I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 236

< In an Increasingly Difficult Situation (2) >

“Yes, Your Highness. What you’re saying… I’ll make sure they pay attention to establishing that medical department.”

“No. I think this is an issue that you all need to recognize the seriousness of, so it would be better to formally put it on the agenda during a meeting.”

“Are you saying we don’t understand the seriousness?”

“Ahem, Your Highness. Even so, Marshal Fitzroy is the commander-in-chief of the army. Of course, the army may be a bit less systematically organized compared to the navy, but still…”

Marshal Fitzroy’s expression showed a slight crack, and even Admiral Parker subtly criticized the army while hinting that I had gone too far.

We are clearly in the middle of a war, and they are the commanders-in-chief responsible for it.

Even though I hold the title of honorary admiral, I don’t actually command the military, so this kind of reaction was natural.

It would be strange if they felt good about me, who has only dabbled in a few battlefields, holding the title of admiral and saying, ‘You don’t know anything,’ when they have lived on the battlefield their entire lives.

But the way to attract attention is to come on strong like this.

Especially in a battle where victory is assured, making an excessive fuss yields better results when the outcome is revealed.

“Of course, I’m not disregarding the Marshal’s insight. I understand how much responsibility you must feel in a position that is responsible for the lives of so many soldiers. But how long has it been since I received confirmation in Gallipoli, and the promise has not yet been fulfilled? Isn’t it a clear issue of sincerity that it hasn’t been executed even though I offered to pay for it with my own money if a budget was needed?”

“…As I said before, there were so many things to pay attention to…”

“I understand. That’s why I’m saying we should start now. But since we can’t afford to waste time, I’m saying we should hold a meeting right away with all the key figures of the command in attendance so that everyone can recognize the seriousness of the issue.”

“Hmm… to that extent… I understand. We need to hold a meeting anyway to discuss future operations, so we’ll take some time then.”

No matter how dirty it is, I am nominally the Queen’s representative, the supreme commander of the military.

Even if they badmouth me, calling me a scarecrow-like ornament, they have to listen to what I say on the surface.

Moreover, I have made significant contributions in this war by actively engaging in diplomatic activities, unintentionally leading to the active participation of Japan and Joseon [historical Korean kingdom], so they can’t simply ignore my opinions.

In any case, after parting ways with the two, I called Nightingale and John Snow again.

As expected, the two had already organized most of the specific data and were just waiting for their turn.

The next day, I accompanied them and participated in the joint army-navy command meeting with great fanfare.

“Our navy has completely taken control of the Black Sea. We have received the surrender of all the garrison forces on the Kinburn Peninsula, so now we don’t need to be concerned about moving supplies and troops in the Black Sea.”

“The Calamita Bay landing operation can now be considered a great success. Almost all supplies and troops have arrived, and now we must besiege the Sevastopol Fortress, a key stronghold in the Crimean Peninsula. If we can take this, the entire Black Sea campaign can be considered virtually over.”

The army and navy proudly listed their achievements, engaging in a subtle rivalry while discussing future operations.

Even though there were differences of opinion, everyone agreed on the fact that the Sevastopol Fortress had to be captured.

And after the reports on the recent battles were completed, I judged that it was finally my turn and opened my mouth.

“I would like to express my respect to our proud army and navy command, who have bravely engaged in battle so far. Thanks to your excellent strategies and tactics, our military has been able to gain a favorable position. However, the medical staff here say they have a way to significantly improve our military’s strength, so I have allowed them to speak at the meeting. I would like you all to listen and judge the credibility of their proposal.”

“If it isn’t the Saintess of the Hammer. Thanks to her effectively containing the cholera, our military’s landing operation was able to gain momentum, so it wouldn’t be bad to listen to her.”

Perhaps because I was recognized for making an indirect contribution to this landing operation, the atmosphere in the meeting room wasn’t too bad.

Of course, there were those who watched with indifferent eyes, as if to say, ‘Are you going to dissect the enemy with a scalpel?’ but no one openly expressed their emotions.

Nightingale looked around the room and glanced at me.

When I nodded to indicate that she could do as she pleased, she took a light breath and placed the materials she had brought on the table.

“Professor John Snow and I have been analyzing the factors that have caused soldiers to lose their lives from the previous war to the present. And as you can see from this chart, the majority of deaths are due to disease, not battle.”

Her specialty, which she had actively used during the cholera outbreak.

People who looked at the analysis chart of the causes of death, which bloomed like a rose [a chart resembling a rose diagram, often used to visualize proportions], sighed quietly or clicked their tongues.

Because the number one cause of death was so obvious that even a fool could see it.

“And here, the mortality rate of injured soldiers is over 40%. Sometimes it exceeds 40%, and sometimes it falls short, but it eventually converges to this level. In other words, precious soldiers are losing their lives in vain for reasons other than battle.”

“That’s true, but what can we do?”

“It would be a problem if only our military was like that, but France and Russia are probably worse, if not the same.”

“Yes. But if the facility expansion that I requested from Your Highness is properly implemented, we can dramatically reduce this mortality rate.”

“…Even if it’s dramatic…”

Everyone in the military seemed unconvinced, perhaps thinking that it would only be a 5% decrease at most.

In times like these, it’s best to speak in precise numbers to make a big impact.

“Nightingale, when you told me before, you said that the mortality rate would be around 4% to 5% within four months after the facility improvement is completely finished, right?”

“Yes. We should be able to reduce it to that level. This figure is the conclusion we reached by comparing and analyzing the proportion of soldiers who have suffered fatal injuries beyond recovery, and the mortality rate of patients with the same symptoms at Victoria Hospital until now.”

