Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 600 Flu
Because Carlo knew that the earliest flu outbreaks occurred in the spring of 1918, in the United States and France.

For this reason, Carlo had long ago dispatched intelligence personnel from the Royal Security Intelligence Service to closely monitor the movements of the United States and France.

Once the flu trends are detected in the United States and France, relevant data will be collected immediately, and the routes of flu transmission will be clarified.

This would not only ensure that the global flu pandemic would no longer be attributed to Spain, but also ensure that Carlos and Spain would have enough time to prepare in advance when the flu breaks out, so as not to be caught off guard and cause the flu to spread to a wider area.

As it turned out, sending out intelligence agents in advance was indeed very effective.

As March 1918 arrived, Cadil of the Royal Security Intelligence Service brought Carlo a message that immediately startled him, causing him to stand up abruptly.

"Your Majesty, according to our intelligence personnel, just the day before yesterday, March 4th, a large-scale flu outbreak occurred at a military camp in Kansas, with at least dozens of American soldiers infected."

The symptoms of these infected American soldiers mainly consisted of headaches, high fever, muscle aches, and loss of appetite, which are closely related to what you call the flu.

One of our intelligence officers, disguised as a doctor, entered the military camp to diagnose these American soldiers. Based on the data from the officer's diagnosis, it can be confirmed that this is at least a highly contagious cold with a significant risk of transmission,” said Kadir, Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, with a serious expression.

Although he didn't understand why Carlo was so concerned about the potential flu outbreak in the United States and France, Kadir never questioned Carlo's instructions.

Carlo nodded upon hearing this, and then asked, "Has a similar flu outbreak occurred in France?"

"It seems not, Your Majesty." Kadir shook his head and replied, "The latest news is from yesterday: the flu outbreak at the military camp in Kansas, USA, has not caused any deaths, and the US government has not taken it seriously; they have only invited local clinic doctors to the military camp to provide treatment."

I will keep you informed if there are any new developments.

Carlo nodded, his gaze falling on the world map hanging in the office, stopping at the location of the United States. He then shook his head slightly with a hint of helplessness and sighed inwardly.

If Carlo had provided timely warnings, perhaps more lives could have been saved during this pandemic. However, Carlo cannot explain how he received the information in advance, which may lead the United States and other countries to question his motives.

Although it's just speculation, Carlo is certain that saving people in other countries won't bring him good luck; on the contrary, it will bring him enormous trouble.

Given the inability to explain how the flu could be predicted in advance, Carlos and Spain will become the prime suspects for the flu outbreak, which will likely lead to the flu pandemic once again being attributed to Spain.

Even worse, Britain and the United States might use this pandemic to attack Spain, thereby completely ruining Spain's promising situation.

For the sake of Spain, Carlo would never reveal any information related to the flu before other countries have become aware of it.

Only a select few people whom Carlo trusted most knew about the potential flu outbreak. As for why Carlo knew, whether they believed it or not, there was only one explanation: God help him.

When common sense fails to explain something, perhaps believing in metaphysics becomes the only way.

If the flu outbreak in the United States wasn't enough for Carlo to confirm that it was the Spanish flu, then the similar flu outbreak in France a month later was enough for Carlo to conclude that a major flu pandemic had indeed occurred.

As recorded in history, the influenza pandemic spread extremely rapidly after it began. It initially occurred only in military camps in the United States, then in France, followed by Britain, Spain, and other countries.

Flu cases have also occurred in various European countries, but because the symptoms are very similar to those of the common cold, the flu has not received much attention from governments.

Because the risk to flu patients was not high at the time, Spain did not disclose the news of the major flu outbreak. Instead, it secretly gathered infected Spaniards together for treatment to prevent the flu from spreading to more people.

Until July 1918, the flu did not cause significant casualties. Although the number of flu infections was quite alarming, the death toll remained a fraction of the number of infections, roughly the same as the current mortality rate from the common cold.

Although Spain has been making great efforts to control the number of flu infections, it is still impossible to completely prevent the spread of the virus without the public being informed.

The good news is that most people who have contracted the flu have been placed in centralized quarantine and will not be able to leave the quarantine site unless they are fully recovered.

