Chapter 29

New book uploaded, seeking collections, seeking recommendations.

"Please have the plaintiff's lawyer and the defendant's lawyer step forward."

After Judge James Abbott dismissed Zhu Jishi, who always spoke off-topic, from the witness stand, he called several other witnesses one by one. They were all "technical experts" provided by the plaintiff, so-called famous doctors, who were there to prove that Zhu Jishi's claims were completely baseless and had no academic value.

I hope so! The judge sighed inwardly, frowned, and asked the lawyers from both sides to come to the bench. This was a tradition in British courts, where the lawyers from both sides would go up to bargain. If the defense was willing to surrender, they could lose only half.

"Jason, are you really not going to settle?" Andrew Jones whispered to Zhu Jishi, who had just come down from the witness stand. In civil cases, there was an opportunity for out-of-court settlement. If Zhu Jishi was willing to apologize in the newspaper and leave Britain immediately, the Royal Medical Society might still withdraw the lawsuit.

"No settlement!" Zhu Jishi said confidently, "The truth is on my side!"

"But the evidence is on their side!" Andrew Jones gritted his teeth.

At the same time, Sir Hobart and Sir Reed, along with several other barristers, were whispering to each other.

"Sir, what does the Chinese man mean by 'staining method and culture method'? Is there such a thing?"

"Yes, if it's true, it's best to withdraw the lawsuit now, otherwise, even if we win, it will be a huge embarrassment."

Sir Reed's face was dark, and he was naturally uneasy. He knew that the surgical disinfection method proposed by Zhu Jishi was likely correct because he had already personally investigated at the Omen Hospital, where there had been no cases of puerperal fever for several months! This could not be explained as a coincidence...

"The question now is whether we can win," Sir Hobart said through gritted teeth. He was 76 years old, and he had studied medicine over 50 years ago, in the 1780s, when Western medicine was even more backward than it is now. Internal medicine was nothing more than feeding patients tomato sauce, drinking petroleum, or drinking sulfuric acid, and surgery was about knocking patients unconscious, then bleeding them, cutting off hands, or cutting off feet, basically the same as a butcher's work. Bacteria and viruses, let alone seeing them, were not even thought of, and naturally, he did not believe in their existence.

"We will definitely win this round," one of the barristers replied.

"Can we initiate criminal proceedings after winning?" Sir Hobart asked in a low voice.

"Well..." The barrister nodded and frowned, "Although it's not the final judgment, as long as the Metropolitan Police are willing, they can still conduct a criminal investigation. But..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Sir Hobart knew that although Zhu Jishi's words were hated, from a legal perspective, they were just a minor issue. Even if the Metropolitan Police were willing to investigate, it would most likely end in nothing. After all, it was the time of the Chartist movement, and the British police had no time to deal with defamation cases. Even if they had the time, what could they do to Zhu Jishi? At most, they would fine him and expel him from Britain.

"No withdrawal, just initiate the criminal investigation!" Sir Hobart said with a grim face. He had several acquaintances in the Metropolitan Police, and when the time came, he could have Zhu Jishi arrested and thoroughly interrogated, perhaps uncovering some bigger crimes.

"What if he's telling the truth..." Sir Reed said with some concern, "Should we request a postponement?"

"No need!" Sir Hobart said, "Medical issues are not that easy to clarify."

He was right. Because clinical medicine, unlike other scientific fields, theoretically cannot conduct human experiments. Therefore, clinical medicine at that time was not based on experimental foundations but on the imagination of experienced doctors! As a result, any medical issue could not be clarified in a day or two. Even if Zhu Jishi was telling the truth, it would take many years for most doctors to recognize it.

In fact, in history, Semmelweis, who proposed the same theory, was only recognized for the medical value of his ideas in 1865, the year he died! This was because in that year, the greatest scientist in French history, Pasteur, discovered the bacteria causing silkworm disease, thus proving the correctness of the bacterial disease theory.

"Your Honor, the plaintiff refuses to settle."

"Your Honor, the defendant also refuses to settle."

Judge James Abbott sighed inwardly. This isn't a trial; it's a matter of personal pride! You should have a duel with pistols, not come to me, the judge, for a decision!

"Stand up!"

The moment of judgment had arrived, and everyone in the courtroom stood up, ready to hear the verdict, which was, of course, already expected by everyone. Well, not exactly, because there were still unexpected things, such as the great physician Zhu Jishi shamelessly using his golden finger to claim the discoveries and inventions of Pasteur and Hans Gram as his own, and publishing them decades in advance in several British radical newspapers and some regular newspapers in France and Germany.

...

London, Scotland Yard.

"Sir, these purple spots are the bacteria that Dr. Zhu mentioned," a young man in a white coat over his police uniform stood in the office of the Metropolitan Police headquarters, explaining the bacteria to Sir Stevenson, the Chief of the Metropolitan Police, who was observing through a microscope.

"What kind of bacteria is this?" Sir Stevenson asked curiously. To be fair, the Chief of Police was diligent and responsible. After receiving the complaint from the Royal Medical Society, he did not immediately order an arrest. Well, this wasn't the Qing Dynasty, where an arrest was just an invitation for Zhu Jishi to come to Scotland Yard for an investigation, accompanied by a lawyer, which would not yield much. So Sir Stevenson sent a detective to investigate, and the next day, the detective brought him a copy of the *Polar Star* newspaper, saying it contained key evidence—Zhu Jishi had published the principles of bacterial transmission and methods of observation. So Sir Stevenson called in a police doctor to conduct an experiment in front of him.

"Not clear yet," the police doctor replied, "The sputum used for observation was collected from a prisoner with tuberculosis. I think these purple bacteria are the tuberculosis bacilli that Dr. Zhu mentioned..."

"What! Tuberculosis bacilli..." Sir Stevenson jumped up, his face full of fear, and shouted at the doctor, "God, do you want to murder me? You murderer! How could you bring such dangerous things into my office? Take it away quickly!"

The young doctor shook his head calmly and said, "Dangerous? Sir, there is still no sufficient evidence to prove that these purple spots are the cause of tuberculosis, as the Royal Medical Society still believes that tuberculosis is naturally produced and not..."

"Take it away! Immediately!" Sir Stevenson glared at the doctor, "Do you want me to get tuberculosis and die to prove Dr. Zhu's point?"

"Yes, sir." The doctor realized his mistake as soon as he spoke and quickly corrected himself, "Oh, no, that's not what I meant." He then hurriedly packed up the microscope on the table and scurried away.

"Sir, should the investigation continue?" A spy stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"What more to investigate? The fools at the Royal Medical Society have been fooled by this Oriental man! Are we going to be fooled too?" Sir Stevenson said with a stern face.

"I understand, sir." The spy snapped to attention and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Before he reached the door, Sir Stevenson's voice rang out again, "Continue surveillance, but don't alarm him."

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"Stop the defamation investigation, but we must find out everything about this Oriental man!" Sir Stevenson said coldly. "I think his performance has been eye-catching enough, and the higher-ups will be very interested!"