Chamborence picked up the big eju, burned it on the candle, and then handed it to the man, and Monsieur Lom looked at it all, "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, "I was negligent." "They had just come from an area full of smallpox patients, and they should not have come into direct contact with people, and this man looked healthy, and Chamborence glanced at the king's chief physician, who was a Huguenot, and Lom a God, but he had to admit that this chief physician was not disgusting, he could even be called a pure man— Although he already had the supreme position for doctors, he persevered in the narrow path of medicine, and when he discovered that there was an epidemic in the valley, he not only did not flee immediately, but resolutely took on the role of an alarmist - and, although he ordered the officials and generals to cordon off the affected area, the commander of the army tried to send a team of soldiers to protect him, but he also resolutely refused.

For example, this kind of protective clothing on their bodies, because of the delicacy and materials, not ordinary people can afford to equip it, even if they can, who will configure such a set of armor with an ominous meaning and put it at home, the soldiers have no protective clothing, that is, when they enter the epidemic area, they cannot avoid being infected, and in the end they can only stay in the epidemic area, pray to God and death, and see if they will be the lucky one percent- The people of the plagued area were unfortunate enough, insisted Monsieur Lom, and let more innocent people become the spoils of the devil, saying this, and writing to the king to show that it was he who had resolutely refused protection, and not that the magistrate here was deliberately slackening.

During the one-day journey, Mr. Lom did not participate in the operation to restrain the deceased, mainly because his body was no longer able to bear such physical labor, and although the protective suit was effective, the spices filled in the beak mask kept them safe from the epidemic and made their breathing less smooth- Ironically, the doctor at this time also needed a warrior-like physique, such as Chamborant, who was a doctor, but also strong and tall and skilled in martial arts, and the Huguenots in Orleans elected him as their leader, in addition to his piety, the above characteristics were also key.

The officer took the coin, thanked him vaguely, and withdrew.

After the door was closed, Monsieur Lom looked around, they were arranged in the rooms of the chapel, one for the four plague doctors, one for the remaining students, and it was common for the people of the village to entertain their guests, and Jura was indeed a little bigger and richer than the other two villages, and perhaps it was also possible that the Anfort cowherd not only fed the cattle for the two nearby villages, but also tended the herd for a nearby monastery, but the scale could not be said to be very large— From the thirteenth century, free tenant farmers in England were graciously allowed to raise one horse, two cows, three pigs, four geese, fifteen ewes, and many lambs...... But the tenant farmers here, not because the location of the village is not good, on the contrary, it is because it is so good, most of the territory here belongs to the royal family, although behind the houses is a rich dense forest, but it is not a place where they can set foot at will - so their lives can only be said to be stable, but such stability cannot withstand the twists and turns, just like this epidemic, which destroyed two of the three villages at once.

Dr. Lom's concern for the herd certainly caught the attention of the other three doctors, but they were not allowed to ask questions out of morality and self-evident rules, but to their surprise, Mr. Lom made a gesture to make everyone notice him before he spoke: "Gentlemen, you must wonder why I care so much about the herd." ”

"Indeed," said Sidonham, "but if there is any reason for it, you don't need to explain it to us." ”

Mr. Lom smiled, of course, in this day and age, "craft" is an expensive thing, tailoring is "craft", "winemaking" is "craft", making armor is "craft", and even raising cows, ducks and chickens are "crafts"- Otherwise, those tenant farmers will not hand over their precious cattle to the Anfuer family to raise, or directly lease the cattle of the Anfuer family, any craft is passed down in the family, if someone is lucky enough to become an apprentice of a craftsman, then it will take more than ten years or even decades of torture before it is possible to learn a little bit of true skills from the teacher, but at that time, he can also have an apprentice, and put the pain that the teacher inflicted on himself and on another child.

Doctors, although their status is more precious, but it is also a "craft", such as the Chamborence family, they fled to England, not only for their own beliefs, but also to ensure that the "craft" does not leak out, but even in England, where Protestants dominate the majority, their self-cherishing of the broom still incurs the dissatisfaction of the London Medical Association, and the midwifery guild they want to promote has not been recognized to this day is the most straightforward proof.

To say that what he discovered, for his own purposes, he would prefer to give to his students and family, but the problem is that it has always been on the king's radar, and the reason why the king founded this Blois medical school, he also knows that the king's expectation is that the research and development of medicine in France, and in the whole of Europa, and even in the whole world, can start from this valley - In other words, the king would never allow him to keep this secret in his heart and in his family, and not only that, but after that, Blois would welcome students and scholars from all over the world, and the medical school would be like a tree full of leaves and flowers, giving outsiders abundant sap and honey, and at the same time relying on the knowledge and ideas brought by outsiders, and finally bearing countless sweet fruits.

So without any burden, he said his ultimate purpose.

"As you know, not long after the King's return to Paris, a priest who had returned from a distant and ancient Eastern country had the honour of meeting our Majesty. Doctor Lom paused, "He has reported to Your Majesty a surprising thing, that is, a thousand miles away from us, the people there are using a peculiar and effective method of preventing smallpox. ”

This sentence was like a nail in the heart of Sidonham, and Chamborence, only Malbicchi, after all, he was tempted by this in the first place, and ran from Italy to France.

