Chapter 35

New book uploaded, seeking collections, seeking recommendations.

London, Buckingham Palace.

"Chinese? Dear Albert, you mean Jack the Ripper's ancestor came from China? That's incredible."

The speaker was a petite, plump woman with delicate features. She was wearing a silk robe embroidered with intricate patterns, sitting on the edge of the bed with a cup of black tea in her hand, looking at the handsome young man on the sofa opposite with adoring eyes, much like a star-struck young girl. The young man was holding a German newspaper.

This plump woman, well, was no ordinary person! She was none other than Queen Victoria, the current monarch of the British Empire! The young man whom the queen called "dear Albert" was Prince Albert, the Prince Consort of the British Empire, often referred to as the uncrowned king.

All high-ranking figures in the British Empire who had access to Buckingham Palace knew that their queen deeply admired her husband, following his every word and command. Prince Albert frequently attended meetings with the queen and her ministers, providing various suggestions to help the queen manage state affairs. He often issued memoranda to the ministers in the queen's name, offering comments and suggestions on state affairs. It was not an exaggeration to call him the uncrowned king or the king behind the scenes of the British Empire.

"Alexandrina," Prince Albert put down the newspaper and said to his wife in German, "The latest issue of the Rhine Gazette says that this Jason Zhu is indeed Chinese. I think he must be the smartest among all Chinese, no, among all Asians! His methods of blood transfusion, bacterial staining, bacterial culture, and various disinfection techniques are all significant scientific discoveries or inventions. However, I believe his greatest contribution is in the prevention of puerperal fever and cesarean section surgery."

The queen took a sip of black tea and touched her large belly—she was about seven months pregnant. Her marriage to Prince Albert was undoubtedly very sweet, and this sweet marriage had turned the queen into a baby-making machine. In the past three years, she had been pregnant three times, giving birth to a princess and a prince, and now she was carrying her third child. Historically, the queen had nine children with Prince Albert, and it was said that she even had a daughter with her later lover and servant, John Brown. Given the average death rate of about 10% for women due to childbirth complications or puerperal fever in this era, it was a significant miracle that Queen Victoria lived to be 81 years old.

"Cesarean section surgery!" The queen stuck out her tongue, "How painful that must be! I couldn't bear it..."

"Anesthesia can be used. Jason Zhu has also invented morphine hydrochloride and diethylmorphine, two very effective anesthetics that can minimize the pain of surgery." Prince Albert looked at his wife with affection, "Additionally, British doctors are experimenting with chloroform as a surgical anesthetic. I believe that by the time our third child is born, the problem of surgical anesthesia will definitely be resolved."

"Morphine hydrochloride and diethylmorphine?" The queen frowned, "Aren't they derivatives of opium?"

Prince Albert smiled, "Dear, don't underestimate these two derivatives of opium. The Royal Medical Society says that the significance of these two drugs to medicine cannot be overstated! In fact, many drugs on the market today contain opium or morphine... basically, most drugs that relieve pain and discomfort contain opium. The effectiveness of morphine hydrochloride is ten times that of opium! Diethylmorphine is thirty times that of opium! Moreover, both morphine hydrochloride and diethylmorphine have good water solubility and can be processed into injections for subcutaneous use, greatly enhancing the anesthetic effect!"

The queen nodded, "Hmm, so these anesthetics can be used for pain relief in surgery. Should the army be equipped with them?"

"Not just for pain relief in surgery, dear, don't you understand? The appearance of morphine hydrochloride and diethylmorphine will completely eliminate opium from the European pharmaceutical market! And because of their more miraculous effects, the drugs produced will be very popular, with higher prices and greater profits..."

"Opium will be replaced?" The queen nervously turned the teacup in her hand, her eyes fixed, "Wait, dear Albert, you mean the patent for morphine hydrochloride and diethylmorphine is in the hands of this Chinese person?"

Prince Albert nodded emphatically, "With these two patents, he can control all drugs containing morphine hydrochloride and diethylmorphine! Or, in other words, he will monopolize the European pharmaceutical market!"

"Monopolize the European pharmaceutical market? Dear Albert, are you joking?"

The British queen looked at Dr. Blomstein in surprise. This was too shocking. Although no one knew how large the European pharmaceutical market was, it was certain that it was a huge business, not unlike the textile industry! Just like clothing, illness is something everyone cannot avoid in their lifetime, and when they get sick, they need medicine! How many people are there in Europe now? It seems to have exceeded 300 million! If each European spends an average of one shilling on medicine each year, that would be a market of nearly 30 million pounds annually!

In reality, the amount Europeans spend on medicine each year is definitely more than 30 million pounds, possibly even reaching 90 million pounds, which is about the same as the British government's revenue. Such a large market, even if controlled by Zhu Jishi to a tenth, would be significant.

"Alexandrina! I'm not joking. Jason Zhu's assistant has informed the Royal Medical Society. Sir Reed told me that Jason Zhu has discovered in his experiments that a drug called berberine hydrochloride has extremely strong antibacterial properties, capable of killing cholera bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and tuberculosis bacteria..."

"Cholera bacteria? Tuberculosis bacteria?" Although the British queen did not understand medicine, she could understand from the names that these were serious bacteria. She took a breath and looked at Prince Albert, "Are these the bacteria that cause cholera and tuberculosis?"

"Exactly! And Staphylococcus aureus is the main culprit behind puerperal fever!"

Tuberculosis, cholera, puerperal fever... If one were to list the top ten fatal diseases in Europe at this time, these three would definitely be among them! If they could be cured by this berberine hydrochloride, the market for this alone would likely be worth several million or even tens of millions of pounds annually.

"Who holds the patent for berberine hydrochloride?"

"It is also held by Jason Zhu!" Prince Albert looked at the British queen and said seriously, "Alexandrina, the French Academy of Sciences has already sent Jason Zhu an invitation to become a member of the French Academy of Sciences!"

"Academy of Sciences! A Chinese person?" The British queen thought for a moment and suddenly realized something was wrong. She emphasized, "No! We cannot let this Chinese person be lured by France! Otherwise, the entire European pharmaceutical market will be monopolized by France!"

"Yes, and all of Europe will see us as fools who do not respect science!" Prince Albert's face showed a hint of anger, clearly directed at the London local court and the Royal Medical Society.

"But... how should we keep this Chinese person in Britain?"

Prince Albert raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it just a matter of being an Academy of Sciences member? We have the Royal Society, and we can elect him as a member at the annual election in March."

The queen nodded. The number of members of the Royal Society was not fixed, and the total number was several times that of the French Academy of Sciences. Four foreign members could be added each year, so giving one to Zhu Jishi was not a problem.

Prince Albert paused and continued, "Additionally, we can award him the Copley Medal, and even grant him a baronetcy."

"Baronet? A Chinese person? Dear Albert, are you joking?"

"What's wrong with that? Dear Alexandrina, I remember that several Indians have received baronetcies from the British Empire. Why can't a Chinese person receive this title?"

Victoria was silent for a moment, then shook her head, "Isn't he just a scientist with a few patents? Is it worth us going to such lengths to win him over? And he's a Chinese person! China just fought a war with us!"

Prince Albert frowned, "Precisely because China just fought a war with us, this Chinese scientist is even more worth winning over! Alexandrina, don't you see the potential value of this Chinese scientist?"

"Potential value?"

"What do you mean?"

"Alexandrina, do you remember Napoleon's prophecy?" Prince Albert's expression gradually darkened.

AD begins on the previous page

AD ends on the previous page