Economic Takeoff

Brandenburg.

Helen Amalia Krupp long, graying blonde hair piled high, gazed at the retreating figure of the recently acclaimed "Railway King" Mr. Tokleiner, and turned to the young man beside her, asking, "Fritz, what do you think is our top priority right now?"

She clearly felt she was getting old, so she had to seize every opportunity to guide her only grandson.

Friedrich Karl Krupp replied almost without hesitation, "Recruit workers, buy more raw materials, and do everything possible to increase production!"

After a week of negotiations, Tokleiner finalized an agreement with remarkable efficiency to purchase 7,000 tons of Iron Rail from the Krupp Ironworks.

The total contract price exceeds 700,000 Thaler!

This is about 15% higher than the market price, but the requirement is that Krupp must complete the delivery within 17 months and that the quality meet the limits of the factory's existing processing capacity.

Currently, Krupp's production capacity for this high-quality Iron Rail is less than 3,500 tons per year.

Tokleiner also stated that if the cooperation goes smoothly, all bolts, rail bases, wedges, pressure bars, turnouts, turntables, and the like will be purchased from Krupp.

These items are not heavy, but they require relatively complex processing techniques, so their selling price is not low, and the factory does not earn as much as...

How many Iron Rail are missing?

Helen glanced at her grandson and shook her head slightly.

Friedrich thought for a moment and said, "That's right, even if we start expanding now, production will probably still be insufficient. We need to immediately cancel those unimportant orders and send the freed-up steel to the Eastern Railway Transport Company."

Helen sighed and looked at him, saying, "Fritz, you must remember that at any time, avoiding risk is the most important thing."

"Go to Hamburg immediately and, using Mr. Schumacher's connections, find out the financial situation of Mr. Tokleiner and his company. Also, leave a reliable person behind to keep a close eye on the company's accounts, and—"

She paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Never mind, I'll go myself."

After all, this is crucial to the company's profitability for many years to come and its ability to rapidly expand its scale, and there is no room for error.

Friedrich looked somewhat disappointed and pouted, saying, "You still don't trust my abilities."

Helen smiled kindly, "No, dear, you also have very important work to do."

"Both of the things you just mentioned are very important and must be prepared in advance."

"After all, Mr. Tokleiner paid a large advance payment, so the chances of this deal going through are very high."

"First, stop all the orders from those guys who are always late with their payments, and send all the Iron Ingot to the refinery."

"There's no need to rush into expanding the factory, but we can talk to the bank about a loan first."

You've got a lot on your plate.

A week later, as Friedrich walked dejectedly out of the Mendelssohn Bank, a Carriage stopped beside him. His butler, Kern, jumped down and exclaimed, "Master, the old lady just sent word that there are absolutely no problems!"

Friedrich took the documents from the Shap Signal Tower and saw that it stated. "The railway company has clear accounts and sufficient funds, which can expedite the progress of previous plans."

It was followed by another number: 1.43 million.

Friedrich's eyes widened immediately; he knew that figure represented the Eastern Railway Transport Company's working capital.

Yes, "Tokleiner" has been quite busy lately. With such a large company as a backing, he easily attracted a large number of investors, adding 230,000 Thaler in share capital.

Friedrich immediately became worried again.

Such a large order would inevitably require substantial investment to Grand Duke's scale, but after visiting three or four banks, he only managed to secure a loan of 10,000 Thaler, with an interest rate as high as 6.3%.

Little did he know that months earlier, the financial markets of North German Confederation had been turned into a wasteland by the influx of French Company.

Although French Company rarely borrow directly from Prussia, banks in Thuringia, Saxony, and other regions will inevitably try every means to raise funds for clients with excellent credit and extremely high interest rates.

As a result, large amounts of cash from Prussia banks flowed into the North German Confederation states.

Moreover, driven by this wave of financial frenzy, loan interest rates throughout German Territories are now at least 6%.

This actually exceeded Joseph's initial expectations.

A report submitted to him by the Treasury Department a few days ago showed that the French Government will have to pay nearly 9 million Franc this year for various interest subsidies.

The Public Notary Investigation Bureau and the Tax Bureau have been extremely busy as a result; in the past few months alone, they have arrested more than 400 people for fraudulent interest subsidy schemes.

But Joseph did not hesitate at all, because this money should essentially be considered military expenditure.

The gains that can be achieved with 9 million Franc are no less than those achieved through actual combat on the battlefield.

Frustrated Friedrich went to Dresden again, only to find that the banks in Saxony were even "poorer" than those in Prussia.

The second payment from the Eastern Railway Transport Company arrived on schedule.

"Tokleiner" secured a 5,000 Thaler exemption from inspection from the Prussia government, so as long as the total amount of the order contract did not exceed this figure, he could purchase steel at any price with almost no restrictions under the guise of railway construction.

Suddenly, industries that had previously relied on Krupp products were in dire straits.

The Carriage factory couldn't buy axles. The Textile couldn't buy Flywheel. Even farm implements like hoes and plows saw their prices skyrocket.

However, this also gave small Ironworks a rare opportunity.

They have all expanded their production capacity to fill the gap in the iron products market.

Potsdam.

The La El Lewin Salon is a favorite gathering place for all the major factory owners and Investor.

This place is busier than ever today; it's so crowded inside the Lewin family Villa that it's almost impossible to turn around.

The guests chatted animatedly in small groups, and the phrase that appeared most frequently in their conversations was "economic take-off."

This concept was first proposed in the Paris Business Daily, meaning that the Europe economy was experiencing unprecedented rapid growth, stimulated by new technologies such as Steam Engine, railways, and Chemical, coupled with the establishment of the Holy Trade Alliance.

This can be seen from the large number of factories that have sprung up along the Rhine River and the factory owners' frantic attitude toward financing.

Of course, Prussia itself also deeply felt the dramatic changes brought about by this "takeoff".

The steel industry was the first to benefit.

Large steel mills, such as the Gleiwitz Royal Ironworks, Egells Ironworks, Krupp Ironworks, and Stettin Foundry, saw their output and sales increase by 20% to 60% in just a few months.

Small factories are springing up like mushrooms after rain throughout the South.

At the same time, railway investment has become several times more active than before.

Yes, Eastern Railway Transport Company is just one part of this "stimulus package".

The bureaucrats of the France Steel Technology Association, with an extremely "stubborn and conservative" attitude, announced that they would no longer approve new expansion applications exceeding 15%, while demanding that France steel mills prioritize meeting domestic demand.

This led many customers in the German Territories who previously purchased France iron products to turn to Prussia products.

The Holy Trade Alliance Council also cooperated swiftly in approving all the Free Trade Zone agreements reached between Prussia and the North Rhine - Franconia Prussia, making bilateral business exchanges smoother.