kingdom of nations

Chapter 35 Mithridates' Prescription (Part )

Geoffrey watched Cesar pick up the purse and tie it to his belt, nodding with satisfaction. As an old knight, the thing he was most impatient about was talking to stupid people, whether they were in the Knights Templar or outside the Knights Templar.

He noticed that after the child put away the money bag, he seemed to have something to say to him: "Is there anything else I can help you with?" He couldn't think of it for a moment. If it were him, the most important thing would be to leave the cursed place of Holy Cross Castle.

"I had a servant," said Cesar, "who served as my guard while I was doing penance in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."

"Then?"

"He's a wandering knight, but he has a family name and a history. He's been in the Holy Land for several years now, always wanting to join the Crusades but unsuccessful."

"You want him to join us?" That was a little difficult, Geoffrey frowned.

How to say it, when the Knights Templar were first established, almost any knight could join the order, but fifty years later the Knights Templar had become a golden Temple Mount and no longer needed people to add luster to them. Instead, those who joined could gain a lot of benefits from it.

Therefore, joining the Knights Templar is more difficult than joining the Church. One must either have power, money or territory. In short, one cannot be a wandering knight with no support or background.

"He doesn't have such extravagant expectations," Cesar said. "As long as he can train in the Knights Templar for a while, that's enough."

Geoffrey raised an eyebrow. "For a while?"

"After January 1th he will be gone."

"Does your prince know?"

"do not know."

Geoffrey suddenly revealed a playful smile, which then became cheerful again: "That's good." He raised his hand in a chainmail glove across the table and landed heavily on Cesar's shoulder. Suddenly, the space became darker and more secretive: "Perhaps you are too young, or perhaps Baldwin is too young. You haven't realized how a king, a person with endless power, can become twisted?
You love and respect your master, which is worthy of respect, and on this basis you can still maintain your own thinking ability and code of conduct. This is not something that everyone can do. There are always some people, like stubborn guinea pigs, who will not give up until they have broken their heads and bleed. "

He sat back in his chair. "Are you talking about the black knight who's been following us? I promised you, please call him in."

"Did you notice?"

"We saw it from the drawbridge. He's very clever and agile, but I'm a Christian soldier," Geoffrey pointed to his head. "How can I be less vigilant when dealing with Saracens, who are as cunning as foxes?"

César couldn't help but show a hint of admiration, and seeing this, Jouffroy felt a surge of relief. You know, when a child displays wisdom beyond their peers, or even beyond the reach of adults, it's certainly a source of joy, but it can also be a source of frustration.

It made him show the expression that a child of his age should have - if he was not worried about getting drunk, the Templar would almost call the tavern owner to buy a few more large glasses of beer and drink them to his heart's content.

Longinus had been waiting outside the tavern since early morning. As soon as Cesar called him, he ran in. Seeing the expressions of Cesar and the knight in the white robe, he knew that the deal was done. He immediately wanted to kneel down and kiss Geoffrey's mail gloves, but Geoffrey held him back: "Brothers, just bow to each other."

"It so happens that the logistics manager has complained to me about the lack of staff to organize the warehouses," Geoffrey said. "You have a guarantor whom I trust. I hope you can live up to his trust."

"I will never let him down," Longinus said sincerely.

"What's your name?"

"You can call me Longinus first. I swore an oath before I came here that I would not take back my original surname and first name until I had accomplished something great - I would chop off at least three Saracens' heads."

"Then you are quite lucky," Geoffrey stroked his clean chin. "Give him a gold coin, tell him to shave his beard, change into a clean cloak, and do his best," he said to Longinus. "If you do well, you may have a chance to stay in the Order."

Longinus said, "To stand among the Knights of God, even for just three days, is enough for me to preach the glory of a lifetime."

Geoffrey sneered, "Since when have the Knights Templar become so unpopular?" But deep down, he really preferred people like Cesare and Longinus - neither of them immediately showed an expression of joy and eager greed when they heard that they could join the Knights Templar - this was a rather contradictory mentality, but it was very real.

He didn't say much, just waved his hand and walked out of the tavern. Longinus looked at Cesar, and Cesar nodded.

They mounted their horses, and Longinus tried hard not to laugh. Ever since he met this green-eyed, black-haired boy, he had never seen him lose his composure, not even when he encountered assassins, not even when he faced hundreds of poor pilgrims...

But today, Cesar, riding on his little horse Castor, was suddenly much shorter than them and indescribably... adorable. Only then did Longinus realize that the master he followed was still a child.

"What's going on?" Geoffrey muttered. The street they were passing through was already crowded, and now it was even more congested. He had not brought his attendants with him today in order to have a heart-to-heart talk with Cesar. When Longinus saw this, he immediately dismounted, drew up his scabbard and whipped the slow-moving crowd, "reminding" them to make way for a passage.

"They caught two people who were trying to disrupt the market." Geoffrey could vaguely see some swaying figures and movements, and guessed what was happening there.

There was always an open space in the market for publicly punishing merchants who evaded taxes or sold counterfeit goods. The two merchants who had sold bad wine and dead birds, one was still drinking his wine, his body red from the cold, and the other was still eating his dead bird. Between them, there was another woman. She was in tattered clothes, kneeling on the ground, and two men were digging a pit for her, preparing to bury her alive.

