I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 214 The Four Plague Doctors (Part 1) (two more in one)

   I would like to use this chapter to pay tribute to all the medical workers who are at the risk of life and death, fearless retrogrades, stick to their posts, and wait for the death for our ordinary people during this epidemic and before, now and in the future!

  ——

   Orleans.

It's no wonder that the princes of all dynasties have been sealed in Orleans. Orleans is located in the central region of France, only 30 miles away from Paris, the heart of France. It only takes one day and night to reach the Louvre by carriage, and the speed of driving horses will be faster. It is not only flat and rich in products, but the Loire River, the largest river in France, directly passes through the city, while the Loire River, a tributary of the Loire River, flows from below Orleans.

It was born during the reign of Gaul, was destroyed by war in the first century, and was later rebuilt by the Roman emperor Celerian, from which it got its name "Orleans", in the tenth and eleventh centuries. , Orleans is the capital of France, and the last time it was engraved in people's hearts, because it had fallen to the enemy - in 1429, it was occupied by the British army, although it was recaptured by the army led by Joan of Arc nine days later, but the French Man, this is an indelible shame. In 1626, it was given to Henry IV's second son, Louis XIII's younger brother Gaston, of course, we all know that he has always been ambitious and unscrupulous, but his intrigue and rebellion ultimately Destroyed by bishops and kings, he eventually passed away in exile in Blois with resentment.

  If Louis wanted to, Gaston could be put on Molière's stage almost intact - a careerist, not only failed to get what he dreamed of, but left everything he had to the son of the enemy.

It's just embarrassing for the people of Orleans. When Louis was young, they could bully the ruler who had no power in his hands as much as they wanted. For Gaston's ambition, they first held an approximation. In a cold-eyed attitude, he later deliberately erected the puppet of Gaston, Duke of Orleans—this was only known to Louis after a long time—perhaps you still remember the "daughter of Orleans" that the Duchess of Montpensier acquired in Orleans at that time. The title, which formerly belonged to Joan of Arc, although the Parliament of Orleans, driven by popular enthusiasm at the time, recognized the power of the Duchess of Montpensier in the city, but when the Duchess returned to Paris, everyone After calming down, this power has become a dead letter.

But if the people of Orleans want to put such a trick on their brother Philip, it would be a big mistake. The Duchess of Montpensier has only her maid, while the new Duke of Orleans has his own army, and the king's Generosity is not limited to lace and gems, and Philip has also learned from his own brother, if not all, at least most of the time, the sword first, and then the mercy - the Orleans Council quickly surrendered to the brother. Under Philip's horseshoe, it's just wishful thinking to say how willing they were, so when the king decided to concentrate the Huguenots in the Orleans area and send the Bohemian witches here, he didn't. Too many concerns.

There were originally many Huguenots in Orleans. The famous Cathedral of St. Croix in Orleans is a huge Protestant church. There is no holy water basin at the entrance, no kneeling stool in front of the chair, no confession room, no way of the cross, and no Apostle Twelve. Signs, no altar cross, glass paintings and statues are almost all related to Joan of Arc, and the colorful flags slanting from the stone pillars represent all the towns of Orleans.

It was dusk, and there were not many people in the church. An old-faced scholar was sitting on a bench and closed his eyes in contemplation. Although his demeanor was peaceful, he was very serious, as if he was having a conversation with God that ordinary people could not understand. It’s a pity. Yes, such a scene is broken after a few minutes, with a man sitting uncomfortably close to him.

   "Stop talking," the middle-aged scholar said immediately, "I'm just a doctor, and I won't be involved in any political affairs."

   "Even for our faith?"

"For your desires." The middle-aged scholar said, "Don't say it, in the presence of God, aren't you afraid of breaking your tongue? Ask yourself, if it's for the sake of your faith and the people, you shouldn't start any rebellion. He said reproachfully: "The saints have told us that when the doomsday comes, the trumpet will be war, and then famine will follow, and famine will be followed by pestilence, and it will be surrounded by endless death, Let the people of this land be in peace, and stop the rivers overflowing with blood and corpses."

   "Shouldn't the person who made the river full of blood and corpses get his retribution?!"

   "Hate is wildfire," the middle-aged scholar admonished him: "No soul can be redeemed from it."

   "I'd rather sink into purgatory with the traitors!"

