Chapter 440: Super Coalfield
In reality, as long as France kept quiet, the Ottoman Empire wouldn't know if the soldiers who hadn't returned were captured or killed, and would usually treat them as fallen in battle.
Moreover, in New Zealand, with the enthusiastic assistance of the Maori people, the towns were largely completed. Thousands of Tunisian Janissaries, originally sent there for hard labor, were still alive and could be transferred to Donbas at any time if needed.
Typically, the biggest obstacle to developing a desolate region like Donbas was manpower, and Joseph just happened to have plenty of free labor at his disposal.
In this era, there were no Geneva Conventions. Prisoners of war had no human rights whatsoever; even if they were worked to death in Russia, no one would care.
Furthermore, for hundreds of kilometers around this godforsaken place in Donbas, it was all wasteland, surrounded by wild beasts, with no food or water. There was no escaping. Even if a few laborers, channeling their inner Bear Grylls, managed to reach a town, the Russians would immediately recognize their Turkic or Arabic language and send them right back.
This was also the reason why Archbishop Talleyrand dared to confidently refuse Catherine the Great's offer to dispatch laborers.
Viscount Olivier was discussing supply logistics with several shareholders of the development team when he saw a few dirt-stained figures galloping towards them. One French scholar excitedly waved and shouted, "Coal! I've found coal! A huge coalfield, truly!"
Viscount Olivier and the others were ecstatic. The Crown Prince's words had been proven correct; the prospecting team had been out for less than a month and had already found coal, and a massive coalfield at that. At least now, they wouldn't lose their entire investment!
The geologist reached them, dismounted, and motioned for an attendant to bring down a small basket of coal, his face flushed with excitement. "Mr. Director, we conducted test mining around the Yubileine plot, and we've dug up incredibly high-quality anthracite coal within at least a 40-kilometer radius! Come, take a look!"
Viscount Olivier excitedly picked up a lump of coal from the basket and examined it closely. Indeed, its quality was exceptionally high. He handed the coal to the shareholders beside him, and they all exchanged joyful glances and nodded.
If it was anthracite, they wouldn't just recover their costs; as long as the reserves were substantial enough, they would definitely strike it rich!
The geologist pulled out a map. "Look, from here to here is all rich mining territory, with burial depths generally not exceeding 2 meters. I had my men dig at seven points, and at depths over 10 meters, we still found coal seams!"
Viscount Olivier and the others could no longer restrain themselves. They cheered loudly, tossing their hats into the air, or embracing each other excitedly.
"Long live the Crown Prince!"
"Thanks to the guidance of the Son of Divine Favor! Thanks to the grace of God!"
"Listening to the Crown Prince was absolutely the right move—we've struck it rich, ha ha!"
"Yes, we're rich! A coalfield this massive could earn us several million francs!"
If Joseph were to hear this news, he wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. He had long known that the Donbas region possessed extremely rich coal and iron resources. The Donbas coalfield had even supported over 70% of the future Red Empire's industrial production!
In reality, what Viscount Olivier and his team had discovered was just the tip of the iceberg—the entire South Donbas coalfield covered an area of 15,000 square kilometers! Moreover, the vast majority of it consisted of shallow, open-pit coal mines that could be easily extracted by hand.
In fact, at this very moment, the prospecting team sent by the development group to the Kryvyi Rih region had already discovered high-reserve iron ore, but because it was a bit further away, test mining was still underway.
While the quality of Donbas's iron ore wasn't top-tier, the reserves were extremely abundant, with over 3.5 billion tons proven in later eras. Combined with the coal here, which was as cheap as stone, they could smelt iron ingots at extremely low prices, making its mining value very high indeed.
In the future, once the coal and iron mines here were extensively exploited, the high-quality output would be shipped back to France. Any surplus could be sold locally to Russia or exported from the Crimean port to various Mediterranean coastal countries—the speed of profit would be faster than robbery.
Most importantly, these coal and iron resources, historically controlled by Britain, would no longer have any connection to the British whatsoever.
France, on the other hand, had finally secured a crucial source of anthracite coal for the Industrial Revolution. Before this, all of France's anthracite had to be purchased from Britain, as its domestic mines only yielded low-quality coal with extremely high sulfur content. This was one of the significant reasons why France historically struggled to keep pace with Britain in the early stages of industrial development.
Even though it seemed France was gaining immense benefits in Donbas, Russia would still be extremely grateful to France. Not only would the development of Donbas contribute to Russia's control over Crimea, but Russia was also soon to enter the initial stages of industrial development, and its demand for coal and iron ore was rapidly increasing. Without the coal and iron extracted by the French, they would have to transport these resources from the distant Uralsk region to Moscow, increasing costs by at least 30%.
As for whether this would accelerate Russia's industrialization process, Joseph wasn't worried in the slightest—Russia, from its social system to its technological capabilities, was entirely incapable of threatening France's industrial standing. If allowing Russia's low-end industries to develop slightly faster meant France could reap significant profits, that was perfectly acceptable.
Viscount Olivier suddenly thought of something, motioned for everyone to quiet down, and then declared very sternly, "The discovery of this huge coalfield must be kept strictly confidential!"
"Yes, Mr. Director."
Once everyone had dispersed, Viscount Olivier immediately took his money and hurried to Kursk.
He was going to buy land.
Earlier, Archbishop Talleyrand had informed him that the Russian Tsar had promised the development group they could purchase land in the Donbas region for 1 ruble per Russian acre. He had initially been hesitant to overinvest, but now, it was clear he should absolutely follow the Crown Prince's advice and buy up all the areas where minerals might be found!
...
Vienna.
Schönbrunn Palace.
At the grand ball celebrating the French Crown Prince, Austrian nobles danced to their hearts' content, but Joseph, the guest of honor, had no interest in dancing. Instead, he was on a wooden platform beside the orchestra, conversing with Leopold II.
"You can absolutely trust the combat effectiveness of my army," Joseph stated. "So, while my plan is somewhat daring, it will also secure our victory."
Leopold II regarded him with considerable surprise. He had previously heard that the French Crown Prince had commanded troops in North Africa and the Southern Netherlands, but he had dismissed it as a young boy merely playing at being a commander.
However, after their detailed discussion of the campaign, he realized that this young man must have genuinely participated in battles and was remarkably familiar with military matters.
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