On the border of Bloomsbury, King's Cross, Klekenville and Farringdon in London, in the centre of cultural and academic institutions such as the University of London, King's College, Gray's Solicitor's House and the British Museum, there is a site called Justices' Lane.

As the name suggests, the name alone speaks to the authority of the territory in the entire British legal community.

Not only is it home to numerous well-known London law firms, it is also home to the headquarters of the English Bar Association and, of course, most importantly, it represents the Court of Chancery, the Court of Chancery.

Since the establishment of the Court of Chancery in the 15th century, the Court of Chancery has exercised its final adjudication power as the Supreme Court of Appeal of Britain, except in exceptional cases such as treason and aristocratic trials.

And such a transcendent status naturally makes the Judge of Chance a lifelong goal for all those who make a living under the British legal system.

It's just that this holy place, which is in the hearts of all British lawyers and judges, has attracted many uninvited guests today.

Among them were doctors who had come to report the situation, members of the local health committees who had come to ask for help, priests and elders of the faithful who held positions in the local parish councils, and of course, the officials of the various departments who came to inquire about the news.

Rowan and Arthur, dressed in crisp uniforms, were among the officers of the Royal Navy and the Army.

Arthur followed in their footsteps, and from time to time a few words of scolding from the officers would ring in his ears.

"I had long suggested to the Admiralty that a strict ban on merchant shipping should be imposed, but the Cabinet at the time was concerned about commercial interests and that this would affect trade revenues. Well, now cholera is imported directly from the port of Sunderland, and I have heard that in just over a month, there have been nearly 400 cases in Sunderland, and the death rate is as high as 50%. ”

"Sunderland's situation is already so bad? Half of the four hundred died? I remember that the whole of Sunderland only has a population of just over 10,000, right? With such an outbreak of cholera, can the loading and unloading of cargo at the dock still proceed normally? ”

"Proceed? Perform a fart! All merchant ships are now under quarantine in the port. The Duke of Wellington had demanded a 40-day quarantine on all ships, but the merchants who were engaged in ocean trade were not happy, believing that doing so would delay business. Didn't you see that when the Tories were out of power a while ago, they also danced happily? As soon as the Whigs came up, they immediately opened the door to quarantine, first from 40 days to 20 days, and then from 20 days to 10 days. Well, the Admiralty has just officially ordered that all ships entering the country during the emergency period will be subject to a 60-day quarantine. ”

"No wonder I just received an order to quarantine the Agamemnon, which has returned from its duty in the Mediterranean, at the Portsmouth base. During the quarantine period, all officers and soldiers were not allowed to go ashore, and anyone who violated discipline was court-martialed. It turns out that the Admiralty is also treating us as a potential source of infection? ”

"The Agamemnon is back? Scold! In my opinion, those unlucky people won't want to get off the boat for at least half a year. I have just heard from an old fellow in the Admiralty that the Admiralty seems to be working on a fight against merchant ships with the help of this cholera epidemic. According to the usual style of the Admiralty, the Agamemnon was idle in the harbor, and they would certainly be thinking of finding something for the sailors. I'm sure the Admiralty will 100% throw them out to fight smugglers. ”

The army officer on the side heard the Navy's discussion and interjected coldly.

"Is the Admiralty willing to fight smuggling? Isn't Britain's largest smuggling syndicate the Royal Navy itself? Are you planning to take everyone else out and monopolize the smuggling profits? ”

"It seems that the price of tea and opium in London is going to rise again, should we stock up a little in advance?"

"The Royal Navy doesn't use! Lord Hazbury, the ambassador to Russia, sent back a message from Moscow last year: 'If disaster befalls Moscow, then no one can stop it from spreading throughout Europe.' As a result, the Admiralty did not seem to take the matter to heart, and the tax collectors of the Port Authority were a bunch of mongrels who were only shrewd when it came to counting the declarations. ”

"You bitches know what? There had been a riot in Liverpool a few days ago, and a dock worker and his wife had diarrhoea, and the doctor was going to take him and his wife to quarantine, but the couple immediately started a fuss when they heard that they were not in the same hospital. The woman fainted crying, and the man waved his fist and wanted to hit someone, but fortunately he had no strength to pull, so he was quickly subdued......"

The naval officer frowned and said, "That's not it, where is there a riot here?" ”

The scar-faced army officer glared and said, "Shut your mouth and listen carefully!" We thought it was over. Unexpectedly, as soon as the neighbors who lived near the couple saw this situation, they shouted one after another: 'The army has started beating people again!' At this point, all the women and children who had been hiding in the house and observing ran out of the house. You didn't see it, there were crowds of people everywhere, just like thunder in the sky and it was going to rain.

