Chapter 1359 The plague is raging
On the streets of London, General Bruce sat in his car after a meeting, preparing to leave the center of the world at the beginning of the 20th century.
It is no exaggeration to say that London is the center of the world today. In terms of population alone, London, with a population of seven million, undoubtedly exceeds most countries in the world today. In terms of economy, politics, industry, and shipping, in addition to Outside of the environment, London has almost no shortcomings.
If London were a separate country, it would be among the best in the world. This is the so-called "one city equals one country".
General Bruce looked at the very crowded London and said to his secretary: "With the naked eye, the population density of London has reached a very terrible level. It is difficult for any city in East Africa to compare with it. That is Dar es Salaam. Compared with London, it looks like a large-scale village.”
His secretary Kovalie was sitting in the co-pilot and said: "It is estimated that only New York in the world can rival London. Our East African cities still have a long way to go before they can develop to this scale."
"However, there are too many people in London, the buildings are too dense, the roads are very congested, and the air quality is bad, it can even scare the country people who have never seen the world."
Bruce said with considerable agreement: "Then I definitely prefer the cities of the Empire, but when I first arrived in London, it was really shocking. This kind of building density is almost the same as a steel and cement forest."
From the beginning, cities in East Africa have developed in a different way from cities in Europe and the United States. They have paid more attention to the issue of human settlements. Only in recent years have they begun to build some high-rise buildings. In terms of visual effects, they cannot be compared with cities such as London, New York, and Paris. .
After all, the urban environment in East Africa is more like European and American small towns in terms of details. It has many green belts, parks, water bodies and other landscapes that tend to simulate nature. However, due to design and planning reasons, it is not like European and American small towns. The town is so "pure" natural.
Kovale said: "This also makes the traffic in London now really bad. The traffic jam problem is too serious. I don't know how long it will take us to reach the port."
The East African convoy has been submerged in the streets of London. It can be said that it is difficult to move forward. There are many people and buildings, and the roads are narrow and unreasonable in design.
Bruce looked at the crowded crowds and traffic and complained: "This is indeed a big pain point. It's no wonder that London was the first country to build a subway. There are so many people living in such a small place, and every inch of land is precious. It is very difficult to further transform it, which shows how much effort Napoleon III spent on transforming Paris in the last century.”
In this way, the two of them waited in the car for about thirty minutes before finally leaving Inner London and entering the so-called Outer London area. There were still many buildings around, but the atmosphere of life here was also stronger.
Bruce and Kovale chatted and chatted to relieve their boredom, but soon, Bruce discovered some problems.
Inner London, at least in terms of planning and management, is very good. After all, it is where the London government and wealthy people are concentrated. However, after entering the outer London area, the air quality and environmental sanitation become worse.
Bruce was not concerned about the environment here. What he noticed was the situation of the British citizens living in Outer London.
Bruce found that pedestrians on the road would cough, sneeze and other symptoms from time to time, but so far this situation did not attract the attention of the surrounding pedestrians.
The frequent occurrence of these small details made General Bruce notice this.
His face became serious and he said to Kovale: "There should be a large-scale epidemic spread in London now, but it doesn't seem to have received much attention."
Kovale said: "Your Majesty General, you have been busy with meetings these days, so you have not paid much attention to the situation in London, especially Inner London, where we have meetings and live, where the environment and health conditions are much better."< br>
"In fact, our people have long discovered that there may be a large number of people infected in outer London, but it is probably only in the past few days that it is so common now."
"There may have been similar cases in London before, but they were very few. However, as an open metropolis, London has intensive exchanges with other countries, so people from the European continent will inevitably gather in London."
"Now it seems that the plague is finally about to break out in London. However, the British may not have the final vigilance yet. British newspapers are also focusing on several important international conferences these days and have no focus on this plague. mentioned.”
It was not mentioned in detail, but it was mentioned, but the reports on the plague in some British newspapers were more of a mockery of East Africa and France.
