King of Mercenaries Chapter 344

Published at 14th of June 2023 05:11:21 AM

In fact, Marin has deep considerations to support the independence of the Swedes. The Swedes' independence can not only attract the attention of Denmark, the old backing country of Oldenburg, allow Marin to easily regain control of the Jävre region, but also allow Marin to obtain minerals from Sweden.

When talking about the minerals in Sweden, I have to mention the famous and super large copper mine in Sweden-Fayilun Copper Mine. Later generations only knew about high-quality high-grade iron ore in Sweden, but they didn't know that, as far back as the Middle Ages, the Swedish Fayilun Copper Mine had long been famous in Europe.

In the most popular copper mine in the 17th century, the Swedish Fayilun Copper Mine produced an average of 3,500 tons of copper per year, twice the total copper output of all other European countries in the same period. Moreover, this copper mine has been mined for hundreds of years.

More importantly, before Japanese copper in Asia was sold to Europe by Dutch, European copper prices were very expensive. Prior to the large-scale development of the Fayilun Copper Mine, the price of copper in Europe was extremely expensive, and the price ratio between silver and copper was between about 1:15 and 1:20. In the 17th century, after the large-scale development of the Fayilun Copper Mine, European copper prices fell drastically because of excessive output.

铜 In Europe at the time, copper was an extremely important resource. In addition to minting money and other utensils, it was also used on a large scale to cast bronze artillery. Especially the artillery used by the army is mainly cast from bronze. Because before the middle of the 19th century, hesitation in iron and steel technology was backward, and iron and steel artillery guns were too bulky for the army to carry. Therefore, until the mid-19th century, until the Civil War, most infantry artillery in Europe and the United States were made of copper.

But before the large-scale development of the Fayilun Copper Mine, because the price of copper was too expensive, 15 pounds of copper could be exchanged for a pound of silver, resulting in ordinary small countries that could not afford artillery. Only a tyrant country like France has the capital to launch hundreds of artillery in a battle. In addition, only the army of the Holy Roman Empire and some wealthy nobles (such as the Danish king, Duke of Saxony and other tyrants) have the financial resources to form a large-scale artillery unit. Generally, small countries cannot afford copper cannons, or they are just equipped with one or two or a few.

It is because of the high copper price that copper mining is very profitable. When Gustav II, the most promising king in the history of Sweden in the 17th century, relied on the huge profits of the French copper mine, he fed a powerful army. With Gustav II's southern expedition The Northern Warfare gave Sweden a huge name. It can be said that without the Fayilun Copper Mine, Sweden would not rise. Because, in the Gustav line, the musketeers were able to release their guns at no cost, because Sweden recognized the French Yilun copper mine to provide profits and funds for the Swedish musketeers and gunners to splurge.

You know, there are two-thirds of the Musketeers in the Gustav line and there are a lot of three-pound guns. Once fired up, gunpowder consumption is very amazing. The price of gunpowder was so expensive, so Gustav II's army cost a lot. However, relying on the huge profits of the Fayilun Copper Mine, Gu Erye has enough confidence to feed 20,000 elites, and he will be German.

Uh ...

Marin wants to support the old Sten. Stoure, but it is impossible to support him and Denmark to die in the end, this is a loss. After all, the War of Independence cannot be solved by one or two battles, and it may take many years. Because the Danes are not willing to lose Sweden, they will definitely send troops to fight for many times. Therefore, the cost of the war of independence is greater than the conflict between nations. After all, the conflict between nations may stop after one or two battles, but the two sides of the war of independence want you to die ...

So Marin planned to send someone to help the old Steen Stoure develop the Falun copper mine, so that Sweden believed that it had enough funds to support the war with the Danes. After all, this year, the price of copper is too high. If you get 15 tons of copper, you can exchange one ton of silver, which is almost worth 23,000 gold coins.

Moreover, it is not bad for Marin to support the old Steen Stoure development of the Fayilun copper mine. He can sign a contract in advance and ask for copper underwriting. Even because of the investment in development, Marin can take a stake in the copper mine and earn a huge profit.

Actually, copper mining began in the Fayilun Copper Mine as early as the 13th century. However, Sweden is in Northern Europe and belongs to an underdeveloped region in Europe, at least for now. Therefore, Fayilun Copper Mine lacks professional craftsmen. The process of smelting copper ore into copper is very backward. It is almost the original way of open-air operation and has a small scale.