The middle-aged scholar shook his head in disappointment: "Your king is not a tyrannical person, nor is he a stupid person, he has grown up and become strong, you can't bear his sword, stop it, as long as he Also willing to recognize the 'Edict of Nantes'."

   "There are always things in this world that cannot exist together. We, they, are like that. We must only have one of the two."

   "Then let's go," said the middle-aged scholar, "I'm just a foreigner and can't give you any help."

   "You disappoint me."

   "That's what life is like, child," said the middle-aged scholar, and the person beside him took a deep breath. He pulled up his hood, got up from his chair, and disappeared faster than when he came.

  ——

Thomas Sittonham sighed, he was an Englishman, of course, a Protestant of course, but he really did not expect that when he was in London, he was lucky not to be coerced into riots and conspiracies, but he encountered this in Orleans. This kind of thing, but as he said, he hates any political or religious struggle and will not participate in it anyway.

   And he's really just a doctor.

Dr. Sidonham was born in 24 years and is 46 years old this year. He is an Englishman and one of the physicians of Charles II. He has his own estate and reputation in London, but the reason why he is willing to accept the French The king's invitation was both at the suggestion of Charles II and because he was attracted by the ideas articulated by Louis XIV. As we've described before, the seventeenth-century doctor was more of a butcher than his real duty, and their medical books were filled with guanchang, bloodletting, ironing, and amputations, all kinds, big and small. Surgery is popular, but Sidonham goes against this trend. Compared with surgery, he pays more attention to the research and classification of the source of disease and self-healing function.

In his letter to his friends, he did not approve of the physical anatomy and physiological experiments that many doctors admired, but paid more attention to the description of the patient's body, disease and past experience, and hoped to speculate the real culprit from this. Although he was already an imperial physician, he often ran around in the backcountry collecting information such as syphilis, pneumonia, diphtheria, chorea (ergot poisoning, an uncontrollable dance behavior caused by mildewed wheat. people would think poisoned people are under the curse of the devil), rheumatism and hysteria.

The king of France said that he intends to set up a huge institution in Orleans, including a large hospital, a sanatorium, a research institute, and a college. Although, even this idea is only a prototype now, Seidenham is still getting Charles II. After permission, he arrived here day and night, and the King of France was so sincere that, considering the current tense situation, he even sent his most important Musketeer Guard to **** Dr. Sidonham all the way to Orleans.

The king's expected venue is in Blois. The Blois Valley is the starting place of the French royal family. The Blois castle was once inhabited by seven kings and ten queens, and is regarded as the jewel in the crown. Blois moved to Paris, but Blois became a place of exile, and after the last exile, the Duke of Gaston, was cursed to death in the castle, his wife and daughter also moved from here, the castle It's just left vacant, and it's even a little deserted in recent years - the castle is deserted faster than the house - in just a few years, it has overgrown with grass and broken walls everywhere.

Louie remembered that it was because he couldn't decide where to put the hospital and the college for a while, because the medical school and the hospital might do some research on infectious diseases in the future, so it couldn't be located in a place with too many people. , and can not be set in too desolate places, after all, patients, equipment, and drugs all need convenient transportation, and there are high requirements for water sources, and there are many, many rooms and wide venues - and can meet the last requirement. There are almost only palaces and castles, and the castle of Blois has entered the scope of Louis's choice.

No, it's not that this is the last option, and Sidonham came to Orleans precisely to see if Blois Castle could take on this task, although as a doctor, he would love to see a doctor. The king attaches great importance to the development of medicine, but Sidonham is also worried. After all, the significance of the castle of Blois is extraordinary. Fortunately, the French king also said that he only needs his professional opinion, and the final decision is still Louis X. Fourth, this gave Sidonham a lot of peace of mind.

  Who knew that when he came to Orleans, someone wanted to instigate him to become a nail that the Huguenots placed beside Philip, Duke of Orleans and even the King of France?

   He is just a doctor!

Thomas Sidonham couldn't help but sighed again, because he was constantly disturbed, he wrote a few days in advance, and wrote to the other two professionals trusted by the king, namely the other two doctors, hoping to be able to talk to them as soon as possible. Meet in Blois.

   Unexpectedly, when the reply came, the messenger was unwilling to enter the hotel where he lived, and brought a message, asking him to drench the package outside the letter with strong wine before opening the letter.

