Great time travel

Chapter 37. Sad Medieval Productivity Levels
Rome, Lateran Palace

Since the conversion of Constantine the Great, this sacred palace, which has been the residence of popes (in the early days it was the bishop of Rome), has turned into a sea of ​​blood and purgatory at this moment.On the pillars of the verandah in the palace and on the trees in the courtyard, there are all kinds of corpses hanging everywhere. In addition to the priests with mushroom heads, some are women in disheveled clothes.The inside of the palace is also in a mess, with ransacked halls and furniture turned upside down everywhere. The floor and steps are also full of dirty black footprints, and blood-stained drag marks can be seen everywhere.

——A few days ago, he was still entrenched in this sacred Lateran Palace, ruling the Papal State, and even ambitiously plotting to "establish another central government", and the Italian senior priest who sang against the Catholic Church in Avignon They, at this time, have all become a thing of the past.

These once prominent guys, together with their illegitimate children, were rushed into the palace, captured and beaten by those angry people in a futile and desperate resistance. Pushed out of the window, like a fledgling that has not yet fully feathered, under the gravity of the earth, it has turned into a few pools of strange things full of abstraction and looking bloody.And in those spacious and outrageously luxurious bedrooms, their mistresses, ladies and maids fully endured the "passion and blood" of many desperate rioters, as the most wonderful sideshow of this riot , Surrounded by hormonal crowds outside the dormitory all day and night, people kept rushing to squeeze in after hearing the news, and people kept crawling out...until these poor women couldn't bear to be attacked, and finally broke up. gas.

However, Pope Clement VI, who was walking around the Lateran Palace surrounded by the Pope's guards and giving a sermon to the victims, was holding an obsidian rosary string in his hand, looking at the above-mentioned tragic scene with a blank face, and his heart was full of a kind of The joy of relief——God is always the fairest. The arrogance and sin of these Italian rich and powerful who have dominated the Holy See for many years and rejected all the recent generations of French-born popes at the door have finally been rewarded in this world!
——For most of the time in history, almost every pope has a lot of troublesome political enemies in the Papal States around him.Since the Holy See moved to Avignon, the attitude of the Italian dignitaries of the Papal State towards the French-born popes has become even more rebellious to the extreme.

The so-called "Papal State" is interpreted in Latin as states belonging to the church.That is, the secular territory nominally ruled by the Pope.The Papal State is not a unitary country, but a loose community composed of many independent or semi-independent city-states, small countries and noble territories.

Strictly speaking, the Papal States during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance cannot be regarded as a real country, but a loose combination of several feudal city-states or small countries with the Pope as the supreme lord. For example, , is a shrunken version of the Holy Roman Empire!Considering that the position of the Pope is not hereditary, nor does it come from the dictatorship of the whole people, and from time to time there will be foreigners running for the position, so the political structure of the Papal State is more like the Polish aristocratic republic in the Middle Ages, leaving aside the spiritual realm. The degree of centralization in the secular realm is too overwhelming.

Even in the age of the Crusaders when the authority of the Pope was relatively high, the Pope’s rule over most of the territories under his name was still in name only Yes, the real masters of the various city-states in the Papal Kingdom are still the local princes and nobles. In order to make them more peaceful, the Pope even often launched crusades to crusade against the neighbors.And when the Crusades failed completely, the authority of the church declined sharply, especially after the Holy See moved out of Italy and moved to Avignon in France. Not an inch of real land is left.

Despite this, Pope Clement VI still never gave up his attempt to regain the Papal States again, and tried his best to infiltrate his own power in Italy and suppress the feudal princes in the Pope's country. drastic means.

On the eve of the outbreak of the Black Death in 1347, that is, last year, the conservative and old-fashioned Catholic Church unexpectedly launched a bloodless "color revolution" in Rome, which made the Pope, who was fighting corruption and promoting integrity, notarize Cora di Rienzo, elected by the fanatical citizens as the tribune and ruler of the city of Rome, immediately announced the reconstruction of the Roman Republic—and the establishment of this republic was also strongly supported by Clement VI... ...It can be seen that in order to suppress the Italian princes of the Papal State and increase the sense of presence, the distraught Pope Clement VI has already ignored everything.

