Chapter 31: The Knight, the Queen, and the Pope (I)

All in all, His Excellency Gioric, the Pope's Royal Physician who devoted his life to his duties, was unfortunately instilled with a shocking negative energy by Ma Tong, a "pseudo-angel" who had no discipline and was full of firewood, and his outlook on life, values and career was so bad that he could not repair it, and finally fainted with black eyes...... As for whether he will have a clear mind and a great understanding after waking up, and write a "Manifestation of Heaven", no one knows.

At the same time, Levi, who is relatively disciplined. The knight of Bacon, also in a heavily guarded mansion in Avignon, met his titular monarch, Giovanna I (132-138), countess of Provence and queen of Naples.

- Queen Giovanna I of Naples, also known as Giovanna of Anjou, one of the famous "blood queens" of medieval Europe. Her role was that of the Queen of Naples, who ruled southern Italy, but like the medieval magnates who held many titles, in 1348 Giovanna I was also crowned Countess of Provence, Queen of Sicily, and Queen of Jerusalem - the latter two thrones were quite bizarre: Sicily, once part of the Kingdom of Naples, was now an independent state and a long-standing enemy of Naples. As for the Holy Land of Jerusalem, it has been retaken by the pagans for about a century...... Of course, Queen Giovanna's rule over Provence was just as vain, and she rarely even set foot in the port of Marseille, but at least she was able to collect a little tax and tribute from the princes.

Therefore, the only core territory that really belonged to Her Majesty Xià, who had many titles, was the Kingdom of Naples under the rule of the Anjou dynasty. Sadly, last year, the hapless queen lost even the "basic disk" of Naples and is now left to stay in Avignon to avoid trouble, after Queen Giovanna married Prince André, the younger brother of the King of Hungary, through a political marriage, thus defeating the other heirs and ascending to the throne in 1343. But the problem is that from the very beginning, the couple became strangers and even hostile to each other because of power struggles (Queen Giovanna chose to be crowned alone, refusing to share the crown with her husband Andrea, as is customary). In June 1345, her husband André was suddenly besieged by a large number of killers one night, strangled to death and thrown out of the window, and Queen Giovanna was the main suspect.

What's even worse is that Isolde, the nurse who took care of Andre at that time, was a very fierce woman, not only screamed to scare away the murderer, but also sent the prince's body to the church, and told the Hungarian knight the reason for the matter, and then told the Hungarian king (that is, the prince's eldest brother) through the knight, and then wrote a letter to the pope and the monarchs of the six European countries to cry out for the prince, which caused rumors to spread in the courts of all European countries for a while, and everyone believed that Queen Giovanna, a poisonous woman, killed her husband in order to be the sole dictatorship...... The roof leak happened to rain overnight, and the brother of the slain Prince Andrei, the greatest king in Hungarian history, Lajos I, also took the opportunity to intervene and unite with the opposition nobles of Naples to join forces with Queen Giovanna.

In 1347, Lajos I sent a Hungarian army to invade Italy and, with the acquiescence of the other Italian princes, raised an army against Giovanna I, the "poisonous woman who murdered her husband". The Kingdom of Naples was in disarray, not only could not organize effective resistance, but even many nobles took the initiative to lead the way for the Hungarian army, which caused the city of Naples to fall quickly. The hapless Queen Giovanna, after withdrawing from the capital, is now unable to hold herself in the country, and even her life is in danger, just like King Louis XVI of France after the French Revolution......

In the second half of 1347, on the eve of the Black Death in Europe, Queen Giovanna left her three-year-old son (who later died of the Black Death), fled the Italian peninsula in a hurry, crossed the sea to her other territory, Provence, and wanted to mobilize forces here to retake Naples, but because of the stigma of "murder", the queen had to go to Avignon again, and asked Pope Clement VI to clear her guilt.

-- Judging from various documents and indications at the time, it is very likely that Queen Giovanna's murder of her husband was true, otherwise it would not have led to a national mutiny all at once...... As for why she recklessly did such an inconsiderate thing as murdering her husband, this can probably only be explained as the impulse of this underage girl when she was not well considered. You know, she was only fifteen years old when she married and became king, and it is said that she was only seventeen years old when she killed her husband, and she was just twenty-one years old in 1348, which is slightly younger than the protagonist of this book, Wang Qiu, who did not graduate from college

Of course, in this year, the Catholic Church needs to clearly mark the price of any service that it wants to get. So, in order to exonerate and support Pope Clement VI, the exiled queen gritted her teeth and resolutely sold her ancestral business, and sold the city of Avignon and its surrounding land to Pope Clement VI for 80,000 florin gold coins (roughly equivalent to 800 million yen in the modern world, and medieval cities are really cheap).

-- It is a little unimaginable to later generations that although the European Catholic Church had been in the city of Avignon for more than 30 years at this time, the "property rights" of the land of Avignon still belonged to the Count of Provence, and even the only territory of the Count in Provence (the rest of the territory was divided by disobedient princes). The Catholic Church in Avignon was only a temporary tenant and had to collect rent (God knows whether the popes would pay it on time), much the same nature as the government-in-exile in London and New York during World War II...... It was only after this "Queen Giovanna's consecration" that the "holy city" of Avignon really became the property of the Holy See.

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After the deal was negotiated, the church that had taken the favor naturally had to help the queen restore the country, but the problem was that before Pope Clement VI could put it into action, the Black Death struck - in the face of the terrible plague that engulfed the world, all the political struggles and military operations were in vain

This unknown disease made doctors all over Europe feel guilty because they had nothing to offer to others. They don't know where the disease comes from, they don't know the cause of the infection, they don't know the channels of infection, and they don't know when the end will be. If they risk visiting the sick, it will not do anything and they will not be charged because all the infected people are dying. Doctors are helpless, and many are themselves victims of infection. On the contrary, many clergy took advantage of the fear of the people and made a profit by selling holy relics that were said to be curable, even if the Pope repeatedly ordered them to do so, until the swindlers died of illness because they had come into contact with too many sick people

In just one or two months, a quarter of the members of the Holy See died of the plague, and the remaining high-ranking clergy fled in all directions, so that the Holy See fell apart, and even the Pope abandoned his palace and hid in a castle in the countryside.

