Chapter 150: Descartes' Plan

Every year on May 6, the Vatican's Swiss Guard takes the oath in the courtyard of San Damaso, reciting an oath that has remained unchanged for more than a century, asking God to bless him with the success of his mission and to give his life in allegiance to the Pope.

It's a very solemn thing.

When Charles V's army swept the city of Rome, all the people from other countries in the Holy See Guard fled, and only the Swiss stubbornly held out.

One hundred and forty-seven Swiss soldiers shed their last drop of blood to defend the Pope. Since then, the Holy See Guard has been formed using the Swiss

Tradition.

And the reason why these fighters died in battle is also unacceptable.

These valiant soldiers swore to defend the Pope to the death, but Julius II, the cowardly and benevolent Pope, ordered the Swiss soldiers not to kill the enemy because the enemy was the people of his homeland.

These Swiss soldiers, who had to protect their masters and obey their orders not to kill the enemy, could only make senseless resistance without complaint, and as a result, they did not survive.

Since then, the Swiss have been the guards responsible for guarding the Apostolic Palace.

Every year on May 6, the day of the death of the Swiss soldiers, the popes have inspected the majestic guards of these feathered helmets, red, yellow and blue striped uniforms, and armed with ancient long weapons.

The Vatican Guard was founded one hundred and fifty years ago and consists of a hundred Catholics, including seventy halberders, twenty-five non-commissioned officers, four officers, and one priest.

In the early morning, after reviewing the convoy, the Pope would wait for the Catholics in St. Peter's Square to gather at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, and as the church bell rang, the Pope appeared in the middle window of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica to address the faithful.

This was a very important speech for Alexander VII.

Because, after this speech, he will officially become the master of the Vatican, the master of the Apostolic Palace, the first shepherd of God.

Alexander VII had all the preparations.

Of course, Descartes Jr. was ready for everything.

When he woke up in the morning, Mr. Descartes was so tired and weak that he just wanted to sleep, which he thought was due to the fact that he had slept too late the previous night.

Still, he insisted on sitting up, and if he wanted to take a break, he went to the Apostolic Palace to attend the Pope's oratory.

Little Descartes looked at his grandfather's pale face worriedly, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Grandfather, I will listen to the Pope's sermon for you." ”

Mr. Descartes shook his head stubbornly and said, "I must go in person, and I am curious to know if His Majesty Alexander will mention us in this important sermon."

This is very important, child, if His Holiness can put an end to some of the previous malpractices and open the door to new disciplines, then the spring of new disciplines in Europe will come, and with this spring breeze, new disciplines will blossom everywhere in Europe.

I can't afford to miss such an event. ”

"But you are not physically fit enough to listen to the Pope's sermon, and if you sit and listen, then you will attract a lot of criticism, so it is better for you to stay at home and let me listen to the Pope's sermon, and when I come back, I will tell you sentence by sentence.

Make sure you don't miss a word. ”

After saying that, little Descartes glanced up at little Emily, and immediately, little Emily leaned over to her grandfather, and whispered to her grandfather that she hoped that the two of them would be alone for a while, and she promised that she would read quietly and not disturb her grandfather's rest. ”

The rest of the professors, who were already dressed in full costume, saw that Mr. Descartes was too depressed, and advised him to rest at home, and that they would go to the Apostolic Palace to listen to the Pope's voice.

After two attempts, Mr. Descartes found that his body still did not have enough strength to stand for a long time, so he nodded and acceded to their request.

He sent little Emily to his study to get back two invitations, and solemnly handed them to little Descartes: "You go to the papal sermon for me, and after the sermon is over, there will be a great banquet in the apostolic palace."

You must thank His Holiness the Pope on my behalf and explain why I could not attend the meeting. ”

Descartes Jr. said, "I will definitely convey your thanks to His Holiness the Pope." ”

Mr. Descartes nodded, handed the two invitations in his hand to Descartes Jr. and said, "Here are two invitations, one for Archduke Władysław, the head of the Teutonic Knights, and one for Archduke Dala Touré, Captain of the Knights Hospitaller."

You have to remember that this is very important, and I have something very important to discuss with these two regimental commanders, no matter how you invite them to come to me. ”

Little Descartes sighed in his heart as he remembered the weapons his grandfather had drawn on paper.

By this moment, he had understood his grandfather's intentions—he had finally understood that the new discipline could no longer be composed of mere literati, otherwise these weak men would not have a sense of security in war-torn Europe.

At the same time, he cannot rely on any country, once he is attached to any country, he will immediately offend more countries.

Known as the Shield of Europe after Malta defeated the arrogant Ottoman Suleiman I in one fell swoop a hundred years ago, the Knights Hospitaller were the most reliable armed force in the hands of the Pope.

As early as 130 years ago, under the influence of Martin Luther, the Teutonic Knights announced their conversion to Lutheranism, thus severing their ties with the Holy See, the nominal suzerain, and proclaiming the secularization of the Teutonic Knights.

After that, the territory of the Order was changed to the Duchy of Prussia, and the Grand Master Albrecht became a famous Elector as Duke of Prussia.

However, the Teutonic Order as an organization still existed.

The cut is getting stronger.

These two orders, one retro and the other Protestant, but whether it is the Knights Hospitaller or the Teutonic Knights, their influence in Europe should not be underestimated.