Regrettably, Pope Clement VI's plan to seize power this time is really inhumane.The Mr. Cora he relied on was born as a street sportsman, with top-notch eloquence and provocative ability, but his ability to govern can only be described as ridiculously funny. Mimeng, even the most basic political knowledge is lacking - this guy just became a tribune, and he didn't even fully grasp the city of Rome, so he thought he was Caesar and Augustus, and he didn't even communicate with the Pope , arrogantly issued orders to the kings of all European countries in the tone of the head of Rome, asking them to do this and that, offended countless princes for a while, and became a laughing stock in European political circles.

Then, the Cora tribune completely disregarded the cruel reality that his "Roman Republic" did not even have an army. He probably thought that his words were better than soldiers and horses, and he didn't put much effort into building an armed force. Another reform announcement tried to abolish the privileges of the nobles, and even confiscated their properties and lands, thus detonating the hornet's nest... So, just a few months later, a large group of mobs instigated by the nobles launched arrogance against his government The arrogant siege subverted this farce-like "Roman Republic" in an instant.

Facing sharp swords, Cora, who thinks highly of herself, had to shave off her beard, and managed to get away with disguise by disguise. She escaped from Rome in a hurry all the way north, and now she is wandering in an unknown corner.As a supporter, Pope Clement VI also aroused public anger in the Papal State. His nominal vassals began to connect with each other in Rome, discuss countermeasures, and even tried to overthrow the throne of the Pope, the mastermind behind the scenes.

Fortunately, at this critical juncture, the Black Death broke out.All human struggles are then buried with death...

Therefore, for the tragic death of the entire family of these political opponents, Pope Clement VI had no sympathy in his heart, and even a little bit of fear. He secretly complained that when he was preparing to leave, he urged the angels too hastily— ——If I had come a little earlier and hadn't waited for these difficult bastards to die in the riots, the subsequent work of taking over the Papal State would have been much more troublesome.

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It is precisely because of the above-mentioned considerations that after the riot subsided, the Pope did not punish anyone, but generously forgave every sinner's faults when the "angels" said that it had nothing to do with them—it is estimated that he still had a lot of trouble in his heart. Applauded for the eradication of so many old political enemies - and treated them equally in the ensuing plague control process, even if some people were injured in the process of looting and killing, they were also healed.

But the problem is that even though these thugs cried bitterly one by one at the time, they expressed that they wanted to change their minds and change their past.But not long after that, there was a saying in Europe that "even if the papal palace in Rome was burned and looted, as long as you sincerely repent afterwards, you will be forgiven by God", which inspired generations of Christian violent elements. When looting religious places, emancipate the mind, let go of the burden, work hard, and work hard...

Well, before that, those robber barons were also rude when they attacked the monastery and looted the church. Even some poor kings were taking the robbing of the monastery as one of their hobbies, so for the church In other words, if there are too many lice, don't worry about debts!

As the pope passed through a corridor with open windows, he saw that the angels had erected huge statues of cats in cement outside - the angels had been insisting that the source of the plague was rats and God In order to punish humans for years of unjust killing of cats.If you want to repent of your sins, you must love cats like you love the Lord... Although the Pope was skeptical, he took the lead in getting a cat to raise.

In any case, it is easier to keep a cat at home than those ascetics who wear sackcloth and thorns and beat themselves with whips.

I don't know what kind of mana the angels have used, but this cute cat colossus, which is as tall as a three-story building, was basically completed in less than a day.Thousands of Roman citizens and pilgrims from other places knelt down three floors inside and three floors outside the statue of the cat. While throwing money into the donation box at the foot of the statue, they prayed repeatedly in various dialects, begging for mercy. God and the "Graceful" cats forgive their sins.

