Greece to roman road

"Your Majesty the Duke, I agree with Greece building power stations as basic energy and making full use of Greece's few resources - lignite. However, I have a question, why did you choose alternating current instead of direct current?" Kang Torriotis brought up old matters again.

"Is there any risk in such a choice? If future power development proves that DC is more promising, what about the AC system that Greece spent huge amounts of money to build?"

Judging from the attitude of Kontoriotis frequently asking questions, Constantine can be sure that this business representative living in Egypt is indeed moved.

Otherwise, he would not question it at all. As the saying goes, "the buyers are the ones who find fault."

It was precisely because investing in Greece's cotton textile industry required large sums of money that Contoriotis was eager to understand Constantine's confidence in directly building an alternating current system.

Both DC and AC systems are exclusive. You cannot build two systems in the same area.

It's like, you can't install pipes from two water companies in one house.

Seeing Contoriotis asking such a professional question, Tesla took the initiative to answer: "Mr. Contoriotis, alternating current has obvious benefits compared to direct current."

"For example, there is the problem of long-distance transmission of DC power. Once the transmission distance of DC power exceeds one kilometer, the voltage will attenuate sharply. Therefore, with the current technical means, if you want to use DC power on a large scale, this is an unsolvable problem. "

"Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that there is a DC power station within one kilometer around each user, otherwise the voltage reduction will not be able to meet the user's needs at all."

"Moreover, in industrial production, DC motors have complex structures and higher costs."

"Alternating current is different. Due to the particularity of alternating current, transformers can be used for long-distance transmission. The higher the power, the lower the loss during the power transmission process. Therefore, using alternating current not only frees users from the limitation of distance, but also Can be transmitted more economically over long distances”

"Moreover, AC motors have a simple structure and are easy to manufacture, making them more conducive to mass production and use."

Kontoriotis listened to Tesla's explanation attentively.

"But my friends in New York, USA, said that Edison, the boss of General Motors and the famous American inventor, is actively promoting the DC system."

When Kontoriotis inquired about the development of the electric power industry, he heard that the electric power industry in the United States was developing rapidly, so he sent a telegram to a friend living in the Greek community in New York to inquire about the news.

After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, the situation of Greek merchants and Jewish merchants was very similar. They did business all over the world, and most of the more prosperous commercial cities had Greek settlements.

Electric power systems are organized into systems. Since Constantine wants to build an alternating current power station, Contoriotis naturally also wants to purchase textile machines powered by alternating current.

Once alternating current is proven to be unsuitable, or direct current is more suitable for large-scale industrial production, he will suffer huge losses.

When Constantine heard this, he burst into laughter. He did not expect that the dispute between Tesla and Edison over "DC and AC" still happened even after Constantine intervened.

Compared with Tesla, who is still unknown, Edison, who is famous, is indeed much more credible.

It's no wonder that Contoriotis was confused.

Tesla also didn't expect that he had already come to Greece to study alternating current. Across the vast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, he could still hear news from his former boss Edison, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"Actually, Tesla just concluded the advantages and disadvantages of direct current and alternating current when he was working in Mr. Edison's laboratory," Constantine took over.

"Mr. Tesla worked in Mr. Edison's research laboratory before. Before coming to Greece, he had been engaged in direct current research in Edison's laboratory, so his views are trustworthy."

When Contoriotis moved out and Edison questioned his move to develop alternating current, Constantine didn't know how to explain it to him.

Nor could he tell Contoriotis that this was Tesla, a great scientist known to the world in the future, who was worthy of trust.

The same alternating current will be popular in the world, which has been proved by history.

He couldn't say this.

The job of attracting investment to Greece is not easy.

"Well, Mr. Kontoriotis, if practice proves that alternating current is not suitable for industrial production compared to direct current, then I will bear the losses caused by your investment in Greece."

Constantine had absolute confidence in alternating current, so he dared to guarantee it.

As soon as this statement came out, everyone except Tesla was surprised.

They were amazed at Constantine's confidence in alternating current.

Hearing that Constantine had such a decisive attitude, Contoriotis also confirmed that Constantine was not young and energetic, but made a decision after careful consideration.

Therefore, he also expressed his attitude and said: "Your Majesty the Duke, in this case, then I will make a decision on behalf of the Greek businessmen group in Alexandria, Egypt, to build a cotton spinning and weaving factory in Greece."

"It's just that I have a condition"

"I hope the Greek royal family will also invest a certain amount of money and occupy part of the shares."

Kontoriotis looked directly at Constantine.

Constantine was stunned when he heard this, then thought about it and understood what Contoriotis was thinking.

There are only two reasons:

First of all, if there is really a loss due to the risk of alternating current, the loss will not be borne by his family alone.

As for Constantine's so-called compensation for losses, this kind of empty promise cannot be fully counted on.

As for the second reason, which is more complicated, it is the political support behind business.

Kontoriotis, who started his career as a comprador in Egypt, naturally understands the essence of business.

When it comes to capitalism and market economy, many people's first impression is of free and fair competition, the spirit of contract, etc.

This is indeed one aspect of the capitalist market economy, but it is not comprehensive.

If you just want to make a fortune, it is feasible to rely on the shrewd and outstanding management capabilities of the operator or the technical capabilities of the business organization.

But if you are not just satisfied with this, it is impossible to become a powerful international businessman without a political platform behind you.

For example, the cannons produced by Krupp Company have been famous at home and abroad since the Franco-Prussian War. The Qing Dynasty in Asia knew that Krupp cannons were good and purchased many cannons produced by Krupp Company.

But what you don’t know is that Kaiser Wilhelm II was the majority shareholder of Krupp.

In addition to William II, the Krupp Company also had a group of directors with powerful energy. They also had a share of credit behind the Krupp cannons snapped up by the armies of various countries.