Great time travel

Chapter 35. The Last Days of Rome

It has to be admitted that the spiritual quality of most ordinary civilians in medieval Europe was 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 full of corpses, deserted, and stinky, did not express much shock or surprise.On the contrary, there were many people kneeling beside the [Random Door] in trepidation, with brain cramps and nervous breakdowns, and worshiping incoherently—probably because the scene of the former was horrific and terrifying, but at least it was still there for medieval Europeans like them. It is within the scope of my understanding: those villages and towns that were slaughtered in the war, as well as the mansions that were destroyed by their enemies, will probably have similar situations.And even the "normal" medieval European cities are mostly similar to the black districts of Detroit in the United States in the 21st century. Murder cases and collective riots occurred every two days. The miserable scene of the stomach.

The reason why they were afraid of the corpses of the plague victims before was that they would also be infected with the disease after touching the dead corpses, and thus die like those unlucky ghosts.Now that there are angels to protect them from the invasion of diseases, what is there to be afraid of?

In contrast, the [Random Gate], which can span thousands of miles in an instant, is completely a "miracle" that is beyond the comprehension of European commoners in the Middle Ages—fortunately, an "angel" has descended once before, and let them The country bumpkins had their brains widened like never before, and they were more or less adaptable to all kinds of incredible abnormalities.Otherwise, it is estimated that someone will be stimulated to become mentally abnormal by now.

And the mobilization ability of the church in this era is really amazing.Following the order of Pope Clement VI, those priests who had not yet died of the plague immediately began to split up, convey layer by layer, and take responsibility for each piece... It took only one day, in Avignon, which had already In a city full of empty rooms, 4000 volunteers who were willing to go to Italy to clean up the corpses were mobilized.Then, the Holy See saw that this number of people did not seem to be enough, and sent priests to take the Pope's decree and go to the nearby countryside to look for the survivors, and finally gathered a team of [-] people!

Seeing such a scene of unity and cooperation of all people, Wang Qiu and the others, modern orientals with weak religious concepts, vaguely understood what the so-called "supremacy of theocracy" in medieval Europe meant—just like the twentieth century. Like the party organizations in the 60s, Christianity has thoroughly penetrated into every corner of medieval European social life, dominating the thinking and behavior of everyone in medieval Europe.God is the starting point of all thinking and behavior. As the representative of God in the world, the Pope's authority can be imagined.Anyone's family, career, and public life are bound by the Church, and people have grown accustomed to accepting such constraints as a matter of course.Although this suffocating control has been loosened in the early days of the Renaissance due to various corruption scandals in the church, it is still very far from its final collapse.

Moreover, another feature of medieval Europe was the hierarchical society, where everyone was divided into different classes due to their origin or occupation, and they all belonged to a certain superior member, and they should obey the command and leadership without real freedom.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.

——A clear and strict hierarchical system, a fanatical atmosphere of participation by the whole people, pervasive ideological control... At first glance, this is simply a wonderful mobilization system set up for general warfare.It's a pity that on top of this mobilization system, it is not a general staff composed of professional military officers, but a group of magic sticks who rely on lip service to fool people into making money.The things planned every day are not invading enemy countries or all-out war of resistance, but tinkering with various religious parades, pilgrimages and collective prayers, and at most some public welfare activities. As for the crusades that the whole people participate in, it is already It happened in the last century... Well, this look seems quite harmonious, doesn't it?At least it's better than fighting and killing all day long.

In short, under the vigorous struggle of this volunteer labor team, in less than a week, the city of Naples, which was full of rotting corpses, was initially cleaned up. All kinds of gold and silver utensils, woolen blankets, natural gemstones , and valuables such as antiques were also scavenged from all corners of the city by tireless volunteers, and sent to Doraemon and others like flowing water, and thrown into the [Automatic Pawn Machine].

It is a pity that the productivity level of ancient agricultural society cannot be compared with that of modern industrialized society after all, and many of the most valuable gold and silver were taken away by the fugitives in advance.There are also many precious horses of the same value that ran away into the wild, or starved to death in the stables...

Therefore, after such a lot of tossing, even though these volunteers who have no salary, no vacation, no labor insurance, and no human rights have worked very hard, Comrade Doraemon only received [-] million yen in the end. He complained all day long that this amount of money was not enough to fit 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 Livi's subordinates finally found about a few hundred survivors in several remote villages and small towns. resident of the Kingdom of Naples.In addition, in a castle full of dead people, a distinguished lord and nobleman was found, but at this moment his whole family is dead, and sitting alone on the tower looks like a walking corpse.

This guy was also one of the top traitors who colluded with the Hungarian army to expel the queen during last year's coup.But at this moment, Her Majesty Queen Joanna, who has been disheartened by the kingdom of the undead under her feet, is not even angry with the traitor and executed—the familiar face she once knew seems to have disappeared at this moment. All were summoned by the Lord, and it is rare to have an old acquaintance left, let him be spared this time!

However, even if Queen Joanna pardoned him for the crime of rebellion, this once prominent and ambitious nobleman has no desire to love the world - his castle has been turned into a tomb, and his relatives, subjects and friends are all dead , even in this world, there are not many people I know, even he himself was seriously ill, and managed to escape from death, but his body was covered with scars and his face was completely destroyed... I'm afraid he won't live for a few years .

So, this guy saw through the world of mortals, became disheartened, and became enlightened. After watching the people bury the corpses of his relatives and ministers, he donated all the gold, silver and jewelry hidden in the family to the "angels" to make atonement, and then simply went to A Vignon went to a monastery and became a monk.

Faced with such a bleak end for this old enemy in the political arena, Queen Joanna couldn't help but sigh, and she couldn't even raise her enthusiasm for the great cause of restoring the country.

