Water Margin people

Chapter 1757 The Source of the Plague
"Mr. Bernard, this is not an excuse. Look at the situation in the city. If this continues, what will become of Rome?"

Baldwin IV pointed at the dirty and messy streets. He couldn't imagine that this was the holy city, the seat of the church and the royal family.

"I will report these issues to His Holiness the Pope."

Bernard smiled and left.

"Your Majesty, these matters are not our business. The church is now focused on the High Mass, and all other matters will be postponed."

"It is said that the Arabs sent people to ask for help a few days ago, saying that they can no longer stop the Qi army, and hope that we can send people to support us."

"The Pope did not meet the envoy at all, but just had him sent away."

William looked at Baldwin IV and said.

"Send someone for help, what's the situation?"

Baldwin IV asked quickly.

"It is said that Saladin suffered another great defeat and was no longer able to fight against Qi. Qi was digging a canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to connect the two places. The construction is progressing very quickly. I don't know what method Qi used, but it actually made a lot of... a lot of... strange big things..."

William spoke up, he didn't know how to describe the news he heard.

"Big weird thing?"

Baldwin IV asked with a frown.

"Yes, I don't know how to describe it. It's like a huge carriage, but without horses. However, it can run on its own. One machine can be equivalent to the strength of a hundred people."

William spoke up.

"Machinery! One machine is equivalent to a hundred people?"

Baldwin IV was a little dazed. He racked his brains but couldn't imagine what kind of machine it was.

"How many are there?"

Baldwin IV took a long time to react and asked.

"The Arabs don't know either. The Qi army is patrolling very strictly now. They know about forty or fifty of them!"

William spoke up.

"Forty or fifty! If there are so many, there must be more. Although I don't know what a faraway is, this thing may be like a horse-drawn carriage. Qi State can already produce it in batches."

"Originally, it would have taken at least ten years to build the canal. Now it seems that it will be completed in four or five years at the most. By then, the fleet of Qi will be able to reach the city of Rome!"

Baldwin IV's face was full of shock. These were far beyond his expectations. Four or five years - that time passed too quickly. It was so fast that they didn't even have time to find a solution.

"How could the Pope turn a blind eye to such things? What about Conrad III, Louis VII and Manuel I? They were also indifferent?"

Baldwin IV looked at William and asked, the church might turn a blind eye to these things, but the emperor of the kingdom and the empire could not fail to respond. Qi was a conqueror, and the arrival of Qi posed the brunt of the threat to the royal power.

"The attitudes of those three are still unclear. They have not come to Rome yet, so I don't know what they are thinking."

William shook his head.

"What on earth is this doing?"

Baldwin IV gritted his teeth and said that he thought everything would be back on track after returning to Rome, and he would no longer have to worry about enemies from all directions like he did in Jerusalem.

But the actual situation is quite different. Compared with the anxiety in Jerusalem, the empire is facing even more problems, and he can do nothing here.

"Your Majesty, the Empire and the Kingdom have not been harmonious in recent years. A large number of heretics have emerged in the Church in recent years. I'm afraid there are shadows of the Empire and the Kingdom behind these people."

William spoke up.

"That's right!"

Baldwin IV immediately understood the reason. Theocracy had always been above imperial power, which was unacceptable to the emperor.

In the past, the church was powerful, the believers had firm faith, and the empire and kingdom did not dare to do anything.

But now that the church is gradually declining, the empire and the kingdom have begun to think about decentralization, at least the church can no longer interfere too much in the rule of the empire and the kingdom.

"Civil strife! War!" Two words came to Baldwin IV's mind.

The Holy Roman Empire was not widely recognized, the Germanic peoples were always regarded as barbarians in the north, and the Holy Roman Empire was not a successor to the Roman Empire.

The internal forces of the empire, the Pope, the principalities and the free states were constantly fighting each other, and the empire was in a strange state that it could fall apart at any time.

"Let's go, let's go outside the city and take a look!"

Baldwin IV felt a tightness in his chest. This was his hometown and the people here all shared the same beliefs as him. Logically, he should be very happy, but now he wanted to escape as soon as possible.

"Compared to these people, I even think Saladin is easier to get along with!"

Baldwin IV thought silently in his heart that although he and Saladin were enemies, he admired Saladin and recognized his character.

William didn't say anything else, but followed Baldwin IV with his knights. He knew that His Majesty wanted to go out of the city to relax.

When we left Rome, we saw an endless sea of ​​people. Everywhere we looked there were people.

"so many people!"

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Baldwin IV was surprised to see that there were more pilgrims than he had imagined.

Baldwin IV walked along the road. There were crowds of people gathered on both sides of the road. They built shacks to live in. The dirty environment exuded a disgusting stench. All kinds of excrement and garbage were discarded everywhere. It was common for people to urinate and defecate everywhere. Rats and cockroaches were everywhere, and mosquitoes and flies were flying everywhere.

It took a long time to leave that dirty place.

Looking back at the city of Rome, Baldwin IV frowned. He felt more and more uneasy and even a little panicked.

“Is this still the Holy City?”

Baldwin IV muttered that all he saw was a filthy place.

William said nothing, but just stood aside with his knights.

Suddenly, a whimpering sound was heard from the woods nearby.

Baldwin IV was awakened by the sound of crying. He looked in the direction of the sound, but his view was blocked by dense bushes.

"what's the situation?"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"Your Majesty, I just asked, it seems that a pilgrim died of illness, and his family plans to bury him here."

William spoke up.

"Dead from illness?"

Baldwin IV did not say anything. Death from illness was not an uncommon thing. Countless pilgrims came from thousands of miles away and died of illness on the way.

"Come on, follow me around!"

Baldwin IV just wanted to relax and relieve his depression.

"Have you heard? That man is a follower of Satan!"

"The devil's followers still want to get closer to the holy city!"

"Isn't this God's punishment? It is said that if someone dies with his body completely black, he must be a follower of the devil!"

……

On the side of the road, a group of people were discussing in low voices.

"what are you guys saying?"

When Baldwin IV heard what these people said, he suddenly felt a little nervous when he heard that he had died in complete darkness.

"Dear Sir, let's talk about the dead person over there. That person seems to be possessed by a demon, and his whole body is black..."

When those people saw Baldwin IV riding a horse, dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing a crown, they knew that his identity was not simple and quickly replied.