"How is that possible!" cried Sidonham, "how is it possible?" he repeated, "and although it is said that wine, spices, or flowers are good against diseases, we all know that they cannot be protected against these ......"

"The Oriental people don't use this method," Dr. Lom said, "they take scars from people who are going to heal, they crush them into powder, and they blow them into the noses of healthy people, who have a fever and a rash for the next few days, but after that, they never get smallpox again." He said hurriedly, as the doctors in the room had taken off their masks, and in the light of the candles, the old man's eyes glowed a terrible green like those of animals: "Gentlemen, in fact, not only the Orientals, but also the yellow-skinned ones, the Russians and the Ottoman Turks—yes, some of them died as a result, but many more were healed, and the king left the matter to me." ”

He paused, but no one made a sound, and they all stared at Dr. Lom, and Mr. Lom continued: "Because the king gave me such a task, I took my students to the endemic area, and at that time, there was an outbreak of smallpox in a village, and I told my students to go to those who were about to be cured—I had several students," he said a little angrily, "but they did not have a good relationship," he said. Sidonham nodded with it, Chamborence was not accepted by the Roman Church because of his special status, and Malbiqui was unable to be accepted by the Roman Church because he specialized in anatomy, as well as some medical concepts, and had been wandering around, so neither of them had students, but they had both experienced the struggle between students, after all, in this era, what a teacher is willing to teach his students depends on the teacher's wishes, and the favored students will get more, and the road ahead will be smoother, there is no doubt that," One of my students recruited a homeless man to go to the endemic area and collect the scars and pus of those people, and my other student couldn't get the money, but when I praised the former, he exposed his behavior and suggested that two of the samples were completely invalid because they came from two people who had never had smallpox. ”

"And the bastard who was exposed, in a succinct way, said in a puff, I didn't stipulate that they had to do it themselves, and he could make sure that these samples were from the epidemic area—God!" Speaking of this, Lom said angrily, "They didn't even think about how these two people could avoid smallpox, they weren't even rich people who could afford to leave the epidemic area and avoid other places, they were just two female workers working in the cowshed." He took a deep breath: "But by that time, my experiments were already underway, and all of them—I mean, the hateful slaves—had already had fevers, including the two who were said to have had no smallpox at all—and they had been with smallpox for weeks, but no, not a single one of them had smallpox!"

Mr. Lom gasped, and it was evident that his emotions were even more excited: "Guys, you should have thought that I was going to go to the two women workers at once, and it turned out, hell, they were already burned! yes, damn it, those people actually said that it was the witches who summoned the smallpox, so they didn't get smallpox—so, so, oh, they were so simple...... Burn them with great gratification! Burn such a precious specimen!" He clenched his fists and waved viciously in the air: "I really wanted to burn them at the stake!"

"Didn't your king decree that people should not judge witches in private?" asked Marbiki.

"Everywhere, at any time, these foolish people are indispensable. Sidonham commented that although he was a Calvinist, he had seen too much of the radicals, and to be honest, he really felt that the radicals were no different from the executioners they condemned.

"Anyway, although I tried to find it afterwards, I only vaguely heard and heard rumors, some people said that it was a blessing from angels, others said that it was a deal with the devil, and these were not of my care. He sighed and said, "I have been looking for another 'female worker' for the past few years, gentlemen, if these are not gifts from heaven, and there are no evil hands and feet in them, then it is the good fortune of mankind." ”

"Oh my God...... Sidonham muttered, even Malbicki couldn't help but look excited, only Chamborence, he was excited after a burst of indescribable bitterness, he knew that Charles de Lom dared to tell in front of them this secret that was placed in other families, and could be passed down for a hundred years or more, firstly, because the King of France would definitely not let this secret become a bargaining chip used by the Lom family in exchange for benefits, and secondly, because everyone here, even if they can get out of the epidemic area, they don't want to get out of Blois, he may ...... Maybe...... Indeed, to serve the descendants of Henry IV - until the secret is no longer a secret......

Such a future could not help but make the head of the Huguenots pale.

The three men who learned of the secret, or, rather, together with Mr. Lom, knew that tomorrow might be the final answer, and that they should rest and recuperate, but none of them could close their eyes, and after flipping and turning several times, Marbiki, the youngest of them, could not help but jump, "I want to meet the cowherds now!"

Before Chamborance could say anything, Sidonham immediately cheered, and although Mr. Lom complained that they were all a troubled people, he was no slower than the young man in getting up and dressing and putting on his mask, and in a few minutes the plague doctor and their students were standing outside the chapel.

"Huh?" said a student with good eyesight, surprised, "is there anyone who hasn't slept?"

In this era, people generally make it at sunrise and rest at sunset, candles are equipped by priests and masters, and even torches are used when it is extremely necessary, so once it is nightfall, the village is dark and gloomy.

Now they see a little spark.

"Is that a cowshed?" one student asked.

The barn that could hold more than a hundred cows was not too small, and the Anfuer family, a craftsman, also had a large house, connected together, which occupied almost an entire hillside, and when they entered the village, they casually asked—even if they didn't ask, they could find it by smelling it.

It was indeed the house of the Anfort family that was lit, and a student went up and knocked on the door, and there was a sudden commotion inside, and then there was a long silence, and Chamborence frowned and lifted his robe.

The door opened, and an axe slashed at him.