Chapter 354: Luxembourg Steel Hub
Catherine II's strategic planning was by no means a momentary whim.
Naturally, the foundation for all this was France's demonstrated capabilities over the past two years. Whether it was the royal family's firm grip on power or the profound strategic thinking displayed in North Africa and the Low Countries, everything convinced her that France was the best partner.
Meanwhile, Russia's former ally, Austria, was plunged into chaos by reforms, its national strength steadily deteriorating.
In particular, the unsuccessful suppression of the Brabant uprising and the bitter struggle in Silesia had left her deeply disappointed with Austria.
Although Prussia, another powerful German state, had signed a secret treaty with Russia to partition Poland, that alliance was limited to matters concerning Poland.
Prussia was currently hand-in-glove with the British, and on major issues concerning the European continental order, they would undoubtedly prioritize Britain's views.
Furthermore, Prussia's forces were currently tied up in Silesia; no one knew when they would be able to disengage.
Additionally, Catherine II had another crucial consideration for her planned alliance with France.
Compared to Russia's objectives—Sweden, Poland, and the Black Sea coast—the other continental powers paid more attention to France's goals: the Low Countries and the Rhine region.
At that point, Russia could seize the opportunity to carve out its own gains without worrying about the opinions of other great powers.
Of course, if France could truly withstand the pressure of all Europe and conquer the Rhine, Catherine II wouldn't mind coordinating her troops. Perhaps, under their pincer attack from east and west, even Austria could be swallowed whole!
Early the next morning, diplomatic officials placed Count Stroganov's plan for further developing Russo-French trade on Queen Marie's desk.
Queen Marie opened the document with a touch of helplessness, and after reading a few pages, she began to frown—she genuinely wasn't very adept at such matters.
She was about to summon Archbishop Brienne when she suddenly recalled that the Crown Prince seemed quite knowledgeable in this area.
Hadn't Joseph even opened a trade company with the Russian Count Bobrinsky? The business was reportedly doing very well, increasing Franco-Russian trade severalfold.
Thinking of this, she summoned a lady-in-waiting and instructed her to send the trade plan to the Crown Prince for his attention.
...
Luxembourg.
On an open expanse not far from the massive open-pit iron mine known as "Iron Sea," several giant tower-like blast furnaces were under intense construction.
Viscount Olivier, owner of the Sirk Steel Company, stood on a hillside, watching with satisfaction as his new ironworks steadily took shape.
He had spent less than 40,000 Livres to acquire a massive iron smelting workshop in Luxembourg, gaining over 700 skilled workers alone.
He then commenced expansion and technological innovation.
Beside the old blast furnace he had acquired, craftsmen were constructing two square buildings, each the size of an ordinary house, using fire-resistant bricks.
These two structures were almost completely sealed, connected only by two thick pipes that reached an adult's waist, with the ends of the pipes joining the blast furnace.
Next to each square building stood a high-pressure steam engine, blowing air into the pipes via mechanical devices.
This was the "Hot Blast Iron Smelting" technology that Joseph had introduced to France's ironworks.
The principle was actually very simple. When smelting iron, fuel combustion required a large amount of oxygen. Traditional blast furnaces drew air directly from the outside, but this air was at room temperature. Upon entering a furnace thousands of degrees hot, it would inevitably lower the furnace temperature.
The furnace temperatures achievable in this era were just barely enough to melt the iron ore, but typically only produced viscous molten iron that flowed from the bottom of the blast furnace.
The quality of such molten iron would certainly not be high. Incomplete melting meant impurities would be trapped inside, and fluxing agents could not dissolve evenly.
The technology Joseph introduced utilized "hot blast stoves" to preheat the air, which was then pressure-blown into the blast furnace.
This prevented cold air from lowering the furnace temperature, while the pressurized blast also increased the oxygen available for combustion.
This single simple measure alone could raise the furnace temperature by almost 200 degrees Celsius.
Coupled with switching to coke, which has a higher calorific value, the blast furnaces in French ironworks could now completely melt the iron within the ore.
The completely fluid molten iron could make full contact with air, heavily oxidizing harmful impurities such as silicon and sulfur. At the same time, by adding fluxing agents, further precipitation of impurities was achieved.
The quality of the molten iron produced this way could approach that of crude steel. By adjusting the carbon content at the end of the blast furnace process, the iron ingots produced could meet the requirements for most iron products, almost eliminating the need for further steelmaking in crucibles.
After trial production in France's Nancy industrial development zone, Viscount Olivier's ironworks produced ingots that sold for three-quarters the price of refined steel, and they were in such high demand that supply couldn't keep up.
He had previously had it estimated that once the factory built in Luxembourg was fully operational, its annual production could reach 200 million pounds.
This single factory of his would produce more than France's entire annual steel output from the previous year!
Coupled with the convenience brought by the Seine-Rhine Trade Agreement, his iron ingots and steel could smoothly enter and be sold in several states of South Germany. Along the way, there were no longer the ubiquitous checkpoints and tax officials encountered when selling goods to the German states previously.
This factory in Luxembourg alone would bring him at least 800,000 Livres in income next year!
He would instantly become one of France's top wealthiest individuals!
And all of this had begun the moment he decided to invest in building a factory in the Nancy Industrial Development Zone.
He always told people it was the most correct decision he had ever made in his life.
Not far off, his old rival, Monsieur Grigot, walked over and bowed slightly in greeting.
"You don't think the war will reach here, do you?" Monsieur Grigot paused, looking towards the ironworks he had invested in on the other side, and said with some concern, "I've invested most of my fortune in Luxembourg."
Viscount Olivier smiled. "You must have heard, the government has already begun constructing a wooden railway from Luxembourg to Verdun."
"If they weren't reasonably confident, the government wouldn't make such a massive investment."
"You're absolutely right. Oh, Monsieur Grigot is here too," the general manager of the Weilhori Steel Company said, appearing from nowhere and greeting both men with a bow. He continued, "And I've heard that what they're building this time isn't a wooden track, but an iron one."
"Good heavens, how much would that cost?!" Viscount Olivier had just started speaking when he suddenly paused. 'Ah, but this is Luxembourg. While it might lack other things, iron is abundant here. The price wouldn't be too expensive.'
A thought struck him instantly. If the government was going to build iron tracks, they would surely buy a large quantity of iron ingots from his ironworks!
'Or, perhaps, I should mortgage my Nancy assets and take out a loan to build even more blast furnaces in Luxembourg...'
This was the exact effect Joseph's plan aimed to achieve.
By utilizing Luxembourg's cheap iron, commencing trial production of iron rails, and simultaneously training track-laying craftsmen, they could significantly boost the sales of ironworks, thereby further driving down their costs.
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