Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 477 473. Duke Aosta’s Thoughts

Perhaps due to Prince Albert III's inaction on the Lombardy issue, the invitation to the World Exposition sent from Paris did not include King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and his eldest son.

So, on the third day of Amadeo's wedding, the invitation letter with a gold-plated French eagle and extremely simple content was delivered to him by the old king. Although his new wife hated the French capital and thought it was a dissolute madhouse full of bitches who wanted to lead her husband astray, Amadeo, who was concerned about Venice, still went there with the face of the whole Italy on his back.

This was the first time in his life that he came to Paris.

On the train to Paris, he received the booklet of Parisian beauties, just like what Kavi saw at that time. However, pure beauty could not arouse Amadeo's much interest, he wanted a higher level of enjoyment.

It is not easy to encounter art, politics and beauty at the same time, even in an international metropolis like Paris, as the choices are quite limited. Moreover, Amadeo is the second prince, and he has high requirements for art, and the beauty he wants is the best in the eyes of the public.

The only place that can gather all three at once is undoubtedly Mathilde's art salon.

Here, Amadeo not only witnessed the magnificent peak of the Second Empire and saw works of art that were considered human treasures, but also experienced the charming vulgarity of the Parisian aristocratic social circle.

In just three months, relying on his artistic appreciation and his status as the second son of the King of Italy, he gradually became a frequent visitor here and was able to come and go freely.

His friendship with the princess began with their status as royal aristocrats, was connected by the oil paintings on the walls and the beautiful and exciting music, lasted for a long time by the beautiful and charming Venice, and finally ended in the friendship between France and Italy.

This visit is undoubtedly just an episode that is so small that it cannot be any smaller between the two people. It may bring them closer together, but the end point of the relationship has not changed. Kavi and the operation that will happen to him in the future are just catalysts to accelerate the development of this relationship.

However, after seeing Geiser's minimalist, naked style of dressing in the princess' studio, Amadeo had to re-evaluate this chance meeting.

[The studio in Princess Mathilde's salon]

He tucked his cane under his armpit, then took off his white gloves and held Geiser's hand tightly: "Mr. Geiser, is this the Mr. Geiser whose painting was unexpectedly selected for the last Salon exhibition? The son of old Kniesser, the chairman of the Swiss Federal Council last year? I've heard a lot about you!"

"Forehead"

Before Geizer could react, Amadeo's praise hit him in the face: "The princess has a sharp eye. She chose your work among thousands of paintings. It's like throwing a huge rock into a lifeless sewer. Uh, the metaphor may not be appropriate, but you should understand what I mean."

Ever since he got over that hurdle in his heart, Geize has been able to let loose in front of the princess.

But when Amadeo suddenly visited, the young man still felt restrained instinctively and tried to cover his key parts with the blanket beside him. It was not until the Duke shook hands with him solemnly and looked at her with respect that Geize realized that he was superficial.

He generously tore off the blanket, revealing his beautiful body that had been trained by Hans, and said in a calm tone: "No, no, I am just a model who is trying my best to get inspiration for painting."

".I see."

Amadeo lived up to his reputation as an art connoisseur. He immediately lowered his gaze and praised the two carefully crafted works of art by Kavi: "Dr. Kavi is truly a genius in the field of surgery. His hands are comparable to Michelangelo's!!!"

"That's insightful, Mr. Duke! More than one person has said that he looks like Michelangelo!!!"

Mathilde showed her the sketch she had just made, and Geiser returned to his original position, posing as a thin version of "David": "If you have been to the National Museum of Natural History, you can see Dr. Cave's first surgical work, which was also an important exhibit of Austria at the World Expo - Fernan. His shape in the pool was based on 'David', just like me now."

Having a common topic, it would be much more natural to explain the purpose of your visit.

Mathilde listened and waved her brush: "You have seen the quality of the operation. There will definitely be a scar, and the color is not light. But unlike other doctors' operations, this scar is very thin, the line is very clean, and even the position has been strictly calculated. After healing, the ratio between the upper and lower parts is almost perfect."

Amadeo was very satisfied with the finished product. The only thing he could find fault with was the surgical procedure.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Geiser underwent a repair surgery, not an enhancement surgery. Simple suturing is different from an operation like adding a skin patch." He was still a little worried.

"Dr. Kavi performed a reconstructive surgery on a man in Vienna who had been a court chef in Paris and later retired." Geiser frowned. "What was his name?"

"It's Mr. Alphonse," said Mathilde.