And those guys who had nothing to do nearby also gathered after seeing that there were many people here. Children threw rocks at us, women spat at us, and dock workers who had just gotten off work stood in front of them to prevent us from getting close enough to arrest us. We saw that the situation was not right, so we hurriedly sent a clever boy back to the camp to call for reinforcements. In the end, the 82nd Regiment dispatched a full company of troops to get the couple to the hospital. ”

"And that's not all! When we got people to the hospital, we found that there were thousands of people outside the hospital. You also know that our old British tradition, usually with so many people gathered, nothing good will happen. We stayed at the hospital until the evening, and sure enough, as soon as the sun went down, they started ......"

The naval officer scoffed: "What? Your army did the same thing as the Peterloo tragedy again? ”

When the army officer heard the word Petru, he immediately felt as if he had been stepped on his tail, and he roared, "Fuck you! Petru is a cavalryman, what does it have to do with our infantry? If you want to ask for experience, I suggest you go to Hyde Park and ask the Guards Cavalry Regiment, they have always been the best at this. ”

The naval officer asked, "So what did you do with it then?" ”

The army officer took out a pipe from his pocket and leaned against the marble pillar in front of the courthouse and smoked: "As soon as it was dark, they began to use the old craft that has been passed down for centuries. Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, the men began to climb over the wall and storm the hospital with their small maces, intending to rescue the couple. The do-good people took the opportunity to light a fire near the hospital, intending to send us all to God. If we hadn't guessed that they would have done this in the early morning, and had dispatched enough troops in advance, I guess I would have been bragging to you in the graveyard at this point. ”

"Did you catch the guy who stormed the hospital?"

"Dozens of them have been arrested, and it depends on what the Ministry of Internal Affairs intends to deal with. However, I have heard that the Ministry of Home Affairs has been busy with the Swain riots lately, and that they have arrested hundreds of rioting peasants in Kent and York in the south, but the situation has not slowed down for the time being. At this time, the Home Office should not have time to deal with these dozens of people in Liverpool for the time being. ”

Arthur walked past the officers, and the doctors standing in the inner hall were obviously much more civilized than the officers, but judging by their red faces, their arguments were no less intense than those of the navy and army.

"I don't think the medical community in Britain has a systematic understanding of cholera in the current situation. In such cases, traditional conservative phlebotomy is the most effective. Based on my experience in Manchester, it is surmised that cholera is a blood-borne toxin that causes a neurological disturbance that causes significant venous congestion that blocks the flow of healthy arterial blood to the lungs, and that drawing venous blood can apparently reverse the course of the disease. ”

"With all due respect, Mr. Galt, I cannot agree with you. My experience in Howden has taught me that phlebotomy does not work for all patients, and that your success in Manchester is likely to be a matter of chance. Regardless of how cholera is transmitted, first of all, I don't think it's a bloodborne toxin, but a gastrointestinal disease. ”

"I also agree with Mr. Ayr. All patients had profuse vomiting and diarrhoea, suggesting that the toxins were accumulating in their digestive tract. And the best treatment for this disease is to induce vomiting. In this case, emetics such as calomel, croton oil, mustard, camphor, etc. are definitely the best choice for cholera. But we have to pay attention to the dosage, especially calomel, I don't think it should exceed 20 capsules each time. If the patient refuses to take the medication, we can also provide some opium and wine to help them get the medication down. ”

When Arthur heard this, he only felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

Whether it was a large dose of bloodletting or calomel and camphor, it was somewhat beyond his cognition.

If the ad hoc Central Health Commission does promote these treatments as guidelines, it's hard not to wonder whether it will help patients recover or hasten their deaths.

He was tempted to join the discussion with the doctors in front of him, but he hesitated, and in the end he did not act rashly.

This is not only due to his low profile in medicine, but also to the fact that the name Arthur Hastings is not a popular title in the medical community.

A year earlier, the story of his arrest of doctors involved in the body robbery in London had long spread throughout Britain.

Although there were many doctors who supported his actions, they believed that the group of doctors who used illegal corpses to conduct autopsy studies tarnished the reputation of the entire medical community.

On the flip side, however, it has led to a sharp decline in the reputation of Scotland Yard among doctors seeking groundbreaking research.

If it is more appropriate, most of Arthur's supporters were old British doctors, and bloodletting and other medieval healing methods were their specialty.

And those doctors who dare to innovate, because of the influence of centuries of corpse theft, have always been regarded as marginalized in the medical profession, which is why Arthur here hears that the treatment is mostly old-fashioned.

Just as Arthur pondered how to solve this puzzle, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in front of him.

It was a familiar face, a smart dress, a serious expression and meticulously groomed sideburns, which was none other than Mr. Chadwick, the secretary of the Chancery Hall who had brought good news to Arthur.

