The Rise of the European Emperor

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In addition to doing some intrigues and tricks, Marin was busy setting up several chambers of commerce during this period of time to sell food.

This time, Marin intends to sell most of the old grain from his family and other noble families. As for those that cannot be sold, they are kept and used for the rations of the common people, as well as for raising pigs and making wine.

In order to hide the true source of the grain, Marin formed more than a dozen chambers of commerce. However, the places of registration are all foreign countries. For example, Marin registered a Polish chamber of commerce, hired several Poles, and claimed that the rye they sold was rye produced in Poland. In fact, Poland is indeed a big rye producing country. Marin sent people to sell "Polish rye" posing as the Polish Chamber of Commerce. There is nothing wrong and no one doubts it.

In addition, Marin is registered with the Danish, Dutch, British, French, Spanish and Italian chambers of commerce to distribute rye throughout Europe, especially in Britain, Spain and Italy, where rye prices are higher. Spain, in particular, has a large land area, but it has a lot of mountains, and it is okay to engage in animal husbandry and agriculture. The conditions are far worse than those of France, and even not as good as Germany. To be sure, this time Marin threw out hundreds of millions of pounds of rye, which will definitely make European food prices turbulent. And a lot of money will inevitably flow to the Grand Duchy of Beihai.

Of course, Marin is not limited to accepting coins, and other valuable goods can also be used to offset the payment. For example, excellent horses, and cattle and sheep. In addition, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin and other metals and metal products can also offset the price of food. In short, Marin didn’t want the grain to go moldy in the granary, so he had to replace it with a large quantity of usable and easy-to-storage materials.

Suddenly, a subordinate reported that Amerigo and the fleet to India had returned...

Marin was stunned at first, then ecstatic. Last spring, Marin let his fleet, led by the navigator Amerigo, go south to Spain, and together with the Spanish fleet, set off for India.

The reason for this was that Marin's army was running out of gunpowder. In particular, the lack of saltpeter. This also led to the shortage of gunpowder after Marin dispatched the national troops to fight the Bosa coalition this time. If the German princes united to fight against Marin, Marin would not have enough gunpowder to fight against them... Otherwise, Marin would not submit to those princes...

Marin's Spanish phalanx and artillery ships consumed a great deal of gunpowder. Especially the artillery ships, a salvo, the consumption of gunpowder is simply amazing. The naval battle that took place in the western waters of Jutland consumed almost half of the gunpowder. Although the fight was great, and the Danish fleet was defeated, Marin didn't dare to use the gunboats easily. Then, a fleet was sent to India to continue to buy saltpeter.

Only by having enough saltpeter can we dispense enough gunpowder and have enough right to fire. Otherwise, all of Marin's muskets will become fire sticks, and the artillery will also be reduced to scrap iron lumps.

The ability of the British to dominate the sea is inseparable from the hundreds of tons of saltpeter that the East India Company brings from India every year.

The problem, though, is that in the future Spain and Portugal will share India. If the two countries join forces to cut off Marin's supply of saltpeter, Marin's army's combat effectiveness will immediately drop several grades. Therefore, the development of Chilean saltpeter is inevitable. Moreover, Chile has large reserves of saltpeter and abundant surface minerals. In addition to the severe water shortage and relatively hot desert areas, other costs are relatively low.

However, Marin will not stop purchasing saltpeter from India in the future. Why? Because Marin doesn't buy it, Spain and Portugal will. If they buy it, they will increase the firepower at sea and affect Marin's maritime hegemony.

Therefore, Marin's plan is to continue to buy saltpeter in large quantities from India even if Chilean saltpeter is developed in the future. For no other reason than to prevent other European countries from buying enough saltpeter from India...

When the naval battle broke out, Marin's side had enough saltpeter, but his opponent was not enough, and the difference would be obvious as soon as the cannon was fired. The naval guns on my side can shoot as much as they want, while the opponent's artillery ammunition is limited. It is clear who wins and who loses...

Moreover, even if there is too much saltpeter, Marin is not worried. Because saltpeter can be used as a special nitrogen fertilizer, it is much stronger than manure...

Marin remembers that after the development of Chile's saltpeter in the 19th century, the British Liverpool trading group took control of Chile's saltpeter trade. In addition to part of it is used to make gunpowder, the other part is exported to Europe and the United States as special chemical fertilizers. Among them, American agriculture was once very dependent on Chile's saltpeter. Until the Germans came up with synthetic ammonia in the early 20th century, the world's demand for Chilean saltpeter was greatly reduced. The Chilean saltpeter trade then declined.

For now, Marin can only think about buying saltpeter in bulk from India. As for the saltpeter in the Chilean desert, I don't even know where it is. Even if it is discovered, the preparation work in advance is very complicated if it is to be mined in a harsh environment.

Therefore, in two or three years, Marin will not even think about mining saltpeter in large quantities from Chile, but must first rely on saltpeter from India. Of course, if the route to Daming is opened, saltpeter can also be imported from Daming at a lower price. You must know that the saltpeter in Daming is very cheap. The refined and purified saltpeter is only thirty or forty cents per pound, which is cheaper than the saltpeter in India. The price of saltpeter in India is about 54 cents per pound, and it has not been refined, and the purity is lower than that of Daming saltpeter.

In fact, the purification technology of saltpeter at this time in the Ming Dynasty was also very simple, that is, dissolve the saltpeter and cook it together with the radish slices, and use the adsorption properties of the radish slices to absorb the magnesium sulfate and other impurity salts in the saltpeter, making the saltpeter purer.

Because, the normal mg of magnesium sulfate is often easy to deliquescence. And saltpeter is very afraid of water, so mg makes saltpeter ineffective. Saltpeter cannot be stored for a long time if it is not removed.

Therefore, the saltpeter imported by Marin from India has actually been processed. That is, parsnips-turnips are sliced ​​and boiled with saltpeter solution, and then the water is evaporated to obtain mg removed.

This purified saltpeter can be stored for a long time in a sealed oil-paper bag. Unlike untreated saltpeter, even if it is kept sealed, it will deliquesce and fail in a few years.

...

In fact, when his men reported to Marin that Amerigo's ship had returned, Amerigo's fleet had not yet returned to Emden, but was still in the Atlantic.

This is because the Amerigo fleet moved with the Spanish fleet and stayed in the Spanish port of Cadiz for a long time. But Marin's intelligence officers in Spain, when Amerigo's fleet stopped at the port of Cádiz, dispatched people to report to Marin by land.

Of course, in a few days, Amerigo's fleet will appear in the port of Emden. By then, Marin will have enough saltpeter to fight another massive war.

In order to purify these Indian saltpeter, Marin has issued orders to send people to buy large quantities of parsnips - turnips, to further purify the saltpeter, so as to facilitate the long-term preservation of the saltpeter.

Marin himself, on the other hand, rushed to the port of Emden, where he was waiting for the return of Amerigo's fleet...