Great time travel

Chapter 43. Saving the world is also a great business
In the early summer of 1348, the water city of Venice.

In this era, Venice, situated on lagoons and reefs, was the most splendid city in Europe:
The glorious victory of conquering the Byzantine Empire, the legend of Marco Polo's eastward journey...it is the supreme ruler of the Mediterranean Sea and the immortal legend of the Western world.

Venice's urban population is only about 20, but its commercial empire is so vast.From Spain to Jerusalem, from London to Constantinople, there are traces of Venetian merchants everywhere.So that some people often say: "Where there is water flowing, there are Venetians."

The Venetians established the earliest modernized companies in the West, created the first batch of new banks in the West, and formulated the Law of the Sea.Commerce became the cause of the whole people, and almost all Venetians devoted themselves to it.In the end, wealth came like a tide.For such a small Republic of Venice, the annual financial revenue is as high as millions of ducats!This is a dizzying number, surpassing the fiscal revenues of France and the United Kingdom, the major western countries.It can almost be compared with the annual revenue of the Ming Dynasty in the same era, and the population of the Ming Dynasty is at least several hundred times that of Venice!
Venice was the best governed city in Renaissance Europe.Its republican government is very stable, with only one attempted coup in millennia.It is religiously and ethnically open, and both Arabs and Jews can live in relative safety here.The streets are clean and tidy, well-organized, with a full set of facilities such as libraries, public hospitals, and welfare homes.It has set up annuities for retired civil servants, pensions for widows, the old and the weak, and scholarships for scholars.In short, in terms of population or area, Venice may not be much.But if you want to find a place most like a modern city in the world in the 14th century, it can only be Venice-it seems to have surpassed that era!
Venice in the fourteenth century was at its peak of prosperity and power.On its more than 100 islands, there are many bridges, picturesque boats, and mansions.Pigeons circled in St. Mark's Square, and ladies were like clouds.In the dark 14th century, Venetians were still enjoying life.It is not like Beijing or Delhi, which depend on the power of the emperor in exchange for a luxurious life.All of its prosperity is due to its own blood, sweat and adventure for hundreds of years.

It is a pity that all these prosperity and advancement cannot prevent the Black Death from coming!
For the self-proclaimed "Bride of the Sea God", the sea is both their home and source of wealth.For hundreds of years, it was relying on countless ships to shuttle back and forth day and night, transporting the wealth of the entire Mediterranean world into this place, as well as the successive rounds of negotiations with the Eastern Roman Empire, the Arabs and the Genoese to determine the country's destiny. Only by fighting in the sea can this small city-state be crowned the supreme throne of the Mediterranean overlord.

But as riches flow from the sea, so do threats.

In January 1348, at the same time that the Death Fleet entered the port of Marseilles, Death also arrived in Venice.

As the first sailboat carrying the germs docked at the pier in Venice, the terrible plague flooded the city like a tsunami, pouring into every street and alley—first high fever, vomiting, coughing and Abscess, and then silence and death.

Medieval European doctors were unable to treat these plagues, and densely populated Venice fell quickly.Historians commented: The Republic of Venice has become a republic of the dead - in this short comment, there is a bottomless horror hidden.

In just a few months, almost half of the people in Venice died!
But Venice did not collapse.Unlike other cities in Italy that fall apart, life goes on.There were no preying dogs and crows in the streets, no rotting corpses in the houses, and no fleeing rulers. Venice in 1348 has indeed been reduced to hell, but even in this hell, the Venetians still retain their dignity-this city will never lose courage in the face of death.

In the face of the crisis, the Doge of Venice and the Parliament jointly appointed an emergency committee with full powers to deal with the disaster.The measures it has taken are exhaustive and reasonable.Even today it seems irreproachable.

——The port is strictly controlled by the committee, and all ships are carefully searched.Once a body is found in the ship, the ship will be burned on the spot.Any ship coming from an infected area must be quarantined for forty days.

——In order to prevent the social order from getting out of control, Venice implemented the alcohol restriction order.The import of alcohol was banned and all hotels were ordered to close.Anyone who sells alcohol without permission will be fined heavily, and his wine will also be poured into the sea.

—It was already known at the time that prisons were particularly prone to the spread of the plague.Therefore, the committee stipulated that people imprisoned because of debts can be freed as long as they pay one-fifth of the debts.

——Two desolate islands in the lagoon, designated by the Venice Emergency Committee as mass cemeteries during the plague.

Every morning, many small boats row through the waterways of Venice.On the vast water, echoed the boatman's shout: Corpimorti! Corpimorti! (Dead corpse! Dead corpse!) Hearing the shout, some people came out of the house and threw the dead bodies of their relatives into the boat.

