Chapter 21 Section 5 Joan of Arc's Burning Rack

The day was sunny, and several executioners came early to the square in front of the fish market in Rouen City, erected a cross, piled up several clusters of firewood under the wooden frame, and poured freshly squeezed olive oil on them. A few pieces of cheese and a copper nail were also stuffed in accordance with the British custom.The residents of Rouen gathered in twos and threes around the square, silently watching the executioner busy. After noon, first dozens of English pikemen surrounded the square, and raised their spears horizontally to push the onlookers outward, separating them from the square; then more than a hundred crossbowmen occupied the nearby commanding heights; Further away, five or six teams of cavalry patrolled the streets back and forth, and temporary barricades were also erected at several intersections leading to the Fish Market Square to strictly check passers-by.Those who didn't know, thought it was the enemy's pressure.

All of these were ready, and a brigade of heavily armored infantry escorted Joan of Arc, followed by the judges and the Duke of Bedford.And Ke Xiong, wearing a lily crown on his head and the Garter sword hanging from his waist, rode beside Joan of Arc, quite proud of himself. Joan of Arc was only wearing a flaxen shirt today, her blond hair was messy and messy.After more than ten days of torment, she has become thin and thin, looking very thin and haggard.However, she was in the team, but she held her head high and held her chest high, without any fear.When the onlookers saw this, they cheered several times, but were whipped back by the exasperated soldiers.

When they arrived at the square, several big and round executioners rushed over, tied Joan of Arc to the cross, and tied her hands and feet tightly.All the judges prayed together for a while, Ke Xiong straightened his clothes, held the sheepskin verdict, stepped forward, and said sanctimoniously: "There is a criminal woman, Joan of Arc, who is disobedient, adulterous with the devil, and blasphemous. God, regard justice as nothing in the world. Today, in the name of justice and the holy teachings of God and the virtue of our emperor, we impose holy judgments as an example to others. Joan of Arc, do you know your sin?" Joan of Arc was tied to a wooden stake. Hearing Ke Xiong's sentence, he was not afraid at all. His eyes were like lightning, and he just said loudly: "You sinners on earth will be judged in the kingdom of heaven. Everyone will pay for their actions. God is justice. Yes, it will definitely impose a truly righteous sanction on your souls." This shout was so upright that everyone in the square could hear it clearly.After hearing this, the executioners who were arranging the torture tools all changed their expressions, and their hearts faltered.

Ke Xiong was a little panicked when he heard the words, and became angry from embarrassment. He stretched out his hand and slapped him across the face. wrinkled together.Although he assisted Ke Xiong to sentence Joan of Arc to death, he didn't believe that this woman was really a witch, but admired her courage.He coughed, and said to Ke Xiong: "My lord, burning to death is a sacred thing, don't make it a farce, and degrade your own identity." These words expressly persuaded Ke Xiong, but secretly satirized Ke Xiong's ignorance, the people in the square They all burst out laughing.Ke Xiong was furious, quickly rolled up the verdict, and sternly said to the executioner: "The time has come, execute quickly!" Several executioners looked at each other, and finally one person picked up a bunch of torches, poured pine oil on it, and lit it on fire. and walked towards the woodpile at Joan's feet.The onlookers exclaimed, and those who were soft-hearted and timid turned their heads away, unable to bear to see this young girl being swallowed by the fire god.Joan of Arc closed her eyes and raised her head, standing facing the wind, without any trace of fear, but she saw fluttering clothes, brilliant blond hair, and indescribably solemn and strong determination.At the moment when the executioner was about to throw the torch to the pyre, a clearer and louder shout suddenly came from outside the square: "Pope decree, keep people under the fire!" The executioner trembled, but the fire did not go down.

