King of Mercenaries

Chapter 19: Coal Mine Management

After the coal mine, Marin lacked some interest in the reform of the manor agriculture. They all became coal boss sons. Even if you farm, your home will not be able to turn the waves. Moreover, Adler said that although he is the eldest son, with the coal mine income, he is willing to share with his brothers and sisters, especially the one who discovered the coal mine is Marin. Adler is not a stingy person, and not awkward for money. The manor is not given to the younger brothers, it is the family tradition. But for this coal mine, it is not ancestral. Although it is underground in the manor, if it is not Marin's whim to do "geological investigation", the coal mine has not been unearthed. Of course, Adler also said that when he is alive, coal mine income can be distributed to his younger siblings, but he does not guarantee that future generations will do the same. Because this coal mine belongs to the Hoffman family. As the next patriarch, Adler agreed to distribute the interests of coal mines to his younger siblings while he was alive. But Adler's son, after becoming a new patriarch, may not be so generous. But even so, Marin and his younger siblings can get a lot of benefits. Even if they mine 100 tons of coal, the Hoffman family can at least earn a net shilling of 100 shillings, which is 7.5 marks. 365 days a year, the Hoffman family can earn at least 2,700 marks.

In fact, a skilled miner can dig 15 tons of coal (Newcastle UK) every day. Even if you are unskilled, it is no problem to dig seven or eight tons coals a day. Then, recruiting 20 miners, digging 200 tons a day is no problem. And the Hoffman family's income will double. Of course, the premise is that the Hoffman family's coal must be sold out. However, the Hoffman family's coal is first-class coal and is the most suitable for fuel. Therefore, its sales are at least better than ordinary coal.

Adler and Old Hoffman negotiated and were willing to give 30% of the coal mine revenue to the younger brothers and sisters. Among them, Marin scored 10%, and the remaining 20% were divided by two younger brothers and sisters.

Of course, this vision is wonderful. However, for a long time, coal mines are not necessarily profitable. Because, mining, the early investment is huge. For example, recruiting miners requires building a dormitory for miners. Also build a mine track to the dock. Then, the dock should also be repaired, so that it is convenient for the coal ship to stop... More than that, you have to go to the city to find a businessman who is willing to distribute the Hoffmann family coal.

In order to master how to operate the coal mine, Malin went to other coal mines in the Ruhr area to inspect. Then, he got some data through some means. The data shows that in general coal mines, miners can dig about 10 too of coal every day. Of course, there are not only coal miners in the coal mines, but also workers who are responsible for lifting coal from the deep wells, and workers who use hand-drawn mining trucks to transport coal to the warehouses where coal is piled up outside the mine. Generally speaking, the current coal miners in the Ruhr area are working 3 Finney per day, and the crane is responsible for lifting the coal and pulling the coal to the warehouse, the daily wage is 2 Finney. On average, the cost of working every charcoal from the outside to the warehouse is about 3 Finney to 4 Finney. But things don't stop there, because the cost of transporting coal is too high and the traffic is small. Therefore, the general coal transportation is carried on the docks of the Ruhr River or the Lipper River. From the mine to the pier, it depends on how far away each mine is from the dock. There is a long way to go, just to transport a charcoal coal from the coal mine to the dock, you have to pay four Finney costs. For low cost, one or two Finneys are also required. Of course, there are also very good conditions, such as the mine in Hoffman Estate, only 2 km from the Ruhr River, and the transportation cost is very low. However, this is much more than cost, because the sale of coal, it is also taxable.

The Holy Roman Empire is different from other countries. Other countries are mining mines and pay taxes to the royal family. In the territory of Mark, the Hoffman Estate is responsible for paying 2 Finney's taxes to the Earl of Mark for every sale of a charcoal.

In addition, after the coal is transported away from Mark, if it passes through a vassal state, it will basically pay a Finney tariff. If you pass through multiple vassal states, you will have to pay a lot of money. Therefore, the use of shipping coal, in addition to low transportation costs, there are also the meaning of avoiding the taxes on the land. After all, on the big river, as long as you don't land, few princes will not send ships to chase you for taxation. Tax officials will only be taxed when the ship is docked. After all, this is the Middle Ages, the tax officials are also afraid of water, they do not dare to "take a bath".

When it comes to the destination city, it is also necessary to pay the import tax and the city tax. Therefore, a charcoal coal, those merchant ships will generally only give the coal boss 2 shillings per charlelong. But even so, the mine owner's profit, at least there is a shilling every tons. The ship owners, as long as they have stopped at a few ports, arrived at the destination, even if they sold 4 shillings per tons, there was a shilling profit. However, this has a premise - you have to sell the coal first. We must know that there is no industry in the Middle Ages, and there is a special demand for coal for iron and copper smelting. Because these productions require the high temperatures created by coal. Others, such as cooking and boiling water, can use local firewood. Therefore, the market for medieval coal is small and belongs to the buyer's market. If coal is so good to sell, it is estimated that many people in the Ruhr area will make a fortune by selling coal, just like the boss of the later generation of Shanxi coal. Unfortunately, this era is medieval.

