Kingdombuilding: All My Inventions Are Novelty

”Hehe, Medical Officer Oscar, just listen to His Highness. The current His Highness is truly knowledgeable and talented.” Lancelot, lying on the bed, chuckled.

Medical Officer Oscar frowned. ”A physician’s heart is benevolent; how can we act recklessly? If Your Highness cannot provide a reason, this old man dares not use such methods.”

This put Simon in a difficult position. The principle of alcohol disinfection couldn’t be explained clearly with words alone; it required experiments to prove. Fresh meat contained antibiotics, which could prevent inflammation to some extent. However, while Simon understood these things, he couldn’t convince Medical Officer Oscar with mere words.

Medical Officer Oscar was a stubborn man, highly confident in his medical skills, and always scornful of unorthodox methods.

Simon said. ”In that case, Medical Officer Oscar, why not follow my instructions?”

”A human life cannot be treated so carelessly.” Medical Officer Oscar frowned.

Lancelot interjected. ”Since you can’t save him anyway, there’s no harm in trying.”

”This old man only said he might not survive, not that he would definitely die. The method Your Highness speaks of is unheard of. If Your Highness truly can treat the wounded, I have a patient here with a festering wound that cannot be healed.” Medical Officer Oscar said.

Hearing this, Simon replied. ”In that case, I will prove it to you, Medical Officer Oscar.”

After briefly treating the wound on his back, Medical Officer Oscar led Simon to the outer room of the medical hall. There, a middle-aged man in tattered clothes lay on the ground, emitting a foul odour. Beside him was a girl about seven or eight years old, softly weeping.

Seeing Medical Officer Oscar, the girl pleaded tearfully. ”Medical Officer Oscar, please save my father. My mother died early, and he’s all I have left. I’ll even sell myself to pay the medical fees.”

Medical Officer Oscar sighed. ”Lillian, it’s not that I won’t save him, but his wound has already festered. I am powerless.”

Lillian continued to sob, heartbroken.

The pitiful cries made Simon’s heart ache. Although he was now a prince of the kingdom, his soul was still that of an ordinary person from his previous life. He understood the hardships of the common people and knew how difficult life was for those at the bottom of society. A simple illness could often ruin a family.

Now, such an event was unfolding before his eyes, and these were his own subjects.

”Medical Officer Oscar, go find some maggots from green-headed flies and place them in the patient’s wound,” Simon said.

Medical Officer Oscar was stunned and said indignantly. ”My Lord, how can you be so frivolous? Maggots eat flesh and bone. How can they be used to treat wounds?”

”Medical Officer Oscar, just do as I say. Otherwise, he will only die. Tell me, do you have any other methods?” Simon suddenly spoke sternly.

He didn’t blame Medical Officer Oscar. The knowledge gap was too vast. To people of this era, the methods he proposed seemed utterly absurd.

Medical Officer Oscar fell silent. The prince had repeatedly suggested these strange methods, and now, seeing his serious expression, it was clear he wasn’t joking. With a sigh, Medical Officer Oscar complied.

Maggot therapy was no secret in modern times. It wasn’t used for fresh wounds but for treating infected, festering wounds. In modern medicine, this was called debridement. Only by completely cleaning away the necrotic tissue could the wound heal.

The larvae of green-headed flies were easy to find in the Eldorian Empire, where toilets were everywhere. Medical Officer Oscar ordered an apprentice to quickly fetch clean larvae and place them in the middle-aged man’s wound.

”My Lord, what should we do now?” Medical Officer Oscar asked, now completely at a loss.

”Remove the outer layer of necrotic tissue and let the maggots clean out the remaining rotten flesh,” Simon instructed.

He wasn’t a medical professional, but the detailed steps for this treatment, along with visual materials, were clearly documented in the system.

While an apprentice handled the festering wound, Simon began explaining the principles of maggot therapy for infected wounds to Medical Officer Oscar, also touching on the roles of alcohol and fresh meat.

However, while maggot therapy was somewhat understandable, the concepts of alcohol disinfection and antibiotics left Medical Officer Oscar utterly confused. Without empirical evidence, he couldn’t grasp these ideas, especially since they were entirely foreign to him.

”I’ve said all I can. A physician’s heart is benevolent. If there’s hope to heal the patient, why should Medical Officer Oscar care about the method?” Simon tossed the ball back to Medical Officer Oscar.

The man was stubborn and pedantic, always preaching about a physician’s benevolence. This argument left Medical Officer Oscar in a dilemma. If he didn’t follow the instructions and something went wrong, it would damage his medical ethics.

Simon had Thomas fetch some alcohol and fresh meat for the medical hall, instructed Lancelot to rest there, and then returned to the castle.

He would return in a couple of days to see the results.

The rebellion of Bertram had to be addressed properly. Back at the castle, Simon personally wrote an article condemning Bertram and his accomplices for their treasonous acts.

After receiving the draft, Harlan had the newspaper office typeset and print it. Over the next few days, news of Bertram’s rebellion spread throughout the six cities.

Simon’s personal involvement in rooting out the Redwyck family became a hot topic of discussion on the streets and in the alleys.

In a tavern in Brambleford, several scholars sat together, reading a newspaper.

The scholar holding the newspaper was dressed more elegantly than the others. He had bought the newspaper, which could only be purchased at the newspaper office. Although each copy cost only one copper coin, many scholars still couldn’t afford it.

”What does the newspaper say? Hurry up and read it!” The scholar, addressed as Erin, was swaying his head as he read the newspaper, while the others grew impatient.

The events of the previous day’s battle outside Brambleford had already spread into the city, but few knew the details. Now that the newspaper had published the story, many were eager to learn the truth.

Erin gently put down the newspaper and clasped his hands toward the direction of the prince’s castle. ”Who would have thought that His Highness would personally risk his life to root out the traitorous Redwyck family? Such bravery is truly a model for us all.”

”What do you mean by risking his life?” The other scholars grew even more anxious.

Only then did Erin begin to recount the story, and the scholars listened as if entranced.

After hearing the tale, one scholar said. ”His Highness first eliminated the Goldwynd family, and now the Redwyck family and nearly thirty other noble families. Almost half of the nobility in the six cities have been removed.”

”Exactly. Now the Chandlier and Duskry families have published articles in the newspaper, firmly supporting His Highness’s policies. It seems the winds of change are blowing in the six cities.”

”With the nobility losing power, it’s the perfect time for us commoners to rise. We must all strive harder.” Another scholar added.

”Of course. I’m currently taking the selection exam for the Oxford Academy. If I can get in, my career is half set.”

The other scholars were also aware of the Oxford Academy’s selection exam. One of them asked. ”But what confuses me is why the Oxford Academy has so many different categories?”