Chapter 681 Bad omen
While Franz was still preparing for the coming year of storms in Tyrol, the storm was already coming quietly.
Once upon a time, the northern part of London had densely populated houses and a variety of shops, pubs, and brothels on both sides of the road. There were all kinds of people on the street, from street singers, thieves, and prostitutes to gentlemen, soldiers, and businessmen. Everyone was very busy.
But now carts piled with corpses and streets filled with stinking excrement have drained the city of its vitality.
People die every day, and those who die experience severe dehydration before they pass away. Even the most respectable gentleman and the most reserved lady will be transformed into human beings when tortured by this disease.
Cholera often produces violent reactions in the first few hours - diarrhea, vomiting, fever and even death.
At the same time, the symptoms of this disease are also particularly terrifying: severe dehydration makes the patient look disfigured beyond recognition within a few hours, and the capillary rupture causes the skin to be black and blue.
The patient's death was so struggling and powerless, and everything that happened was like a warning to bystanders that it would have a great mental impact on the people around him.
This is the horror of cholera, and what is even more terrible is its strong contagiousness. Especially in this era, doctors who do not wash their hands have become the angels of death that spread the plague.
At first the disease only appeared in slums, so the government actively promoted it as a "disease of poverty" and a punishment for the lazy.
Religion at that time always liked to say that cholera was a punishment given by God for the poor people who were annoyed by "the filthiness of the body and the filth of the soul".
However, as the death toll increased sharply, a large number of civilians, doctors, priests, and even nobles and officials were not spared.
Only then did people realize the seriousness of the problem, but they were helpless. They could only stay shut in and reduce interactions with other people, just like they did with the Black Death.
For a time, the whole of London became depressed, and even the "Abode of God" (referring to the church, which I mentioned before, but I won't go into details here) chose to close its doors and refuse visitors.
London in this era had a unique stench, also known as the "London Stink". In addition to the smell of burning industrial fuels, there is also the smell of various domestic wastes, plus the previously flooded Thames River.
The whole of London is like a huge bacterial petri dish. A large number of microorganisms are constantly decomposing the organic matter, so clouds of deadly methane rise into the sky again.
London's public health system was a disaster at this time, as London's urbanization continued to expand, and the distance between the city and the countryside was getting farther and farther.
This has caused another problem, which is the increase in the price of manure removal. As a result, many people choose to hold back and wait for the big shots to solve this problem.
But in fact, big shots will never encounter this problem at all, because they have dedicated people to deal with this kind of thing.
As a result, cesspits overflowing with thick soup have become a major feature of London. There are black, yellow, and even red pits, but there is only one thing in common: the stench.
Isn't it a coincidence that although the Thames River flooded, no buildings were washed away, but the river water poured into the cesspit, and then people saw black and yellow torrents rushing through the streets, leaving a mess and stench.
Coupled with the acid rain that falls in the sky from time to time, it is simply irritating to the eyes. After a series of wonderful chemical reactions, the legendary "London flavor" is formed.
This cholera has another impact, which is to discourage businessmen. After all, money is very important, but if lives are lost, nothing matters anymore.
As a result, some businessmen chose to move their base and develop in other cities in the UK. But they soon discovered that it was similar across the UK, and that cholera would move among people.
Some people have also turned to Paris and Vienna, two cities on the European continent. Although France and Austria are far less developed than the United Kingdom at this time, these two cities are developing vigorously and seem to be more suitable as financial institutions than London. center.
Robert Peel immediately introduced a series of policies to try to recover the losses, but with little success.
Doctors used mercury vapor, gin, laudanum, whale oil, salt, and vinegar to treat cholera. The results were naturally ineffective, and many even delayed treatment and died in pain.
The Royal Society of Medicine has not given any effective treatment methods. Their recommendations are:
"Stuff the patient's stomach with olive oil or other fats, and then beat them rhythmically or jump on top of the patient to help flush toxins out of the body."
He also once offered a reward for the solution to the London Plague, but almost all the people who came were liars.
The remaining alchemists and astrologers were either bloodletting masters or mercury madmen. Although they were not liars, they did not have any positive effects.
In particular, a yoga master from India actually transformed into Splatoon during public performances. The tragedy of death is unforgettable for a long time
Later, after investigation, it was found that this master actually drank water from the Thames River directly. Then he performed yoga for such a long time. It seems that this master is really capable.
However, the master still helped the British government. Robert Peel immediately announced that the plague was an Indian conspiracy and that the Indians brought the plague to London.
As soon as this statement came out, the reaction was strong, and Robert Peel and his Tories immediately became the most popular party again.
However, this plague must be solved. After repeated discussions among some authoritative doctors, Chad Wick's opinion was finally adopted. The editor felt that the feces on the floor was the culprit.
(Chad Wick is known as the father of modern public health, but he was not a doctor or official, but an editor who liked to criticize the British government.)
So the British government decided to throw the filth from the streets directly into the Thames, causing the Fleet to become blocked.
A large amount of feces directly blocked this tributary of the Thames River, and even Londoners later built it into a street.
The Dutch needed to transport sand and gravel to build land, but the British actually accomplished such a feat using excrement. It is really amazing.
So some people began to worry about the Thames River again. After all, when the river water is illuminated by the sun, it will raise fog visible to the naked eye, and at the same time, the river water reflects colorful luster.
In order to dispel people's doubts, Robert Peel sent a team of chemists and hydrobiologists. After a "rigorous" investigation, they came to a conclusion:
"The Thames has a strong self-purification ability, so we don't need to worry at all."
Doesn't it sound a bit familiar? Indeed, there is a sense of dislocation that is in line with today's India.
Except for Britain, Russia and France, Austria and Prussia were not affected in the early stage, because historically this cholera did not affect the German region much.