I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 598: Song of Poland (Please give me double monthly tickets!)

"In actual use, the maximum depth of the mine can be 60 meters," the geologist continued, "and the water flow may be only as thick as a finger."

Joseph was a little discouraged, but still unwilling to give up, and asked, "What is the power of the pump you are talking about?"

The geologist said, "26 horsepower, Your Highness. As far as I know, this is the maximum power that a steam engine can achieve. This is the type used by the University of Paris for forging experiments."

Joseph suddenly saw a glimmer of hope and leaned forward slightly: "If there is a 52-horsepower steam engine, do you think it can pump out the water in this mine?"

"This amount of water seepage is quite large, Your Highness." The old scholar picked up a pen and calculated for a while, then looked up and said, "If there is a pump with such a high power, it can probably pump out 15 to 18 cubic meters of water from this depth every hour. Oh, in fact, more than 40 horsepower would be enough."

Joseph's eyes lit up immediately, and he looked at the exploration data: "In other words, six or seven pumps are enough to drain the groundwater here?"

"That's right, Your Highness. But I must remind you that there is no steam engine of such high power at present..."

Joseph smiled. "No, Mr. Prinven, it already has."

He was worried that the latest LJ52 of the United Steam Engine Company had no market, but he found a place for it in the silver mines in Poland.

Moreover, water pumping in mining areas is used continuously for a long time, so it is easy to discover problems with the steam engine.

Simply kill two birds with one stone!
After the geological experts from the University of Paris left, Joseph continued to read Sieyès' report.

"The size of the Polish army needs to be expanded by at least 6. One year may be a bit tight for recruitment and training, or even only half a year."

Joseph first thought of letting Polish soldiers come to the Lyon Military Technical School for training, but he immediately shook his head and denied it.

Not to mention the Lyon Military Academy, the combined capacity of the three basic military colleges in France is far from 6 people.

Moreover, this is clearly a declaration to the world that France is determined to protect Poland to the death, which will put France in a very unfavorable diplomatic position.

“Is there a way to train soldiers and save money?”

Perhaps inspired by the solution to the silver mine problem, he felt a lot more cheerful and soon realized that there really was such a place.

"His Majesty Leopold II would certainly be very happy too."

Joseph smiled, picked up the report and continued to read, "Stanislaw II has agreed to go to Petersburg and appointed Prince Poniatowski as Hetman and Second Royal Minister."

"Hetman" means "Grand Commander" in Polish, similar to the French Minister of War. The "Royal Minister" is the Prime Minister of Poland.

In other words, Prince Poniatowski has become the second most powerful person in Poland.

Joseph nodded slightly. Stanisław II was indeed a man of great generosity. Knowing that his abilities were limited, he was willing to hand over power to his nephew.

He then signaled to Emmanuel, who was standing at the door, "Please go and tell Mr. Vereen to prepare to go to Poland."

Verrine is the crown prince's full-time makeup artist. However, Joseph doesn't like the heavy makeup of Parisian nobles, so he is almost semi-unemployed. Now he can finally use his professional skills.

Sieyès also mentioned at the end of his report that Poland has done a lot of practical work in the past two years.

For example, the "Great Sejm", or the Polish Parliament, formally established the Federal Military Committee; "persuaded" the Russian troops in the country to withdraw completely; conducted the first census in Polish history modeled after France; and based on the remaining members of the Bar Confederation, the United Patriotic Party formed a new intelligence agency, the Committee for Freedom and Security.

At the same time, Stanislaw II accepted Joseph's advice and did not rush to promulgate the "May 3rd Constitution" as in history. Instead, he made more thorough preparations in parliament and carried out reforms step by step. It can be said that with Poland's current national strength, it has basically done everything it can.

……

More than half a month later.

On the Tarnowsk Mountain in Krakow in southwestern Poland, Polish Royal Minister Malachowski, surrounded by dozens of officials, mine shareholders and technicians, nervously looked at the eight black cylindrical machines in front of him.

As the workers continued to add coal to the machine, thick black smoke spewed out of the chimney and the machine began to vibrate slightly.

Without any warning, water suddenly gushed out of the copper pipe at the lower side of the machine and flowed down the mountain along the drainage ditch that had been dug long ago.

Everyone looked at the surging water and cheered: "Thank God! This thing really pumped out the water!"

"It's a miracle. It's more than 80 meters deep."

"Look at the water flow. I estimate that we can drain all the water from the tunnel before dawn tomorrow."

"Yeah, we'll be able to continue digging down soon!"

Malachowski nodded excitedly to Sander beside him and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Sander, your outstanding work is a miracle!"

"It should be congratulations to us!" Sander said with a smile, "And this is not just my credit, the miracle belongs to LJ52."

After receiving instructions from the Crown Prince, he immediately returned to the company from Brittany and rushed to Poland with all eight high-pressure steam engines in stock.

After intense construction, LJ52 used its terrifying power to pump out the groundwater that had accumulated in the mine for more than a hundred years.

Malachowski took the wine from the servant and handed it to Sandor: "Yes, congratulations to us! To the Paris Mining Development Company!"

Sander and the others raised their glasses together: "Cheers to the Paris Mining Development Company!"

The so-called Paris Mining Development Company was newly established by Joseph to acquire shares in the Tarnovskaya Silver Mine.

The company purchased eight LJ8 high-pressure steam engines from the United Steam Engine Company and invested 52 million francs in the silver mine, thereby acquiring a 100% stake in the silver mine.

The steam engine cost 50 francs, and the mining development company invested more than 160 million francs in other technical equipment. The annual output of the mine is 200 million francs, and the investment can be recovered in two years. This deal can be said to be a big profit.

And the Polish government was happy to facilitate cooperation.

First, the French company promised to increase the mine's output by at least three times, which, if achieved, would make a huge contribution to Poland's finances.

Secondly, even if the goal is not achieved, the 100 million francs in cash can help the Polish government solve many problems and also help it make friends with France.

At present, it seems that the groundwater has been successfully pumped out and the Polish government has made a lot of money.

After watching the pump run steadily for an hour, the Polish Royal Minister enthusiastically signaled to the manager of the Mining Development Company and Sander and others:
"Gentlemen, the celebration banquet is about to begin. Let's go back. After the banquet, we still have a follow-up cooperation agreement to sign."

(End of this chapter)