German Red Prince

Page 52

"Long live the valiant Jaeger!" Charlemagne also removed his hat and saluted the crowd, then slowly walked towards Leon.

Leon wiped away his tears, saluted Charlemagne, and said, "Your Majesty Charlemagne, Private Leon requests to return to his unit!"

“Welcome home, Private Leon. We’ve been waiting for you.” Charlemagne smiled and patted his arm.

"Welcome home!" The soldiers of the Hunter Regiment around him cheered as well.

The Jaegers of this cohort were finally reunited, and Leon was finally back in the unit he had longed for.

"Leon, what do you think the Rhine will be like in the future?" Charlemagne suddenly asked Leon.

"The future?" Leon turned to look at the group of people who were still doing their best to save an old man.

"Your Majesty, I don't know either. I guess the future will be a great era."

"Perhaps." Charlemagne handed the kingdom's flag to Leon. "Let's go, for a better future."

Leon took the flag and waved to the old man lying in the distance.

"Goodbye."

He followed the old emperor as he walked into the distance, disappearing into the sunlight.

"Help! Is anyone there? Help!" Thorne shouted as he tried to save the old man.

Thorne's cries for help were answered, and several people ran over from a distance and began to examine the old man, looking very professional.

"It's hopeless, he's dead." After examining him for a while, the man shook his head. His illness looked like it had been going on for a long time; it was a miracle he had lasted this long.

Thorne watched as the man shook his head, still trying to struggle, but the old man was indeed lifeless.

Thorne was still holding the badge in his hand; it was the service medal of the Jaeger Corps. According to the old man, he was one of the Jaegers who served under King Charlemagne.

This old man was practically a living history of the Rhineland, homeless on the streets! And he even died of illness! This would be unforgivable anywhere, let alone in Germany, where military honor is highly valued. What are the veterans' care facilities doing here?

Thorne wished he could shoot them all right now. They were rotten! Utterly rotten! The Kingdom of Rhine was rotten to the core!

"Let's call it a hospital. We need to find a place to bury him."

Thorne then looked at the people who had come to help, "Thank you all, may I ask your names?"

“My name is Domark, and these are Friedman, Chain, Mayer, and Mori. We are from Cologne.”

"Domark?" Thorne's mind started working. Wasn't this the pathologist who invented sulfonamide drugs? What was he doing here?

"Cologne is so far from here, what are you doing here?" Thorne asked curiously.

"We heard that the tuberculosis situation here seems to be quite serious, so we came to investigate and see what's going on."

"You've heard about it all in Cologne?" Thorne was somewhat shocked that someone so far away knew about the tuberculosis situation there.

“Yes, isn’t that something the entire kingdom already knows?” Domark said calmly.

Thorne couldn't help but laugh when he heard what he said. "Fine, the whole of Rhine knows, except them. The royal family of the Kingdom of Rhine doesn't know, except them!"

Thorne was seething with hatred; he was about to explode, as if he were about to rush to the city hall and shoot all those people.

Seeing that things were not going well and fearing that Thorne would lose control, Thallman quickly stepped forward to speak.

"Are you here to investigate? We know this place well, let us show you around."

“Okay, thank you very much,” Domark said gratefully.

“Let’s go.” Thallman patted Thorne.

"Hmm." Thorne nodded and walked silently behind.

Seeing Thorne's current state, Thälmann sighed, guessing that none of those people from Darmstadt would escape.

Thorne gripped the medal tightly, watching the old man being carried away. Thinking about what Domark had just said, he was furious. The events of the past few days had repeatedly crossed his bottom line and challenged his values. He could no longer tolerate it.

"It's time to clean up these parasites." Thorne snorted coldly, his steps becoming firmer.

Chapter 71 Urban Health System

"Did you all hear about tuberculosis in Cologne?" Thorne asked as they walked.

“Yes, we heard about tuberculosis in Darmstadt a long time ago, so we’ve been researching the tuberculosis bacterium for a while. Recently, it seems to have gotten worse here again, and since we’ve made some progress in our research on tuberculosis, we came here to investigate and assess the situation,” Domark said to Thorne.

"Sir, do you know where the patients are? Our investigation needs actual data."

Thorne listened to Domark's words and thought for a moment. He wanted actual data? He seemed to actually know one. After spending so much time together, he had already noticed that something was off about Williams.

