Chapter 54: Collapse! history!
In Bordeaux at the end of August 1348, the ground was covered with scorched earth and rubble, as well as mutilated corpses... Of course, even such a horrific situation was not uncommon in the Middle Ages where wars were frequent, but the truly terrifying problem was that the All this is not a war!
——From the time the Black Death was introduced to Bordeaux to this moment, less than a hundred days have passed, but this wine country has been completely destroyed... This is a crazy, fast, cruel, and terrifying fraud. disease. It is God's grace that evades its clutches, not mortal strength.
Since the outbreak of the plague in early summer, despite the measures taken by the municipal authorities, the terrible disease has continued to spread from block to block until there is no longer a safe place in the city. . Although prominent figures such as church priests and local nobles repeatedly called on people to calm down, and there was no shortage of necessities such as food, no cure could be found. Almost every street and alley is filled with the putrid smell that symbolizes death. People often suddenly vomit blood and fall to the ground while walking.
The haze of death silently covered the entire city, but humble mortals were unable to do anything. There were only a few crazy priests, wearing tattered clothes, shouting in the streets: "This is all God's judgment! Look! God will bring disaster to all fallen people! They are in prison because they do not believe in God ! No! I refuse! Wake up and take away their souls!
Such incoherent and unreasonable crazy words, in this context of being overwhelmed by death, actually gained many supporters. Because Europe in the Middle Ages was so full of ignorance and barbarism, religion always firmly controlled people's daily lives. People must abide by a lot of various religious rules and are not allowed to say anything that does not believe in God, otherwise the hellish Inquisition will be your destination. In this way, many people in Bordeaux who are lucky enough not to be sick are... Under the leadership of these crazy priests, they swayed through the streets singing hymns until they were infected with the plague, vomited blood and fell to death... Such a ridiculous and outrageous doomsday spectacle can only be described as "a chaotic dance of demons".
What's even more unfortunate is that when the Venetian merchants were using [Random Door] to roam around the world, threatening and inducing cities under the haze of the Black Death to pay tribute, cede land and sign unequal treaties in exchange for the salvation of "angels", they basically In the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean circle they are familiar with, they deliberately Unintentionally landed in Bordeaux on the Atlantic Ocean... As a result, when Wang Qiu, the "pseudo angel", got the news, he finally cared about this and opened the "Random Door" from Avignon to Bordeaux. This world-famous area The wine country has become a crazy city of death.
- Just like what happened before in Marseille, Avignon, Naples, Rome, Florence and Venice.
Then, classmate Wang Qiu, with angel wings on his back, passed through the [Random Door] and slowly landed in the Royal Castle in Bordeaux. He stepped into the blood-stained and putrid courtyard and met each one with a haggard and like-looking appearance. The walking corpses and dementia guys passed by each other. Rotting corpses and garbage were everywhere along the way. It was a messy scene everywhere. The turbid air is filled with a suffocating stench. Even if the fresh and strong sea breeze blows from the Atlantic Ocean and sweeps away from time to time, it is difficult to completely dispel the disgusting smell.
Fortunately, when Wang Qiu finally stepped into the most luxurious royal bedroom in the entire castle under the prostrations and kowtows of a group of Christians, the English princess Joan Plantagenet who was scheduled to marry in Spain, although He was so ill that he had a high fever and was delirious. His body was covered with abscesses and ulcers, his face was covered with black spots, and he had tumors as big as eggs under his arms. His former beauty was gone, but he still managed to breathe. .
There is no need to say what is to be done next - following a series of meowing "Doraemon's Ordinary Spells", the holy white light of healing magic falls from the sky, curing the little princess's illness at a speed visible to the naked eye. The warm energy penetrated into the blood of everyone present, making them feel relaxed and at ease from the inside out, as if they had thrown away all the worries and burdens in life and returned to the embrace of their mother...
In particular, several maids who also showed signs of infection were overjoyed to find that the dark spots on their bodies seemed to be disappearing rapidly.
