industrial lord

Chapter 633: Not Spending a Coin
Frederick had been exploring coal mines alone in the bitter snow for almost a whole winter.

He built wooden racks around him and hung thick blankets to block the wind. Two charcoal stoves were burning brightly next to him, but it still couldn't stop the cold from invading.

A few kilometers away, new sheds have been built and furnaces are being fired up.

Frederick recorded the data of this place, disassembled the Luoyang shovel and put it in a box, left the shed, got on the carriage that had been waiting for a long time, and headed for a new exploration site.

The Luoyang shovel in his hand was hand-made in a tractor 4S shop before setting off. The poles behind were all water pipes and external joints, which made it very convenient to use for exploration.

A place is roughly divided into the four endpoints and the center point of a rectangle, all of which are low-lying areas. With Frederick's physical strength, it only takes an hour to explore one place and then rush to the next place.

The vastness of the coalfield frightened him, but since he had no way of stationing troops there, he could only control it by acquiring shares.

As night fell, the carriage drove into Lord Greengrass's castle.

Frederick wrote down the results of today's exploration in the carriage and handed it to the count's servant.

He first went to the bathroom, where hot water was already prepared in the wooden tub, so he took a bath first.

A delicious dinner was prepared on the table, with delicious pork elbow stewed with beans on the plate.

The lords here all know that Mr. Meyer can go without someone to sleep with him at night, but he must have pork or mutton for dinner, or other game, but never fish.

Many lords who own mines gathered in the restaurant tonight, a total of twenty-eight of them, patiently waiting for Mr. Meyer's arrival.

These days, they reached an agreement.

After Frederick sat down at the table, dinner began and he reported today's exploration to Earl Greengrass.

After listening to this, Earl Greengrass asked, "Mr. Meyer, am I to understand that the coal seam underground is beginning to thin and reach the edge in my territory?"

The coal seam on the west side of his territory is more than three meters thick, while on the east side it is only more than two meters.

Frederick replied: "The uneven thickness of the coal seam is not necessarily the edge."

Lord Greengrass asked tentatively, "Can you stop the coal seam here?"

Frederick asked in confusion: "I don't quite understand what you mean."

"If there is too much coal," said Lord Greengrass, "the price will go down very low."

Frederick understood.

The coal on your own territory is yours, and the coal on other people's territories is other people's. If other people dig out more coal from underground and the price drops, you will be the one who suffers.

Therefore, they must safeguard their own interests and not lose money in vain.

Frederick looked at the others and they all nodded, apparently reaching a consensus.

He calculated in his mind that the coal currently discovered in the preliminary exploration would be enough for a long time, and most importantly, it would be enough for iron ore smelting in Grouse Forest.

For him, this is just a matter of talking, but it can be used to gain benefits.

He said tentatively: "It is very difficult for the Principality of Weisen to acquire a territory nowadays. I heard that there are many small islands in the north of your country that no one wants. I wonder if I can..."

The landlords understood that he wanted a fiefdom to become a landed noble.

There are many islands in the north. They are small and have complex terrain. The weather is too cold to farm or graze, and some of them don’t even have fishing villages.

So when some businessmen became rich, they donated a large sum of money to the royal family, bought an island as their territory, paid a little money every year as feudal tax, and became landed nobles.

Although many of these nobles have not been to their own territories for generations, this does not hinder their noble status.

Lord Greengrass said, "That's not the question. Which island do you want?"

This was an exchange of interests. Frederick helped them maintain the price of coal, and they used their connections in the Kingdom of Angola to get Frederick an uninhabited island as a territory. It was a win-win situation. Frederick said, "I want a small island in the Handle Islands where I can build a fishing port."

"I plan to build a fish canning factory there, purchase fish from the sea nearby and provide supplies, and sell the canned fish back to the Principality of Wessen."

Now everyone knows that the money in his hands belongs to Grand Duke Wesson. He is now exploring the coal mines and setting up a chamber of commerce, and he will sell the shares in the future.