His whole family contracted tuberculosis and lost their basic ability to work, so he had to go out to work at such a young age. Recently, Williams' condition didn't seem to be very good either. Although he kept putting on a brave face and saying that he was fine, Thorne could tell from his complexion that Williams was definitely sick, and quite seriously so.

“I have a friend whose whole family suffers from tuberculosis, and his condition is very bad.” Thorne led Domark and his group toward Williams’ house. “They are too poor to afford a hospital or a nursing home, so I hope you can visit them.”

“Of course.” Domark followed Thorne forward.

Along the way, Domark kept muttering to himself, wondering why tuberculosis was so severe here compared to other places. It was as if this place didn't belong to the Kingdom of the Rhine, but to another country, and that the city's disease prevention system seemed to be stuck in the last century.

Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, environmental pollution has gradually become more serious, and urban pollution is a major problem. The British Industrial Revolution was powered by coal, and the combustion of coal produced a lot of smoke and toxic gases, causing serious air pollution. The choking smoke not only affected people's lives, but also caused a large number of residents to suffer from diseases.

Similarly, Germany, which led the Second Industrial Revolution, encountered the same situation, with wastewater and exhaust emissions leading to frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases, primarily cholera and tuberculosis.

In particular, with the rapid development of German industrialization, a large number of surplus rural laborers migrated to large cities, increasing the difficulty for cities to cope with infectious diseases and resulting in a persistently high urban mortality rate.

In order to curb the spread of these infectious diseases in cities and avoid public health emergencies caused by them, the German government has taken a series of measures to actively build an urban disease prevention system, and the Kingdom of the Rhine has also taken a series of measures in this regard.

The Kingdom of the Rhine first established a public health management organization and system focused on disease prevention, which was governed by the Health Committee under the Ministry of the Interior.

Later, as the urban population grew, in order to establish a more suitable urban health management system, King Frederick III of the Kingdom of the Rhine established the Royal Health Committee, which is the prototype of the current basic disease prevention and control system of the Kingdom. At the same time, research institutes were established in many places in the Kingdom of the Rhine, such as the famous Heidelberg Medical Institute, which was mainly responsible for epidemiological investigations and assisting in urban disinfection.

Under the patronage of King Frederick, cities along the Rhineland further strengthened their focus on public health issues. Frankfurt even created a special position for a health councilor in its city council, responsible for the city's public health and hygiene affairs.

Even if the Williams family were poor, they shouldn't be unable to afford the cost of treating the disease, which is why Thorne always suspected that something was amiss.

Although they were workers, the German Empire's Industrial Law of 1856 explicitly stipulated that urban health bureaus should allow workers in poor working conditions to participate in disease insurance funds, and especially that disease insurance organizations jointly managed by employers and workers should be established in industries such as mining and salt extraction.

The law was spearheaded by the Kingdom of Prussia, and all the other kingdoms agreed to it. The Kingdom of the Rhine also signed it, and the records are still there.

Although the bill was intended to ease increasingly intense class conflict at the time, it did promote the development of the healthcare system to some extent. These disease prevention and treatment organizations not only provided financial support for insured workers to seek medical treatment, but also provided them with medical services.

Although these diseases require long-term treatment and incur significant expenses, the Kingdom's aid law stipulates that patients participating in disease insurance organizations can have their medical expenses reimbursed in their city. To further expand the coverage of disease insurance in cities, the Kingdom also stipulates that insured citizens can receive free medical services during illness, alleviating their financial burden.

In addition, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, the kingdom has established an epidemic reporting system, mainly targeting diseases such as smallpox, cholera, typhoid fever and scarlet fever. According to this regulation, the city health bureau must promptly report the infection and death of diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, dysentery and scarlet fever to the superior authorities, and take immediate action upon receiving relevant instructions from the superior authorities.

The kingdom has a relatively comprehensive medical security system for its people and has invested heavily in supporting medical and health institutions, including doctors, hospitals, sanatoriums, and medical research institutions.

With the promotion of the medical insurance system and the continuous growth in demand for medical services, the Kingdom of the Rhine is also gradually putting the professionalization of doctors on its agenda.

The kingdom's universities further increased enrollment in medical programs and intensified their efforts to train medical professionals. For example, Domark and his students' research on tuberculosis was directly funded by the Rhine Kingdom government.