The people in the square didn't expect such a thing to happen, and they were all shocked in place for a while.All of a sudden, there was silence in the fish market square, and both the common people and the soldiers looked in the direction of the sound.There was the sound of horseshoes kicking in the distance, and immediately an old woman dressed as a nun came galloping, holding a scroll of documents and a cross inlaid with gold and silver in her hands.Beside her was a black-robed monk, following closely behind. At that time, the Pope was more powerful than the kings of other countries, and the ordinary people all respected them as gods. When they heard the Pope's decree, they cheered and shouted: "Keep people under the fire!" Looking down on everything, the soldiers dared to stop them, but these two men and two horses stepped directly into the square.Ke Xiong was furious, and quickly ordered the executioner to say: "What are you waiting for! Burn it!" The monk scanned the audience and shouted: "There is an edict from the five emperors of Martin here, which one of you dare to move!" The roar of the fire dragon shocked In the audience, the executioner was shocked by the powerful internal force and took a few steps back, and the torch in his hand fell to the ground.

The two horses rushed up to the stake, and the two jumped off their horses.Joan opened her eyes and saw the two familiar faces of Richard and Sister Gabriela, as if in a dream, she froze there for a moment.Richard didn't care about the firewood pricking his feet, he pushed the executioner away, and rushed to Joan of Arc.Joan of Arc struggled for more than ten days, and at this moment her spirit relaxed, she let the tears roll down her cheeks, and said softly: "Richard, was it you who was outside the tower that day?" Richard grabbed her shoulders, She wiped the tears off her face with her hands, and said softly: "It's me..." Joan smiled wryly and said, "What are you doing here?" Richard said: "There are still two chapters of "Divine Comedy" that I haven't finished reading, how can I be so easy?" Breaking the contract?" The nanny glanced at the two of them, turned to face Ke Xiong, raised the cross in her hand and said: "Beauvais Bishop Ke Xiong, please accept the decree!" Her precious appearance was solemn, not angry but majestic.Ke Xiong saw that the cross in her hand was extremely luxurious, with a red thread wrapped around the four corners, and his heart trembled.This arena is the Peter Cross of the Vatican.Peter's Cross was given by the Pope himself, seeing that the Pope is in person, even the king can't neglect it.

The European bishops were all subordinates of the Pope, so Kechon had to kneel down on one leg and said: "I sincerely accept the decree." Aunt Gabriela opened the decree and said loudly: "The Pope's decree, the case of Joan of Arc is related to the dignity of the Holy See. It is easy to make a decision, and the Vatican Cardinal will choose another day for retrial!" Ke Xiong squinted his one-eyed eye for a moment, and suddenly said: "Could it be Aunt Gabriela from the Beguin Society?" Aunt Gabriela said: "It is the old man " Cochon took the order and took a closer look. The Duke of Bedford also came over at this time, very worried, and whispered to Cochon: "The Pope wants to intervene in this matter, what should we do?" Cochon slightly With a smile, he signaled the duke to be calm, picked up the decree and asked Aunt Gabriela, "Mother, when will the Pope issue this decree?" Sister Gabriela was slightly taken aback, and replied: " Five days ago." Cochon laughed and flashed the order: "I heard that when the Holy See split more than ten years ago, Beguin would strongly support Martin V, and later the Pope ascended the throne and sent a Peter cross to Beguin Because of meeting, to show favor, could it be this one?" Aunt Gabriela said, "So what?"

Ke Xiong's complexion changed suddenly, and he said loudly: "This court just opened 13 days ago, and the verdict was just issued the day before yesterday. Rouen is far away from the Vatican, how can the Pope send an edict? What's more, the Holy See has changed two years ago. In addition to the griffin, the seal of the pope’s decree has an extra line of Latin words ‘God so loved the world’, why does this decree use the old seal of the griffin?” The mother raised the cross and said angrily: “You Dare to disobey the Holy See?" Ke Xiong said with a sneer, "How dare I disobey the Holy See? It is clear that you, Beiguin, will act recklessly because of your favor. Peter's cross is true, but the Holy See documents are indeed forged. Lie to the world!" He bit Mammy firmly, intending to drag the entire Beguie into trouble.The Duke of Bedford suddenly understood after he reminded him.

