Chapter 208 According to destiny, everyone is destined to die
Tripoli is both a large city and a seaport. The registered residents alone start at 25,000.
In and around the city, there are at least four thousand looms spinning cotton, silk and velvet.
The developed sugarcane cultivation allows honey to be produced here.
The production of a large number of luxury goods gave this place huge wealth and also supported Tripoli's military power, allowing Raymond to achieve almost the maximum power in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The powerful army, towering power and endless wealth are constantly nourishing Raymond's ambition and pushing him to seek further development.
Of course, those dreams he had were shattered in one fell swoop.
The faint glow of golden candlesticks illuminated the richly decorated furniture and the luxurious rugs on the floor.
Thick satin curtains hang from the wall to block direct sunlight.
On the wall hung the coat of arms of the Toulouse-Tripoli family, a coat of arms with a gold cross on a red background.
Today, Raymond III, the last descendant of this family, is lying on a gorgeous bed.
He looked haggard and in a daze. He was the most dilapidated person in this luxurious palace.
As the door of the palace was pushed open by the waiter, a young man approached him under the guidance of the envoy.
When Raymond saw the young man's face clearly, his expression changed for a moment.
"Why are you a Frank!"
As soon as these words came out, Gareth's expression did not change. He could actually understand Raymond's thoughts.
These days, even the Frankish nobles actually look down on Frankish doctors.
In "Overseas History", Bishop William of Tire expressed his dissatisfaction with the aristocratic group's preference for Jewish and Muslim doctors.
But no matter how dissatisfied he is, he can't change Dr. Frank's reputation, which is indeed a bit "notorious".
Of course, since Garris was here anyway, he had no choice but to ask Garris to help with the diagnosis.
Garris's questions were actually quite old-fashioned. He asked about Raymond's symptoms and then frowned.
With Raymond's consent, Garris conducted a more detailed physical examination.
First, Garris took a deep breath, focused on his hearing, laid his head on Raymond's chest, and listened to Raymond's voice attentively.
It was a little rustling sound similar to papers scraping against each other, or shoes scraping against dry ground.
Based on these symptoms, Galli basically concluded that Raymond should have pleurisy.
But if it was just pleurisy, it shouldn't have left Raymond so haggard.
Then, there is another possibility that Raymond's pleurisy was actually caused by other more serious diseases.
For example, lung infection or tumor.
But no matter what the more serious disease is, there is no cure for Guerris at the moment.
Even pleurisy needs to be treated with antibiotics or some antiviral drugs.
In short, the current Count Raymond III of Tripoli is extremely ill and cannot be cured.
After Garris completed this series of inspections, he stood aside. He didn't say much, just looked at Raymond in silence.
He had met Raymond when he was still working as a servant in the palace in Jerusalem, but now the Earl of Tripoli could not recognize him as the little attendant he was then.
At that time, Raymond was thin, short, dark-skinned, with medium-colored straight hair and sharp eyes.
Raymond at that time behaved in a reserved manner. His thinking is orderly and cautious, but his actions are powerful.
However, in the eyes of Garris, Raymond today is no different than a rotten tree.
Death is just, no matter the amount of wealth or power, when death comes, everyone will be treated equally.
[It is destined that everyone must die once, and after that there will be judgment. 】
——"Hebrews" 9:27
"Can I still be saved?"
Raymond asked, and the desire for life in his words was no different from that of the young man with appendicitis.
It's just that the boy who had appendicitis at that time sank into the river of the dead, but it wasn't actually very deep. Garris could still stretch out his hand and pull him out.
By the time Raymond arrived, this nobleman and lord was already Gary himself, and he couldn't be dragged ashore no matter what.
But Garris still chose to lie, and he softly uttered a word.
"Help."
The look in Raymond's eyes radiated an extremely dazzling light at this moment. Just these two words brought him indescribable vitality.
"What to do?"
"You can try hot compresses. Apply a hot water bottle or warm towel to your chest. This will improve blood circulation and make you feel comfortable and relaxed."
"It's also a good idea to drink some warm herbal tea, such as peppermint or ginger tea, which can provide analgesic effects. Also, drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated, which can help eliminate phlegm and relieve coughing."
Garris talked about various treatment techniques, and Raymond listened attentively.
Do these techniques help?
Of course there is, but treating the symptoms rather than the root cause only makes Raymond feel better in a short period of time.