More and more medical universities were established, and the number of medical students rose exponentially. These professionals entered the medical sector and various city organizations, bringing the kingdom's health standards to a new level.

Based on his memory, Thorne found Williams' house and knocked on the door for a long time before there was any response from inside.

"Williams? What's wrong?" Thorne was startled when he saw Williams's pale face as he opened the door.

“Yes, it’s Mr. Carl.” Williams forced a smile. “It’s nothing, I’m fine, just a cold. Could you help me buy some medicine at the pharmacy? I’m sorry, I really can’t walk anymore.”

"Don't talk about that yet, just lie down." Thorne quickly stepped forward to support Williams, who was very ill.

“Mr. Karl, let us do it.” Domark put on a mask and stepped forward. “Mr. Karl, let us do it now. We specialize in studying this disease. Please put on your mask first. Tuberculosis is contagious, which is very dangerous.”

After Domark finished speaking, he walked forward. The group of people acted very professionally. After entering the room, they opened all the windows and began to carry out professional disinfection.

In order to combat the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis, the Kingdom government promulgated urban disinfection regulations in the early 20th century. The city health bureau was responsible for urban disinfection work. Hospitals closely related to diseases, the residences of patients, and burial grounds were key disinfection sites in the city. Major cities also prioritized disinfection in public places.

Residential buildings are also disinfected, and people from the medical research institute go there regularly to disinfect, so Domark and his team are very skilled at it.

Williams was a little dazed, but he still struggled to sit up, muttering to himself incoherently.

"Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs..."

Thorne listened to Williams' words and quickly ran upstairs. He saw several people lying in the rooms upstairs, and their condition was also very bad.

"Damn it!" Thorne couldn't help but curse. Luckily they came, otherwise the whole family might have died in their home without knowing why.

"Dr. Domark, there are still patients upstairs!" Thorne shouted as he ran downstairs.

"Chain, Mayer, go up and check on the situation," Domark said as he checked on Williams.

"The situation is not good; he's quite ill now." Domark shook his head. Meyer, who was examining him upstairs, also came down and sighed. Thorne could tell from his expression that the situation upstairs wasn't good either.

"Are we just going to watch them all die here?" Thorne's tone was tinged with sadness.

"There's nothing we can do, Mr. Karl. Given the current conditions and technology, it's very difficult for us to treat them effectively," Domark said with some regret. "There's no specific drug to treat tuberculosis yet. We can only pray that they can pull through."

Thorne looked at Williams, whose face was deathly pale. This man was the first friend he had made at the factory, and he couldn't let him die like this. Although he had the medicine, everyone here was a medical expert. If they noticed anything, it would be troublesome later. He looked at Holman, who was standing to the side with a solemn expression, and suddenly had an idea.

Holman felt heavy-hearted. Looking at Williams, he thought of his daughter. If Thorne hadn't helped them, his daughter would be in the same situation now and wouldn't have lasted much longer.

He noticed Thorne was secretly waving at him, so he quietly moved closer.

"Holman, did your wife take the medicine I gave her last time?"

Upon hearing Thorne's words, Holman suddenly remembered that Thorne had given his wife a box, saying that the medicine inside would be effective for her daughter's illness. Holman, of course, believed Thorne and gave the medicine to his daughter, and it indeed had a miraculous effect. It was simply a miracle drug.

Her daughter is getting better and better. She can get out of bed and move around. Her complexion has also become rosy. It seems that her tuberculosis has been cured. Holman couldn't help but shed tears when he saw this. After so long, he finally saw Arya running like a normal child.

Thorne whispered something to Holman, who nodded in agreement and then walked over to Domark, who was trying to come up with a solution.

“Mr. Domark, my wife works at the Philsonmeier Nursing Home, and our child also had tuberculosis, but someone gave us some medicine before, and my daughter recovered quickly after taking it, and now it seems that she has recovered.”

“That person left a box. Although my wife is a nurse, she can’t understand those documents. You are an expert in this field, so I’ll go and retrieve them right now.”

"Your daughter got better after taking the medicine?" Domark's voice rose several octaves. He clearly couldn't believe it. How could this be? How could someone have actually developed a cure for tuberculosis? He had devoted himself to research for so many years, reading through countless documents, but he had never heard of any related information. This was too shocking. This was research that could shake the entire medical community!

"It's too late, let's go together and find a car to take them there!" Domark directed the crowd to carry them out of the house. Going back and forth would be too much trouble; what they needed now was time.