Then, after another moment, amid the choking sounds of surprise from a large group of people, Princess Joan Plantagenet, who had been unconscious for many days, finally fluttered her eyelashes a few times, slowly opened her eyes, and then blinked again. Blinking, he seemed to feel that the light in front of his eyes was a bit dazzling.
"...Is this the kingdom of heaven?" Looking at Wang Qiu who was standing in front of her wearing an [angel suit] and casting spells, the little princess asked in French in a confused voice.
——In this era when Britain and France have not yet officially separated, the Plantagenet royal family of England still seems to use French as their first mother tongue.
"...No, you are still in the world, Miss Qiong, at least for the time being." Wang Qiu answered her doubts with a faint smile.
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Although the life of the Princess of England was saved by the angel's miracle, more people had turned into rotten corpses and withered bones. Even the magical spells recorded in the Magical Encyclopedia Dictionary cannot bring the souls of the dead back from hell or heaven.
From the time the first deceased appeared in the castle to this moment, less than ten days had passed, but this cursed castle was already filled with corpses that had no time to bury them.
Fortunately among the misfortunes, thanks to the [Random Door] directly connected to the Papal Palace, the deceased in the royal castle of Bordeaux can at least receive a requiem mass presided over by the Pope himself - for Christians in medieval Europe, this may be It's an incredible honor.
"...Rest in peace, you devout people who have been taken away from the world by this plague, God is already calling your pure souls. All flesh is like fading grass, and all his withered glory is like the flower of the grass; The grass will wither and the flowers will fall, but you must be patient until the Lord comes...You also had it in the past Sorrowful, but God will see you now, and your hearts will be filled with joy that no one can take away from you. Look at me, I have toiled and suffered, but at last I found comfort. I will represent the Lord. Come to comfort you, as a mother comforts her children..."
In the woods behind the Wang Family Castle, a large pit was recently dug, filled with corpses.
Standing next to this horrible corpse pit filled with putrid smell, Pope Clement VI, who has been used to seeing countless shocking deaths in recent months and has become somewhat enlightened in his thinking, sighed with a dejected look on his face, as if he had lost his mind. He lost his aloof dignity and lost his ambition to pursue power. However, out of the duties of a priest, he still held up the cross and rosary beads in his hands and chanted the requiem silently for the deceased.
Around Pope Clement VI, the surviving Englishmen were half-kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed. The grief of losing their companions made them sob. However, the devout faith in their hearts made them eager to witness the Pope preside over. I felt supreme honor at the Requiem Mass...
Finally, the clergy brought by the Pope from Avignon worked together to dig the soil and bury the dead. At the same time, they erected a cross in front of the grave and carved a few lines of Latin text on it to record this horrific summer in the Royal Castle of Bordeaux. .
The deceased is dead and can rest in peace forever, but the living will continue to be busy and troubled by mundane things in the world.
For Wang Qiu, a time traveler, he first needed to collect a batch of wine to take back. After hearing this request, the British mission cooperated and opened the wine cellar of the Royal Castle of Bordeaux, allowing His Excellency Angel to move it as he pleased. Unfortunately, when I went in, I discovered to my embarrassment that most of the people in the castle were drinking day and night due to the fear of death. They got drunk and drank all the best Bordeaux wine in the cellar, and even the second-class wine was not much left... Of course, this problem is not difficult to solve: several English knights grabbed their swords and walked around the city After a few laps, he came back with a cart full of Bordeaux wine, followed by a group of wine merchants who came to seek healing from angels...
Princess Joan Plantagenet, who has just escaped death, must face a more terrifying problem: Can this marriage continue?
