industrial lord

Chapter 686 Appoint You as the Chief Steward
In mid-May 1038, the Flying Tulip and the Flying Cornflower docked at the pier of Weissenburg amid the sound of whistles.

The military and police who came to reinforce from Weissenburg and surrounding cities imposed martial law on the road between the dock and the castle. Everyone could only watch from the balcony as carts of gold were pulled into the castle.

Rumor has it that on that day, 70% of the high-ranking officials of the Principality of Wessen fainted on the spot, Miss Eltal's face was cramped from laughing, and the high-ranking officials ward of the Wessenburg Public Hospital was full.

The next day, Frederick announced in the newspaper that he would create a one-ton golden symbol of the God of Light to be placed in the cathedral, and would make an angel statue with 1 kilograms of gold to be donated to the holy city.

The news spread quickly everywhere, and political creatures seemed to have pressed the pause button and began to think about the impact behind it.

In places where no one noticed, the printing presses at the Wesson Special Printing Factory were running until smoke came out, the shipyards in Hanma City and Lugang were brightly lit day and night, and a special loan statement issued free of charge by Wesson Bank was being sold for two or three silver coins.

At this time, Frederick disappeared from public view again.

Swans fly outside Swan City, and with a gunshot, they become roasted swans at night.

In the lakeside villa, Frederick, Rudolf, Count Rank, Count Schünstigar and other high-ranking officials of the Rhine Alliance ate roast swan and discussed national affairs.

To be precise, it was Frederick who was talking and the others who were listening.

“Now that the economic situation has changed, the benefits of industry and commerce far exceed those of agriculture.”

"There are three most important points in developing industry and commerce: the origin of materials, the sales market and the trade routes. The importance of trade routes connecting the origin, factories and markets is self-evident. In the transportation of bulk commodities, water transport is the cheapest, followed by railways, and finally roads."

"For a long time to come, the trade network on the mainland still relied mainly on water transport, with inland materials transported to coastal ports via rivers, transported between ports, and then transported to the inland via rivers."

"In this process, whoever controls the sea can block the ports on land and strangle others' blood vessels."

"Business needs a peaceful environment, but with more and more countries involved in war around us, trade growth has slowed down."

"We must be prepared. Although the southern continent is backward, it still has a large market and abundant resources."

"If the Rhine Confederation is involved in a large-scale war, it will become an important source of food and supplies for us."

"Our only way of communication with the southern continent is by sea, so we must vigorously develop maritime trade. In order to protect this blood vessel from being cut off, we must develop the navy."

"Currently, there are three sea and land hub ports in the Rhine Alliance trade. The easternmost is Hamburg, the middle is Bremen, and the most important Rhine port is Amstel in the lowland area."

"This is a potentially significant source of danger that we have to diffuse, and I think Swan City can take on that task."

Everyone present looked solemn.

After Frederick's analysis, everyone realized that one of the three major blood vessels of the Rhine Alliance was not in their hands, which was indeed very dangerous.

Swan City is the territory of Count Shuyunsdiga, who is a staunch supporter of the royal family and stood by Rudolf at William's funeral.

Count Schünsteiger was somewhat interested in Frederick's use of Swan Castle as a backup for Amstel, but the political issues had to be considered.

He didn't think Frederick would forget what happened at William's funeral. Could there be a deeper reason for this action, such as trying to win him over and alienate himself from the royal family?

While he was thinking, Count Ranke asked Frederick seriously: "Wesson, when did you start thinking about the southern continent?"

"In addition to the northern ports, the Rhine Alliance can also take the inland sea route to the southern continent."

"The most important route to the south is the Danube River. You have a very close relationship with the Osmaga Empire. The most important checkpoint from the Danube to the Inland Sea is Constantinople. The two most important countries along the way out of the Inland Sea are the Kingdom of Kush and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The north of the Inland Sea gate is controlled by the Kingdom of Tarragona. All the important forces along the way are on good terms with you."

"On the northern route, the most important is the Sleeve Strait between the Kingdom of Gaul and the Kingdom of Anglan. The Dark Land and Cod Island that you are friendly with can just bypass it. Although the distance is much longer, it is better than being blocked."

After he said this, everyone suddenly realized that Frederick had actually laid out important nodes on the two routes many years ago, and now navigation is unimpeded.

There is also Frederick's layout in the lowlands. If the city of Amstel strangles him, there is still a Deer Harbor that can be used as a makeshift.

Frederick thought about it and it seemed to be true.

He took a sip of beer, shook his head and said, "I just made friends out of habit, and didn't think that far ahead."

At this time, Count Schünsteiger asked Frederick: "Wessen, the biggest difference between Swan City and Amstel City is that the waterway of Amstel City is connected to the Rhine River, but the river next to Swan City is a different water system from the Rhine River."

They are not the same blood vessels, so it doesn't make sense to say that they complement each other.

Frederick said as a matter of course: "Just dig a canal."

