Chapter 52

The sea was foggy.

The outline of the mast gradually emerged in the fog. The first ship approached the reef, and then three ships sailed out of the darkness.

Drop the anchor.

The ship stopped at a distance from the coast and had no intention of landing. Charles with Professor temperament appeared in the bow, with a witch with a crow on her shoulder in a pointed hat.

"Is that enough distance?"

Charles asked the witch.

After getting the king's "pardon", hell, which had brought them a curse, made the ship the new ship of Warwick pirates. Charles with a group of Warwick pirates elite, riding in the sea to and fro the ghost ship across the abyss Strait, for the king to explore.

To avoid being found by the ships of Blaise and the Holy See, they sailed only at night. After arriving at the east side of the abyss channel, he continued to move southeast, bypassed the bay of Virginia, and went boldly into the hopeless inland sea where the influence of the holy court was not small.

At this time, they were in the waters of the upper El Kingdom, the junction of the continents.

According to the calculation of the witch during this period, if the black death really broke out, this area in the East will be its source.

The sea breeze blows the witch's hood. Under the hood is a face with deep facial features. The eyes are dark purple, and the skin is very pale. The witch put on a pair of thick glasses, looked at the city vaguely in the field of vision for a moment, and then nodded.

"Let's go."

Charles had a hunch.

The place they chose was more secluded, and they could see the vague scene on the other side of the harbor - it was quiet, the ships were berthing, there were no moving people on the wharf, it was like deep sleep.

The witch raised her hand.

The crow fluttered and flew.

Her dark green pupils dilate slightly, connecting the crow's eyes with her own.

The sea breeze was blowing, and the crow circled twice in the air, determined the direction and flew towards the city of Florence.

The city is dead, the church bell doesn't ring, and there is no noise that a city should have. Looking down from high altitude, I saw scattered figures running towards the mountains. Some people run and fall on the ground and can't get up.

The crow lowered its altitude.

In the dark red eyes, the graveyard not far away from the city - if it can be called a graveyard - is digging many ditches in the wilderness. Hundreds of corpses are piled up like goods inside. Some of the ditches are covered with thin soil, but more corpses are directly exposed in the air.

There are still some morgues lying on the side, and the bodies didn't come and unload.

Because the corpse man didn't come and finish his work, he died nearby.

Crows fly into the city.

The doors and windows of many houses are open. The owners and guests of the houses are either dead or just dead, and no one carries the bodies. At intervals in the street, there were several bodies. Occasionally a few hermits from the city of Florence would look after the terrible dying patients in dark robes and crutches.

The patient groaned in pain.

Some of them were covered with lumps as big as eggs, others were covered with small carbuncles, and the patients were crying weakly while spitting out black blood. The friars, nuns and doctors who were in charge of the care of the patients all looked pale.

Someone begged passers-by to help bury the body.

The crow flew down and heard what the people were saying.

"Help us to the grave!" They were almost crying, "if we die, someone will carry us!" [1]

the crow hovered and landed on the window of the newly dead patient's house. It tilted its head slightly. In the dark room, a woman had just died, and her child was holding her pimples and rolling on the ground in pain. The stench was coming out of her mouth with black blood.

The crow flapped its wings and flew again.

Just a little bit up, the crow suddenly plummeted down from mid air.

It's dead, too.

…………

On the boat.

The witch's pupils suddenly recovered.

"How's it going?"

Charles asked at once.

"The city is dead." The witch answered concisely.

When the great haze came down, Charles looked at the dead city not far away and sighed for a long time.

"Return."

He ordered.

Under the guidance of the hell ship, the three ghost ships quietly retreated into the fog as they came. When they drove a distance, they found a merchant ship with a sign of a certain chamber of Commerce in front of them.

The merchant ship sailed out of the port of the city where the plague broke out, struggling to escape.

"Charles." The witch gazed at the ship with thick glasses. "The ship was infected by the plague."

Charles frowned slightly: "all?""Some people are still alive, very few. They can't live." Witch statement.

A kind of cold and terrible thing appeared in the concise words.

"Give it a ride."

