Make France Great Again-Chapter 736 - 727: The Synthetic Dye Created by a Series of Mistakes
"As of now, the artificial synthesis of quinine is still in the exploratory stage!" Louis Pasteur gently sighed, speaking in a low tone to Jerome Bonaparte.
From his expression, it was apparent that Professor Pasteur was not satisfied with the current progress of the research.
Aware of the long and arduous road of malaria research, Jerome Bonaparte had no intention of blaming Louis Pasteur, instead feeling a bit of admiration for Professor Pasteur.
It’s important to know that the confirmation of malaria’s transmission medium in history took more than 40 years later.
For Professor Louis Pasteur to have clarified the medium of malaria transmission in Africa under the current conditions in such a short time was already quite an achievement. (Though it was under Jerome Bonaparte’s guidance.)
"Professor, scientific research cannot be rushed!" Jerome Bonaparte lightly patted Louis Pasteur on the shoulder, speaking solemnly: "Any research is difficult to conclude without thousands of experiments!
Trust me, inspiration will strike you like a lightning bolt after thousands of trials!"
"Your Majesty, you gave me really high treatment and equipped me with so many assistants, yet I let you down!" Louis Pasteur said softly to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Professor Pasteur!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Louis Pasteur with a serious expression: "You have not let anyone down! What you have now is the honor you deserve!
I have always believed that the strength of a country lies not only in those of us who hold high positions, but also in people like you.
A country that respects science and is willing to invest in scientific endeavors can truly have a bright future!"
Inspired by Jerome Bonaparte’s motivational words, Louis Pasteur, originally dispirited by the inability to conquer malaria, immediately regained his spirits.
Then, Louis Pasteur informed Jerome Bonaparte.
Although they haven’t completely figured out the artificial quinine, they have summarized the transmission routes and methods to prevent malaria.
He believed that with this method, the mortality rate can be reduced.
"On behalf of the French Government, I thank you for your contribution!" Jerome Bonaparte said excitedly, shaking Louis Pasteur’s hand.
If Louis Pasteur’s method proves effective, then Jerome Bonaparte’s colonization plans for the African region could be put on the agenda.
At this moment, Louis Pasteur had no idea that his research was about to cause great suffering to those living in the African region. He simply thought Jerome Bonaparte sincerely wanted to bring civilization to the uncivilized Africans.
"I’m just doing what little I can!" Louis Pasteur said shyly.
"Speak! What do you want?" Jerome Bonaparte said generously to Louis Pasteur with a smile.
"Your Majesty, it’s not just my merit, it’s the merit of everyone in this research institute!" Louis Pasteur modestly maintained the value of sharing good fortune with others in his reply to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Alright! I understand!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and said to Louis Pasteur: "I can assure you that you will receive a considerable bonus again!"
Hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, smiles appeared on the faces of everyone present.
In rewarding scientific researchers, Jerome Bonaparte had never been stingy.
It was precisely because of this that they were willing to work harder for Jerome Bonaparte.
Any company that only talks about ideals but refuses to discuss compensation is bound to face collapse.
In his previous life, Jerome Bonaparte hated nothing more than the saying, "The more you compare wages, the narrower your mind; the more you talk about contribution, the higher your realm."
This binary opposition between compensation and contribution was either foolishness or malice.
Afterward, Jerome Bonaparte chatted with Louis Pasteur for a while, asking if there was anything else he could help with.
Louis Pasteur shook his head, indicating that at the moment he didn’t need to trouble Jerome Bonaparte.
Just as Jerome Bonaparte was about to bid farewell to Louis Pasteur and proceed to his next inspection destination, a masked research personnel hurriedly ran from the underground laboratory to the living room.
"Professor!" The researcher gasped, calling out to Louis Pasteur and then bowed to Jerome Bonaparte.
Jerome Bonaparte stopped his steps and quickly asked the researcher: "What happened in the underground laboratory? Was there a sample leak?"
The researcher shook his head and replied to Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, during the experiment on artificial quinine just now, we accidentally created something interesting!"
"What thing?" Jerome Bonaparte asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, could you please move to the underground laboratory!" The researcher said to Jerome Bonaparte.
"What are you showing off?" Louis Pasteur slightly frowned and reprimanded the researcher, "Do you know how valuable His Majesty’s time is!"
