Water Margin people

"What about a few months later? The Vatican comes with a large army, and we wait to die?"

The Doge stared at Baldwin IV and asked, they Venetians love money, they are willing to do anything for money, but this does not include their lives, no matter how much money they have, they must have life to spend it.

"I told you before, you can send someone to the Red Sea to tell Qi that the Republic of Venice is willing to submit to Qi and everyone will convert to the Imperial Religion. Qi will not ignore you!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"So what if they are willing to take care of it? The Emperor of Qi has already returned to the East. The army he left behind is only enough to guard the enemy and has no ability to support us!"

The governor said in a cold voice that Baldwin IV's method seemed feasible and Qi was strong enough, but the problem was that the East was too far away from the West, and even if the Qi army had heavenly soldiers and generals, it would be impossible for them to fly over to support.

"How do you know it won't work if you don't try? It's like running a business. How do you know it won't sell if you don't ask?"

Baldwin IV looked at the Governor and asked.

The Doge's face turned pale but he said nothing. He was weighing the pros and cons. His decision would affect the survival of the entire Republic of Venice.

"Lock them up!"

The Governor was unable to make a decision for a moment and gave orders to his guards.

"No need to detain me. I will stay here in this open space and will not leave! Just come and tell me the results when you have them."

Baldwin IV shook his head and walked towards the crowd in the open space. He was going to preach.

The Doge said nothing more and turned to go to the military camp, while all the officials and nobles near the city of Venice were summoned there.

At this moment, several merchants immediately called their confidants and gave them a few instructions. Those confidants disappeared into the night and boarded a hidden sailboat to go out to sea.

Many of Venice's merchants had connections with the State of Qi, and they acted as Qi's spies.

"This is what happened, tell me what you think!"

The Governor looked at everyone and asked, this decision that would affect the fate of the country was not something he could make alone, so he decided to use a vote.

"Governor, we can't trust the Leper King. He is the one who caused all this. Now he has killed Saint Bernard. The Vatican will surely be furious. We should tie him up and send him to the Vatican. This way we can save the Republic of Venice!"

Someone spoke up immediately.

"Yes! Yes! The power of the Holy See is too great for us to handle!"

Several people nodded repeatedly.

"But even if we hand over the Leper King now, it will be useless. The Leper King appeared in our city of Venice, and Saint Bernard also died here. Do you think the Vatican will let us go?"

Several people expressed their objections. The Holy See would never let them off easily, at least not the nobles and high-ranking officials. Although the Holy See claimed to be merciful, it had always used iron-blooded methods against pagans.

"Governor, the Leper King is preaching in the open space, and more and more people are listening to his teachings!"

A soldier walked into the tent and said.

"hateful!"

Those who advocated handing over Baldwin IV were furious, as the Vatican would certainly follow the example of Venice.

"In fact, what the Leper King said is not wrong! Joining the State of Qi is also a good choice!"

A merchant in gorgeous clothes spoke up. He was wearing luxurious silk clothes, colorful jewelry rings on his hands, and a gold belt around his waist. He looked like a nouveau riche.

"You are crazy. If you want to make money, you have to be alive to spend it!"

Someone glared at the merchant and shouted.

"You are crazy. The Black Death is out of control. What has the Holy See done so far?" the merchants asked. Although the Black Death made them a lot of money, they knew very well that it was a case of draining the pond to catch fish. How could they make money without people?

Those who spoke remained silent. The Holy See had done nothing. So far, only Bernard had brought people to hunt down the heretics.

"You know that the Vatican did nothing! Then let me ask another question. How long will the Black Death last? One year? Two years? Three years? Five years? How many more people will die? One million? Five million? Ten million? Twenty million?"

The rich businessman spoke again and said that these merchants have been discussing these issues. Of course, they don’t care about these countries. They are just considering how the trade will proceed in the future and how long it will take to recover.

The rich businessman's words brought the atmosphere in the entire tent to a freezing point. They had been avoiding this question and did not dare to think deeply about it.

The Black Death was far more terrible than any other plague that had ever occurred. Both its infectiousness and mortality rate were unmatched by any previous plague.

And so far they didn't know how to cure the Black Death.

"Do you really think Qi can save us?"

Those people looked at the rich businessman and spoke.

"Of course!"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The wealthy businessman spoke.

"How can you be sure?"

Everyone looked at the rich businessman and asked.

"Because there is no Black Death in Qi! If the Black Death continues to spread to an uncontrollable level, it will seriously threaten our lives. Even if we cannot seek refuge in Qi, we should have no problem going to Qi's overseas bases!"

The wealthy businessman spoke up. He knew very well that the Emperor of Qi liked equal exchange. As long as they paid enough money, it would be no problem to buy a life.

"You mean to leave here?"

Some nobles looked grim. The merchants' assets were money and goods, so they only needed to take these away and the loss would not be big.

But it is different for the nobles. Their assets are fixed assets such as land and castles, which they cannot take away. Once they leave, they will lose everything.

"I said that's the worst case scenario. If Qi is willing to help, we won't have to go that far. You know, we are unwilling to leave unless it is absolutely necessary."

The merchants explained that they had to stand with the nobles at this time, otherwise these people would be desperate and might kill them.

Everyone was silent. They could not refute the merchants' idea. Although it was risky, it was indeed a good choice. The inaction of the Holy See made them lose confidence.

"That's it for now, I'll send someone to contact Qi State right away!"

The Governor spoke.

At sea, Bernard was swimming hard, and he approached the shore in the dark night.

No one paid attention to him, but what he saw stunned him. A bonfire was lit on the open space by the sea, and Baldwin IV was preaching beside the fire. The area around the fire was filled with civilians, who were listening devoutly to Baldwin IV's preaching.

"These pagans!"

Bernard gritted his teeth, but he didn't say anything. He had already taken off his cassock. Now his body was wet and his hair was disheveled, like an ordinary civilian.

Bernard did not make it public, and the governor allowed Baldwin IV to preach here, which was a betrayal of the church.

"Pagans, you will all die!"

Bernard cast a vicious look at the people who were listening to the sermon. The entire Republic of Venice had already apostatized. (End of this chapter)