Chapter 35: The end of Rome
It has to be admitted that the spiritual quality of most ordinary people in medieval Europe was actually quite tough by the standards of modern society.
The citizens of Avignon, who were mobilized by the church to clean up and burn the Port of Naples, which was currently full of corpses, deserted, and smelly and stuffy, did not express much shock or surprise. On the other hand, there were many people kneeling in fear and fear beside the [Shuimen Door], looking like they had brain cramps and mental breakdown, and worshiped incoherently - probably because the scene in the former was miserable and terrifying, but at least it was still in the eyes of medieval Europeans like them. Within the scope of his understanding: villages and towns that were massacred during the war, and mansions that were destroyed by their enemies, would probably have similar situations. Even in medieval European cities with "normal" security, most of them were similar to the black areas of Detroit in the 21st century. Murder cases and collective riots occurred every three days. Most of the simplest citizens had seen victims being raped. A tragic scene of disembowelment.
The reason why they were afraid of the corpses of plague victims before was because they were worried that they would be infected with the disease after coming into contact with the corpses, and thus die like those unlucky ghosts. Now that they are protected by angels and protected from diseases, what else do they have to fear?
In comparison, the [Random Door], which can cross thousands of miles in an instant, is already a "miracle" that is completely beyond the understanding of medieval European civilians - fortunately, an "angel" has come once before, allowing them to The country bumpkins have opened their minds like never before, and are somewhat adaptable to all kinds of incredible anomalies. Otherwise, someone would probably be stimulated to the point of being mentally disturbed by now.
The mobilization ability of the church in this era is truly amazing. Following the order from Pope Clement VI, those priests who had not yet died from the plague immediately began to split up, convey the information to each other, and share the responsibility... In just one day, in Avignon, the city that had already In a city with ten houses and nine empty houses, 3,000 volunteers were mobilized who were willing to go to Italy to collect the bodies. Then, seeing that this number of people was not enough, the Holy See sent priests with the Pope's decree to walk through the streets and alleys of the nearby countryside in search of survivors. In the end, a team of four thousand people was gathered!
Seeing such a scene of unity and cooperation, Wang Qiu and other modern Easterners with weak religious concepts vaguely understood what the so-called "theocratic supremacy" in medieval Europe meant - just like in the twentieth century Just like the party organizations in the 1950s and 1960s, Christianity has completely penetrated into every corner of social life in medieval Europe and dominated the thoughts and behaviors of everyone in medieval Europe. God is the starting point of all thinking and behavior. As the representative of God in the world, the authority of the Pope can also be imagined. Everyone's family, career, and public life are all subject to the constraints of the church, and people have long been accustomed to accepting such constraints and take them for granted. Although this suffocating control had been loosened somewhat in the early years of the Renaissance due to various corruption scandals in the church, its final collapse was still far away.
Moreover, another characteristic of medieval Europe was a hierarchical society. Everyone was divided into different grades based on their origin or occupation. They were all subordinate to a clear superior member and should obey orders and leadership, without freedom in the true sense. Strict laws stipulate the rights and obligations of each class, and the gap between different classes is almost insurmountable, even in the ravages of war and plague.
——The clear and strict hierarchical system, the fanatical atmosphere of national participation, and the pervasive ideological control... At first glance, this is simply a wonderful mobilization system set up for general war. It is a pity that above this mobilization system, there is not a general staff composed of professional officers, but a group of magicians who make a living by deceiving people with their words. What they plan every day is not to invade enemy countries or to launch a full-scale resistance war, but to organize various religious processions, long-distance pilgrimages and collective prayers, plus some public welfare activities at most. As for the kind of crusade with the participation of all the people, it is already It happened in the last century... Well, it seems quite harmonious like this, doesn't it? At least it's better than just killing and killing all day long.
In short, with the enthusiastic efforts of this volunteer labor team, in less than a week, the city of Naples, which was full of rotting corpses, was initially cleaned up, and all kinds of gold and silver utensils, woolen blankets, and natural gemstones were , as well as valuable things such as antiques, were also searched out by tireless volunteers from all corners of the city, and were delivered to Doraemon and others like water, and were thrown into the [automatic pawn machine].
