Chapter 48, Angel (God of Plague) Home Delivery (Part 2)
I have to admit that when it comes to doing business in medieval Europe, ten time-travelers are no match for one Venetian merchant.
In the past few days, Doraemon and the others had confided some extravagant wealth. Most of it was the estates of dead people, but they had already caused so many complaints that even their status as "angels" could hardly suppress them. It forced them to lower their faces and play live barbecue.
After the Venetians acted as agents, the prices they offered immediately became higher and higher. The city that suffered from the plague could no longer just spend a little money to solve the problem, but had to meet the needs of the "angels". , and further signed a series of series of losing rights and humiliating the country with the Republic of Venice. The unequal treaties - at the least, they have to hand over a bunch of concessions, open ports and cede land; at the worst, they have to hand over all power, and the entire country obediently surrenders, and from then on becomes a client of Venice, and in politics , military, and economic aspects accept all-round control of Venice.
But even with such extremely harsh conditions, the vast majority of people who were blackmailed actually gritted their teeth and agreed: There was no way, the deadly plague was raging around them crazily, and rotting corpses were already piled up in the streets and alleys, watching themselves It’s almost impossible to see the sun tomorrow. In this kind of situation Under such circumstances, even if a skinny claw covered with scales stretches out from the tomb and hands over a devil's contract written on human skin with evil flames, many people will grit their teeth and sign the contract first - even their own family. His life is almost gone, what's the use of keeping this power and wealth?
What? Can it be passed on to descendants? Come on, you're so naive. In this precarious era of the Black Death, can you guarantee that after you close your eyes and kick your legs after completing the transfer of power, your entire family will not go underground to accompany you the next day? You know, the average mortality rate in many cities is an appalling 75% to 95%! ! ! How to break a deadlock like Smolensk where only five people died in the city?
As a result, taking advantage of this situation, the territory of the Republic of Venice quickly expanded from the Adriatic Sea to the west to the Alps, from the northern part of the Italian Peninsula to the center, and also dug heavily from the Kingdom of Hungary in the northeast. A big piece of meat. In addition, along the Mediterranean coast, from Spain to Asia Minor, the Venetians also acquired a large number of new vassal cities, making their maritime hegemony more stable. Finally, there were countless rulers who owed a lot of debt to Venetian merchants and had to spend their entire lives working for Venice to repay it.
Of course, there are still many die-hard rulers in power who would rather die than surrender, even if their entire family dies, rather than bow their heads, or cruel kings who regard people's lives as ants and don't care at all that they rule a kingdom of the dead. But the problem is, no matter what country you are in, there are more people who want to survive. Under the instigation and instigation of the Venetians, those who want to survive quickly began to make a concerted effort to remove stumbling blocks. action - right there During the period when the Venetians were promoting "Angel Home Delivery" everywhere, more than 80 coups, mutinies, and assassinations broke out in Western Europe and around the Mediterranean. More than a dozen crowns fell successively, and more than 400 noble families were killed and their entire families were exterminated. !
What’s even more incredible is that despite this, in public, every miracle of the “angel coming” is still extremely holy and hymn-no matter what, the Venetians successfully provoked it without getting their hands dirty. All these bloody storms and darkness are hidden in the holy Behind the hymns and carols of angels... Most people in the world only see the compassionate angels working tirelessly to bathe city after city in the most holy grace, so that the world can be saved and mankind can be reborn... As a result, I shed tears of gratitude and became more pious...
All kinds of resentments and voices of opposition were effectively nipped in the bud by conspiracy and violence, leaving the angels' ears extremely clear.
In addition, some people have tried to keep their word - for example, in Constantinople, the cunning Byzantine Emperor John VI first agreed to a series of Venetian blackmails, and then waited until the epidemic in Constantinople just Stable, suddenly turned against him: the emperor himself hid and did not come forward, and the Orthodox Patriarch in Constantine Fort incited a group of mobs, shouting "pure faith", "incompatible with heresy", "crusting against fallen angels for God"... The killers lurking among the patients also launched their attacks, attacking the "angels" who were treating the sick and saving people. They attacked and smashed the Lucky Cat statue that had just been erected. Attempts to provoke violent conflict and then use this as an excuse to default on the bill.
However, they seemed not to have considered the feelings of all the "angels" - looking at the patients who were receiving their treatment a moment ago, they took out a knife and stabbed them as soon as the black spots and abscesses on their bodies subsided. Marikawa Shizuka and other "fake" The hearts of the "angels" were suddenly deeply hurt, and they were so angry that they threw several rounds of "Dragon Slash" at random, blasting the Hagia Sophia into a piece of powder, and then another A "meteor shower" turned a small half of the city of Constantinople into a sea of fire, burning the ungrateful Greeks with howling ghosts and ragged skin and flesh. Half of the remaining subjects of the Byzantine Empire had just died from the Black Death. This At least another 30% of the staff will be reduced... Moreover, before leaving angrily, Wang Qiu cursed them, which was actually a prophecy saying:
"...In the near future, your cities will be occupied by turbaned pagans. No matter how strong the city walls are, they will not be able to protect your lives. Your beliefs will be destroyed and trampled on, and your churches will become pagans." The monastery! Your empire is dying and will be completely destroyed! Your land has been given to the pagans! No matter what happens, the Greeks will never come back here!"
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In addition, although under the threat of death and destruction, almost no one in the Western countries during the Black Death era dared to refuse the expensive "salvation" of angels. However, in some special circumstances, the "Angel Home Delivery" promotion campaign instigated by Venetians occasionally encounters rejection.