In fact, Garris rearranged the bedroom and adjusted the air circulation.
Together with a few cups of herbal tea, he helped Raymond adjust his lying position, and then applied hot towels to the front and back of his chest.
Raymond's face turned rosy almost immediately.
"What do you want to get?"
"To practice medicine, to practice medicine in Tripoli, it is best to have a house where I can treat patients."
"How noble."
"This is all I ask for, save people, save more people."
After listening to Garris's answer, Raymond gave instructions to the attendant on the side, indicating that he would take Garris to choose a house in the city for Garris to use.
When Gehris was led out of the castle, a group of knights carrying the standard of the King of Jerusalem stood outside the castle.
After some of them saw Garris's face, a few of them with sharp eyes showed surprise.
But Joss grabbed the colleagues next to him with a hint of his eyes, signaling them to be silent.
As a result, Garris passed them by.
……
Tripoli and Bertram are actually very similar in terms of religious structure.
The Catholic population is relatively small, but it is the center of the land.
Orthodox Christians may be more numerous, but they do not occupy the mainstream of society.
As for the Muslims, they live in the countryside outside the city and live a life that seems to be "separate from the world."
Of course this is impossible. After all, those Muslims have to pay high taxes to maintain the autonomy of their communities.
Botrun is not far from Tripoli, only a few dozen miles away. Relying on the reputation gained by gatherings among Orthodox believers in Botrun, Garis naturally integrated into the "lower-level gatherings" in this city. .
From a structural point of view, the church has four levels: synod, bishops, priests and laity.
A synod is like the Holy Synod of Cyprus, and then includes specific bishops, extending down to the priests in charge of the church, and ordinary believers.
Due to the special circumstances of the County of Tripoli, there are no bishops and bishops' councils here. Even priests need to move underground and cannot be too obvious in society.
Due to the scarcity of Orthodox priests, the Orthodox Christians here can only organize themselves.
When Garris joined them, he injected new vitality into these small, numerous, scattered and dying "low-level gatherings".
"Nothing in the world is fatal, nothing is unforgivable, completely irredeemable, everything can be renewed, and the destiny of the world is to realize the utopia of the Kingdom of God"
“The only thing we pray to God for is not to remove the dangerous waves, but to free us from the fear of them.”
In this mansion given by the Earl of Tripoli, Garris once again returned to his old business.
Not just treating illnesses, but also preaching.
His activities in Tripoli were almost a carbon copy of Bertram's, and if anything, he was even more explicit.
Raymond doesn't have long to live, and time is starting to become urgent.
On more than one occasion, he even took the initiative to perform miracles to the Orthodox Christians in this city.
"Heaven will become all in all, the love of the Lord will turn into radiance and dispel the shadow of death, the ultimate day has arrived, and eternal life will quietly begin in this world."
"The shackles of fate are no longer bound, the cup of death has turned into the fountain of life,"
"Death will no longer be an obstacle, and the storms of history cannot extinguish the eternal flame of life. Like dead trees, dead bones will surely revive and regenerate.
"As the Lord Jesus said in his prayer: My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. However, not my will, but yours."
In Geirius's theology, "this cup" symbolizes not only the personal pain and sacrifice of Jesus, but also the collective suffering of the poor and oppressed.
Jesus, as the recipient of suffering, represents his identification and empathy with all oppressed people.
His prayers demonstrate his deep understanding of human suffering and his choice to take on this suffering and stand in solidarity with those on the margins of society.
Jesus' final acceptance of the "cup" symbolizes his absolute obedience to God's righteous mission, not flinching even in the face of personal pain.
Jesus’ obedience was not only obedience to God, but also obedience to his mission.
This kind of obedience is not passive endurance, but the active pursuit of social change and liberation. Jesus’ choice not to shy away from suffering symbolizes his mission to fight oppression and promote social justice.
It can be said that the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane conveys the hope that even in the midst of despair and suffering, God’s plan can still bring about the possibility of redemption and liberation.
Jesus ultimately accepted the "cup" and brought salvation through the cross, meaning that the poor and oppressed could see the hope of liberation from their suffering.
It means that God’s will is to overthrow oppression and bring peace and justice.
"His death brought an end to suffering and death."
"Through his dedication, our sins can be washed away, and the barrier between man and God is broken, giving people the ability to break free from the shackles of sin and welcome new life."
