Dark-Haired British Doctor Chapter 501

Episode 501: Plague [4]

Now that we had entered a place where smallpox was prevalent, neither Liston nor I could ever return to Edo City.

So I decided to send a letter to Captain Charles.

Of course, this guy couldn't go in either, so we took measures to have him go with an interpreter and deliver the letter at the actual entrance.

The samurai side was also anxious.

In fact, wasn't smallpox traditionally a terrifying epidemic in Northeast Asia?

“Get it across quickly so there’s no wasted time!”

“Make sure to check to see if something like this happens in other villages!”

The samurai who appeared to be a leader was indeed a leader.

I was sending people here and there.

Of course, it happened under my supervision.

This wasn't that difficult to convince.

"The curse of the ghost is easily transmitted. You will likely be fine if you drink the holy water, but if you are not careful, your lord could be in danger."

“Ugh.”

what…….

There is also a saying that the West is about honor and the East is about loyalty.

This is a worldview that considers it almost the highest virtue for a person to be loyal to another person by giving up their life.

By the 21st century, even that kind of thing has faded away, and we are entering an era where subordinates are not loyal and superiors are not loyal. If you were to say something like that to the 19th century Japanese samurai class, you would likely have the rare experience of your head and body being separated.

These guys are literally the ones who live and die for loyalty.

“Wash your hands! Wash them thoroughly! No, cut them off!”

“That crazy guy. Just give it to him like this and tell him to wipe his hands.”

"ah."

Because the story of life and death is not just a saying but an actual description, unexpected remarks continued to be made.

Fortunately, except for the samurai leader, no one was willing to swear allegiance by cutting off their own hands, so persuasion was easy.

Above all, it was better for the leader to return safely than to make a loyal subordinate a cripple, so he followed me obediently.

“By the way, what about them?”

Liston asked, looking at the people standing or lying in four groups on the field.

Uninfected, close contacts (family members of infected), infected, and critically ill patients.

It was classified into four like this.

'Severely ill patients are abandoned.'

It's heartbreaking, but it's impossible to save a seriously ill patient.

Of course, I will provide you with food and water… … .

There is nothing more that can be done.

In the first place, there is no food or drink right now.

After our Captain Charles delivered the letter to Edo, and it was safely delivered to the Earl of Elgin, we had to wait until the Earl sent us supplies before we could use the supplies we had brought with us.

Of course, there will also be forced conscription in the village.

I'm going to do it, but…

'What could be here…?'

It's a sight I've never seen in England.

Upton, where I lived, was quite a rural town, but since I lived with Joseph, who was very wealthy, I never went hungry, and I never felt any lack in life.

How was it in London?

Except for the first few months, it was almost a life of luxury.

Honestly, I feel better now than I did in my previous life.

Except for eating.

'Is this what it means to be so poor?'

Of course, if you go to the East End, there are plenty of horrific sights beyond the grinding poverty.

The British, slaves of capitalism, even take tourists there for money.

But even that shabby space boasts a 19th-century look, no matter what.

In contrast, this place truly preserves the appearance of a magnificent medieval oriental village.

Edo city was much better than this, but it's surprising that a place like this exists just an hour or two away on foot.

“What should I do?”

As I was thinking about that, Liston asked me.

Of course, Liston, who was a true doctor, couldn't stand to waste time in this situation.

“Ah. First of all… there’s no way over there.”

“There’s no way? No, is that what a doctor would say?”

“Do you remember when the bridge collapsed before?”

“Ah… Triage. Remember?”

I've said it time and time again, but Liston is a genius.

It might be a stretch to say he's the smartest person I've ever seen, but he's at least pretty smart.

In 21st century Korea, doctors are essentially a collection of people who studied the best in science in Korea, and being one of those who is quite smart is generally considered a genius.

me?

I am…….

Well, inside it was just an ordinary axis.

“Even back then, we couldn’t all try to save each other.”

“Let’s maximize efficiency with available resources, is this it?”

“Yes.”

“But… you’re using sorcery now, not medicine. Is sorcery like that?”

Sometimes, when I see things like this, I think I'm a bit stupid.

Why are you being fooled by the smoke that was put on to deceive the public?

Well… … Since I ate some stinking cow pus as a saint, let's just move on.

Later on, you can just open up and say, 'This is how it is, hyung.'

Yes, I think it would be better to take a break for now to move in unison.

"Of course. If anyone can draw out divine power, it's Jesus. I'm just borrowing it little by little."

“Ah… so that’s how it is again. Well, you’re quite distant from Jesus.”

"Yes. If I were Jesus, I would have started by feeding the five loaves and two fish. People were starving, so I wouldn't have just handed out gold nuggets."

“That’s true too.”

So I decided to go with the Shaman meta.

At least when you're in Asia, I think it's okay to just do it this way.

It's not that I see Asia as uncivilized…

It's just that there are too many people who are still stuck in the pre-modern era.

