American: Native Empire

Chapter 90: Vaccination.

Kim Kiwoo threw a lavish banquet to celebrate the achievements of the expedition.

“Today is a day to honor your great deeds, so eat and drink as much as you want. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

As Kim Kiwoo said, the crew of the expedition indulged in alcohol like wild horses, with Brilliant Flower and other delicacies.

“Hehe. They drink so much, they must be true sailors.”

“That’s right.”

The noise and commotion might not have suited the elegant banquet hall, but Kim Kiwoo liked this atmosphere very much.

He felt a great vitality from the crew.

The night went on with the brilliant moonlight.

The next day, after the banquet was over, Kim Kiwoo met with Brilliant Flower in secret.

“How are you feeling? You drank a lot yesterday.”

“Haha! If I had any problems from drinking that much, I wouldn’t be a real sailor. Me and the crew are all fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You and the crew will receive many rewards and great honors in the future. Congratulations in advance.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Brilliant Flower was very happy at Kim Kiwoo’s words.

There were few men who disliked money and fame. 

At least Brilliant Flower loved them very much.

Kim Kiwoo watched his reaction and then got to the point.

“By the way, have you seen the newspaper? You must know what’s going on now.”

“Yes. I could see how the imperial citizens were cheering so much.”

Brilliant Flower had immediately grasped the situation as soon as the banquet ended.

It was not very difficult.

It was all written in detail in the newspaper.

‘I can’t believe that the cause of the plague was microscopic organisms that were invisible to the eye.’

Since all information was blocked on the island, Brilliant Flower only learned about microscopes, microorganisms, bacteria, and vaccines now.

And he also understood why so many sailors who had contact with the people of the new continent died.

‘Your Majesty knew all this.’

He clearly understood why he ordered them to avoid contact with the people of the new continent as much as possible.

“I heard that most of the sailors who died from the plague were killed by smallpox.”

“That’s right. Didn’t we get some books related to plagues from the new continent? It says there that smallpox is one of the most dangerous plagues.”

“I checked it too. If smallpox lands on the mainland, the imperial citizens who have no immunity at all will suffer tremendous damage.”

“…It’s horrible to think about it.”

Brilliant Flower shivered at Kim Kiwoo’s words.

The plagues described in the books were deadly and unfamiliar.

Among them, smallpox was one of the most dangerous ones.

If smallpox entered the empire, it would happen as Kim Kiwoo said. 

Brilliant Flower also guessed that.

“So… I have a favor to ask you.”

“Anything, just say it. I will do my best to accomplish anything!”

Brilliant Flower shouted bravely.

He believed that Kim Kiwoo’s orders were always right.

Kim Kiwoo nodded at his response and said what he wanted.

“Do you remember the cow pus we sent to the mainland last time?”

“Of course. I saw it myself when you extracted it.”

“Then it’ll be easy to explain. That’s what we call vaccination.”

“Do you mean cow smallpox?”

“That’s right.”

“That was smallpox? But there was no serious problem with the sailors who came into contact with it.”

“That’s because cow smallpox has much weaker symptoms than what you experienced.”

“…Now that I think about it, some of the sailors were slightly sick for a while.”

Kim Kiwoo nodded his head.

He must have caught the vaccination while working on it.

“That’s right. Those sailors must have been infected and cured by the vaccination. But do you know this? People who have had the vaccination don’t get smallpox.”

“Is that really true? But there was nothing about that in the book I read about smallpox…”

“That’s because the people who live in the new continent don’t know this either. But I know for sure.”

“Wow…!”

Brilliant Flower exclaimed again.

Kim Kiwoo had asserted a prevention method that even the people who had suffered from smallpox for a long time didn’t know, without ever seeing it.

Kim Kiwoo didn’t care about Brilliant Flower’s reaction and took out a book from his pocket.

“What is this…”

“Read it.”

With Kim Kiwoo’s permission, Brilliant Flower picked up the book and checked the title.

‘It’s Irish.’

Brilliant Flower could recognize it at a glance, as it was one of the languages he had learned.

After confirming this, his eyes went straight to the title.

‘Vaccination?’

And he knew as soon as he saw the title.

“This is not one of the books we brought.”

“You noticed right away.”

“Well, at least I read all the titles.”

Only Brilliant Flower’s squad had landed on Ireland.

Of course, they could have found and brought this book from somewhere else than Ireland, but the probability was low.

“That’s right. This is not a book from Europe. It’s a book that I ordered to be made.”

After the expedition arrived on the island, the diplomatic staff learned all the languages they had learned from Europe, so making such a book was not very difficult.

Brilliant Flower opened the book and quickly checked the contents.

It was not a thick book, so it didn’t take long to read the contents briefly.

The summary of the vaccination book was what Kim Kiwoo had just said: ‘People who have had the vaccination don’t get smallpox.’

