Marin was sad when he sent away the 700 brothers who fought alongside him. After all, they fought together for seven or eight months. But before he could recall the past, he was summoned by the emperor urgently.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty!" In the Royal Palace in Vienna, Marin met Maximilian I again.
"Baron Marin, I have a tricky thing to ask you."
"Please say!"
"Some of these French prisoners had strange symptoms! Nauseous abscesses began to develop on them."
"Syphilis!" Marin exclaimed. When in Italy, Marin was so excited that he forgot all about it because he had obtained a huge amount of spoils.
"Syphilis?" The emperor had never heard of it, so he was a little confused.
"Your Majesty, this is what this baron heard. The malignant disease called 'syphilis' originated in the West Indies, where Columbus discovered."
"Columbus? I know, he said that he found the westward route to India." Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, and now three years have passed, and Maximilian I knew the news.
"In fact, what Columbus discovered was not India at all, but an area where wild people live."
"Are you sure?" Maximilian I was a little skeptical. Because Western Europeans have never been to real India.
"My teacher, I've been to real India!"
"Oh, is it? What does real India look like?"
"The so-called 'India' discovered by Columbus has people with yellow skin. There are two main types of people in real India. One is a white West Asian who is similar to an Arab, and the other is black. Race ... "
"Where did Columbus go?"
"A barren continent to the west has a low level of civilization. Also, this terrible syphilis came from the West Indies."
"How come?"
"According to my teacher, it was about a sailor from Columbus who had a relationship with a local indigenous woman in the West Indies and contracted this disease. Then, you know, the sailor was a Spaniard and went to Sicily, Then had a relationship with the local prostitute, and then was taken by the client to Naples, which was close to Sicily, and passed to the Naples prostitutes, and then spread in Naples ... "
"It happened that the French had invaded Naples, and the French soldiers couldn't control themselves and went to visit the prostitutes who were infected, and this evil was spread inside the French army. It is said that this time the French went to tens of thousands, only More than 10,000 people have returned intact, but 4,000 have been captured by us ... "
"So powerful?" Maximilian I took a breath. What a terrible and terrifying disease that has destroyed tens of thousands of troops!
"According to what I discovered in Italy, there were tens of thousands of people who died in the French army because of this disease, but it caused an unparalleled panic and the morale of the French army was depressed. Otherwise, Charles VIII would not He led the army to flee north, and was picked up by the minister. It is important to know that even during the escape, the French army suffered a big loss for the Italian coalition. "
Maximilian I nodded, he knew the information. The French army who ran hurriedly still killed 2,000 Italians, and the Italians only caused 1,000 casualties to the French army.
"We have to thank this evil. Otherwise, the French will not retreat so easily and may fight with us to the end. You need to know what the Italian army is. Without the full support of the Imperial Parliament, we cannot fight the full French army. "
"However, this disease is extremely prone to spread. Please pay attention to it."
"What? Very serious?"
"Yes, as long as there is a relationship between this disease, there is a great chance that it will be transmitted.
Your Majesty, think about it; if a person who came back from Italy contracted this disease. He then went to Vienna to find a prostitute and transmitted the disease to the prostitute. Later, the soldiers in Vienna also went to find this prostitute, and they all became infected... "
Before he could finish, Maximilian I was frightened. If the Vienna army is heavily infected with syphilis, the Hungarians can take Austria again without any effort.
"What can we do?"
"There is no way but to keep soldiers abstinent for a while. Otherwise, if the Vienna army contracted this evil and lost its combat effectiveness, it would not be able to resist the Hungarian invasion."
"I'm afraid the soldiers will rebound." Maximilian I was worried.
"It doesn't matter, Your Majesty, as long as you tell them the consequences of this evil and announce the tragic situation of the French in Naples, they will know how to choose. Life is important or pleasure is important?"
"Well, you're right. But dozens of 2000 prisoners seem to have contracted this disease. What should be good? If they die, they won't receive a ransom."
As soon as Maximilian I spoke, he exposed his inhuman nature. He was not worried about the safety of the French, but he was not worried about getting ransom.
"How old have those people been?"
"It was just a short while ago." It seems to be in the incubation period before, just broke out.
"That's okay, l may have a way to suppress this evil temporarily, but it cannot be eradicated. However, it is still okay to stick to the ransom."
"That's good, that's good!" Maximilian I opened his eyes. It is enough to get the ransom. As for the future, he cares about those French who die?
So Marin proposed a very primitive treatment method-topical mercury and sulfur. This is just a way to treat skin diseases. Among them, mercury is still very toxic. However, only for external use, as long as the amount is controlled, it is also possible. Although this method cannot be cured, it can greatly reduce the onset of syphilis and suppress syphilis to a certain extent. Some mild patients may even be cured.
Later, Maximilian I decisively found a hot spring with a strong sulfur odor, and let those dozens of French people go down to soak up the bacteria. In addition, let them apply some mercury to their affected area.
In order to prevent the outbreak of syphilis in the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian I issued a scripture introducing the source of syphilis, using the formal term "syphilis" to define the disease, and strictly prohibiting any prostitute coming from Italy and France, otherwise she will be executed.
At the same time, those who go to Italy and France are not allowed to go to prostitution. Because, according to Marin's speculation, syphilis has inevitably spread in Italy and France. Unless everyone is abstinent, this stubborn disease cannot be eradicated.