It takes a certain amount of time for the British steamship to be practical, so Joseph has not had time to feel the pressure brought by the world's number one science and technology in the United Kingdom at this time. At this time he was busy trying to get the iron mines in Lorraine, the mines in Thrall, and the mines in Ruhr.

In fact, the iron ore in Lorraine has almost no advantages except for its larger reserves. The iron content of this iron ore is generally only more than 30%, which is comparable to those in Australia and Brazil. Slag. What's worse is that the iron ore in Lorraine is high-phosphorus iron ore, and the phosphorus content in iron ore is even as high as one percent.

Phosphorus is a harmful component in steel most of the time. The increase of the phosphorus content will reduce the plasticity and toughness of the steel (especially the impact toughness), and make the steel "cold brittleness". In addition, phosphorus can also reduce the welding performance of steel. Generally speaking, the phosphorus content of commonly used steel should not exceed 0.045%, and the steel smelted from the ore of Lorraine iron ore, without special treatment, the phosphorus content can really break through the horizon.

However, for a long time, human beings have not mastered the effective technology to remove the impurity phosphorus. The phosphorus content in the final steel products can only be determined by what kind of iron ore God has given. Therefore, the steel produced in Lorraine has always been known for its poor quality. It is said that the Titanic, which was sunk with icebergs on its maiden voyage, was one of the reasons for the sinking of the cold brittle steel made from the iron ore of Lorraine.

Even if this type of technology is gradually developed, phosphorus removal is still a headache. If there are low-phosphorus, low-sulfur and high-grade iron ore like Australia and Brazil, who would want to use the iron ore of Lorraine, but at present, Joseph does not have any better iron ore in the entire Western European continent. In the past, by the standards of future generations, there would be no better iron ore.

The iron mines in Lorraine have long been discovered. Before the Great Revolution, most of these mines were in the hands of the nobles. After the revolution began, these nobles either went to the guillotine or went into exile.

According to the decree of the Revolutionary Government, the properties of the nobles who had gone to the guillotine or had been in exile were naturally confiscated. In Jacobin's time, these mines were basically state-owned, but most of them were in a state of desolation. When it came to the Mist Moon Party members, these iron ore gradually fell into the hands of the Mist Moon Party members. Now, Joseph wants to get these mines from the hands of the original owners.

This is not a difficult task. In this era, when steelmaking has not yet achieved a breakthrough and the industrial revolution has not yet begun, iron ore is not particularly profitable. Because of the limited use of pig iron and the difficulty in producing wrought iron and steel, the demand for iron ore is not particularly large. In addition, some mine owners also hope to please the Bonaparte family and establish a relationship with the first ruling. Some mines even have a taste of half-selling and half-free. Therefore, Joseph did not spend much money, and basically controlled this large mining area.

As for the Saar Coal Mine, it was done by similar means. As for the Ruhr coal mine, it is even simpler. This area is a newly conquered area. Although it is not an area directly under the jurisdiction of France, which small state in the Free State of Rhine, who is not in a hurry to find an opportunity to please the Bonaparte family? Although the Ruhr coal mines are basically fertile fields, it is nothing more than a few farmers. How can it be more important to please European liberators?

Besides, Joseph didn't give money. Of course, those guys in the Rhine Free State who got the money used any means to drive the poor farmers out of the land they had cultivated for generations. That was not what Joseph needed to manage.

Compared with the iron mines in Lorraine, the coal mines in Ruhr are really much better in quality. The Ruer Coalfield is dominated by high-quality hard coal, and a wide range of coal types, especially fat coal (a kind of bituminous coal, suitable for coking and steam coal), which is valuable for smelting and power, occupying reserves In addition, the coal seam is shallowly buried. In many places, only the top layer of soil needs to be excavated to open-pit mining, which is very convenient. In addition, the coal field is located on the Rhine River, and the Rhine River is definitely the river with the best shipping conditions in Western Europe, and the transportation conditions are also very good. This is really an industrial area that cannot be better.

However, such good conditions have brought Joseph a big problem: Will the future coal and iron industrial base be located in Lorraine or Ruhr?

In later generations, the Prussians defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War and seized Lorraine. They chose to place the industrial base on the Ruhr side. It’s easy to understand that the Ruhr has convenient transportation and is the core area of ​​the Germans, which is relatively stable. Of course they have to put such vital things there.

Now that I have changed to France, according to the same reasoning, it seems that the industrial base should also be located in Lorraine-after all, being close to home is more reassuring. However, considering the flow of the Rhine, the iron ore from Lorraine is sent downstream to the Ruhr, while the coal mine from the Ruhr to Lorraine is upstream. As far as transportation is concerned, it seems that The industrial base is better placed in the Ruhr.

