Chapter 108. A Spoon
The rewards I received from the Pope of the Sun God Church numbered three.
A medal for the foremost contributor.
The right to request one audience that the Pope could not refuse.
And the right, on one occasion, to mobilize the Holy Knights of the Sun God Church and receive their assistance.
Since the Holy See was a religious organization, it was a little disappointing that I couldn't receive a material reward.
But the greatest reward was still the guarantee of my safety and rights.
Now no one could casually touch me.
Not even the Franche royal family.
I returned to Marcel immediately after receiving the rewards.
The human side had unexpectedly suffered heavy losses at La Spezia, so the recapture of Liguria was postponed.
The allied forces dispersed for the time being.
As soon as I returned, I held a lord's meeting.
One dead.
Five wounded.
Those were the casualties suffered by the Marcel Knights at La Spezia.
I ordered compensation paid to the families and made arrangements so the dead knight's manor could be inherited.
"Moving on to the next matter, we're going to develop a coal mine in Dijon. Contact the Miners' Guild."
Coal and oil were already used in small quantities in this world.
Naturally, their uses were limited because of the toxic smoke produced when they burned.
Perhaps thanks to the arrangement of the gods, trees also grew incredibly quickly in this world.
Even with a lifestyle heavily dependent on firewood, forests didn't easily disappear.
That was one reason the Great Forest was so difficult to clear.
Diego asked,
"Is this another new project?"
"I want to use coal directly, but more importantly, I want to process it into another fuel."
"Coke?"
"Exactly."
Iron was essential.
Ironmaking, smelting, and casting were among the most important technologies for the future.
That was why I'd asked both King Louis and Yasmin for craftsmen.
If I tried to do everything without experienced people, I might end up recreating the Great Leap Forward and making useless backyard furnaces.
I have no intention of becoming Mao.
Research came first.
At that moment, Moritz raised his hand.
He was Count Palatinate's son and was currently staying in Marcel as a liaison.
He was allowed to attend meetings, but normally had no right to speak.
"What?"
"May I say something?"
"If it's something trivial, you die."
"...I'll apologize in advance."
Everyone ignored my joke.
Moritz continued.
"There are enormous coal deposits south of Palatinate. Would Marcel be interested in importing coal from there?"
"South of Palatinate?"
"The Baden and Bavaria regions."
There were no proper lords or major nobles in those areas.
Most of the land was still covered by the Great Forest.
Only scattered pioneer settlements existed.
"You're saying we should develop mines through the Great Forest?"
"If there's money in it, people will do anything."
"There are ogres and trolls in Baden. Bavaria has orcs."
"They aren't everywhere. There are many villages near the Palatinate border, and obtaining labor would be easy. It's mostly safe."
"Mostly?"
Moritz quietly looked away.
That meant monsters appeared from time to time.
"I'm not investing my own money into developing it."
"Then the Palatinate family can invest."
This brat wants to stick a spoon into my money-making project.
I looked at him for a moment.
Then another idea came to mind.
What if Palatinate and Westfalen became the dominant economic powers of Germania?
Most of the river ships traveling between the two territories were already owned by companies connected to me.
If both regions developed steel industries as well, the amount of river trade would explode.
I would make a fortune.
At the same time, Palatinate and Westfalen would become richer and militarily stronger.
That could also weaken Germania's central authority.
Like Veneto in Odoacer, powerful provincial families might eventually seek either permanent control of the imperial throne or independence from the imperial community.
"Fine."
Moritz straightened.
"We'll create a joint company. Marcel, Palatinate, and Westfalen. It will mine coal and produce iron."
"Really?"
"But I hold more than fifty percent."
Moritz's eyes shone.
"Of course."
"You agreed awfully quickly."
"If iron is involved, that's obvious."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. The technology isn't ready yet. We'll build the first steelworks in Marcel. Palatinate and Westfalen come later."
"Naturally."
Moritz was already pulling out paper.
He looked like he was about to write to his father.
Father, prepare to be showered in money.
Something like that.
I should probably write to Michael Westfalen too.
Although I didn't want to write anything that embarrassing.
* * *
Marcel, Ronalp, and Dijon did not possess any enormous iron mines.
There were small deposits, but most iron ore was imported from Catalonia.
Fortunately, Marcel and Catalonia had mutually abolished tariffs.
Catalonian exporters increasingly preferred Marcel.
A Catalonian administrator reported the rapidly increasing export volume to the Marquis.
"Another increase?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Didn't Count Marcel recently gain two additional territories?"
"Ronalp and Dijon, yes. But even accounting for their populations, the amount of iron they're buying is unusual."
"What usually happens when a territory suddenly uses a lot of iron?"
"War."
The Marquis frowned.
"Eric has fought too many wars lately."
"Ronalp. Dijon. The internal conflict in Westfalen. La Spezia."
"None of those were proper wars."
"True."
The Marquis thought for a moment.
"Should we be wary of him?"
The administrator shook his head.
"The opposite."
"What?"
"If Count Marcel is beginning another business, we should join it."
The Marquis smiled.
That made sense.
Whenever the words Eric Marcel and business appeared together, money followed.
"My son-in-law really does drip gold wherever he goes."
The Marquis called for a liaison.
The man chosen was one of his distant relatives who had previously worked with Eric during the canal ship project.
He already knew Eric fairly well.
"Go to Marcel. Stick close to Eric and find out what he's doing."
"Understood."
Another person had decided to put a spoon into my project.
* * *
I gathered Marcel's ironworkers, craftsmen sent from Le Capital, Fatima craftsmen, and several mages.
Then I explained everything I remembered.
"If you heat coal in a sealed kiln without allowing it to burn normally, you can produce coke."
One craftsman raised his hand.
"What temperature?"
"I don't know."
"For how long?"
"I don't know."
"...Then what exactly do you know?"
"You crush iron ore, mix it with coke, put it into a blast furnace, and burn it at high temperature. Then pig iron comes out."
Silence.
"That's it."
Fortunately, the craftsmen were professionals.
They quickly began discussing the similarities between coke and charcoal.
If the underlying principle was similar, experiments could begin immediately.
"I think we can test this within a few days."
"Good."
The atmosphere felt promising.
Engineers are wonderful creatures.
