King of German Mercenaries

In fact, Marin has a deep consideration for supporting the independence of the Swedes. The independence of the Swedes can not only attract all the attention of Denmark, the big patron of Oldenburg, so that Marin can calmly regain control of the Jever area, and also allow Marin to obtain minerals from Sweden.

When it comes to Sweden's minerals, we have to mention Sweden's famous super-large copper mine - the Fayilun Copper Mine. People in later generations only know Sweden's high-quality high-grade iron ore, but they don't know that as early as the Middle Ages, Sweden's Fayilun copper mine was already famous in Europe.

In the 17th century, when copper mines were the most popular, the Fällen copper mine in Sweden produced an average of 3,500 tons of copper a year, twice the output of all other European countries combined during the same period. Moreover, this copper mine has been mined for hundreds of years.

What's more, European copper was very expensive before Japanese copper in Asia was sold to Europe by the Dutch. Before the development of the Fayilun copper mine, the price of copper in Europe was extremely expensive, and the price ratio of silver to copper was about 1:15 to 1:20. After the large-scale development of the Fayilun copper mine in the 17th century, the price of copper in Europe fell sharply because of the excessive output.

In Europe at that time, copper was an extremely important resource. In addition to being used to mint currency and other utensils, it was also used on a large scale to cast bronze artillery. In particular, the artillery used by the army is mainly made of bronze. Because, before the mid-19th century, the steel technology was backward, and the steel cast artillery was too cumbersome to carry on land marches. Therefore, before the mid-19th century, until the Civil War, most of the infantry guns in Europe and the United States were made of copper.

However, before the large-scale development of the Fayilun Copper Mine, because the price of copper was too expensive, 15 pounds of copper could be exchanged for one pound of silver, which led to the fact that ordinary small countries could not be equipped with artillery. Only a rich country like France has the capital to dispatch hundreds of artillery pieces in a battle. In addition, only the army of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as some wealthy nobles (such as the King of Denmark, Duke of Saxony and other local tyrants), have the financial resources to form a large-scale artillery unit. In general, small countries cannot afford to equip copper cannons, or they only need to equip one or two or a few guns.

It is precisely because of the high price of copper that copper mining is very profitable. In the 17th century, when Gustav II, the most powerful king in Swedish history, was on the throne, he relied on the huge profits of the Fayilun copper mine to support a powerful army. The Northern War made a great name for Sweden. It can be said that without the Fayilun copper mine, Sweden will not rise. Because, in the Gustav line, the musketeers were able to fire platoons without money, because Sweden believed that the Fallon copper mine provided profits and funds for the Swedish musketeers and gunners to squander.

You must know that in the Gustav line, there are two-thirds of the musketeers and a large number of three-pounders. Once it starts, the consumption of gunpowder is staggering. And the price of gunpowder is so expensive, so the cost of Gustav II's army is very large. However, with the huge profits of the Fayilun Copper Mine, Gu Erye has enough confidence to support 20,000 elites and cross Germany.

...

Marin wants to support old Sten Stuley, but it is impossible to support him and Denmark to the end with his own money. This is a loss-making thing. After all, the War of Independence is not something that can be solved in one or two battles, it can be fought for many years. Because the Danes are not willing to lose Sweden, they will definitely send troops to fight for it many times. Therefore, the consumption of the War of Independence is greater than the conflict between countries. After all, the conflict between countries may stop after one or two games, but both sides of the war of independence want you to live and die...

Therefore, Marin planned to send someone to help the old Sten Stulay develop the Falun copper mine, so that Sweden thought it had enough funds to support the war with the Danes. After all, these days, the price of copper is too high. If you get 15 tons of copper, you can exchange for one ton of silver, which is almost worth 23,000 gold coins.

Moreover, it is not without benefits for Marin to support the old Sten Stulay to develop the Fayilun copper mine. He could have signed a contract in advance,

Request to underwrite copper from ** copper mines. Even, because of the investment in development funds, Marin can also take a share in the copper mine and make huge profits.

In fact, the Fayilun Copper Mine started copper mining as early as the 13th century. However, Sweden is in northern Europe and belongs to the underdeveloped part of Europe, at least for now. Therefore, the Fayilun Copper Mine lacks professional craftsmen, and it is very backward in the process of smelting copper ore into copper, which is almost the original method of open-pit operation, and the scale is small.

