King Qian Mingyi of Shu looked at this information, his heart was pounding.
This information records the location of a large iron mine.
There is no shortage of coal in Shu, and there are several large-scale coal mines in the country.
Most of this coal is used for heating and power generation, and a small part is sold to imperial merchants or businesses in neighboring countries after preliminary coking.
There is no use keeping coking coal in the country because Shu lacks iron ore for steelmaking.
The Shu Kingdom was weak and did not have the ability to compete with the empire for iron ore from other countries.
The empire's industry was developed and required a large amount of iron ore.
There was no shortage of iron ore within the empire, but in order to ensure that the vassal states had enough money to purchase the empire's industrial products.
The empire purchased a large amount of iron ore from its vassal states. Liao, Jin, Zhao, and Wei were all major exporters of iron ore.
Businessmen in the empire can easily purchase iron ore from these iron ore exporting countries.
However, the Shu Kingdom did not have the ability to steal food from the merchants of the empire.
In addition to being rich in iron ore, these countries are also major exporters of grain.
They had no shortage of the goods that were abundant in Shu, so the door to barter trade was closed.
Shu itself had no money and needed loans from the empire for development.
These loans can only purchase supplies for the empire.
The empire’s iron ore prices and export tariffs are extremely high.
Buying iron ore from the empire is not as economical as buying industrial products.
No one makes a loss-making business. Even if the Shu Kingdom is extremely short of iron ore, no one buys iron ore from the empire at a loss.
The products produced from this kind of high-priced iron ore have no competitiveness at all.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu knew the only solution, which was to find a large iron mine in Shu.
Steel-making is not a complicated technology, and it is easy to find talents from the empire, and it is very easy to build a steel-making factory.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu used his small internal funds to hire a professional prospecting team from the empire, but he failed to discover large-scale iron ore in the place where iron ore was most likely to be found in Shu.
The prospecting team only found some small iron ore of low quality.
When Qian Mingyi, the king of Shu, learned the news, his heart went cold.
The Shu Kingdom was not even qualified to become a regional power and could only become an agricultural country that was bullied.
Among the European countries, the situation of Yue is similar to that of Shu.
However, there are still some medium-sized iron mines in Vietnam, which can provide sufficient raw materials for the early development of Vietnam's industry.
Even so, Vietnam still needs to develop colonies to meet the development of domestic industry.
Vietnam is a country on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is very simple to expand colonies in Africa, which has a vacuum of power.
Shu is a coastal country, but the waterway to the Atlantic Ocean is directly blocked by Rui and Song.
In particular, the relationship between Rui and Song was somewhat tense due to colonial conflicts, and the border between the two countries was in a state of confrontation.
Merchant ships can pass, but warships cannot pass at all.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu suspected that the two countries did this to blockade Shu and prevent Shu from developing a navy.
The Kingdom of Shu cannot obtain iron ore from the colony.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu could only place his hope in future technological progress.
No iron ore has been found on the surface of Shu. When prospecting technology can explore deeper rock formations, large-scale iron ore will be discovered deep underground.
This idea is just a thought for the future of Shu.
There is still no solution to the problems Shu is encountering now.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu was already in despair. Unexpectedly, things would turn around and a large-scale iron ore was discovered in Shu. It was also a high-quality iron ore that could be used to make steel directly.
There is just a problem with the location of this large iron mine.
It is located in Hongshan Ridge, located in the south of Shu. This is the disputed territory between Shu and Rui.
When Emperor Su He divided the kings and determined the territories of each country, he relied on maps to determine the territories of each country.
The map of Europe mastered by the empire at that time could accurately depict the trends of Europe's large mountains and rivers, and it also had a very accurate grasp of the seaside conditions.
This is because the source of the map held by the empire relies on what the empire heard from hundreds of thousands of merchants and sailors who went to Europe at that time.
Maps can determine the general situation of a certain area, but they cannot be so precise.
At that time, the Imperial Army had already occupied Europe, but the telegraph could allow words to reach thousands of miles away in an instant.
The radio technology at that time could not carry pictures, so it was impossible to transmit accurate maps to the outside world.
Some areas are clearly adjacent to each other, but do not belong to any country on the map.
Basically, whoever occupies this area first and holds it will be the territory of this country by default.
There is also a region where the territories of two countries overlap and it is nominally affiliated with both countries.
This is the disputed territory between the two countries because of the imprecision of the map.
Gui State and Wu State had the most disputed territories, which led to the outbreak of war between the two countries.