The market inspector also noticed the white cloak and the red cross. He hurriedly dispersed the crowd, telling them to wait and watch the fun. Disrupting the market at that time was a serious crime: men could be hanged, and women could be buried alive. But as César rode by on his horse, Castor, the woman suddenly looked up at him. César was startled, but Geoffrey, who had been watching him, noticed: "Do you know her?"

In fact, if Cesar hadn't had a good memory, he wouldn't have remembered this woman. After all, most poor people at that time were unkempt and ugly. "She is the woman whose child is sick."

Geoffrey smiled. It turned out that she was the special actor arranged by the monk Heraclius. However, he didn't know whether Heraclius and Amalric I would regret what happened later. He looked at César and asked, "Do you want to save her?"

"What happened?" Cesar asked.

It wasn't anything complicated. The prostitute had some dispute with a customer, and during the scuffle, she fell on her stall, which happened to be selling dyes. All the goods fell to the ground and spread everywhere with the broken jars.

Although the woman did not mean to do it, she could not afford to compensate the merchant for the dye, so she had to be sentenced for intentionally destroying the market.

The dye merchant was also complaining. He didn't really want to see anyone die, but his dyes were all broken and no one compensated him. His business was completely over. He lost everything, so who would pity him?

Cesar glanced at the empty, rickety stall. There were indeed a lot of black, white, green and yellow dyes flowing on the mud. Although there was no expensive red, indigo and purple, the money was definitely not something the woman could afford.

He was still hesitating, but at last someone recognized him and immediately said that they were willing to pay the fine for the prostitute. The dye merchant immediately changed his dejected expression and stopped mourning for the dyes. He just wanted this pious and good man to bless the few ornaments around him.

Geoffrey chuckled and cursed in a low voice. This merchant was really smart. The total value of these jars of dye would not exceed three silver coins. Any of the holy objects blessed by the "little saint" could be exchanged for one or two gold coins when taken back to Europe, along with the story behind it.

Instead of promising to bless his ornaments, Cesar compensated for the dye and quickly left before a crowd could gather.

The market inspector also had to sigh at the good luck of the prostitute. He took out a few copper coins and gave them to the people who dug the pit. He waved his hand in annoyance and told them to get out - including the woman. The woman quickly disappeared from everyone's sight. She heard someone blaming her for not thanking the saints, thanking God, and sincerely repenting her sins.

But she knew that the guy was not a saint at all. She and her child were hired to perform for others. Her child was not healed at all, or she didn't want to raise him. She ate the date herself because she wanted to live.

What's his name - oh.

Cesar.

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Count Etienne set out on the Feast of All Saints and Children. Although Amalric I sincerely asked him to stay for a while, the Count already knew that Amalric I was preparing to hold a "selection ceremony" for Prince Baldwin on January 1.

Hey! He knew with his knees that the day would not be peaceful and smooth. As an outsider, who knew what conspiracy would befall him? Especially when he already knew that his enemy was not only bad, but also stupid and unscrupulous.

He never saw Cesar again until he left, but Cesar also found it difficult to remember the Count.

The most important, critical, and fatal preparation before the "Choose Ceremony" is here.

This is a secret circulated only among the upper class.

The "selection ceremony" can only be held in a church, and the chances of failure in an ordinary church are very high. If one wants to be "selected", it is best to hold the ceremony in a cathedral that hides the real holy relics, has been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, and is worshipped by kings, lords and countless believers.

The children who are being tested need to fast for three days before the ceremony, bathe every day, and pray regularly. Then they kneel in front of the altar and silently recite the Lord's Prayer until they feel the coming of saints or angels. They will guide them on the path they should take and grant them abilities beyond ordinary people.

After the children enter the church, they cannot come out for a whole day and night until they are "selected". If they come out, it means that they have failed the "selection" and they will no longer have the power to hold the "selection ceremony", even if you are the only son of the emperor or the king.

But this also brings a problem, that is, not all children are as calm and patient as Baldwin or Cesar. Even though the upper age limit for the "selection ceremony" is fourteen, there are many fools like Abigail - so when the nobles want to get a satisfactory result... of course they will use all kinds of means.

One of the most common methods is the use of medication.

Stimulate, soothe, invigorate, control... However, there are not many monks who can do this. Either the medicine fails to play the desired effect, or the dosage is too large, or the preparation is over-processed, causing the user to die...

"It's called the Mithridates' Formula." Heraclius held up a small glass bottle for Baldwin and Cesar to see. The bottle was only as long as a finger, with a bulging belly that could hold about three ounces of medicine. "The name comes from a legend. In 120 BC, the King of Pontus held a grand banquet to celebrate the birthday of his prince. At this banquet, Mithridates V was poisoned and died in front of the guests and his son.

This was Mithridates VI's lifelong nightmare. He was afraid that he would be poisoned to death, so he hired some doctors to make less toxic poisons for him, which he took every day, hoping to escape the threat of poison. He did it, although this resulted in his tragic ending when Pontus was destroyed and he failed to commit suicide by poisoning, and had to let his servants kill him.

Mithridates VI died and his kingdom perished, but the prescription remained. It is said that Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, used it, Nero's mother Agrippina the Younger, and Egyptian snake breeders also used it.

I got this prescription from my teacher, and then optimized and refined it over the next decade or so. Its effect is immediate, and because it is so effective, I can't give it to you too soon - in my previous experiments, taking it for more than ten days will result in death."

He placed the glass vial in front of the two men, "But it will still induce some hallucinations and pain - which of you will go first?"

(End of this chapter)