Chapter 8: The round God is coming (Part 2)
As we all know, since the name of the Knights Hospitaller has the word "hospital" in it, it means that in addition to having many knights wearing armor and holding swords, it also runs its own charity hospital. The Office of the Knights Hospitaller in the Port of Marseille is no exception - in Europe in the late Middle Ages, although the church was corrupt, extortionate, and extravagant, it also shouldered a considerable part of the social welfare responsibilities.
After the Black Death spread to the Port of Marseille, in order to control the infection and spread of the plague, this charitable hospital affiliated to the Knights Hospitaller has admitted nearly a thousand patients one after another. It was managed by nuns who volunteered to sign up. They nurse and care. Several other hospitals set up by monasteries and churches are also doing the same work. But the speed of the plague's spread was obviously beyond people's expectations. It didn't take long for the hospitals to be filled with patients one after another, and the remaining patients could only die wherever they liked.
In fact, there's nothing good about being in a hospital. There's nothing you can do except let the patient die together so he won't be too lonely.
——In the face of the surging Black Death, doctors across Europe also tried their best. Some people use bloodletting, prophylaxis and other methods to extract "poison" from patients. Someone used a lancet to remove the patient's abscess and applied hot compresses. Odd prescriptions were prescribed, ranging from red deer antler powder to rare spices and gold concoctions. There are also some disgusting guys who give patients emetics and even order them to bathe in urine... The above-mentioned therapies are all kinds and strange, which makes people think a lot, but they all have one thing in common: they cannot cure the disease. !
Such nonsense diagnosis and treatment methods make people feel dizzy at first sight. Fortunately, doctors these days never take any medical responsibility, otherwise they would have been beaten to death by the patients' families long ago - Medieval Europe regarded God as the highest authority and standard. The relationship between man and God, man and man. God is the omnipotent, omniscient and supreme ruler, but mortals are born with "original sin". The only meaning of life is to worship God and prepare for the "last judgment" to ascend to heaven. So if the patient survived, it was because of the blessing of God and the blessing of angels, but if he could not survive, it was because he had sinned deeply and was called by the Lord... If not, with the medical technology that is similar to that of black African wizards these days, any doctor would have to go bankrupt. , behind bars.
In response to the Black Death, the most scientific advice from the European medical community at the time was to burn aromatic wood to purify the air and spray rose water and vinegar on the ground. However, these measures could only mask the odor of rotting corpses and have a certain sterilizing effect. , and cannot truly cure patients who have been infected with plague.
But this does not mean that we can blame medieval European doctors for taking human lives lightly - in 1348, no matter how smart these doctors were, they could not defeat the Black Death. Because they don’t have microscopes, they don’t have antibiotics, and they don’t even know that there is something called bacteria in this world!
Therefore, for those patients who have already contracted the disease, the best medicine is to pray to God and ask God to bless them to defeat the disease with their own immunity and survive tenaciously - although the chance of survival is very slim, and there is a possibility of contracting the disease again. Possibility of recurrence!
Just like a cold, even if you successfully defeated the Black Death the first time, it does not mean that you can continue to defeat the disease the second or third time...
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After a cursory inspection of the messy intensive care unit, where wails were everywhere and the rotten stench filled the air, it was like purgatory. Knight Levi, who covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, came to the small prayer room attached to the hospital - which benefited from the huge amount of money accumulated from Eastern trade. Wealth, this prayer room is richly decorated.
The sunlight coming in from the narrow window passed through the stained glass mosaic on the window, casting a colorful halo on the floor. The many angels painted on the edge of the ceiling are squinting their eyes and watching everything in the room, just like they are watching mortals from the sky.
Among these colorful spots of light, the statue of Jesus tied to the cross is particularly eye-catching. Coupled with the elegant incense that permeates this closed space, it successfully creates a sacred and solemn atmosphere.
At this moment, the patients in the hospital who had mild symptoms, could barely move, and could speak, gathered here, led by several nuns wearing headscarves, and whispered to the small shrine in the corner. pray.
“…Glorified by the Lord, inspired by the Lord, to you, Father in heaven, be all glory…Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, He I will guide your path...
It is not that we love God, but that God loves us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. This is love. Dear brothers, since God loves us so much, we should also love one another... Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come. May your way be done on earth as well as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Relieve our burdens as we relieve the burdens of others. Keep us away from temptation and deliver us from evil..."
Looking at this scene, Knight Levi couldn't help but feel filled with emotion - indeed, according to the concept of materialism, the nuns were just deceiving themselves and providing patients with spiritual anesthetics. But in fact, to be able to do this, those nuns have already taken great risks. Almost every two or three days, one of them will contract the Black Death due to frequent contact with patients, and die with ulcers all over their body. ……
"...For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever and ever. I pray, Amen..."
