Greece to roman road

Chapter 16 Costebrough

Remember [Strawberry] in one second, fast updates, free to read!

Constantine looked at the grass in his hands and remembered the scene of his previous meeting with Stanley.

At that time, Stanley complained that Europeans in southern Africa were not adapted to the local climate, and people often fell ill. Diseases such as malaria and dysentery were very common.

At that time, Constantine thought that although cinchona bark could treat malaria, the side effects were serious. Unfortunately, artemisinin was not invented until after World War II.

Thinking of this, I took another look at the green grass in my hand, and I felt ecstatic. I finally understood the source of the familiarity. Isn't this Artemisia annua?

In the previous life, because of the invention of artemisinin, China won a Nobel Prize. At that time, the media's public opinion was at a fever pitch, and they took turns reporting on the significance of artemisinin.

At that time, out of curiosity, I personally viewed some pictures of Artemisia annua on the Internet. When talking with Stanley, I also remembered Artemisia annua, so seeing Artemisia annua here naturally felt familiar.

Constantine stood up from the blanket, walked quickly to Nina, and asked eagerly: "Where did you get this grass?"

As he spoke, he handed the half branch of Artemisia annua in his hand to Nina.

Nina didn't understand the situation for a while and asked doubtfully: "What kind of grass?"

Constantine shook the half-branch of Artemisia annua in his hand and said, "This is the grass in my hand. Where did you get it?"

Although the confused Nina was full of doubts, seeing Constantine's resolute attitude, she took Constantine to a small river not far from the rest camp, pointed to the river beach and said, "That's right there."

Constantine quickly walked closer to check, and sure enough, a large area of ​​green weeds on the river beach was Artemisia annua, wasn't it?

Constantine was overjoyed, what an unexpected prey!

In his previous life, Constantine also specifically checked the information on artemisinin, and remembered that malaria can be treated directly with a single medicine. The prescription recorded by Ge Hong more than a thousand years ago: one handful of artemisinin, soaked in two liters of water. Wring out the juice and drink it.

To put it bluntly, this is how to treat malaria. You just need to soak it in water, squeeze out the juice and take it.

Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium and can be transmitted through mosquitoes. During the attack, sometimes there is high fever and sometimes coldness.

This disease was very widespread before the advent of the effective drug quinine.

For example, in ancient China, books described the land south of Lingnan as a "miasma land".

"Jiangnan is humid and humid, and her husband dies young." This is a saying that describes Jiangnan.

Needless to say, the reason for this statement is almost certainly due to the role of malaria.

The disease once protected the African interior from European invasion and became a stumbling block for European colonists.

The landmark meeting for Europeans to carve up Africa was the Berlin Conference in 1884. The Berlin Conference officially kicked off the clarion call for European colonial powers to carve up Africa.

For example, Germany obtained German East Africa (Tanzania) and Namibia after this conference, and sent officials to the colonies to maintain its rule.

Seeing this, people will be confused, why so late?

You must know that the Age of Discovery began around 1500. After that, the Portuguese and Spanish occupied colonies all over the world. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Britain and France occupied large colonies in India and North America.

So why did Europeans begin to fully carve up Africa in 1884? After all, is there any other place in the world that is as close to Europe as Africa?

For example, there are a large number of descendants of Europeans in the Americas, both South and North America, but there are very few descendants of Europeans in southern Africa, and only a small number of white Europeans live in South Africa and Namibia.

The answer is malaria.

The most popular malaria treatment today is quinine, extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree.

Initially, some missionaries saw the indigenous people using cinchona bark to treat malaria, and imitated them to eat cinchona bark. Later, it was confirmed that it was indeed effective.

It was precisely because of the emergence of quinine that it became possible for Europe to carve up Africa.

It's just that cinchona trees have strict requirements on the growing environment and can only be planted in subtropical areas. In terms of obtaining materials, it is definitely not as convenient as the widely distributed Artemisia annua.