Kovalle said: "The British think we are making a fuss and are afraid of death, and the early symptoms of the virus are indeed not outstanding, but the people of London will probably see the power of this plague next."
"According to the intelligence coming from our country, the mortality rate of plague personnel quarantined by customs exceeds 4%. If this data is not interfered with by other factors, I am afraid that there will be big problems in the whole of London."
Hearing this, General Bruce said: "London is indeed a place of right and wrong. Let's leave as soon as possible! I heard that this flu is mainly spread through the air. I feel uncomfortable staying here now. If we stay here for a moment longer, we will get into trouble. The possibility is even higher. It’s better to return home as soon as possible!”
As Bruce said this, the East African convoy accelerated towards the dock, but it still took a long time in the congested London.
At the dock, East African personnel conducted a temperature measurement and simple disinfection of Bruce and his party. Two of them had abnormal body temperatures and had to be isolated. At the same time, the ship's doctor also recommended that Bruce and others be observed on the ship for a period of time.
The ship Bruce and others were on was a passenger ship from East Africa, and it was already equipped with professional medical personnel and related medical supplies. Of course, only high-ranking East African officials like Bruce could enjoy this kind of treatment.
Just one day later, the passenger ship made an emergency return trip to the country, with no intention of staying here any longer.
Just one day after Bruce and others left, the epidemic in London spread like a wild horse, with a large number of patients appearing on the streets of London. And because of the previous actions in East Africa and France, this deepened the panic of London citizens. .
After all, until you and those around you are not infected with the virus, you can naturally continue to live and work calmly, but when the crisis really comes before you, or even comes to you, that is a different matter.
The content of conversations among citizens on the streets of London has also changed.
"Qiao Sen, your condition seems to be the flu symptoms described in East Africa. What East Africans wouldn't say is true!"
"Bowles, I feel so uncomfortable. I have difficulty breathing, a headache, and I have no strength."
"Qiao Sen, maybe this is just a small cold, you don't need to worry too much."
After saying this, Bowles consciously took a step back. If it was just Johnson who was like this, Bowles might still not believe in the existence of the so-called European flu. However, Johnson was not the first, and He was one of many acquaintances of Bowers who may have contracted the flu virus.
"Qiao Sen, I think you need to rest or see a doctor. I believe you will get better. But I have something to do at home, so I won't talk to you anymore. Goodbye!"
Bowles simply chose to take a detour and go home, and said in his mind: "This should be the fifth one. Does the European flu really exist? It should be like this with a high probability. Damn the Sun. It was reported two days ago." Said that the European flu did not exist at all. ”
"Now, it seems that the so-called European influenza pandemic did not come out of nowhere. I will also ask others to pay attention when I return home."
Soon, Bowers hurriedly arrived at the door of his house, which was just an inconspicuous small house in the entire slum.
The surrounding environment is very harsh. The road in front of the house is full of potholes. The streets are full of illegal buildings. Various awnings or temporary wooden houses are crowded together. Such illegal buildings even occupy more than half of the public roads. The materials used in these illegal constructions are also all kinds of strange, including wood, bricks or rags obtained from unknown sources, and put together with rusty nails.
These materials may come from the countryside, be dismantled from abandoned ships, or be brought back from a construction site.
The furniture in the shack is also very simple and shabby, and the source may not be clean. After all, London in the early 20th century was also a paradise for thieves, and the residents of the London slums were obviously not very wealthy, so the origin of many things was unknown.
However, as the richest city in the world at the beginning of the 20th century, most of London's citizens still had a good income. As for the slums, the residents here were obviously not considered real London citizens.
This is the identity of Bowles. He is also a countryman who just arrived in London a few years ago.
So now the situation at Bowles' home is obviously not much better in London, but Bowles turns a blind eye to it.
He opened the door and said: "Alice, I'm back!"
A young British girl was lighting a fire to cook in a narrow house. There was only one coal-burning stove in the whole house. Under the long-term use of this stove, the walls and roof were smoked black.
