Greece to roman road

As for the third one, they have taken a fancy to the large number of ships under the names of these two companies. Every year, several of their ships exceed their service life and are decommissioned. These scrap steel removed from the broken ships are also the products of Constantine. An important raw material for the planned steel plant.

Fourth, these two companies have been immersed in the ocean transportation industry for many years. Compared with others, these two companies are more likely to get information about scrapped ships. After all, it is not easy for outsiders to find out such information. After all, scrapped ships are also Not often encountered.

As for why these two families responded positively and immediately sent personnel to negotiate after being invited by Constantine, the reason is easy to understand.

Large energy consumers like steel plants, among other things, consume tens of thousands of tons of coal, not to mention the iron ore used.

Greece itself does not have coal or iron ore for steelmaking, and the raw materials for steel plants need to be imported. This is a well-known fact.

For ocean transportation practitioners like them, even if they do not plan to invest in the Greek steel plant after passing the on-site inspection, this transportation business is an exciting business for them.

After all, transporting tens of thousands of tons of goods every year can be considered a highly profitable business.

Hearing Constantine's inquiry, Laris, the potbellied of the two, replied: "Your Majesty the Duke, as far as we know, there is no industry in Greece. Even if we are willing to invest in a steel plant, the smelted What’s the use of steel?”

So far, Greece is an agricultural country, and all kinds of industrial products are basically imported. The steel from steel plants is useless.

"Mr. Larris, I don't think this is a problem at all."

"If nothing else, the supply of the Greek army alone may exceed the supply of the steel plant's production capacity."

"There is no doubt that the Greek army will be an important customer of this steel plant in the future."

Constantine hinted that this steel factory would be engaged in the business of weapons production.

"But so far, as far as we know, the weapons of the Greek army, whether guns, ammunition, or cannons, are all imported from Western European countries," Rodokanaski asked.

Hearing Constantine mention military use, both of them were actually excited.

Without him, the profits of weapons suppliers are really huge, and the future of weapons production is really bright.

For example, the famous weapons supplier in Europe, the Krupp family, was a target that the European business families at that time looked up to.

When people mention this family, they are like people mentioning Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, in later generations.

Since the Franco-Prussian War, the Krupp family has become a famous weapons supplier with its high-performance cannons.

During the Franco-Prussian War, the breech-loading cannons provided by the Krupp family surpassed the front-loading cannons commonly equipped by the French army in all major performances.

The Prussian army had more than 500 cannons, nearly 1/3 more than the French army. Secondly, the French army's front-loading guns had a very slow rate of fire, only one shot every two minutes. The most important thing was that the French army's twelve-pounder cannon had a maximum range of only 1,400 meters, and the 6-pound Krupp cannon equipped by the Prussian army has a maximum range of 3,400 meters. After the one-sided bombardment, the Prussian soldiers even thought that they no longer needed to load the guns in their hands, because the cannon Did all the work for them.

After this battle, with the feat of trampling the French army under its feet, Krupp's cannon became famous in one battle, and armies from various countries rushed to buy Krupp's cannon.

You know, the original Krupp Company in Essen was just a humble blacksmith shop, doing some humble small businesses. When it was passed into the hands of the old Krupp (the person who promoted the Krupp Company) , just a few huts.

In just a few decades, it became famous all over the world.

Princes and nobles from various countries are all guests of the Krupp family. For example, the Russian Czar Alexander had a close relationship with the Krupp family. The first submarine of the Krupp family was also sold to the Russians.

It can be said that the Krupp family not only gained endless wealth by virtue of their products, but also gained great power.

Li Hongzhang, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the late Qing Dynasty, also had a special liking for Krupp cannons and purchased Krupp cannons many times.

In the face of the general managers of Westernization Enterprises, Li Hongzhang once repeatedly mentioned this company that started from three thatched huts, implying that he hoped that they would become China's Krupp.

In fact, the Chinese transliteration of a name like Krupp is quite interesting. Combined with the historical background, let’s take a closer look at the meaning of the three words, Krupp.

It can be said that at the end of the 19th century, every business family mentioned the Krupp family without envy.

Although the Larris family and the Rodokanasky family have a large number of "friends" in Russia and Britain through their shipping business, they are nothing compared to big families like the Krupp family.

"But it's different now. You also know that some time ago, Prime Minister Trikoupis went to Western Europe to seek loans to carry out transportation construction in Greece and support the development of industry and commerce in Greece. It is clear that Greece's domestic industry and commerce will enter a period of rapid development. Expect"

Seeing that these two people still seemed hesitant, Constantine had no choice but to continue to increase his chips.

"Therefore, you don't have to worry about the profitability of this steel plant."

"First of all, the scale of this steel plant is not large. In the initial stage, it has an annual output of tens of thousands of tons."

"Secondly, the steel produced by this steel plant, regardless of other market demands, will give priority to meeting the needs of the Greek army's gun steel."

After this period of military experience, Constantine found it intolerable that almost all military weapons relied on imports.

The high price of imported weapons has greatly affected the normal training of the army.

A large amount of currency was used to purchase imported weapons, and the arms trade became an important factor in Greece's trade deficit.

From the beginning, Constantine hoped that this steel plant could produce steel for guns and free the Greek army from dependence on foreign weapons.

Now in order to attract investors, Constantine first launched this plan.

Sure enough, both of them were very excited when they heard Constantine's plan for the steel plant.

Engaging in the business of arms production not only provides huge profits, but also provides a social status that cannot be obtained by engaging in the transportation industry.

Due to the particularity of weapons production, in fact, weapons suppliers in various countries have close contacts with political figures in the authorities, even officers in the military.

It can be said that as long as you gain a firm foothold in the weapons production industry, you will naturally take root deeply in the upper class society of the country where you live.

Now, Constantine opened a door to the upper class for them, something they could not afford in the highly competitive maritime industry.