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Volume 2 Beijing Story Chapter 192 The Spanish Devil and the Penicillin Shield

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    In January 1918, the whole world was facing a severe situation. Soviet Russia was facing a full-scale civil war and huge blackmail from the Germans for ceding territory in Brest. Germany was facing an outnumbered situation on the Western Front after the arrival of the main force of the US military.  The dangerous situation, and the Eastern Front was unable to mobilize troops to the Western Front because of Soviet Russia's delay in agreeing to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty.

    For Britain and France in the Allied Powers, the war that lasted for nearly four years has consumed the vitality of the country. The French Army, which claims to be the best in Europe, cannot gain any advantage in front of the German Army, and Britain and France can only do nothing in the air.  It was a tie with the Luftwaffe, and this was despite having far more aircraft than its opponents.

    Britain and France have advantages in the number of ground troops and artillery, and 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 battle assault last year made the British tanks lose ground to the German train cannon.  Defeated under bombardment, the situation might have been worse if 73 reserve tanks had not been rushed to the battlefield to block the German counterattack.

    It was not only Britain and France that were lost. After China was armed with American arms and the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway and Highway built by China, China seized the opportunity to take advantage of the civil strife in Russia and almost regained Outer Mongolia and the Middle East Road without any blood.  After that, facing the 400,000-strong Chinese model army participating in the war, and facing China's mechanized and powerful army with strategic energy and oil supplies, the Japanese government and opposition shuddered to feel China's potential and threats.

    The United States made a fortune in arms trade and war material supply, becoming the largest creditor of the Allied Powers. At the same time, the Chinese government's one-sided tilt towards the United States allowed the United States to find an ally with the greatest potential in Asia, where Britain and Japan were allied. This was thanks to the original  The U.S. government was the first to return the Boxer Indemnity and establish the Tsinghua Preparatory School for Studying in the United States. Wang Geng was among the first batch of Chinese students studying in the United States to graduate 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 investment banks, controlled pharmaceutical and chemical plants, and arsenals with up to three branches. In China, he has established China Charity Foundation, China Insurance, China Airlines, China Petroleum Corporation, China Steel,  A series of heavyweight companies such as China Automobile, and adhering to the commitment of Sino-US strategic cooperation, have enabled British and American capital to obtain investment opportunities in these emerging but promising companies.

    Moreover, this guy named Wang Geng also organized and organized a new army of 400,000 people in just 9 months, and incorporated 7 Beiyang Army divisions. Even the famous Cao Kun and Wu Peifu were taken under his command.  The participating armies of the 13 reorganized divisions controlled the territory of ten northern provinces, and they also balanced the relationship between the various factions within the cabinet and the Anhui faction very well. Xu Shuzheng, the originally solitary and arrogant deputy minister of the army, apparently joined his faction.  Focus on the executive and members of Congress.

    The military was basically left to Wang Geng's participating troops to independently decide on strategic planning and direction. However, Prime Minister Duan Qirui and his cabinet became the most watched in the world in 1917 thanks to Wang Geng and the participating troops.  In the Chinese cabinet, the contribution of the war troops to recapture Outer Mongolia and the Middle East Route was enough to make the Duan government famous in history.

    Moreover, this Wang Geng has also won a huge reputation among the people. Although he seems to be a new warlord who dominates the sky with one hand, he does not own private property or employ private individuals in the country. His only house is the property of the General's Mansion of the Ministry of War. The China Charity Foundation he founded has become  The most reputable charity organization in China in this era.

    None of the thirteen division commanders and ten governors of the participating armies were private individuals who participated in the war. Almost all political factions in the country could find their former partners among the division commanders and governors of the participating armies. Whether they were from the direct clique or the Anhui clique, they were both beaten.  They were also reused. In comparison, the Anhui clique replaced more warlords than the direct clique.

    The War Supervisor did a good job in reconciling the differences between the Acting President and the Prime Minister and effectively reunited the two factions in Anhui and Anhui as a whole.