So Joseph hesitated for a while.

However, Lucien quickly made a judgment on this issue.

"Isn't Thrall's coal not enough?"

"Ah, it should be enough for a period of time." Joseph said.

"How long is this period?" Lucien asked.

"It should be quite long, at least more than ten years, or even decades."

"Then, transporting iron ore to the Ruhr area, plus the cost of mining coal in the Ruhr will be more expensive than mining coal in Saar and then sending them to Lorraine or conversely sending iron ore to Saar. Is it cheaper?" Lucien asked again.

"It seems not."

"Then why are you hesitating?" Lucien asked.

"Ah..." Joseph suddenly discovered that he seemed to be really disturbed by some information from his descendants. Think about the future generations, Joseph's country, in the case of working hard to reduce steel production, easily for a year. Nearly one billion tons of steel can be produced. A large-scale steel base can produce tens of millions of tons or even close to 100 million tons of steel. The capital of the Yuan capital knows that I have come to Hebei Province. The steel plants are great and great. .

If the site selection is considered according to that standard, the output of the Saar coal field is really not enough. However, the current New Rome is hundreds of years away from the steel kingdom. As for the coal in Saar and the iron ore in Lorraine, they should be enough for the French in hundreds of years.

"What's the matter?" Lucien asked, seeing Joseph seemingly stunned.

"I think a little bit too much." Joseph said, "but we have already bought the Ruhr coal field and spent a lot of money? If it doesn't come in handy, and the Ruhr piece,..."

"Moreover, most of the Ruhr piece is made of coking coal and thermal coal, and there is not much anthracite, even briquettes are not easy to make..." Joseph thought in his heart.

"How much did it cost? There is a big coal mine in your hands, and you can always find a way to use it. It's okay to transport it back to generate electricity." Lucian said indifferently.

"Shipping back? The Rhine waterway is pretty good, but our steamboat research is not going well, otherwise...it seems that we can only consider trains first. However, this should not be urgent. There must be a lot of steel. , And then there will be a train, and then...well, the Ruhr coalfield, it seems that it can only be left for the time being."

While Joseph was troubled by the vain backlog of funds in the Ruhr coalfield, Lavoisier was proud. Because a few days ago, he just used a modified quartz crucible to fill the molten pig iron, and used a compressor to blow heated air into the pig iron, successfully obtaining liquid steel.

After completing this project, Lavoisier is getting closer and closer to receiving a manor in the Champagne region as a reward. The manor was originally the property of the Duke of Orleans, but the champagne produced is famous far and wide. Every year it can bring great wealth to the Duke. After he lost his head, the manor was confiscated by the revolutionary government and later fell into the hands of the Bonaparte family.

Of course, there is a price to receive this reward. At that time, Joseph gave Lavoisier a tenth of the patent rights for the steelmaking technology in this manor and blowing into the air (Lavoisier has become a lot smarter now, after many negotiations, he finally reached an agreement with Joseph For such a cooperation agreement, it is a research project directly presided over by him, and the technology patents obtained should give him a choice between one-tenth). Lavoisier, who lacked enough imagination for future development, chose the manor without hesitation.

It is said that many years later, Lavoisier regretted his choice, and even said to his niece many times: "Your husband is a big liar. He doesn't know how much money he cheated from us..." But at least for now, Lavoisier feels he has taken a big advantage.

In another laboratory ~lightnovelpub.net~Lavoisier’s rival, Fuckroy has just completed an experiment on a new refractory material. According to Joseph’s requirement that refractory materials must be alkaline, he used Baiyun Stone is the main material, and a refractory material that can withstand the high temperature of a steelmaking crucible is burned.

He is also a famous chemist and was once a friend of Lavoisier. But in Jacobin's time, he joined the Mara and Ebel faction, and Lavoisier was hunted down, which he contributed to. Had it not been for Kano's intervention, Lavoisier would have been the object of mourning for others.

It was this person who contributed to the closure of the French Academy of Sciences. It was not until the Wuyue Party came to power, and with Joseph's efforts, that this institution was able to reappear.

Because of these things, after Jacobin's downfall, this guy was in a bad situation, but considering that this guy's abilities were also very good, Joseph also picked him back.

It's just that he doesn't have the same good treatment as Lavoisier. He doesn't get a tenth of the patent share. After completing this project, he can only get a bonus of six hundred francs. The only comfort is that the bonuses given by Joseph have always been in metal currency.