Charles, the elegant pirate chief officer, was silent for a moment and made a decision.

There is no objection.

The catapult obtained from the alliance of the five ports put the ship on the shelf, and the huge stone roared and fell on the desperate epidemic ship. The merchant ship was not big. The sailors on board were almost dead. Hell kept the ship and the ghost ship some distance from them, but still sank it easily.

The ships infected by the plague sank, and the sick, the dead, the living and the struggling were engulfed by the sea.

Charles and the witch stood in the bow, watching the scene in silence.

Their hearts sank slowly.

The black death.

The great plague, the great disaster, is coming.

………………

“…… The plague appeared in the eastern cities of the hopeless inland sea. By the time we arrived, there was already a place where the plague had turned into a dead city. At present, the plague has not spread rapidly, because the initial contact between these places and the outside world is not frequent, but soon.

On the way back, we sank several epidemic ships. In order to avoid causing chase, we can't do more.

……

The plague is spreading. Once it reaches the confluence of the hopeless inland sea and the abyss Strait, it is the time for a great outbreak Grela has understood what the term "shoal" in the prophecy means - death spreading from the hopeless inland sea.

Your majesty, may God bless Legrand.

……

”

the king finished reading the letter Charles sent back quickly by special means from the sea.

Charles had tried his best to make the letter calm, but the tone of the letter still involuntarily exuded the sadness of the Black Death - it was a disaster.

The king gently pressed his forehead, and his head began to ache again. Maybe Charles's too gloomy style infected him.

Although the king has tried his best to think about what a black death means, some things can only be seen in person.

"What are you worried about? My dear majesty. "

The devil's light voice rang out, and the black fog was flowing in the room. The devil in black dress and red rose came out of the shadow.

"I feel your dissatisfaction with me What have I done to displease you? "

He put his hand on his chest and bowed to the king.

"The black death has appeared." The king's eyes still fell on the letter in his hand. "Don't you have any explanation for that? Mr. devil, full of lies. "

"My dear majesty, you can't blame a knight who does his duty for you so much." The devil is very calm, he smiles, "I've never deceived you, you see, when the Black Death completely broke out in Legrand, isn't it January?"

"You are a brilliant language artist, Mr. devil."

"Thank you, your majesty?"

"So you mean to wait until the plague breaks out in Legrand, don't you?" As soon as the king's words changed, he skimmed over the issue of the outbreak time of the black death and went straight into it.

"Ah..." The demon who was exposed showed his hand helplessly, "Why are you so keen?"

"You are a typical representative of hell. Should I put countless question marks on all your words? Should I invite my former Lord Templar again? " The king asked softly, "a knight like you is really the number one hell knight."

"It's in your interest, sire."

The devil restrained his smile slightly.

"I'm afraid that's not even a penny."

"You are wrong about me." The devil's smile faded, and he approached the king, "aren't you ready to block the customs? But do you think the selfish people - the shortsighted mole ants - will appreciate you

He gave a bleak laugh with an undisguised irony.

"Ah, my dear sire, you are willing to save their lives, but you see, they will not appreciate your greatness What would they say? They will say oh! It's the tyrannical king who made us bankrupt, made us poor, and made us starve to death! "

"Let me think about what else will happen, and how many saints will be waiting for you to block all the ships - Aha! Saint! ——Jump out and blame your cold-blooded You keep the plague out for them, but as long as you don't see the deaths with your own eyes and stay in the warm safety line from beginning to end, they won't be grateful to you. "

Instead of the usual frivolity, his voice was full of ridicule.

There seemed to be some deep hatred lurking beneath his mockery."It's rare that you are fighting against injustice with resentment?" The king caught the hatred of something hidden in the devil's words, but he couldn't figure out where it came from. "It doesn't match your usual image."

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" The devil said softly. He knelt down on one knee in front of the king, "if you want, I will do anything for you Who is more loyal to you than I am? "

No mercy, no bottom line, no right or wrong, no reason

Apart from the devil, who can be so crazy to serve you?

Something is flowing in the air, carrying the turbulent secret under the undercurrent.

