Great time travel

No.30. Is this my sister's concubine? (happy New Year!)

As a matter of fact, the travellers were able to find wealth worth 38 billion yen from the current city of Rome. Some antiques of Greco-Roman civilization, such as marble statues and relief panels of emperors and goddesses, and even the "Trajan's Column" on the square were removed by the traversers... But the problem is, let alone these There are far more fakes than real ones in antiques, just like modern tourists always buy Oracle bone inscriptions baked in a microwave oven in Anyang, Henan.Even if it is genuine, the pawn prices identified by the [Automatic Pawn Machine] for these antiques are all super cheap!

For example, the [Automatic Pawn Machine] actually only offered an ultra-low price of 38 million yen for the "Tracian Column" that is 5000 meters high, four meters in diameter, and covered with exquisite war reliefs... ...The cost of Emperor Trajan's construction of the Jigong Column was more than this amount, okay!
As for other smaller or more severely damaged ancient Roman statues, murals and relief panels, the valuation given by [Automatic Pawn Machine] is even more appalling.Moreover, at this moment in 1348 AD, after all, nearly 900 years have passed since the collapse of the Roman Empire. The ancient cultural relics left in the city of Rome have been continuously lost. They were regarded as the evil relics of heresy gods, and were destroyed by fanatical Christians...so the cultural relics that were found in the end were not as many as expected.

"...In fact, in order to help us raise funds, the church has really tried its best to scrape the ground, and even brought over the ancient Roman statues decorated on the tombs of the nearby popes." Paladin Li Wei said When the news broke, it immediately aroused a look of astonishment.

"...Huh?" Ma Tong blinked in disbelief, "...you dare to dig the Pope's tomb? It's really out of morals!"

——Hey, among all the people here, I am afraid that only you, a black-hearted lily slut, are the least qualified to say that others lack integrity.

"...The coffin was not dug out, but the decorations on the surface were just embezzled. What's more, those statues were originally stolen from ancient temples and even Roman tombs, and it is normal to demolish them again now. "Levy shrugged and explained.

All in all, no matter from which point of view, the oil and water in the city of Rome have been drained, and the nearby satellite towns and monasteries have also sent their offerings to the maximum extent.If you want to get more oil and water from the territory of the Papal State without using violence to plunder, then you can only attack the farmers in the nearby villages... and all the traversers are extremely pessimistic about this manner.

——No matter from which point of view, the life of European peasants in the Middle Ages was very difficult and difficult.They live in dilapidated thatched huts, sleep with pigs and goats, work at sunrise and rest at sunset.Even if you finally have some spare money, it will be plundered by churches and lords in various unimaginable names, and this is true no matter which country you are in.

In addition to heavy labor, these farmers must also meet the harsh requirements of the lord, and often endure poverty and plague.When wars broke out, farmers had to join the lord's army to fight. At that time, there were countless attacks among the princes and frequent wars.If the situation of free people is like this, the situation of serfs can be imagined.At that time, more than two-thirds of the rural population belonged to the class of serfs without freedom!It is said that farmers at that time lived to the age of 40 as "longevity", and it was rare to live to the age of 50. It can be said that "a life of fifty is rare since ancient times".Heavy labor and lack of nutrition led to people being generally stunted. The average height of farmers at that time was only about 1.5 meters...

In general, in medieval Europe, there were few rich peasants in the true sense, and very few middle classes in the modern sense.The disparity between the rich and the poor in the whole society is extremely extreme, and the extremely limited wealth is concentrated in the cities, castles, churches and monasteries-when these places are squeezed, even the greediest people cannot squeeze it from the hands of the peasants. What to produce: They are already poor and have nothing at ordinary times.

Fortunately, there is not only one city of Rome in Italy. In the Renaissance and modern times, the northern Italian city-states north of Rome were the real wealth gathering places, and they were also the travelers who had become "destroyers of monuments" in Rome. , the scheduled key search target for the next step.

"... From this point of view, there is no potential to be discovered in Rome for the time being. Fortunately, Venice, Florence, and Genoa in the north seem to be richer. Our goal is to collect at least 100 billion from these places. Yen! Of course, the more the better!"

