King of Mercenaries

Chapter 86: Pope's decree

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When Maximilian I was crying in bed, Charles VIII was so depressed that he wanted to cry in Paris...

At the beginning, because of the rampant syphilis, the tens of thousands of French troops were crushed. He withdrew northward with a group of strong men who looked normal. Unexpectedly, many of these strong men who looked normal also contracted syphilis. However, when they withdrew north, they were still in the incubation period and did not explode.

After escaping back to France, some old soldiers in the army couldn't help being lonely, they patronized prostitutes in Paris, and then...the Parisians were recruited...

You know, a prostitute can receive more than one customer a day. Sometimes, some popular prostitutes can receive dozens of people every day. The prostitute then spreads syphilis to many clients, who in turn pass it on to other prostitutes, who in turn pass it on to several other clients...

After so many repetitions, thousands of people in Paris contracted the terrible syphilis. Moreover, the early version of syphilis seemed to be very powerful. The syphilis of later generations only rotted the lower body, but the syphilis of this era is so overbearing that it rots the whole body. Severe patients have sores and pus all over their bodies, which is extremely terrifying...

Charles VIII suddenly remembered the advice given to him by Marin, who had made him lose face. At the beginning, although Charles VIII also paid attention to syphilis, he did not expect that the ability of syphilis to spread was so strong. For the letter sent by Marin before, Charles VIII regarded it more as a symbol of Marin's softness, and did not pay much attention to it. Moreover, Charles VIII believed that what Marin said was somewhat exaggerated. Unexpectedly, in just one year, there were thousands of patients with severe syphilis in Paris, France, and there were signs of spread in other areas. There are indications that Marin's previous concerns have basically become a reality. So, Charles VIII began to fear.

In Germany, the Austrian and Burgundy regions controlled by Emperor Maximilian I, and the Swabian region and the Duchy of Saxony, which were close to the emperor, have not yet found syphilis to be rampant because of effective preventive measures. Even when a few cases were found, they were quickly isolated.

And some vassal states in northwestern Germany, because they insisted on confronting the emperor, did not take seriously the emperor's kind reminder. So, by the end of 1496, these areas were also suffering from syphilis because of their close trade relationship with France...

The worst place was Italy. As the first place where syphilis spread, people in the Kingdom of Naples changed their color when they talked about plum. In northern Italy, the virus also began to spread.

At the same time, Emperor Maximilian I of Shinra was not a good person. He didn't care about the syphilis epidemic in France and Italy at first, and even gloated a little. However, with the spread of syphilis in France and Italy, he realized that if syphilis was allowed to spread in neighboring countries, it would sooner or later spread to Austria and Burgundy. Because, any European country has frequent personnel exchanges with neighboring countries. If syphilis is rampant in the surrounding countries, then Germany will not be able to escape. The prevalence of syphilis in some princely countries proves this.

After thinking about it, Maximilian I decided to communicate with Pope Alexander VI, hoping that the Pope would come forward to control the spread of syphilis.

Maximilian I can only control Austria and Burgundy in Germany, and has no influence on other countries. Even other countries only recognize him as the king of Germany, not the emperor. Therefore, in order to control the spread of syphilis throughout Europe, we must rely on the Pope.

At present, Protestantism has not yet risen, the prestige of the Holy See is still there, and the Pope is still the most prestigious person in Western Europe. Therefore, it is justifiable for the Pope to come forward to control the spread of syphilis.

To this end, Maximilian I personally wrote to the Pope, telling the source and transmission of syphilis, hoping that the Pope would curb the spread of syphilis by controlling people's promiscuity. At the same time, Maximilian I was cruel and ordered the temporary closure of all brothels in Austria and Burgundy. However, in order to appease those mercenaries, Maximilian I still kept a group of military prostitutes, and after being isolated and checked that there was no syphilis lurking, they served the mercenaries under his command.

In Italy, Pope Alexander VI is concerned about the growing syphilis epidemic. Although Alexander VI is the most shameless pope in history, he secretly raised a mistress, and his private life was chaotic. However, he is also afraid of the ravages of this terrible syphilis. Not only him, the bishops of Rome were also worried about the raging syphilis.

You know, since the late Roman Empire, the private life of the Italians has been indulged. In Italy, it is not uncommon for high-level clergy to secretly keep mistresses and low-level clergy to prostitutes. Although there are many honest clergymen, there are also many clergymen who are indiscreet in their private lives. In particular, Pope Alexander VI himself is a strange thing. Under his leadership, it is not uncommon for the clergy to mess around.

What disturbed Alexander VI the most was that several clergymen in the territory of the Papal State were infected with the terrible syphilis. However, the Italians obviously still can't figure out how this terrible infectious disease came from...

After receiving and reading the letter from Maximilian I, Alexander VI figured out the source of syphilis...

"This hateful Columbus thought he had discovered some great place, but he discovered a wild continent and brought back this terrible disease!" Pope Alexander VI gritted his teeth angrily. As a Spaniard, Alexander VI originally applauded Columbus for discovering the New World. Unexpectedly, when Columbus went to the New World, he did not bring back gold, but brought back terrible infectious diseases.

So Alexander VI sent people to Sicily to investigate. Sure enough, syphilis was brought back from the "Wild Continent" by the sailors originally worn by Columbus...

"Damn it, I should have sent that bastard (the sailor who got syphilis and brought it back to Europe) to the stake!"

But in fact, the sailor who was first infected with syphilis and brought to Sicily died of syphilis, his whole body festered, and died in his hometown of Sicily...

As the pope, Alexander VI obviously did not want the believers under his rule to get sick and die. Because these believers have to pay tithes to the church. So, Alexander VI decided to "save" the Catholics, save the tithes...

For this reason, the Pope specially issued an edict to deal with the spread of syphilis...

"Recently, a vicious infectious disease—syphilis (using the English name, 'invented' by Marin)—was brought back to Europe by the crew of the unconformist Columbus, brought it to Sicily, and spread to Naples .This kind of infectious disease is spread by promiscuous sex. Anyone who contracts this disease is caused by indulgence in private life, and death is not a pity... "

"But God is merciful after all, and I don't want to see the spread of this evil disease. Therefore, I, Alexander VI, represent the Holy See decree-from now on, all my God's people will temporarily abstain from sexual intercourse (no restraint between husband and wife), and it is forbidden to patronize Brothel, to avoid the spread and spread of the disease. If you violate this order, you will be punished with excommunication. In addition, all those who are found to be infected must be isolated in a designated area. After their death, their bodies will be burned... This prohibition can only be lifted until the syphilis disappears …”

At this time, syphilis had not yet spread across Europe, but was only spreading in Italy, France, parts of Spain and parts of western Germany. In other countries, there are basically no cases of syphilis.

This decree issued by the Pope under the influence of Maximilian I was actually very timely and effective. The Europeans in the Middle Ages were too stupid. Without Marin's intervention, it is estimated that the source and transmission mode of syphilis would not be understood until the syphilis spread to all of Europe. At that time, even if you want to control, there is no way.

But it is different now, because the Pope has a certain degree of control over the whole of Western Europe. In addition, the spread of syphilis is not very large now, so with this decree, syphilis can be suppressed in advance.

Marin is not kind, he wants to save Europeans or something. Instead, he was very worried that syphilis, which spread very quickly, would harm his troops and civilians. After all, it was common for mercenaries to find prostitutes when they were free. If you contract syphilis, you don't need to go to the battlefield, you can make the army collapse, and you can fight a bloody battle...