Chapter 52 Chapter 50

Gao Kang speaks to the defeated soldiers "As far as I can remember, our ancestors of previous generations, after the end of the war, always felt and believed that, as a symbol of triumphant victory, instead of building monuments on the conquered land, it is better to establish good morals in the hearts of the defeated. Because They believe that using kindness to win people's living memory is far more important than those silent eulogies that are only exposed to the sun and rain and people are jealous on the archway and stele tower. "You must remember how leniently they treated the Bretons at the battle of Saint-Aubin du Camille, and how Barthenay demolished them. You must have heard how they treated robbery How favorably treated the strongmen of Spaniela, who ravaged and harassed Olona and the coast of Talmonte, will surely admire you when you hear it.

"Afabar, the king of Canary, was not satisfied with his own property, frantically invaded the land of Onis, and plundered the Almeric Islands④ and the surrounding areas. The heaven and the earth were full of praise and gratitude from you and your elders. This is because After a fierce naval battle, he was defeated and captured by my father—may God bless him and protect him. But, what? If other kings, emperors, and even those who claim to be religious Including the king of the country⑤, he will still be harshly abused, put him in a hard prison, and ransom him at a high price. But my father treats him with extra courtesy and kindly lets him live in his own palace , unbelievably magnanimous, gave him a pass to go home, gave him many gifts, showed him great favors, and expressed his sincere friendship. What was the result? When he returned to his country, he summoned all the princes and The tribes of the land, state to them how humanely he has been treated with us, and ask them to do one thing also for an example to the world, and that is to show us as much sincerity as we have shown him. They unanimously agreed and issued an order to donate all the land, possessions, and territories of the whole country and leave them to us. Afabal personally led 9,038 huge transport ships, which not only loaded his own and the royal family’s treasures , and nearly all the wealth of the country. For, when he embarked on a westerly northeasterly wind, every man in the crowd scrambled to throw his gold, silver, rings, jewels, groceries on board. ① Medicinal materials, spices, parrots, gannets, apes, civet cats, civet cats, porcupines, etc. Whoever does not throw his most rare and precious things on board is not a promising son of a good mother. Ah Fabal was about to kiss my father's feet as soon as he got off the boat. My father didn't think it was right, and he didn't let him do it, but let him embrace him lovingly. He offered a gift, but it was not accepted because it was too much. He He and his children asked themselves to be slaves, of course, did not get consent, because it was too unfair. As for the land, possessions, and transfer documents (all who should sign, seal, and ratify) according to the will of the whole country. all the formalities have been completed), and was flatly rejected, and even the documents were thrown into the fire and burned. In the end, my father saw the sincerity and simplicity of the Canarians, and he couldn't help but felt sad and mourned. I cried a lot. Later, with frank words and earnest words, I deliberately narrowed down my benefits to them, saying that what he did to them was really not worth a button, and if there was any benefit, it was his duty. However, the more he said this, the more Afabal felt that it was terrible. Afterwards, how did it end? As his ransom fee, we could have raised it very high and demanded a hundred thousand "equivalents" from him severely. Ten times, buckle ① The battle of Saint-Aubin du Camille refers to the battle where Charles VIII defeated the Grand Duke of Brittany on July 28, 1488.

② Baltenay, in the two provinces, Charles VIII occupied it on March 28, 1487, and demolished the city wall. ③ Spaniela: The name Columbus gave to Haiti. The story told here is completely fictional. ④ Almeric Islands, that is, the Nova Mutier Islands outside the mouth of Brittany. ⑤ The author intends to point out that Charles V captured King Francois I of France and forced him to sign the Treaty of Madrid. ① Including pepper, tangerine peel, etc., which were regarded as precious items at that time. Keeping his eldest son and grandson as hostages, we don't want anything now, because they have volunteered to be our tributary vassals for a long time, and give us two million gold coins in full quarters every year.In the first year, it will be paid here immediately, in the second year, another 2.3 million "Ages" will be automatically paid, in the third year, 2.6 million, and in the fourth year, 3 million. Adding up, we ended up having to stop them from sending anything more.This is called knowing kindness and repaying virtue.Because time is a thing that can corrode and obliterate everything, but grace, the longer it goes, the greater its power.Do a good deed generously to a reasonable person, and this good deed will continue to flourish in his bright thoughts and memories.

"I don't want to change the tradition of my ancestors: good spirits, now I pardon you, release you, and let you be as completely free as before. In addition, when you leave the city, I will give each of you three months' salary so that you You can be reunited with your family. I have sent Alexander, the stable master, to lead 600 cavalry and 8,000 infantry to escort you back and not allow the country people to bully you. May God be with you! "My heartfelt regret is that Piccolo is not here, otherwise I would have to make him understand that this war is not what I want, and that I do not want to expand my wealth and reputation. However, now that he is gone, I can No one knows where he went or how he disappeared, so I have to hand over his kingdom completely to his son, but since his son is still too young (not yet five years old), the old prince and learned man in his country A man should support and teach him.

"A country so unfortunate as this is liable to perish if the avarice and miserliness of the executive are not checked. I now command and will that Bonokrates be made superintendent of these ministers, who has the power to manage the matter and will be diligent. The land educates the prince until he thinks the prince is capable of governing his own country. "I also thought that for bad people, if you rush to forgive them easily and release them easily, it will make them believe in leniency and give them a chance to do bad things again. "I think of Moses, he was probably the kindest person in the world at that time, but he also severely punished the rebels and rebels among the Israelites.

"Think again of Julius Caesar, such a good emperor, of whom Cicero says that his so-called riches consisted in his being able to use them, and his so-called virtues consisted in his constant desire to save and pardons everyone. Yet, despite this, he sometimes harshly punished the culprits of the rebellion. "Because of the above examples, I want you to hand over before you go: first, that self-important Marchai, whose idle arrogance is the primary source and cause of this war; of his comrades, who were negligent enough to persuade the faint-headed Marchais in time; and finally, all the staff, generals, officers, and servants of Piccolo, whose agitation, praise, and planning made Piccolo make him Running out of their own borders to harass us."

① Not even a king. ① See Chapter 12 of Cicero's Defense of Ricarius.