"Bowles, you're off work!" Alice said.
Bowers was lying on the bed and said: "Yes! I have been burning the boiler for a day, I am tired and hot, and I don't know when it will be over."
The Bowers family's small house only has one room, so all the furniture is here, and there is no so-called concept of kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc.
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Living in a slum is naturally not without its benefits. Although the environment is very poor, you can save a lot of money, especially rent.
"By the way, Alice, have many of the neighbors in the surrounding area been suffering from colds and fevers lately?" Powers said to his busy wife.
Alice said: "When you say that, it seems true. Mrs. Fowl's family has caught a cold. Many people on the street have been like this recently."
Bowers looked embarrassed and said: "If this is the case, we should also be careful. According to the news I heard from the factory, this is very likely to be a European flu."
Alice asked: "What was the European Flu?"
Powers said: "An infectious virus, a terrible virus like the Black Death, the newspaper in the factory said before that it was just an East African scaremongering, but according to my judgment, there is a high probability that it is true."
Alice was shocked when she heard about the Black Death. Although she didn't know what the European flu was, the name of the Black Death was familiar to Europeans.
Alice asked in a panic: "Is this true? The European flu is more serious than the Black Death?"
Bowles shook his head and said: "I don't know whether this news is true or not, because this is only a statement from East Africa and France. Our government agencies have not mentioned this statement."
Alice asked: "What should we do?"
Bowles said: "If there are no special circumstances recently, you'd better not go out. We should stay as far away from the crowd as possible. This is the only thing we can do."
Alice said: "But you still have to go to the factory every day..."
Bowles said helplessly: "Yes, I have to work. This is inevitable. After all, how can we live without working? You also have to go out to buy food. I definitely can't refuse work, but let's try our best first. Stock up on some food while food prices are cheap now.”
"Moreover, I am in the boiler room of the factory, where few people go. Maybe I can avoid this European flu pandemic."
Alice sighed and said: "That's the only way it can be, God! When will these hard days end."
No wonder Alice complained so much. After all, the lives of ordinary British people had been greatly disrupted because of the war. Now that the war is over, the plague has occurred again, which is endless.
The end of January 1920.
The epidemic broke out completely in London, and just a few days later, almost all of London was filled with patients infected with the European flu.
In addition to London, other places in the UK were also unavoidable. At this time, the British government in London began to panic.
At the same time, the situation in Europe is not optimistic. Even in France, which has been fully prepared, the epidemic has spread across the country.
Countries such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal have all become epidemic areas.
On the other side of the ocean, coastal cities in the United States have also begun to see a large number of cases. Other countries on the Atlantic coast have not been spared, but they have been hit differently due to distance or degree of openness.
The epidemic continues to spread around the world, and the European flu "predicted" by East Africa has really come.
As the first country to announce the European pandemic, East Africa was also affected by the European pandemic, and epidemics began to appear in coastal areas of East Africa.
This also means that East Africa cannot keep the European pandemic out of the country. However, fortunately, the East African government is well prepared, and its citizens have high awareness of prevention and have rich experience in responding to epidemics. This means that the epidemic is still within the controllable range of the East African government. within.
And when the time entered February, the horror of the European flu was that it really reached its peak around the world, and a large number of infected people began to die, especially in super large cities such as London and New York.
Moreover, most of the dead were young adults, which undoubtedly further triggered panic in various countries, especially France. President Clemenceau convened an emergency meeting and introduced a more stringent epidemic control bill.
After all, for the French government today, population is the most precious asset. After losing a large number of people in the war, France's population structure has already been damaged. Now Clemenceau and other French leaders do not want to have another population crisis. big losses.
As France prepares to launch the second round of anti-plague work, European and American countries also have to learn from France and East Africa, because this flu not only affects ordinary people, but also some politicians and businessmen have begun to be affected, which makes people in various countries realize The horror of the European influenza pandemic has forced all countries to follow up and adopt corresponding epidemic prevention policies.
(End of chapter)