Chadwick first turned his gaze to Director Rowan, who was beside Arthur: "Superintendent Rowan, it's great to see you here, and it saves me from sending someone to Scotland Yard to inform you." The Emergency Health Conference has just ended, and the Lord Chancellor and the Home Office are planning to convene a joint meeting with the Admiralty, the General Post Office, the Customs Service and Scotland Yard to announce the decision on the controls. ”

When Luo Wan heard this, he nodded slightly and said goodbye to Arthur: "Then I'll go first." Arthur, you can find out the situation here first, and when the meeting is over, you can come to us in the conference room, and remember to bring your report. ”

"Understood, sir."

Arthur watched Rowan out of sight, turned to Chadwick and asked, "Has the final decision been made?" ”

Chadwick pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his head: "It's not so much a final resolution as we intend to adopt all the proposals of both factions." Mr. William Pym, the head of the quarantine department, who had been dismissed after being attacked by the Chamber of Commerce, has been reinstated, and he will be transferred to the Privy Council to work full-time on the development of a new set of regulations for the quarantine of merchant ships.

Mr. Henry Halford, Chairman of the Central Advisory Health Committee, also presented a report at the meeting that has just ended, which, in my opinion, is quite complete, although it may be a bit difficult to implement. ”

Arthur was not too polite to the gentleman, who had been Bentham's private secretary, and he asked directly, "May I see the report?" ”

"Of course, no problem, anyway, it won't be long before this report will be sent to Scotland Yard."

Chadwick said as he pulled out the papers in his hand and handed them to Arthur.

Arthur only glanced at it, his brow furrowed, and he finally understood what Chadwick meant by bad execution.

In its report, the Central Health Commission, in addition to reiterating the need for a strict quarantine regime and quarantine measures to prevent the invasion and spread of cholera, also demanded that the government closely monitor the trade and navigable waters within the territory and ensure that all coastal residents are not allowed to associate with smugglers.

In areas where cholera outbreaks are detected, special local health committees must be quickly established to isolate cholera patients or suspected patients.

Specific measures include, but are not limited to:

1. All houses where cholera patients live or have lived in the past should be marked with conspicuous signs such as "Patient" and "Attention", and warning signs should not be removed without the permission of the local health authority.

2. Other people in the house are not allowed to go out or communicate with the outside world at will, and the local government will send special personnel to deliver food and other daily necessities to the quarantined people, and only when the person delivering the food has already gone away, the people in the house can go out to pick up the food.

3. After the patient is transferred, the house and built-in furniture should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with lime water, and the windows should be opened for ventilation for at least one week.

4. Patients who have recovered from cholera or who have interacted with patients should continue to be observed for at least 20 days.

5. Cholera deceased persons must be buried in an isolation area near a cholera hospital.

6. Local magistrates must make every effort to prevent their area from interacting with towns or neighbouring villages where the epidemic has occurred.

As soon as Arthur saw this report, he immediately understood that these measures must not be implemented in their entirety.

Whatever the members of the House of Commons may think of this report, which is full of coercive measures, even if it were to pass alive in front of the MPs, the people of Britain would have to obey for a week at most.

At least in London, if you want the citizens of London to hold out for half a month, you have to mobilize the police at Scotland Yard.

If they wanted to hold out for a month, they would have to send the Guards cavalry and Cold Creek infantry stationed in Hyde Park and the Tower of London.

If they wanted them to hold out for three months, Arthur would have to advise the War Office, and even the Duke of Wellington, to ask him to resume the mass conscription of the Napoleonic Wars.

Arthur took a deep breath and put the report in his bag: "It is indeed a very professional report, and I understand Mr. Halford's professionalism, but I guess he must have referred to many suggestions from William Roking and David Barry in Russia?" This works in Russia, but it probably doesn't work in Britain. The elections for the lower house are nearing the end, and in order to be able to push for parliamentary reform, more liberal MPs will definitely be elected this time. I'm willing to bet that as soon as you get this report to the House of Commons, Mr. Halford will soon have to roll off his position as Chairman of the Central Health Commission. ”

Chadwick was also troubled by this, as Bentham's private secretary, he had always been a liberal with utilitarian principles, but he could not help but take the hard line of the Prussian government when confronted with the situation of cholera.

He patted his head and said, "The chief justice is also having a headache about this matter, and now the big guys don't have any good ideas." If you want to be free and don't want cholera to find you, how can there be such a good thing in the world. Although I don't like the Russians either, I have to admit that they have shown some success in cholera control, which is why the Central Health Committee decided to learn from their experience. So, we have to find a way to convince the parliament to accept this. I'm going to crack my head in order to solve this matter today. Arthur, do you have any good advice on this matter? ”

(End of chapter)