Chapter 991: Industrial Development Plan for France II
Ever since France had first taken control of the Rhineland, Mirabeau had been drafting a coal and iron extraction plan for the region at the Crown Prince’s request. He had already revised it several times by now.
He bowed slightly and reported, "Your Highness, the share offering for the Cologne coal mines has been completed. The associated washing, crushing, and transport equipment have been procured in advance. Production can begin within a month or two."
He paused, his expression turning slightly troubled. "However, the coal mines in Aachen and the iron mines in the Hunsrück Mountains have not received sufficient investment. They won't be ready for extraction anytime soon."
"Especially the iron mines," Mirabeau continued. "Most domestic investors prefer to open smelting plants in Wallonia or Luxembourg. As a result, the iron mines in the Palatinate have only managed to secure twenty-two percent of their required capital."
Joseph couldn't help but frown slightly.
He had anticipated a potential lack of investment. After all, these were massive coal and iron deposits on the edge of the Ruhr Area, second in scale only to Westphalia. The capital required for extraction was astronomical. Even so, securing only a fifth of the necessary investment was far less than he had hoped for.
Mirabeau quickly explained, "Your Highness, our nation has already put a large number of coal and iron mines into production in Wallonia and the Alsace-Lorraine region. This has kept current coal and iron prices relatively low, so investors are generally pessimistic about the profitability of mines in the Rhineland."
Joseph nodded understandingly.
It seemed that even after integrating the markets of Italy and South Germany, the consumption market had reached a point of basic saturation with just the output from Wallonia and Alsace-Lorraine—at least until the railway, that massive consumer of iron, was officially launched.
However, Joseph knew better than anyone that once high-power steam engines achieved a breakthrough, locomotives would be developed shortly after. At that point, the entire world would be building trains and laying iron rails. No matter how much coal and iron was produced, the world would devour it all.
According to the research progress of the French United Steam Engine Company, the debut of steam engines with over 100 horsepower was likely only a year or two away.
If they waited until then to hurriedly expand their coal and iron capacity, it would not only drag down the pace of railway construction but also cost significantly more. Once the age of the train arrived, the prices for all coal and iron-related tools, equipment, and even skilled labor would inevitably skyrocket.
Investing in plants now to start small-scale production was undoubtedly the best strategy. That way, they could ramp up capacity the moment it became necessary.
Thus, the immediate problem boiled down to solving the saturation of the coal and iron market.
Joseph recalled relevant cases from the future and spoke slowly, "In that case, we must find ways to increase demand."
"We can plan for the construction of several new iron bridges over the Seine River and the Loire River."
Infrastructure had always been the state's best tool for stimulating production.
Iron bridges were still considered cutting-edge technology in this era. However, the British had successfully erected the Iron Bridge over the River Severn more than a decade ago, proving the engineering feasibility.
Iron bridges possessed significantly better traffic capacity and load-bearing strength than traditional wooden bridges, and they were much faster to construct than stone bridges. They were a necessary branch on the technology tree.
Since iron prices were currently low, building a batch of iron bridges would allow them to familiarize themselves with the engineering techniques while they were at it.
Moreover, massive steel bridges looked magnificent and could easily become new landmarks. These were the kinds of things that boosted France’s soft power.
Mirabeau hurriedly jotted this down in his notebook, then asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, what about the funding for these bridges?"
"A small portion will come from loans from the Bank of France to start the projects, and then we will raise capital from the local areas where the bridges are located," Joseph replied, immediately offering a mature infrastructure financing scheme from the future. "The loans will then be repaid through tolls."
As long as the bridge locations were chosen correctly, people would certainly be willing to pay a small fee to cross, especially if it cost less than taking a ferry.
Mirabeau and Brienne exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. The model the Crown Prince described seemed simple, yet it was highly practical. Both men were deeply impressed.
However, the Crown Prince had come up with so many brilliant ideas in the past that they had grown accustomed to it. They quickly turned their attention back to him.
Joseph pondered for a moment before continuing, "The market for steam engines in the Italian region is also vast. We can follow our domestic model and cooperate with Italian banks to provide loans to the Italian countryside for the purchase of water pumps."
"Even farm tools can be purchased through loans. The plows and hoes produced in Lorraine are of much higher quality than the local Italian goods. The demand should be quite significant."
"Oh, and coal. The anthracite produced in the Rhineland can be used as fuel for daily heating and sold domestically."
Anthracite was commonly known as 'hard coal' or 'smokeless coal.'
Because France lacked smokeless coal mines, the public typically used wood for daily heating and cooking.
In the past, the British coal industry had been able to dominate Europe largely because they possessed anthracite. Ordinary citizens could use it in large quantities in their daily lives, creating a positive cycle of production and sales.
Now that France had secured a source of anthracite, they certainly had to encourage domestic consumption.
Thinking of burning coal for heating and cooking, Joseph immediately remembered another 'miracle tool'—honeycomb coal.
He casually drew a sketch on a piece of paper and showed it to Mirabeau.
"Crush the coal, mix it with water and clay, and then press it into this shape."
"Once it dries, it becomes 'honeycomb coal,' which is perfect for home heating. You can even place a bread oven on top to bake bread. It's very convenient."
"Oh, this coal also requires a specialized stove."
"I will give you the design for the stove later. The ironworks can cast them directly. That should boost their sales quite a bit as well."
Mirabeau nodded, though he looked a bit dazed.
He hadn't yet realized what a powerful invention the thing the Crown Prince had drawn actually was.
Given the convenience and ease of use of a honeycomb coal stove, it would soon sweep the nation, sparking a massive wave of consumer demand.
Joseph set down his pen, feeling that there were no other obvious ways to expand coal and iron demand for now. His thoughts then shifted—even if the market size was fixed, he could still find ways to seize the market share of his competitors.
In terms of coal and iron production, the biggest competitor was naturally Britain.
To be precise, Britain was currently the largest producer of coal and iron. At least until the capacity in Wallonia and the Rhineland was fully ramped up, France could not yet shake Britain's dominance in the industry.
Therefore, they would have to outperform British goods in terms of price and quality.
The quality of coal was fixed by nature, but the quality of steel could be improved.
Joseph had already learned from the ironworks that the current mainstream steelmaking technology was still crucible steelmaking, invented by the British, or at best, the 'puddling process.'
'Perhaps it's time to let the technicians at the ironworks try their hand at converter steelmaking.'
While Joseph only remembered the general principles of the converter process, France now had so many ironworks that he was certain they could find a technician capable of bringing the technology to life.
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