Beiyang 1917

[Text] Chapter 190 [-] The Spanish Devil and the Penicillin Shield

------------

In January 1918, the whole world was facing a severe situation. The Soviet Union was facing a full-scale civil war and the huge blackmail of the Germans' cession of land in Brest. The dangerous situation, and the Eastern Front was unable to move troops to the Western Front because of Soviet Russia's delay in agreeing to the Brest Treaty. (download.floor)

For Britain and France in the Allied Powers, the nearly four-year war has consumed the vitality of the country. The French Army, which claims to be the best in Europe, has no advantage in front of the German Army. It was a tie with the German Air Force, and this was still the case when the number of aircraft was far greater than that of the opponent.

Britain and France have an advantage in the number of ground troops and the number of cannons, and they have new weapons and tanks to deal with trench warfare. However, the lack of sustained combat capability after the initial success of the Cambrai tank assault last year made the British tanks invincible against the German train cannons. After being defeated under the bombardment, the situation might have been even worse if 73 backup tanks had not been urgently transferred to the battlefield to block the German counterattack.

It is not only Britain and France that are lost. After Little Japan was armed and strengthened by the US arms and the Beijing-Suizhou Railway and Highway built by itself, especially when China seized the opportunity to take advantage of the civil strife in Russia, it almost regained Outer Mongolia and the Middle East almost without bloodshed. After the road, facing the 40 Chinese model army armed to the teeth, and the Chinese mechanized army with strategic energy and oil supplies, the Japanese ruling and opposition parties shuddered to feel China's potential and threat.

The United States has made a fortune in arms trade and war material supply, and has become the largest creditor of the Allies. At the same time, the Chinese government is overwhelmingly inclined to the United States, making the United States find an ally with the most potential in the British-Japanese alliance in Asia. Thanks to this At the beginning, the U.S. government was the first to return the boxer indemnity and established the Tsinghua Preparatory School for Studying in the United States. Wang Geng was one of the first batch of Chinese students studying in the United States who graduated from the Tsinghua School.

And now, this 24-year-old guy named Wang Geng has become the most powerful political figure in China!In the United States, he has his investment bank, holding pharmaceutical and chemical factories, and an arsenal with as many as three branches. A series of heavyweight enterprises such as Zhonghua Automobile, and adhering to the commitment of Sino-US strategic cooperation, have enabled Anglo-American capital to obtain investment opportunities in these emerging but optimistic enterprises.

Moreover, this guy named Wang Geng also compiled and formed a new army of 9 people in just 40 months, and incorporated 7 Beiyang Army Divisions. Even the famous Cao Kun and Wu Peifu were taken under his command. The participating troops of the thirteen reorganized divisions controlled ten provinces in the north, and this guy also balanced the relationship between the cabinet and the various factions within the Anhui faction. Focus on the executive and members of Congress.

The military was basically handed over to Wang Geng's participating army to independently decide on strategic planning and direction. Thanks to Wang Geng and the participating army, Prime Minister Duan Qirui and his cabinet became the most eye-catching military in the world in the past 1917. In the first term of the Chinese cabinet, the meritorious service of participating in the war to recover Outer Mongolia and take back the Middle East Road is enough to make the name of Duan Zhengfu, who is well-known and well-used, go down in history.

Moreover, this Wang Geng has also gained a great reputation among the people. Although he seems to be a new warlord who overshadows the sky with one hand, he does not buy private property or appoint private individuals in the country. The only house is the property of the General’s Mansion of the Ministry of War. The charitable organization with the best reputation in China in this era.

None of the thirteen division commanders and ten warlords of the participating army was a private individual who participated in the war. Almost all political factions in the country could find their former partners among the division commanders and warlords of the participating army. Both the direct line and the Anhui line were all beaten They were also reused, and the Anhui faction replaced more warlords than the direct ones.

The supervisory office for participating in the war reconciled the prejudices between the acting president and the prime minister and effectively reunited the direct and Anhui factions as a whole.

Americans are full of pride and trust in the commander-in-chief of the Chinese army who was born in Tsinghua University, Princeton University, and West Point Military Academy. At the same time, the young war supervisor is also considered the best spokesperson for American interests in China.Whether on diplomatic occasions or in front of the media, Wang Geng has never concealed his views:

If China wants to rise, it must become a strategic partner with the United States. There is no other way. In the future, China will have more than one ally, but the United States will always be the first and most steadfast one.