"Yes, yes, his name is Alphonse! He's a big fat guy." Geiser compared the size with his fingers, "That thing was badly damaged during the duel. It seems that he can't even be a man. Doctor Kavi may have a solution."

The change in the distance between the thumb and index finger was a reassurance to Amadeo. If Kawi could make people go from 0 to 1, then it should be no problem to go from 1 to >1. As for the extent of the ">" in ">1", whether it would only increase to 2 or 3, or could it directly reach 5, 6 or even 10, that was what he really cared about.

It’s a pity that the two people in front of me are not doctors, so I don’t know to what extent the surgery can be performed.

"Dr. Kawi doesn't usually discuss the procedure with his patients."

Geizer's body was mostly bathed in the sun, his eyes looking at the scenery outside the window. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "He is sometimes very tough. For example, when he was operating on me, there was no room for negotiation. But sometimes he is very easy to talk to and will ask for the patient's opinion. For example, it seems that the operation method of Mr. Alphonse was decided after the two of them discussed it."

“Is the difference that big?”

"He is indeed a very difficult person to figure out." Geiser judged based on his limited experience. "Maybe it's my illusion. I always feel that Dr. Kavi gave Mr. Alphonse a lot of surgical options, but I have no choice here."

"What you are doing is restoration. It doesn't necessarily mean that something that was originally straight can be changed into a right angle." The princess complained.

"Your Highness, that's not what I meant."

"Okay, okay, you get excited when I talk about that place. Be quiet and hold on for another half an hour while I finish the last few strokes."

The two of them said it unintentionally, but Amadeo took it to heart. When performing surgery on oneself, the initiative should be in one's own hands. Since Kavi's treatment methods on patients were so different, he must find a way. Otherwise, if the result of the surgery was not satisfactory, wouldn't it be a waste of time?

The conversation between the three gradually cooled down, and Amadeo took off his white gloves out of habit.

The relationship between the cook and Kavi is not something that can be compared to his one-time encounter. Even if he is a duke, personal connections still need to be cultivated and accumulated.

What's more, he was only the Duke of Italy, a duke of a weak country that had just been easily defeated by Austria. The only thing he could show off was his background. But in front of Count Cavi, who was known for his professional skills, his background might not be that important.

Amadeo fiddled with the white gloves he had taken off, and the random thoughts in his mind began to get tangled. Once his random thoughts started to get stuck in a dead end, it was almost impossible for him to get out of it on his own, and the end result was that he would go down this path to the end.

Going down a dark path often means failure, but if you go down this dark path many times, you will always succeed once or twice. For example, the Duke found a turning point on a dark path that seemed to have taken a long detour, his brother.

Prince Umberto, the elder brother, seems to have nothing to do with Cavi. One is the crown prince of Italy and the other is an Austrian surgeon. However, if you really understand the complex relationship between the Austrian and Italian royal families and dig deeper, you can still find common ground.

In fact, just before the marriage of the second prince was settled, Umberto, the crown prince, had also considered marriage.

As early as two years ago, the family of an Austrian archduchess had extended an olive branch to her father, the old king of Italy, hoping to facilitate the marriage of the two families' descendants. This would not only maintain the relationship between Austria and Italy, but also be a win-win situation that would elevate the status of the two families.

Unfortunately, the Austro-Prussian War came unexpectedly, and Italy had to join the war for independence. The other side also successfully replaced the old Marshal Ludwig, who had been suffering from back pain, and took full control of the Austrian army.

The war prevented the marriage from happening. No matter what the outcome, it would be difficult for the marriage to continue unless the winner was willing to lower his stance and accept the loser.

Italy lost as expected, and didn't even have the chance to pay compensation and get territory after the war. The domestic atmosphere was extremely low, and the king and Prince Umberto couldn't bring themselves to talk about marriage. The girl's father, Archduke Brecht, was already the commander of the Austrian army, and he never contacted them again.

Amadeo knew that his father wanted to make the marriage happen more than the other party did. However, the situation of the girl chasing the boy had changed a little, and they urgently needed a middleman to bring the two families closer.

During the time when Geiser showed his body curves to Princess Mathilde, his thoughts had successfully linked the marriage between the Austrian and Italian royal families and the secondary development of the little thing on his body, and unilaterally determined that Kavi was the middleman.

Thinking of this, Amadeo stood up and walked towards the princess's workbench.

"Mr. Duke, what are you doing?"

"I would like to borrow a pen and paper to write a letter to Dr. Kavi."