——As we all know, any country throughout the ages is ultimately composed of human beings 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 find a new place to stay after being displaced, they can rebuild their country again.But if a kingdom loses its subjects, no matter how rich the land it has, it is meaningless.

This is also the so-called truth that "if you lose your land, you lose your land; The Kingdom of Naples is actually on the verge of extinction.

Although the murderer who subverted this country was not any foreign enemy or rebel army, but a more unpredictable and irresistible death... But in terms of the result, for the queen, it was more difficult than any foreign enemy invasion or rebel army. The rebellion of the subjects was still more desperate.

—Subjects and territory lost to the enemy may still be possible to regain by means of war and diplomacy.But the soul that has been cut away by the God of Death with the scythe, where should we go to restore it?Even the angels don't seem to have the ability to bring the dead back to life like this?

In the same way, the traversers failed to get even a single reward point from the main god system after a lot of tossing in Naples.

——Even the human beings who are the most basic carrier are almost dead, so what history can be changed in this place?
Next, all of you travelers who still have a bit of integrity and a sense of responsibility, originally planned to send the Buddha to the west, and continue to linger in the Kingdom of Naples for a while, at least to gather some surviving subjects for Her Majesty Queen Joanna who is determined to restore the country, and establish A safe settlement or sanctuary, preferably with a shelf for the temporary regime of the Kingdom of Naples, must not allow her to wander alone like a beggar in her own country.

However, Pope Clement VI and the members of the Holy See of Avignon were greatly stimulated after witnessing the tragic destruction of the Kingdom of Naples. They were afraid that the city of Rome had already suffered such a bad luck, and they were anxious to go to that city. Let's find out about the Eternal City. If there is still salvation, it is best to use the power of the angels to save it as soon as possible. In short, no matter what they say, they can't turn the Papal Kingdom into a country of the dead... So they insist on not wasting time in the Kingdom of Naples , I can't wait to rush to the Papal State centered on Rome in the next second.

In addition, Queen Joanna herself is not up to date, and she is so disheartened by the tragedy of the country. She actually thinks that it doesn't matter if the kingdom with only the dead is restored. Maybe she will continue to stay in Provence and receive the blessings of the angels nearby. And Blessing, it’s not bad to wait until the plague is completely subsided... So, after roughly searching for the remaining property in the city, and rescuing the few survivors of the Kingdom of Naples found in the nearby countryside through the [random door] to the city of Avignon , Queen Joanna's trip to restore the country ended in an anticlimactic manner.

Before leaving, everyone set a big fire in this silent city of death, so that those corpses that were too late to dig pits and bury them were reduced to ashes together with this abandoned city. In a settlement completely polluted by Yersinia pestis, it would be suicide for ordinary people without resistance to live in it. It would be easier and less troublesome to rebuild a new city after burning it down—then sighed and left from the [random door].

Then, after returning to the city of Avignon in France for a short rest, Doraemon once again opened the "random door" that changed the destination, and embarked on a journey to Rome with the rest of the Holy See... …Until the moment he stepped into the [Door of Freedom], the Pope was still muttering to himself while crossing himself, begging God to forgive the corruption of the Holy See, at least not to let Rome, the eternal city, be swallowed by the plague.

However, Pope Clement VI's extravagant prayer is probably doomed to fail.

——In this terrible plague that seemed to be raging like a raging fire, the Italian peninsula, which was once densely populated, fell from south to north in just half a year, and almost all cities and villages were completely reduced. A land of death filled with bones.

Obviously, in this unprecedented catastrophe without distinction, the so-called "Eternal City" Rome will naturally not escape the catastrophe...

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In the middle of the Italian peninsula, the "Eternal City" Rome

Strictly speaking, Rome should be regarded as an inland city, its main urban area is not close to the sea, and it has no direct contact with the Genoese "death fleet" that brought plague bacteria from the Crimean Peninsula. touch.Therefore, in this ferocious plague, at least as far as the Italian peninsula is concerned, the city of Rome is considered to be a place where the Black Death broke out relatively late.

However, in terms of the miserable scene that everyone saw after entering the city of Rome, it was still shocking everywhere-when Wang Qiu opened the [random door] and walked to the most sacred St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in this era (rebuilt When I was on the square in front of the former St. Peter's Basilica), I was shocked to find that the entire huge square was crowded with patients lying on the ground, all of them covered in black spots. , pus and stink.A considerable number of people are already dead, and the rest of the living are half-dead and panting, but there are no nurses to take care of them, and even the most basic food is not provided, so that these hungry and thirsty patients can only Lying in despair next to the dead man, moaning slightly with cracked lips, surrounded by a large pool of vomit, and mosquitoes and flies buzzing around, the smell is really unpleasant.In addition, in every room of the church, there were messy and rotting corpses lying in a mess, exuding a strong stench, but no one went to bury and burn them.

Even when I occasionally meet a few normal-looking citizens, their eyes are dull and their reactions are slow. They just walk around stupidly, and they don't respond to how you call them, just like mentally retarded or demented children.Moreover, I often vomit blood and fall down suddenly while walking, and I can never get up again.

Of course, compared with the eerie silence in Naples, being able to see so many "very alive" 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 is not necessarily a good thing, especially when all morality, order and law have collapsed...

——After passing through the [random door] and arriving at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, before the "angels" had time to perform healing techniques to save the patients, they noticed that the streets not far away were billowing thick clouds. Smoke, and heard all kinds of hysterical roars and screams... If you open your eyes and look carefully, you can still see many crazy guys, using swords and torches to wantonly destroy this sacred city belonging to God!