Unfortunately, the productivity level of ancient agricultural society cannot be compared with modern industrialized society, and many of the most valuable gold and silver items were taken away by fleeing people. There are many equally valuable horses that have also been scattered into the wild, or starved to death in stables...
Therefore, after all this trouble, even though these volunteers with no salary, no vacation, no labor insurance, and no human rights have worked very hard, Comrade Doraemon finally only received 300 million yen in revenue, which made He complained all day long that this little money was not even enough to put his teeth between his teeth.
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On the other hand, after several days of searching, Queen Joanna, the Holy See of Avignon and Paladin Levi's men finally found about a few hundred people who were lucky enough to survive in several remote villages and small towns. of the Kingdom of Naples. In addition, a prominent lord and noble was found in a castle full of dead people. But at this moment, his entire family was dead and he was sitting alone on the tower like a walking corpse.
This guy was one of the top traitors who colluded with the Hungarian army to expel the Queen during last year's coup. But now, Her Majesty Queen Joanna, who has been disheartened by the kingdom of the undead at her feet, does not even have the anger to get angry and execute this traitor - the familiar face she once knew seems to have disappeared at this moment. They are all summoned by the Lord. It is rare that an old acquaintance is left, so let’s spare him this time!
However, even if Queen Joanna pardoned his crime of rebellion, this once prominent and ambitious noble had no intention of loving the world - his castle had become a tomb, and all his relatives, subjects and friends were dead. , there are not even a few people he knows in this world. Even he himself was seriously ill. He finally survived, but his body was covered with scars and his face was completely ruined... I'm afraid he won't live for a few years. .
As a result, this guy saw through the world, became disheartened, and became enlightened. After watching everyone burying the bodies of his relatives and ministers, he donated all the gold, silver and jewels hidden in the family to the "angels" to atone for his sins, and then simply went to Ah Vignon went to a monastery and became a monk.
Faced with such a bleak end for her old political enemy, Queen Joanna was so sad that she even lost interest in the cause of national restoration.
——As we all know, any country throughout the ages is ultimately made up of humans rather than land. In the long history of mankind, some nations once lost the homeland they worked so hard for, but as long as they found a new place to settle after being displaced, they could rebuild their country again. But if a kingdom loses its subjects, no matter how fertile the land it possesses, it is meaningless.
This is the so-called principle of "losing land and losing people, both people and land are lost; saving people and losing land, everyone is gaining" - so, in the silence that makes observers feel panic and palpitations, the once-dominated southern Italy The Kingdom of Naples was actually on the verge of destruction.
Although the murderer who subverts this country is not any foreign enemy or rebel, but the more elusive and irresistible God of Death... But in terms of the result, for the Queen, it is more dangerous than any foreign enemy invasion or The rebellion of the subjects will be even more desperate.
——It may be possible to regain the subjects and territories lost to the enemy through war and diplomacy. But where should one go to recover the soul that has been cut away by death with a scythe? Even angels don't seem to have the ability to bring the dead back to life?
In the same way, the time-travelers failed to get even a single reward point from the main god system after all their efforts in the city of Naples.
——Even the most basic human beings are almost dead. Is there any history that can be changed in this place?
Next, all the travelers who still have some integrity and sense of responsibility originally planned to send Buddha to the West and continue to linger in the Kingdom of Naples for a while, so as to gather some surviving subjects for Her Majesty Queen Joanna, who is determined to restore the country, and establish a A safe settlement or refuge would be best served by the provisional regime of the Kingdom of Naples. She should not be allowed to wander alone like a beggar in her own land.
But Pope Clement VI and members of the Avignon Holy See were greatly stimulated after witnessing the tragic destruction of the Kingdom of Naples. They were afraid that the city of Rome had also suffered such a fate, and they were anxious to go there. Find out what's going on in the Eternal City, if there's still hope If so, it would be best to use the power of angels and seize the time to rescue them. In short, nothing can turn the Papal Kingdom into a country of the dead... Therefore, they insist on not wasting time in the Kingdom of Naples and can't wait to rush to the next second. The Papal State centered on Rome.
