Versailles is worse than being queen

◎Death is coming◎

A new round of smallpox plague appeared in Vienna.Fortunately, the plague has not yet spread into the palace.

"His Royal Highness Antania displayed startling scientific logic. She proposed that, for safety's sake, the first stage of verification could be carried out on monkeys. They would be vaccinated first, and when they had recovered, they would be vaccinated against smallpox patients. Pus—if there is no infection in this way, it proves that cowpox is indeed effective against smallpox."

Doctor Sweeten and Emperor Franz walked in the Schönbrunn Botanical Garden, reporting the progress of medical experiments to the Emperor.Because he had lost several children to smallpox before, the emperor had always been very concerned about his research progress.

"But monkeys are different from people, right?" Franz frowned.

"Yes. This is a preliminary test to ensure safety - after the vaccinia pustules on the four monkeys used in the experiment had subsided, I inoculated them with the pus of the smallpox patient. It has been more than a week and none of the monkeys have developed symptoms .Then...maybe you can consider experimenting on humans."

The emperor stopped and glanced at him.

The sharpness in that gaze made Dr. Sweeten's heart shrink suddenly.

The emperor was always amiable, and both of them were interested in scientific research, which sometimes even made him feel that the emperor was just a kind old rich man.

But the oppression brought to him by this glance made him suddenly realize that although the power of governance in this country is always firmly in the hands of the queen, the emperor is also his monarch.

And he is a very wise monarch.

Dr. Sweeten couldn't help lowering his head: "Your Majesty, the horror of smallpox has enveloped us for too long. In the past five years, nine out of every ten children on the death register in Vienna died of smallpox."*

"Besides, winter is coming soon. Every winter is a season of high incidence of smallpox, and this winter seems to be extraordinarily cold... and this round of smallpox even came earlier than winter."

The doctor's voice dropped, "I always have an uneasy feeling in my heart that there might be a great plague this winter."

He thought for a while, made a sign of the cross on his chest, and whispered, "Your Majesty, we will look for poor families who volunteer to do experiments."

The air seemed to freeze.

This winter seems to have come very early this year. The emperor silently looked at the leaves of the plane trees in the botanical garden that had begun to fall, wondering what he was thinking.

After a long time, he sighed: "Give me a little more compensation, and I will pay for it."

Doctor Sweeten breathed a sigh of relief.

Currently, Queen Theresa is visiting one of her territories, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the approval of Emperor Franz is the highest will of Vienna.With this guarantee, he can do that dishonorable thing with confidence.

The emperor's tall and bloated body took two steps to the side, and suddenly turned his head to ask Dr. Sweeton: "Isn't my daughter alone bringing this up?"

Dr. Sweeten was a little surprised: "This is indeed what she told me——"

"Did you see anyone else around her?"

"Ah, there is a little boy who looks like Eastern Europe, about her age. The kid basically didn't speak, and the princess didn't introduce him, so I didn't ask him about his identity." Dr. Sweeton replied cautiously .

It can't be some royal illegitimate child drama, right?After all, the emperor has a reputation for being romantic.

"Oh..." Franz nodded slightly, without expressing anything, "I see."

……

The winter of 1762 came prematurely.

The sky was cold white, rolling thick clouds spread endlessly, and thick fog shrouded Vienna.The red oak tree has lost its last leaves, and even the wind has ice-like blades, blowing on people's faces like knives.

The streets in the southern part of Vienna have neat stone pavements, and every square in the middle of the street is surrounded by houses and streets that bloom like roses, and there are gray and white marble fountains at the corners.

This was originally a refined and elegant public building, but there was an ominous dead silence on all sides.

The streets were scattered, there were hardly any pedestrians, and the only people were in a hurry, wrapping themselves tightly in gray and black felt hats and thick scarves, looking around as if they were afraid of something, and then they were like ghosts. Disappeared in the thick fog.

Everyone knows it's because winter is here.

What's more, the god of death accompanied by winter has come.

"Da, da, da", the slow sound of horseshoes came from the end of the thick fog in Hobigenberg Lane.

In the bedroom on the third floor of a four-story hotel on the street, Mozart huddled under the blanket, not daring to light a candle.He opened the curtains a little in fear, and looked towards the only direction where sound came from in the silent world.

"Da, da, da", a skinny black horse appeared at the end of the white mist.

It slowly pulled a small carriage painted in pure black. The driver was wearing a black cloak and a black mask. His long black robe was curled in the cold wind, as if there was some silvery light flashing——

Mozart threw the quilt over his head, his heart pounding.

A tall figure in a black cloak, holding something... a sickle?He didn't dare to look at it.

He knew that the horse was a corpse—the corpse of someone who had died of smallpox.

There was a weak, choking cry that came through the cracks in the door and window, as if it was a grieving woman crying in a low voice.

Her third child was dying in bed.Because two brothers and sisters had died before, he was fortunate to receive timely treatment from the doctor.The doctor in the black robe bled the child and told the family members to close the doors and windows tightly so that no wind would let in.

As a result, the room was filled with the stench of pus and unbearable hot flashes. The child's limbs were pale due to the bloodletting, but his face had a strange blush.

The innkeeper's family had lost their two children. Mozart had seen that small coffin—so small, if it weren't for the cross on it, it would be hard to imagine that it contained a small, prematurely deceased child. s life.

The little boy's hair stood on end, silently bent his knees, and curled himself into a ball under the quilt.