The king and the devil looked at each other, and the devil had a masked smile on his face.

"So I have to praise you for your hard work?"

The king frowned and looked away.

"If you want to." The cold hate in the words just now seemed to be just an illusion, and the devil's tone was light again. He was full of smile. "You see, I've thought about it for you Anyway, all the countries hostile to you are attacked by the black death. "

"Everyone is dying. Wouldn't it be better for you to let the Black Death break out in the southeast first?"

The devil tried his best to persuade his majesty.

"It only needs to break out for a period of time, which can not only avoid the jealousy of other countries caused by the special appearance of Legrand, but also make the next thing you want to do more smoothly. Isn't that good?"

"What do I want to do next?"

Asked the king.

"Don't you want to take power back from those stupid nobles?" The devil laughed, and his voice was sincere. "You see, waiting for the black death to take some people away, the tenant serfs who are dominated by the manor owners will be more powerful. With a little push, you can make the manor disappear from the stage of Legrand."

"Without the foundation of the manor, what can they do to upset you?"

"You are so smart that you are not aware of the changes brought about by the reduction of manpower, are you? How natural and easy you can promote the emergence of new production system, your idea The big factories and steam cannons you want can appear in Legrand more easily than they are now. "

"The old chamber of Commerce in Southeast China has completely died, but your free chamber of commerce can be reestablished and become a chamber of commerce that completely controls the port. All ships will only fly your flag. Your will is the direction that ships guide. If you want, I am willing to open up a new route for you."

"At that time, from the hopeless inland sea to the abyss channel, only your ship will weave a net."

"You see, all these are the benefits of this plague for you, and you just need to act as if you don't know anything, let it break out on the earth for a few days, and then let me solve it for you."

"Isn't that the best option?"

The devil is the best persuader in the world.

He outlined the shadow of the great cause, peeped into the heart of the people want to achieve, and put all the moving interests on the table one by one.

The king clearly understood one thing.

About the outbreak of the black death, the changes that will be brought about by the massive death of the population, these Interest, the devil did not lie, the fact is so.

"Hell will do for your empire, my dear majesty."

The devil smiles.

"I don't need it."

The king looked down and said slowly.

The smile on the devil's face disappeared.

The king's ice blue eyes looked at him.

The devil sighed bitterly: "why do you have to choose a thankless way to curse? My dear majesty. "

"Because I don't need it."

"You are so proud, the people of Legrand should be glad they have a king like you." The devil stood up like a compromise, and he bent slightly, "well As you wish, the black death will not break out in the land of Legrand. "

………………

General Sheehan is arriving at kossia with his first iron rose cavalry.

He was horribly silent and even a little absent-minded along the way.

The retinue followed him. He didn't know what he was thinking. He could only remind him when kosiya appeared in front of him.

General Sheehan looked up at the city in front of him with a complicated look.

Only a few people know the real purpose of this troop transfer, and general Sheehan is one of them.

Before he set out, the Duke of Buckingham met him and told him the real purpose of his trip - he must assist in the blockade of the city, and all those who obstructed the blockade of the sea area, regardless of their status and reasons, will be executed.

"I know that justice is above all else in your heart."

In the cold winter wind, the Duke of Buckingham sat face to face with him.He respected the old man who had been guarding Legrand for many years, so he kept silent.

"Blockade the harbor and kill all those who oppose. Many of those who oppose will be innocent. They never steal, they never kill or rob, they obey the law, they just want to keep their goods from rotting on the ship, and their wives and children from starving to death. "

Said the Duke of Buckingham in a low voice.

General Sheehan did not answer.

"I once told your majesty that you are too idealistic." The Duke of Buckingham sighed. "You think knights are for protection, not for slaughter, for justice, not for crime, don't you?"

"If a man who wears armor and holds a sword does not protect the weak, what qualification does he have to be called a knight?" General Sheehan finally said, "isn't that the oath we swore to keep when we were knights?"

"Your Majesty is absolutely right about you."

The Duke of Buckingham gave a faint smile.

"What do you think of my brother William?"