Although the public was somewhat dissatisfied with the forced quarantine of these people, Carlo's intervention prevented nationwide unrest in Spain, and the public comforted themselves by saying that "Carlo must have his reasons for doing this."

This can be considered a lesson learned from the last universal health insurance program: when people encounter situations where they feel dissatisfied, they tend to prioritize trusting Carlo.

This is why Spain became one of the countries with the lowest infection rates and the fewest infections in Europe. The turning point came in August 1918.

The deadly nature of the influenza pandemic was first revealed on a cargo ship bound for Britain from Africa. Because of the presence of influenza virus carriers on board, more than half of the crew were infected before the ship even arrived in Britain, and approximately 7% of the crew died.

Similar cases were also reported on several cargo ships bound for Britain during the same period, indicating that the flu had begun to become highly lethal.

The arrival of these cargo ships in Britain immediately raised serious concerns within the British government, and Spanish intelligence agents stationed in Britain also brought back the news.

Upon learning this news, Carlos did not hesitate. For the first time, as the Emperor of Spain, he issued a notice to all Spaniards, stating that the flu was highly contagious and deadly, and demanding that all Spanish citizens infected with the flu immediately self-isolate or go to the quarantine points set up by the Spanish government in various cities.

All infected Spanish citizens will receive free treatment at quarantine facilities, and the Spanish government will also provide them with free accommodation and food.

At the same time, Spain will close all ports and roads that allow entry and exit, to prove to the public that this is not a belated April Fool's joke.

Although the public was shocked and puzzled by Carlo's sudden announcement, most Spaniards quickly complied with the government's orders and chose to self-isolate or go to the quarantine sites that the government had planned, out of trust in Carlo and the Spanish government.

When ambassadors from various countries announced that Spain had completely closed its ports and roads and ordered all Spanish citizens infected with the flu to self-isolate, European countries were shocked by Carlos's iron-fisted approach.

It's important to understand that such an order would have caused a huge uproar in any European country.

It's unclear how the British government would react if the King of England were to issue such an order, but the angry British public would be enough to overturn Buckingham Palace and overthrow the King's rule.

The French president and prime minister dared not issue such an order, because the people of Paris would overthrow the government even faster than in other European countries, a fact the French government had long been aware of.

Other European countries also dared not issue such an order, because none of them had a monarch like Carlos who enjoyed the deep trust of the people, nor did they have the confidence to command all of Spain like Carlos did.

The good news is that Spain has made ample preparations for this.

Although ports and railways and highways for entry and exit were closed, the daily lives of Spaniards were not affected. Most ordinary people were still able to go to work during the day and go home at night as usual.

To ease the tension and anxiety among the Spanish people, Carlo immediately announced, after declaring the closure of all roads and sea routes in and out of the country, that he would donate up to 5 million pesetas worth of supplies in the name of the royal family.

This decision instantly quelled the discontent of some Spaniards, because 5 million pesetas is already an astronomical figure, and the fact that the royal family could come up with this money proves that the royal family has no selfish motives and that everything is for the sake of the Spanish people.

More importantly, even if the infected Spaniards are quarantined, their food, clothing, and shelter are fully taken care of by the Spanish government.

This has won over many Spaniards, since the government and the royal family have done everything they could, so what else can they complain about?

The only thing Spaniards are worried about now is whether this highly contagious and deadly disease will befall them.

In response, Carlo could only try to appease the Spaniards and promote the benefits of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and masks.

While masks cannot completely prevent the flu, they can significantly reduce the likelihood of contracting it. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have a similar effect, except that one blocks the virus from entering the respiratory tract, while the other directly kills the virus.

In order to maintain order throughout Spain, the Spanish army was mobilized at Carlo's command to help maintain order in various cities and to distribute supplies free of charge to quarantine centers and people lacking supplies.

These supplies were donated unconditionally by the royal family, and the soldiers would mention it casually when distributing the supplies so that the public would remember who was distributing them.

Naturally, Carlo and the Spanish royal family, who provided supplies to all the people free of charge, earned the gratitude of all Spaniards.

This completely offset the discontent caused by the quarantine policy. The situation in Spain remains stable, and the number of daily infections continues to decrease as the quarantine policy is implemented and supplies such as alcohol disinfectant and masks are distributed.

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(End of this chapter)