Road to the Crown

Chapter 280: Planning for the train

21st August 1574

"We will need to increase iron and steel production. What is the current limiting factor for that?"

Sitting down in the gathering hall within my own residence in New Tarnow, I asked while taxing the entire crowd gathered around a huge table. While I already knew the answer to this question, I wanted to make sure that nothing happened during my absence that would shift the position of the metalworking within my lands.

"Sir, for now, only about sixty percent of our mines output can be processed, with only seventy percent of the produced steel and sixty percent of the produced iron finding a constant use. If we were to ramp up the smelting of the ore to its current maximum limit, its estimated that about twenty percent of the total production could be saved away, without impeding our current growth."

Constant use that the metallurgy development officer mentioned referred to all the factories that had to be supplied with raw iron or steel in order to produce their own goods. Just the production of the steam engines required metal, so did all sorts of other plants created all over the place. If what I heard wasn't just hearsay but actual fact, there were already some private plants operating at low amount of resources to create handy tools like cutlery for the sale!

But with that said, more than half of my current metal production was already taken. I wasn't as dumb as to poach the resources from the existing factories, in an attempt to create my dreamed railway. With how the entire economy of my lands promoted and based itself on the growth, forcefully stalling the production of the key factories would be aking to running a knife right through the veins that supplied this land with blood!

As for the difference between freely overproduced resources and how much we could actually, it all came to the growth factor. New plants required machines and other types of resources in order to work. If I didn't want the price of the metal or steel to skyrocket due to the increased demand with no changes to the supply, I had to keep a reasonably big stockpile of those key ingredients to anything industrialization related! 

"How quick No, that won't make any sense. While Bessmer type of smelters is sufficient for now, it won't be the case in the future. Let's ignore the problem of smelting the ores and speak about something else. As you all already know, we are now preparing for the tensest, most important and most costly project out of everything that we did here so far."

There was no denying this. Creating a steel road spanning over nearly the half of the width of the enormous countryside of Commonwealth would require more metal than what was produced by my lands from the moment the very first furnace started operating all the way to the current date. As such, using the Bessemer furnaces to produce steel for the rails would require me to invest even more resources into creating a huge area dedicated to steel-making alone! 

On the other hand, while I wasn't sure about the details, I still had the idea of how more modern furnaces worked. While the gaps could be filled with the ingenuity of the officers of mine, it would still take some time before even the prototype could be finished. As such, rather than wasting time on debating over something that has yet to appear, I preferred to focus on the matters that we could influence at this very moment.

"Sir, with all due respect, but there is one question that I know most of my colleagues wants to ask."

Suddenly standing up, one of the very first few craftsmen that came to my lands, now a proper director of nearly a third of my entire factory area, slammed his hands against the table. But rather than appearing furious, one could read how worried he was about uttering what he had on the mind in the open.

"Go on. I'm not here to drown in praises, but to find solutions to the problems that we might have. Speak your mind."

Despite all my efforts to equal the playing ground for everyone, even those highest-ranking subordinates of mine continued to cope with the problem of interacting with me as they would do with their friends or colleagues. Maybe it was due to my high social rank, or maybe it was just natural respect for the general owner and director of the entire enterprise, but rather than being helpful, I couldn't consider it as anything but counterproductive.

"Sir, can we even afford such great project?"

Contrary to what one might think, every single piece of metal that circulated through my lands, had to be paid for. Taking a steel ingot, for example, it had to be firstly mined, requiring me to pay the miners. Then, it had to be smelted into pig iron, once again forcing me to cough up money for the maintenance of the smelters and the wages of the workers. Even then, it still had to go into the Bessmer furnace, only adding more costs on my end. Yet, so far, it failed to produce anything of value for me! Increasing the costs, even more, it would have to enter one of the factories of mine, ending up as a part of the product I could sell and make up all the lost money along with a huge chunk of profit on top, or it would go directly to one of the few private plants in the area, instantly netting me barely anything above the costs it took to create it. 

And so far, this kind of economy managed to sustain its own growth. Whenever a new investment would be opened up, all the money I made with my side projects or from the furniture trade would be counted, before a portion required to pay for the initial costs of setting up a new place would be set aside. 

But creating the very first train line?

If not for the deal that I made with the Senators, I would never be capable of forking out such insane amounts of gold required to pay down for the steel alone that the tracks would require, not to speak about all the wages and other costs aligning to every new investment!

That's why, as soon as the first open-hearth furnace would be created and proved to work as expected, then rather than lying down the train tracks from my lands to the area occupied by Ostros, I would actually connect the two cities. Tarnow and Krakow!

As silly as it sounded when one realised how the train was aimed at defeating the Ostros family, it only made sense once one delved deeper into the topic. By connecting Krakow and Tarnow, I would instantly push the trade between the already recovered trading area and the country's capital to an unprecedented scale! And with all the hefty fees that I could put on using the only train that would exist in the world, by the time I could finally shift my focus to extending the tracks to the east, where Ostros lands were located, I would simply fail to find a way to spend all the money I would get!

But that was only the tip of the iceberg. As insane amounts as I could make from the fees placed on using the train, I was highly reluctant to actually agree to set them high enough to pay back for the initial costs of the investment. With how I was already earning from the trading area itself, hindering the trade with an overwhelming tax on the transportation would be akin to shooting myself in my foot. 

Because the main source of gold that the train would bring would come from all the nobles and cities that were interested in creating a station in their lands!

It was no secret that this kind of means of transportation instantly lead to the rapid development of the areas everywhere even a simple train stop would be created. With the number of goods carried by this metal machine, connecting all ends of the vast lands of the Commonwealth with its diverse culture and products would be no longer a pipe dream!

But what was the absolutely vital point of this investment, was the fact that no high-noble would dare to sleep upon this chance! Just by applying a small tax to any passenger or product that would be transferred on a single train station, one could gain an enormous passive income while enjoying all the other benefits of the train stop!

"I don't think we have to worry about that."

Smiling at the officer, I gestured at one of the servants present in the room. After just a short moment, a huge map detailing the Commonwealth geography was slapped in the middle of the table, with me trying to not look ridiculous as I climbed on top. 

"Here, is Krakow. The first destination of our future train."

Stabbing the tip of my cane right in the place where the capital was located on the map, I directed everyone's attention to the line that I proceeded to draw with my cane.

"We will have to build three bridges in total. Here, here, and there."

Pointing out at several choke points in form of rivers, I detailed how certain parts of the country had to be avoided, while some others warranted an increased use of rails just to connect them to the network. 

"Once we finish it up with its last, big station in the Lesser Poland, right between Tarnow and the trading area of mine, I can see at least seven major households appearing on our doorstep, begging to be allowed to invest in this project!"