020 Benheren’s General Meeting of Shareholders (2)
In 1822, Lee Hwan established a corporation named ‘East Stellar Co., Ltd.’.
He succeeded in obtaining a technology patent for the manufacture of firearms from the Dutch government, and sooner or later, in the United Kingdom and the United States, a patent application recognizing the intellectual property rights of the ‘East Stellar Company’ would be filed.
In March 22, Lee Hwan received a huge amount of investment from Ben Heren.
Investors of 12 nobles and 13 merchants were also recruited, and Lee Hwan became president of a company that issued stocks in the Netherlands in the early 19th century.
It was the sound of a company with a proper appearance.
On March 12, Lee Hwan led the East Stella Company back down to Rotterdam.
It was accompanied by Christopher Grava.
As a secretary sent by Richard Ben-Heren to help Yi-Hwan’s business, he would carry out Yi-Hwan’s every move in the future.
“Welcome to East Stellar Company.”
When Lee Hwan greeted Christopher three times, he laughed awkwardly.
“Thank you, boss.”
“Then shall we go in?”
The 15-room wooden house in East Stella could be said to be the first heated house in the West to have a furnace and an ondol.
East Stella’s staff stopped the wagon and unloaded their luggage and started a fire as soon as they arrived.
When the fire was turned on, smoke rose up and it felt like a place where people live.
The waterway was well maintained and the ground was smooth, and the view was quite open as a lot of trees were felled around it.
Christopher muttered involuntarily.
“Hey, are these all made by human hands?”
“of course. Would you like to come in?”
As with all settlements, we had to start off a bit clunky at first.
Wouldn’t it be great to have this kind of infrastructure for the initial settlement, Christopher thought so.
As soon as he followed Lee Hwan into the house, he opened his mouth to the warm warmth that came up.
“… … What is this?”
“It’s called Ondol. This is the second technology we have.”
“It would be great to spend the winter with this kind of warmth!”
“Would it be said that the quality of a person’s life changes depending on the presence or absence of an ondol?”
“It’s too much of a waste of technology to put it in a country like this!”
Lee Hwan smiled softly.
“So I plan to use it without spoiling it.”
As time passed, East Stellar’s technology advanced.
The know-how accumulated now will increase the undeveloped area around Rotterdam later and make Lee Hwan rich.
***
Having attracted a large amount of investment, Lee Hwan decided to set up a proper production system before expanding the East Stellar plant.
First of all, it was decided to equip a large number of ‘hydraulic molding machines’ that process iron by stepping on a pedal connected to a hydraulic system before equipping electrical equipment, and hire artisans to operate the factory.
Hwan Lee instructed Christopher to issue a recruitment notice.
Judging that it would be difficult to properly operate the factory with only 20 workers, Lee Hwan decided to recruit people from all over the Netherlands, including Rotterdam.
“The supply of 200 tablets that the Gong said is no longer a thing. So, let’s get some more people together.”
“Yes, sir. We will issue an announcement that a large number of engineers will be recruited from the German Federation and France, which are adjacent to the Netherlands. If that happens, various craftsmen and craftsmen who have lost their jobs and struggled will begin to gather toward East Stella.”
“Good. Then go ahead.”
“How will the recruitment department be structured?”
“Recruit a wide range of craftsmen, from carpentry and ironsmiths to construction and equipment technicians. We have about 200 people.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The condition of his recruitment was that he could live permanently in the Netherlands and had no problem even if he had to move abroad in the future.
After posting this notice, the most people came from France and the German Commonwealth.
In France, the country’s finances were in trouble to deal with the post-war situation, so they lost their jobs and wanted to emigrate to the Netherlands. It was meant to get out.
The refugees of the Holy Roman Empire, divided by France, decided to move to the Netherlands altogether when they could not find a place in the Four-Party League.
Lee Hwan entrusted management and supervision to the Ruger and Mouser families so that they could make parts for each gun separately.
“Let’s say that we make parts for firearms for each field, and then deliver them through assembly procedures.”
“How much production do you expect?”
“Can’t we just produce about 300 tablets a day?”
It was inconceivable today that 200 employees could produce 300 rifles a day.
It was not as difficult as I thought to produce 10 separate parts a day, so I was able to set the production target of 300 tablets.
While supervising production, Lee Hwan said that the inspection procedure should be thorough to prevent defective products from appearing as much as possible.
“Reducing the defect rate to a minimum is our first goal. In the three months we’ve been developing so far, at least 1 out of 10 has been defective. That means we have a defect rate of as much as 10%. But now, each person only has to be proud of one part, so the defect rate will only decrease. Until then, I ask for all your hard work.”
“Yes, sir! I will do my best.”
300 tablets a day, 3,000 tablets in ten days, so even if you arm the army, you can say that it is productive enough to arm two battalions in a month.
Hwan Lee decided to visit Ben Heren after setting up this production system.
He was going to discuss the future with Ben Heren.