"Well, let's go now!"

Thorne and his group quickly found a car and sped towards the Philsonmeier Sanatorium.

Chapter Seventy-Two Miracles

Williams and his family are in very bad shape; Williams has been running a fever and has a very high temperature.

He's coughing incessantly, his consciousness is clouded, and he's sweating profusely. If this fever continues, it will be dangerous.

"Williams, you have to hold on! You have to stay strong! Don't fall asleep!" Thorne shouted Williams' name loudly, trying to keep him awake. He couldn't faint; they were almost there. He had to hold on.

Williams now felt that his whole body had completely lost sensation and control, and his consciousness was blurred. His eyes were closed, his face was pale and weak, and his breathing was becoming weaker and weaker, as if he would disappear completely if a gust of wind came.

Thorne was frantic when he saw this and kept calling out to Williams. Williams could vaguely hear someone calling him, but he couldn't control his body and could only lie there motionless.

"Williams, wake up! Wake up! Just a little longer, I'm almost there. Be strong, you have to hold on!"

Thorne's words still echoed in Williams' ears, but he couldn't hear what Thorne was saying at all. He felt surrounded by darkness and didn't know where he was.

Williams felt incredibly heavy, as if his soul were sealed inside a cement coffin. The air around him seemed to have solidified, making it suffocating. He tried to open his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Even thinking became extremely painful, his mind turning into mush.

He tried to open his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Even the sounds coming from his throat were so faint that only he could hear them.

"Williams, we're almost there! Just a little while! Don't fall asleep! Wake up, Williams!" Thorne shouted anxiously.

But no matter how he called out, Williams' eyes remained tightly closed, and he didn't react at all, which made Thorne even more panicked.

Thorne couldn't understand what was wrong with Williams. How could he be so sick? He was fine just a few days ago, how could his condition have deteriorated so much in such a short time?

Thinking of this, Thorne became even more frightened, fearing that even if Philson and Mel Williams reached that point, they wouldn't be able to hold on.

Tuberculosis is known as the white plague, and just hearing the name tells you how terrible it is. It is a common enemy of all mankind. This disease was one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the three hundred years from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. In 1800, when the mortality rate of tuberculosis was at its peak, one thousand people per 100,000 died from the disease in Europe.

Even in the 20th century, pneumonia caused by tuberculosis remained one of the three leading causes of death, alongside cardiovascular disease and influenza.

Because there was no effective treatment for tuberculosis at the time, people were looking for effective ways to alleviate the suffering caused by tuberculosis.

Since the Industrial Revolution, urban air has been extremely polluted, making it difficult to breathe. As a result, people with lung diseases often went to the seaside, forests, and mountains to recuperate.

In 1840, London physician George Boddington announced that inhaling cold air had a positive effect on the treatment of tuberculosis. Doctors believed that cold air increased blood flow to the lungs, enhancing their resistance to tuberculosis and other lung diseases.

Therefore, exposing patients to fresh air and sunlight, encouraging them to exercise more, and providing good nutrition became the best way to treat tuberculosis at that time.

In 1854, Dr. Hermann Bremer established the first high-altitude tuberculosis sanatorium in Golbersdorf, at an altitude of 650 meters. These sanatoriums, located in sparsely populated areas such as high-altitude regions, seaside areas, and forests, were mainly for the rehabilitation of tuberculosis patients.

In 1885, the renowned physiologist Robert Koch established Germany's largest health and disease prevention research institution in Berlin.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Emperor Wilhelm established physiological research institutions. The establishment of these research institutions not only promoted the development of German hygiene and epidemic prevention science, but also provided technical support for urban disease prevention and control activities.

In order to treat tuberculosis, the Kingdom of Rhine followed suit and established a number of sanatoriums for tuberculosis treatment in some better environments on the outskirts of cities. These sanatoriums were mainly used to treat seriously ill patients, and their establishment played a positive role in the kingdom's fight against tuberculosis.

The Filsenmeier Sanatorium is one of the sanatoriums established by the kingdom. It is a top-tier sanatorium funded by the royal government. Ironically, Darmstadt has the highest tuberculosis rate in the Kingdom of the Rhine, but the Filsenmeier Sanatorium is also the tuberculosis sanatorium with the highest treatment level and the best environment in the kingdom.