The electric revolution is not only about lighting, but also about small appliances that do not have much technical content.

For example, the electric fan is one of the accidental products, and the inventor is a skilled worker.

The reason is that in order to cool down the equipment, he dislikes the use of mechanical fans and wants to make a fan that does not need to be operated by manpower.

As soon as the inspiration moved, an iron sheet was added to the motor, and after connecting to the power supply, the blades rotated rapidly, and the earliest electric fan was born.

Originally, Franz thought that another great scientist was born, but after investigation, it was found that this was an ordinary skilled worker. Except for the accidental invention of the electric fan, I have no talent for scientific research.

Real-life cases once again prove that scientific and technological inventions are full of coincidences. There are many similar cases, and many practical scientific and technological inventions are made by ordinary people.

This strengthened Franz's determination to add hands-on skills to his education, so from 1871 onwards, Austrian students were given a practical course.

It's like a joke in later generations: the real scholar is able to build a nuclear reactor in his garage.

This kind of talent is what Austria needs most. Having come to the forefront of the scientific and technological revolution, now Austria has no objects to copy, and the original copycat empire now has to carry out independent innovation.

Franz rarely intervened in this regard, and if a country wants to be truly strong, it must have the ability to develop on its own, rather than being led by the nose by him, the emperor.

The achievements of previous lives can certainly be used to avoid detours, but for a country, this can only be used as an aid. Once you become dependent, it's a disaster.

Usually Franz just asks for it, and how to implement it is a matter for scientists. It's good to succeed, but it's okay to fail, scientific research is never smooth sailing, and it's impossible not to go through wind and rain.

Of course, this also has something to do with Franz's scumbag attributes in his previous life. As an ordinary person, I have always only enjoyed the convenience brought by technology, who cares how these technological products are made?

With a little knowledge I saw on the Internet, it's okay not to take it out. If you really take it out, it will be bad.

The economic meeting is still going on, and at this time everyone is discussing how to promote the popularization of electric power technology. To sum up, there are two points:

First, tax reductions are given to enterprises engaged in the power industry, so as to reduce the operating costs of power companies;

The second is to reduce the price of raw materials, or to reduce the price of copper and rubber, so as to reduce the cost in the process of electricity promotion.

The means are so crude, not so much technical. The first problem to be faced with any new technology promotion is cost.

Only when the cost is within a controllable range can there be economic value; Only when you have economic value can you be promoted in the market.

It's been many years since electricity was born, why is it only being promoted now? It is not because of the birth of high-power generators that the cost of power generation has been reduced to the market affordability.

Now only 500 grams of coal are needed for one kilowatt-hour of electricity, and if it is high-calorie coal, this consumption is even smaller, and the cost is already within the acceptable range of the market.

Seeing the controversy among the people, Franz couldn't help but want to speak. However, he held back, and at halftime, Franz summoned the prime minister alone.

Austria is not short of coal, and in terms of reserves alone, it is second only to the Russian Empire on the European continent, which is the advantage of being large. However, the quality of these coals is difficult to say.

"Prime Minister, I suddenly discovered a problem, most of the coal mines in China are lignite, which is okay for making fires or generating electricity, but not for steelmaking.

Now the domestic demand for steel is growing, and the demand for bituminous coal will also increase sharply in the future. ”

(Note: There is only a small amount of coking coal in nature, which can be directly used in steelmaking, and most of it is produced after the processing of bituminous coal)

After thinking about it, Prime Minister Felix shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, not really! The country's coal reserves are still quite abundant, and at the current rate of consumption, even if it lasts for 500 years, it will be enough.

Although the reserves of bituminous coal for steelmaking are not too high, they are sufficient. Even if the demand for steel increases tenfold, there will be enough coal to last for hundreds of years, and it is too early for us to think about these issues.

Now the mandatory classification of industrial coal still involves many problems. Many areas that produce bituminous coal have to buy lignite from outside at a high price, which increases the cost of industrial production and is not conducive to economic development. ”

This is a real problem, and if the classification of coal is mandatory, it will have to face this economic problem.

In this era, the demand for coal resources is not too large, and the energy problem has not yet entered the public's attention.

Moreover, don't look at the fact that steel is often linked together, in fact, the coal used for "steelmaking" and "ironmaking" are different.

Now Austria produces more than six million tons of steel a year, in fact, the first six million tons are iron, and only the next few hundred thousand tons are steel.

With steel production so low, the demand for bituminous coal is naturally low. Even if it is increased tenfold, the actual steel production is only a few million tons, which does not consume much coal.

Franz began to hesitate, the actual situation seemed to be a little more than expected, Austria's bituminous coal reserves are not too high, but the industrial demand is even smaller.

After a little thought, Franz decided to continue to promote the classification of industrial coal, but the method changed a little and was not so radical.

This was not a matter of assumption, but a decision made by Franz after careful consideration. He believes that Austria's demand for steel will rise rapidly in the future, perhaps exceeding 10 million tons by the end of the century.

Then the demand for bituminous coal should also increase accordingly, and if before that, it has successfully obtained the Rhineland region and has the coal resources of the Ruhr region to replenish it, then there will naturally be no shortage of coal.

But there are accidents, if something happens halfway and Austria gets the coal mines in the Ruhr area in a short time, will the domestic bituminous coal production be able to meet the demand?

No one has been able to answer this question. In that case, Franz must of course take precautions. Even if it is useless, it is better than when it is needed, and it is found that the supply of high-quality bituminous coal is insufficient.