The disputed territories between the two countries are most likely to lead to war between the two countries.
Because this territory is the territory entrusted by the imperial emperor Su He, and it is the cornerstone of a country's survival.
Whoever decides to cede disputed territory will become notorious.
When a country loses its territory, its people will leave one after another and choose to go to a country with a brighter future.
The war between Wu and Gui has alerted many European countries.
They no longer take drastic measures to deal with disputed territories and choose to deal with them coldly.
Regarding disputed territories, countries have basically chosen to maintain the current situation unchanged in the absence of serious conflicts of interest.
Hongshan Territory is a disputed territory between Shu and Rui, and is controlled by Shu.
This area is very poor, has some soil problems, cannot grow food and other crops, and its value is not high.
After the Shu Kingdom occupied it, the Rui Kingdom only protested in name only and did not go to war over Hongshan Ridge.
Once the news spreads about the discovery of a large iron mine in Hongshanling, it will be worth tens of millions of taels of silver coins.
With the situation in Europe tense, iron ore cannot be bought even with money, and the value of large-scale iron ore will far exceed its apparent value.
Even if this area is not a disputed territory, Switzerland will be tempted and has reasons to take it.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Now this is a disputed territory. Not only will Switzerland send troops without any resistance, but it will also gain support from all walks of life across the country.
From the moment the news about the large-scale iron mine in Hongshanling was leaked, the countdown to the war between Shu and Rui began.
The Shu Kingdom will never give up on the large-scale iron mines that are difficult to find in the country.
This is the future of Shu. With this large iron mine, Shu will become an industrial country.
Even if he tried his best, King Qian Mingyi of Shu could never let go.
He put down the information and looked at Prince Su Shu's confidant Zhao Yizhuo.
The purpose of his coming on behalf of the prince has been exposed.
Who is the monarch of Rui State? He is a royal descendant of the Su family of the empire.
Su Lei competed with Su Shu for the crown prince.
Rui Guo performed so well that Prince Su Shu will not be able to sleep peacefully in the future.
Tang Taizong Li Shimin's Xuanwumen Incident, Yan King Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign.
These two major events in history will make the prince of the empire very alert.
We must alert not only the royal family members, but also the vassal kings.
King Rui Sulei was the most outstanding vassal king among the princes.
He must be the person that Prince Su Shu is most worried about.
Prince Su Shu was unable to mobilize the power of the empire to deal with his younger brother who had become the vassal king.
Once Prince Su Shu really does this, how will Emperor Su He treat him?
Prince Su Shu, as a smart man, would certainly not be so insane.
But as the prince of the empire, Su Shu had extremely rich resources in his hands.
Even without using the power of the empire, he can achieve his goals.
Prince Su Shu sent people to find Shu, obviously wanting Shu to deal with Rui.
What he used was a conspiracy, and Shu could not refuse it.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu had a smile on his face. Prince Su Shu was a smart man.
In order to set up obstacles for the development of Switzerland, he will never provide only information about a large iron mine.
King Shu Qian Mingyi looked at Zhao Yizhuo and asked: "Is the iron ore in the information true? What evidence do you have to prove it?"
The premise that Shu is willing to pay all costs is that this iron mine is real.
Both scale and quality must conform to what is recorded in the data.
If this iron mine is fake and the Shu Kingdom conflicts with the Rui Kingdom, it is totally not worth it.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu is not a foolish king. He will definitely not get carried away and make unwise choices just because Shu wants to get this iron mine.
Zhao Yizhuo was already prepared when he heard the question from King Shu Qian Mingyi.
He immediately explained with a smile: "The King of Shu once hired the empire's prospecting team to conduct prospecting throughout the Kingdom of Shu.
The prospecting team found nothing at that time, but retained the samples collected at that time.
Imperial Huaxia University has made a breakthrough in geological research.
Based on the magnetism in the soil samples, they inferred that there was a large iron ore in the Hongshanling area.
In order to verify the new technology, with the funding of Prince Su Shu, Huaxia University organized a scientific expedition team to conduct a detailed prospecting operation in the Hongshanling area.
When the Huaxia University scientific expedition team entered the Shu Kingdom, they also informed the Shu Kingdom."
When King Qian Mingyi of Shu heard what Zhao Yizhuo said, he had some impressions.
It is true that an imperial scientific research team came to Shu for inspection.
This situation is very common, and he didn't pay attention to it at the time.
Zhao Yizhuo saw the clear expression on Shu King Qian Mingyi's face.
