I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 211

< The Great Plague (4) >

The day after the pump was destroyed, the number of patients brought in with cholera decreased dramatically for the first time.

It wasn’t just one or two people; the number of new patients didn’t even reach 100.

The graph, which had been increasing almost exponentially, suddenly plummeted, leaving no room for denial.

“Oh, my goodness. This is a miracle! A miracle!”

“To think that John Snow’s theory was actually true…”

“It was exactly as His Highness said.”

The members of the Board of Health and the council put aside their doubts and suspicions and unanimously shifted their stance.

“I believed it from the start because it was His Highness who said it, not anyone else.”

“Me too!”

“Hmm? Weren’t you the one who denounced John Snow as a quack and a fraud? Trying to subtly change your tune now.”

“Hey, don’t hold past words against me. When did I ever call Professor John Snow a fraud? I just said he was making somewhat radical claims. And is Professor John Snow your friend? You should use proper honorifics!”

“Well, everyone. Perhaps this is just a temporary lull. We should observe a bit longer.”

Of course, there were voices calling for caution.

However, when the number of new patients dropped to the twenties the day after, there was nothing more to see.

The reason why the number of patients didn’t completely disappear was probably because some people who had drunk water from that company’s pump still had not completed the incubation period.

I don’t know how long the incubation period for cholera is, but it should be about one to two weeks at most.

Now that the source has been cut off, I should be able to deliver results within two weeks as I confidently declared in Parliament.

However, contrary to my expectations, the Parliament and the committee seemed to have already judged that I had achieved meaningful results and kept my promise.

The fact that even the Liberal Party members, who usually kept me in check, were busy praising my achievements with excited voices was proof of that.

“When His Highness requested the enactment of the special law, he said he would produce meaningful results within fifteen days. But look at this. Only two days after starting the work, the number of patients dropped to 100, and the next day it dropped to 20, and now there are only a handful of cases. This is a miracle!”

“Our Great British Empire has once again succeeded in achieving a great feat that will be etched in history!”

“The Parliament should take the lead in commending the efforts and contributions of His Highness Killian and the medical staff he leads!”

What are politicians best at?

It’s rushing to take credit when something successful happens.

The Liberal and Conservative parties, in a rare display of unity, sang Killian’s praises and issued statements emphasizing how much they had supported me.

-The Royal Family of the Great British Empire took the lead in this cholera outbreak, working to protect the lives of citizens more than anyone else.

Furthermore, the Queen’s Parliament, in accordance with the wishes of the Royal Family, responded to the request of the Prince Consort and promptly enacted a special law to actively assist the Royal Family in resolving this crisis……

Their ability to jump on the bandwagon before the line is even drawn is truly world-class.

To think they would package the fact that I asked them to enact the law, promising to take full responsibility, in this way.

Nevertheless, now that the Parliament had officially made such a declaration, the citizens who had been trembling with fear of cholera quickly regained stability.

“Is it really over? Is it safe to go outside now?”

“The dirty water was the cause? Then is it okay to go to work?”

It goes without saying that in the 19th century, what people feared most was not war or famine, but infectious diseases.

Before Edward Jenner, the pride of England, discovered vaccination, smallpox would sweep through and claim the lives of countless people.

And when smallpox subsided, cholera emerged as the most feared infectious disease of mankind, and its momentum was as terrifying as smallpox at its peak.

Just a few years ago, tens of thousands of people died, and neighboring France reported 100,000 deaths in Paris alone.

Recently, rumors have spread that nearly one million people have died in Russia.

Currently, the population of London is estimated to be between 2 million and 2.5 million, so if 100,000 people die, that means almost 1 out of 20 people die.

Moreover, this is just the number of deaths; the total number of patients is almost three to five times higher.

In other words, if things get really bad, one in four or five citizens could get cholera.

If you exclude the wealthy who live in clean areas and are less likely to get sick, the proportion of ordinary citizens increases even more.

When this kind of fear spreads throughout the city, it’s no longer just an infectious disease that’s the problem.

In particular, there was a widespread belief that cholera was spread through the air, so people tended to avoid going outside altogether.

The capitalists must have been going crazy because they needed to keep the factories running, but the workers were too afraid to come out.

Therefore, the fact that the fear of cholera has been resolved also means that London’s economy, which was on the verge of paralysis, has been revived.

It wasn’t for any other reason that not only the citizens but also the wealthy capitalists were roaring with joy and singing Killian’s praises.

In this situation, I tried my best not to show off and lowered my profile even more than usual.

Because all the newspapers in the Great British Empire were already competing to report on this achievement, even if I didn’t say anything myself.

[The Prince Consort of the Great British Empire Conquers Cholera! A Miracle Judgment That Saved the Lives of 2 Million Londoners!]

[The Prince Consort’s Skillful Employment of Talent! Despite everyone’s opposition, he hired Professor John Snow, who denied the miasma theory [the belief that diseases are caused by bad air]. Proving that cholera is transmitted through water, not bad odors!]

The newspapers also wanted to write about the story of Florence Nightingale, the Saint of the Hammer, but I asked them to leave out the hammer part to protect her image.

But this alone was more than enough to have a huge impact.

“The Prince Consort has done great things for us again.”

“I know, right? I’m amazed at where he gets all those wise men to form the medical team.”

“Diplomacy, war, and now even medicine. I’m just going to support everything His Highness does from now on.”

“Support? That’s not enough. From now on, I’m going to withdraw my support for His Highness and consider His Highness and myself as one. Anyone who attacks His Highness should be treated as attacking me.”

“Hahaha! This guy has completely lost it.”

I could feel my popularity in London, which was already soaring, rising vertically once again.

