Chapter 1173 Jinshan (Fourth update, please subscribe)
Why Emperor Zhu the Great was concerned about establishing diplomatic relations with the Boer Republic.
To put it bluntly, it’s because the empire needs gold!
If Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang remembers correctly, in 1886, two young scientists from the United States and France simultaneously invented the electrolytic aluminum process, which immediately pulled aluminum off the throne.
In the past twenty years, the empire's secret laboratories have produced hundreds of tons of aluminum every year, and those aluminum have brought extremely rich returns to the empire.
Emperor Zhu felt heartbroken when he thought that the empire would lose this income in two years.
But what if it hurts?
He really didn't remember the names of the two inventors who invented electrolytic aluminum. What were their names? Where were they from? Trying to find them and then get rid of them was simply... harder than finding a needle in a haystack. After all, there must be a place for finding a needle in a haystack.
Under such circumstances, Emperor Zhu naturally turned his attention to South Africa, or more precisely, the Boer Republic.
"gold!"
In another world, South Africa is the world's largest gold producer. Not to mention, the reserves of the Rand gold mine alone are equivalent to one-third of the world's total.
Emperor Zhu would certainly not miss such a huge gold mine.
Even if the Rand gold mine is located in the Boer Republic, so what.
First establish diplomatic relations, then use local laws to mine gold, and when the time is right, take the gold mine along with the Boer Republic.
Of course, Emperor Zhu's ultimate goal is not just a gold mine. Compared with the gold mine, the importance of the Boer Republic far exceeds him!
Therefore, what is needed now is to give full play to the role of the Boer Republic.
"About the same, this year!"
After Zhuge Jun left, Emperor Zhu recalled an article he had read about South African gold mines when he was in college.
Historically, the twists and turns of the "gold rush" in South Africa began in June 1884. A Natasha explorer discovered a gold mine worth mining near a small village called Barberton in the Dicap area.
Afterwards, almost every day someone claimed to have discovered a new gold mine there, and "Barberton" quickly became the focus of the world, marking the beginning of the "gold rush" in South Africa.
However, the gold mines in southern Africa are different from those in Australia, Yukon River and other places. You can pan for gold in those gold mines with any gold panning pan, but the gold mines in southern Africa are accompanied by ores.
To extract the gold from the ore, you need to not only mine the ore, but also crush the ore and then refine it. Both mining gold and crushing the ore require a lot of equipment, but what does that mean?
“This is an opportunity!”
Emperor Zhu raised the corners of his lips and talked to himself.
"How can I be worthy of God if I don't make money?"
Exporting complete sets of equipment... this is Ming Dynasty’s strong point!
But for Emperor Zhu, he was not only eyeing the export of equipment, but also...
Speculation!
Even if the emperor is rich, he cannot bear to hinder another person from speculating!
Besides, this is also an opportunity!
Thinking of the "Darius Plan" he had planned before, Emperor Zhu thought for a moment, then he glanced at the calendar on the table, thought for a while, and then he picked up the phone again.
"Hey, Mr. Qian, do you have an idea about the "Darius Plan"? Do you remember the funding issue I mentioned at the beginning? Regarding the funding issue, perhaps there is an opportunity right now!"
…
After hanging up the phone, Qian Zizhuang's face was somewhat surprised, because the news from His Majesty was really shocking.
Gold mine!
Gold has been discovered in southern Africa!
From what channel did Your Majesty obtain this news?
It should be the company!
The company's intelligence gathering work is definitely not inferior to that of the Imperial Investigation Department. To a certain extent, it even exceeds that of the Investigation Department, because the Investigation Department targets countries and focuses on certain countries. However, companies are different. Their business agencies are scattered all over the world, and the intelligence they collect is also multifaceted.
Information like gold mines is most likely provided by the company's intelligence agencies.
Soon, Qian Zizhuang called Tian Lei over.
"I asked you to come here because of the "Darius Plan" we talked about last time. How is the plan being implemented now?"
"funds."
Tian Lei said directly.
"We need to come up with a relatively perfect financial cover. This financial cover must be able to prevent our people from attracting other people's attention. After all, money can explain everything. Without a proper financial cover, the plan is likely to be exposed halfway through. After all, we need not only a few thousand pounds, but tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds."
The current Investigation Department is no longer a makeshift team as it was in the past. It has now grown into an extremely professional intelligence agency that pays great attention to details.
"Indeed, money will explain everything, but that's not an issue now."
Qian Zizhuang said directly,
"Your Majesty just sent us a piece of intelligence from our company. A gold mine has been discovered in southern Africa. This is likely to trigger a new round of gold rush. Now, all we need to do is send our people over there to participate in it."
"Get involved? Digging for gold?"
Tian Lei said in surprise.
"Can gold panning solve the funding problem? With a gold pan?"
"Yes, yes. We don't need to rely on gold panning to solve the funding problem, but we need to rely on gold panning to explain the source of funds. Of course, it's not a problem of gold panning. The local gold mine is quite special. We need to build a mine and crush the ore. Do you know what this means?"
Qian Zizhuang asked back the question of Your Majesty.
"You definitely don't know, which means that one person cannot do it alone. They must set up a company and then raise enough funds. At this time, speculation will occur. What we need is to participate in it."
"Participate in it? Speculate?"
"Yes, there is money to be made in speculation!"
Qian Zizhuang said with a smile.
"We now need someone who is good at speculative business to go there and explore for gold mines and participate in this investment frenzy. If everything goes well, we can not only solve the funding problem of the plan, but also get extremely generous returns to support the additional expenses of the Investigation Department. After all, intelligence work essentially requires a lot of money."
When saying the word "after all", Qian Zizhuang waved his hands to emphasize his tone.
It is well known that intelligence work requires a lot of money. The annual funding of the Investigation Department is enough to build two battleships. This huge expenditure is also a considerable burden for the empire.
"Well, there is a more suitable candidate at the secret service school."
After thinking for a while, Tian Lei said.
"That student has long been in our sights. I originally planned to send him to London as a backup for 007."
Every good intelligence officer knows that he has to keep some backup plans when executing them, and Tian Lei kept his backup plans.
"There is no problem with his identity. We have been implementing the plan since two years ago. If necessary, there should be no problem using him."
"Okay, then use him!"
Qian Zizhuang nodded and said.
"I haven't been to the Secret Service School for a long time. If I have time, I'll definitely go take a look..."
(End of this chapter)
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