Strictly speaking, even this was a conservative estimate, but it’s always better to be as lenient as possible with the numbers, just in case.

Of course, even this meant a reduction of nearly 1/10th, so those who didn’t know the situation looked back and forth between me and Nightingale with astonished eyes.

“No, no… are you saying that the mortality rate will be reduced by 10 times? Isn’t that too unrealistic a figure?”

“Whether that figure is unrealistic or not, we can verify it from now on. But since the cholera outbreak in London, has my medical staff ever uttered false words?”

“…I don’t think so.”

“Good. Then, Marshal Fitzroy, can we appoint Professor John Snow and Nurse Nightingale as the people in charge and proceed with the work starting today? As I said before, the royal family will bear the full amount exceeding the currently allocated medicines and facility improvement budget. However, we cannot bring in the necessary manpower right now, so we would appreciate it if the military could provide support for the time being.”

“I understand. However, please understand that we cannot wait indefinitely if the results are not properly achieved.”

They have to besiege the Sevastopol Fortress right away and engage in fierce battles with the Russian army, so they don’t have the capacity to continue paying attention to something that is not certain.

Since such a thing was unlikely to happen in the first place, I nodded lightly.

Now that permission has been granted, it’s time to put the plan into action.

Nightingale, who was in charge of the execution of this plan, solved the problem with the speed of a hot knife through butter, true to the saying that there is no one more suited to the saying ‘strike while the iron is hot’.

“Your Highness. It has been confirmed that there is an executive who is embezzling medicines, should I break his head…?”

“No. Let’s hand him over to the military police and have him receive strict punishment.”

“This field hospital is too dilapidated and cannot be improved in the first place. It’s better to just tear it down and build a new one.”

“Then let’s do that. Call the demolition team…”

“I’ll join you.”

“……?”

Nightingale not only took care of patients day and night but also followed along to demolish dilapidated facilities that could not be improved, continuing her energetic activities.

She crushes everything that gets in the way of saving soldiers’ lives.

“She’s not a saintess, she’s an angel. An angel with a hammer.”

“Florence Nightingale, the angel of the hammer!”

When she smashed the warehouse where an officer who was embezzling medicine had hidden supplies with a hammer, someone said this while looking at her.

It is said that even a war correspondent took a picture of this scene and introduced it to London, causing a huge sensation.

Nightingale’s parents… I’m sorry for letting you see your beautiful daughter’s fiery side.

Still, your daughter is receiving love and praise from so many people, so I hope you will find comfort in that fact.

* * *

That’s how time passed, and several months flew by.

In the meantime, the Anglo-French allied forces, who had completely landed, engaged in fierce battles with the Russian army and finally succeeded in completely besieging the Sevastopol Fortress.

However, as the Russian army’s offensive to save the fortress continued in various places, the damage to both sides’ soldiers was gradually accumulating.

However, unlike the French or Russian armies, the rate at which injured soldiers of the British Empire died was significantly reduced, and this improvement was so clear that even the officers could feel it.

Perhaps the medical staff really did achieve results as Killian had confidently promised.

Just as that thought was gradually dominating everyone’s minds, the mortality statistics report written by John Snow and Nightingale was released at the command meeting.

“…This… is this real?”

“Mortality rate of 2.3%? Is this real?”

It came out exactly as expected. I’m glad I increased it to 4%. After all, the mortality rate has been reduced to 1/10th, which is beyond imagination, but it has become almost 1/20th, so how great would the shock be?

“I’m sorry, but I can’t understand it no matter how hard I try. If you have detailed records, please show them to me.”

“I’d like to see them too.”

“Yes. You can check it here as much as you want. It is also described in great detail how actively the injured soldiers are returning to duty.”

“Huh… Hehehe, it’s real. Such a dramatic improvement has really been made. No, what kind of gods of medicine did Your Highness bring in? It’s really amazing!”

“It’s the medical staff here who have suffered more than me. I would like to ask you to give these people, who have worked day and night to save the soldiers, your unsparing support and encouragement.”

“Of course. I’m sorry for not recognizing it until now. I should have noticed it when I caught the cholera, but we are soldiers who have only been on the battlefield. Hahahaha!”

In fact, the fact that such a dramatic effect was achieved simply by improving medicines, hygiene, and facilities is no different from saying that the medical environment was terrible until then.

In fact, because weapons are becoming so fierce over time, soldiers who suffer injuries on the battlefield that lead to death cannot be saved no matter what they do.

However, these people are not even taken to the hospital in the first place.

The bigger problem is people who are shot or hit by shrapnel in places other than vital spots, and these people are painfully dying from complications and infections.

How terrible would it be if it were better to die cleanly on the spot than to suffer from the pain of a rotting body in a musty and smelly place without hope?

In addition, the sharp drop in the mortality rate of injured soldiers has had a huge impact on actual morale.

Once they are admitted to the ward, they are confident that they can come out alive, so the soldiers’ mindset itself has no choice but to change.

“There was a reason why Your Highness supported us with your own money. The atmosphere in the barracks has improved so much.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I wasn’t doubting you.”

Marshal Fitzroy, who had reluctantly followed me at first, bowed politely and revealed without hiding his intention to sincerely respect me.

“No. Rather, it was because the Marshal believed in me and my medical staff that we were able to achieve these results even now. Ah, and I have some thoughts after seeing the repeated battle patterns so far, would you like to hear them?”

“Of course.”

As expected, once you gain trust, the attitude changes completely.

Look at that cooperative attitude that can accept anything I say.

In that vein, how about we revise the line infantry doctrine now?

What we’re doing now is a shortcut to making perfectly healthy infantrymen physically disabled.