——Although for medieval Europeans, asking them to bow down to a statue of a cat may seem awkward, you must know that Christianity strictly resists the heresy of "idolatry".But in the face of the angel's scolding and the threat of the plague, people really have no choice - they have been suffering for a long time in an atmosphere of infinite despair, and they don't want to let go of the last straw.

Then, the penitents, who were reformed and generously donated before the angels, were rewarded with promises.

"...Meow! Something more dazzling than the sun, something cuter than a holy cat, appear in the stream of time, in your great name, I swear in this light, to these Lambs who believe in the Lord, give equal salvation meow! Group healing meow! (Japanese)”

——Accompanied by a mantra chanted by an "angel" loudly, a long-awaited dazzling white light crashed from the clouds, and suddenly poured down like a tsunami bursting a bank, flowing across a large area like a substance ground.And it keeps going, it seems like it will never end.

The light is so dazzling and brilliant, so holy and peaceful, so ecstatic, although eye-catching but not glaring, it seems to be the most peaceful, gentle and clean existence in the world, not only instantly purifies the hearts of all witnesses, Let the pain of every plague patient be healed instantly!

All of a sudden, all kinds of chaotic shouts of "Thank the Lord" and "Praise God" resounded from the square like a tsunami.

Standing in the corridor of the Lateran Palace and seeing such a scene through the window, Clement VI couldn't help showing a smug smile—the hearts of the people of the city of Rome, and even the entire Papal State, are now completely destroyed. was taken into the palm of the hand.No matter how rebellious those famous Italian families who claim to have produced many generations of popes, they can only kneel at their feet in fear...if they have not been swallowed by the plague.

However, Pope Clement VI couldn't help but feel pain in his heart when he thought of the high price he would pay for these miracles.

"... 150 million Ducat gold coins... Tsk tsk, it should be said that the angels' appetite for bribes is really the level of heaven? Such a price is enough to buy nineteen Avignon cities! Of course, if it is In order to save such a great plague, it's still worth it. But the problem is, such a big contribution, but still don't want manors and mansions and other real estate, where should I go to raise money..."

How should this huge sum of money be apportioned among the dioceses?How much money should be raised from which cities?Or is it equivalent in kind?

Bathed in the afterglow of the Holy Light, Pope Clement VI stroked his chin and fell into deep thinking about how to satisfy the angel's bribe...

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Seven days after the "angel came", with the gifts of the angels - the holy light to cure the plague and the lightning to punish the mob, the Holy See of Avignon from France has logically taken over Rome, a sacred city belonging to God.

Those rebellious Italian aristocratic lords in the Papal State who have been disobeying the law for many years, as long as they still have a breath, will send people or rush to Rome in sorrow, crying and shouting for the blessing of the angels. Pope Raymond VI knelt down to repent and confess his sins, only asking for the healing of the angels and the "sacred seal (vaccination)" for himself to resist the plague.As for the conditions for becoming a minister, paying taxes, repenting, enshrining land, and handing over property, they all agreed without thinking about it—even life is about to be lost, so how can there be any dignity and power?

Of course, after surviving the plague and surviving, will they regret it and refuse to admit it... that is something that needs to be considered after surviving.

The angels don't care much about the above-mentioned changes in the political situation and the reversal of the situation.As long as the Pope is still doing everything possible to collect money and belongings for them, just let this old man pretend to be a tiger-the travelers who came to save these medieval Europeans, whether they have sufficient or lack of integrity, whether they are Japanese or Chinese, others The problem is that everything is easy to talk about, only the problem of money is absolutely dead and not let go.

It is a pity that even though Pope Clement VI is already [-]% hard-working, and the believers who have just walked from the edge of the death line are extraordinarily generous in donating money, there are so many people in the plague The extinct rich even contributed all their belongings...but limited to the sad productivity of medieval European society, the final amount of money they received still could not satisfy Doraemon, who was in heavy debt.