As the fundraising meeting concluded, Doraemon concluded, waving a stubby wooden stick and pointing to a map of Italy hanging on the wall.And the traversers who were also lacking in integrity suddenly responded, only Li Wei was still muttering to himself: "Isn't the goal to save the people there as much as possible?"

Next, for these "good appetite" angels who are willing to leave Rome to save and search other cities, Pope Clement VI naturally agrees with both hands and feet-he knew from the beginning that even if the entire The wealth of the Pope may not be able to gather as many gold coins as the angels want.However, in view of the fact that the situation in the Papal State has not yet been completely stabilized, and there are still patients coming to ask for help, Clement VI hopes to leave one or two angels to help the Holy See to suppress the situation, or simply use the "magic" to treat diseases. The clergy taught to the Church...

Unfortunately, neither of the above two requirements of the Pope could be met - firstly, the traversers are generally unwilling to disperse in two places, so as not to be able to escape all urgently in case of danger; Before Doraemon needed a huge sum of money, they didn't dare to easily disclose the spells on the "Encyclopedia of Magic" to outsiders... Then you can cure diseases and eliminate disasters by yourself, so how can we collect money?
Of course, in view of the fact that the Pope has worked hard and cooperated with the search very hard these days, as a substitute, Doraemon still left behind the [Free Door] that connects Avignon and Rome, so that members of the church can take the sick to the hospital at any time. Move from Rome to Avignon and come to the rescue when the travelers are free.And Doraemon took out another random door to travel from Avignon, France to Florence.

On this trip to Florence for the salvation (blackmail) of the world, Her Majesty Queen Joanna of Naples volunteered, claiming to be familiar with the high society in Florence and to be the guide and introducer of the angels, but he hesitated to ask the angels to help her solve the problem A "little trouble"—just like the Wall Street bankers of the United States in the future will control the finances of many third world countries, as a "backward country" in this era, the Kingdom of Naples has always had to rely on the finances of the Florentine financial circles. Support, I have owed an unknown amount of debts over the years... In view of the sad situation of the Kingdom of Naples with few living people left, this debt has already been repaid even if Her Majesty the Queen sacrificed her life to sell her flesh.

Hearing that the young queen was in huge debts like himself, the sympathetic Doraemon was overwhelmed with embarrassment, and immediately patted his chest and wrapped it up.And Wang Qiu also went up to "comfort" Queen Joanna, saying that the Black Death epidemic in Florence should not be much better than that in Naples, and those bankers who had lent money to the Naples royal family probably died almost as well.If the bankers were lucky enough to survive, the angels would "well" persuade them to be merciful, and not to compare the old debts with Queen Joanna, who is blessed by God.

Even if some of these bankers have a granite head and refuse to heed the angel's advice to forgive the debts of the Kingdom of Naples, and are addicted to the dirty world and unwilling to ascend to heaven into the world of bliss, the angels will make them have the Lord quickly. Called, to go to heaven to enjoy the blessings, just like the British immigrants on the "Mayflower" immigration ship that created the United States, "thanks" to the Indians who entertained them...

——Well, as all kinds of morals are getting less and less, now the hearts of these traversers have been cut and black.

Next, the [random door] leading to Florence was finally slowly pushed open by the palm of Doraemon's dumpling.

Then, as soon as she stepped into the city of Florence, Queen Joanna was very surprised to meet an unexpected acquaintance...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Northern Italy, Tuscany region, Florence city
During the Renaissance, the city-states of northern Italy were the forerunners of all of Europe.It has the highest degree of urbanization in Europe, the most prosperous urban agglomeration in Europe, the earliest sprout of capitalism in human history, the earliest modern diplomacy, finance, technology and ocean trade, and the earliest humanism. Art and literature gave birth to the crystallization of wisdom that will make Europeans look up to the world in the future.

And among these Italian city-states as bright as morning stars, Florence, the city translated by Xu Zhimo as "Jade Lengcui", is the most artistic among them.It is also the European cultural center of this era and the birthplace of the European Renaissance movement - Da Vinci, Dante, Galileo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Machiavelli (The author of "The Prince")... This series of well-known and world-renowned romantic figures all have a deep connection with the city of Florence.

