I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 423 Toledo's Undercurrent

The red-golden late autumn will soon pass, and Toledo is about to usher in the Feast of the Saints on November 1st. As the most loyal servant of God, from the period of the twin kings, that is, the moment when Spain was founded, Both the king and the archbishop were striving to ensure the purity and uniqueness of Spain's faith.

Later generations often refer to Toledo as the "City of Three Cultures", which means that Toledo's Christians, Moors and Jews can all live in the city in peace and freedom. After occupying this place, both the Moors and the Jews either converted or died or fled. There is no such thing as freedom of belief. The Jewish synagogues and Moorish temples were demolished or converted into churches, but none of them survived.

   Do you want to say that there is a time for the three to coexist harmoniously? There really is, that is, the Arabs (Moors) ruled here for 300 years. It is a pity that such tolerance has not been exchanged for the mercy of the Spanish kings. Now you can't see a Moor in Toledo, Jews. It has also changed from more than 20,000 people to about 1,000 people now.

Their ancestors were either cowardly, unwilling to give up their accumulated wealth, or believed in the lies of others. When the two kings expelled the Judah from Toledo, they expressed their willingness to convert and stay in Toledo. many. There is no doubt that they soon regretted it. The Queen and King of Spain, who believed in Catholicism, looked upon Judas as a fat sheep that was powerless to resist, first shaved, then flayed, then cramped and pulled out... Entering in Spain After the debilitating stage, they nakedly began to devour fresh flesh, but by this time, these Judahs had no room for resistance.

These Jewish people, because they have abandoned their faith and race (Judas will not even contact these converts), are unable to integrate into Christian society - no matter how devout they are, when people talk about them, they will still say : "That Judas!" Even if they are not fanatics or priests, they will be easily accused of being loan sharks, greedy businessmen or liars, and people around them will look at them with vigilance or disgust, as if They will do heinous things at any time.

They have suffered all the suffering of the converts, but as they thought, the reward and acceptance that the converts deserve is like a swinging flame, which seems to be close at hand, but impossible to grasp in their hands. will get burned.

   About twenty years ago, when Philip IV ruled Spain, there was a small plague outside the city of Toledo, and some people shouted that it was brought by Judah! They could not reach the Judas of Toledo who had fled to Algeria, but they were able to lay siege to the neighborhood of more than a thousand converts, carrying torches and bringing in straw and firewood, almost the same as the one from 1348 to 1351. Christians during the Black Death were generally burning all the Jews here.

A few naive enough converts came out with crosses and icons (Judas didn't recognize Jesus) in reverence, knelt on the ground, weeping and begging these Christians, who swore on the tombs of their ancestors that they were with them. The same, and the most devout Christian, will never do anything that violates the teachings and laws.

   They were immediately stabbed and beaten to death by pitchforks and flails, and their bodies were piled on a wagon and burned.

When other converts saw such a sight, they were so frightened that they dared to curl up in their own houses, but what was the use, their houses were not castles, and it was impossible to resist the engulfing of flames. Fortunately, the Archbishop of Toledo was kind. The angry Christians were dispersed (for the sake of money), but when the converts walked out of the house, they found that their shops, warehouses, and even the stables, halls and chapels of the mansion had been looted.

They want to cry but have no tears, but they don't even have the courage to appeal and pursue. In the end, it was luck that saved these people. The plague was not the Black Death, nor was it smallpox, measles, cholera or other vicious infectious diseases. It was just a There was a small outbreak of chickenpox, and it slowly disappeared when Dr. Birdbeak arrived in the village and isolated the infected people.

  This chaos has forced some converts to desperately seek a way to leave Toledo, but it is not easy, and the Archbishop of Toledo is not willing to let go of these docile lambs, and he has to squeeze every last bit of their blood.

  No one thought that the great uprising of the Spanish civilians, known as the "Night of All Saints' Feast", also started from these Judas.

  It’s not new either—the Black Death can find Judas as scapegoats, and the king and priest want to make one or two, maybe more Judas scapegoats, isn’t it an extremely simple thing?

The earliest rumors of a **** affair in the taverns and galleries after midnight were said to have been - it is said that their king, Carlos II, had an extremely favored royal wife, who would not hesitate to capture the king's love and eyes for a long time. Hired a group of dark wizards, as well as degenerate priests, to hold all kinds of evil black masses for her, in order to ensure eternal youth and charm.

Of course, this kind of black mass has all kinds of details that are extremely fragrant and a little bloody, from the royal lady who bathes in the blood of young girls every day (this may come directly from Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary), to the fact that she uses a male The body fluids to smear the body (this may be derived from the Roman lady who used the gladiator's mud to maintain her skin), and then to the habitual thing that every witch has to do, with the devil or the devil's servants. Multiple interactions, etc...

This kind of rumor has always been the most talked about and talked about, not to mention, these are easy to arouse people's interest, whether it is at the wine table or on the bed, the hot and focused gaze is the most A catalyst for effectiveness - but for some reason, rumors like this don't slowly fade away like other rumors.

  No, it should be said, on the contrary, it is unknown who, when, and where someone has linked these rumors to the increasing number of disappearances and deaths in Toledo.

Unlike the Elizabeth Bathory case that people thought, Bathory was accused of abusing servants, giving black mass, etc., probably because she was involved in her nephew Gabriel Bathory, Prince of Transylvania An anti-Habsburg conspiracy - but whether the court and witnesses slandered her at Habsburg's order, no one knows.

If the royal lady who wants to win the favor of Carlos II does exist, then the matter will not be brought before the Archbishop of Toledo and Patinho, but people only need to investigate a little and they will find this lady It does not exist, yes, Carlos II regards the entire court as his hunting ground, how can he focus on a woman.