When winter came, people died of smallpox every day in Vienna.Horse-drawn carriages carrying black coffins wandered around the city, and people were so afraid of the deadly disease that he was invited to play much less frequently.

If his father and he hadn't both had smallpox, and they didn't have to worry about being infected again, they would have fled this city that seemed to be shrouded in the breath of death immediately.

But today, other cities may not be better than Vienna.

After all, the cold and despair of winter had descended on this continent.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The heavy and rapid sound of horseshoes came from far to near, and from near to far.

Who would go out in such a hurry on such a cold winter day, risking the plague?

Mozart curled up in bed thinking.

Riding on horseback was Dr. Sweeton.

He was so excited that he even forgot to wear gloves when he went out—but even though the hand holding the rein was red and cracked in the cold wind, he didn't feel it at all.

Because he has witnessed miracles!

He ran all the way dusty, has entered the Hofburg Palace.

"His Majesty!"

Dr. Sweeten didn't care about his image, and almost ran all the way into His Majesty's gallery, "None of the three orphans had any symptoms of smallpox!"

Franz stood up abruptly and strode out: "Really?!"

"What?" Caroline yelled, not knowing why. "What happened?"

There are several children here.Maximilian, who was talking with the little chinchilla not far away, looked over in a daze, and Antanya couldn't help but also stood up.

What Nicola said was true!

"Your Majesty, it has been two weeks." Doctor Sweeten said excitedly, "I have reason to believe that vaccination against smallpox can indeed prevent smallpox!"

"Great." Emperor Franz's eyes also flashed with light, "In a few days, we can basically conclude completely. This preventive method can be opened to the public—"

"Your Majesty!" Dr. Sweeton said anxiously, "I'm afraid it's not enough just to be open. This is a brand new method, and it's extracted from cowpox. I'm afraid people will hesitate to get vaccinated directly."

The method of applying a small amount of vaccinia pox paste to a small cut on the arm, at the suggestion of Her Highness Antania, was named "vaccine" - a word with the Latin cognate of "cowpox".

"And, as you know, Vienna is now once again under the shadow of smallpox - the death toll this winter has increased considerably. We are facing a great plague!"

"So you mean..." Franz mused.

He knew what Dr. Sweeten meant—I am afraid that the royal decree should be used to directly carry out large-scale vaccination to prevent wasting precious time.

After all, it is infectious disease that is to be prevented, and the more people who get vaccinated, the safer everyone will be.

This is a decision that requires courage and determination.

At the moment, the queen is not in Vienna.Although Emperor Franz was obsessed with scientific research, he never paid attention to political affairs that were heavy and boring, and lacked a keen judgment on politics.

If Thearesia was here, what kind of decision would she make——

"Father." The corner of his clothes was pulled suddenly.

His youngest daughter, Antania, walked up to him at some point, looking up at him with her small face: "Dad, winter is coming, I'm really scared. I don't want to be like Brother Karl..."

The emperor's heart tugged.

Last winter, he lost his bright and lively second son, Carl.He really didn't want to lose another child.

"Okay." Franz made up his mind, "Notify Prime Minister Kaunitz. Four days later, if the children are still in normal condition, I will issue an edict to promote the vaccination of vaccinia."

……

Sandy's Bar, Mosswell Lane, North Vienna.

"Have you heard? The imperial palace has developed a vaccine to prevent smallpox, so what—they call cowpox a vaccine, because it is obtained from cows!"

"Really?!" All of a sudden they exclaimed.

"The emperor has ordered a mass vaccination of vaccinia in Vienna!"

"Huh?! God, it's a good thing I had smallpox when I was a kid. I don't want to grow horns from a cow's stuff on a human."

"Ah! Does the vaccine make people grow horns?"

Everyone exclaimed again, and immediately fell into a heated discussion.

No one noticed that a man with a black hood pulled down was sitting by the window. The hood and the black robe connected to it covered the messy short hair and the scar behind the ear that ran diagonally to the shoulder blade.

The man with the scar looked at the flame-colored liquor flickering in the glass, and took a sip of the spicy whiskey lightly.

King Frederick sent him to Vienna, indeed foresight.The Queen of Austria is currently out of the capital, and her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor, is a complete political idiot.

Originally, the Prussian army was retreating steadily on the battlefield against the Russian-Austrian coalition forces, and almost demanded peace.However, at the beginning of the year, the Russian empress died, and was replaced by the lunatic tsar who crazily worshiped Frederick—although it was a pity that the trash was kicked down by his wife after only sitting on the throne for less than half a year, and he died soon Due to "indigestion", but the new Russian tsarist is also a German after all, and did not take any further actions that are unfavorable to Prussia, but just let the situation stalemate.

Now, as countries prepare to end a war that has been fought for more than six years, there are new turmoil in Vienna.

Of course, there is only a small sign of the storm now.But in the end, if there is no storm that shakes Austria, it will be his negligence - isn't the king sending him to Vienna just to prepare for this moment?

The corner of the man's mouth slowly curved up.

Sure enough, God bless Prussia.

The author says:

“十个孩子九个死于天花”出自莫扎特父亲带儿子在维也纳巡演期间的记录。在16~18世纪，每年在欧洲因为感染天花死亡的人数超过50万人以上，整个18世纪欧洲人口死于天花的总数几乎达到1.5亿人。

The word "vaccine" comes from Edward Jenner's use of vaccinia. "Vacca" is Latin for cow.