What Marin has to do is to recruit a group of powerful craftsmen from regions with rich experience in copper mining and smelting, such as Austria or Bohemia in the German region, to guide the local Swedes and instruct them to open the copper case reasonably. ore, and use advanced smelting methods to smelt copper ore to get more copper. In addition, some prospecting craftsmen can also explore more copper ore veins in the Fayilun copper mine area, and can dig mine holes according to the direction of the ore veins. Unlike now, the Swedes only mine some copper ore outcropping the surface, which is very primitive and backward, and the output is not high.

Although, Marin sent a fleet to India to buy cheap copper. But right now, it happens that the Swedes need enough funds to help them develop a new copper mine, which not only allows them to have enough funds to fight against the Danes, but also allows them to live profitably and get a lot of copper nearby.

You know, going to India to buy copper is a waste of time. It takes almost two years. Although cheap, it is very inconvenient.

Marin prefers to buy more saltpeter for ships going to India, because saltpeter is very short in Europe. And copper, with the development of the Fayilun copper mine, enough cheap copper can be bought. After all, Marin intends to act as a shareholder of the Fayilun Copper Mine. If shareholders buy copper from their own copper mines, will they buy copper at the market price? Of course it's at the cost price...

In this way, Marin's ships going to India in the future can load more saltpeter, so as not to waste time on loading copper. After all, it was a back-and-forth trade every two years, which was too inefficient.

Moreover, Marin's support for the old Sten Stuley is not just for the Fayilun Copper Mine. In Kiruna, north of the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, there are top-grade high-grade iron ore with iron content of more than 70%, and the reserves are as high as several billion tons.

As long as Marin supports old Sten Stulay to make Sweden independent, then Marin can rely on the friendly relationship between the two parties to send craftsmen to explore iron ore in northern Sweden.

Marin remembers that the northern iron mine in Sweden in later generations was near Kiruna, and it was an open-pit iron mine. However, in this era, the city of Kiruna may not have appeared. But, Marin remembers, Kiruna is 145 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

With this data in mind, Marin could use a sextant in northern Sweden, measure latitude, and then survey east-west at a latitude of 145 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

Anyway, the Kiruna Iron Mine is open-pit, and it is easy to find it as long as you look at those mountains. As long as the Kiruna iron ore is found, Marin can organize the excavation of high-quality iron ore here, and then transport it to East Friesland, smelt it into steel, and use it to cast artillery.

As for the local climate, it's not a problem. Because, although Kiruna is north of the Arctic Circle, it is not very cold. Because Kiruna is not far from the Atlantic Ocean, affected by the warm current of the North Atlantic, the climate here is much warmer than that of Siberia at the same latitude. Even, because of the North Atlantic warm current, Murmansk, which is higher latitude than Kiruna, is still an ice-free port. Probably, only in winter, it will be colder here, and in other seasons, iron ore operations will not be greatly affected. And if mine mining is developed, even in winter, iron ore can be continuously mined from a mine with a relatively constant temperature.

In order to obtain Kiruna's high-quality iron ore, Marin even considered whether to send troops directly to the war, crippling Denmark, and then seek to cede the northern part of Norway, and then find a way to get Kiruna from the Swedes. . In this way, the Kiruna iron ore can go directly to the Atlantic Ocean through the northern region of Norway, and it can be easily transported back to East Friesland (in fact, the Kiruna iron ore is also exported through the Norwegian port of Narvik. ). Without taking northern Norway, the iron ore would need to go through the Baltic Sea, and when it leaves the Baltic, it would be pinned down by the Danes. And now, neither the Swedes nor the Danes pay much attention to the northern regions. Because the northern region, although not too cold, is not too hot for crops, and only the Lapps (a polar people, but not Eskimos) keep reindeer there...

However, if they really participated in the war against Denmark, if they did not destroy Denmark, then Marin's merchant ships would definitely be embarrassed or even prevented by the Danes from entering and leaving the Denmark Strait to trade in the Baltic Sea region. Therefore, for this matter, Marin is also very troubled and does not know how to choose.

Of course, the question of whether to participate in the war can be released first, but there is no big problem in developing the Fayilun Copper Mine. Moreover, Marin didn't need to come forward directly, he could just develop the Fayilun Copper Mine in the name of a pseudonymous businessman. In this way, it is also convenient to keep secrets, so as not to be hated by the Danes.

To this end, Marin ordered to send people to places such as Austria and Bohemia in the south to find high-level artisans for exploration and smelting of copper ore, hire them in the name of the Chamber of Commerce, and then send them to the Fallon region of Sweden...