Many people admired Frederick's ability to resist temptation, not get involved in big businesses that he could not control, and his decision to quit while he was ahead.

These landlords would also prefer to cooperate with Grand Duke Wesson, who is invincible in the business world, rather than this lucky young man.

The two sides quickly reached an agreement, and Greengrass led 28 nobles to write a joint letter to the House of Lords tomorrow.

Frederick said that he would issue a report tonight, limiting the scope of the coal mine to their territory, and that areas outside the scope had no mining value.

He had long coveted the Hilt Islands.

The Handle Islands are located northeast of Angland and are the northernmost territory of the Kingdom of Angland. They are named because the shape of the numerous islands resembles a handle of a knife.

The total area of ​​the archipelago is about 1500 square kilometers, with five or six islands containing fishing villages and rich fishery resources in the surrounding waters.

Geographically, it is located north-west of the North Sea, more than 300 kilometers east of the Dark Land, the headquarters of the Church of Nature, Nidaros, is more than 700 kilometers northeast of it, and Cod Island is 900 kilometers northwest of it. The Cod Island route and the future Grouse Forest iron ore route will pass nearby.

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Frederick believed that if they built a fishing port and logistical facilities there now, they would surely be able to pull warships out of the sea in the future.

His current demand for overseas territories is mainly based on geostrategic considerations, with economic considerations being secondary.

But Frederick didn't know that Anna gave the 5% of shares that should have been distributed to the locals to the royal family, and King Edward simply gave him the entire archipelago. The House of Lords thought that the place was a remote and poor place in cold weather, so they accepted it, but only gave him the title of baron.

As winter was drawing to a close, Frederick returned to Londinium.

"I'm really impressed by you!" Anna said while lying on the bed. "You make a lot of noise wherever you go."

Frederick was studying the newspapers during this period and said seriously: "Since there is an opportunity, we must seize it."

Anna said: "I have learned something from you this time."

Frederick asked her, "What did you learn?"

Anna didn't answer, but asked: "What are you going to do next, reveal your identity?"

Frederick shook his head and said, "I have a feeling that the Kingdom of Angland will have a full-scale conflict with me in the future, so our identities cannot be exposed, otherwise these will be confiscated."

Anna nodded, having seen this kind of thing many times, and asked, "Then how do you deal with this identity?"

Frederick smiled and said, "That's easy. In the Principality of Wessen, many people have their businesses managed by professional managers. They have audits by auditing companies every year, and they use the money to travel around."

"We will announce in a few days that we will set up a company after we return. The funds of Grand Duke Weisen and the Osmaga royal family will only be used to purchase company bonds. Then this company will acquire shares in the Coal Mining Chamber of Commerce. Finally, we will go to the south to look for new opportunities to make money."

"However, we will get a new title in a country in the south. We can think about it later and exchange the company's shares there. Anyway, it has nothing to do with the Principality of Wessen, so the business will not be affected by the war."

Anna thought about it and felt that it was feasible.

She laughed: "I wonder what the Anglais people will look like if they know the truth."

Half a month later, Baron and his wife Meyer returned to the Duchy of Wessen to find people to form a professional team to set up a coal mining chamber of commerce. They left the city of Londinium and disappeared from the sight of the Anglais people.

Many years later, a rumor spread through the grapevine in the city of Londinium that Baron Meyer had raised the price of mining equipment and railway equipment in order to increase the share price of the Chamber of Commerce's shares. In fact, the money invested by the locals was enough for him to purchase all the equipment and pay for the construction costs. It was like getting half of the shares of such a large coal mine without spending a penny.

The dissatisfied shareholders went to Weissenburg to settle accounts with Baron Meyer, but they couldn't find him after a month of searching. They heard that Baron and his wife appeared on the coast of the inland sea from time to time.

Finally, they were received by Grand Duke Wesson, who had suddenly started to grow a beard and spoke with a nasal voice due to a sudden cold. He told them that it was their fault that they could not get the internal price for the equipment, so they had to accept it.

(End of this chapter)