With all his might, Franz reluctantly persuaded Prime Minister Felix. Maybe now Felix thinks that this is a mediocrity and self-disturbance, and only accepts it for the sake of the emperor's face.

It didn't matter, Franz was all about results. As long as the purpose is achieved, it doesn't matter if the process has some twists and turns.

Naturally, no one knows the content of the conversation between the two. Because of this episode, the intermission of the meeting was extended.

In the absence of both the emperor and the prime minister, the meeting naturally could not proceed. It's like a normal meeting, you have to wait for the important leaders to be present.

The staff was very attentive and brought coffee, pastries, and the newspaper that had just been distributed to everyone during the break.

Perhaps thinking it was bad to keep so many people waiting, about twenty minutes later, the two walked into the conference room, and the meeting continued.

Towards the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Felix said with a depressed face:

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't forget that coal is needed for power generation, and although there is a lot of coal production in China, we must also give priority to ensuring steelmaking.

In the future, the domestic demand for steel will usher in a surge. More than 80 percent of domestic coal production is lignite, less than 20 percent of bituminous coal suitable for steelmaking, and less than 5 percent of high-quality coal.

There is now a need for an energy law to legally guarantee the safety of coal used in steelmaking. Of course, this cannot be forced by administrative means, and it is mainly necessary to rely on economic means to regulate market supply.

In short, all the most suitable coal for steelmaking is used in steelmaking, so that the best quality steel can be made, and the rest of the ordinary coal can flow into the market. ”

It can be seen that Prime Minister Felix is not so petitioning. Of course, this is limited to Franz, and in the eyes of different people, the answer is also different. Many officials directly understood this as "worry", because they were worried about the problem.

This is a bit far-fetched, but it is more acceptable than Franz's statement. It is basic common sense that only the best quality coal can be smelted into the best quality steel.

The economic means of regulation are very simple and crude, and the Vienna government has a similar successful experience of raising taxes on high-quality coal.

If this high-quality coal flows into the steel mill to make steel, then the tax rebate is applied; If it flows into other fields, it will naturally not enjoy tax refunds.

The obvious benefit of this is that it increases the price of high-quality coal. If the price is high, the market competitiveness will be low, at least the power plant will not buy this high-quality coal.

Stimulated by interests, the capitalists will regulate the market on their own. The only problem is regulation, and they can't be allowed to evade taxes.

It's all minor issues in comparison. There is a law and there is no law, and even if there is a covert tax evasion, it is only on a small scale.

Confidentiality can only be achieved if the number of participants is small. If the scale is large, it will be difficult to escape the supervision of the tax authorities.

Moreover, even if the coal seller is willing to take the risk, the coal buyer is not necessarily willing.

Even if it is tax evasion, the price of high-quality coal is unlikely to be lower than that of ordinary coal, which is not a big difference for many people, but the risk is very large.

If you can't catch it, forget it, once you are caught, the consequences will be serious. Being punished and ruining the family is a common thing, and if you don't do it, you have to go to prison for reflection.

Prime Minister Felix's proposal was opposed to a lot of people, but it was barely passed at the meeting. Franz's small gesture almost made it clear that the emperor supported the proposal.

Throwing this issue up at an economic meeting is actually also about sharing the pressure. As is customary, all high-level meetings in Austria are kept secret.

It is impossible for the officials attending the meeting to announce to the outside world that I am against ×××× law. It has become the law, where an official is qualified to object, all that can be done is to obey.

It is not clear how loud the opposition is in the government, which will lead many people to miscalculate. The grievances of those whose interests have been damaged will be borne by everyone.

There are too many officials involved, but no one dares to be a demon. This policy has no impact on ordinary people, who have always been loyal users of cheap coal.

With the exception of the coal bosses, almost nothing will be affected. After all, the government only regulates the best part of bituminous coal, and it will not affect the interests of others.

If we want to talk about losses, it is also the biggest loss for Franz himself. Before he knew it, he had become Austria's largest supplier of coal.

This is the benefit of buying and buying, when the railway has not been built, and the mines in the deep mountains and old forests are worthless.

However, with the completion of the major railway project, there are now railways in every city in Austria, and the original traffic problem is no longer a problem.

The transportation problem was solved, and the minerals were able to be transported, which made many mines buried in the mountains and forests also have economic value, and the mining tycoons were thus cultivated.

Franz doesn't care about this loss, after all, there is still a beneficiary of this policy - the steel company, the problem of the left hand to the right hand.

The losses in the coal mines were taken back from the iron and steel enterprises, and secretly he also invested in heavy industry.

This is the terrible thing about the consortium, which has a complete industrial chain and its ability to resist risks far beyond that of ordinary enterprises.

Today, a large royal consortium has lurked in Austria. If all the assets in it are exposed, it is enough to embarrass all the consortiums in the world.

Obviously, this is impossible to expose, and the deeper the hole cards are hidden, the better. Although the royal consortium is not linked together, in fact, it has long been divided into several parts, or several consortiums.

Franz is only secretly remotely controlled, and these separate consortia, too, have a large group of allies, forming a community of interests.

On the surface, some consortia are still opposed to each other, and they often fight endlessly because of interests. To say that they are a family, even if the evidence is in front of them, it is estimated that few people will believe it.

This is still the beginning, and with the rise of new industries, these consortia will continue to grow like a snowball in the future, increasing Franz's control over the country.

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