kingdom of nations

Chapter 169 The Isaacs' New Year (6)

Haredi was also an Isaac, a student of a wise man, and an excellent craftsman.

When the Isaacs discussed this matter in their meeting, they did not leave out his reason.

However, he did not participate in the matter and simply remained silent.

He was prepared when he was brought into Cesar's room. He would gladly accept whatever punishment was to come, whether it was being hung upside down or being whipped.

In any case, Cesar could be considered his benefactor, and he saved his life more than once. Even if he had to repay the debt with his own life, he had nothing to complain about.

Unexpectedly, Cesare not only allowed him to sit down in front of him, but also ordered Longinus to bring a glass of water and a large candlestick with many candles, which immediately brightened the room.

Then Cesare drove Longinus away, leaving only him and himself in the room.

The young knight of Bethlehem carefully took out a piece of parchment about three feet square from the drawer.

This size is quite rare for parchment, since parchment is made by peeling it off a sheep and then soaking it in lime water, removing the wool, scraping it thin on both sides, stretching it, drying it, and sanding it. It takes a lot of careful processing to make it into the parchment we see today.

Throughout the process, if there is even the slightest carelessness, cracks and holes will appear on the parchment, resulting in a large parchment that can only be cut into small pieces for use.

He had thought the other party was going to show him some sacred object or scripture. But when the parchment was unfolded, Haredi only saw a few strange patterns—or rather, to someone unfamiliar with such things, they were just strange patterns. But as a skilled and forward-thinking craftsman, he could tell at a glance that they seemed to be a small weapon that could inject poison into an enemy.

He thought to himself, "Ah, this day has finally come. Isn't this exactly what the Christian knight wanted to do with me?" But at the same time, a feeling of disgust arose involuntarily in his heart—he had indeed made harmful weapons with his own hands, but by then he was almost insane, and everything he had was destroyed in the mouths of the hyenas brought by Sultan Nur ad-Din.

His teacher, his clansmen, his wife and daughter were all dead, and he was left alone, drifting like a duckweed, unable to find a foothold.

Indeed, as Saladin said, he still retained some desire to live. He could not commit suicide, nor could he condone the killing of him. However, because he had lost the ancient scrolls, he could not return to their secret place to seek the protection of his people, as his teacher had instructed.

He disdained such a thing, but he also found it hard to accept that in the future he would only be able to create these things that would take human lives.

Those people were not necessarily infidels and murderers like Sultan Nur ad-Din; they could be a capable monarch or a wise scholar.

He knew these Christians, he knew these knights; they might have a good reputation outside, but when it came to fighting for profit, they were ruthless.

Can you tell what this is?

Haredi was about to refuse, not caring if the other party flew into a rage and hanged him on the spot. But then he saw another device, which looked like a complete extraction system, but much more complex than the one for extracting flower nectar…

What do you plan to do with this?

He uttered the first words he spoke after entering the room.

"Save them," Cesar said.

He had expected to see surprise and relief on Haredi's face. But in reality, he merely scrutinized Cesar with suspicion, as if trying to discern some compassionate quality in the Christian knight.

Then he picked up the large parchment again and examined it repeatedly, asking, "Do you also agree with the transfusion balance theory?"

He's not talking about blood transfusions that will only come about in a few hundred years, but rather those with certain medical concepts and innovative practices.

This assumption is still based on Hippocrates' humoral theory. The priests believed that when a person is sick, it is because the body's fluids are out of balance. If that's the case, wouldn't it be possible to restore the person's health by draining some fluids—that is, bloodletting, or by injecting some fluids?
This claim has gained considerable support, and bloodletting therapy existed as early as ancient Egypt and Rome. However, blood transfusions remained only on paper; no one had actually put them into practice, mainly because they didn't know how to ingest another person's fluids.

Their only option was to ingest or apply the substance directly. For example, the beautiful women of ancient Rome would often collect the blood and sweat left by gladiators after training or battle, mix it with wine, and consume it, believing that this would enhance their charm.

People in ancient Egypt would also drink the blood of strong men directly, believing it could cure epilepsy.

In the Christian world, the consumption of flesh and blood appears more often in various evil sacrifices. Believers who worship the devil will also eat the flesh and blood of their victims, believing that they can draw from them what they do not have—such as youth and health.

Even the Isaacs were believed to eat babies.

Haredi had indeed heard of Cesar's reputation, but to be honest, he didn't really believe it. He had seen many high-ranking officials and nobles, and the Christians had less faith in him than the Saracens. They had erected a false idol and regarded it as the Son of God sent to earth, believing that it had redeemed all the sins of mankind with its own death.

But how could that be? The Messiah will only appear before people at the end of the world. As recorded in the scriptures passed down through generations, at that time he will lead those innocent souls through the road of Arazars, and ascend to Heaven surrounded by angels and saints.

