Back at the beginning of the year, Fort Riley Barracks, Kansas, USA.

In one of the kitchens, Chef Cooper prepares dinner for the soldiers. Today's main course is pork stew with potatoes, vegetable salad, beef stew with tomatoes, and a few other side dishes. The soldiers who came here for training this time are about to end their training missions and devote themselves to the European theater of war, under the command of General Pershing. The dinner was both a celebration and a farewell. So the cook Cooper was instructed by the barracks commander to purchase a few large mouthfuls of fat pigs from the countryside in advance to prepare to improve the diet.

When it was time to kill the pig in the morning, Cooper was a little strange. These fat pigs are not as struggling as the pigs when they usually kill pigs, they seem to be a little wilting, and they are quite cooperative. However, the killing was all killed, and it should enter the soldier's belly at night, so he didn't think much about it, but planned to warn the farmer Bob the next time he went to that farm, not to be shoddy, otherwise he wouldn't buy anything from him.

After careful preparation, watching the aroma of the pork and potatoes stewed in the pot, Cooper opened the lid of the pot to see if the stew was cooked through. Who knew that the moment he lifted the lid of the pot, he was smoked by the heat and couldn't help sneezing.

Sometimes, as soon as you start the beginning, you will sneeze one after another. It wasn't until the meals were brought to the table that Chef Cooper stopped sneezing. He felt a little cold on his body, his head was dizzy and uncomfortable, he explained a few words to his assistant, ate a little food in a hurry, and then returned to his bed, wrapped in a thick quilt and began to shiver. That night, the military doctor in the barracks came to check on him, told him to drink more hot water, keep warm and rest, and then went to the soldiers' quarters, because several soldiers there also had the same symptoms as the cook Cooper.

That night, the military doctor wrote in his diary: "...... Damn chef Cooper has a cold and is going to eat his assistant's pig food for a few more days, so hopefully he'll get better soon. There were a few mild symptoms of a cold among the soldiers, but the boys were in good health, as long as they drank more hot water, they could survive, unlike that Cooper, who was so big and not as good as a group of children. Tomorrow, I hope everything will be fine, after all, they will set foot on the battlefield of Europe and plunge into this protracted war, may God bless them! ……”

A few days later, some of the lads who were supposed to leave for Fort Riley in Europe were not able to do so. Fifty-two soldiers fell ill in the barracks, accounting for one-third of the entire trainees. Fortunately, the remaining two-thirds of the soldiers did not show symptoms of a cold, and as the troop carriers began to cross the Atlantic to the European front. Along the way, their ship was lucky enough to escape the pursuit of German submarines, and they also managed to bring the flu virus on their bodies to the front line in Europe.

There was an outbreak of influenza in France in April, Spain in May, and Britain in June, but after the doctors diagnosed and treated, they thought it was just an ordinary flu, not too serious, and it was not worth making a fuss.

At the Shanghai wharf in June, cargo ships and cruise ships arrived ashore. Some wharf coolies hurriedly set up gangplanks under the leadership of the foreman, ready to carry goods from above. A foreign sailor was blowing the wind on the deck with a blue face, coughing incessantly. A coolie passing by him peeked and saw that the palm of his mouth was actually bright red with blood.

"This guy ......, isn't it tuberculosis?"

Thinking of this, the coolie's face turned white with fright, and under the vicious gaze of the crew, he ran to the dock boss to report what he had discovered. The dock boss was nervous, and hurriedly found the captain to ask if there was a tuberculosis patient on the ship. Tuberculosis is the name of the Chinese people, and in the West this disease is called tuberculosis of the lungs. The captain knew that his crew had undergone a medical examination before embarking on board, and that infectious diseases such as tuberculosis were categorically not allowed on board, so he flatly denied it.

"It's just a mild flu, it's not a big deal!"

The dock boss received the captain's assurance, and with a sense of confidence, he continued to arrange for the coolies to load and unload the cargo. As for the coolie who reported the news, he was rewarded with three times his daily wages and sent home early, so as not to affect the morale of the coolies.

In this way, the Spanish flu, which shocked the world in later generations, quietly landed on Shanghai Beach, and then swept the entire Chinese country within a year or two.

Wang Mengxiong only found out that something was wrong when he went to Chengxin School in mid-June, and about half of the students who used to be full of classes were absent, which is a very rare situation since the school opened. When he asked Mr. after class, he learned that these students had taken leave for one reason, and the leave slip was all for one reason - occasional cold.

Wang Mengxiong scoffed, isn't it just a common cold, but he wants to come up with such a literary title. But if you think about it carefully, it's not right, one or two wind chills are called colds, and if as many as one or two hundred students have wind chills, it is a flu. Thinking of this, he was suddenly shocked that he had forgotten such an important matter. That's right, in 1918, a worldwide plague broke out - the Spanish flu. In fact, it is really unjust to call it the Spanish flu, which first broke out in the American military camp, and later in Britain and France. It's just that in order not to affect the morale of the soldiers, the ** of these three countries secretly covered up this matter. On the contrary, King Alfonso XIII of Spain was more honest and took the initiative to admit that he was infected, and as a result, the flu was named the Spanish flu, which should actually be called the American flu.

This is like the new crown pneumonia virus in later generations, all kinds of research have pointed the finger at the Fort Trick Biochemical Base in the United States, but that unreliable guy is called the Huaguo virus, and he is deliberately throwing the blame.

"You have to think about what to do, because after this flu epidemic, 500 million people around the world have been infected and more than 40 million people have died, which is more than the total number of people killed in the First World War. It is said that the end of World War I has something to do with this flu, after all, the epidemic prevention can't be prevented, who still has the heart to fight! ”

After school, Wang Mengxiong did not rush home, but went to the Axe Gang to find Jing Dingcheng.

"What? Do you suspect that this could be a plague that is circulating all over the world? But why don't I say a word about this plague, both at home and abroad? ”

Jing Dingcheng didn't doubt Wang Mengxiong's judgment, after all, his medical skills were inherited and recognized by him personally. However, news of the plague is not something that can be released casually. Otherwise, it will cause panic, and the consequences will not be something that one person can afford.

"What are you nervous about, I won't say it to the outside world, this is not to discuss with you, to see what can be done for us ordinary people from a personal point of view. This time the wind chill is menacing, and the fatality rate is particularly high, and many people will die. I don't care how many people die abroad, but I feel sorry for one more death of people in China! ”

After Wang Mengxiong finished speaking, he looked at Jing Dingcheng, if it weren't for Wang Yaqiao going out for something, and Jing Dingcheng was only in charge of the Axe Gang, he wouldn't have talked so much nonsense.

"If it's true, you'll have to look into it. Not only to strengthen the protection of the brothers in the gang, but also to quietly release the news to remind the people in Shanghai. But it must be done hidden, so as not to be found by the best people, we did it! ”

"Okay, that's it. Specific measures, let's take a good total! ”