Holy Roman Empire

After a week of exploration, Father Barker gave the final answer: "Congratulations, Your Excellency Baron. You are about to make a fortune.

This is a river alluvial deposit. The gold content of the river sand on the surface has reached 8 grams, and the gold content of the lower ore sample has actually reached 16 grams.

This gold mine spreads for two kilometers along the river. The preliminary estimate of the gold mine's reserves may be as high as 50 tons. As long as the colonial government completes the filing, this is yours."

Hearing this news, everyone was excited. Such rich mines are rare in Austria.

The ecstatic Baron Fickney forcibly suppressed his emotions and immediately stated: "Not only do I want to get rich, all of us are going to get rich.

Please rest assured that the original agreement is still valid. This gold mine is shared by all of us, including the young men who sacrificed to find the gold mine. There is also a copy.

I can use the glory of the Stray family to assure you that as long as you complete the registration in the colony, half of the gold mine's income belongs to you.

Now let us guard this gold mine!"

The discovery of a gold mine also means that the most dangerous time has come.In overseas colonies, because of too much interest and uneven distribution of stolen goods, there should not be too much competition.

Not to mention that there was internal fighting, and even before the property rights were reported to the colonial government, even the leak of information was very dangerous.

In the face of tremendous benefits, there should not be too many incidents of black eating.On the African continent, the most dangerous is not the jungle, not the indigenous cannibal tribe, but thousands of peers.

Baron Fickney ’s worth is not substantial. After equipping everyone with weapons and equipment, it will cost almost the same. Naturally, it is impossible to have money to pay everyone.

Since I have no money, I can only paint a pie.Sharing the benefits of the gold mine together is the core of the team he gathers.

Obviously, the reputation of the Stry family is still very important in the minds of these people. If it is not a long-term concept of respect and humility, the atmosphere on the court will be even warmer.

"Generous Baron, please rest assured that we will swear to guard the gold mine!"

"Respect the Lord Baron, you can rest assured that as long as we are not dead, the gold mine will not be lost!"

...

Everyone promised.

With the assurance of everyone, Baron Fickney showed a delighted smile.After appeasing the people, he was able to go to the colony to register and report with confidence.

Even if the property rights are determined, it does not mean that the gold mine is safe.This is the African continent, the most indispensable is the desperate, and guarding the safety of the gold mine is also a top priority.

Some weak colonial teams, even if they discovered gold mines, had no power to mine themselves and could only sell them to the colonial government in exchange for a one-time return.

Obviously, Baron Fickney is not that shortsighted.This gold mine was sold to the colonial government, at most five hundred thousand or six hundred thousand shields, if you mine it yourself, the final profit may be as high as millions of shields.

...

After Baron Fickney confirmed the property rights of the gold mine, the news of the discovery of the gold mine in Guinea was returned to the country in the shortest time.

Schonbrunn Palace

Franz, who is struggling to create people, was also attracted by this news.Gold mining means wealth, and it is conceivable that Guinea will soon set off a gold rush.

Franz still has some impressions on the Gold Coast of the Gulf of Guinea. There is no way to know the exact location of the gold mine.

Many place names of later generations did not exist in this era, even if they are remembered, it is useless.

Just like the gold mine discovered in Guinea now, it is a big hello in the Guinea region that is not in the later generations.

The African continent in this area is still a land of no ownership.The colonial government did not have the so-called concept of sovereignty, anyway, even if I occupied it, it would be mine.

In later generations of African countries, the neat borderline was actually determined at the Berlin Conference. Prior to this, there was no clear borderline in each region, and whoever occupied it would be the one.

Cruel reality made Franz abandon the dream of mining gold to make a fortune, but with the news of gold, attracting immigrants is a good way.

Among the gold diggers, there are always very few who can make a fortune. Most people end up running out of money. The gold has not yet been found. Finally, they have to stay in the colonies to find work to maintain their livelihoods.

There are not many other continents, but more land.There is sufficient labor force to develop the local land, and the benefits it brings are far from comparable to those of one or two gold mines.

The maid's voice sounded: "Your Majesty, the cabinet ministers are here."

"Well, I'll pass immediately." Franz replied

The charm of the gold mine is huge, especially a large-scale rich mine has attracted the attention of many people, even the Cabinet of the Government of Vienna is no exception.

If you exchange gold for money, it is estimated that this temptation will be greatly reduced.One ton of gold is worth only 27.32 million Aegis, and 50 tons of gold is more than 13 million Aegis.

In fact, the mining of gold mines also requires costs. The final net profit may be three or four million Aegis, and the mining of gold mines will take time. On average, it will return a dozen or two hundred thousand Aegis each year.

For Franz, this can only be regarded as a small amount of money, and for the Vienna government, it is only one day of financial income.

Obviously, this is not the case. The government's biggest use of gold is as a reserve currency, and the potential profit contained in it is much larger.

...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Karl, said with great enthusiasm: "Your Majesty, a large gold mine has been discovered on the African continent. After analysis by geological experts, there may be other gold mines in the vicinity. The colonial government has blocked the news.

If we now organize manpower and carry out a full-scale exploration, it will definitely be very rewarding, and the African colonies will be able to turn a profit right away."

Franz was puzzled. He had n’t heard of Guinea ’s large veins gathering. It ’s not surprising to find a large gold mine, but it ’s impossible to find a large gold mine without causing a sensation.

However, Franz did not rush to deny the Finance Minister ’s claim that the colonies were free to expand and expand in this era. If a colonial team ran out of Guinea and found a gold mine, he would not be surprised at all.

Guinea is not big. Do n’t expect the colonial team to act in accordance with the borders of future generations. The scope of the group ’s activities is only known to them.