"But you don't know this, so much so that I need to come back to this world to explain all this to you again." Nowadays, the marginalized people in Tripoli are right in front of Gairis.
These Greeks, whose ancestors were citizens of Rome, now can only maintain their self-identity according to the inertia brought by religion.
They are translucent people in Tripoli society, the poor in this city, and they seem to have been abandoned by the Lord.
But fortunately, Garris came and brought with him his authority to control life.
When Gareth finished this simple sermon.
Someone pushed open the door and broke in.
"Doctor! Save Peter! Save him!"
……
In a dimly lit room, Gehlis moved the candlelight close to the patient's face and examined his skin in detail.
This patient, the young craftsman Peter, had just been rushed in by his family. He had a high fever in his forehead, weakness in his limbs, throat inflammation, and a stinging cough.
Garris frowned and gently touched the red spot on Peter's forehead with his finger.
These spots have just begun to expand, the skin becomes hard and swollen, and hillocks gradually bulge, revealing a light yellow liquid, close to the shape of a blister.
Garris took a deep breath and fell into a rather confused state.
He was a little scared and panicked.
This was the first time in two years that he had been frightened.
The diagnostic knowledge about this disease does not come from past life learning. In fact, this disease is not even recorded in the "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook".
The symptoms are similar to chickenpox.
However, the rashes of similar diseases such as chickenpox often develop asynchronously and are mainly concentrated on the chest and back rather than the face and limbs.
Thinking of the information learned from the exchange with Dr. Abdullah.
Garris lowered his head again and looked at the rash on Peter's palms and soles. Sure enough, there were dense red spots there too. This distribution was obviously different from chickenpox.
Garris was trembling all over, couldn't help swallowing, and turned his head to look at Peter's family.
No one in Peter's family had developed a similar rash yet, but his mother's face was obviously not looking good.
"Madam, have you felt uncomfortable today?"
Gareth received a positive answer.
At this moment, Gareth's hands and feet felt as cold as falling into an ice cellar.
The color of the world was stripped away in this moment, and he seemed to be living in a silent movie world.
After all, the jar that sealed the Apocalypse Knight would be opened from time to time, and arrows shot out from it, falling into the world.
[When the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals, he heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder: ‘Come! ’ Then I looked and saw a white horse, and he was sitting on it with a bow and a crown. Win and win again. 】
——"Revelation" 6:1-2
A ray of light shone into the consulting room, making Peter's pale face look even weaker. In Garris's eyes, this young man and their family had been shot by the arrows of the knight on the white horse.
"I have to tell you, this is smallpox."
When Gareth said the Greek word for smallpox (ευλογί), it wasn't just the color that was taken out of his eyes.
Everyone on the side fell into a look of panic, especially those who had been in close contact with Peter.
Many of them looked at Peter's mother, and they realized why Gareth went back to ask Peter's mother if she was feeling unwell.
"Russell, remember to watch the door and don't let anyone leave this room."
"Others, don't panic. With me here, everything will be solved."
No matter how nervous Garris was inside, he still showed a detached calmness. It was this calmness that brought confidence to the people in the room.
When Garris left the ward, he looked at the sun in the sky. The sun emitted white light and stared at the earth indifferently.
The thing that rides on the white horse, high in the sky, with four hooves clattering, looks down on the earth and despises all things.
For Gareth, his battle has begun, this time not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
"Smallpox! I will make sure you never come back."
The streets outside the house are still noisy and busy with traffic. Tripoli, a large city in the Eastern Mediterranean, does not know that the threat of smallpox has enveloped the entire city. A little carelessness may lead to an uncontrollable plague.
The earliest records of smallpox date back to 1000 BC, appearing in ancient civilizations in Egypt and India. Archaeologists have discovered smallpox-like lesions on Egyptian mummies.
During this era, at least hundreds of thousands of people died from smallpox in Europe every year.
This demon named smallpox is the sharpest sickle in the hand of death, waving it wantonly towards the earth and harvesting human lives.
Although the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" does not record the symptoms and treatment methods of smallpox in detail.
However, smallpox is still included in the list of Class A infectious diseases, along with cholera and plague at the same level.
According to the regulations for Category A infectious diseases in the manual, the reporting time limit should be as soon as possible from the date of discovery, and it cannot exceed one day.
But in this day and age, who could he report to?
To Raymond, Count of Tripoli?