You might say that there are Silhak scholars, but if you look at the appearance of Silhak scholars, you will be able to see why they had no choice but to practice Silhak.

First of all, Park Ji-won, who is famous for his travel diary, also failed the civil service exam.

Since it was a Joseon version of the yin-seo system, it would have been difficult to truly gain vested rights.

The same goes for Hong Dae-yong.

Jeong Yak-yong is an exception, but there is nothing more foolish than bringing up an exceptional case when talking about the general trend.

"I told you you had to read web novels to write them, didn't I? Nothing makes me more angry than someone saying, 'Hey, that guy did it!'"

When I said I was having a hard time, a web novel writer who was a doctor gave me some serious advice, so I skimmed through some web novels.

to be honest…….

The level has dropped.

So I said I wouldn't read and write, and I almost got beat up.

When I was young, I learned boxing and my nickname was Bundang-gu Ilbo, but I never thought that was true.

I heard that while spinning the weaving and doing a river blow, I knelt down and cried for the first time in my life.

Anyway, at this time, Northeast Asia was still a good place to live, at least for the privileged class, so it had to be seen that they did not particularly want change.

In that situation, would you like it if I were to whine and try to make it blossom for no reason?

‘There are many archers in Joseon… … .’

Have you seen <Final X-Gi Bow>?

There are warriors like that in every village, so it's questionable why they were affected by the Horan. Anyway, if even a short story were to fly, I wouldn't know about Liston, but I would go straight to the afterlife.

Yes, from today onwards I am a true Yaso shaman for a while.

"Now, carry these unclean things in there! Wrap your hands in the cloth I gave you, and when you're done carrying them, burn them! Because they're unclean!"

It's hard to make up your mind, but isn't it easy to move forward after making up your mind?

It was originally a rather active group, but it became even more so after the 19th century.

Otherwise, I couldn't have survived.

“Hi!”

The samurai, strangely enough, worked diligently, oblivious to the fact that the Red Coats were tasked with using their guns as sticks to drive the few infected who could walk into other buildings, while they themselves were tasked with carrying and transporting the seriously ill patients.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to exert any strength since I was so thin, but fortunately, the patients were much thinner and I was able to hear clearly.

Of course, it would have been easier because there were samurai with decent physiques.

Even so, they look weak compared to our proud Red Coats.

“Okay, you guys, get in there now!”

"yes yes."

So, while I had my subordinates move the severely ill and the general infected, Liston and I moved the contacts and the non-infected to different houses.

Looking at the house, I couldn't help but sigh.

It looked almost like a hut.

The house with the tatami mats seemed to be a fairly well-to-do house.

Most of them are just mud houses, mud.

'No, well… … thatched houses are like that too… … ?'

When I was in the military, I went on a pilgrimage to a military academy as a military doctor, and I once slept in a thatched-roof house.

I didn't sleep because I wanted to, but my schedule was so messed up that it ended up like that.

The kids were sleeping outside in sleeping bags, and I was sleeping inside as a captain, but I ran away while I was sleeping.

and…….

At night, a marten came out from the roof and walls of the thatched house.

“We are outside.”

“Outside? You want to sleep out?”

“Then are you going inside?”

“Ah… no. I’ll make it instead, you know.”

“Make it……?”

“Yeah. You can make it. Like a tent.”

So I was about to sleep out, but Liston groaned and pulled out a knife.

Since all of our subordinates had just finished their work, our attention naturally turned to that side.

Liston, being a man accustomed to being the center of attention and unable to help but be accustomed to it, didn't mind at all.

I just walked along and stood in front of a tree that looked like it had died from a long drought, and even the bark had already been peeled off and boiled to eat.

There were quite a few trees in the village, indicating that it must have originally been a very scenic village.

“Ugh!”

Liston swung his sword.

“Um, um…….”

“If you keep doing that, you’ll end up leaving me.”

“No, I’m jealous… Huh.”

Since samurai are swordsmen, they must know the strength of a dry tree, right?

It wouldn't be for nothing that they used hollow bamboo for the cutting test.

So I clicked my tongue, but that too only lasted for a moment.

Liston, who was not just a Sword Master but a Grand Master, cut down the black dried tree with one stroke.

'No… is that a lightsaber?'

Liston, who displayed a magical power that seemed to be that of a Jedi Knight, cut down a tree of an appropriate length and planted it in the ground as a pillar, then placed a roof on top of it.

Then, in no time, a sort of makeshift building with no walls but a roof was completed.

“Is this good enough?”

“Oh, I see.”

“Hey guys!”

"yes yes!"

“Take this and build it yourself.”

“Ha, hi!”

Even in that short time, he managed to finish making a block of wood large enough for the rest of the children to lie down and sleep on.

'Should we just invade the shogunate like this?'

As I looked at that sight, a cheeky thought crossed my mind for a moment.

I did it because I thought something would happen if I just had Liston.