I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 405 Win-win
The debut of the steam train kept Chris extremely busy.

Not only did the Bohemian Empire send an ambassador to the Anvil Fortress, but the Retalia Empire was not to be outdone, and even the Kingdom of Minicia sent people over.

The two countries had a clear objective: to acquire the technology to manufacture steam locomotives, or to have the Kingdom of Bagnia sell finished locomotives.

Regarding the requests for a meeting between the ambassadors of the two countries, Chris decided to meet with the prince of the Bohemian Empire first, as the latter held a higher position and the two countries were indeed currently in a friendly relationship.

There wasn't much to say upon meeting. The other party was a prince of the empire, with impeccable manners and impeccable speech. During the conversation, Chris felt as if he were bathed in a spring breeze, extremely pleasant.

Well, from this point, Chris knew that the other party was a very tactful person. The pleasant conversation was because the other party was deliberately trying to accommodate him... In other words, he was compromising himself.

Although he knew the reason, Chris was still very happy, because the fact that an imperial prince was willing to do this meant that he was of high enough status in the other party's eyes.

During the meeting, Prince Hornloe cautiously raised his desire to purchase the technology for steam trains, as well as his requirements for finished products. Chris's response was unexpectedly accommodating.

"Sure, as long as you pay."

why?
Behind this seemingly simple decision lies Chris's profound calculation based on his own strengths, player characteristics, the era's landscape, and future strategies.

Chris asked for astronomical prices for both the core blueprints and the finished locomotive.

The price of the blueprints was enough to drain the fiscal revenue of a wealthy province of Bohemia for several years, and the price of a locomotive required gold to purchase. Chris did not accept any country's currency... except for silver dollars.

Such a transaction would bring the Kingdom of Bagnia a massive amount of readily available hard currency and strategic resources, such as gold.

This enormous wealth will be directly invested in even more extravagant domestic infrastructure projects, such as railway network expansion, factory construction, mineral development, player-led next-generation technological upgrades, and military expansion, creating a snowball effect.

Why does China sell arms to other countries in reality?
Aside from the most important political factors, the most important thing is to sell one weapon so that we can manufacture several, and in the process, support the technicians and production line workers, and have money to upgrade our technology.

Besides creating a snowball effect, the Kingdom of Bagnia can also earn a sum of money for maintenance after the locomotive is sold.

Don't think of this as a small amount of money; in fact, it's a large sum of money that will generate long-term income.

Based on Chris's understanding of the Bohemian Empire, the country was currently in the process of transitioning from a feudal society to industrialization. If they bought the train technology, they would definitely imitate steam trains.

However, the technology inherent in mature steam locomotives certainly exceeded their expectations and capabilities. Not to mention anything else, the dimensional tolerances marked on the blueprints, such as the clearance requirements between the piston and the cylinder and the roundness of the crankshaft bearings, were simply a pipe dream for Bohemian craftsmen.

They might understand it, but they certainly can't do it.

Just like a math problem, it's either right or wrong; you can't cheat or take shortcuts.

There was also the issue of materials. The train blueprints Chris sold them were marked with "special alloy steel," "high temperature and high pressure resistant cast iron," and "high elasticity sealing material."

Even if you gave them the recipe, the alchemists and blacksmiths of Bohemia would be completely baffled by it.

They could forge decent steel for swords, but what about for core components of steam engines that could withstand immense alternating stress and high temperatures and pressures? Under pressure from an emperor who didn't understand technology, these engineers could only force things to go, and the resulting parts were either too weak, deforming and cracking under high pressure, or too brittle, breaking during vibrations.

They can't even figure out how to manufacture it, let alone maintain it. They can solve small problems themselves, but if a big problem occurs, they will definitely have to find engineers from the Kingdom of Bagnia to solve it, or even spend money to buy wear parts.

Therefore, Chris was very generous, so generous that he was unwilling to sell the most advanced steam locomotive in the world to the Bohemian Empire, and even refused to sell them the first generation of train technology, instead of playing the trick of upgrading it layer by layer.

Doing this could earn more money, but it would also give customers a learning opportunity.

To give an analogy, it's like giving a college student's math problem to a math beginner. Even if the student is really diligent and attentive, if they still don't understand, they just won't understand.

Conversely, if you let him do elementary school math problems first, then middle school, high school, and finally university, if he is a person with mathematical talent, then even if he relies on self-study, he can become a master.

Prince Hornloe was surprised that his request was granted, and he was overjoyed.

As for the high price Chris mentioned, Prince Hornloe didn't care; no matter how expensive it was, it still had a price.

As long as the Kingdom of Bagnia is willing to sell its technology and finished products, what does a high price matter?
If you think it's too expensive, just negotiate with someone. If you can't afford the money, you can use something else to replace it, whether it's a political, military, or economic exchange.

What Prince Hornloer feared most was that Chris would refuse outright without even mentioning a price; that would be the most troublesome thing.

So, after Chris agreed to the request, Prince Hornloah left happily... about the price?
That's the job of the lower-ranking people. It's not appropriate for a high-ranking and powerful figure like Prince Hornloe to talk about money.

After the Bohemian Empire's negotiations were successful, the ambassador from the Reteria Empire came to discuss matters, and Chris adopted the same attitude.

Do you want the technology and finished product of steam trains?

No problem. Considering how pleasant our transaction in the nitrate field was, you can pay a high price.

We can negotiate blueprints, locomotives, and even railway tracks. We can provide whatever you need. If you don't have enough money, no problem, we can pay with warhorses.

Warhorses and gold are the most sought-after commodities on this continent, and even Chris, who has the backing of an online shopping platform, cannot refuse them.

The former is a necessity for players, while the latter is a necessity for Chris.

Chris plans to implement economic reforms soon, aiming to transform silver dollars from physical currency into paper money, which requires a large amount of gold as a final step.

Although Chris could also use grain as a monetary standard and establish a grain-based currency, out of caution, he decided to take a two-pronged approach... he wanted both gold and grain.

Both empires had a pleasant meeting with Chris, and everyone felt they had gained something... it was a win-win situation.

However, when the envoy from the Kingdom of Minicia met with Chris, the situation reversed.

(End of this chapter)