It was already hitting the ceiling, but now it was just soaring through the sky.

“Long live Prince Killian!”

“Thank you, Professor John Snow!”

“I love you, Nightingale!”

I heard that people were talking about me and praising the medical team whenever they gathered.

“Please hit my head with a hammer too!”

I heard some strange things among them, but I decided to ignore the nonsense of perverts.

The Parliament also jumped on this bandwagon and proposed holding a commemorative festival to quell the public’s fear, led by the government.

Prime Minister Wellesley was also quite encouraged by this achievement and actively agreed to increase the scale of the festival.

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea? Actually, we have a lot of budget allocated because we thought cholera would last longer. It wouldn’t be a problem to use some of it. It wouldn’t be bad in the sense that it would revitalize the stagnant economy.”

“That’s true, but wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer than doing it right now? There are still many patients in the hospital. Originally, these kinds of things should be held when there are 0 patients to declare a complete end, which would have a bit more impact.”

“That’s also true. I didn’t think of that point, as expected……”

“There was such a request from the Parliament, but since there are still cholera patients suffering, please say that we will share the joy together when they all recover. Then people will welcome it even more.”

“Haha, that’s a great idea.”

As I suggested, the Prime Minister officially announced the next day that the cholera eradication celebration festival would be postponed until the last cholera patient recovered.

And he didn’t forget to add that this reflected my opinion that it would be difficult to enjoy the festival comfortably while the patients were still in bed.

In this way, I completely suppressed the great plague that had plunged London into fear, with the support of the citizens, which had now risen to almost religious faith.

* * *

Cholera eradicator.

Founder of epidemiology.

The latter will be given to John Snow and Nightingale, but even I, who hired them, received similar praise.

About a week later, when the cholera problem was completely resolved, I once again entered the Parliament.

It was to relinquish the position of Chief of London Public Health, which I had held under the special law.

“First of all, I think it is very fortunate that I was able to meet the expectations of the members of Parliament who gave me unwavering trust and support. The reason I was able to calm cholera down so quickly was thanks to you who delegated power to me in a timely manner. Hundreds of deaths would have occurred every day that was delayed.

From that point of view, it can be said that the quick judgment of the members of Parliament saved the lives of hundreds, thousands of London citizens.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“What could we have done? It’s all thanks to His Highness’s wise judgment and quick action.”

Considering that they announced a bandwagoning declaration as soon as the number of cholera patients decreased, it was amazing.

Still, it ultimately made me stand out more, so I had no intention of making an issue of it here.

In order for the leading actor to shine, the supporting actors also need to perform enthusiastically.

If they only play the role of a licorice [a minor, often insignificant role] at the level of an extra, I can just pretend not to see it.

“I have succeeded in subduing cholera as I promised. So, although the period has not yet passed, there is no reason to maintain the chief of the public health authorities any longer, so I would like to relinquish this authority.”

“You have really worked hard. The Parliament, no, the entire Great British Empire will never forget the great achievements that His Highness has shown.”

“Yes. However, apart from stepping down from my position, there is one more suggestion I would like to make. Didn’t we confirm this time that cholera is spread through contaminated water? So, under the leadership of Professor John Snow and Nightingale’s assistant, we investigated where the pump was drawing water from. And when we looked at the lower reaches of the Thames River, the source, the pollution and stench were so severe that it was frightening to even approach.”

“Huh… Since we drew water from such a place, there is no way it could have been properly purified. Then should we change the location of the water we draw to a cleaner upstream?”

“That is ultimately just a stopgap measure. The root of the problem is that all the garbage in London was thrown into the lower reaches of the Thames River because of the miasma theory, which has now been revealed to be false. The fact that the city’s water and sewage system cannot keep up with the city’s growth is also a critical cause. So, how about improving all of these aspects this time?”

Perhaps because they had experienced a major disaster called cholera, the members of Parliament nodded without complaint.

Until now, they thought they only needed to avoid the smell, but now that they knew that such pollution could cause disease, they had no choice but to agree.

No matter how much money and power you have, you cannot live without water and food.

You never know when and where you might drink contaminated water and get cholera, so the most important thing is to completely block the source of the problem.

“Of course, the maintenance scale will be large, so a lot of budget will be needed and the period required will be considerable. So, the royal family will not spare any full support.”

“Oh! I am always impressed by His Highness’s heart for the country, even thinking that far.”

“You flatter me. Then, although I am inadequate, since I brought up the story, would it be okay for me to take responsibility and finish the work? I will do my best to inspect the infrastructure so that this city, the center of the world, can shine even more brightly in the distant future.”

“Of course, of course. Who could be more suitable for this role than His Highness? We strongly agree.”

If the royal family fully supports the project, the royal family will also provide budget support, which greatly reduces the burden on the government and Parliament.

Here, the goal of extending the eradication of cholera was also clear, so it was virtually impossible for the Parliament to think of anyone more qualified than me.

“Okay. Then, let’s remove His Highness from the Chief of London Public Health as His Highness suggested, and instead create a bill to appoint His Highness as the Chief of London’s Water and Sewage and Overall Infrastructure Reinspection. If anyone has any objections, please shout out your opposition.”

“I agree!”

“I agree, I agree!”

“I agrrreee!”

If there was a crazy brave man who shouted opposition here, I would rather invite him to hear the reason.

There is no one here now who can guess what kind of authority it is to be able to do whatever I want with the infrastructure of a mega-metropolis like London.

No matter how wise they are, it is natural that people who have never seen the grandeur of a future metropolis with a population of ten million cannot even imagine it.

With the sound of unanimous applause without a single objection.

I bowed deeply, willingly taking on this new important task.