I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 208

Became a Hidden Tycoon of the British Empire – Episode 208

< The Great Plague >

“…Did you say there were more deaths while I was gone?”

“Yes.”

“Nightingale, how many have died so far?”

“Five. All of them had diarrhea.”

John Snow, after looking at the list of patients brought to Victoria Hospital, sighed deeply and tossed his coat onto the desk.

“As the authorities feared, it’s cholera. The symptoms are eerily similar to the disease that spread last time.”

“Just as Your Highness said.”

Nightingale examined John Snow’s complexion, noting he looked noticeably tired from his recent travels.

When Killian gave John Snow full authority to eradicate cholera, she assumed John Snow already knew how to eradicate it.

Logically, that’s why someone like Killian would give him such unwavering trust.

But now, it seemed John Snow didn’t really know the cause of cholera.

He was only sure that the miasma theory [the belief that diseases are caused by bad air], which was considered the orthodox view in the medical community, was wrong.

What if John Snow was completely off track? Wouldn’t that tarnish His Highness’s reputation?

In fact, Nightingale didn’t fully believe John Snow’s theory that the miasma theory was wrong.

If she, who was taking classes from John Snow, felt this way, what about other experts in the world?

The health authorities were actually working hard to clean up London’s air by digging through the slums and throwing all the garbage into the Thames [the river running through London].

If cholera was really spread through bad air, this should have some effect.

However, as John Snow confidently stated, the spread of cholera did not subside at all.

“Nightingale, do you still believe the miasma theory has some validity?”

“No. Of course, diseases can spread through bad smells, but at least cholera doesn’t seem to spread through smells.”

“That’s right. It’s definitely not the stench that spreads cholera. If it were, the spread would have subsided by now. So, I’ve been investigating on foot, and I want you to take a look at this.”

Snow spread a large map of London’s streets and residential areas on the desk.

It wasn’t much different from a regular map, but Nightingale noticed that black bars were drawn separately in each residential area.

“What are these black bars marked on the map?”

“They are patients known to have contracted cholera. Time is too short, so I’ve only marked them roughly, but it’s very clear that they are concentrated in a specific area, isn’t it?”

“Soho Street. Perhaps it was easier for epidemics to occur because there are many unclean and poor people there?”

“No. It’s true that there are many workers in Soho, but there are many streets and areas outside the city that are in much worse condition than Soho. However, the fact that the disease is spreading so intensively in this area means that there must be a different cause than what the authorities claim.”

“Professor, do you have any suspected causes of the outbreak?”

“I do have one… no, actually, I was sure this was it, but…”

In this urgent situation, if the cause has been identified, shouldn’t we immediately start establishing countermeasures?

No, before that, if the cause of the current cholera outbreak has been identified, this is a huge medical achievement.

“Professor, let’s send people to the health authorities and this society through His Highness right now. What’s the cause?”

“I think this is the most likely cause.”

Nightingale flinched reflexively when she saw John Snow reaching into his pocket to take something out.

Was he really bringing a substance that spreads infectious diseases into the hospital right now?

What if cholera spreads inside this hospital because of that?

“No, Professor. If you take that out here… um? What is that… a water bottle?”

“Yes. The water in here may have caused the cholera. It’s just a hypothesis for now.”

“You mean the water is contaminated? But it doesn’t seem to be a problem on the surface.”

Seeing is believing, so Nightingale looked at the water in the water bottle John Snow brought under a microscope, but nothing special was visible.

If something dirty was mixed in, it should be visible under a microscope, but this is just ordinary water.

“Perhaps some very small, invisible thing is affecting it. Why, even invisible gases can destroy people’s respiratory systems. So, something mixed in the water can certainly destroy people’s digestive systems.”

“Um… of course, that’s possible.”

From what she had seen so far, John Snow’s claims were definitely valid.

However, what matters most in academia is whether or not you can logically prove it.

Even if that water is the real cause of cholera, you can’t just feed it to someone else.

“Professor, I understand what you’re saying, but we need solid evidence to persuade the authorities. They will never believe us if it’s just speculation.”

“That’s true. Of course, I have an idea, but it will take a lot of time to put it into action… it could be done in a day if we could mobilize a significant number of people.”

It was difficult to investigate as she pleased because she couldn’t use the resources of the London Board of Health.

His Highness had promised to provide as much support as she wanted, but he wasn’t a medical expert.

It was likely that he would not be able to realistically understand what she wanted and needed.

“Still, let’s ask His Highness. If we need people, we should ask him to assign that many people…”

“We need people who are not just laborers, but people who are professionally trained in collecting and classifying information. Detectives would be perfect.”

Of course, even if she made a request now, it would take time to gather a large number of people, and the number of victims of the disease would inevitably increase.

But she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Just as she was about to send a message to Buckingham Palace to request the necessary number of people, she saw a group of people rushing into the hospital entrance.

Thinking they might be urgent patients, she was about to call other medical staff when a man at the front quickly walked towards her.

“Are you Florence Nightingale?”

“Yes? Yes, I’m Florence Nightingale.”

“We are employees of the James Detective Agency. We received a request from the royal family to support Professor John Snow, who will be conducting a large-scale investigation. What can we do?”

“Yes?”

No, the request hadn’t even been made yet, but how did they know that a large number of people were needed for a large-scale investigation?