——If Silicon Valley in the United States symbolizes the information age, then Florence is where the essence of the Renaissance gathers.

It was not until the rise of Paris, the capital of flowers, and the rise of French romantic art in modern times, that Florence gradually lost its title of "art capital of the world".

In addition to being a famous art capital, Florence is also a famous financial center, Wall Street in the Renaissance era.The Medici family, which has ruled the city for a long time, is known as the most powerful banker in the Renaissance era, and the future Rothschild family cannot compare with it.

However, at this moment in the early summer of 1348, Florence, like all cities in Italy, was also shrouded in the haze of the Black Death.

——Different from those cities that didn’t realize it until death was imminent, the Florence city authorities received news of the plague last year, and knew that the plague was approaching them step by step, but they were still helpless and could not come up with anything: The filthy places in the city have been cleaned up, the order prohibiting the sick from entering the city has been issued, and the devout believers have prayed to God again and again... But the Black Death still came!
All of a sudden, the death knell in the bustling Florence rang chaotically, corpses piled up, ten rooms were empty, people panicked, rumors swirled, trade was cut off, and there was a shocking scene of terror everywhere, as if the end of the world had come... Facing the epidemic that swallowed the city in an instant , the rich loaded their property into carriages and fled their families to the countryside; the poor could only stay in their dilapidated huts, waiting for death in despair; Neither can be cured; pious believers pray frantically day and night, and they have driven themselves into insanity before the onset of disease.And the literati raised their quills in this miserable atmosphere of despair...

In Europe in the [-]th century, there were three cultural superstars, who were called the "Three Heroes of the Renaissance" by later generations.They are Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, and all happen to be Florentines.

When the Black Death came, Dante, who wrote the "Divine Comedy" and suffered bitterly and bitterly for a lifetime, was dead. Petrarch, the "Father of the Renaissance" who won the laurels, was involved in last year's coup d'état in the Roman Republic. In exile, whereabouts are unknown.Only Giovanni, who has the most gossipy personality and loves market jokes the most.Boccaccio, still staying in this city full of corpses, and trying to use the quill pen in his hand to leave a record for this living hell-of course, Boccaccio has not yet started writing at this time His "Ten Days Talk", which will go down in history in the future, only has a hazy idea in his mind.His current reputation in the literary world is supported by all kinds of erotic poems and pornography, and he is mainly known for his bold scale... ♂ jokes, while also holding public office in the government of Florence.

In a dusty study in Florence's town hall, Giovanni, an incompetent financial official and brilliant erotic writer.Boccaccio, with a haggard look, was lying on a table, writing vigorously with official stationery:
"...this is a world of disasters that are dying day by day, this is a dark and sad age of plague, every country is engulfed by invisible diseases, howling storms attack the barren coast, crazy robbers and bandits come from the wilderness out, looting and slaughtering our towns.

Merchant ships and trade vanished from the seas, and all law and order vanished in the face of death.

God had forgotten the people of Italy, and the old orderly world we knew had come to an end without warning.

Those noble souls born with glory had to start struggling for survival.The short and precarious life makes the rich no longer have long-term plans, but only wants to enjoy themselves in time, wantonly squandering the wealth they have accumulated throughout their lives; the ignorant poor are walking towards death step by step in ignorance, poverty and fear... The old The years are over and a new age is beginning, and everyone must learn to survive in this new age.For this dying land is our home, and the terrible new world we must face..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped writing and frowned, not knowing how to continue.

After reading the already written text again, Boccaccio still couldn't find a way of thinking, so he had to put down the quill, got up and spread the paper, and grabbed a handful of dry fine sand from the sand jar next to the desk, and carefully placed it on the paper. Sprinkle a layer on the paper and let it absorb the ink on the paper.Then he opened his mouth to blow off the fine sand, and finally rolled up the paper and carefully put it into a delicate wooden box.