In addition, Queen Joanna herself was unsatisfied and was so disheartened by the tragic situation of the country that she actually felt that it didn't matter whether the kingdom with only the dead recovered or not. Perhaps she could continue to stay in Provence and receive the blessings of the angels nearby. and protection, until the plague is completely over It’s not bad to take a rest... So, after roughly searching for the remaining belongings in the city, and finding the few survivors of the Kingdom of Naples in the nearby countryside, and rescuing Avignon City through the [Random Door], Queen Joanna’s return The trip to the country came to an abrupt end.
Before leaving, everyone also set a fire in this silent city of death, so that the corpses that had no time to dig holes and bury them would be reduced to ashes along with this abandoned city. It was supposed to be sterilization and disinfection - like this Living in a settlement that was completely contaminated by Yersinia pestis would be a suicide for ordinary people without resistance. It would be easier and more convenient to rebuild a new city after burning it down - and then left with a sigh from the [Random Door].
Then, after returning to the city of Avignon in France to rest for a while, Doraemon once again opened the [Random Door] that changed the destination, and embarked on a journey to Rome with everyone in the Holy See filled with anxiety... … Until he stepped into the [Random Door], the Pope was still making the sign of the cross and muttering to himself, praying to God to forgive the corruption of the Holy See, and at least not to let the eternal city of Rome be swallowed up by the plague.
However, Pope Clement VI’s extravagant prayer may be doomed to fail.
——In this terrible plague that seemed to be raging like a prairie fire, the Italian peninsula, which was once densely populated, had completely fallen from south to north in just half a year. Almost all cities and villages were transformed into A land of death filled with bones.
Obviously, in this kind of indiscriminate and unprecedented catastrophe, the so-called "Eternal City" Rome will naturally not escape the disaster...
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In the middle of the Italian peninsula, the "Eternal City" Rome
Since Rome is strictly an inland city, its main urban area is not close to the sea, and it has not had direct contact with the Genoese "death fleet" that brought the plague bacteria from the Crimean Peninsula. touch. Therefore, during this ferocious plague, at least as far as the Italian peninsula was concerned, the city of Rome was considered a place where the Black Death broke out relatively late.
However, in terms of the miserable scene everyone saw after entering the city of Rome, it was still shocking at every turn - when Wang Qiu opened the [Free Door] and walked up to the most sacred St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in this era (renovated When I was in the square in front of the St. Peter's Basilica, I was suddenly shocked to find that in front of me, around me, around me, the entire huge square was actually filled with patients lying side by side, all with black spots all over their bodies. , pus discharges and smells. A considerable number of people are already dead, and the remaining living people are half-dead and gasping, but there are no nursing staff to take care of them. Even the most basic food is not provided, so that these hungry and thirsty patients can only Lying next to the dead man in despair, moaning slightly with cracked lips, surrounded by large pools of vomit, and mosquitoes and flies buzzing around, the smell was really unpleasant. In addition, every room in the church was littered with rotting corpses, emitting a strong stench, but no one went to bury or burn them.
Even when I occasionally meet a few seemingly normal citizens, their eyes are dull and their reactions are slow. They just walk around stupidly and don't respond no matter how you call them, as if they are mentally retarded or demented. Moreover, he would often suddenly vomit blood and fall down while walking, and would never get up again.
Of course, compared with the eerie silence in Naples, being able to see so many "very lively" living people in Rome is already a big improvement worth celebrating. But the problem is that in many cases, having more living people in a certain city may not necessarily be a good thing, especially when all morality, order and law have collapsed... - After passing through the [Random Gate] 】After arriving at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the "angels" had not had time to perform their duties. While using the therapy to save the patient, I noticed the billowing smoke rising from the streets not far away, and heard all kinds of hysterical roars and screams... If you open your eyes and look carefully, you can still see a lot of crazy people. The guy is using swords and torches to destroy this holy city that belongs to God!