  Since there is no such woman, who will the hidden devil possess? Because the city of Toledo has indeed been missing people since the little queen married Carlos II, some people did not hesitate to put the blame on this Austrian woman, every court seems to be so , a foreign woman who occupied the queen's position was originally guilty of heavy original sin, but there were also wise people who frowned, and Queen Antonia was not respected and loved by the king, at least in the city of Toledo, as everyone knew - she could not even arbitrarily When she walked out of the palace, most of the maids around her were Spanish. Without the permission of the king, the maids around her would not do anything for her.

  The Queen and the Royal Lady are actually a group of poor women... Their authority can only come from their fathers, husbands and sons.

   Carlos II's cruelty and cruelty towards Antonia turned out to be a good thing. Not many people believe that Queen Antonia has the right and the means to cause such a terrible result - after careful people sorted it out, they found that there were more than 200 young men and women missing in the city of Toledo, and they were not ordinary fishermen and peasants. Like Bella of Lilo, their families, if not so wealthy, could afford the upbringing and education of their children - a large number of the missing were working in the palace, and some were apprentices to painters and goldsmiths , college students, choir members, etc.

   If we investigate further, not only these children, but also their parents, teachers, or people who are closely related to them have either disappeared suddenly, or they have been imprisoned for various crimes.

At this point, neither Archbishop of Toledo nor Patinho could continue to sit down. When Elizabeth Bathory was convicted, it was determined that the victims were fifty or fifty-one, and there was also one. A confession claimed that there were 350 people, but was regarded by the people at the time as an exaggerated joke. But the number of victims trapped in the convent of Santo Domingo far exceeds that number.

When he saw this, even Patinho couldn't help but raised his head and glared at Carlos II. He and the Archbishop of Toledo have been busy making the firstborn son of Carlos II born with an orthodox identity - he even Jose. Patinho was expelled from the king's entourage as a veiled protest...

The Archbishop of Toledo on the side was frightened. His beloved disciple was by the king's side. Why didn't he come to repay him? The Archbishop did not doubt that this child would betray him, nor did he think that he would sit and watch the king do such nonsense - so where is he now? ?

Before he could ask, Carlos II glanced at the document that Patinho had thrown in front of him, and smiled like a wolf howling: "Ah," he used that innocent and innocent With a hoarse voice, he said, "Is there that much? I don't think so at all."

It would be nonsense to say how much empathy the Archbishop of Toledo and Patinho had for those victims, but if you remove the disciples of Archbishop Toledo, if those victims are discovered, it must be a big scandal .

Kings can be ruthless and tyrannical, such as the recent Charles II, who had his head stuck in Westminster Abbey, and people still call him "our merry king". When they are fighting a crime, if they can find the reason for the crime, their pressure will be greatly reduced - "victim guilt theory" is born because of this.

It doesn't matter if Carlos II wants to execute one person, ten, or even a hundred, or a thousand, but he must give a reason, even if it is an extremely absurd reason, even so, it will inevitably cause some uneasiness and Fools, let alone as they are now - sinners in the convent of Santo Domingo... No one would believe they were sorcerers, servants of the devil, or some unforgivable felon.

  The ignorant people will not burn healthy young women or men. These are the assets of the family and the lord, and they are beneficial. They will only burn the toothless old women, because they can only eat and do not work.

But Carlos II - his first victims were all noble girls, after the queen mother and the queen's maid (including a niece of Patinho) were unfortunately successively buried in the mouth of this beast, in the palace He's not so free-spirited here - but when he looks out of the palace, the rude, ugly-looking peasant women and savages can't give him enough fun, their skin isn't fair enough, their voices aren't soft enough, and they're not ashamed Feeling, Carlos II felt like he was killing a pig when he started.

Therefore, someone searches for prey for him. Bella is a palace maid at the bottom, a knight apprentice, a choir member, a university student, an artist's apprentice... The more beautiful and promising, the more he can make Carlos II. Excited—perhaps with a deformed face, an increasingly distorted body, and an unfulfilled thirst for power...

The disciple of the Archbishop of Toledo, Alberoni, perhaps because of some fears of the Archbishop from Carlos II and the Inquisition, he was only imprisoned, except that he was almost insane by the long and silent detention, covered in dirt, Apart from his unkempt hair, he did not suffer any fatal injuries. As soon as he was released, he immediately wrote something in the hands of the Archbishop of Tolede. The Archbishop held the bony, cold and stiff hand with his backhand. Child, you are saved."

  But...Alberoni opened his mouth wide and wanted to say something, but because he didn't talk to anyone for a long time, he couldn't make a sound for a while.

   Then he passed out.

   Archbishop of Toledo shook his head, he knew...Alberoni wanted to tell him about two things, Carlos II's intention to seize power and what kind of crime he committed.

   But the former doesn't make much sense. They have also heard about Carlos II, but he is already destined to live soon, and they are willing to condone him, so as not to cause trouble. As for the latter...he would do one, or many solemn Requiem Masses for those unfortunate children.

  ———

Alberoni woke up thinking he had gone to heaven before recognizing that it was the residence of the archbishop, who had slept on the floor the last time he came, but now he is sleeping on a bed with a soft woolen blanket It brought him an incomparably warm comfort, like a mother's palm, and the air was filled with the aroma of myrrh.

   He couldn't remember if he said those important things to the Archbishop - he was worried that he would not be able to speak after a long time of silence, and he kept talking to himself against the wall when he was in captivity.

With a "click", the door opened, and Alberoni rolled his dry eyes with difficulty.

   He was still a little afraid of the sound from the outside, because Carlos II forced him to observe the execution more than once, and even picked up the "flower pear" and threatened him, so that he would be torn apart at the top and bottom.

   Entering is Jose Patinho.

   (end of this chapter)