Colonial Minister Josip Jelacic suggested: "Your Majesty, the Gulf of Guinea has always had a golden bay. Now that Guinea has discovered gold again, it means that the gold in this area has not been mined.

Now that we have not leaked the news, we will first send troops to occupy the whole area, and then slowly look for gold mines!"

Franz shook his head, opened the map and drew several lines and asked: "It is possible to expand in the Gulf of Guinea, but the British, Portuguese, Dutch and French all have strongholds in the coastal areas.

It is impossible for us to have conflicts with so many countries at the same time, so the best way is to avoid these strongholds and expand from the interior, can this be done?"

The name of the Golden Bay is too loud. Although there have been few new gold mines discovered in recent decades, it has now become a gathering place for the African slave trade, and slave merchants from all over the country have gathered here.

Do not look at their individual strength is not strong, once united, it is not so good to deal with.And the whole body was moved in one stroke. If the countries behind were involved, Austria still wanted to swallow the Gold Coast. It was just a dream!

Josip Jelacic replied with confidence: "Your Majesty, the colonial strongholds of these countries in the local area are mostly private acts, not organized by the government.

We will also send out civilian armed groups to compete with them, not to mention driving them out, and it is still feasible to establish some strongholds in coastal areas.

As long as we have enough local immigrants, we will occupy the initiative of colonization. Before large-scale gold mines are found, the intervention of governments of various countries will be very limited.

As long as we have established enough advantages before then, we can solve it later through negotiation. It is nothing more than sharing the interests of everyone. The basic strength is divided into local areas."

Civilian forces are the main force of governments in overseas colonial activities. Even if these organizations fight, there is room for maneuver. Governments will not be dragged directly into the water.

After hesitating for a while, Franz drew a few circles on the map of Africa, and then said: "Let these areas be the target, these are all areas where there may be a lot of gold.

But our goal is not gold. The most valuable asset on the African continent is fertile land that has not yet been developed, followed by some natural minerals, and finally gold.

What if gold is abundant?The limited amount of exploitation each year is simply not worth investing a lot of resources and confronting countries.

So once something is impossible, give up what you should give up. Gold may exist in coastal areas, but more inland areas.

We do not have the ability to develop inland, but we have authorized private organizations to let them move freely.

If countries concentrate on fighting for Ghana and Côte d’ Ivoire, then we will go to Nigeria, the hard bone, and take the opportunity to clarify the interests of West Africa."

After listening to Franz's explanation, everyone was surprised, that is, a land-powered country like Austria, if you change the sea-powered country, this kind of speech is outlandish.

It cannot be said that everyone is short-sighted. It is really digging gold mines. It only takes a year or two for the colony to make a profit. If you open plantations and grow cash crops, it will be difficult to see results in five or six years.

This is still based on the fact that there are enough immigrants. Unfortunately, the major colonial empires are now short of people, and the local population is not enough. Where can we develop colonies?

The small countries with a population of less than 5 million, such as the Netherlands and Portugal, will not be mentioned. Even Britain and France have a population of more than 30 million, with a growth rate similar to that of snails. There are also a large number of colonies that cannot be developed at all.

On the contrary, the situation in Austria is better. There are not many colonies, a large number of people in the country, and the population growth rate is much higher than that in Western Europe. Only then can there be sufficient human resources for in-depth development.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl reminded: "Your Majesty, if the government gives up its monopoly on gold mines, I am afraid our colony will still be in a loss for a long time."

"This kind of loss is within our tolerance, and it has abandoned the interests of monopolizing gold mines, but it can obtain a large influx of immigrants.

We artificially control it. The gold rush can last for at least five or six years. As long as one third of these gold diggers can stay, our foundation on the African continent will be stable."Franz replied calmly

People who dig for gold may not be able to make money, but those who provide logistics for gold diggers will definitely make money.

What the government needs is a long-term sustainable colony, not a prosperous colony because of gold mining, and a colony that is depressed because the gold mining is finished.

Is the loss of the colony really a loss?This account depends on how it is calculated.

If one simply calculates tax, administrative, and military expenditures, there may be losses on the books, but the gold rush will also form a local market, which can expand the sales of industrial and commercial commodities in Austria.

For example: tent, kettle, shovel, hardware, ship ...

So many related industries have received orders, which will inevitably generate a large amount of tax revenue, which will be fed back to fiscal revenue.

Can't make up for the loss, so the government buys gold locally and uses it as a reserve currency to distribute currency. The currency tax collected is converted, can you always make a profit?

There are not one or two colonies in various countries that are losing money, but everyone still has not given up, they will know the hidden benefits behind the scenes.

...

The Vienna government opened the blockade, and the news of the discovery of a large gold mine in Guinea quickly spread to the New Holy Roman Empire, and then spread to the entire German region.

This is just the beginning. After Baron Fickney discovered gold mines, others discovered gold mines one after another, but these gold mines are not that big.

It doesn't matter, as long as there is a gold mine.Even some gold mines with too low a gold content and no mining value were taken out for propaganda by the unscrupulous colonial ministry.

Anyway, they are all gold mines. The official just announced the reserves and gave an ambiguous figure on the gold content of the ore.

For example: 0.8 to 45 grams, the gold content of 0.8 grams per ton may not be the lowest number, but the gold content of 45 grams per ton must be the highest, or even far exceed the maximum gold content.

These data are enough to fool ordinary people. The gold content of each piece of ore is not the same. It is normal to have such a large gap. Even the junk gold mine will occasionally produce a piece of high-quality ore!

The media also cooperated with the propaganda. XX became rich overnight in the gold rush. For example, Baron Fickney became a household name, so everyone knew that he became a multimillionaire overnight.

As for the fact that wealth is still buried underground and the cost of mining gold mines is also decisively ignored by the media.