His Excellency the Count of Grandet

More than 100 years ago, Liverpool was just a small town in the north of England, on the east bank of the Mersey Estuary.It did not begin to develop slowly until after the English Civil War.The real prosperity is due to the increase in the volume of transactions with the West Indies; the high profits brought by the slave trade have made this original small dock one of the largest piers in Europe, and the slave trade accounts for 40.00% of all Europe above.

So Liverpool is very lively, but there are many human traffickers and the slave ships they buy and sell.A Frenchman like Charles usually sails directly to Dover and then to London.It is not uncommon to run to Liverpool around a big bend, but it is rare.

But Shire felt that the destination he set was correct.The reason is very simple, what do the British want so many slaves for?Isn't it prepared for population-intensive industries?

In other words, Liverpool is one of the areas deeply affected by the Industrial Revolution, and the degree of industrialization ranks among the top in England.

After Alphonse solved a series of formalities for foreigners to enter the country, the two changed clothes and wandered around the pier.

Alphonse was very puzzled that Charles had to change out of those delicate clothes made in France. "Why?" he asked Charles in a low voice, "The clothes of the British are too ugly! And that hair style that looks like a wig!"

Charles ignored the complaint.Given the various export restrictions in place in England to protect the country's industrial development, it was not easy for foreigners to do things.He is still thinking about moving a few machines (such as spinning machines, looms, etc.) back to Paris, but he can't be vigilant from the beginning.At this time, he only carefully identified the goods unloaded on the dock to study Liverpool's most profitable product——

Given England's superiority in technology, most of the imports were cheap raw materials.For example, wood and cotton, the latter especially wins.Then there are slaves, which belong to the import of labor force.

"What's so interesting about this?" Alphonse continued to be puzzled.

He only heard that Charles wanted to buy things, and he naturally thought of the things that France usually imports the most—everything needed for the army, as well as luxuries for the upper class to eat, drink and play.Here, Charles looked left and right, and in his eyes, it was not as reliable as Charles's act of sending people to the Far East to buy rare gadgets.

If Shire knew what he was thinking, he would be very speechless: Can a country become powerful just by maintaining a large number of troops and a luxurious lifestyle?It is better to invest money in basic industries, this is the correct posture for development!

Under the current circumstances, only the United Kingdom is trying to do this in the whole of Europe. It cannot be said that it is not far-sighted.The reason why the United Kingdom can become an old industrial power is inseparable from its early start and greater emphasis on development.

But this understanding is also based on the conclusions obtained by later generations, and cannot be explained in detail with Alphonse.So Charles only said: "Come on, ask me what I want to know; when the time comes, you will know it will be useful."

Alphonse nodded.He usually does not do translation work, but since Charles needs it, he is also willing to do it once. "I just need to help you this time, right?" He said with emotion, "You learn English so fast!"

Charles rolled his eyes inwardly, but said nothing.It's not that he learns quickly, it's that he has learned it before!Although some places are different, it is definitely much faster than beginners!

After a week, it turned out that it was the right choice for Charles to bring Alphonse.

Although Alphonse doesn't know why Shire is staying in Liverpool, he will do his best to meet Shire's various requests-walking the docks, talking to the shipowners; dealing with small factory owners, and getting visits to spinning mills and weaving factories s right.There are many large factories and small workshops in Liverpool; there is always someone willing to win over a big investor like Shire.

After wandering around a lot, Alphonse vaguely understood what exactly Charles wanted to buy, and couldn't help being a little surprised. "Are you interested in textiles? Hasn't your family been making wine for decades?"

"Is there any necessary negative connection to this?" Charles asked him back.People go to high places and water flows to low places. Of course, there are broader development opportunities that must be seized!

Alphonse scratched his head, finding no words to refute.If Shire wants to ship the machines back to the country, it will probably be a bit more troublesome - they have to be disassembled and re-shipped, or they can only hide a copy of the blueprint; but if they invest directly in the UK, they only need to find a good partner , there will be no such trouble.

To sum up, it is quite feasible.

"That's fine," Alphonse finally admitted, "I just didn't think of it for a while...as long as you have money, this is really the right thing to do." The textile industry is now a huge profit industry, right?

Charles neither confirmed nor denied.In his personal opinion, it is impossible to transport a large number of machines back, and investing in the UK is too far away, and he may be beyond his reach. He prefers to find a few technical talents to return to France-this is not always on the British trade protection list Come on!

As for issues such as patents, it is not too big.Watt's steam engine patent expired more than ten years ago, and improved models are everywhere.As long as you find a few clever people, plus his impression of the engine in later generations, it is not just empty talk to come up with a new model with higher efficiency.

And with power, it is very simple to do other things - textile, metallurgy, shipbuilding, printing, metal processing... and so on.Of course, before doing it, you have to consider the source of energy. Without coal, there will be no steam engine.

Charles vaguely thought of the direction of domestic development - he remembered that coal mines, iron mines and other minerals were located on the edge of the Paris Basin, located in the entire northeast of France.It seems that the first thing to do when you go back is to get these first, it is estimated that the difficulty is not too big...

Because the atmosphere in France doesn't pay attention to these, so far only a few railways run by steam locomotives have been built, which are not the most advanced ones.And the road is almost covered by him, just because other people don't care now!If you don't seize such a great opportunity now, when will you wait?

After seeing many loom shuttles and factory assembly lines, Shire also made friends with a few local people.

Some people make money, and some don't; as long as he shows a willingness to cooperate and a relatively attractive salary, no one will want to go to France with him.Because most of the time, what a person needs to be successful is just an opportunity; he provides such an opportunity, at least in the eyes of those who have no land of their own but want to earn more money.