It was as if they had gone into John Snow’s head and sent the detectives.

Nightingale had heard of the James Detective Agency.

The best investigators and information gatherers in London, no, in the British Empire.

Could it be that His Highness knew the cause of cholera even before John Snow?

‘No, that’s not likely.’

Nightingale shook off the absurd thoughts and led the employees of the James Detective Agency to John Snow.

Whatever the reason, if they had provided such great help, she had to end this situation as quickly as possible.

To save as many lives of London citizens as possible.

* * *

By now, the detective agency employees should have arrived at John Snow’s office at just the right time.

After doing some research, cholera had already caused a significant number of deaths in the British Empire about 15 years ago.

Sunderland, Newcastle, London, and other cities took turns suffering numerous casualties, and the number of people who died at that time exceeded tens of thousands.

Tens of thousands of people had also lost their lives in Paris, and in Russia, a cholera epidemic that started last year had already killed hundreds of thousands.

As a result, there was already considerable fear of cholera in London, and not only political dreamers like Bismarck but also Marx and Engels were showing great interest.

“Your Highness, did you know that there are articles saying that cholera will turn into a major epidemic?”

“Has the article already been published? As expected, reporters will bite at any scoop.”

“Cholera is not a mild disease. Years before we arrived in Paris, cholera broke out, and nearly 100,000 people died from this epidemic.”

“That’s right. It’s a scary disease. Unless it’s a really big war, the number of deaths rarely exceeds tens of thousands, but this disease causes a basic death toll of tens to hundreds of thousands once it sweeps through.”

“But according to the Morning Post [a London newspaper], you have declared that you will mobilize the medical staff of Victoria Hospital and Killian Medical University to catch cholera… is this true?”

It had already spread to Marx’s ears, so it was worth mobilizing the press.

But the gaze wasn’t very trustworthy. Did he really doubt that I could do it?

Well, even if a young royal who has never been involved in medicine claims to be able to stop the terrifying plague that has cumulatively killed millions, it’s unlikely to be believed.

It’s more likely to be taken as just political rhetoric that politicians always use.

But that’s the truth.

“That’s right. I said that. I’ve already assembled the medical staff and sent investigators, so I think there will be results in a few days.”

“…Does that mean you have a rough idea of what causes cholera?”

“Yes. And I think my medical staff will soon realize it.”

“No, the fact that you knew before the medical staff… is that true… no, aside from that, shouldn’t you have told them first?”

“No. Would they have believed me if I did? Think about it. If a politician who has nothing to do with medicine took water from a pump somewhere and said that this is the cause of cholera, would the experts believe it?”

The pride of experts who have studied their field for a lifetime does not usually allow outside interference.

That goes for the Queen, not just the consort [the spouse of a reigning monarch] of this country.

Even if I gave them the answer key, there was no chance they would listen, and there was a higher risk that they would grit their teeth and ignore it.

So, I can confidently say that it is more effective to support John Snow or Nightingale from behind so that they can quickly reach the truth.

Just as the saying goes, ‘go around when you’re in a hurry,’ this was the best way to reduce the number of victims a little faster and more reliably.

“Marx, do you know why this disease is becoming more prevalent even though technology is developing and society is changing?”

“…Excuse me? I’m not sure…”

“People thought that bad smells caused disease, so they got rid of the garbage that caused bad smells in places that were not visible in the city. In particular, it was very easy to dispose of garbage in cities with rivers, such as London and Paris. Just throw it into the river.”

In that way, the Thames in London and the Seine in Paris became so terribly polluted that you could get skin diseases just by touching them.

Without knowing it, the people of London and Paris had already created an environment where cholera could thrive.

“Would people have thrown garbage into the river because they wanted to get sick? The health authorities would have tolerated and encouraged this process in order to protect the health of citizens. But the result is the worst situation, with cholera rampant and hundreds of deaths already occurring. Do you know what I’m trying to say?”

“You mean that what was considered the best judgment at the time could lead to the worst results.”

“There’s a saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, right? That’s right. If malice was felt, they would avoid or deny it, but if good intentions are felt, people will follow the instructions willingly. Just like the efforts of medical staff to make the city better based on the wrong belief of the miasma theory have increased the number of cholera deaths. You are wise, so you know what I’m talking about, right?”

“…I will keep that in mind.”

Just as the miasma theory made cholera more prevalent, the new ideologies and ideas that Marx is trying to create could also bring unexpected new hells.

He seemed to understand my intention to keep considering those risks without having to listen to it with both ears.

“Ideologies, ideas. They’re all good, but in the end, the most important thing is the people who are living now. Theories that make real people unhappy are not worth as much as the garbage rolling around on the street.”

“So, Your Highness is trying to solve the cholera crisis directly by building hospitals.”

“Yes. So, you should watch carefully from the side and refine the theory a little more. If you have been given genius by heaven, you must refine it to make this world more beneficial.”

Now it’s about time to go.

As I put on my coat and stood up, Marx asked with wide eyes.

“Do you have another schedule?”

“I’m scheduled to attend Parliament today.”

People must be aware of the seriousness of the situation, so it’s okay to push harder now.

After all, healthcare is a separate area from domestic politics. There is no legal problem even if I take charge.

Before the number of victims increases any more.

I have to put an end to this terrible plague.