His Excellency the Count of Grandet

For Charles, he came to Eperna for the first time; but for Guillaume, it was not at all-because Eperna is almost in the middle of the Champagne producing area, every time Guillaume buys Champagne Always come here, or nearby cities.

In other words, Guillaume already had relationships in Eperna, not a few.So when Shire asked him to contact some reliable people so that they could get the best discounts in terms of buying land, hiring workers, and stamp duty rates, he immediately thought of this.

Precisely because of the many happy transactions before, the Grandet father and son can come and go freely in the Eperna City Hall.The mayor warmly received them and expressed great enthusiasm for their investment here, and was more than willing to provide them with all kinds of help within his capacity.

Things are going well.But after coming out of the city hall, Charles, who fully understood the situation, was a little dissatisfied——

Although Eperna has enough land to build a factory, what about the workers?If most people have their own farms, the cost of recruiting workers will skyrocket—because the benefits must be more lucrative than champagne before people will consider changing their original jobs.

And France is not England, and most people think that land is more reliable than factories, because the land is their own.Even Britain has to continuously import slaves to ensure cheap labor costs!

The summary is that if the factory is built in Eperna, the labor cost will be high.

Since Guillaume chose Eperna as one of the reference places, he must have taken this into consideration.At this moment, he guessed Shire's consideration from Shire's silence, and explained: "I understand what you mean. It's better to be closer to the mining area, so that transportation and manpower will be easier and more economical, but the east It’s not safe now! Verdun is still in the hands of the Prussians, wouldn’t it be more... ”

This was not finished, but Charles instantly understood Guillaume's concerns.

The eastern part of France is adjacent to Prussia. In history, wars of all sizes have never stopped.The most recent one was during the Great Revolution, but France did not win, and Verdun, which belongs to the Lorraine region, is still occupied by the Prussians.The Prussian army is brave and good at fighting, and it is definitely a strong enemy.

Therefore, even though he knew that the region with the richest mineral resources was the neighboring Lorraine region, Guillaume didn't really want to go there—the unknown risk was too great, especially when it involved force majeure such as war.In addition, that area used to be the territory of the Principality of Lorraine, and it was only 70 to [-] years since it was officially incorporated into the French territory, so it was not particularly stable in itself.

In this way, even if the east of Metz and Nancy has more geographical and personnel advantages, it is useless: because in case of war, these advantages will disappear in an instant; as much as you invest, you are likely to lose as much !

In fact, even Shire didn't intend to take such a big risk to mine—he wasn't confident enough to turn the wheel of history by himself.Moreover, although he is like a fish in water in the smoky shopping mall, it does not mean that he can win in the smoky battlefield!

So after considering a compromise, Charles put forward another opinion: "Isn't this matter still undecided? Haven't you seen Sharon?"

Chalons is another candidate city.Like Éperne, it is also located on the banks of the Marne; however, its location has reached the edge of the Champagne region, obviously farther from Paris than Éperne, and closer to Lorraine.

"Indeed." Guillaume admitted, "but Sharon's only problem is the biggest problem—if we fight Prussia, and Sharon is so close to Lorraine, wouldn't we probably lose everything? "With a few shells falling, no factory can be kept alive!

This worry is really justified.

Because during the First World War, the Lower Marne Valley was an important battlefield, and most of the historical buildings were destroyed in the fire.In Shire's view, this is a lesson learned, even if it is still many decades away from happening.

On the other hand, Chalons is better situated than Eperna.The ore transported from Nancy and other places can be directly transported to Chalon by land.It is also possible to go to Eperna, but the distance is doomed, or you have to change ships and go west.

To sum up, Eperna has high security and Chalons has high profits, which one should you choose?

Charles thought about the geographical location and history again, and then said: "We will inevitably go to places like Nancy and Metz-after all, there are minerals there. That is to say, we must put the railway Repaired to the mine gate to control transportation costs.”

"As for the construction of the railway, those minerals are already needed. It is the most cost-effective to set up the ironworks nearby; but if the situation changes, those heavy boilers will not be transported for a while, and it is simply the biggest target; if it falls into the hands of the enemy, it is even less worthwhile."

"The cost of these machines is the highest. In order to avoid such things from happening, of course it should be considered to set up the factory in a relatively safe place."

Guillaume nodded as he listened. "Prussia is not a friendly neighbor," he shrugged. "Of course our country is not to be trifled with; but it is definitely a big disadvantage to factory plans."

"How about separating them? The textile factory is located in Eperna, and the ironworks is located in Chalons?" Charles came up with an arrangement that Tetsu thought was the most suitable. "As you know, weaving does not require workers to have a lot of physical strength. We can try to hire women who do needlework at home all day; and there are not so many people growing grapes in the suburbs of Chalon, so it is just right to recruit men."

