Shadow of great britain

In Göttingen Hospital, sunlight shines through the tall windows on the long corridor.

Arthur glanced into the operating room through the thick white curtains. The operating room in the 19th century was very different from the hospital a hundred years later.

Even an outstanding institution like the University of Göttingen cannot escape the characteristics of the times. Everywhere you look you can see the residual atmosphere of ancient medicine in the Middle Ages.

The environment in the operating room cannot be called clean and bright. The heavy curtains are drawn to keep out the natural light. The indoor light source relies on a few dim oil lamps. The swaying firelight reflects the dim light on the scalpels and metal tools. . Instead, it is more like a small theater occupied by wooden benches and iron operating tables.

Even though the room was filled with the pungent smell of potions and alcohol, the scene still made people feel far away from modern cleanliness and order.

This surgical operation was personally performed by Professor John Blumenbach, dean of the School of Medicine. This world-famous anatomist and professor of medicine is not only well-known for his research on anthropology and ethnology, but also for his work in surgery. He is also a master in surgery.

Blumenbach stood next to the operating table, wearing a dark wool coat and a leather apron, the hem of which had been stained red by the patient's blood.

His assistants also wore no sterile surgical gowns in the modern sense, instead wearing heavy academic gowns and the same surgical aprons.

The professor's hands were not wearing gloves, but he was holding the scalpel directly like many old doctors of his generation. In the current era when there is no awareness of sterility, wearing gloves during surgery is often regarded as unprofessional, because many people think that it will affect the flexible operation of the scalpel.

In the tense and repressive atmosphere, Blumenbach's voice was low and clear, and his instructions were conveyed to his assistants one by one. In the air, there was only the slight "click" sound of the scalpel cutting the skin and the sound of the assistants quickly delivering tools. The unlucky doctor's patient was simply fixed on the operating table with a bandage. In the early days of the development of anesthesia technology, most patients could only rely on a few sips of spirits and laudanum to relieve the coming severe pain.

If you meet a quack doctor, the patient may have regained consciousness before the operation is over. It is self-evident what consequences this will lead to. From time to time, there are several screams like killing pigs in the hospital, which is proof. After all, not everyone has the courage to scrape bones to cure poison.

Fortunately, Blumenbach is not among the ranks of quacks. As one of the top surgeons in Germany, his movements are precise and decisive, as if he is handling a precious anatomical specimen.

His deep understanding of human body structure makes every cut precise and sharp. The angle and depth of the cut perfectly meet the needs of the surgery, and there will never be any more cuts.

The medical students observing on the side were staring at the professor's movements intently, even blinking very rarely, for fear of missing any small detail. Because everyone knows how rare such a learning opportunity is.

If others didn't tell, it would be difficult for anyone to tell that Blumenbach, who was sweating profusely on the operating table, was already eighty-one years old. However, for an eighty-one-year-old professor, it is respectable enough to insist on continuing to teach on the podium. And even if he wanted to do the surgery in person like today, his age would not allow it.

Because in the opinion of a certain swineherd, the difference between surgery and pig killing lies only in the purpose. One wants to save lives, and the other wants to take lives. However, there is no difference in the external manifestations of the two, and they are also very costly. strength.

Of course, no one would say this in front of Blumenbach, not even Gauss, the director of the observatory, Herbart, the dean of philosophy, or the successive principals and superintendents, all had to do it in front of this old professor of medicine. Be obedient and take the lesson.

This old man was recognized as a genius boy when he was 16 years old, and studied for medical degrees at the University of Jena and the University of Göttingen. He became a doctor of medicine at the University of Göttingen at the age of 23, and was appointed as a supernumerary medical professor at Göttingen at the age of 24. , became a full professor at the age of 26, 11 years before the outbreak of the French Revolution.

When the Thermidorians ended the Revolution and formed the Directory, Blumenbach had already been elected as a foreign fellow of the Royal Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Napoleon launched the Brumaire Coup, and Blumenbach gained the title of member of the American Philosophical Society.

When Napoleon invaded Spain and his nephew Louis Bonaparte was born, Blumenbach was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Society.

In 1812, when Napoleon evacuated Moscow and the British burned the U.S. Capitol and the White House, Blumenbach became secretary of the Royal Scientific Society of Hanover and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

When Napoleon was exiled, he became the royal physician appointed by the Duke of Cambridge, the governor of Hanover.

And last year, the title of academician of the French Academy of Sciences also belatedly fell on the old man's head.

However, what makes Blumenbach most proud is not his countless academician titles, but the Blumenbach Prize, a traveling scholarship established for students at the University of Göttingen. Established in 1825, it aims to support talented young doctors and naturalists on campus. The biggest reason for establishing this scholarship is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Professor Blumenbach receiving his doctorate in Göttingen.

British stewards know that the longer a person serves in a department, the greater his power and influence.

Even if he is just an ordinary department clerk, having served in the department for 58 years is enough to make his status in the department extremely special.

Even junior clerks can make a career out of their qualifications, let alone Blumenbach, who was once a young genius and is now an old genius.

Moreover, due to the special nature of the teaching profession, Blumenbach has naturally brought out many influential students after teaching in Göttingen for so many years.

Among them, his most famous student recently came to Göttingen to participate in the European Electromagnetic Conference.

That was Mr. Alexander von Humboldt, the president of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.

Even when the Duke of Sussex came to visit the University of Göttingen, he could summon other professors, but only for Blumenbach, the Duke of Sussex stated in advance that he had to visit in person.

Because when the Duke of Sussex and several of his princes and brothers were studying in Göttingen, Blumenbach was already a highly respected old professor.

