European Financial Emperor

021 Benheren’s General Meeting of Shareholders (3)

The issue of Ben Heren’s problem paradox was population.

“We, the Netherlands, have an absolutely insufficient population, and if there is no way to solve the population problem, there will be limitations in organizing the army.”

Back in the days when the Dutch were at their heyday, they maintained an army using mercenaries and foreign troops.

Ben-Herren, who was well aware of such a past, also knew all too well that the Dutch army could never expand.

Lee Hwan quietly listened to Ben Heren’s story and came to think of this.

“Then, Nari, can we procure the population from overseas?”

“Are you abroad?”

Lee Hwan had this thought before.

If you rob pirates who make a living by robbing merchant ships, who will take the property?

The answer was simple.

It’s just that the rook is the owner.

Whether it was life or property.

“Aren’t Britain clearing out pirates to end the African slave trade?”

“By the way?”

“What if we rob those pirate ships, free the slaves, and absorb them into the military?”

“You mean to create a multinational army?”

“It’s like that.”

Ben-Heren nodded his head.

However, there was clearly a problem.

“But that is possible when we have a navy. Our neighbors will never stand still.”

“No, it’s not about building a navy. The idea is to create a pirate group that robs pirates. That’s how I eat some of the money the pirates stole.”

“… … Do you mean to build a private fleet now?”

“Isn’t that much better than building up the navy while openly touching the heart of the Four-Party Alliance right now?”

It’s not a regular army, but it’s not an illegal pirate group either.

Lee Hwan was aiming for that.

Ben-Heren thought Lee Hwan’s proposal was absurd at first, but then changed his mind.

“Private fleet.”

“Operating a private fleet, having some fun and earning time to arm yourself, isn’t it one stone or two? After all, the Netherlands is also a country where what remains are ships.”

“but… … .”

“The idea is to bring blacks to the Netherlands in order to eradicate the slave trade. Is there no better excuse to convince Britain than this?”

Ben-Heren smiled softly.

“… … The little boy has grown so much.”

He patted Lee Hwan on the shoulder.

With this gesture he received instead of an answer, Lee Hwan was convinced that Ben-Heren had made up his mind to organize a private fleet.

***

The Ben Heren family ordered more than 3,000 guns from Lee Hwan’s East Stella Company.

When Lee Hwan started operating the factory, the production efficiency was much higher than initially expected, so it would take only ten days to make 3,000 tablets.

However, there was only a problem that two more factories had to be added because there was a limit to 200 people working in two factories.

While producing firearms for the Dutch royal family, Lee Hwan established an unofficial affiliate of East Stellar based on the advance money received from the Ben Heren Guild.

That was ‘East Stellar Steel’.

Because Lee Hwan had so many things to do with steel in the future, he was thinking of starting a steel company as a subsidiary.

The current steel industry was not developing fast enough to use soft iron to lay rails for railroads.

But as long as Lee Hwan was there, it would never be the case.

Doesn’t he have the knowledge of the future?

Returning to East Stella a week after meeting with Ben Heren, Christopher brought ties to merchants leaving for America.

However, as soon as he returned to the company, he received Lee Hwan’s second order.

“Are you going to start a steel company?”

“Our East Stellar has invested, and the site is also in the process of consolidating by purchasing about 40,000 pyeong next to it.”

In fact, the contract that Lee Hwan made with Ben Heren was the perfect way to deal with the fine according to the Fair Trade Act of the future.

In the process of opening East Stellar Steel, Lee Hwan committed many expedients that could not even be imagined under future corporate law.

But now it was neither expedient nor illegal.

‘If it was easy to do business like this, there would be few companies that would go bankrupt.’

After thinking about unnecessary things, Lee Hwan explained the significance of the founding of a steel company.

“The Gong wants a more powerful weapon than it is now. As you know, no matter how good a rifle is, it is difficult to arm the navy, right?”

“you’re right. Your boss is right.”

“So, having a powerful cannon is essential, and if we want to develop such a cannon, we need steel, isn’t it?”

When I listened to Lee Hwan quietly, it seemed that his words were right a hundred times.

“Ugh! That’s right. For the development of cannons, the refining of steel would be an essential element.”

“So, can you bring me a steel engineer?”

“First of all, the country with the most advanced cast iron technology is the UK, but I know that there are some scattered around the US.”

“Then it’s fine. I’m asking the merchants to lay the groundwork for US real estate investments, so I can bring some technicians.”

“But it won’t be easy. Not many people will come back to Europe from America.”

“Hmm, is that so… … ?”

Christopher, who was quietly looking at Lee Hwan, made a decision.

“I am going to America.”

“… … Directly to America?”

“I have heard that Prince Ben-Heren has high expectations. If I make a contribution for the company, it will be the honor of the family from generation to generation.”

“Ugh!”

Christopher was also a loyal man.

Lee Hwan decided to send him to America.

“I beg you. Then please go to America instead.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Christopher was determined to return to the United States with achievements.

In addition, he expressed the idea that he would be able to succeed in real estate investment to Lee Hwan.

“The western real estate investment. It seems possible.”

“Oh, yes… … ?”

***

In January 1823, Richard Ben-Herren visited King Willem I.

King Willem I had a rather rigid expression on his face when Ben-Herren visited the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

“It’s surprising that the ball comes to visit our royal family.”

“I was so busy that I wanted to see His Majesty’s face right away. Please forgive me.”

“The real lord of Holland has come, so why should I be so stiff?”

“… … majesty.”

