Chapter 1368 Copper
In addition to Franz's constant intervention and the Royal Academy of Sciences' contribution, the development of agriculture in the Austrian Empire is also inseparable from the efforts of the two agricultural ministers.
Tyndall was responsible for administrative management, and Mendel was responsible for technology research and development.
Tyndall was born as a farm manager, and later became an agricultural tycoon, and he had a good understanding of agriculture and the market.
Tyndall himself was not short of money, or he valued power itself more than money. The wealth accumulated by Tyndall throughout his life was not worth mentioning compared to the power of the Austrian Minister of Agriculture.
Now he only needs a piece of official document to make countless former him bankrupt, or even commit suicide by jumping into the river.
In Tyndall's view, those corrupt officials who don't even want their lives for money are crazy. Of course, he is also very grateful to those idiots, otherwise a small person like him would never be able to get such a status in the next life.
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For Franz, Tyndall was full of admiration and awe. In the latter's eyes, the former was more majestic than the church and the government propaganda.
Mendel and Franz had a deep relationship. From the earliest breeding of fine varieties to the royal funding when he went to college, the former had always been favored by the latter.
Under the guidance of Mendel and Franz, all crops and livestock in the Austrian Empire were trying to hybridize. Although it sounds a bit outrageous, it is actually very effective.
Mendel himself was very knowledgeable about biology. In this life, he did not drop out of school because of poverty, nor did he study classical philosophy. Instead, he studied biology in the highest institution of the Austrian Empire.
At this time, Mendel was definitely an expert among experts, but the so-called technical supervision did not require him to guide the development of agricultural technology one by one, but to ensure that these studies were not a waste of time and money.
For example, the Austrian Empire had dozens of studies on perpetual motion machines, but none of them passed, because according to the review of technical officials, these studies had no possibility of success in theory.
As for whether there would be academic cliques, Franz was not worried, because except for some secret studies, other studies were carried out in parallel, and multiple departments voted to decide, and no one except Franz had a veto.
Of course, if you are really desperate, you can also consider publishing articles in Nature and Science to prove yourself.
Franz regularly invites some well-known foreign scholars to participate in the compilation of these academic journals, and the possibility of cheating on them is almost zero.
In addition, Franz also introduced an academic supervision and accountability mechanism, and academic monopoly, academic misconduct, and academic fraud must be severely punished.
Rabbit farming and fish farming have also improved, but compared with other animal husbandry, they are still not good enough. Especially the freshwater fish farming in the Austrian Empire has not escaped the situation of losing money until now.
But overall, the problem is not big, and everything will get better slowly.
In the industrial age, the demand for steel in the Austrian Empire soared, but with the advent of generators and the advancement of oxygen production technology, the top-blown converter method in the Austrian Empire was basically completed.
Compared with the alkaline open-hearth method (Martin method) used by the Austrian Empire before, the top-blown converter method is an all-round improvement. It is not only more efficient, but also consumes less energy and has more stable quality.
The only problem is that the technology is not mature enough, and some unimaginable accidents often occur. Even so, the steel production of the Austrian Empire at this time was unimaginable for other countries in the world.
Historically, in 1850, Britain's pig iron production was 2.25 million tons, four times that of France, ten times that of the Austrian Empire, and eleven times that of Prussia.
However, at this time, the pig iron production of the Austrian Empire had far exceeded that of Britain, reaching an astonishing 4.1 million tons, so Franz dared to build so recklessly.
And with the continuous injection of funds, this gap will become more and more exaggerated until other countries also begin technological innovation.
In the aluminum industry, due to the emergence of Siemens generators, the price of aluminum, which was once as expensive as gold, fell by three quarters in less than a year.
Franz knew very well that the secret of electrolytic aluminum production could not be kept secret. In fact, if the royal factory had not done a good job of keeping secrets, this technology would have spread long ago.
Instead of continuing to make a little money cautiously all day, it is better to expand production, lower prices, and raise the entry threshold to build your own fortress.
This is the so-called "conquering the enemy without fighting."
The resources of the Austrian Empire seem to be very complete in later generations, but in 1850, the Austrian Empire was a country that was very short of copper mines. The copper mines in Czech, Hungary and Transylvania had not yet been discovered.
The copper mines in Slovakia have been exhausted, and there are only two small copper mines with deep burials and low quality in Tyrol and Styria.
Historically, the copper production of the Austrian Empire was less than one hundredth of that of Britain and less than one fifth of that of Prussia. If Franz had not obtained a large amount of copper from Zhenla and Japan, it would have been difficult for the Austrian Empire to issue copper coins.
However, even if a large amount of copper was purchased from Zhenla and Japan, it could not meet the needs of the development of the Austrian Empire, let alone the subsequent electrical age.
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Franz did not like to hold meetings, and the thriving Austrian Empire at this time did not reach the point where meetings were necessary.
In fact, middle and low-level officials felt that the emperor was slack, and since the wedding, he rarely summoned ministers from various departments for meetings.
Only the ministers of various ministries knew that Franz had not neglected government affairs, but after the Spanish War and the Anti-French War, the Austrian Empire did not have any major life-and-death issues.
After reading the reports of various ministries, Franz would ask the ministers of each ministry for details or assign tasks.
However, this time, multiple departments needed to act in coordination, so Franz convened a royal meeting.
In fact, the content was very simple. Franz disliked the Japanese and Zhenla people for being too inefficient in mining copper mines. Franz wanted to help them and set up a joint development company.
However, this time, not only would he invest in shares and share dividends, but the Austrian Empire would also build smelters directly in Zhenla and Japan to directly improve local production efficiency.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt. I think setting up factories abroad may lead to the leakage of our country's technology, which may be detrimental to our country."
Minister of Science and Technology Duke Wernick stood up first and expressed strong dissatisfaction.
Franz never expected that it was this Duke Wernick who stood up first to oppose him, and the angle of opposition was so strange. How could it be linked to technology leakage in the 19th century?
"Technology leak?"
When Franz said this, Duke Wernick was furious.
It turned out that when Franz got married, the members of the Japanese delegation did not leave immediately after the celebration but wandered around.
If they were just wandering around, it would be fine. They also stole a large number of technology and military books from the National Library, and some even sneaked into the factory to replicate the mechanical models of the Austrian Empire.