Guillaume thought about it, and felt that this couldn't be better—the risk and benefit reached a balance point. "That's fine," he nodded, "as long as we build the railway, other problems will be solved!" Charles used the railway to transport wine before, which was much more efficient than the horse-drawn carriage, and he was impressed; so at this time, he did not I couldn't help thinking about the bright prospect of them repairing the railway from Nancy to Eperna and even Paris——

I want to tell the world that a quarter of France has been contracted by my son!

As for Charles, he hasn't thought that far yet.He just felt that as long as Faraday promised him, things like generators could be invented soon; in comparison, what is the steam engine?How about throwing those factories powered by steam engines out of N streets in minutes?

Thinking about it this way, he didn't need to spend too much effort on the steam engine, which would soon be eliminated anyway.The factory has just started, and it will take at least a year and a half to get on the right track, including the preparation time.During this period, let’s get some steam engines first; it’s better to design the power part and the traction part separately—in this way, after you have a generator, you can directly replace the power part with the least loss...

The inertial thinking of the industrialization of science and technology made Charles unknowingly think of practical application issues, and Guillaume was in two directions.

Also, since war is possible, get your money back before it starts!Moreover, they built railways, smelted steel, and drove locomotives... If this continues, after a few decades, the comparison of national power may not be the same as in history.

Although the father and son of the Grandet family have completely different understandings about the blueprint for the future, there is no conflict in practice.

First of all, of course, is the land.There are usually grasslands or woods beside the river. This kind of land is much cheaper than grape fields. Guillaume has already bought two large pieces of land.Shire is very satisfied, because not only is the transportation convenient by the river, but the hydraulic power can also be used as energy for the generator in the future, saving the cost of coal, and there is no pollution.

Then there are factories.Relying on the ability he developed in the workshop, Charles roughly divided the functional areas, and then asked people to design architectural drawings, and then started construction after he had reviewed and agreed.Anyway, the general direction is right, and the results are not exactly the same, but roughly the same.

Then there is the machine.Charles went back to his old job, worked hard, and drew several blueprints (in fact, he had already started drawing when he was in London), and then gave them to workers who knew more about looms.Looking at the drawings, not to mention the workers, even Guillaume was deeply shocked.He always thought that when his son was studying in the industrial school, he fished for three days and posted the net for two days. It turned out that he misunderstood that Charles was actually serious about studying?

I have to say that Guillaume's idea is really just a beautiful misunderstanding.

The last is artificial.A boatload of British workers also arrived, but the factory was still under construction, so Guillaume hired someone to train them in French first.In the short term, this seems to be a waste of money, but in the long run, it is beneficial and harmless. Only by learning French can we better teach French workers!

As for policy issues, Guillaume had already held several positions, coupled with his clean character and no tax issues, this was enough for the governor of a small place to welcome him.

All went well, except that Charles kept his feet on the ground.In mid-to-late June, when the factory building was under construction and the machines were being produced, Charles proposed to Guillaume that he wanted to go to Nancy to see the coal mines.

Guillaume sternly refused this time. "Not this time—do you remember what you promised me?"

Charles was taken aback. "Ah..." He thought for a few seconds before remembering, "Are you talking about my birthday?"

"That's right!" Guillaume was almost desperate for his son's rough nerves.Why is my memory so bad?No, it should be said that Charles has a very good memory, but it is all used in industry. "It's definitely not going to work this time—whatever you want to do, don't go until after your birthday!"

Guillaume rarely spoke to Charles in a stern tone.Because he felt that if he wasn't tough, Shire would definitely be able to do something that he didn't notice on his birthday and was still thinking about the black stone!Making money is very important, but there is no need to keep Shire so busy, right?

Based on Charles's accidental slip of the tongue, he was driven away from the factory by Guillaume in advance today-"Go back quickly! If I don't see you resting when I go back, I will postpone the matter of Nancy push!"

Walking on the grass by the Marne River, Charles felt rather resentful.It was a mistake to accidentally forget about it... But then again, he has been working overtime every day recently, and it is normal for Guillaume to see it.No, his father found an excuse, right?

Speaking of which, it's better to go back to sleep... No, thinking about it this way, he should have sent Victor a report on the progress of the factory from time to time, it seems like he hasn't written it for a week, right?That's right, he could just finish writing the report before Guillaume went home!

Just when Charles made this decision, he suddenly felt a familiar figure in front of him.

The setting sun is slanting, and the river is sparkling.The man was tall and tall, standing in the shade with his back to him, and the light from the sky and the water gave his outline a soft golden edge.

Seems... a little... like Victor?No way!