——In a conference room that was temporarily requisitioned, a group of angels with snow-white wings behind their backs were discussing the matter of copper stink without any scruples.

"...a total of only 38 billion yen? The majestic capital of the Roman Empire and the center of the Millennium Christianity, the spiritual center of the European Catholic world, can only squeeze out so much oil? It is still short of paying off the terrible usury loan A lot!" Doraemon frowningly counted the account books, "...Could it be that the city of Rome has been squeezed to the limit, and can't squeeze more oil and water?"

"...I'm afraid I have reached the limit. When I blackmailed the church, I even removed the gold and silver artifacts, the statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary from the church, which almost caused a riot among the priests, so I had to give them to them in the end." A lot of colorful 3D printed plastic icons and instruments were used instead, and a batch of religious-themed oil paintings printed on plastic sheets were also included, which barely calmed them down." Wang Qiu shook his head and said.

"...Moreover, because we took too many gold and silver coins from the city at one time—in fact, almost all the coins, the circulation of goods in the market was in crisis, and the bazaar was even forced to It has degenerated to barter, and the Holy See can’t even collect the transaction tax, which is really depressing. For this reason, we had to make many ‘holy coins’ out of plastic, and handed them over to the church to let them try to issue them.”

Professor Guo also added a little about the tight money situation in the Roman market-like a small village that can give out hundreds or even thousands of gold coins to reward adventurers, it will only exist in Dragon Quest In RPG games like this.If it was in the real medieval Europe, many remote villages would not even have a single gold coin... Even in a place with a large population of wealth like Rome, after more than [-] gold coins were withdrawn at one time, It will also fall into an extremely terrifying currency shortage crisis.

Next, Professor Guo also took out a bunch of samples of "Holy Coins" for everyone to look at.These holy coins are made of clean hard plastic and come in three colors: gold, silver and green.The pattern on the front is Jesus crucified on the cross, and the pattern on the back is the head of a cute cat raising its claws. It is very subtle and apt to cater to the main theme of Christianity and the preferences of Doraemon... Not to mention whether this light coin is It can be recognized by the market, at least in terms of anti-counterfeiting, it can stump counterfeiters for 500 years-where can I find plastic these days!

In short, the above situation has fully demonstrated that the wealth of the city of Rome has indeed been squeezed to the limit by these false angels.

"...It took only one week to search for 38 billion yen in the city of Rome, which is actually quite good. As far as I know, many believers have donated even their fur shawls and woolen coats. I really can't come up with more good things!"

Paladin Li Wei stroked his chin for a while, finally sighed, and comforted everyone, "... Although the city of Rome today is still ranked among the best in Europe, it is no longer the city of the Roman Empire. A cosmopolitan metropolis with a population of one million, especially in recent decades, is not even the seat of the Catholic Church, so the wealth accumulated in the city will naturally not be too much. Not to mention the so-called rich people of this era, in modern society Often they can’t even talk about a well-off life. As for the poor in Europe in the Middle Ages, they don’t even know why they survived—according to the social standards of this era, many poor people can pass a set of clothes from their grandfather to their grandson, while the rich There are usually only a few decent dresses that can be counted with one hand. As long as a person can have three shirts for washing, he is already considered middle class!"

Hearing this, the "purple-haired angel" Nan Lixiang and the "blonde-haired angel" Ju Chuan Shizuka couldn't help exchanging a meaningful look—these two are bare-bottomed and naked people who don't like to wear clothes. Unless menstruation ♀ requires sanitary napkins, they usually don’t even bother to wear “**** panties♀). But even so, there are several cabinets filled with all kinds of beautiful women’s clothing in their bedrooms. There is only one drawer for bras and panties... In comparison, how sad it would be for those medieval Europeans whose whole family couldn't make up enough clothes for a crate.

Hmm, why do I suddenly have a subtle sense of shame of "being a rich man but robbing poor beggars"?