The Rise of the European Emperor

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In fact, Marin is equipped with copper cannons in the Beihai Army, and there is also some financial pressure. Fortunately, he funded and participated in the development of the Fayilun giant copper mine in Sweden, and he can get a lot of copper ingots every year. In addition, cheap copper can also be purchased from India and the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I dare to have the confidence to engage in an arms race with bronze cannons.

However, the large-caliber heavy artillery such as the Hongyi cannon and the Karen naval gun on the warship are all cast with low carbon steel. Anyway, people from other countries cannot easily go to the warships of the North Sea State to inspect the artillery. And for those warships that need to appear in people's sight, Marin ordered to smear gold powder on the surface of the gun body, which looked like a copper cannon. Anyway, those outsiders on board did not dare to scratch the cannon, and could not see the truth.

Even many sailors on the ship did not know that the naval guns on the ship were originally cast iron. Only those captains and other management, as well as the gunners, will know the material of the artillery. Of course, those veteran sailors must know. Only those new sailors will not know the secrets.

And those outsiders who don't know the truth, after seeing the "bronze cannons" on the armed merchant ships of the Beihai Kingdom, all clicked their tongues-Nimma, the Beihai Kingdom is really rich! Energy consumes so much copper to cast cannons...

However, because of this, Marin's business of purchasing cheap copper in India was targeted by the Spaniards and Portuguese. After being inspired by Marin, the high-level executives of the two countries suddenly realized-yes, why can't we purchase cheap copper cannons in India?

Although according to the original spice trade transfer agreement, Spain and Portugal cannot restrict Marin from purchasing cheap copper in India. However, they can compete with Marin and rush to buy cheap copper from India! Therefore, Marin can also feel that it will be more difficult to purchase cheap copper in India in the future.

In addition, purchasing cheap copper in the Ming Dynasty was also troublesome. It turned out that Kong Tai's behavior of purchasing a large amount of copper in the Ming Dynasty aroused the dissatisfaction of the Ming cabinet. Because, the auxiliary ministers of the Ming Dynasty believed that Daming itself was short of copper, so how could they watch the copper flow out?

It just so happened that because the treasure banknotes were not accepted by the people, the Ming court was already discussing the complete abolition of the treasure banknotes. At this time, copper coins became the only legal tender. The withdrawal of treasure banknotes will also cause a sharp increase in the demand for copper coins. Therefore, the princes of the Ming Dynasty who were discussing the abolition of banknotes were very unhappy with Kong Tai's large purchase of copper, the material for casting coins.

For this reason, the Daming cabinet has sent a document to Kong Tai, asking him to curb his purchase of copper in Daming. Because copper is the material for making coins, and the Ming Dynasty itself lacked it...

Kong Tai sent the news back to the mainland, and Marin was also a little worried. It will definitely be difficult for India to buy copper in the future. After all, the North Sea country has no colonies in India, and it is not as convenient as Spain and Portugal to buy cheap copper. And the Ming Dynasty also restricted the purchase of copper, so where to get copper?

Marin first thought of Japan,

However, the problem is that the current situation in Japan is complicated. Moreover, their domestic armed forces are not weak. It would be difficult to conquer Japan without launching a nationwide expedition. However, in that case, the risk is also great. After all, there is a danger that the lair will be destroyed by someone. And if there are fewer people sent, it will not be able to suppress the counterattack of the Japanese local forces. Even if you occupy the Copper Mountain, you may not be able to mine copper mines with peace of mind.

Then, I can only consider other places...

Marin thought of the Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile again, which is the world's largest copper mine in later generations, and it is still an open-pit mine! But after thinking about it, Marin gave up again...

why? The problem lies in the local environment of the Chuquicamata copper mine! Chuquicamata is located on the edge of the desert in northern Chile, where the climate is unusually dry and hot. In such a harsh environment, it is impossible to gather a large number of miners for mining. But the supply of fresh water is very difficult.

Just like the saltpeter mine near Iquique that Marin is currently mining, due to climate reasons, it can only be mined with drought-resistant and heat-resistant Egyptian slaves, and the output is difficult to increase. The most important thing is that the supply of fresh water is difficult, and we can only rely on camels for water supply. The saltpeter mine near Iquique is relatively close to the sea, and there is no problem with the fresh water supply. And Chuquicamata is deep in the desert, near the western foot of the Andes, and far away from the sea. It is really difficult to guarantee the supply of fresh water... Unless, after the train opens...