This message immediately made Sidonham vigilant. He immediately followed the instructions of the other party, soaked the deerskin cover outside the letter with strong wine, and then opened the letter with gloves. The content of the letter was very simple, that is, Blue A plague suddenly broke out in the Brena area on the south side of Wanan, and the two future colleagues all decided to stay there, observe and treat, and let him decide whether to go or not.

certainly! Sidonham made a decision without hesitation. He wrote a reply letter that was similar to a short note for the messenger to take away, called his servants and disciples, and set off immediately.

   He met those people again at the inn. Looking at those cold eyes, Dr. Sidonham smiled, "You know I received a letter."

   "Yes," said the leader.

"You stole it," said Sidonham. "Unfortunately, I soaked it in spirits, and although I could see the contents when I looked at it, when you took it away, the writing was blurred. It's not clear."

   "That's why we're here."

   "I think so too. So do you know where it came from?"

   "Blois?"

"Blois is also an epidemic area." Sidonham said calmly. "Gentlemen, that's why I soak it with spirits. Spirits can remove evil." He looked at those eyes and suddenly panicked. Get up: "I don't know how many of you have touched it, but if you have, I suggest you shut yourself in your room during these times, don't see anyone, don't talk to anyone, and Don't open the windows at will, and don't excrete anywhere..."

  Sitdenham's disciple suddenly screamed, because he saw the black muzzle of the musket.

   "What plague?!" The leader pulled out a musket with lightning speed, pointed it at Sidonham and asked sharply.

"The biggest possibility is smallpox." Sidonham said calmly, he looked at the young faces: "I repeat... Lock yourself up, especially if you have young children around you. . . frail old man . . slender woman . . . "

   "If you're just lying..." said the leader.

"I hope it's a lie," said Setonham. "I'm going there, gentlemen, my colleagues are waiting for me, and of course, if you don't believe me, you can go with me. , but you know that once you're in there, you don't want to come back here—at least not for a few months."

Those people hesitated, and the leader was firm, but Sidonham still heard words like "conspiracy", "lie", "plague", "the king's lackey" and so on. Although he could speak French, he could not speak French. There are also dialects, the pronunciation of the Parisians is not the same as the pronunciation of the Orleans, he is not sure, and when they were arguing, the old man sat in the seat of the carriage and fell asleep.

   Such a reaction of course aroused the resentment of those who felt humiliated, but their chief stopped them: "You know there is smallpox there, and where are you going? You're not even a Frenchman!"

"Ah, I know, it's dangerous, it belongs to France, and I'm just a foreigner," Sidonham wiped the corners of his mouth carefully, he was not old enough to fall asleep anytime, It's been a long time since he was that age, but he knew he had to recharge his batteries, because there would be a long and fierce battle ahead for him.

   "But I'm a doctor," said Setonham.

  ———

Setonham left Old Orleans, but to his surprise and dismay, even though he knew he was going where the smallpox occurred, the Huguenots had a separate one to follow him, that one. Man was their leader, and although many persuaded him to drop the idea - he managed to persuade them. This time, even Sidonham felt a little depressed: "Do you know what smallpox is? Sir?"

   The man nodded.

   "Have you ever suffered from this disease?"

"No."

"Then you know how dangerous it is?" said Setonham. "Well, sir, if you must follow, then when you get to Blois, turn around and go back, and you should be able to give up on me there too. Doubt it."

   The man wiggled his hat slightly: "Unfortunately, I don't think I can."

   "Damn, why!"

   "Because I'm also a doctor." The man said lightly: "I can't tell you my name, but I can tell you that my surname is Chamblance."

   "Chambrance?" Sidonham couldn't help exclaiming: "Chamberlain?"

   "My family did change to this surname after they went to England." The man said: "I was just a sidekick. When they left France, my father insisted on staying in Orleans."

   "Gee, gee," Sittonham sighed, "I didn't expect to meet a Chamberlain here."

When it comes to the Chamberlain family, they are famous in the UK, mainly because of their special and genius skills in dystocia. Countless mothers and children have escaped from the devil's claws under their rejuvenation, but they cherish their brooms and never Willing to share their secret techniques with anyone, so much so that the British Medical Society has always been very disgruntled and indifferent to them, but for a man like Setonham, who would never give up any medical-related knowledge, he was more than Once on a horse in the narrow muddy streets, just to catch a glimpse of the Chamberlain family's "midwifery machine".

