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Chapter 906: Resources Are the Future

Theodor exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.

After all, Bavaria currently had no viable army to speak of. Even if the French wanted to swallow his coal mines whole, he wouldn't have the courage to refuse. Fortunately, the French were leaving the lion's share to him, which was an arrangement he could begrudgingly accept.

Theodor nodded and said, "I appreciate your kindness. Might I ask how much capital my country needs to contribute for these shares?"

Saigul raised his glass toward him. "The capital and equipment will be provided entirely by the French Industrial Development Fund. You need only use the title deeds of those mines as your investment. Oh, and the local officials in Iphofen will need to assist in recruiting miners."

Theodor's eyes brightened upon hearing this.

He had initially assumed the French were going to make him pay for the development while they took a cut of the shares for free. He never expected that the French would provide all the funding!

While Iphofen had coal, only small amounts of surface seams had been excavated over the centuries. There had never been any large-scale mining operations. If the French were footing the bill, it was essentially like getting a massive coal mine for nothing.

For a moment, he even felt that France taking only forty-five percent of the shares seemed a bit too generous.

He quickly clinked his glass against Saigul's. "To Franco-Bavarian friendship! I will personally ensure they recruit the finest workers available."

Building large-scale coal mines was merely the first step. Only with a steady supply of cheap coal would the Bavarians have the incentive to purchase steam engines. Bavaria's iron smelting, construction stone processing, and salt mining industries were all highly developed—perfect sectors for steam engines to demonstrate their prowess.

Once the Iphofen mines were completed, French steam engines would flow into Bavaria in a never-ending stream.

As for the possibility that Bavarian factory owners might be reluctant to try new things? France would select several large factories for investment and send technicians to help them implement technical improvements using steam engines. When other factories found they could no longer compete, they would be left with only two choices: adopt steam power or face bankruptcy and acquisition.

Furthermore, Bavaria's size among the German states was second only to Austria and Prussia, representing a substantial market for French steam engine companies.

In addition, the most critical management and decision-making power of the coal mine remained in French hands. This meant that how the coal was mined, who it was sold to, and for how much were all determined by France. Once the Industrial Revolution spread across Europe and coal became a precious commodity, the Iphofen mines could simply sell coal to French companies at cost.

Compared to controlling a core resource, this initial investment was a mere pittance. Even that "pittance" followed the principle of keeping the benefits within the family—all equipment for the mines would be purchased from France, and the management and technical staff would all be Frenchmen.

Essentially, the money from the Industrial Development Fund would make a full circle and end up back in French pockets. In reality, the funds used to invest in Bavaria were the very same ones the British had "gifted" during their recent attempt to crash the French gold reserves.

As for why Bavaria was allowed to hold the majority of the shares? That was naturally to give them a taste of the profits. This way, in the future, the iron mines of Sulzbach, the lead-zinc mines of Schwarzhenfeld, and the copper mines of the Fichtel Mountains could all be co-developed with France.

Indeed, Bavaria possessed quite a wealth of valuable resources. This was precisely why the German Industrial Revolution, though starting late, would develop with such explosive momentum—the region's coal and iron resources were incredibly abundant. What Joseph aimed to do was lay the groundwork early, ensuring these resources served France as much as possible.

......

Northern Italy.

Eight kilometers north of Trento, tens of thousands of Austrian troops advanced in a rigid, disciplined formation. Stretched out from east to west, they moved step by step toward the strategic stronghold of Trento.

If they could seize this location, they could establish a link with the Mantua Fortress to the south, significantly easing the defensive pressure on the garrison there.

From Cles Town to this point was a distance of less than forty kilometers. To ensure he could concentrate his forces for a steady advance, Alvinczy had taken a full eleven days to complete the march.

By this time, Napoleon had already led twenty thousand soldiers on a maneuver from the west, positioning himself behind Alvinczy's flank. Meanwhile, the right wing under Augereau and Marmont had reached the left bank of the Avisio River, only eight kilometers from the Austrian left flank.

They had marched nearly seventy kilometers more than Alvinczy, yet they had completed the encirclement before the Austrian army could even begin its assault on Trento.

Outside the town of Molveno, Napoleon personally counted the ammunition crates and made a mark in his ledger.

In truth, he didn't need to do this. The unit accompanying him was the Royal Second Horse Artillery Battalion, whose exceptional military discipline guaranteed that there was no possibility of an ammunition shortage on the eve of battle. It was simply that Napoleon had spent so much time leading inferior troops that the habit of double-checking had become ingrained.

Napoleon looked over his ledger once more and turned to Lucien at his side.

'Tell the men to get plenty of rest tonight. We will launch the general offensive at dawn.'

"Yes, General."

As Lucien turned to leave, Grouchy spoke up with some hesitation. "Commander, we still haven't established contact with Augereau's Corps..."

Given the communication limitations of the era, it was common for two units separated by over ten kilometers to lose touch. Napoleon raised a hand to cut him off.

'I trust they will arrive at their designated positions on time.'

His troops were too close to the Austrians. Lingering here risked being spotted by enemy Hussars at any moment. If that happened, a surprise strike could easily devolve into a grueling battle of attrition. What Napoleon wanted was the swift and total annihilation of Alvinczy's army.

The following day.

The weather was exceptionally clear. Through his telescope, Alvinczy could already see the buildings of Trento. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The forces under his command represented the Empire's last available strength. He could not afford a single mistake, or the entire Empire would be left exposed to the barrels of French cannons.

He turned to a nearby messenger and said in a low voice, "Order General Quosdanovich to accelerate his advance. Coordinate with the cavalry to cut off any French retreat routes to the south. Bajzáth's Corps is to launch their assault on Trento at noon tomorrow, perfectly synchronized with the central army..."

Before he could finish, the faint thumping of cannon fire drifted in from the northwest. He frowned and turned his head toward the sound. "Send the Hussars to find out what is happening."

Half an hour later, the cannonade seemed to grow more intense. Finally, a messenger from Quosdanovich arrived, his expression frantic as he reported, "Field Marshal! A massive French force has appeared on our rear flank. There are at least ten thousand of them!"

Alvinczy's expression froze. He had been so careful—how could he have been ambushed by the French? He had no way of knowing that it was precisely because he had been too cautious and moved too slowly that he had given Napoleon the perfect opportunity to swing around and trap him from behind.