Marlin, who has been baptized by the aftermath of the market economy of globalization, knows the importance of sales. So, he said nothing, pulled up the Hoffmans, let them bring enough money, went to Cologne, the largest city on the Rhine. It stands to reason that the two largest commercial cities in the German region are Hamburg and Bremen, and it would be better to go to these two places. However, Marin knows that Bochum did not have an inland waterway to Hamburg and Bremen. Only after the opening of the German Canal in the later generations can the waterways in Bochum and Bremen be opened. Right now, if you want to transport the coal to these two places, you must first transport it out of the Rhine estuary and then transport it from the sea to a large circle. However, the risk of shipping at sea in this era is too great. Therefore, considering the safety and transportation costs, Marin felt that it was close to finding a big city to sell coal.

The Rhine River, Cologne is the first city to be deserved. Even the imperial capital of Vienna is not as prosperous as Cologne. At the same time, Cologne was also the residence of the Archbishop of Cologne, one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Many commercial activities on the Rhine River are centered around Cologne. Here, merchants gather, many nearby vassal states, will send business representatives to Cologne City to be responsible for commodity procurement. Therefore, coal is better sold here. Marin and Hoffman came to Cologne and found a hotel to stay. Then, Marin spent money, from the local owner of the innkeeper, got some information from the business community in Cologne and the news of some businessmen he wanted to know. After screening, Marin selected three more famous coal distribution managers. The reason why the choice of coal managers, rather than the coal merchants themselves, is what Marin realized when he worked in later generations - if you want to sell products to the other boss, you must make the boss feel that he is profitable. But if you really want to do this, your own concessions will be great and you will suffer. But managers are different, they just work for the boss, but they also have power. However, they are just working for themselves, not the boss himself. So, wanting him to buy your goods is actually very simple - that is, you can bring enough benefits to him personally.

Therefore, the manager who has the purchasing authority is very popular. In later generations, many business people responsible for promoting products will bribe these managers with purchasing authority. Of course, it's not a bribe that can get everything done. There is also a premise that your goods are not too big a problem, and there is not much difference from other people's goods.Marlin, who knew this, met with the three managers he selected and launched a bribery trick. But what made him depressed was that the first two managers said that their coal suppliers were personally set by the boss and they had no right to change. Therefore, Marin had to give up. Fortunately, the third manager has a loud voice he is the boss's nephew.

After paying a huge mark of 50 marks, the agent of the coal dealer, Wright, agreed to buy from the Hoffmann family's coal mines two months later, after the contract with the previous dealer expired. The ship came to load coal. Of course, the quality of the Hoffmann family's coal is also very good. Although Wright was jealous of bribery, it was also after testing the samples taken by Marin that the quality of the Hoffmann mine was first-class, and he was able to accept the bribe with confidence and signed with Old Hoffman. Moreover, the price given by Old Hoffman is also low - as long as 2 shillings per Chartron. In fact, the price of first-class coal in the Ruhr area is generally 2 shillings 3 Finney per Chartron. Therefore, Wright chose Hoffmann Mine, which is not a loss.

After solving the sales problem, Marin and the Hoffmans rushed back to the manor. Next, it is the excavation of coal mines and the transportation of coal. Under the dispatch of Marin, Adler was sent to the Ruhr River to supervise the construction of the coal terminal. Old Hoffman was responsible for repairing the road from the coal mine to the river, and commanding the serfs to repeatedly crush the road with the stone that was invented by Marin. Mrs. Mary is responsible for supervising the carpenter to build a batch of Chinese wheelbarrow for the shipment of coal.

Because, Marin estimated that if a 2 km long mine car track was built, the input cost would be too great, and the Hoffman family could not get the money for the time being. So he simply decided to use the wheelbarrow and the oxcart to transport the coal.The oxcart is ready-made, but the oxcart has a problem. Once the road is muddy on a rainy day, the oxcart will not move and affect the shipment of coal. The wheelbarrow is actually intended to be used when it rains and the road is not dry. Because the wheelbarrow is an all-terrain vehicle, you can walk on the grass. Moreover, the Chinese wheelbarrow can hold five or six hundred kilograms of goods, which is very convenient and practical.

As for Marin himself, he took Kahn and Kohler out to go to the old coal mines and purchased two sets of brackets for lifting coal cars for the mine to lift coal. After buying the equipment, Marin did not leave immediately. Instead, he quietly sent people to contact some of the most skilled miners in the old coal mines. With 4 Finney's "high price" every day, he digs away five identities and is free. Experienced miners of civilians. The Hoffmann Mine is a newly opened coal mine and production may not be guaranteed if all newcomers are used. And once the output can't keep up, Old Hoffman is equivalent to default, but to lose money to Wright. Therefore, Marin dug up five skilled and powerful miners. Then, Old Hoffman recruited more than a dozen healthy serfs who had not dug coal from outside the manor, and learned mining with five old miners. With the master, I believe that these dozen young men will get a little faster when they dig up the coal. Of course, some of them are responsible for transporting coal to the terminal.

In this way, by the beginning of September, the Hoffmann family coal mines officially began operations. At this time, the news that King Charles VIII of France led the 37,000 French army into Italy and finally reached the German region. Marin knew that the Emperor's Majesty must have been anxious. Because the emperors of the ancient times have regarded Italy as their own land, and they are not allowed to be touched by others, especially the French with strong momentum. Therefore, Marin also temporarily put down the family coal business, began to prepare, and planned to go to Vienna to go to the emperor.

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