Once the boat was full of dead bodies, it was rowed to the depths of the lagoon.The bodies will be buried there.

Venice's emergency committee stipulated that all cemeteries must be five feet deep.The priest presides over the funeral in front of the cemetery and prays for the souls of the dead.

It was a bleak scene, but one full of dignity.

Compared with countless other cities that have fallen into disintegration and collapse, this cemetery, this funeral is an unimaginable luxury.

Members of Venice's emergency committee were also dying, but they never relinquished their duties until the last moment.Thousands of Venetians died through no fault of their own.They have done everything they can.

Even ordinary people in Venice showed amazing courage.Countless people fall down every day, but those who are alive continue to work.There is no war here, but every boatman, every craftsman, and every civil servant is like a brave warrior.They are like an army marching silently under the rain of arrows-every day, every moment, there are many casualties, but they still hold the front line.

This is Venice in 1348, a city that still holds on to hope amidst despair.

You know, a cruel enemy may make people brave and united, but an unpredictable disease can only make people fearful and distracted.

In the face of the irresistible, preventable, and elusive Black Death, it is already commendable for the Venetians to be able to do this.

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However, although the performance of the authorities of the Republic of Venice in the catastrophe was impressive, this plague has surpassed the limit of mortal ability.Venice's emergency committees did nothing to save the sick, at best they prevented the spread of famine and violence.As time passed and death came, this brilliant and great city slipped irretrievably step by step into the abyss-shops and bazaars closed one by one, shipyards and docks became rubbish dumps, Those in power of the Venice Emergency Committee were only struggling to persevere in the darkness of despair.

More and more residents began to flee to remote villages for refuge.Only the most stubborn citizens, like lonely souls and wild ghosts, stick to this city that is gradually turning into ruins, silently waiting for the day when the disaster will end...or the end of the world will come!
Then, amidst the terrifying atmosphere of this faction heading towards destruction, the dawn of hope also quietly rose on the horizon-since about two months ago, the rumors about "an angel descending and eliminating the plague" came from France and China. Rome kept coming.The self-proclaimed rational Venetian initially scoffed.However, when the miracle of "angels descending" finally appeared in Florence not far from the Apennines, the Venetians finally couldn't sit still, and began to try to send envoys to Florence, trying to pray for the good angels to use their divine power to save own city.

——Following that, the Venetians discovered that the salvation of the world by angels does exist, but it is not free.

In fact, it can even be described as outrageously expensive.

"...100 million ducats?!! Ask us for so much money?!! Are they angels or devils?"

In the conference room of the Doge's Palace in Venice, a middle-aged man angrily knocked on the table, "...This is simply the most despicable form of extortion!"

"... Please calm down, sir. I wonder if you admit the truth that no amount of money can buy our lives?"

The gray-haired governor gave a dry cough and stopped the other party from roaring, "...so far, half of our city's population has died! Some of your families have also lost their lives. Look outside the window! At this point, do we still have room to bargain?"

After everyone heard the words, they couldn't help but fell silent for a while. They turned their heads and looked out through the window of the meeting room. The bronze statue of four horses on St. Mark's Square still stands proudly, but the chaotic stalls and vendors in the past have disappeared. There are not even beggars to be found, only the bleak wind blows the fallen leaves on the ground from time to time.In the city canal next to the square, there are not a few Venetian-style "gondola" boats, which look very empty and lonely... an atmosphere of gloomy, depressing, desolate, desperate, fearful and sad, In this familiar yet unfamiliar empty city, it arises spontaneously.People can hardly believe that this is the great Venice, the bright pearl of the Adriatic Sea!
Seeing such a bleak cityscape like ruins, even the most stingy people have to admit: Venice can't afford to wait.No matter how harsh the conditions are, they can only grit their teeth and endure them-otherwise, once the Venetians die, what is the use of keeping more money?

But the question is... "Can we really get so many gold coins? Your Excellency Governor"

——Although the annual financial revenue of the Republic of Venice is indeed as high as millions of ducats, it does not mean that there is so much money in the treasury of the Governor's Palace.In fact, the total amount of Ducat gold coins minted in the world is about a little over 100 million, so this income is to a large extent just a book figure. In fact, it is based on various commodities, real estate and even in the form of a debt.

In this way, even if the rich people in Venice are willing to lose their homes, they may not be able to search for so many gold and silver coins from the city.

"... You can rest assured that the angels expressed their willingness to accept the discounting of most of the property, and they don't necessarily need coins. What's more, according to our previous secret talks with the angels, as long as the process works well, we may not If you have to go bankrupt, you can still make a lot of money!"

The Governor-General smiled cunningly, "...In fact, saving the world is also an excellent business..."

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PS: I have a cold and a high fever today, and I feel dizzy, so I will write this first, please forgive me.