Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 490 Acting as Governor of Three Provinces
On the sixth day of February, the International Plague Research Conference was held in Fengtian.

More than 30 medical experts from 11 countries including China, the United States, Austria, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Russia participated.

Because the meeting was held in the Northeast, Dr. Wu, the chief medical officer of the Epidemic Prevention Bureau, was elected as the chairman of the conference.

Originally, the Japanese were somewhat dissatisfied and they wanted to nominate Kitasato Shibasaburo as chairman.

But other experts unanimously opposed it, so the plan did not materialize.

I thought if I couldn't be the chairman, I could be the vice chairman, right? Unexpectedly, the vice chairman position was taken away by Chen Xiuyun.

During this plague, Chen Xiuyun and her medical team developed a drug with very obvious therapeutic effects, which saved the lives of many infected people and made great contributions.

If we calculate based on their contribution to plague prevention and control, Qu Shaoyang and his wife should actually serve as chairmen.

Qu Shaoyang was a governor, not a doctor.

Besides, the method he used was copied from elsewhere, so the position of chairman would be more suitable for someone more professional.

Therefore, Qu Shaoyang was only a participant and did not compete for any positions such as chairman or vice chairman.

The meeting lasted a total of twenty-five days, with twenty-four meetings held and forty-five resolutions formed.

Many internationally accepted epidemic prevention guidelines were determined at the meeting, laying the foundation for subsequent international epidemic prevention cooperation.

The conference completed the 1911-page "Report of the International Plague Research Conference", which became a classic in international epidemiology.

This conference also greatly promoted the development of modern public health and epidemic prevention in China.

In addition, medical experts from various countries are most concerned about the drugs developed by Chen Xiuyun and others.

For this purpose, the conference set aside time for Chen Xiuyun to make an introduction and for everyone to study together.

In accordance with the prior agreement with Qu Shaoyang, Chen Xiuyun focused on promoting penicillin.

This is the first time the name penicillin appeared at an international medical conference, more than ten years earlier than the discovery of penicillin by British bacteriologist Fleming.

Not only that, Chen Xiuyun has now mastered the cultivation and purification of penicillin and can produce it in batches, which has greatly advanced the production timeline of penicillin.

When a group of international medical experts came with a thick stack of pathology, toxicology reports on penicillin, as well as clinical trial reports from recent years, everyone was extremely excited.

Prior to this, medical scientists from various countries had been working to find a drug that could effectively treat bacterial infections with low toxicity and few side effects, but they had never been able to achieve their goal.

Penicillin is a new type of drug that is highly effective, low in toxicity, widely used in clinical practice, and has a broad antibacterial spectrum.

The emergence of penicillin has greatly increased human ability to resist bacterial infections and ushered in a new era of using antibiotics to treat diseases.

It can be said that the successful development of penicillin is a major milestone in the history of human medicine.

Everyone looked at the lady in front of them, who was already middle-aged but still beautiful, graceful and elegant, and doubts arose in their hearts.

Could such cutting-edge medicine really be developed by an unknown woman who has never even attended medical school?

Is it really possible for such an backward country like the Qing Dynasty to cultivate such outstanding talents?
Is there something fishy going on here? This is too hard to believe.

But everyone racked their brains and searched in their minds, but could not find any information related to penicillin.

If someone in the international medical community had done relevant research, it would definitely be published in relevant medical journals and newspapers, but no one has ever seen or heard of it.

This proves that no one had conducted relevant research on the theories proposed by Chen Xiuyun before.

In addition, it can be seen from the materials and Chen Xiuyun’s narration that penicillin was not developed in recent years, but was cultivated and purified more than ten years ago.

It was only this time that the plague was exposed to the public.

The thick stack of materials in front of her and Chen Xiuyun's calm attitude in answering questions are enough to show that this really came from her hands.

Not to mention, Chen Xiuyun also has two drugs extracted from fermentation broths of other microorganisms.

If such a major research result was plagiarized from others, just one of them would be enough to shock the international medical community and cause a huge uproar, let alone three?

But some people still refused to give up and used all kinds of tricky questions to embarrass Chen Xiuyun, trying to overturn everything in front of them.

Among them, the ones who reacted most strongly were naturally the Japanese doctors.

“The gentleman just asked me where I got the inspiration to study penicillin.

I can tell you very clearly that in our country, people have a very long history of using Penicillium to treat infections.

According to medical records, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, a man's hand was cut by a knife and became infected. He covered the wound with green hairs grown from wall paste, and the wound healed quickly.

