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Chapter 1051: The Real Money-Maker

The hall fell into an instantaneous, heavy silence.

In the ears of Carlos IV and his ministers, only the frantic thumping of their own hearts remained.

It wasn't that they lacked composure; after all, Spain was still a first-rate European power, and they had seen their fair share of the world. However, they had truly never seen three hundred million gold escudos.

Forget seeing it; they hadn't even dared to dream of a number that high in their wildest fantasies.

Just last year, Joseph had helped the Spanish government squeeze several million escudos from the Church. That alone had made these high-ranking officials as giddy as if a lifelong crush had suddenly agreed to marry them.

But the French Crown Prince had just said "three hundred million"!

It was the equivalent of a hundred such goddesses appearing all at once...

After several long seconds, Campos finally asked in a small, cautious voice: "Is it... is it really true?"

He looked as if he were afraid any loud noise might wake him from a beautiful dream.

Campos’s voice grew a bit stronger. "Will this mine lead us into a conflict with other nations?"

"Of course not. You have absolute mining rights in that territory."

The hearts of the Spanish ministers hammered even harder against their ribs.

They exchanged glances, sought confirmation in the eyes of Carlos IV, and finally, the Count of Floridablanca cleared his throat and spoke.

"Your Royal Highness, if what you say is true, then it is indeed sufficient to exchange for Louisiana."

Campomanes, abandoning all diplomatic etiquette, asked impatiently, "Where exactly is it, Highness?"

"The West Coast of North America, in the California region."

Joseph did not hide it; he spoke the location directly.

For one, in such a formal diplomatic setting, it was impossible for Spain to play rogue—that would essentially be a declaration of war against France. Secondly, the California colony spanned over two hundred thousand square kilometers and contained vast uninhabited wilderness. Even if they sent tens of thousands of people to search for it, they wouldn't find it for five to eight years without the specific coordinates.

"Once the agreement is signed, my prospecting team will hand over the detailed maps to you."

Indeed, as soon as the New Orleans crisis had first erupted, Joseph had dispatched a large group of geologists to the westernmost reaches of North America to search for gold.

Guided by the detailed clues he provided, the team had quickly panned gold granules from a stream near what would later be known as San Francisco. Currently, it was nothing more than a tiny fishing village named Yerba Buena.

By expanding the search along the waterways from there, they would find the massive gold deposits that would historically trigger the famous California Gold Rush.

Carlos IV immediately draped an arm around Joseph’s shoulders, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Then let us sign the agreement right away."

Trading the desolate, god-forsaken land of Louisiana for a gold mine worth three hundred million escudos—while also dumping the burden of defending against American westward expansion onto France—was an absolute windfall for Spain.

Joseph nodded, then seemed to remember something as he smiled. "You see, I have invested a great deal of time and capital into finding this gold."

"Would it be possible for me to invest some mining capital as well, in exchange for a few shares in the mine? Ah, just ten percent would suffice."

The Count of Floridablanca began signaling his king frantically with his eyes, his expression clearly saying 'Absolutely not.'

He had to be joking. A ten percent stake was thirty million escudos! Spain's entire national annual revenue wasn't even that high.

"This..." Carlos IV looked troubled. "It seems somewhat..."

"Seven percent, then. Seven percent is fine," Joseph interjected immediately.

"..."

"How about five percent?"

Seeing the situation, Floridablanca rushed to bail out his king. "Respected Crown Prince, as you know, our trade concessions on the West Coast of North America are granted to the Seville Merchant Guild, and that includes minerals. Therefore, the matter of shares might involve very complex authorization issues."

Campos stared at the ceiling and muttered softly, "The gold mine is being used to pay for Louisiana..."

Joseph sighed, sounding helpless. "Very well then. If I cannot obtain shares in the mine, could I at least have the exclusive right to sell mining equipment in California?"

"You see, our ironworks are facing fierce competition from the British. This could provide them with a bit of an outlet for their products."

Floridablanca breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "That is certainly possible. Is it not, Your Majesty?"

Carlos IV followed suit with a vigorous nod. "Indeed, perfectly acceptable."

Spain currently had no iron industry to speak of; they would likely have to buy mining tools from France anyway. It was better to just let the French transport and sell them in North America themselves.

A faint smile curled at the corners of Joseph’s mouth.

He knew perfectly well that the Spaniards would never let him have a stake in the gold mine. Everything he had just said was merely a setup for the mining equipment rights.

Yes, his goal from the very beginning had been to sell the tools!

The California gold wasn't found in deep underground veins but in river silt—placer gold—and mining it was extremely tedious.

It required a massive amount of labor to sift the gold granules from the sand. Thus, every prospector would need at least a shovel, an iron pan, and a bottle of mercury just to get started.

On top of that, they would need bamboo hats, water canteens, small iron tins, and other supplies.

And most importantly—denim trousers.

Because the mining environment was incredibly harsh, the rate of damage and loss for these items was extremely high, requiring constant replenishment.

This would be a gargantuan market.

During the actual California Gold Rush of the nineteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Americans flooded the region. Because manual panning was so inefficient, over ninety percent of them never made any real money.

Instead, it was the merchants selling tools to the prospectors who produced several millionaires. And those were nineteenth-century millionaires.

If he could monopolize the tools for the California mines and throw in some catering and lodging businesses on the side, thirty to forty percent of the gold mine's total yield would end up in French pockets.

Meanwhile, Spain would have to shoulder the costs of extraction and transportation. In the end, their net profit might not even match France's.

In history, it wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century, when high-pressure water jets powered by heavy steam engines became common, that the California gold mines truly entered their peak and began generating massive wealth.

'Well, once France finishes developing high-powered steam engines, we can sell them ore-washing machinery as well.'

However, by then, California would likely no longer be under Spanish rule.

Currently, the Mexican independence movement was already beginning to simmer. Within ten years at most, Spain's colonies in North America would fall into turmoil, and they would eventually be forced to abandon Mexico.

California was currently part of New Spain, which fell under Mexico's jurisdiction. Once Mexico became independent, the Spaniards would withdraw from California.

At that point, Joseph could use his latest technology—dozens of times more efficient than manual labor—to negotiate a new gold mining partnership with the Mexican government.