He continued: "The King of Shu is worried about the situation of the iron mine. He can send people to work with the scientific expedition team to verify the scale and quality of the iron mine."
When King Qian Mingyi of Shu heard what Zhao Yizhuo said, he was 80% certain about the authenticity of this iron mine.
But Shu still needs to verify this situation carefully.
The authenticity of this iron mine is related to the future of Shu, so we must be cautious.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu solemnly said: "Shu will definitely send a prospecting team to determine the scale and quality of the iron ore.
I can understand what Prince Su Shu means.
This iron mine alone cannot bring us into conflict with Switzerland.
The Kingdom of Shu must be an agricultural country, while the Kingdom of Rui is an industrial country with a complete military industry and can manufacture chariots.
If there is a conflict between our Kingdom of Shu and Kingdom of Rui, it will be like striking an egg against a stone."
King Qian Mingyi of Shu has decided that this iron mine is certain and must stay in Shu.
But he couldn't show his determination.
The prince of the empire, Su Shu, must pay a certain price if he wants to use their country of Shu to do business.
Iron mines have always existed within the territory of Shu, and this is not considered the reward of Prince Su Shu.
A hint of admiration flashed in Zhao Yizhuo's eyes. Prince Su Shu had already told these people all kinds of situations that might happen, allowing them to have a certain degree of autonomy over certain matters.
He responded with a smile: "The King of Shu, Prince Su Shu, is also very optimistic about the development of the Kingdom of Shu.
The Imperial Bank Group is willing to provide Shu with a low-interest loan of 20 million taels of silver coins.
This money can be used to purchase imperial arms.
Several arms foreign trade companies in the empire are also willing to provide better weapons to Shu.
From small guns and bullets to large tanks and warships, Shu can purchase them all.
Shu does not need to worry about the transportation of materials.
The Moscow-Shishi Railway is about to be opened. This railway is an artery connecting the core areas of the empire with Europe.
Once this railway is opened to traffic, the empire's supplies will flow to Europe at a very low cost.
Shu has the support of the empire behind it, so there is no need to worry about insufficient arms."
King Qian Mingyi of Shu knew that loans and open arms were the sincerity of Prince Su Shu.
This approach directly hit the seven inches of Shu.
As an agricultural country, Shu's industry as a whole is not good, and its military industry is even more miserable.
All ammunition used in military training needs to be purchased outsourced.
The Shu Kingdom can only fight small-scale wars against enemy countries.
As the scale of the war expanded and the war lasted longer, the ammunition stored in Shu was no longer enough.
The support given by Prince Su Shu can completely solve the shortcomings of Shu as an agricultural country.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu knew that this was the certificate of investment.
The better Shu fights on the front line, the greater the support of Prince Su Shu.
Prince Su Shu chose Shu because Shu and Rui were neighboring countries and had disputed territories.
As a result, a war breaks out between the two countries. No one in the world is surprised and thinks this is a normal situation.
But Shu is definitely not the only choice for Prince Su Shu.
If Shu agrees to this, it will be able to get support from the empire and arm Shu's army as soon as possible.
If Shu does not agree to this, it will miss the opportunity to develop its own strength.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu thought for a long time about the pros and cons of this matter.
He gritted his teeth and promised: "As long as the iron ore in Hongshanling is authentic.
The Shu State will use all its strength to protect the iron mines that belong to us.
The mining of iron ore and the deployment of troops to defend the iron ore require huge costs.
The empire’s banking syndicate provides a loan, and we in Shu are happy to accept it.”
Zhao Yizhuo heard the exact answer given by King Qian Mingyi of Shu.
As long as the Hongshanling Iron Mine is genuine, the empire can still provide corresponding assistance to Shu as promised.
The Kingdom of Shu will try its best to fight a war with the Kingdom of Rui.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu did not explicitly say this, but he already expressed his attitude.
The basis of all this is the scale of Hongshanling Iron Mine.
Zhao Yizhuo responded confidently: "I will report to His Highness the Prince what the King of Shu has to say.
I believe that the prospecting team in Hongshanling will have a harvest that will satisfy the King of Shu."
After Zhao Yizhuo finished speaking, he bowed and left.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu knew that they had reached a preliminary intention to cooperate.
Whether the next cooperation can go smoothly depends on the performance of the prospecting team in Hongshanling.
Once the information on Hongshanling is confirmed and correct, the Shu Kingdom will end the arms race and use the arms race as a cover, and the country will immediately enter a state of war.