"Write a letter? Isn't he in Paris? You just met him." Mathilde knew his temper, but her thoughts were still on the operation. "Why don't you just go talk to him? I think he'll agree."

"Well, I think it's better to be more formal about this kind of thing."

In history, Archduke Brecht did not become the Austrian Field Marshal before the war like he is now, but replaced Ludwig after the defeat in the Austro-Prussian War.

His second daughter, like other women in the Habsburg dynasty, was indeed shouldering the responsibility of marriage, and with the help of her family, she had a verbal engagement with Prince Umberto, and was only one step away from engagement.

The Prussian-Austrian War did interrupt the marriage.

Austria was defeated on the western and northern fronts, and only defeated Italy on the southern front, and finally had to seek peace. This forced them to pay a large piece of land to the defeated Italy, and the relationship between Austria and Italy became particularly delicate. The relationship between countries constantly changes the balance of family relations, and also directly affects the marriage of the Archduchess and Prince Umberto.

However, the Grand Duchess died in hospital this year.

One afternoon in June 1867, Marigund put on her tulle skirt and lit a cigarette before going to the opera. But because her father Brecht suddenly appeared, she had to hide the cigarette behind her. Then the cigarette butt ignited the tulle skirt, causing burns all over her body.

Second and third degree burns are very difficult to treat, and the fabric of the gauze skirt easily sticks to the wound. Even if Kavi was there, he could only repair and care for the wound. Whether he could survive the infection at the later stage was more a matter of luck.

In the 19th century, when there was no modern concept of burn treatment, deep burns were almost a dead end.

Like many princesses who died because of burning veils, she died within a month, and the marriage between Archduke Albert, Duke of Cieszyn, a member of the Habsburg-Lorraine family, and the Italian royal family became empty talk.

But now, Marigund is staying in Hötzendorf Palace, receiving private literature lessons from Leopold Neumann, professor of history and international law at the University of Vienna. She still loves opera and continues to wear flammable tulle skirts, but she successfully escaped the unfortunate fire.

This was due to the adverse impact of the fire at the French Grand Theater at the end of last year, and also benefited from Vienna's emphasis on fire prevention. However, the more important reason was the shooting that just occurred in the opera house and two heavyweight men, his father and Kavi.

Archduke Brecht, who took over the post of Field Marshal two years later, was supposed to work in Budapest and resume his post as Governor-General, but because he had already taken over the post of Field Marshal, he was able to stay in Vienna and discipline his daughter very strictly.

At the same time, the tense situation in Austria-Hungary made Archduke Brecht worried about the safety of Vienna, so he had to keep this good daughter who maintained the fate of Austria and Italy in the palace.

All these reasons ultimately come down to one person.

The shadow of Cavey can be seen in the French theater fire and the fire prevention measures in Vienna. From the perspective of medical theory and burn research reports, he repeatedly explained that the losses caused by fire are far greater than the cost of prevention.

The condition behind Archduke Brecht's position as marshal was also Kavi's spinal surgery, otherwise Franz would never have allowed Ludwig to resign, and he would have lost his chance, and the Prussian-Austrian War would have been even less likely to end in a pseudo-draw.

Although many people criticized him, believing that the old marshal had better command ability than him, Ludwig himself praised Brecht highly. In addition, the war itself did not cause Austria to lose too much, and Prussia and Austria were apparently in a balance of power, which allowed him to gain a firm foothold.

Of course, these are indirect impacts. What can really cut off the fire at the source is Kawi’s health education - smoking is harmful to health.

He himself took the lead, resolutely not smoking and rarely drinking. His idol effect deeply influenced a large number of young people and made Marigund quit smoking at a young age. In this regard, Brecht was very grateful to Kavi.

However, Archduchess Marigund, who loved Kavi as much as any other girl, did not leave any impression on Kavi. Kavi and Brecht had always maintained a superior-subordinate relationship on the battlefield, and did not even know that the Archduke had a young daughter who was still unmarried.

He also wouldn't have known that Amadeo would go to such great lengths for an extended operation that lasted less than two hours, and even involve a royal marriage.

In fact, as long as the situation was explained clearly, he would definitely be willing to perform the operation. Even if he didn't give face to Amadeo, he would have to give face to the King of Italy. After all, he had always claimed to the outside world that he was born in Lombardy.

And now, he only had eyes for Bertha.

I will definitely finish the book, but I am old and have a lot of things to do at the end of the year, so I will have to take some intermittent breaks. Please forgive me.