Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 488 Plague
Just as petitions were being filed all over the country calling for a quick convening of Congress, a terrible epidemic quietly broke out in a small border town.

In fact, people infected with the disease had already appeared in the Far East as early as spring and summer.

However, due to the sparse population and scattered residence in the Far East, there was no large-scale outbreak.

The Tsarist Russia expelled Qing Dynasty citizens who were suspected of being sick, which led to many people gathering at the border and triggered the outbreak of the epidemic.

On September 17, a group of people were expelled to the border town of Manzhouli and had to live in a cart shop. They fell ill and died a few days later.

Dozens of people lived on a large bunk bed in the inn. Such a closed and crowded environment accelerated the spread of the disease.

Not long after, the landlord and guests living in the same courtyard also contracted the disease and died.

Upon seeing this situation, the Tsarist Russian officials in the Manzhouli area immediately ordered the expulsion of the people and even transported suspected patients to other places by train.

Trains are inherently confined and crowded spaces, which accelerated the spread of the disease.

As a result, the epidemic spread from Siberia along the China-Eastern Railway by train to Manzhouli and then to Harbin.

On the morning of October 8th, in the house where the workers of the China-Eastern Railway lived in Majiagou, Qinjiagang, a worker who had just arrived in Harbin from Manzhouli three days ago was coughing violently.

The worker covered his mouth and coughed for a while, then put his hand down, gasping for breath.

Suddenly, a bright red color appeared in the palm of his hand, spreading along the lines of his palm.

When the worker saw this, his eyes widened and he felt an unusual tightness in his chest. He couldn't help but gasp for breath, and then he had another violent coughing fit.

As he kept coughing, the man began to feel darkness before his eyes and fell to the ground.

By the time others found him, he had already died, and his body was a strange purple-black color.

Two years ago, Qu Shaoyang set up epidemic prevention bureaus throughout the province and selected some of the doctors trained by the Qu family to serve as general managers of the epidemic prevention bureaus.

In particular, several cities along the China-Eastern Railway, such as Harbin and Changchun, must set up epidemic prevention bureaus.

The city's residents were strictly ordered to report any unknown cause of death or strange circumstances of death to the Epidemic Prevention Bureau.

Therefore, after discovering that the body of the deceased showed strange behavior, people nearby immediately reported it to the Epidemic Prevention Bureau.

After receiving the report, the General Office of the Binjiang Department's Epidemic Prevention Bureau immediately arranged for people to check out the scene.

After the establishment of the Epidemic Prevention Bureau, everyone was given a booklet, which was written by Chen Xiuyun and many doctors from Shi Hospital.

The booklet lists the symptoms of various infectious diseases such as plague, cholera, smallpox, and the state of death.

According to the records in the booklet, the staff of the Epidemic Prevention Bureau roughly inferred based on the condition of the deceased that he was most likely infected with the plague.

When the plague broke out in Linjiang and Goryeo on the other side of the river, Doctor Chen had participated in the treatment. Chen Xiuyun had also experienced it personally and knew that this was a highly contagious disease, which was also clearly recorded in the booklet.

All staff members of the Epidemic Prevention Bureau had been trained and had certain medical knowledge, so they immediately reported the case to the Jilin Northwest Road Yamen, hoping to attract attention.

However, Yu Zhenfu, the governor of the Northwest Road, did not care about this, did not take any relevant measures, and did not report it to the provincial government.

Soon after, deceased people with the same symptoms were also found in Fujia Dian.

From one or two deaths per day, it soon developed to four or five deaths per day, then more than ten people, and then dozens of people.

The general manager of the Epidemic Prevention Bureau finally couldn't bear it anymore and had a quarrel with Yu Zhenfu. Then, despite Yu Zhenfu's objection, he reported the matter directly to a higher level.

Yu Zhenfu also realized the seriousness of the matter at this time, so he quickly contacted the officials of the Tsarist Russia resident in Harbin to discuss epidemic prevention measures and first allocated funds to set up a quarantine station.

It was already the end of October when the provincial government received the report.

Qu Shaoyang only remembered that the plague in Northeast China in the late Qing Dynasty broke out in Harbin. It occurred in winter and took several months to control. In the end, tens of thousands of people died.

But Qu Shaoyang is not sure about the exact time.

In order to prevent the plague, Qu Shaoyang began preparations several years in advance, setting up medical schools and public hospitals, training a large number of medical staff, and setting up epidemic prevention bureaus in various places.

Now, the Qing Dynasty has entered the countdown, and the plague could not be prevented and still broke out.

After receiving the report from the Northwest Road, Qu Shaoyang immediately issued an order to mobilize medical personnel from all over the province to go to Harbin to provide support and resolve the epidemic as soon as possible.

At the same time, Qu Shaoyang ordered people to notify the Jichang, Ji'an, Jiha, Ha'ai, Anfeng and other railways to stop operations immediately.