Aunt Gabriela groaned inwardly.That day, she sent Theron and Carlyle back to Bruges overnight, fetched Peter's cross, and bought materials in nearby towns, and forged a papal decree from memory.It's a pity that Beguin would keep a low profile and seldom communicate with the Holy See on weekdays, so he didn't even know that the Vatican had changed its seal, but Ke Xiong saw the flaw. This time, not to mention that Joan's life is in jeopardy, even the Beguin Society will be accused of forging the Holy See's decree. The Duke of Bedford had already retreated dozens of steps, loudly ordering the guards to arrest the two crooks who pretended to be the envoys of the Pope.Aunt Gabriela saw that the matter had been exposed. She was an old man after all. She thought to herself that there was only one way to go, so she turned her heart and moved sideways. Her long sleeves were blowing towards Duke Bedford with a strong wind. and Kochon.

Sister Gabriela is well-known in the Jianghu, and no one dares to underestimate her long-sleeved kung fu.The row of soldiers rushing up felt the strong wind blowing against their faces, and they fell to the ground with a loud "Aiya", their muscles and bones were limp.Cauchon had been folded in the hands of Aunt Gabriela for a while in the early years, and he had always been afraid. Seeing Aunt Gabriela's sudden attack, he wanted to retreat, but was stopped by the guards around him.But Mammy didn't care about anyone, but rushed towards him alone, her movements were as fast as lightning, and no one could stop her sharpness.Although there are all friendly troops around, Kexiong feels that he is alone and helpless, so he has to bite the bullet and fight.