Thud!

After closing the vaccination book, Brilliant Flower clearly understood Kim Kiwoo’s intention.

As expected.

Kim Kiwoo’s next words were as he had anticipated.

“From now on, the origin of this vaccination will be Ireland, where you went. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes. I will proceed as you command.”

It was a lie in a way, but Brilliant Flower answered without a hint of hesitation.

He saw too clearly the big picture that Kim Kiwoo wanted to achieve through this book.

Thus, Kim Kiwoo completed his justification for performing vaccination.

***

‘Hehe. I think I finally understand.’

On his way to the imperial conference hall.

The hygiene director couldn’t help but think this.

Recently, one book had become a hot topic.

It was none other than the vaccination book.

Through this, information spread that smallpox, a terrible disease, could be prevented by something called vaccination.

‘Your Majesty had seen the vaccination book first and prepared for this.’

He couldn’t understand why he infected countless cattle with a contagious disease, collected it, and conducted human experiments, but now everything fit together perfectly.

Of course, it was not yet confirmed that people who had been infected with vaccination did not get smallpox.

But since it was something that Your Majesty proceeded with so firmly, most of the imperial citizens, including the hygiene director, did not doubt it.

While he was thinking this, he arrived at the imperial conference hall before he knew it.

And as always, the meeting began.

“I assume you all have heard of the inoculation method. Is there anyone who doesn’t know?”

Impossible.

If they didn’t know even after becoming a chief, that would be dereliction of duty.

Kim Kiwoo nodded once and went straight to the point.

“The scholars were right. The Wakan Tanka Continent was just one of the continents on Earth. Beyond that sea, there are vast lands called Europe and Asia.”

The chiefs also agreed with Kim Kiwoo’s words.

Thanks to that, there were so many people who wanted to go to the new continents of Europe and Asia as soon as possible.

As the history and culture of these numerous countries spread among the public, this trend only grew bigger.

But crossing the sea to the new continents was still forbidden, and the imperial citizens also understood why by now.

Kim Kiwoo uttered this content.

“However, we must prevent the situation where the infectious diseases that are widespread in the new continents are indiscriminately transmitted to the Wakan Tanka Continent. Fortunately, a way to prevent one of the deadly infectious diseases in the new continent, smallpox, has been revealed. It’s the inoculation method.”

Kim Kiwoo did not hesitate to propose his opinion.

“I conducted experiments and secured inoculants after learning about this. And now, I have enough.”

“May I say something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is everything in the inoculation method book true? If so, why hasn’t it spread to other countless countries? Or is there some fatal side effect…”

“Trust me. This is reliable information, and according to numerous experiments, inoculants are relatively safe.”

“I understand.”

As Kim Kiwoo nailed down the reliability of the inoculation method, the chiefs nodded in agreement.

“Is there any other opinion?”

“No.”

“As you wish!”

It was none other than Kim Kiwoo who ordered to spread inoculants to the cattle in the mainland and conduct human experiments.

There was no chief in the empire who opposed this matter that Kim Kiwoo strongly pushed for.

“Then I will proceed with the inoculation method in the empire from now on.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

***

“Do you really intend to get inoculated?”

“I have to. I’m also an imperial citizen of Wacantanga. How can I not set an example when I ordered this?”

“…I understand.”

As Kim Kiwoo’s will was firm, the steward could not stop him any longer.

After that,

The first inoculation excluding human experiments took place, and the subject was none other than Kim Kiwoo.

“There shouldn’t be anything wrong…”

The eyes of many imperial citizens, including the steward, escort warrior, and several chiefs, were focused on Kim Kiwoo.

But this was just a delusion.

There was nothing special wrong with Kim Kiwoo even after he was inoculated.

After confirming this, all the imperial citizens who had worried breathed a sigh of relief.

“Your Majesty has taken the lead and performed the inoculation method with your own body. How can I refuse as a subject!”

After that, many high-ranking officials voluntarily received inoculations for themselves.

Of course, there was still a perception that it was a dirty substance from cows, but there were very few imperial citizens who openly said such things in this situation where Kim Kiwoo received it first.

Also, as more and more people received inoculations, their safety became known and any anxiety faded away.

Then many imperial citizens who had been watching the situation began to receive inoculations in earnest.

“What? You’re already out of inoculants?”

“Please go back for now. We will guide you again when we secure more.”

“…I understand.”

But as demand suddenly surged, the inoculants that had been collected so much were soon exhausted.

However, Kim Kiwoo did not worry much.

Anyway, there were many cattle in the empire, and if he collected inoculants from them gradually, he would be able to inoculate most of the imperial citizens.

The important thing was that the inoculation method had taken root without much resistance.

‘I can finally relax a bit.’

If he succeeded in mass-producing vaccines that he had worked so hard on in the future, he would soon be able to freely travel to Europe and Asia.