Troops were dispatched to blockade the Fujia Dian area in Harbin, cut off traffic and implement quarantine.

Immediately afterwards, Qu Shaoyang submitted a memorial to the imperial court, requesting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to notify Japan and Tsarist Russia to cooperate with the epidemic prevention measures.

Immediately stop the operation of the China-Eastern Railway and the South Manchuria Railway to prevent the plague from spreading to cities along the lines through the railways.

Then Qu Shaoyang contacted Xi Liang and Chen Yunzhe, asking the three provinces to unite to jointly prevent the epidemic.

At that time, Harbin was the most prosperous and lively city in Northeast China, a major transportation hub with extensive connections, and the world's largest soybean distribution center and trading market.

Here gathered a large number of laborers who came to the Northeast from Zhili and Shandong, as well as thousands of small vendors and people from Tsarist Russia doing business here.

Even if the population is not 100,000, there must be at least 70,000 or 80,000.

The Chinese New Year is not far away, and according to Chinese tradition, we must do everything possible to return home to celebrate the New Year.

Once large-scale return home begins, the epidemic is likely to spread to the interior along with the returning crowds.

Trains, as the most convenient means of transportation in this era, are bound to be the choice of many people.

Therefore, Qu Shaoyang requested that all trains be suspended immediately to avoid more serious infections due to crowded crowds.

"The mask factory has a lot of inventory at the moment. I have already notified the factory to work overtime to ensure that all rescue workers can use them.

In addition, the pharmaceutical factory has already prepared the medicine and will be shipped to Harbin soon."

Chen Xiuyun also received the news at home and took immediate action to make arrangements.

When the plague broke out in Linjiang, simple masks were made. Later, they were also used when cholera broke out in Andong and other places. They were useful in protecting against viral infections.

Therefore, when Jilin Province established the Eight Banners Vocational School a few years ago, it simply set up a mask factory to supply hospitals, medical schools, epidemic prevention bureaus, pharmaceutical factories, etc. in the three northeastern provinces.

Since the mask factory uses machine sewing and adopts high temperature and drug disinfection, the quality is relatively good. Now many hospitals in other provinces have placed orders.

In the past two years, Qu Shaoyang often told Chen Xiuyun, intentionally or unintentionally, to ask the mask factory to prepare more goods, so the current inventory is very sufficient and can be guaranteed for use in the short term.

As for the pharmaceutical factory, after more than ten years of research and process improvement, the production of penicillin has increased and the purity is also higher.

However, currently only aqueous solutions can be produced, and powders cannot be produced.

After the concentration and purification of the old mustard brine, it can be made into tablets, and the output has been greatly increased. However, penicillin is not exported and is only used in several public hospitals and military hospitals to treat seriously infected people.

However, the braised aged mustard slices were exported to many countries after changing their name.

"There are two other drugs you mentioned. They have been successfully prepared and are undergoing phase III clinical trials. I have also asked someone to prepare some."

Chen Xiuyun is not only the wife of the Governor's Mansion, she is also the head of the pharmaceutical factory and medical laboratory.

Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Qu Shaoyang and his wife selected many children of appropriate age and sent them to Shi Hospital for study.

After nearly twenty years of hard work, a large number of outstanding medical talents have been trained.

Let’s not talk about anything else right now, the annual profit of the pharmaceutical factories alone is an astronomical figure.

Otherwise, where would Qu Shaoyang get the money to build roads, set up schools, and support so many people to study abroad? Just relying on Jilin Province's tax revenue? Isn't that nonsense?
“By the way, who are you going to let be in charge of this epidemic prevention?
If there is really no one around, I will go over. Our father is old and we cannot let him suffer any more."

Doctor Chen is now over 70 years old. Although his physical and mental condition are still good, he is old after all, so it is not good to trouble him anymore.

“No, wife, you have to be responsible for stabilizing the rear and ensuring support.

Sun Baomin, the general manager of the Harbin Epidemic Prevention Bureau, was conscientious and responsible in his work. This time, he was the first to discover the plague and immediately reported it to the Northwest Road.

However, Yu Zhenfu did not take it seriously and delayed it for several days, which led to the spread of the epidemic.

I have dismissed Yu Zhenfu from his post and have let Sun Baomin temporarily serve as the governor of Northwest Road and concurrently as the chief of epidemic prevention."

After receiving the news, Qu Shaoyang immediately sent someone to find out what happened.

After learning the whole story, Yu Zhenfu was immediately removed from his post and Sun Baomin was ordered to be fully responsible for Harbin's epidemic prevention affairs.

At the same time, two batches of Dingbian troops were sent there to follow Sun Baomin's orders and make every effort to prevent and control the situation.

“Well, Baomin is pretty good, he has superb medical skills, and he comes from our family.

With him here, I don't have to go over there. I can always bring people to support you if you need me."

Chen Xiuyun nodded when she heard this. Sun Baomin could be considered her apprentice, and his medical skills and character were very trustworthy.