After finishing writing temporarily, he sighed and stretched his waist, turned around and looked out through the window of the study, the scenery on the street seemed to be the same, but the chaotic vendors in the past had disappeared, and even the beggars were gone. Couldn't find one.

In the field of vision, there are only abnormally dirty streets, abandoned houses with open doors and windows, and a very few sloppy men leaning against the corner waiting to die, as well as countless bones that have been discarded at will, making this city that has suffered the baptism of the plague , appearing more empty and desolate.

He vaguely remembered that earlier, before the collapse of the city hall and the church, there were corpse carts going back and forth on the street, transporting large quantities of corpses to various churches in the city, and then Some long and wide pits were dug there, and hundreds of corpses were buried there, just like the cargo in the hold of a ship. Although there was no honor at all, at least the minimum decency was maintained. .

But now, even the corpse collection teams organized by the government have all died of illnesses, and the fallen dead can only rot and stink in the streets and at home, but no one is willing to clean them up, lest they themselves will also be infected with the plague.What's even more frightening is that there are still some half-human, half-ghost things roaming the streets of Florence.They call themselves diggers, deal with dead bodies every day, and don't care about their own life or death.They wandered around the cemetery like ducks during the day, and turned into devils at night—at first they just robbed, and later they became a group of madmen.These gravediggers often come in groups, rushing into someone's house at random and demanding a large sum of money.If you can't pay, use a woman to make up for it!

These lawless atrocities often succeed in this special period.Because they are not afraid of death, but also have the ability to spread the plague.Everyone is afraid of them.And the municipality of Florence was in disintegration.So, sometimes they blackmailed money, and sometimes they raped women... This catastrophe turned some living people into dead people, and some living people into devils.Some disasters bring people together, but not the Black Death.It belongs to another class of catastrophes that only unleash the evil in human beings, making them darker and more alienated.

Hey, staying in this living hell, watching everything familiar being gradually swallowed by carrion and darkness, almost every day is a kind of torment!

The next thing he felt he was hungry.

——At this time, the order of the city had already collapsed, and no shop selling bread and pastries dared to open the door. Many citizens' livelihoods were in trouble, but this was not a problem for Boccaccio, who had been prepared for a long time.On the eve of the final collapse of the Florence municipal government, Boccaccio, who had already foreseen the disaster, used the last power at hand to use public funds to secretly hoard a large amount of bread, biscuits, bacon and wine in the cellar of the city hall, enough for him to eat and drink. More than a year.If there are no accidents, I can probably let myself survive this catastrophe.

However, just as he was humming a ditty in bitterness and walking down the stairs shaking the key, he stopped at the entrance of the hall in astonishment.

Because a group of uninvited guests suddenly broke into the Florence City Hall where he was the only one left.

What made Boccaccio's mind collapse even more was what kind of unbelievable group of uninvited guests this was! ! !

——Several suspected "angels" with wings on their backs, several priests and nuns in robes, several knights in bright armor, and a young lady wearing a luxurious purple dress that looks familiar?What kind of strange combination is this?
Even if it happened that I falsified accounts and embezzled public funds, there is no need for such a group of strange guys to review it!

What's more, at this moment, everyone is alive today and doesn't know if there will be a tomorrow. Who else can care about such a trivial matter!

All of a sudden, Boccaccio's mind was full of chaos, and he stood on the stairs, tongue-tied, not knowing what to do.

At the same time, the lady in the long purple dress looked up at him for a while, and seemed to recognize Boccaccio's identity, "... I didn't expect there to be living people in Florence's city hall... Eh? Why is it you? Are you still not dead?"

"...Uh? Is this guy an acquaintance of yours? Your Majesty the Queen?" an "angel" with wings on his back asked curiously.

Then, Boccaccio heard the lady in the purple dress say a thunderous introduction to the "angel":

"...Well, yes, Lord Angel, this guy used to be the concubine of one of my sisters, and he was very good at writing all kinds of obscene and crooked poems..."

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

PS: On the last day of 2014, I wish you all a fruitful year and a happy new year!Please also continue to support Pharaoh Wang!Please also continue to support Pharaoh Wang!Because it is very important, I say meow twice!