After so many years, other professors usually achieve less and less as they grow older, but Blumenbach achieves more and more with his experience. The "Principles of Physiology" and "Handbook of Comparative Anatomy" written by him have always been the basic textbooks for medical schools in German universities, and even many medical schools in the UK and France have included them as required subjects.

His anthropological work "Treatise on Ten Skulls" laid the foundation for craniometry and pioneered the idea that "there are five major human species, but only one species".

That is to say, from Blumenbach, we finally have Caucasian race (white race), Mongolian race (yellow race), Malay race (brown race), Ethiopian race (black race) and American race (red race). ) concept.

Moreover, this genius old man also severely refuted some racist scholars who used his theory to cause trouble, and pointed out to the point: the morphological differences between human races are mainly caused by climate and lifestyle. In addition, as a supporter of the single origin theory of human beings, Blumenbach insisted that human beings originated from the same starting point, and directly exposed the small thoughts of the multiple origin theorists: the ultimate purpose of the multiple origin theory is to promote A theory of racial inequality.

With these groundbreaking academic achievements, and the fact that his students were blossoming all over Europe, Blumenbach's status as a leading figure in the fields of medicine and biology was directly confirmed.

For such an old gentleman, from a special national representative like Sir Arthur Hastings to a stubborn and troubled student like Bismarck, everyone who met him could only treat him with respect.

Fortunately, Blumenbach doesn't care much about politics. The old man's usual interests and hobbies are almost entirely in academics. In addition to teaching students, he writes books and biographies at home. Occasionally, he comes to the hospital to try his luck if his hands are itchy. Can you come across some surgical procedures that don’t require too much effort?

And the gunshot wound on the cheek that I encountered now was very much to Blumenbach's liking.

The old man was enjoying himself in the operating room, but the school leaders were waiting outside in fear.

Not only were they worried that the student's surgery would not go well, they were also worried that the old man would be exhausted.

Two university sextons, Schaefer and Dolles, even got angry directly outside the operating room.

"Why don't you stop Mr. Blumenbach? Don't you remember that he is eighty-one this year?"

"PhD students are a valuable asset to the school, and Mr. Blumenbach even more so! I don't believe that with so many professors and lecturers in the medical school, Mr. Blumenbach has to perform this surgery himself!"

When the doctors heard this, they could only laugh and apologize: "We thought so too, but you know, Mr. Brumbach personally spoke, and we...we didn't dare to stop him."

"And the situation was critical at the time. If we were too busy arguing with him, we might miss the best time for treatment."

When Schaefer heard the doctors' excuses, he puffed his beard and glared angrily: "You are just quibbling!"

Seeing that the two groups were about to quarrel, Arthur reached out and interrupted: "Well, it's too late to regret now. Besides, I just went in and had a look. Fortunately, the operation went very smoothly. Blumenbach Although Mr. Wang is old, he has rich surgical experience, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

After finishing speaking, Arthur turned the conversation to the two sextons. He still remembered that these two guys suspected of reporting him to the Confederate Parliament.

"Has the problem been clarified? Who is the student lying inside? What is the reason for the suicide?"

This time, before the two sextons could speak, Bismarck rushed forward and reported: "Sir, lying inside is a doctoral student from the medical school, Mr. Matthias Schleiden. After the incident, the student The Federation immediately sent people to find Mr. Schleiden’s roommate. According to them, Mr. Schleiden was a new doctoral student who just enrolled this year, and his roommate had just met him. However, they remembered hearing about Schleiden. My husband said that he studied law at the University of Jena.”

"A law student with a Ph.D. chose to study medicine?" Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise: "His field span is too big."

"That's right." Agares, who was riding on the door frame, agreed: "It's like studying history as an undergraduate, but ended up getting a PhD in electromagnetics."

Arthur glanced at the sinister red devil, and then asked: "Did you get his student file?"

Dossler took out the folder from his arm and handed it over: "The file is here. Based on his information, we cannot completely rule out whether his suicide was due to political reasons."

As a typical continental European country, even though Hanover is already one of the most free countries in Germany, the records that should be in the student files are still there. Moreover, since Schleiden spent his undergraduate years at the University of Jena, his undergraduate experience was recorded very clearly in accordance with the resolution of the Carlsbad Decree.

Arthur just glanced at it and saw a lot of things from the file.

Mr. Schleiden was born in the Free City of Hamburg and came from a doctor's family in Hamburg. At the age of 19, he entered the University of Jena to study law. During his time at Jena, his performance was neither outstanding nor bad. However, judging from the lack of discipline and punishment and the lack of transfer records, he should be a very well-behaved student, at least not a troublemaker like Bismarck and Heine.

According to Schleiden's self-description in the file, he graduated from the University of Jena in 1827. Later, he opened his own law firm in Hamburg in accordance with his father's wishes.

Logically speaking, a lawyer with a sole proprietorship is unlikely to continue to pursue a doctorate, especially to study medicine across disciplines.

Because in terms of social status, although lawyers and doctors are both good professions, lawyers' working environment and social status are obviously more respectable than doctors.

Schleiden also explained this in the archives.

He claimed that he had no talent for business and was tired of arguing with others in court. He grew up in a doctor's family, so he wanted to change his mindset and study medicine to see if he could rekindle his interest in life.

As soon as Arthur put away the file, Dossler immediately spoke up, "Sir, I think that once the operation is over and the patient has recovered, we should immediately conduct a political investigation on him. I seriously doubt that this might not be a suicide. As we all know, if someone really wanted to commit suicide, why would they choose to do it in the square? He wanted to attract attention so much, perhaps because his original purpose was not suicide. It is possible that some students intended to use suicide as an excuse to cover up their political behavior after their unsuccessful riot in Göttingen, just like the series of events that happened in Italy not long ago."