When the two fought hand to hand, Ke Xiong suddenly felt that the judge was superior, no matter the moves, internal strength or body skills, he was far inferior to the old nanny.The same trick, when Joan used it, Kechon was still able to fight in a match, but when Aunt Gabriela used it, he felt that it was impossible to guard against.The sleeves of the robe fluttered, and the internal energy splashed everywhere. Ke Xiong can be regarded as a generation of masters, but he is restrained everywhere. Oddly enough, Sister Gabriela let the killer down a few times, but let it go.Ke Xiong fought with her for more than a dozen moves before he suddenly came to his senses.It turned out that the old nun deliberately oppressed her, allowing herself to use the Gospel of Judas tricks in full view, so that she could be convicted of heresy, and Joan of Arc's crime cannot be forgiven.So he gritted his teeth secretly, thinking that even if he was seriously injured, he would not be able to show his martial arts.Unexpectedly, Ke Xiong suddenly felt a lightness in his waist, looked down, and found that the holy maiden sword had been grasped by Sister Jiajianghu Briela.Mammy threw the sword towards the burning frame and shouted: "Take it!" Richard reached out and grabbed the scabbard, and pulled out the Saintess sword with a "swish", a blue light flashed, and the ropes on Joan's body snapped. . Once Joan broke free, without saying a word, she took the Garter sword from Richard's hand, raised it high, and jumped straight towards Cochon. The surrounding crowd cheered like thunder when they saw her break free. Aunt Gabriela used the unique skills of the Peguin society to slap away the soldiers and crossbow arrows that rushed up one by one, and did not let them intervene in the duel between the two.Theron and Carlisle also jumped in from the crowd of onlookers and stood beside Mammy. Carlisle stared at Cochon, and suddenly shouted at Joan of Arc: "Miss Joan, this Cochon has a vengeance with me. Today I respectfully ask the girl to kill this dog for me, and sacrifice the souls of my family of thirty-six!" Joan of Arc didn't look back, she just waved her hand slightly to show that she understood. Ke Xiong was not surprised but delighted, thinking that Joan of Arc has been tortured for more than ten days, and her body is so weak, how could she be his opponent.He thought to himself that with his own skill, if he used the Gospel of Judas, he should be able to kill it in one fell swoop, and no one else could see the flaw in an instant.The plan was made, he used Judah's skills, a pair of paws like chicken feet, and put on a posture of a griffin pouncing on food, like a demon coming to the world, just waiting for Joan to attack. Joan of Arc was holding the Garter sword at this time, her eyes were ethereal and cold, as if the human sword had become one, and no flaws could be seen.Ke Xiong looked at her four eyes, felt that she held the long sword in her hand, as if she was a different person, it was unspeakably sacred, and he began to feel uneasy.He thought it might be better to strike first, so he waved his palms and swung at Joan with all his skill. With a flick of Joan's sword, a brilliant blue light bloomed, like the Milky Way flowing backwards.In an instant, everyone around the square was shocked by the astonishing momentum of this sword. It is actually the highest skill of Guardian swordsmanship. Justified by faith, the saint draws a sword. Only those who are steadfast in their faith will be justified. A blue light flashed, and when everyone looked again, Archbishop Kexiong had been pierced by the Holy Maiden's sword, his eyes were still wide open, as if he didn't believe that the sword was so powerful.The entire square was silent, and the crowd didn't know what to do. Joan silently pulled out the Holy Maiden Sword, wiped the blood off the sword with the hem of her clothes, turned around and walked to Sister Gabriela and knelt down, holding the Holy Maiden Sword with both hands, and said in a low voice: "Master, disciple! If not, I would like to return the Saintess Sword of Patriarch Jiade." Sister Gabriela looked at Joan of Arc with a loving face, stroked the top of her hair with her hand, and said slowly: "This justification by faith is my treasure. You know the essence and essence of martial arts, and no one has realized it for more than three hundred years. I never imagined that you will show it today. I am really gratified to be a teacher. You have realized the way of God more deeply than a teacher." Zhen De didn't answer, just exchanged glances with Aunt Gabriela, and made a sign of the cross on his chest.Their master and apprentice have been in love for more than ten years, and they have already connected with each other, so there is no need to say more.Mammy knew what she meant, and took the holy sword, but couldn't help showing sadness on her face.Joan stood up and walked to the stake with her head held high.Richard stood where he was, looking at Joan of Arc with ethereal and delicate eyes, and there was no trace of hostility in his blue eyes, and he faintly felt something was wrong. The great enemy Carlisle had seen for so many years was finally put to death, threw down the harp, and burst into tears. The Duke of Bedford led the guards to rush into the square at this time. Because he was afraid of the amazing martial arts skills of Joan of Arc and Sister Gabriela, the Duke did not dare to get too close, and let several heavy armored warriors stand in front of him.The four strikes of the crossbow and the longbow have doubled, and when the Duke gives an order, he can shoot several people in the square into hedgehogs.The Duke of Bedford shook his voice and said: "You guys came to rob the execution ground today and killed my bishop, can you still leave?" Joan of Arc bowed to Duke Bedford and said, "Look, Duke, this Kexiong is actually Judas The preacher of the Gospel is the apostle of the devil, who usually hides tightly, but I just forced him out of his skill." The Duke of Bedford took a breath and hurriedly looked at Ke Xiong's body.I saw that the skin of the corpse was wrinkled and purple. It was very frightening, and it was the symbol of the Gospel of Judas.The duke also knows a little bit of kung fu, so he knows what he said is true.Thinking that England was in company with such evil spirits, if it spread out, it would be a big scandal, the Duke twisted his beard and pondered for a long time before saying: "You should be grateful