It was because of their strong religious overtones that Monsieur Descartes was prepared to make these two knightly orders an armed force on which the new discipline of Europe could be relied upon.

Then a new university was formed, a new type of university that integrates teaching and research in all disciplines and research institutes, just like Yushan University that John Tang had informed.

With the protection of these two orders, the new discipline would have an important place in both Catholicism and Protestantism.

The news brought by John Tong from the East did not make the Pope and the kings vigilant enough, but Mr. Descartes saw a new direction of teaching and research in the structure of the Yushan Academy.

In all of Europe, there is no university that can compete with the huge Yushan Academy.

Unconsciously, Mr. Descartes, who had been living in the world, suddenly became determined to try again, and he felt that he should leave a precious legacy to little Descartes and little Emily.

The most important thing is that once these important professors are actively involved in the development of weapons, as long as they have samples, they can quickly crack the world's newest weapons and take a step forward in cracking them.

It hardly occurred to think that neither the Knights Hospitaller nor the Teutonic Order would have been overjoyed when they heard of Mr. Descartes' suggestion.

It's too likely to happen.

Little Descartes looked at his grandfather, who was drowsy because of the tranquilizing hypnotic drugs, and he found that until now, his grandfather was the only one who had kept up with the development path of the Ming Kingdom.

Although the path chosen by his grandfather would definitely become the enemy of the Ming Dynasty, Descartes Jr. did not care, he felt that as long as the day passed, his grandfather's dream would definitely come to naught.

After all, it would be difficult for these people to survive the explosion of fifteen artillery pieces and five thousand pounds of gunpowder.

As the sun rose, Mr. Descartes slept happily to the singing of little Emily.

Descartes the younger, dressed in full clothes, followed a group of well-dressed professors to the Apostolic Palace.

When we arrived at the Apostolic Palace Square, there were already a lot of people here, and there were knights of the Order guarding everywhere, and there were also a large number of plainclothes policemen swimming around in the crowd.

All the guards stared at every suspicious figure.

Descartes the Younger and his party were assigned to the easternmost position because they only had learning and did not have a noble title.

It's not a good place at all, but you can barely hear the Pope's sermons and speeches.

If it weren't for the fact that Pope Alexander VII had the cardinals give them a place, they would have had to crowd the square with the residents of the Vatican to watch the excitement.

Important figures arrived later, as was customary, and the Grand Dukes of Italy had not yet entered, and the envoys of the various countries who had remained in Rome had already begun to enter.

Little Descartes took a serious look at it, and the envoys of the Great Ming Kingdom did not arrive, which shows that the Holy See did not invite them to attend.

The relationship between the Holy See and the Ming Dynasty and Japan is not very good, mainly because forty years ago, the previous pope did not agree with the missionaries to enter the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese mission, and he stubbornly believed that neither the Ming Dynasty nor Japan was God's people.

Descartes Jr. had a simple understanding of this – he thought it was the result of stupidity and short-sightedness.

He couldn't bear not to look at the dense forest across the Tiber, not to see the two stone buildings a few hundred meters away, and not to see the window where the Pope was about to show his head.

His face was full of curiosity, and he kept asking the well-informed professors around him for advice on the front and the big names that kept appearing in the west.

This is not at all difficult to stop the heraldic professor Paris.

As long as an important nobleman appears, he can tell the origin and lineage of this person simply by virtue of the family coat of arms on the carriage.

"My dear little Descartes, do you see that? The Archduke Dala Tourre of the Knights Hospitaller has arrived, you see, the eight-pointed cross flag with a red background and a white background - oh, the man under the Maltese cross is the Archduke Dala Tourre.

Oh my God, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Grand Duke Władysław, is here, and behold, my child, the one under the banner of the Black Cross.

When the sermon is over, you have to invite these two men, but before that happens, it's best to get a familiar cardinal to introduce you, otherwise they'll think you're an insignificant kid......"

Little Descartes nodded so excitedly that the little freckles on either side of his nose were slightly red.

The sun rose higher and higher, the gate of the Apostolic Palace slowly opened, and a large group of missionaries dressed in various monks' robes walked out of the Apostolic Palace with burning pine branches under the leadership of a group of boys.

Descartes the Younger, like everyone else, was set to the window in the middle of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica, which was fully open, and in a little while, after the choir boys had praised the Lord, and when the great accordion was over, the Pope would appear at that window.

Little Descartes didn't know if fifteen guns could destroy the stone building in an instant, let alone five thousand pounds of gunpowder to destroy the foundation of the tower, and whether those gunners had time to deliver the most shells to the nobles in the square in the shortest possible time.

So, because of the rush of blood, the white freckles on both sides of his nose turned completely red.

There is no turning back when the bow is opened, as long as the church bell rings, it is the cannon, when the gunpowder is blown off.

Professor Paris took the left hand of little Descartes and said, "Oh, my child, what you need at this time is quiet and composed, so that you can become the darling of the noble banquets." ”

Descartes Jr. said: "I would love to see His Majesty the Pope now and personally thank him for saving my grandfather and for saving our family." ”

Paris looked at the sun that was about to reach overhead and smiled, "Soon, soon, you will soon be able to get your wish." ”