In January 1918, for Wang Geng, another exciting news came from the United States. After more than half a year of clinical trials, the penicillin developed by the Pharmaceutical R&D Center of the Technology R&D Center under the Manhattan Industrial Bank officially passed the identification of the U.S. Department of Medicine and was approved by the U.S. Department of Medicine. Be the first and greatest antibiotic of our time!

At the same time, James Curry, the chief chemist of the Pharmaceutical Research and Development Center, and his assistant Jasper Kane conquered the process of mass production and purification of penicillin by fermentation, and also applied for a patent, which was attributed to citric acid fermentation Inspiration for new production processes.

In December 1917, penicillin was officially put into production in the pharmaceutical branch of Pfizer in the United States, and it first obtained a huge order from the American government. Under the new technology, the production capacity of penicillin in Pfizer’s pharmaceutical branch reached 12 million copies. Penicillin (one serving) sells for $100 and costs $5!

The complete equipment and engineer team of the new penicillin pharmaceutical branch will arrive in China at the end of January. Wang Geng’s Zhonghua Pharmaceutical Company will be established and produce penicillin at the same time in the country. It is said that Wang Geng has no obligation to open up the intellectual property rights and production patents of penicillin to others. other countries and companies.

But in the face of a huge and terrifying monster that is coming to hang over the heads of all mankind, the production capacity of Pfizer and Zhonghua Pharmaceutical can never meet the needs of all mankind. At the beginning of 1918, the world had a population of 17 to 18 billion, and Pfizer Even if the production capacity of Zhonghua Pharmaceutical is combined, it can only produce 3000 million tubes a month, not to mention that a course of treatment against pneumonia and other diseases is at least three to seven days, which means that the penicillin that can be produced at this moment is definitely not enough!

After thinking about it, Wang Geng finally decided at the end of December last year to authorize the transfer of penicillin purification and production process patents to the governments of all major countries in the world, and charge a patent royalty of 12 cents for each penicillin in the future. It will be used to set up a global scientific charitable foundation. 10% of the foundation's annual investment income will be used for charity, and the remaining 50% of the income will be used to fund research and development projects in the scientific field.

The name of the foundation is GV Science Charity Foundation, the initials of Wang Geng and Vivian. This decision stunned Pfizer and the whole world.Penicillin = life-saving gold, the reason why Wang Geng did this is that the whole world is about to face that unknown and terrifying demon,

The Spanish flu that has been around the world since 1918!An unprecedented human influenza plague. In Wang Geng’s previous life, countless famous people died of Spanish flu in 1918 and 1919. For example, Tang Baoyue, the wife of Minister Gu Weijun in the United States, died of Spanish flu in 1918. Zhan Tianyou, a pioneer in history, died of Spanish flu in 1919!

就王庚所知，前世的西班牙型流行xing感冒是人类历史上最致命的传染病，在1918~1919年曾经造成全世界约10亿人感染，2千5百万到4千万人死亡（当时世界人口约17亿人）；其全球平均致死率约为2.5-5，和一般流感的0.1比较起来较为致命。

The origin of its name is not because the flu broke out from Spain; but because about 8 million people in Spain were infected with the disease at that time, and even the king of Spain was infected with the disease, so it was called Spanish influenza.As for Spain, it is called French influenza.

Although Wang Geng didn't know how much the appearance of his own butterfly had brought to this world of time and space, the Spanish flu that ravaged two full years in 1918 and 1919 in his previous life left him with lingering fears and dared not forget it for a day.

The Spanish flu virus has never been truly analyzed by humans to find out what strain it is. In the previous life in 1918 and 1919, the main cause of death from the Spanish flu was complications and pneumonia. In the previous life in 1918 and 1919 when there were no antibiotics, pneumonia was almost It is the killer who takes life.

At this moment, in Wang Geng’s current 1918, although the penicillin that was born out of nowhere has the ability to fight viruses, it is an antibiotic and a special drug against pneumonia, which is super effective!Wang Geng hoped that the Spanish flu would not become a large-scale epidemic in the face of penicillin, the shield he propped up for all mankind, or even if it did, it would not kill so many people because of complications and pneumonia!

This is what he can do and what he should do!For the rest, pray to God!