    Americans are full of pride and trust in the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Armed Forces, who was born in Tsinghua University, Princeton University and West Point Military Academy. At the same time, the young war supervisor is also considered to be the best spokesperson for American interests in China.  Wang Geng never hides this view whether in diplomatic situations or when facing the media:

    To rise, China must become a strategic partner with the United States. There is no other way. China will have more than one ally in the future, but the United States will always be the first and most determined one.

    In January 1918, another exciting news came from the United States for Wang Geng. After more than half a year of clinical trials, the penicillin developed by the Medical Research and Development Center of the Technology Research and Development Center under the Manhattan Industrial Bank officially passed the identification of the US pharmaceutical department and was  Become the first and greatest antibiotic of this era!

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

    In December 1917, penicillin was officially put into production at Pfizer's pharmaceutical branch in the United States, and it was the first to receive a huge order from the United States. Under the new process, the daily production capacity of penicillin at Pfizer's pharmaceutical branch reached 1 million doses.  A tube of penicillin (for one person) sells for $5 and costs $1!

    A complete set of equipment and a team of engineers for the new penicillin pharmaceutical branch will arrive in China at the end of January. Wang Geng's Zhonghua Pharmaceutical Company will then be established and produce penicillin in the country at the same time. Ordinarily, Wang Geng has no obligation to open up the intellectual property rights and production patents of penicillin to  other countries and companies.

    But in the face of a huge and terrifying devil that is about to hang over all mankind, the production capacity of Pfizer and Zhonghua Pharmaceutical alone will never be able to meet the needs of all mankind. In early 1918, the world's population was about 1.7 to 1.8 billion, and Pfizer  Even if the production capacity of China and Zhonghua Pharmaceutical is combined, they can only produce 30 million pills per month, not to mention that a course of treatment for diseases such as pneumonia lasts at least three to seven days, which means that the penicillin that can be produced at this time is definitely not enough!

    After much thought, Wang Geng finally decided at the end of December last year to authorize the transfer of patents for the purification and production process of penicillin to the governments of all major countries around the world. In the future, he will only charge a symbolic royalty of 10 cents for each penicillin. The patent royalty will be  It is used to establish a global scientific charity foundation. 50% of the foundation's annual investment income is used for charity, and the remaining 50% is used to fund research and development projects in the scientific field.

    The name of the foundation is the GV Science Charitable Foundation, the abbreviations 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 devil.

    The Spanish Flu has appeared 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 Gu Weijun, the minister to the United States, died of Spanish flu in 1918, while China Railway  Zhan Tianyou, a pioneer in history, died of the Spanish flu in 1919!

    As far as Wang Geng knows, the Spanish influenza in the previous life was the most deadly infectious disease in human history. From 1918 to 1919, it infected about 1 billion people around the world and killed 25 million to 40 million people (  At that time, the world population was about 1.7 billion people); its global average mortality rate was about 2.5%-5%, which was more deadly than the 0.1% of ordinary influenza.

    The origin of its name is not because the influenza broke out in 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.  In Spain, it is called French influenza.

    Although Wang Geng is not clear about how much change the appearance of his butterfly has brought to the world of time and space, the Spanish flu that raged for two full years in 1918 and 1919 in his previous life has left him with lingering fears that he dare not forget.

    The Spanish flu virus has never been truly analyzed and studied by humans. In its previous life, in 1918 and 1919, the main causes of death from the Spanish flu were complications and pneumonia. In the previous life of 1918 and 1919, when antibiotics were not available, pneumonia was almost  It's a life-threatening killer.

    At this moment, in 1918, Wang Geng¡¯s current year, penicillin, which was born out of the blue, although it does not have anti-viral ability, is an antibiotic and a special medicine for treating pneumonia. It is super effective!  Wang Geng hoped that the Spanish Flu would not cause a large-scale epidemic in the face of penicillin, the shield he held up for all mankind, or even if it did, it would not take so many lives due to complications and pneumonia!

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