Just kidding, does Raymond have any means of preventing and treating smallpox?
Smallpox is a disease that is both cutaneous and respiratory. Its shortest and longest incubation period ranges from about 5 to 16 days.
Follow the treatment of infectious diseases in The Barefoot Doctor's Handbook.
The first thing that needs to be done is to isolate the patient, pay attention to ventilation, and disinfect the patient's living environment. At the same time, large-scale vaccination is also needed.
To complete this series of operations, the epidemic prevention personnel need a high degree of obedience, a careful and bold character, and the confidence to face smallpox patients without fear.
This was impossible for the soldiers under the Count of Tripo to accomplish.
Therefore, Garris actually wrote a letter immediately.
He now needed aid from Cyprus and Tire.
In any case, Cyprus and Tyre had to send a large number of soldiers vaccinated with cowpox to Tripoli.
Of course, the purpose of sending the letter was not just to ask Tire and Cyprus to send people to support them. It was also a warning.
The other two places must be prepared to face the impact of the epidemic.
However, although it felt like he couldn't count on Raymond, given the current situation, Garris felt that he still had to talk to Raymond. It would actually be better if he could get Raymond's support.
The overall outline of the city of Tripoli is similar to that of Tire, surrounded by the ocean on three sides, with only a narrow land channel leading inland.
But unlike Tyre, Tripoli has more residents and a more prosperous secondary industry, and the peninsula alone can no longer meet the needs of the city.
As a result, many craftsmen's workshops were located outside the city and continued to expand into the surrounding countryside.
The destination of Gairis's trip, Raymond Saint-Giles Castle, is located on Pilgrim's Hill about 2.8 kilometers outside Tripoli.
The name comes from Raymond "The One-Eyed", the first Earl of Tripoli and great-great-grandfather of today's Raymond III.
He was one of the most outstanding generals in the First Crusade. Since 1094, he had served as Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence.
When the Crusaders passed through Constantinople, many leaders were tempted by Alexios' power and swore allegiance to become his vassals. Only Raymond the "One-Eyed" firmly refused and promised not to invade Alexios. Sri Lanka’s territory.
Now, when Garris came to this castle again, he couldn't help but recall what Balian once said.
"Gaillis, do you know why Raymond the One-Eyed never swore allegiance to Alexios but still received strong support from the Eastern Roman Empire?"
At that time, Balian was standing on the city wall, looking towards the north, and asked Garris.
"Is it because the other three Crusader countries have betrayed their oaths?"
"Yes, they broke their promise. They once claimed that the purpose of the Crusades was only to drive out the heretics, and vowed to return the lands of the former Roman Empire to Rome. However, they were eventually swallowed up by greed."
"The nobles who had sworn an oath broke their vassal oath, and even the Prince of Antioch did not hesitate to invade the Eastern Roman Empire."
"Finally, in order to contain Antiochus, Raymond, who initially rejected Alexios, instead established the County of Tripoli with the support of the Eastern Roman Empire."
"Balian, you want to tell me that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and false oaths are far less important than actual benefits, right?" Although Garris understands this truth, since Balian is willing to share, he does not want to interrupt his thoughts.
"More or less, Gareth, don't be fooled by any promises. To nobles, these oaths mean nothing. Even if they swear them in the name of their heavenly father, their parents, or anything else, they must not Gullible.”
When Garris entered the castle again under the guidance of a waiter, he met with Raymond and then told him about the smallpox.
"Doctor, are you sure it's smallpox?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
There was silence in the dormitory, which was difficult for Raymond to accept for a while.
This was like the Lord's punishment to him. As soon as he had hope of being cured of his disease, a more violent danger came to his back.
He was a little unbelievable and unwilling to face this reality.
"Doctor, please live in the castle. I will order the food collection. When the food collection is completed, we can stay in the castle for half a year. After half a year, this plague will be over."
"What about the people in the city?"
Raymond was speechless.
"All I ask is to save people and save more people."
"How noble."
Raymond sighed, and then said: "You can go to the city with my order and let the people there cooperate with you."
"What about you? What are you going to do?"
There was another long silence.
And this silence was Raymond's response.
At least, he never made a false oath.
When Garris left Raymond Saint-Giles Castle, he looked back and saw the iron gate of the castle hastily closed.
Raymond III, Count of Tripoli, abandoned his subjects.
(End of chapter)