is my mission."