Before this, any savior was a fake, a fraud, a heretic, and should be cast straight into hell.

As for him, if he encountered a tyrannical, greedy, and cruel Christian lord, he would take it for granted and treat it calmly.

Although he might run away, or he might outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, he also doesn't believe that there really is such a perfect and selfless person in the world.

He frowned and looked at it for a while longer. Now he was basically certain that this thing did have some similarities to his previous works, but it was more refined.

As a highly skilled craftsman, he was already itching to try it out. "No, this isn't for bloodletting or blood transfusions." Leaving aside whether bloodletting or blood transfusions would benefit Baldwin's current condition, even if they did, Cesar wouldn't dare to do it. For one thing, there's the issue of blood type—current medical technology can't determine everyone's blood type. If an incorrect blood type is transfused, Baldwin will only die faster.

"I want to extract some medicines and use a syringe—this instrument—to inject these medicines into the patients' bodies to help them recover as quickly as possible."

"You mean herbs? Can't herbs be ingested?"

"Some ailments can be treated with herbs, but if the herbs first pass through the mouth, throat, stomach, and then the large and small intestines, the patient will only be able to ingest too few of the effective ingredients—there are acids in the gastrointestinal tract that can decompose anything."

However, if the useful parts could be extracted and directly injected into the patient, the effect would be twice as good with half the effort.

He explained it this way, not worried that Haredi wouldn't understand, because he was the wise man's student, which meant he was also a doctor and teacher in the Isaac community.

"Did your teacher teach you this?" Haredi asked. If it was Patriarch Heraclius, he and his student were truly audacious—he was instructing a knight on how to be a doctor, and this knight actually had some ideas of his own. "Have you tried it? The method you described?"

Of course, it's in another world, and several hundred years later.

César, of course, couldn't say that. "There's a simpler way to verify it, which is a bit... a bit embarrassing."

"What do you mean by embarrassing?" Haredi looked suspicious. "If it's possible, I'd like to know."

The other party's request was reasonable and perhaps unexpected by later generations. At that time, people already had some understanding of blood circulation. As César said, it was not about having the patient drink medicine, but about injecting it directly into the bloodstream through the blood vessels, which may indeed be possible.

The syringe hasn't been made yet, but Cesar does have a way to prove it.

“You know that the human intestines have more tiny blood vessels than other parts of the body,” Cesar gestured slightly. “You can find someone and have him drink a bottle of wine directly, and…” He didn’t finish, but Haredi understood what he meant. “Then you can observe carefully and see which one makes him get drunk faster.”

In fact, his statement was not entirely correct. But at this time, he could not conjure up an entire system out of thin air; he could only let Harry know a little about what he was going to do. He had to let Harry know, otherwise what Harry created would not meet his requirements.

Haredi was deeply shocked, not only by the peculiar method of verification, but also by the fact that this Christian knight, the lord of Bethlehem, was clearly instructing him on what priests should be doing.

“Do you know that if I denounce you to the church, you could be excommunicated?” Haredi said, but then he immediately denied his guess: “No, they won’t accept an Isaac’s denunciation.”

Haredi thought about it and agreed that it made perfect sense. "I understand. You mean you want me to do this, in case anything goes wrong—"

Isn't it perfectly normal for an Isaac to practice some kind of witchcraft?
He said smugly, “Yes, you saved my life twice, and just for this… I can take full responsibility and let them burn me to death.”

Cesar knew he should be happy, but he felt more helpless than anything else. He found that the Isaacs seemed to be divided into two extremes: one extreme was wanting to be the master of everyone, while the other extreme was wanting to be the slave of everyone.

Previously, when he offered him generous treatment, Harry only wanted to run away, but now that he was being asked to be a scapegoat and die, he was willing to do it.

Cesar found himself completely baffled as to what the Isaacs were thinking.

But since Haredi was willing to build this for him, things became simple.

He gave Haredi a box of Roman gold coins as the materials and commission needed to make the item, and sent him back to Bethlehem.

Before Haredi left, Cesar called out to him, "Do you know Nellie?"

"I don't know her. I don't know any Christian women."

“Alright, but I still want to thank you,” Cesar said. “When you get back to Bethlehem, go do your work at the church, and be careful.”

Because of her previous favor, Nellie went to Sainte-Croix Castle to inform Cesar on the matter, which seemed like an ordinary thing.

But upon closer reflection, how could a woman who had received no education and was so rude and barbaric know the malice hidden behind good deeds? She might have discarded the Isaacs' gifts, or she might have eaten them without a second thought.

But it's probably impossible for her to think any deeper.

It can only be said that someone who knew the inside story gave her a warning and asked her to come and warn César, which is why she appeared before César.

But this is something that cannot be spoken aloud; the Isaacs punished traitors far more viciously than the Christians.

(End of this chapter)