With him in charge of epidemic prevention and the cooperation of the army, there should be no problem.

Neither of them mentioned whether the money and manpower they invested and the money they spent were considered public property or their own.

At this moment, saving lives and controlling the plague are the most important things. As for the gains and losses of the Qu family, they are no longer important.

In this way, the couple discussed and decided to send medical staff from Jilin City to Harbin the next day to assist in epidemic prevention.

More personnel can be deployed to other places, far away from the China-Eastern Railway.

A small number of personnel along the China-Eastern Road will be appropriately transferred, and the rest will be mainly responsible for local plague prevention and control.

Although Qu Shaoyang took immediate measures after receiving the news, the plague was fierce and spread very quickly.

Especially along the China-Eastern Railway, with thousands of people moving every day, the plague virus soon reached Changchun and Fengtian.

The worst thing is that Tsarist Russia and Japan, for the sake of their own interests, simply did not agree to stop operating the railway.

Especially now, all other railways in Jilin Province have stopped operating, and the South Manchuria Railway is full of people every day, and that's all money.

How could the great powers, who put their own interests above all else, care about the lives of their own people?
Not only did the two countries not stop the train operations, but they also made some requests to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For example, the Russian envoy proposed to set up an epidemic prevention station in Morgan, which would be inspected by the Russian consulate in Harbin.

An epidemic prevention station was set up in Sansheng, and medical officers were sent from the Zhongdong Road.

Chinese people from all over the country who travel to Heilongjiang by rail need to hold a license issued by the Russian Consulate.

Chinese people traveling to the Aihui area must pass through the Morgan and Sanxing quarantine stations for inspection.

Japan also proposed a similar approach and requested that a Japanese doctor be appointed as the chief epidemic prevention officer in Fengtian.

This is not a way to assist in epidemic prevention at all, but an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Qing government by using the plague.

If they give in this time, Japan and Russia will use the epidemic prevention as an excuse to extend their tentacles into all aspects of the administration of the three northeastern provinces.

Therefore, Xiliang, Qu Shaoyang and Chen Yunzhe sternly rejected the demands of Japan and Tsarist Russia.

Xiliang personally served as the chief epidemic prevention officer in Fengtian, and hired Dr. Stokes, an English missionary with whom he had a close personal relationship, as the chief consultant, who was fully responsible for the quarantine and epidemic prevention affairs of the entire Fengtian.

The same goes for Chen Yunzhe, who personally served as the chief epidemic prevention officer and was responsible for epidemic prevention and control in various parts of Heilongjiang.

When Doctor Chen in Fengtian learned of the outbreak of plague and his son's appointment as general manager, he ignored his old age and personally led his apprentice to Heilongjiang to help Chen Yunzhe prevent and control the epidemic.

At this time, Jilin Province, as the center of the plague, had not only seen large-scale deaths in Harbin.

As important cities along the South Manchuria Railway, plague patients appeared one after another in Changchun, Gongzhuling, Siping Street and other places.

What’s even more terrible is that the Harbin Public Council, which was manipulated by Tsarist Russia, brutally persecuted Chinese workers in the name of epidemic prevention and expelled more than 3,000 workers from the country.

These workers fled Harbin to Hulan, and in anger, burned down the Hulan government office. At the same time, they brought the plague to Hulan and other places.

Japanese patrol police also engaged in similar operations, which led to conflicts between Chinese workers and them, resulting in many deaths and injuries.

Not only that, some people took the opportunity to spread panic in areas severely affected by the plague.

As a result, residents in quarantined areas ignored government obstruction and collectively protested, trying to break through the blockade and escape, or sneak away at night.

Moreover, the gentry and common people from all walks of life in the three northeastern provinces were completely unaware of the seriousness of the plague.

At this time, a petition group of 10,000 people was organized, holding high the banner of requesting the convening of the National Assembly, and weeping in front of the provincial government, demanding that the National Assembly be convened next year.

Faced with this situation, the governors of the three provinces were also overwhelmed.

Finally, Qu Shaoyang suggested mobilizing the Dingbian Army and troops from various towns in the northeast to drive away the tens of thousands of people who were petitioning, strictly seal off cities with severe epidemics, and block traffic.

In every city, there are hospitals for severe cases, hospitals for mild cases, hospitals for suspected cases and epidemic prevention departments, and medical staff are doing their best to treat patients.

Whenever a patient appears in a family, the seriously ill ones will be immediately admitted for treatment, and the rest will be isolated for observation. The home will be thoroughly disinfected with lime, sulfur, carbolic acid, etc.

Large quantities of medicinal materials and masks were shipped out of pharmaceutical factories and sent to treatment centers for mild and severe diseases in various places to do their best to treat patients.

At the same time, Xiliang also sent telegrams to various cities along the China-Eastern Railway, requiring each state and county to report changes in the local epidemic situation by telegram every day, requiring information to be transparent and not to conceal information.

(End of this chapter)