——Although the Black Death did not kill her, it severely damaged her beauty and health: most of her once thick and beautiful long hair fell off during the disease, and now she is almost bald; it was once like a boiled egg. Smooth, smooth, flawless skin as white as milk curd His skin is now covered with all kinds of scars, like a wrinkled orange peel; his voice, which was once as elegant and charming as a lark, has become as hoarse and unpleasant as rubbing sand skin. No one knows whether it will be better in the future. Recover…
In fact, after seeing her withered appearance in the glass mirror provided by Wang Qiu, the little English princess immediately blacked out and fainted. After that, she shed tears all day long and was in pain... Several times I was almost on the verge of death.
Fortunately, for the "angels" with great supernatural powers, this is not a big problem - Wang Qiu went back and called Doraemon, and then Comrade Doraemon took out a [Time Furoshiki] from his fourth-dimensional pocket. ], wrapped the disfigured little princess completely, and then moved the time of the little princess's body back to one year ago... Thus, the problem of Princess Qiong's disfigurement was solved.
However, in many cases, the solution of an old problem often means the arrival of another new problem.
——In medieval Europe, although political marriages between nobles often did not care about age, and there were many combinations of old husbands and young wives or old wives and young husbands, there was one minimum rule that usually had to be followed: both parties to the marriage At least they all have to be adults. As far as women are concerned, a girl must have had menarche (the first menstrual period) and be considered a woman only after she has the ability to have children. It was very rare in medieval Europe to get married before the woman had her first period. Moreover, consummating a marriage with a young girl who has not yet had her first period is generally considered a very evil and depraved act. The solution for European nobles in the Middle Ages was to get engaged first and wait until the bride matured before officially getting married.
But the problem is that before getting married this time, Princess Joan Plantagenet was only thirteen years old, and the food these days did not contain hormones, so her development was relatively slow, and she did not have menarche until she sailed from England... ...Fortunately, the preparation for such a grand royal wedding takes almost a year or two. According to experience, if you take advantage of this period to give the princess more nourishing food, she will probably be able to menstruate before the wedding.
However, due to Doraemon's [Time Baggage], the princess's age became one year younger... Although it is always a good thing for a woman to get younger, the princess's menarche also became more complicated. It's a long time coming - but Doraemon doesn't dare to use [Time Furoshiki] to make the princess older again: after all, this princess only lived to be thirteen years old in history, who knows if it will be done by then A corpse?
Regarding this embarrassing issue, the remaining nobles of the English mission discussed for a long time, but found that none of them were qualified to make a decision. In the end, they had to beg the "angel" to borrow the [Random Door] and go to the Kingdom of Castile in Spain to find it. The groom's family is discussing whether they can postpone the wedding for about a year, or simply don't rush to get married and get engaged first?
Then, after arriving in the Kingdom of Castile, they discovered that they no longer had to worry about anything about this marriage - the future groom Prince Pedro's father, the King of Castile, wrote A handwritten letter serves as a desolate footnote to this royal marriage:
“…It is with the deepest sadness that I inform you that an unfathomable death has just taken away my dear son Pedro. We loved him so deeply and he truly deserved this love… We can only trust God, our lives are in his hands. I want to thank God for taking my relatives away from all the filth in the world - oh! the relatives I have loved with my whole life..."< br>
——When France and Italy were engulfed by death one after another, the horrific Black Death also ran rampant on the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees, at the end of the Genoese "death fleet". From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, Spanish lands are full of empty houses. No matter whether they are Christians or Moors, they are not immune to the disease... Therefore, when Princess Joan Plantagenet struggled in the hospital bed in Bordeaux, she was worried about herself. When she could no longer fit into the 150-meter-long wedding dress, her fiancé, Prince Pedro, had actually been called by the Lord before she could.
The bad news reached Bordeaux, and the princess, who learned that she had become a widow, fainted again. When she woke up, she cried and wanted to go home. Doraemon thoughtfully opened the [Random Door] leading to the Tower of London, but the moment he opened the door, a familiar rancid smell hit his face.
——As history collapsed under the storm of traveler butterflies, the palace of the Kingdom of England had been captured by the Black Death in advance... Therefore, poor Princess Joan Plantagenet not only lost her husband, but also lost her husband. Parents and brothers...