"...The Egyptian Sultan in Cairo said that the Black Death over there was over, and there was no need to spend money to hire pagan angels... Alas, it's a pity, that is a very wealthy country, and the Egyptian treasury in Cairo It is also filled with gold nuggets from Africa and gems from India..."
——Although the Black Death in the Middle Ages devoured all living beings and seemed extremely terrifying, it actually had its weakness, that is, it was intolerant to heat.
According to the conclusions drawn from modern medical research, once the ambient temperature rises to about 40 degrees Celsius, the vast majority of Yersinia pestis will basically lose its activity. Therefore, in tropical places such as India and Iran, the plague usually only attacks in autumn and winter, and will be cured without treatment until the scorching heat of midsummer. The same is naturally true for Egypt, which is located in the desert... Unfortunately, the overall latitude of Europe is relatively high. Even in the hottest midsummer season, it is rare for temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, so the outbreak of the Black Death was For several years...
"...That's it! It doesn't matter. I have a highly heat-resistant Yersinia pestis variant here. You can take it to Egypt and spread it!"
Under the deception of the Governor of Venice, Doraemon rummaged through his pocket, took out a bottle of fleas with the Black Death, and stuffed it into the hands of a certain Venetian, "...Looking for a person with more than one person in Cairo." Break open this dirty slum, and then you can start talking about business in a few days..."
Just like that, the paid version of Angel's Home Delivery suddenly turned into the free version of Plague God's Home Delivery... What a loss of moral integrity and madness!
——Hey, there is no other way. When the dawn of victory of completely paying off all debts is already far away on the horizon, Comrade Doraemon, who had already had little moral integrity left, immediately began the last round of frantic activities. Avalanche loss...
After the Black Death broke out again in Egypt, Governor Andre of Venice was even more persuasive to the envoys sent to Egypt:
"...You must tell the Sultan of Egypt that because they are pagans, the angels' fees will be doubled. This price is non-negotiable. If he is not willing to take all the money, the concession rights to the entire territory of Egypt, and the port concession, If they come out, then all of them will die!”
In addition, the religious orders, believers and monastic organizations in the Holy Land of Jerusalem are also extremely indignant at the abuse of God's gifts by these black-hearted "angels" and the use of insidious Venetians for personal gain. These guys who claimed to be living next to God gathered together for a meeting and concocted a eloquent statement, drafting about a hundred charges against the travelers, the Venetian authorities and the Holy See who acquiesced in all this. The writing is as sharp as a knife and every word is as precise as a sword. It moved Doraemon and other time-travelers to tears and anger. I was so excited that I immediately sent a lot of concentrated liquid of the virulent plague germs to Jerusalem, so that these upright priests, hermits and devout believers could leave the dirty world as soon as possible, be called by the Lord, and go to heaven to see the omniscient One. God, report the wrongdoings of these fallen "angels" face to face...
In addition, in order to crack down on some competitors with particularly bad relationships, Venetians sometimes resort to deceptive tricks. For example, in order to attack Genoa, their biggest rival for maritime supremacy, the Governor of Venice deliberately sent a rough guy who was the least talkative as an envoy and proposed a series of whimsical conditions, which made the Genoa authorities furious. Completely closed the door to negotiations... and then turned around and said a bunch of bad things about the Re☆Naya people to the angels, making them feel It was concluded that the city was hopelessly desperate, so it was reasonable to abandon Genoa and let them continue to struggle in the abyss of the Black Death - if the two families were not close to each other, they would spread it indiscriminately. If the plague doesn't happen, it will be transmitted to the Venetians themselves. Governor Andre, who is full of bad intentions, may have to further spread the disease there!
However, although the Venetians are sinister and vicious, they can occasionally be kind-for example, the authorities of the city of Milan, also located in northern Italy, insisted that there was no outbreak of the Black Death and refused to accept the extortion from the Venetian authorities and only gave Doraemon They gave him a thousand gold florins as a gift. Even regarding the matter of accepting the "Ten Commandments of Cat Worship", the Archbishop of Milan also said that the matter is of great importance and needs to be further studied and discussed... However, Venice did not take any cruel hostile measures. Instead, it gave the Milan people in front of the "angels" Say good things and hope that the "angels" can put aside their past grudges and go to Milan performed miracles, bestowed divine favors, and gave Milanese people "sacred seals (vaccines)" to prevent the spread of diseases: Milan is too close to Venice, and the adjacent land border is extremely long. Once a plague breaks out there, almost Ten percent of it will spread to Venice...
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The travelers are not completely unaware of the Venetian's little tricks of stuffing private goods, but their basic attitude is to let it go. As long as they can get enough money, they don't mind the Venetian jumping up and down to get the benefits - regardless of the Republic of Venice. How greedy and shameless his attitude is. After all, it is only the customers who are being ripped off. He is determined not to offend powerful people like himself. It is always more convenient than collecting money from one family by himself.
Well? Damn your reputation? Do you think that all of you who are just passing through this world would care about such unimportant and boring things?
kindness? And the excessive expansion of the power of the Republic of Venice affects the balance of power in European countries? Hey, it seems that only the natives of this time and space would worry about this kind of thing! Even if Venice's power explodes and the European Union is built six hundred years ahead of schedule...what will it matter to the time travellers?
All in all, after aggressively promoting Angel (God of Plague) home delivery and turning half of the Western world upside down, in a completely silent late night, Comrade Doraemon, who was settling accounts until midnight, finally issued a break. Shockingly, relieved and with mixed emotions, Zhentian burst into laughter: "...Meow hahaha! The debt can be paid off! The debt must be paid off! From today on, I, Doraemon, will no longer be in debt!!! ”