In the face of this terrible plague, people fell into deep fear. It was as if they were witnessing the coming of the end of the world, and God was punishing a single evil on earth. In despair, the devout people prayed to God: "...... O merciful God, appease your anger and do not destroy all the people of the world in this way, and do not allow the righteous to be condemned along with the evil. But God refused to respond. The vast majority of people are beginning to feel that hell is coming to earth. Perhaps before Christ appeared to judge right and wrong, evil and death would have triumphed.

Watching Avignon become a city of death, Giovanna I, who was only twenty-one years old, was also anxious to catch the fire and cry out for fear of dying of the plague, but she didn't know what to do - flee to another city? The whole south of France is full of the same plague, and it is not safe anywhere; Hiding in the countryside? The queen has many enemies in this world, and once she loses the protection of powerful people, I am afraid that assassins will come to her door immediately

As for major events such as raising troops to restore the country and crossing the sea to quell the rebellion, at this moment, when it is difficult to protect one's life and death, he can no longer take care of it.

Just as Giovanna's retinue began to fall ill with the plague in a row, forcing the queen to be desperate, she began to wonder whether to run cheekily to the Pope's country castle and go to live with the old fellow, but an incredible miracle suddenly struck

- Divine angels descend from heaven to sow holy light to cure the plague; Knights favored by God came from afar to bring the gospel of the gods

Under that incredible white light, the Black Death, which made all doctors helpless, was cured in an instant

God, Queen Giovanna could not even have dreamed that this catastrophe would unfold beyond the limits of imagination

Then, to Queen Giovanna's great joy, Levi, who was blessed by God and surrounded by angels, was like the reincarnation of Jesus. Knight Bacon, not only took the initiative to come to the door and commanded the angels to help heal the loyal ministers and subordinates who had fled with her, but also did not take pride in his words, still regarded himself as a subordinate, treated her very respectfully, and finally brought the queen a very encouraging good news.

- The Hungarian army had just withdrawn from Naples in a hurry for fear of the plague, and the greatest obstacle to her return had disappeared

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“…… I do not know how to thank you, great knight, for your good words and loyalty, and if this time I can take Naples and defeat those hateful traitors, I will give whatever I can to thank God for his gift and repay you for your generosity. ”

At the door of the temporary apartment, Queen Giovanna, who had a round face and a slightly chubby figure, not only sent it out in person, but also bowed to Levi with great sincerity and thanked her, "...... I can't wait to get back to the palace in Naples and see for myself the depraved confession of the traitors."

-- According to the report of the enemy situation that Knight Livy had just sent her, the Hungarian army that had invaded Naples had fully retreated, and did not dare to stay in this plague-stricken country at all; Naples is in chaos at the moment, with no dragons and no dragons, and is in a state of complete anarchy.

In such a situation, as long as she can get the support of the Catholic Church, restore her righteous status as the legitimate king, and then lead a small army to 6 Naples, suppress the local chaos, and then contact the supporters of her own faction, she can easily stage a good show of "the return of the king".

Next, the loyal Knight Livy went so far as to say that since God had given him the important task of going to Italy to fight the plague, after obtaining the papal recognition, he could stop by and personally escort him back to Naples, and even those incredible angels would be dispatched together to support the restoration of his legitimate queen with the thunder that punished the enemy and the holy light that healed the plague

This indescribable and unprecedented news almost stunned Queen Giovanna - think about it, a group of holy angels openly put down the rebellion and restore the country for themselves, does not it mean that their throne has been approved and endorsed by God, and from now on, what bastard who does not know whether he lives or dies dares to say that he is morally corrupt and unqualified to be king? Do you think your vision is more correct than God's?

And the help that Knight Livy asked her to help was also very easy in the eyes of Queen Giovanna - didn't she act as a guide and introducer, taking him and the angels in and out of the palaces and official palaces of various Italian states, and mediating with those local magnates, with the identity of an angel and the threat of the plague, who in Italy at the moment dared not obey the order? Not only will you not lose money, but you can also take the opportunity to greatly increase your face in front of foreigners

So, after getting such a gift, looking at the handsome appearance of this Rhode Island knight with half-breed characteristics, Queen Giovanna couldn't help but lick her lips and become more and more happy - well, it is also a good choice to simply take this opportunity to have a relationship with this knight favored by the gods? If you can sleep with such a holy person, you may be able to receive more favor from God......

“…… This is my duty, Lord Earl. Whatever status I have attained, you are a lord and benefactor who has bestowed my land."

Levi didn't seem to notice the queen's slight nostalgia, just smiled and raised his fist across his chest, and lightly tapped the armor on his chest as a salute, "...... But with all due respect, if you are able to return to Naples, you will probably be tasked with saving people and not killing people, and God has punished you with the plague for the traitors who colluded with the Hungarians to drive you out of the capital last year - as you can see, the epidemic is terrible on the Avignon side, and the situation in Naples is even more terrible, with an average of not one out of five people surviving."

He said seriously, "...... At this moment, most of your enemies in the Kingdom of Naples have left this world forever, just like many of your subjects, and the rest is not worth mentioning. Simply raise your flag on the coast of southern Italy and you will be able to destroy it in one blow. The real problem you have to face is when you return to the throne - and this requires the cooperation of all the Italian states......"

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