Seeing Knight Levi break in, the middle-aged nun who was leading the prayer quickly turned the gospel book in her hand to the last page, hurriedly ended the prayer, then turned and walked off the altar, reporting to Knight Levi with a sad face. The recent epidemic:
"...Although we have prayed to God with the utmost piety, the condition of the patients is still getting worse day by day. We have tried all the methods we can think of, but we still cannot cure this terrible plague. Yesterday Twelve more patients died of the disease, and twenty of our employees died the day before yesterday. The hired gravedigger had no time to dig the grave, so he had to find an abandoned trench, fill it with the body, and cover it with a layer of soil. However, it was dug out by wild dogs within a few days, and those damn dogs gnawed it every day. The corpse was chewed until the eyes were red, as if possessed by the devil..."
The middle-aged nun made the sign of the cross on her chest as she spoke, "...leaving aside the last month, in this month alone, five sisters have been infected with the plague, and three of them have died. And Sister Marisa from Sardinia, perhaps frightened by the situation here, actually gave up her duties and packed up some clothes and food and ran away quietly last night! Alas, may God forgive her sins... ”
"...Well, fear of death is human nature after all, and it is not a serious crime. Moreover, she has done enough things in these days." Levi scratched his hair and sighed, "...No matter what After all, you are all risking your lives to provide end-of-life care to these strangers. In contrast, many indifferent people even abandon their own sick parents and children..."
"...As a servant of God, we should have the consciousness to dedicate everything to the world, which naturally includes our lives!"
The middle-aged nun said with a compassionate look on her face, "...In fact, we are able to persist until now, thanks to your help. You prepared gauze masks for us, let us wipe our hands and faces with strong alcohol, and put them on the ground. Spray vinegar mixed with water compared to other hospitals. The situation here is pretty good. I heard that one hospital in the city has no survivors, and the nuns and doctors in another hospital have fled, leaving only a group of patients waiting to die... May God save their souls. ..." At this point, she made the sign of the cross on her chest again.
"...Well, by the way, Nanny, is there enough food here? Do you need me to transfer a batch of food?"
Feeling such a heavy atmosphere, Levi rolled his eyes uncomfortably and tried to change the topic.
"...Thank you for your concern, Sir. We have plenty of food. Because the sick can't eat much, and the dead don't need food. There are also many kind people who are willing to provide charity to the hospital, from coins to food to clothes and blankets. All..."
The middle-aged nun replied, "...Ten days ago, I went to the bakery to buy food. The boss actually gave me all the bread, biscuits and pastries in the store, because his father, mother, wife and three All the children have been infected with the disease, and he himself felt that something was not right with his body. He was afraid that he would not live for a few days, so he simply donated all the products in the store to us, which can be regarded as the last good deed in his lifetime... …
Moreover, we are not short of fresh meat right now, because the farmers in several nearby villages are almost dead now. The cows, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and dogs are all running around in the fields. As long as Armed with the crudest of weapons, even sticks and nooses, we could easily bring back a few chickens or goats to feed everyone in the hospital.
The only food we are lacking at the moment is fresh sea fish, because few people are willing to go out to sea to fish at this time... Sister Brienne, who just fell ill yesterday, wants to have another bowl of Provence-style fish before going to heaven. Tang, in order to fulfill this poor girl’s little wish, I sent Mother Teresa to have a look at the fish market on the pier in the morning, but for some reason, she hasn’t come back yet..."
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Just as the chatty middle-aged nun was talking endlessly, there was suddenly a commotion and panicked screams outside. The middle-aged nun had to stop nagging temporarily and followed Sir Levi to the courtyard outside.
Then, they found that many people were gathered in a circle, pointing and looking at a stretcher in the open space in the middle. Then they squinted and took a closer look. It turned out that there was a nun suffering from the Black Death lying on the stretcher. . I saw her red eyes, disheveled hair, and spitting out bloody phlegm from time to time. The nun's uniform had become filthy, and her face was swollen, as if it would burst at any time. Her appearance was worse than evil. Ghosts are even scarier.
"...Oh! God! It's Mother Teresa! She was fine this morning!" Seeing this, the middle-aged nun couldn't help covering her mouth and yelling.
Levi couldn't help but frown at first, then took out a handkerchief soaked in water and pinched his nose, leaned over and took a closer look, shook his head helplessly, and then silently made the sign of the cross, "... ...No, dark spots have begun to appear on her skin, and soon her whole body will turn into a terrifying black-purple color... The only thing we can do now is to pray to God for her, may God bless her! ! ”
After hearing this, all the nuns in the hospital sobbed softly, and Knight Levi felt extremely heavy.
——Another familiar person is about to die, and I don’t know how long I can live...
In this nightmare world that is as precarious as a biological crisis, how can mere mortals survive?