General Hearn solemnly replied, "he is the hero of Legrand, a great and promising king."

In his view, it was William III who unified the thirty-six States and ended the chaos of continuous expedition.

"Hero? promising? Great? " The Duke of Buckingham read it again. "It's good to be successful, but hero? Great? This is not a word to describe a king

General Hearn looked at the Duke of Buckingham in disbelief. With the relationship between the Duke of Buckingham and William III, he could not despise his brother.

"Do you know the battle of cassion?" The Duke did not explain, but asked.

"I know."

General Sheehan replied.

It was a battle in the third year of William III's coronation, and it was remembered by all who admired him.

"I went out with him that time." The Duke's mind seemed to return to a long time ago, "our enemy is the Northern Alliance Army supported by Blaise. The most crucial battle took place in cassieon. Our army is less than 7000, and the enemy is 15000."

As the people of Legrand know, William III and the Duke of Buckingham defeated Blaise's plan to invade by means of rebellion.

When the news of the victory came back to Mertz, people were overjoyed and reveled in the streets, shouting "God bless Legrand" and "God bless the king".

The court poets wrote with admiration that "there has never been a king of Legrand who, under such a critical situation, turned the tide and won such an important victory. He defended Legrand's freedom, so that all his people would not become subjugated. When he comes back with great glory and victory, the country bows to him

"Isn't that great enough to be called a hero?"

General sheen asked in doubt.

"Only the glorious side will be remembered." Said the Duke of Buckingham lightly. "At the end of the battle, we have less than 2000 people left, and there are more than 2000 prisoners of war and the wounded of the enemy. Do you know what orders he gave at that time? "

"What?"

General sheen suddenly became nervous.

"He ordered - to kill all prisoners of war."

Said the Duke of Buckingham slowly.

General sheen looked at him in amazement.

Kill all the prisoners who surrender and the wounded who can't move This is an order that can only be described as "cruel and heartless". The spirit of chivalry and the basic human morality are trampled on by it.

The Duke of Buckingham closed his eyes slightly.

He seems to go back to a long time ago, when he was still young, following brother Wang on the battlefield. He watched as William took the long bow in his own hand, pulled the bow string, and shot the first wounded man who moaned in the mud, his brother Wang. Such a proud knight took the lead in violating the principle of "not bullying the weak".

So everyone took up their weapons in silence and waved a butcher's knife at the enemy who laid them down.

"Kill the prisoners, kill the wounded."

The Duke of Buckingham opened his eyes abruptly. His voice was deep and powerful.

"Yes, it's cold, heartless, against justice."

General Hearn sat there in cold, feeling that the hero image he admired was gradually collapsing.

"But what can we do? There are only 2000 people left in Legrand's army. We have less than one day's food. Can we take them with us? Can we guarantee that they will not rebel again? "

"Behind us is the royal city of Legrand, and we are surrounded by countless dead comrades in arms. Can we risk losing our country because of a little justice?"

The Duke of Buckingham asked general sheen aggressively.

General Sheehan was speechless.

"It was his majesty who ordered the customs to be sealed, because he was the king of Legrand. Later, people will only remember what order the cruel king gave in this year, but they will not remember who carried out the order. It will only fall on him, whether it's name calling or accusation. "The Duke of Buckingham took a deep look at general Sheehan.

"If the king only keeps justice, who will bear the sin of innocent sacrifice for the people?"

The Duke of Buckingham stood up and patted him gently on the shoulder. "You are the first general chosen by your majesty. Don't let him down."

"Does your majesty understand what his orders stand for?"

General Sheehan asked in a low voice.

"He knows better than anyone else."

The Duke of Buckingham turned and went into the snow.

Anyone can long for salvation, and anyone can expect to enter the paradise of rest, except the king.

The king's robe is destined to be red with blood The blood of the innocent, the blood of the enemy, and his own.

"Sean? Sean The squire called twice, "here we are."

General sheen awoke with a start.

He strained the reins hard:

"go."

He carried out the king's orders.

The author has something to say: (1) from the annals of Pisa, it is a true record of the second epidemic period of the black death.