for uncovering Cochon's identity. But Miss Joan is You are the great enemy of England, and the witch who was sentenced by the religious court. If you let you go, England will lose face." Joan of Arc said: "Mr. Righteous man. Now that I voluntarily burn at the stake, can you please let the others leave Rouen?" As soon as she said a word, Richard and the Duke of Bedford were taken aback. See the heart of her lover.In a moment of excitement, Richard grabbed Joan of Arc's shoulder and shouted loudly: "Miss Joan of Arc, Theron and Carlisle will be on the outside to support them. With the help of Sister Gabriela, they will be able to escape!" Joan of Arc shook her head. , sighed softly: "Why are you doing this? It's God's will, you can't force it." Richard's eyes were red, ignoring the crowd, and he just shouted: "Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc, you and I have an agreement, and you actually Have you forgotten?" Joan of Arc smiled slightly, Yu pointed to his forehead, and said softly: "How could Joan of Arc forget it? In the past ten days, apart from praying, I have been silently reciting the chapters of "Divine Comedy" that you read to me. Come and read the rest to me, time is running out..." Richard was terrified, looking at Mammy and winking for help.The nanny patted him on the shoulder and sighed: "She has made up her mind to go, and no one can stop her. If she just leaves, not only will she bear the name of a witch from now on, and she will not be able to get rid of it, even the Beguin Society will also be punished because of it." Sheltering the witch and forging the decree is a catastrophe—justification by faith originally meant killing one’s life to become benevolent, with the implication of justice. Now Joan of Arc wants to defend the name of the saint with her life, which is still the fate of the saint swordsmen of all ages "Richard said angrily: "How do you know that she didn't know her own life experience because of this, and she was disheartened by this world?" Aunt Gabriela silently handed the Saintess sword to Richard: "Go quickly, It’s not easy to teach her to go to heaven, and she still has regrets.” At this time, the Duke of Bedford drew out his sword and said to Joan of Arc: “I swear by my position as a duke and the spirit of chivalry, I will not pursue anyone other than Joan of Arc. The rest are responsible for robbery and killing. You can go with peace of mind." Theron suddenly threw the long sword and knight helmet on the ground, weeping, and shouted: "Since we want to talk about chivalry, let me replace General Joan of Arc. " Joan stroked Theron's flaxen hair, but said nothing.Theron knelt on the ground with "gudong" on his knees, and cried: "A country can live without Theron for a day, but a day without generals!" Joan of Arc touched his shoulders, patted him three times, and turned back to the burning frame. superior. At this time, a strong wind suddenly blew, and sand and stones flew away for a while.All the people around the square covered their faces and lowered their heads. Only Joan of Arc leaned calmly in front of the burning frame, letting her blond hair flutter, her eyes gazing up at the sky, as if there was infinite sorrow and joy hidden in it, as if the kingdom of heaven was approaching, filled with psalms.Some onlookers swear by the sky afterwards, saying that they saw two seraphs descend from the sky with their own eyes and land on the shoulders of Joan of Arc. Richard knelt down in front of the firewood pile with the maiden's sword in his hand, whimpering.The executioner hesitated again and again, and finally threw the torch onto the firewood pile. Joan of Arc was immediately enveloped in a mass of red lotus flames, and the small figure was blurred in the fire.The whole square was in a state of awe, only the sound of Richard reciting "Divine Comedy" was heard: ...Staying in the fire to wait for the delay, waiting to join Lev's happiness: If you are more interested in Gaomai, you should follow my advice: Give his entrusted monarch to withdraw himself: The emperor of heaven ruled Xi from Bixiao, and the law was not given, so he was forbidden to guide his husband to broom the suburbs.Emperor Xuan Huang Xi hanging arch, this is the Qing capital Xi Emperor Palace. Woo hoo luck woz pet! Said the poet, please follow me, don't rely on God's blessing alone, let the current misfortune be eliminated from the future, and I hope that the guide will die together, and look up to the heavenly gate of St. Peter... Twenty-two years after the death of Joan of Arc, the French army broke through Bordeaux, So far, the whole of France has been liberated, and Charles VII has become the master of ZTE.Three years later, Pope Lexter III personally issued an edict to retry the case of Joan of Arc, overturning the previous judgment of the English court, and despite the opposition of the Pope, officially canonized the title of Joan of Arc. Jazz deserves the most credit for it.And as early as ten years before the rehabilitated, "Song of Joan of Arc" had already spread like wildfire in Western Europe, and was widely sung by bards, but the author was absent. Brother Richard was disheartened, bid farewell to Troyes, moved to Magdeburg in Germany, and lived alone for the rest of his life.Decades later, a young man named Martin Luther King suddenly appeared in Magdeburg.He held a blue long sword, and with his superb martial arts of "justified by faith", he was invincible against Europa.Later, Martin Luther advocated the banner of "Justification by Faith", so he founded the Christian Lutheran Protestant sect, which competed with the Holy See of the Vatican. Its reputation has not declined for hundreds of years, and it has become a major sect in the European world, which has a profound influence on future generations... …Note: 1. In history, Joan of Arc attacked Paris on September 8, 1429, and was captured in Compiègne on May 23, 1430.It was not until January 9, 1431 that the trial of the Inquisition began, and Joan was executed on May 30 of the same year, which spans a long time.For the sake of compactness, the novel has been compressed for readers to understand. 2. There is indeed a legend in history that Joan of Arc is the sister of Charles VII, but the evidence is insufficient, and it is not accepted by serious historians. From then on, the novelist said that it was just a joke. 3. The translation of "Divine Comedy" in this article is excerpted from the handwriting of Mr. Qian Daosun.