Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1558 - 1464: Krupp's Rise
————There’s still a part not finished, please refresh again after 20 minutes. Very sorry.——————
The Prussian Queen did not expect that after she brought back the grand plan for the development of the steel industry to the City Palace, several reformist ministers were very cautious about it.
Left with no choice, Louise arranged for Baron Stein and Baron Trudeun to meet, hoping the gentleman could persuade this hesitant fellow.
On a snowy afternoon, in a villa located west of Potsdam, Governor Aisen lazily leaned on the sofa, signaling the servant to bring hot coffee and candied fruits for the distinguished guests.
Baron Stein exchanged a few pleasantries and quickly got to the point: “Your Excellency Governor, forgive me for being blunt, but for such a large-scale expansion, I must first ensure the adequate supply of coal.
“You know, the previous matter with the Hebert Coking Plant forced me to be more cautious.”
Baron Trudeun gestured towards the coffee on the table: “Please have a taste.
“Hmm, now this is my business too, and I won’t risk it.”
“But if something happens that you can’t handle, oh, I’m not doubting your abilities, but unforeseen events are everywhere.”
Baron Trudeun calmly repeated the “script” of the Regent King: “If you’re worried about surprises, insurance companies are undoubtedly the best choice.
“We will still set up some companies registered as French in countries like Cologne and Paderborn, yes, similar to the model of the Hebert Coking Plant, but more dispersed.
“Afterwards, these companies will sign contracts with Anzan Coal Mine Company and Calmo Coal Company, and these contracts will be underwritten by insurance companies.
“The insurance terms can stipulate that if there’s any failure to fulfill the contracts, regardless of the cause, the insurance company must pay out the premium.
“Of course, the insurance premium might be slightly higher, but if accidents happen, Prussia’s steel plants can get at least tens of millions of francs in compensation.”
Anzan Coal Mine Company and Calmo Coal Company both hold major coal mines in the Westphalia Region and are French companies.
Baron Stein recalled that French insurance companies indeed had a kind of insurance called “commercial contract insurance,” which seems to have only emerged late last year.
Given the strength of French insurance companies, paying out a few tens of millions of francs should be feasible.
And those shell companies responsible for coal transfer are surely held by the Industrial Reform Committee, so the compensation premium can immediately be repatriated domestically.
This substantial sum of money could completely sustain Prussia’s steel plants until new coal sources are found.
Even in the worst-case scenario, where cheap coal remains elusive, this money would suffice to cover the investment in building these factories.
Which means Prussia would suffer no loss at all.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but nod slowly: “This is indeed a good plan.”
Baron Trudeun smiled and continued: “If you’re still uneasy, we can invite foreign journalists to report on the signing process of these insurance contracts on-site. This way, unless the French insurance company wants to ruin its own reputation, it will surely make compensations as agreed.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so thorough in your considerations.”
The Prussian Prime Minister couldn’t think of any more flaws in this aspect, complimented Trudeun for a few moments, and then moved on to the next issue: “Now that the coal source is assured, if we rapidly expand the scale of steel plants according to Her Majesty the Queen’s requirements, we might face the issue of unsellable products later.”
Baron Trudeun waved nonchalantly: “You need to have confidence.
“In the short term, we indeed cannot compete with Southern Germany and French goods, but here in Northern Germany, we can leverage the advantage of proximity to capture a considerable market.
“Moreover, our steel plants will soon surpass Austria in both cost and technology. By then, a large number of steel products will flow from Silesia into Austria, and even into Poland and Russia.
“Right now, all European countries are scrambling to lay down railways, making the steel market unimaginably vast.”
He wasn’t bluffing. With French technology combined with coal from the Westphalia Region, Prussia’s steel products are bound to outperform Austria, not to mention Russia.
Historically, this is how Germany built the most advanced industrial foundation on the European Continent, with products being massively dumped into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Joseph was actually aiming to leverage Prussia’s ambition to crush Austria’s steel industry.
Baron Stein nodded continuously again.
Governor Aisen was still painting a beautiful picture: “Also, I want to remind you that currently, Prussia’s railway plans are still too conservative.
“If you can persuade His Majesty the King to double the total mileage of the rails laid, it would substantially absorb the output from the steel plants.”
“You know, our country’s fiscal situation…”
“That’s where the advantage of issuing banknotes becomes apparent.”
…
Brandenburg in the central and western part of Prussia.
Helen Amalia Krupp, dressed in men’s clothing, stood on a newly erected wooden frame, gazing at the bustling construction site of the new factory, feeling a twinge of emotion in her nose.
If her husband were still alive, he would surely be thrilled by the rapid development of the family enterprise.
Indeed, after signing a procurement contract worth 350,000 taels for rails, gun carriages, and axles with the Prussian government, the Krupp family successfully secured a low-interest loan of 200,000 taels from the Royal Bank.
She invested this money into two large-scale factory buildings and preemptively trained over 500 workers.
————————
At a time when the Krupp family was on the verge of collapse, a female member of the family named Helen stepped forward.
Helen actively adjusted the family’s industrial structure, decisively abandoning a large portion of non-essential industries, and in a patchwork effort, conducted a gamble that changed the fate of the declining Krupp family: purchasing the second-largest steel smelting plant in Essen in 1799.
Before the invention of the Bessemer Steelmaking Method, steel smelting was a high-cost industry; compared to the faster-money industries like textile and porcelain import, steel smelting was undoubtedly a very awkward industry at that time. But Helen thought that before Germany was unified, there always existed various internal and external conflicts and frictions within and outside Germany, conflicts that could at any time escalate into war. And steel was undoubtedly one of the most important strategic resources in war.
Later facts proved that Helen’s gamble paid off. Just three years later, in 1802, the Prussian Army entered Essen. By that time, the Krupp family’s steel plant was already the largest steel plant in Essen, and Helen’s investments in steel smelting technology quickly secured substantial orders from the Prussian military. Riding this wave of war profits, the nearly-defunct Krupp family was able to revive once more.