Before that, Lee Hwan gave Christopher an instruction.
“Among the merchants going to and from North America, please recruit some people who are familiar with the Western Colonies.”
“I heard that among the merchants on the fleet, there were a lot of merchants who brought people from Virginia.”
“iced coffee! right. The fur traders said they were friendly! Then contact them.”
“Then why do they want to meet you?”
Lee Hwan smiled softly and said.
“I want to make my dream come true.”
“Are you dreaming?”
“I want to invest in real estate in North America.”
“iced coffee!”
Finally, Lee Hwan had the money to buy a mine in North America.
However, even if it was a problem to get permission to develop it, he succeeded in taking one step closer to his dream.
“I beg you.”
“all right.”
Lee Hwan, who gave instructions to the East Stellar Company, went to the base of the Ben Heren Guild fleet by that way.
Now, the temporary fleet base of the Ben Heren Guild was abolished and an official fleet base was established, and two months later, they were going to leave for Asia.
Richard Ben-Heren has been keeping an eye out for investors these days.
However, when he told me that Lee Hwan had come for a very important event, he gladly made time for it.
“You just came up.”
“It’s a straight road going up after setting up a factory. We have a production capacity of up to 300 per day, so we can print indefinitely if we develop only the market.”
“You have secured a decent size.”
“We are preparing to increase our production capacity because we have finished securing the armed forces of one company you mentioned.”
“He is also very good at business.”
“It’s overrated.”
Lee Hwan and Ben Heren went straight to the point.
“Even so, I was just about to bring you to Amsterdam.”
“I guess I came at the right time.”
“I was just about to discuss mass production, but it’s convenient for you to bring it up first.”
“Ugh!”
“I plan to contact the royal family soon.”
“If it’s a royal family… … .”
“The rearmament of the Netherlands that you mentioned earlier. Now we have to go ahead with it in earnest. By this time in the South, you will have noticed that I have a tiger named you, so I don’t have to be careful about moving any more, right?”
“Well, that’s right.”
“I don’t think even the royal family can turn down our offer. Isn’t that a very innovative gun? You are also preparing a sequel.”
The development of the Springfield rifle by the United States was the result of the shocking battle it suffered in the war with Spain.
Spain was armed with a five-round internal rifle at the time, which was a difference to the extent that the single-shot rifle the United States had as the most advanced firearm of the time could not do anything about it.
U.S. forces mobilized a large army of 8,000 men and encountered a Spanish force of 500 or so and suffered 1,200 casualties, barely winning the battle.
Shocked, the US military decided that there was a problem with their personal firearms and produced a 1903 version of the Springfield.
The 15x difference can be overcome in the fight between a single shot gun and a five-barrel gun, but what will happen if a matchlock gun and a five-shot Springfield Rifle fight each other?
Ben-Herren was trying to apply the situation at the time to the Netherlands.
“I don’t think it would be as difficult to take over the military as you said, even with cartridge rifles.”
“Did you have any thoughts?”
“From generation to generation, the Netherlands has developed based on a small territory and small population, so there were many situations where there was no answer other than an external expansion policy. It can be said that it is still the same today.”
In the past, when the Netherlands was not able to expand externally, it had taken a strategy of being protected from powers such as Britain and France under Spanish rule, but now it is realized that it is not a particularly good option.
“Now Britain has lost many colonies and naval supremacy. The Netherlands needs a strong army so that it does not suffer from another violation of its sovereignty. I am trying to argue that.”
“Ugh!”
“I only regret one thing. If we were to win the competition with the British, we would need to strengthen our navy.”
No matter how powerful the rifles were, it would not be as easy as it sounds for the Netherlands to defeat Britain in a naval battle where artillery battles were the mainstay.
However, if they believed in one rifle and strengthened their naval power, they could be providing a lure for provocation to the German Federation, including Prussia, which has recently emerged rapidly.
Although the German Federation was also the main pillar of the Vienna system, the significance of the Vienna system would no longer be able to stop the expansion of the great powers.
It was because the empty system was nothing more than an ’empty’ system.
Lee Hwan knew the situation all too well.
But he had an idea.
“Then why not make it?”
“what? Cannons?”
“Why don’t we make cannons with rear decoration instead of front decoration? By putting a primer on it.”
“Huh!”
The difference in personal firearms that could overcome the five-fold difference in power, Lee Hwan was planning to show it in public firearms as well.
Lee Hwan made a second promise to Ben Heren.
“In three years, we will come up with a cannon that can lightly ignore the current range and explosive power.”
“… … Isn’t three years too short a time?”
“If you believe in the ball and my East Stellar, I will give you the strength to regain naval supremacy within three years.”
Naval hegemony, the heyday of the Netherlands.
This might be the only reason for Ben Heren’s life.
He spoke in a tense voice, as if trying to calm his trembling heart.
“… … That’s exciting enough. But the current Netherlands has one problem.”