“Anyway, welcome. After ascending the throne, I had a lot to talk about with you, but today, I am able to solve the case, so how lucky are you?”

After Willem I ascended to the throne, the Netherlands has been looking for peace and quiet, but the public opinion is somewhat divided due to differences in political views between the two Koreas.

Taken from readwn.com

Moreover, the Vienna system was formed and the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg were united before the wounds left by the evasion of sovereignty by the great powers were healed.

There were also rumors that Belgium wanted independence from the Netherlands, and that the Habsburgs were plotting to gain hegemony again.

Under such circumstances, it could be said that the stress that Willem I was subjected to was enormous.

Ben-Herren did not tell Willem the reason for his visit to King Willem I, but spoke directly.

“Before we unravel the case, I would like to make a proposal to your Majesty.”

“proposal?”

“I think the heyday of our Netherlands is not over yet, so I suggest rearranging the army and navy.”

Willem I smashed the armrest of the throne with his fist, as if his head was throbbing.

Koo!

He was still struggling to fill the void in his military power, so Ben Heren’s words seemed to break his head.

“… … If you’re here to break my heart, you’ve got the timing right, but know that if you don’t, your neck may escape.”

“I never meant to despise your Majesty. No, I have come up with a way to ease your worries.”

“… … Does it relieve your anxiety?”

“Bring an innovative firearm capable of overwhelming the British personal firearm.”

clap!

As Ben-Heren clapped his hands, the attendant standing behind him began to lay out the gun parts hidden in the sack in front of Ben-Heren.

Ben-Herren, who had already studied some guns, assembled them very skillfully.

Looking at it, Willem I only tilted his head.

After finishing the assembly, Ben-Heren handed the gun to the king.

“This is the rifle that will make the Netherlands a first-class nation. A rifle made by the East Stella Company.”

“Ah, I heard you. They still call it the ES-1.”

“Yes, it is.”

He fastened the magazine to the rifle, walked up behind him, and put the rifle directly on the shoulder.

Then he pulled the loading handle and loaded it.

shudder!

“This gun takes less than a second to load, and while others are lining up and pouring gunpowder into the muzzle, we can reload the ammunition directly into the chamber and fire.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said.”

“Sir, it’s done. Pull the trigger.”

Willem I pulled the trigger.

Taang!

Surprisingly, a bullet pierced through the wall of the office, and the guards heard the roar of the gun and rushed towards it.

King Willem I was slightly shocked.

“… … Powerful. Are you stronger than you heard?”

“In the East, there is a saying that there is a saying that a hundred words are undisputed. It is better to see once than to hear a hundred times.”

“Hmm, that’s really good. But how did this make our heyday?”

“This gun can make hundreds of copies a day. With only 20 people in total.”

“… … what?”

“If you build a factory and increase the number of people, it is not uncommon to arm tens or hundreds of thousands of people.”

Production capacity is a very important factor.

No matter how good a gun is, if the supply is slow, the probability of winning a war will decrease.

However, if 20 people could print hundreds of guns with the current technology, they would be able to monopolize an advantage in the mass offensive.

King Willem I, unable to speak for a while, burst into laughter.

“Uh-huh!”

Willem I heard the sound and shouted like a thunderbolt to the running guards.

“You mustn’t let what happened just before leak out of the palace! Do you understand?!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Ben-Herren carefully bowed down before Willem I. Then he said with a smile.

“I will make you emperor.”

“… … .”

King Willem I was briefly in shock, and then came to his senses.

His applause followed.

clap clap!

“Okay, very good!”

The calculations had already been made in his head, and King Willem I, who had already thought about how the royal family would profit, asked what Ben-Heren wanted.

He thought he couldn’t just give the goose that gave birth to such a jackpot.

“Tell me if you want anything.”

“Excuse me, My Majesty, if there is one request, I would like the Ben-Heren family to be able to supply weapons exclusively.”

“Does that sound like you want to seize the arming power of our Dutch Central Army?”

“That’s right. I am not going to hide it.”

William I was not very attracted to the Benheren proposal, but for now there were not many ways the Netherlands could maintain its present appearance.

The land was narrow and the bread edible was scarce, so the King of the Netherlands was at a crossroads in such a situation.

Hana Willem I was generously offered.

“Well, let’s see. Do your will.”

“thank you!”

“But we are a country with a very small population. If you solve the problem of recruiting troops, the arming authority will be yours.”

In the end, King Willem said that he would give a part of his military power if he came with a way to replenish his troops.

No matter how resourceful Richard Benheren is, can he solve the population problem?

King Willem I posed this dilemma to test Richard Ben-Herren.

Hana Ben-Heren was already ready.

“So, your Majesty, I have to ask you one more thing.”

“Are you asking?”

“Please allow the Netherlands to plunder pirates and slave ships to form a private fleet capable of securing European security.”

“… … Private Fleet?”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, what are you going to do with it? … .”

“They loot the slave ships and replenish their troops.”

“Huh!”

“How are you?”

King Willem I thought it was an absurd, but quite good proposal.

But William I had no intention of giving Ben-Heren the initiative right away.

“What about the UK? Will they stand still?”

“that… … .”

Ben-Heren smiled with a smile of conversion.

“Luckily, on this expedition, our Ben-Heren fleet was attacked by pirates.”

“Well, he said so.”

“By the way, quite a few of London City’s financial owners have invested in our fleet.”

Richard placed two books on the table.

The king tilted his head.

“What is this?”

“Perhaps this one shot will turn England upside down.”