What this person used was actually Penicillium, but at that time, no one was studying the relevant theory. "

Chen Xiuyun is not one of those ignorant ladies in the boudoir. She must have real ability to accompany Qu Shaoyang all the way from Linjiang to where he is today.

Over the years, many of the Qu family's businesses have cooperated with foreign businessmen. Chen Xiuyun is in charge of the family business and often deals with foreigners. She herself is proficient in multiple languages.

Facing these foreigners, Chen Xiuyun was not at all nervous and calmly explained the origin of penicillin to everyone.

"Our family has a secret recipe handed down from our ancestors, stewed mustard greens, which can treat high fever, cough, vomiting blood and pus, which are related symptoms of pneumonia in Western medicine.

It was inspired by this secret recipe that I started to study what the green hairs growing on mustard greens were. I thus discovered penicillin and then cultivated and extracted the active ingredients.

After so many years of in-depth research, we have now achieved mass production, which can save a considerable number of lives in the event of this plague outbreak."

Faced with doubts and accusations from those with ulterior motives, Chen Xiuyun did not make a fuss or get angry. Instead, she explained to everyone in English calmly and calmly.

"Sir, I wonder if you can understand what I am saying?"

Chen Xiuyun looked at the Japanese doctor who asked the question with a smile and asked him in Japanese.

Chen Xiuyun's performance won the approval of everyone present, and everyone stood up and gave the warmest applause.

Foreign reporters at the scene also took out their cameras and took many photos in succession.

The most beautiful moments of this knowledgeable, elegant and calm lady were recorded in the form of images.

The International Plague Research Conference ended successfully in such an atmosphere.

But the storm in the medical world caused by Chen Xiuyun and penicillin had just begun.

After the meeting, medical experts from various countries contacted Qu Shaoyang and Chen Xiuyun, expressing their willingness to cooperate with them to jointly research and develop related drugs.

Alternatively, you can cooperate with Chen Xiuyun to build a factory and open a pharmaceutical company abroad.

Chen Xiuyun did not reject these proposals rashly. She only said that there was no plan to build a factory overseas in the short term, but might consider it in the future.

As for the research room, we have enough staff and sufficient funds. If we encounter any problems in the future, we will definitely ask experts for advice. Seeing that there is no possibility of cooperation in the short term, these people proposed to buy a large amount of penicillin and other drugs.

Chen Xiuyun did not refuse this.

She only replied that the cost of penicillin was very high, almost equivalent to gold, and she was happy to cooperate as long as the other party could accept it.

As for the other two new drugs, their production is currently unstable and there is no intention to sell them for the time being. We need to wait a few more years.

For these people, money is not important at all. In their eyes, efficient and safe drugs are the most important. So what if they are as valuable as gold?
Many people immediately expressed their intention to cooperate and placed orders with the pharmaceutical factory.

After the meeting, Qu Shaoyang and his wife stayed in Fengtian for a few more days before returning to Jilin City.

Some of the doctors and journalists who attended the conference stayed to conduct in-depth research on the plague, while others returned directly to their home countries.

Subsequently, reports on the plague and penicillin were published in top medical journals in Britain, the United States and other countries.

Before long, some British and American newspapers and magazines published photos of Chen Xiuyun attending the meeting, praising her as the most outstanding woman in China in the new era.

The Qing court also commended Qu Shaoyang and his wife, conferring upon Qu Shaoyang the title of first-class Jing'an Earl, upon Chen Xiuyun the title of Jing'an Earl's Wife, and upon their eldest son Qu Zhenbang the title of first-class Light Cavalry Commandant.

Of course, these titles are just titles, with no official position or real power, but only a little salary.

Its main purpose is to show the emperor's favor and win people's hearts.

No matter what, this was also an honor. As soon as the decree came, officials from the provincial government sent congratulatory gifts one after another.

The officials' families also came to pay their respects to the lady of the governor's house, and for a while the governor's mansion was extremely lively.

While Jilin City was bustling with joy, Xiliang at the Fengtian Governor's Office received an imperial edict from the Qing court.

The court removed Xiliang from his post as governor-general of the three northeastern provinces on the pretext that "his illness worsened and he was temporarily unable to manage the affairs of the three provinces, so he was allowed to temporarily resign and return to his banner to recuperate."

After Xiliang took office as the governor-general of the three northeastern provinces, he saw that the government was becoming increasingly corrupt, the people were becoming increasingly alienated, and the country was becoming increasingly dangerous from both inside and outside.

But he was unable to save the situation and once asked for leave to rest on the pretext of illness.

But this time the court abolished it not for this reason.

The main reason was that Xiliang had submitted memorials on behalf of the petitioners and had also stamped the petition of the petitioning faction, so Zaifeng was very dissatisfied with him.