But of course Shire wouldn't make his true intentions clear so early on.According to his plan, he first establishes a good relationship with people, and then tells them before returning to China, so as to have the best effect.In this respect, Alphonse's cheerful and enthusiastic nature helped him a lot without knowing it.

So, after staying in Liverpool for more than half a month, the two set off again to Manchester.

Alphonse couldn't take it anymore.Manchester, where is that?The black clouds developed by the coal mine can cover the sky, okay?What's the fun in being dirty everywhere?

At the time of his serious protest, the two were passing by on a freight railway locomotive.Charles was more interested in locomotives, and he didn't turn his head when he heard the words: "It's because there are coal mines!" If you don't go to see it with your own eyes, do you want him to rely on his own hands and feet to dig coal?Of course, it is to visit other coal mines and learn from them, so as to have a general direction!

Alphonse grimaced. "You're going to Manchester, and no one in Paris will believe it! Not even my father!" he said emphatically.But he can only talk, because he can't hold back Charles' idea at all.

Charles finally glanced at him.Alphonse can't be considered coquettish, it can only be regarded as the commonality of Parisians, and he doesn't particularly care about it.But at this point, something has to be said. "You saw those looms with hundreds of shuttles too, didn't you? What do you think if we go back and build a big factory like that?"

"It must be very profitable!" Alphonse replied without hesitation.He was itching to see it, and of course he agreed with Shire to use the venture capital on this-the profit might be as high as [-]%!

"Isn't that right?" Charles tried to persuade, "Those machines all need coal. At the beginning, we may only need a little; but what about more later? Is it all imported?"

Alphonse felt it.Charles is really going to do something big! "How did you think so much?" He was beginning to struggle with this now.Or is it because of Charles' vision that he can convince Victor to get that large amount of venture capital?

Charles shrugged.Can he say that he is time-traveled?This kind of golden finger, coupled with enough contacts and investment, as long as they are not too stupid, they can make money! "It doesn't matter," he replied, "what matters is, what do you want to do with me?"

"You mean..." Alphonse's eyes lit up.After visiting those factories, he was already moved, but he was not ashamed to mention it.

"Otherwise, do you think I'm taking you to England for a tour?" Charles smiled. "So, when you visit the Bromfield coal mine, you should also pay attention to it. If you are right, they have the most complete coal mine railway system in the world, and there are supporting safety lights..."

Alphonse nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.Now he is completely motivated by Qian Jing, and he just thinks this is a great thing - Charles has got the investment, and Charles knows how to make money. It is so easy for him to remember the actual process!

In this way, the two spent more time in Manchester.By the time they set off for London again, the two of them were almost as good as coal miners.Even the managers of the coal mine, who have been with many public tourists, feel that these two Frenchmen really don't look like Frenchmen!But, that's another story.

In fact, London is the pre-set location for Charles's trip.Because of Victor's relationship and his previous dealings with members of the French Academy of Sciences, he was honored to be eligible to visit the Royal Society.

If Liverpool and Manchester are appetizers, the Royal Society of London is the feast—

Can a scientist and a skilled worker bring benefits of an order of magnitude?

But of course, the former is less easy to impress than the latter, and Charles understands that.So he didn't think too much, he just wanted to leave a good impression on the other party first.

The person Victor recommended to Charles was none other than Sir Joseph Banks, the chairman.

Banksy was a natural scientist who traveled around the world when he was young.Although he is now seven or eighty years old, he is still in good spirits.There is no nationality prejudice on how to deal with foreign young people like Charles.In his opinion, it is a good thing for young people to have enthusiasm for science, so as to better promote the future development of science.

Charles is polite and humble, which is very attractive to the elderly.Banksy was easy to deal with again, and the two got acquainted quickly.After going back and forth, Shire soon became a frequent visitor of the Royal Society, and the scope of visits has expanded from the Botanical Garden to the Chemistry Museum and the like.Although I can't see the benefits for the time being, in a sense, I definitely benefit a lot.But Alphonse was not interested in this, and Charles could only send him to continue to visit the factory.

On this day, Sir Banks introduced a new gentleman to Charles, Humphrey Davy.He was an inorganic chemist who discovered many chemical elements.

Charles didn't know David, but at least he had heard of those chemical elements.So this meeting was a happy meeting, David didn't have to spend too much time explaining the content of his experiment, and he strongly hoped that Charles would come to his laboratory more often in the future——

The reason is simple.Now that the periodic table of chemical elements has not been worked out, Charles can understand David's work very well!After all, the common sense of the future is at the rhythm of winning the Nobel Prize every minute!But only he can understand this, because the Nobel Prize has not yet been established.

David was not particularly well, and Charles did not stay long.After coming out of the laboratory, Sir Banks continued to tell him: "A few years ago, David's experiment had an accident and splashed his eyes. After that, he hired a young man to be his experimental assistant."

Charles nodded.Chemistry experiments are often dangerous and not easy.

At this time, a young man turned out from the front corridor.As he passed them, the man offered to bow to Banks before walking over.

"This is David's assistant," Banks introduced after seeing Shaldo glance at him, "his name is Faraday."

At first, Charles was only attracted by the many stains on the white coat on the opponent's body (the kind that could not be washed off at all), but upon hearing this, his raised legs were fixed in mid-air. "Wait," he turned his head and stared at the figure who quickly disappeared at the other end of the corridor, "what did you say his name was?"

"Michael, Michael Faraday." Sir Banks was a little confused.What's wrong with this chemistry assistant?