When he mentioned the idea of ​​digging a canal, no one thought there was anything wrong with it. Instead, they thought it was highly feasible.

Frederick continued: "Relying on the existing river, we can dig a canal near Sigiburg in the Ruhr Valley to connect the two water systems."

"The cost of this canal is a bit high, but its economic and political value is immeasurable." "If you have this canal, someone who wants to strangle the city of Amstel will have to think carefully about whether it is worth it."

"The shipping pie will get bigger and bigger in the future. After the canal is opened, Swan City will be able to get a big piece of the pie."

"I have a plan to build a steel mill in Swan City, using iron ore from Grouse Forest and coal from the Kingdom of Angland to make steel, mainly for the shipyards in Hammer City and Deer Harbor."

A small port was built at the place where Frederick landed when he went to Grouse Wood. Because whale bones were buried there, it was called Whale Port. The railway leading to the Grouse Wood iron mine began to be explored in 1036, and construction started last year. It is expected to be open to traffic in 1039 and the mine will be produced in 1040.

The steelworks was expected to be completed in early 1039, with the availability of selected ore from the Piasts and Sverrias before the Grouse Wood iron mine came into production.

Now the shipyards in the Principality of Wessen, Hamma and Lugano are all frantically expanding their docks. The shipyard in the Principality of Wessen originally did not have enough space, but the Principality of Bavaria on the other side of the river waved its hand and said you can take as much land as you want. The Principality of Mainz also asked Maria to ask Frederick whether he should open a branch there as well.

Some people couldn't wait until the shipyard was built and started to study how to add steam engines to existing sailboats and transform them into paddle steamers, even if it meant sacrificing some cargo capacity.

Frederick told these things in a gentle way, and everyone felt a little itchy.

Rudolf asked Frederick: "Wessen, can we also build a shipyard in Sigirburg?"

The Ruhr Valley where Sigiburg is located belongs to the royal territory. It has three rivers, rich water resources, coal mines, and developed traditional agriculture and steel industries.

The problem is that the number and size of the shipyards have been calculated by actuaries. If there are too many ships, even if Lilu's grandfather is brought on board as a cook, there won't be enough people.

Frederick said with some distress: "This is a bit difficult, it is better to take another way."

"A lot of equipment is needed on a ship, from traditional nails and cables to lifebuoys, lifeboats, ice storage, exhaust fans, etc. It is much more convenient for shipyards to purchase ready-made equipment than to make them themselves."

"So I suggest that Your Highness build a supporting factory in the Ruhr Valley. The overall benefits will be no worse than building a shipyard."

Rudolph thought so too, how could a cook chop wood by himself?

He picked up the wine glass and took a sip, using the time to think for a long time.

When he put down his glass, he solemnly said to Frederick: "Wesson, I appoint you as the full governor of the Ruhr Valley. You will be fully responsible for this matter and you only need to be responsible to me."

Count Rank and others were quite relieved that the king did not have to do it himself and could leave professional matters to professionals. It was a sign of maturity that Rudolf handed over the task of building the factory to Frederick.

Frederick immediately expressed his opinion: "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will show you the plan tomorrow."

Rudolph smiled and said, "Don't worry. If the ladies in Swan City knew that I asked you to work overtime tonight, they would hate me to death."

Everyone present knew Frederick's character and laughed together.

Frederick said seriously: "It doesn't matter. Your Majesty's business is more important."

When Rudolf heard him say this, he felt a little excited. Now even Wesson had surrendered to him, who else in the world could stop him?

Count Shuyunstiga saw Frederick's performance at this moment and thought that since he had already stood on the king's side, he should not be hostile to him to avoid embarrassing the king.

So, the matter of Swan City Steel Plant was settled.

Frederick waved his hand and Rudolf got 5% of the shares of the steel plant without doing anything, Count Shuyunsdiga got 20% of the shares by investing in land, he himself got 25% of the shares, and the remaining half of the shares could be acquired by everyone present with their own money.

For a moment, the restaurant was filled with joy.

Frederick just smiled. A chairman who prevents other shareholders from getting dividends is a qualified chairman. It takes a lot of tuition to understand this truth.

When the dinner was ready, Frederick smiled and said to Rudolf, "Your Majesty, I have prepared a statue of a guardian angel made of 400 kilograms of gold. This is a gift for the prince. Please work harder, Your Majesty."

The succession to the country is not just Rudolf's business. Everyone nodded in agreement and asked His Majesty to work harder.

That evening...

"Gu~ Just kill me!"

"If I kill you, who will write the plan for me? You've been to the Ruhr Valley, so if you don't write it, who will? I can't go to bed until I finish it."

Belle Burke was very depressed. He was dealing with land acquisition issues for railway construction nearby, but this guy came to Swan City and captured him on the way.

As she wrote, she said: "I was just going there to hunt, who knows what the actual situation is like."

Frederick patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, His Majesty the King doesn't know either."

(End of this chapter)