Therefore, Marin had to temporarily abandon this super copper mine in Chile. Then, he thought of the Olympic Dam in Australia...but he quickly rejected this mine, because although the Olympic Dam has a large reserve, it is also associated with gold. However, Temiao's copper mine is at a depth of more than 100 meters underground. With the current level of technology, it is extremely difficult and dangerous to mine... So, this can only be passed...

In addition, Marin also knows the Bingham copper mine in the United States, the copper mine in Zambia, and the copper mine in Congo... However, these are useless...

The Bingham Copper Mine in the United States is located in western Utah, deep inland, and Marin obviously does not have the ability to develop there. As for the copper mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one is currently in the territory of Spain, and the other is in the territory of Portugal, so it is not easy to start.

In addition, there seems to be a copper mine in Panama? But Marin vetoed the plan to mine copper in Panama. Because the climate in Panama was too harsh in this era. Take a group of miners to Panama to mine copper, who knows how many of those miners will survive.

The same is true for the copper mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this undeveloped primitive age, the climate there can kill people. Want to mine copper? It's better to take a rest... It is better to choose to mine copper in the desert of Chuquicamata, Chile than to mine copper in the tropical rainforest. At least, as long as there is water in the desert, it is easier to survive than in the tropical rainforest. After all, there are no poisonous mosquitoes or insects. If there was, I would have died of thirst a long time ago...

...

Marin was very sad, so he ran to Gan Fushuizi to find comfort. After hearing Marin's complaints, Gan Fushuizi made a very good suggestion...

"My lord, why are you obsessed with occupying the Copper Mountain? You can also develop it in cooperation with others..."

"Cooperation? How to cooperate?" Marin froze for a moment.

"Didn't you say that there are many copper mines in Japan? Since you want to get copper quickly, why don't you use the local daimyo to develop mines first? In this way, you want to get copper quickly!"

Marin thought about it, and it was true. However, he was worried that after the copper mine was mined, the local big name would turn against him and refuse to sell copper to him...

After hearing Marin's worries, Gan Fushuizi covered his mouth with a light smile and said:

"Master Husband filtered it. As you know, Japan is short of supplies. As long as you can bring Japan's urgently needed commodities, such as weapons and armor that are urgently needed by the Daimyo family, as well as rare goods that are urgently needed in Japan such as silk and sugar, don't worry. The other party refuses to sell copper to you?"

Marin immediately realized—yes, it's a seller's market now. Those daimyos of Japan's ruling countries are all poor, and they can't exchange any commodities with others. If there is copper that can be exchanged, it will definitely be taken out. Because they can't exchange other valuable commodities with others for the commodities they need...

"Maybe, it is really possible to use the local daimyo to develop the copper mine first?" Marin was a little uncertain.

Gan Fu Shuizi said:

"My lord, it will be very convenient for those local daimyos to develop the Copper Mountain. After all, they are locals... Besides, after the Copper Mountain is developed, Nobunaga's army can take it..."

Marin's eyes suddenly brightened—yes, first use the locals to develop Tongshan. Then, after I have accumulated enough strength, I will take down the Copper Mountain... Hehe...

At this time, the name of a famous copper mountain popped up - Ashio copper mountain!

The Ashio Copper Mine was one of the largest copper mines in the Edo period in Japan, and it was also the main source of material for the main Japanese copper coin with a large circulation in the Edo period - Kanei Tongbao. It is said that at its peak, Ashio Copper Mine produced 1,200 tons of copper annually! This is the output of ancient times, the output of the purely artificial era!

If, now, Marin fools the local daimyo of Ashio Copper Mountain to develop the copper mine first, and obtain enough copper... Later, he will find a way to swallow Ashio Copper Mountain...

Moreover, this method is very feasible. In this era, Japan was one of the few countries with a large population in the world, and it lacked the most human resources to develop Tongshan. Like the Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile, there is no one there, and moving a large number of miners there is a lot of trouble in itself. Unlike Japan's Copper Mountain, a large number of labor can be grabbed from nearby to serve as miners. Therefore, if you want to quickly develop a mine, you must be in an area like Japan that does not lack human resources. In a deserted place, it would be hard to find miners for mining...