The machine and its owner arrived at the maternity's house in a carriage. No one could open it except Chamberlain and his son. The wooden box containing the machine took two people to lift. The box was decorated with gilt reliefs. , covered in leather, of the utmost luxury, but what was inside, no one knew—Chamberlain was only willing to operate when all but the mother had left the room, and when the operation was performed, the eyes of the mother They would also be blindfolded, their lower bodies covered with blankets, and the Chamberlains operated under the blankets, and the people outside the room and the mother could only constantly hear the sound of various metals colliding.

The behavior of the Chamberlain family certainly aroused the dissatisfaction of many doctors, but they were helpless. Because of this proud skill, the Chamberlain family not only established a firm foothold in London, but also successively became the surgeon of James I and Queen Charles I. The doctor and midwife, Charles II, was delivered by Peter of the Chamberlains. They also wanted to set up a midwives guild in London, but miscarried because of the boycott of the medical school.

When it comes to Chamberlain, Sidonham's expression becomes a lot more relaxed. Perhaps for this scholar, a doctor is undoubtedly much better at communicating than a thug. What worries him is, "I don't know if they have any excess. protective clothing?"

   The Chambord nodded lightly. "It's all right," he said. "My servant has gone to get it, and he'll catch up with us."

Sure enough, a few hours later, a panting servant and a sweaty horse came up to them, and Chambrance opened the box directly in front of Sidonham and inspected the protective clothing inside, from gloves to Hats, from hats to masks, from masks to robes, from robes to tight leather trousers, "Where's the cane?" Sidonham couldn't help asking.

   "I've got a musket," said Champollance nonchalantly.

   "You still have to have a cane, otherwise how do you examine the patient." Sidonham said: "But that's okay, there are plenty of canes."

  Chambrance gave him one last look, and turned to the servant: "Have those who touched the letters self-imposed confinement?"

  The servant hesitated.

  Chambronce's expression suddenly became severe: "No!?"

   "Part of it, sir, part of it!" The servant said hurriedly: "Some people said it was... just a senseless intimidation, they..."

"It's just cowardice," added Chambord. "They're just worried that if this gentleman goes to inform, they will be caught immediately. You go back immediately and tell them to immediately choose a secret and remote place to be isolated from the outside world. If they've gone to see other people, or have had intimate acts with other people, try to get those people locked up too!"

  The servant wriggled in embarrassment.

"Tell them, if they don't want Orleans to become a second Florence, do it!" Chamblance ordered in a low voice: "I will follow this Englishman until the end of the epidemic, and let them do as I say. , if they don't want to, then," he waved his arm, as if to dispel the shadow of the plague covering his body: "from now on, don't see me again!"

   "Sir!" The servant said aggrievedly: "We don't know yet..."

   "I doubt it too," said Chambolance, "but I can tell you, and I can tell them, that there are some things in this world that cannot be justified."

  He picked up the box, threw it into the Sidonham carriage, and got on his horse: "That's all I say. God bless us. Bless everyone in Orleans."

   They hit the road again, and Sidonham endured for a few minutes, stuck his head out and saw that the servant, after a moment of hesitation, turned and galloped away: "Do you think they will do as you say?"

   "Yes," said Chamblance.

   This concise answer made Sidonham a little inadequate. He paused for a few seconds, and asked fearlessly: "Did you just say, bless everyone in Orleans, including Catholics?"

   "Shut up, foreigner!"

  ———

   Setonham and Chamberlain arrived at Blois early the next morning.

The epidemic occurred in the Brena region on the south side of Blois. Fortunately, it was the same as Versailles. It used to be the hunting ground of the French king, retaining large forests and swamps, and few villages and towns. Although the epidemic has spread to seven full The village, but had not yet swept through Blois like a prairie fire, two of Sidonham's colleagues, who were the preparers of the medical school appointed by the king, were waiting for Sidonham here.

  Although they were also quite surprised how Sidonham would bring a Chambord, but they were able to make Louis trust him, that is to say, the two were not only loyal, but also professionally simple, they immediately accepted Chambord.

The two people here, one is Malbiqui from Italy, who is forty-two years old this year, is still young and strong, and the other is worrying, because he is almost eighty years old, and it is King Louis XIV's Chief Physician, Charles De, Lom.

   (end of this chapter)