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In the dead of night, although his beloved wife beside the bed was already asleep, Knight Levi was in a state of confusion, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Frowning and listening attentively, in the deep night, from time to time, the howls of wild wolves could be heard, as well as the faint wails and cries, like ghosts weeping.
Finally, Knight Levi sat up from the bed and stared out the window at the dark night, as if he saw death coming like a black tide!
Will your family be devoured by the plague? Will this manor become a lair for the undead? What should we do next?
He didn't know the answer, or even how to find it. I just felt like I was overwhelmed by boundless fear.
"...I didn't know in the past how desperate it was to watch the familiar world slowly being destroyed - but now I understand it!"
Knight Levi first looked at the fields and forests shrouded in night, then raised his head, looked at the moon hanging in the sky, and lamented miserably in Chinese that almost no one in France could understand at this time. .
Then, he got out of bed, put on a robe carelessly with his wooden shoes on, casually carried the candlestick on the bedside table that stayed on all night, opened a small door on the bedroom wall, and walked into the private room attached to the bedroom. Prayer room.
The pale and cold moonlight shines into the room through the narrow window, illuminating the portrait of the crucified Jesus in the shrine, forming a spot of light on the ground. The other parts of the prayer room were still shrouded in a thick, substantial darkness.
As a traveler from the harmonious era of socialist countries, Levi's belief in religion and gods was originally very weak, even to the point of being almost zero. Even his years in the Middle Ages had not made him any more pious.
Even though he wore the signboard of the Knights Hospitaller, a military monastic order, he had never actually prayed for the blessing of that imaginary God.
However, as the Black Death epidemic broke out and worsened rapidly, people around him died of the disease one after another, and the atmosphere of panic gradually intensified. Even the most determined atheists could not help but feel the emptiness and helplessness in their hearts, and even I can't help but want to place my hope in a miracle.
Under the pale moonlight, he bent down and placed the cup-shaped candlestick in front of the shrine, letting the candlelight and moonlight illuminate the face of Christ Jesus.
Then, Levi hesitated for a while, and finally clasped his hands together and knelt down in front of the shrine.
"...God! I have never sincerely believed in you in the past, and I still don't believe in your existence today. Maybe in your eyes, I am guilty. However, in this plague age of darkness and death, , please show mercy to the world and show your spirit!”
Levi murmured to himself and closed his eyes, recalling the tragic scenes he had seen these days, and even couldn't help but burst into tears, "...Oh, even though I have known for a long time that things like gods There is no way to count on it, but why can’t you help but pray?”
However, at this moment, he suddenly heard a chuckle in front of him, and then a sharp bright light came towards him!
Oh my God! Could it be that God really showed up? !
No, this light... seems to be... a flashlight? ! ! !
But how is this possible? Don’t forget it’s still 1348! ! !
"...It's really strange! Doraemon, why does this uncle kneel down when he sees us?"
"...There's nothing surprising! When we went on adventures in the Stone Age, didn't those primitive people treat us like this?"
Accompanied by the light of flashlights and unfamiliar accents, a group of people suddenly emerged quietly from the dark corner of the prayer room, laughing and joking.
The frightened Knight Levi quickly stood up, grabbed a dagger on the table, and squinted at the uninvited guests.
The next moment, his mind went blank, and his dagger fell to the ground with a clang.
What did he see? ! !
A spherical blue head, round blue arms, white spherical palms, white flat feet... a big white face, a white belly, a white abdominal bag, closed eyes, six cat whiskers, and finally Plus a bubbling round red nose!
Eh eh eh? This, this, isn't this a chubby robot cat, or Doraemon?
After a while, Comrade Levi raised his head with twitching lips, and then saw the other four members of the Doraemon team - Nobita Nobita, Minamoto Shizuka, Kogawa Koo, and Fat Tiger, or just... Tian Wu's figure...well, as for Wang Qiu and Ma Tong standing behind, as well as the **** royal sisters Marikawa Shizuka and Minami Rika, they were ignored by him gorgeously: because the Doraemon Five The group has completely attracted Levi's attention!
As a result, Levi's originally unclear mind suddenly became more confused and confused.
Amid the surprised eyes of everyone, he stumbled around and ran to the door of the prayer room. He yelled at his wife at the top of his lungs, "...Wife, this is terrible! Come and see God! Ahem, no, It’s Doraemon! ”
"...What God? Well, it looks round..."
Next, a pregnant woman with a big belly came to the door of the prayer room, half awake and half asleep, rubbing her eyes and muttering in Mandarin.
Hearing such an offbeat comment, others may not have reacted yet, but Ma Tong couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Wang Qiu was slightly startled at first, and then looked at the pregnant woman's protruding belly with an "understood" expression.
Then, he coughed dryly, smiled politely, and reached out to greet the shocked Levi. "...Ahem, hello, are you Mr. Levi? Nice to meet you! We came from another world to help you..."