Murdock naturally did not hesitate to choose to invest, obtaining a 5% share of the Gas Lamp Company with his distilled gas and, for now, the gas lamp patent that was still in his mind.
5% might not sound like much, but if you calculate it based on an investment of 3 million livres, that’s a full 150,000!
This didn’t even include future dividends and the continuous increase in stock prices as the company grew.
Joseph went into detail with Murdock about his plans for the gas streetlights, to which the latter immediately said, “Your Highness, if you want to ensure the absolute safety of the gas pipelines, I suggest using gun barrels as conduits.”
Upon hearing this, Joseph also vaguely recalled a documentary he had seen in his previous life, which mentioned that the gas streetlights that Murdock created for London did indeed use gun barrels for gas pipelines.
Perhaps this was the inevitability of history.
He nodded, “In the near future, a large number of old guns will be retired. Let’s use those gun barrels.”
After the new caplock guns were put into service, it would be possible to recycle the retired flintlock guns.
After finishing discussing the gas lamp matter with Murdock, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon.
Joseph got back on the railcar and continued touring the park until it got dark before returning to where he was staying.
Standing by the window and watching Murdock’s departing figure, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, if only there were more talents like him…
At that thought, an idea suddenly struck him: right, talent can be recruited. Wasn’t Murdock recruited from England?
Why not launch a “Talent Introduction Plan” as a national initiative? Your next journey awaits at empire
Advertise in various countries, promising that anyone with skills who wanted to develop in France would receive government funding for their entrepreneurial endeavors. In addition to monetary awards and housing, even matrimonial issues could be solved—during this era, it was much easier to have officials help you find a marriage partner than in later times.
And to marry a fashionable and elegant French lady at that! This would especially be an irresistible temptation for talents from Germany, Russia, and other countries.
The more Joseph thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He was so engrossed that he skipped dinner, grabbed pen and paper, and began planning: “Mmm, outstanding talents could also be granted noble titles.
“Right, might as well create the Nobel Prize too, which would have even greater appeal to talents… Ah, the name will definitely need to be changed, let’s call it the ‘Louis Prize’.
“The Louis Prize for Physics, the Louis Prize for Chemistry… this time, we can’t forget about mathematics—the Louis Prize for Mathematics is a must!
“In the future, France will inevitably begin to replace England as the new academic center of Europe!
“Even making the Louis Prize ceremony more grandiose could stimulate tourism and generate income. Perhaps after giving out the prizes, there could still be profit to be made…”
The next morning, the owners of various ironworks in the development zone brought their technicians, as promised, to Joseph’s residence.
After a simple exchange of greetings, Joseph asked everyone to sit and got straight to the point: “I have a technology here that you all might be interested in.”
He glanced toward the distant steel blast furnaces: “I can increase the furnace temperature by 200 to 300 degrees, and it can be done by modifying existing blast furnaces, without the need for building new ones.”
Those factory owners who knew their stuff immediately widened their eyes in surprise, while those who didn’t quite understand hurriedly whispered to the technicians beside them: “What does this mean?”
“Sir, never mind 200 degrees, even a 100-degree increase would be incredible!”
“?!”
“You know, reaching 1200 degrees in a blast furnace is very difficult. Below this temperature, the iron in the iron ore hasn’t fully melted; instead, it turns into a somewhat sticky fluid that flows out from the bottom of the blast furnace.”
The melting point of iron is above 1500 degrees, but because the iron ore is mixed with a small amount of other metals, its melting point drops to around 1200 degrees.
“But this sticky molten iron contains many impurities, making it very brittle, or prone to cracking upon solidification. Therefore, it needs to be refined further in a reverberatory furnace. The temperature inside a reverberatory furnace is very high, reaching over 1500 degrees, which can burn off impurities in the molten iron.
Moreover, we can add carbon to the completely liquid iron in the reverberatory furnace to adjust its hardness, or add additives to further remove impurities. Only after such refinement can the steel become strong and durable.”
This is the difference between ironmaking and steelmaking.
Although both iron and steel are mainly composed of the element Fe, the former contains impurities such as silicon and sulfur, making it neither tough nor durable. Only after removing the impurities and adding an appropriate amount of carbon can it be called steel. Whether it is high-quality agricultural tools, or swords and springs, they must be made of steel.
Last year, France’s pig iron production was 120,000 tons, while steel was a mere five or six thousand tons.
Those factory owners were also very shrewd, and upon hearing this, they roughly understood—if the temperature of the iron-making blast furnace could be increased by over 200 degrees to reach 1400 degrees, many processes that are only possible during steelmaking could be completed in the iron-making furnace.
Even for applications with less demanding requirements, the high-quality iron from the blast furnace could suffice.
This would definitely greatly improve the efficiency of their factories!
Sensing the factory owners’ fervent gazes upon himself, Joseph continued, “I believe everyone understands the significance of increasing the temperature by 200 degrees.
“Raising the furnace temperature can speed up the iron extraction from the ore, significantly increasing the daily output of iron. Additionally, a high temperature can oxidize the silicon mixed in the iron while it’s still in the blast furnace…”
Unsure whether these people understood things like silicon oxidation, he summarized, “In short, it improves the quality of iron ingots and drastically reduces the time needed for steelmaking later on.”
Viscount Olivier, unable to resist the temptation, carefully asked, “Your Highness, can you tell us how we could obtain this technology?”
Joseph smiled slightly, “Actually, I plan to establish a ‘French Steel Technology Association.’ Members of the association will have access to all the association’s technologies, such as blast furnace heating technology. In addition, the association will also organize members to develop new technologies and improve everyone’s production processes.”
The factory owners didn’t respond because they knew there had to be numerous conditions attached to such a favorable proposition.
Joseph looked around at everyone and continued, “Oh, the association will also coordinate some aspects of membership, such as the sales restrictions for steel production and product quality evaluation. Of course, if you don’t use the association’s technology, then naturally you are not subject to the restrictions.”
He then explained to everyone what the restrictions and evaluations entailed.
Simply put, if you use the technology from the Steel Technology Association, who you sell your steel to must be approved by the association, and you absolutely cannot sell to orders that are prohibited.
Quality evaluation is conducted by the association inspecting your products and publishing product grades.
The steel industry is the skeleton of the industrial revolution; as long as one can control steel, they can essentially restrict the production of the majority of enterprises.
As long as one is the manager of the association, they can effectively control the capitalists, and at the same time, it’s like holding the knife that divides the cake.