Chapter 349 The Dividends of War
Although Luxembourg is still a territory of Austria in name, this does not prevent French businessmen from coming here to conduct some normal trade.
The Austrian officials in Luxembourg had already heard the news that His Majesty the Emperor was preparing to give Luxembourg to France as a reward for the latter sending troops to deal with Prussia, so they did not interfere in any way in these "commercial activities".
What's more, there are 20,000 French troops stationed in Luxembourg, a small land less than a quarter of the size of Corsica. Even if they have opinions, they can only complain to acquaintances in the salon.
In the Place de Toum in Luxembourg City, the Secretary-General of the French Steel Technology Association smiled and handed the signed agreements one by one to the Luxembourg mine owners sitting opposite.
The mine owners immediately grabbed their pens, signed and stamped the agreement, as if they were afraid that the French would regret it.
After the agreement was signed, the notary and lawyer announced that the agreement came into effect. The mine owners smiled relaxedly and talked to each other in low voices: "Now I don't have to worry about the war destroying everything."
“I really didn’t expect the French would be willing to take over these iron mines…”
"Yes, although 30,000 livres is not much, it is enough for a family to live comfortably in Vienna."
"Oh, I plan to go to Brussels, of course, after the rebellion there subsides..."
Yes, the whole of Luxembourg is currently shrouded in the clouds of war, especially the lack of strict military discipline of the Prussian soldiers in the past, which has made the businessmen here panic.
There have been rumors among the people that the armies of Prussia and Hanover will have a decisive battle with the French army in Luxembourg. How could such a small place withstand the destruction of 70,000 to 80,000 troops from both sides? After the war, there will definitely be scorched earth everywhere.
Therefore, all Luxembourgers are eager to sell their assets. The high-quality open-pit iron ore that was previously difficult to buy for hundreds of thousands of livres is now directly missing, and they have to beg buyers before they can sell it.
In the middle of the VIP seats in front, Joseph also had a satisfied smile on his face. He spent a total of less than 800,000 livres to buy more than a dozen of the highest quality iron ore mines in Europe, which was a mere bargain.
You know, Luxembourg's steel production will almost meet the needs of the entire Western Europe in the future. With these iron ores, they will play a strong supporting role in France's industrial revolution.
If the industrial revolution in various European countries enters a stage of rapid development and the demand for coal and iron increases sharply, the value of these iron ores may exceed 100 million livres!
As for the war, even if half of France's military forces were to be transferred to Luxembourg, Joseph would not let the place be affected by the war.
Because he had absolute confidence in the stability of the region, he even took advantage of this wave of sales to buy many handicraft workshops and high-quality land.
The former can provide a large number of skilled smelting and mining workers, while the latter is used to build iron plants.
In fact, several of France's most rapidly developing steelmaking companies, including Grigo Brothers Steel Company and Silk Steel Company, have already arrived in Luxembourg City and are waiting to expand new plants here.
They have long been fed up with the low-yield and mediocre-quality iron ore in France. They had to import large quantities of Russian iron ore or purchase crude iron ingots from Luxembourg, which was very costly.
Now, their smelting plant can be built directly next to the iron ore, and the price of the ore is extremely favorable, which will greatly improve the cost, quality and output of the iron ingots they produce. In particular, they had previously obtained Joseph's "hot blast ironmaking" technology from the French Iron and Steel Technology Association. After half a year of exploration, they had basically understood it and completed small batch trial production in China. Now it is time to use new technology to build a factory in Luxembourg. The refined iron and steel produced can be sold nearby to German countries and earn huge profits.
For Joseph, as long as he firmly grasps the core resource of iron ore, there is no need to worry that these private capital will lose control.
After all, to develop the entire French coal and iron industry, it is not enough to rely solely on royal investment and operation. Private enterprises must be encouraged to participate to the maximum extent. And Joseph can provide them with advanced technology and ideas, and help them develop the market through national actions, ensuring that every river investment can get a considerable return.
After these private companies develop, they can contribute a large amount of tax revenue to support France's finances, ultimately leading to an increase in overall national strength.
This can be regarded as the first dividend brought by France after its victory in the war in Luxembourg. Moreover, Luxembourg is a very small place and is close to France. Before the industry develops, it will not attract too much attention from the great powers. It is definitely the best choice for France to expand its overseas influence.
After the signing ceremony was over, Joseph read out a congratulatory speech surrounded by everyone, and then motioned for everyone to attend the signing banquet, but he was planning in his heart how to use it if he could obtain the Wallonia District of Southern Netherlands in the future. The rich coal resources there combined with the iron resources in Luxembourg have become the coal and iron core of French industrial development!
Immediately, Joseph thought about the security issues in this area and couldn't help but frown.
After all, Wallonia and Luxembourg are both on the fringes of France. Once a war breaks out, the enemy can easily attack here, causing huge damage to France's coal and iron core.
"So, it is best to turn Wallonia and Luxembourg into inland provinces, so that we can have a certain strategic depth..." Joseph boarded the carriage and looked out the window at the Luxembourg and Luxembourg people who were flocking to the banquet hall with smiles on their faces. The French businessman couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Everyone can just enjoy the results, but he has to worry about the whole of France.
…
Paris.
Eden Playground.
"Wow, it's like flying into the sky!"
Accompanied by childish cheers, the little girl sitting on the merry-go-round tightly grasped the handle with one hand and raised her other hand high like a riding crop, letting her goose-yellow skirt and beautiful braid fly in the wind. , and her gentle big blue eyes were full of excitement and intoxication.
When the wooden horse turned around again, she turned her baby-fat face and shouted to the bored man standing outside the fence:
"Uncle Alexei, can you make it fly faster?"
"Oh, Her Majesty Grand Duchess Alexandra, I told you not to call me that," Alexei lowered his voice and put on a dissatisfied expression, "There are no outsiders here."
But he still winked at the guard on the side, who immediately ran to ask the amusement park employees, then quickly returned and whispered a few words to him.
(End of chapter)