What Marin has to do is to recruit a group of skilled artisans from areas with high experience in copper mining and smelting, such as Austria or Bohemia in the German region, to guide local Swedes and direct them to reasonably open the case. Mine and use advanced smelting methods to smelt copper ore to get more copper. In addition, some prospecting artisans can also explore more copper veins in the Fayilun copper mine area, and can mine holes according to the direction of the veins. Unlike now, the Swedes only mine some exposed copper ore on the surface, which is very primitive and backward, and the output is not high.

Although Marin can send a fleet to India to buy cheap copper. But right now, it happens that the Swedes need enough funds to help them develop copper mines. Not only can they have enough funds to fight the Danes, they can also make a living and earn a lot of copper nearby.

You know, buying copper in India is a waste of time. Once and again, it takes almost two years. Although cheap, it is inconvenient.

Umarin prefers to go to India to buy more saltpeter because of the shortage of saltpeter in Europe. And copper, with the development of the Fa Yilun copper mine, can buy enough cheap copper. After all, Marin intends to act as a shareholder of the Fa Yilun Copper Mine. Will shareholders buy copper at their copper mines at market prices? Naturally, I bought it at a cost price ...

In this way, Marin's ship to India in the future can be loaded with saltpeter, so as not to waste on loading copper. After all, that was a two-year trade back and forth, which was too inefficient.

Moreover, Marin supports the old Sten Sturre, not just for the Fa Yilun copper mine. In Kiruna, north of the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, there are top-grade high-grade iron ore with iron content of more than 70%, with reserves of billions of tons.

As long as Marin supports the old Steen Sturre to make Sweden independent, then Marin can rely on the friendly relationship between the two sides to send craftsmen to explore iron ore in northern Sweden.

Umarin remembers that in later generations, the northern iron mine in Sweden was near Kiruna and it was an open-pit iron mine. However, in this era, the city of Kiruna may not yet have appeared. However, Marin remembered that Kiruna was 145 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

As long as this data is remembered, Marin can use a sextant to measure latitude in northern Sweden, and then survey east-west at a latitude of 145 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

Anyway, Kiruna iron ore is open-air, as long as you look at those mountains to find, it is easy to find. Once the Kiruna iron ore is found, Marin can dig high-quality iron ore here, then transport it to East Friesland, smelt it into steel, and use it to cast artillery.

As for the local climate, it is not a problem. Because, although Kiruna is north of the Arctic Circle, it is not very cold. Because Kiruna is not far from the Atlantic Ocean and is affected by the North Atlantic warm current. The climate here is much warmer than that of Siberia at the same latitude. Even because of the warm North Atlantic current, Murmansk, which is higher in latitude than Kiruna, is still a frozen port. Probably, it will be colder here only in winter ~ www.novelhall.com ~ Other seasons, iron ore operation will not be affected much. If mining is developed, even in winter, iron ore can be continuously mined from mines with relatively constant temperature.

In order to obtain the high-quality iron ore in Kiruna, Marin even considered whether to send troops directly to the war and destroy Denmark, and then sought to cede northern Norway, and then find a way to obtain Kiruna from the Swedish. . In this way, Kiruna iron ore can be directly connected to the Atlantic Ocean through northern Norway, and can be easily transported back to East Friesland. (In fact, later Kiruna iron ore was also exported through the port of Narvik, Norway. ). Without taking down northern Norway, iron ore will need to travel to the Baltic Sea, and when leaving the Baltic Sea, they will be restrained by the Danes. Now, neither the Swedes nor the Danes pay much attention to the northern region. Because, although it is not too cold in the northern region, it is not very hot and is not suitable for crop growth. Only the Lapp (a polar nation, but not the Eskimo) stocked reindeer there ...

However, if you really participate in the war against Denmark, if you do not destroy Denmark, in the future, Marin's merchant ships will enter and leave the Danish Strait to trade in the Baltic Sea. It will definitely be embarrassed by the Danes or even blocked. Therefore, for this matter, Marin also has a headache and does not know how to choose.

Of course, the question of whether to participate in the war can be released first, but the development of the Yilun copper mine is not a big problem. Moreover, Marin can develop Fayilun Copper Mine in the name of a pseudonym without having to show up. In this way, it is also convenient to keep secrets, so as not to be hated by the Danes.

For this reason, Marin ordered to send people to Austria and Bohemia in the south to find high-level artisans who explore and smelt copper ore, hired them in the name of the chamber of commerce, and then sent them to the Falunlun area in Sweden ...

Chapter end