The researcher, hearing Louis Pasteur’s reprimand, lowered his head and said nothing.
"Professor, don’t be too strict!" Jerome Bonaparte immediately stepped in to mitigate the situation.
"But..." Professor Louis Pasteur responded.
"Give me..." Jerome Bonaparte glanced at Vilnius and Valerovsky beside him, then extended his hand to the researchers, saying, "Give me three masks!"
"Yes!" The researcher took three cotton masks out of his pocket and handed them to Jerome Bonaparte.
Jerome Bonaparte handed two masks to Vilnius and Valerovsky respectively, then put on one himself.
"Let’s go! Professor Pasteur!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Louis Pasteur, "Let’s see what they are up to!"
Louis Pasteur had no choice but to put on a mask and followed Jerome Bonaparte to the underground laboratory.
Under the guidance of the research staff, Jerome Bonaparte and the others arrived at a room inside the laboratory.
At this moment, the room was crowded with researchers dressed in white lab coats.
Seeing the blocked path ahead, a researcher shouted loudly, "Make way! Make way! His Majesty and Professor Pasteur are here!"
The researchers standing at the front row instinctively turned around upon hearing this.
As expected, Jerome Bonaparte and Louis Pasteur were right behind them.
"Please make way!" Jerome Bonaparte stepped forward and gently said to them.
"All of you gathered here, don’t you have your own work?" Louis Pasteur reprimanded them with a hint of anger in his tone.
The majority of the lab staff left immediately after hearing Louis Pasteur’s admonishment.
Soon, the entire room was left with only a few people, and the gaze of Jerome Bonaparte and the others fell on the contents of the test tube on the experimental platform.
"Isn’t this..." Jerome Bonaparte widened his eyes looking at the contents of the test tube, then quickly stepped forward to the experimental platform and inquired, "Who made this?"
Several researchers simultaneously pointed to one person, who timidly said, "Your Majesty, I made this! However, it was made by accident!"
"Do you remember how this thing was made?" Jerome Bonaparte asked eagerly.
"I remember!" The researcher nodded and then described to Jerome Bonaparte the substances added during the preparation, "I recall that I added potassium dichromate to bleach sulfate in an attempt to extract quinine, and then a tar-like residue appeared in the flask. I knew the experiment must have failed! So, to clean off the residue, I planned to use alcohol.
Little did I know that as soon as alcohol was added, they turned into this purple color!"
"That’s right! This is it!" Jerome Bonaparte exclaimed excitedly.
Unexpectedly, in their attempt to research synthetic quinine, they accidentally reduced aniline purple.
This is humanity’s first synthetic dye!
"Your Majesty, what is this used for?" Louis Pasteur looked at the aniline purple reagent in confusion.
"Quick! Bring me all the white fabrics from the laboratory!" Jerome Bonaparte urged Louis Pasteur; he wanted to verify whether this was truly aniline purple.
Louis Pasteur hurriedly began arranging, while the researcher who developed the aniline purple became somewhat flustered; he hadn’t anticipated causing such a commotion.
"What is your name?" Jerome Bonaparte asked with a kind smile to the seemingly young researcher before him.
"William Henry Perkin!" The researcher timidly replied in broken French.
"He is a Briton, recommended by the principal of the Royal Society of Chemistry!" Louis Pasteur quickly explained.
"I greatly admire Academician Liebig, so..." William Henry Perkin stammered to Jerome Bonaparte.
(In 1852, deeply persecuted Yuri von Liebig was expelled from the Kingdom of Prussia. Immediately afterwards, he received a sincere invitation from Jerome Bonaparte to join France as the Dean of the Department of Chemistry at École Polytechnique in Paris.)
"Are you interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree at École Polytechnique in Paris?" Jerome Bonaparte asked with a smile.
"Really? Is it possible?" William Henry Perkin asked excitedly.
"Of course!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded, "We welcome every scholar to France!"
After a while, the laboratory staff brought over all the white fabrics.
Jerome Bonaparte applied the aniline purple reagent sequentially on cotton, wool, and silk, and then let it dry for a while.
Once it fully infiltrated, he ordered the laboratory staff to fetch several basins of water.
Jerome Bonaparte placed them into different basins, and as expected, except for the cotton, neither the wool nor the silk showed signs of fading.
"Mr. Perkin, you’re going to make a fortune!"