Of course, if Constantine wants to make money by selling this medicine, he still has a long way to go.

Apart from anything else, if Constantine had shouted out that Artemisia annua could cure malaria, everyone would not have been stingy with their words of praise, sincerely praising the good news that Constantine's discovery had brought to patients.

As for making money, just think about it, and what happens after that has nothing to do with Constantine.

Countries like Britain, France, Germany and the United States really don't care much about the patent rights of a little Greek prince.

In the face of huge profits, there is really nothing wrong with infringing on other people's patents.

The unexpected discovery of a medicinal ingredient made Constantine less interested in hunting afterward.

The guests invited by Constantine all gained something from the subsequent hunting activities. Seeing that the host Constantine had changed his enthusiasm and lack of interest in the morning, he naturally did not force himself and ended the hunting activity in a hurry.

??????

Costeblu, who hurriedly returned home from the hunting activities at Tatoy Palace, walked to the living room exhausted, took off his tight hunting clothes, and sat relaxed on the sofa.

Perhaps the servant forgot to light the candle, Costebrough thought while sitting on the sofa, the light in the room was dim.

"How about it?"

Costebrough was startled by the sudden sound. He squinted his eyes to adjust to the darkness in the living room. After a while, he arrived at the position facing the garden in the living room, where a middle-aged man was lying on a chair. It was his father, Jon, the founder of Alpha Bank.

"Oh, today's hunting was okay. Did I catch a deer?" Costebrough thought his father was asking about his hunting performance.

"I mean, who is your highness the prince? Is it worth spending time to make friends with?" my father asked.

If you want to be a successful banker, how can you succeed if you can't make a wide range of friends?

Not only should you make a wide range of friends, but you should also make friends with vast energy.

Thinking of his father's past teachings, Costeblu recalled Prince Constantine's performance during the day.

"He is a very sophisticated person, but he is a bit whimsical," Costebrew said when thinking about the African plan.

"But I still obeyed your wishes, father, and expressed my kindness," Costebrew replied.

"Did he make any demands today?"

"No"

"Do you think his African plan is likely to succeed?" Costeblu felt his father questioning him.

"An unrealistic idea," Costebrew replied.

"I heard that the prince has mobilized the Royal Guards. Do you know about it?" Jon asked.

After meeting with Stanley, Constantine simply informed the Guards that a mission would be assigned to them in the near future and asked them to prepare.

"If you want to inherit the family business in the future, you'd better be well-informed." Jon frowned and looked at Costebrew.

"What do you think the king did not stop the prince from mobilizing the guards? What does it mean?" Jon continued to ask.

Costebrough was sweating on his forehead at this time. He racked his brains and didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his father, but he really couldn't think of a reasonable reason.

"I don't know if you are really stupid or lack experience," Jon said, looking a little disappointed when his son looked confused.

"His Majesty the King did not stop it, which shows his attitude. He is supportive," Jon said in a serious and thoughtful manner.

"Yes, the king supports it," Costebrew said.

Furthermore, I thought that His Majesty the King has been on the throne for about 20 years and has good political ability. It is impossible to watch his son spend a lot of money on nonsense and then lose face.

If he supports it, it means that Constantine's plan is indeed possible.

Looking at Costeblu who suddenly understood, Jon nodded.

"Tomorrow you go to Tatoy Palace to contact Constantine and give him a check for 500,000 pounds, saying that the Costebrow family supports his African plan."

Hearing the huge figure of 500,000 pounds, Costebrough was surprised and looked at his father in disbelief.

"Then, what are our requirements for spending 500,000 pounds?" Kesterbrough said.

"You don't have to ask for anything. Prince Constantine will understand. Even if he doesn't understand, His Majesty the King will understand. That's enough."

After saying these words, Jon seemed to lose interest in continuing the conversation, and the room became quiet again.

Only Costebrough was still carefully pondering what his father had just said.

Mobile users please visit

Reading, a better reading experience, bookshelf and computer version are synchronized.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like