In addition, last year Hirobumi Ito was assassinated in Harbin.

At that time, the Qing court issued repeated decrees, requiring Xiliang to properly accommodate Ito and his party. As a result, Ito died as soon as he arrived in Harbin.

The imperial court did not investigate the matter at the time, but began to settle the accounts afterwards.

On March 22, Xiliang received an imperial edict, ordering him to return to his banner immediately for recuperation and transferring Sichuan Governor Zhao Erxun to take over as Governor of the Three Northeastern Provinces.

However, Sichuan is far away from Fengtian, and Zhao Erxun cannot take office immediately.

Therefore, the court ordered Qu Shaoyang, Assistant Minister of the Three Northeastern Provinces and Governor of Jilin, to temporarily take charge of the affairs of the Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces.

The Governor's Office is in Fengtian. Since Qu Shaoyang has received an imperial decree to act as the Governor-General, he must go to Fengtian.

So, after receiving the imperial edict, Qu Shaoyang immediately packed his bags, took some things and his entourage, and headed for Fengtian City.

As a result, before he arrived in Fengtian City, more than 100 buildings including the Fengtian High Court, the Procuratorate, and the Chengde Local Court suddenly caught fire and were all burned down.

After arriving in Fengtian, Qu Shaoyang went to see Xiliang first. Qu Shaoyang gave Xiliang a generous gift and comforted him to take good care of himself, saying that the court would definitely use him in future.

The two had a candid conversation and were not optimistic about the current situation in the three northeastern provinces. Xi Liang gave Qu Shaoyang some ideas, and Qu Shaoyang listened humbly.

Xi Liang and Qu Shaoyang briefly handed over the affairs of the Governor's Office, then packed their bags and left, returning to their hometown to recuperate.

Here, Qu Shaoyang took over the military and political affairs of three provinces and was extremely busy.

After a few days of sorting things out, I finally had time to visit my father-in-law and mother-in-law and my uncle's family.

After Doctor Chen returned from Heilongjiang Province, he rested at home for a while and his complexion was much better than before.

Mrs. Li didn't change much. She had a rosy complexion and smiled all day long, looking like a typical old lady from a wealthy family.

When the old couple learned that Qu Shaoyang was conferred the title of Earl by the imperial court and was appointed acting Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces, they were happy for him.

Chen Yunhan currently has one wife and two concubines. He Qingzhu gave birth to a daughter and two sons, and the two concubines each gave birth to a son.

Currently, the two concubines are pregnant again, and the Chen family is about to have more members.

At the beginning, Li decided to take a concubine for her son in order to have more children. The Chen family is now wealthy and powerful, so having more sons is necessary for safety.

Among the children, the eldest daughter Jingya is currently studying in the United States, and the second child Chen Yanxiao is fifteen years old and is in middle school.

The third child, Yanhong, is twelve years old and is in senior primary school, while Yanqing and Yansheng are in junior primary school.

In the evening, Qu Shaoyang stayed at Chen's house for dinner. He Qingzhu ordered people to prepare a lot of wine and food, and Chen Yunzhe accompanied Qu Shaoyang to drink a few glasses of wine.

After eating and drinking, the two went to the study and chatted for a long time.

The current situation is turbulent, petitions are emerging one after another in various places, and the revolutionary party in the south is in turmoil. At this time, they brothers must hold on to the military power in their hands.

Qu Shaoyang told Chen Yunhan that not only should the Fengtian New Army be firmly under his control, but he should also keep an eye on the movements of some generals in the new army, especially the young generals.

In addition, we should also pay more attention to the commanders of various patrol camps.

After all, there are several very famous people here, including Marshal Zhang who was well-known in later generations.

At this time, Zhang Yuting was already the commander of the Fengtian Front Patrol Battalion, in charge of seven battalions of troops, totaling 3,500 people.

Moreover, his brothers are also in the patrol camp, and when they are gathered together they are a force that cannot be ignored.

Chen Yunhan was transferred to Fengtian for a short time and his control over the patrol battalion was not strong enough.

I guess they will have to think of more ways to divide this force and eliminate hidden dangers.

In fact, judging from Qu Shaoyang's current strength and political achievements, there is no problem for him to serve as the governor-general of the three northeastern provinces.

However, the court would rather transfer Zhao Erxun from Sichuan than directly promote Qu Shaoyang to governor, simply because he did not have enough foundation in the court and his qualifications were shallow.

Qu Shaoyang also has his own ideas about this.

As I said, these days, whoever has a gun is a king. Whoever controls the army has the upper hand and his words are trustworthy.

Some things need to be fought for.

(End of this chapter)