Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

"In practical use, it can extract water from mines up to 60 meters deep," the geologist continued, "and the water flow might be only as thick as a finger."

Joseph suddenly felt somewhat discouraged but was still not ready to give up; he asked, "What is the power rating of the pump you mentioned?"

"The power is 26 horsepower, Your Highness. As far as I know, that is the maximum power a steam engine can achieve. The one used by the University of Paris for forging experiments is of this kind."

Joseph suddenly saw a glimmer of hope, leaning slightly forward. "If there were a steam engine of 52 horsepower, do you think it could extract the water in this tunnel?"

"The water infiltration is somewhat high, Your Highness." The elderly scholar picked up a pen and calculated for a while before looking up and saying, "With such a powerful pump, we could extract about 15 to 18 cubic meters of water per hour from this depth. Oh, actually, more than 40 horsepower would suffice."

Joseph's eyes lit up immediately; he looked at the exploration data. "Does that mean that six or seven pumps could drain the groundwater here?"

"That's correct, Your Highness. But I must remind you, there is no steam engine of that power available yet..."

Joseph revealed a smile, "No, Mr. Prinwen, there already is one."

He had been worried about finding buyers for United Steam Engine Company's latest LJ52 model, but now he found a perfect use for it in the silver mines of Poland.

Moreover, pumps in mining areas are used continuously for long periods, making it easy to identify any issues with the steam engines.

It was truly killing two birds with one stone!

After the geologist from the University of Paris left, Joseph continued to review Sais's report.

"The Polish Army needs to expand by at least 60,000 men. With recruitment and training, one year might be tight, it could even be just six months."

Joseph first thought about having Polish soldiers train at the Lyon Military Technology School but immediately shook his head.

Not even combining all three foundational military technical schools in France would accommodate 60,000 men.

And it would clearly signal to the world that France was committed to defending Poland, potentially putting France in a very disadvantageous diplomatic situation.

"Is there a way to train soldiers that also saves money?"

Perhaps inspired by resolving the issue of the silver mines, he felt much lighter and quickly thought of a suitable location.

"Emperor Leopold II would surely be very happy."

Joseph smiled and picked up the report to continue reading, "Stanisław II has agreed to go to Saint Petersburg and has appointed Prince Poniatowski as Hetman and concurrently the Second Royal Minister."

"Hetman" means "Grand Commander" in Polish, akin to the Minister of War in France, and "Royal Minister" refers to the Prime Minister of Poland.

That is to say, Prince Poniatowski had indeed become the second-most powerful person in Poland.

Joseph nodded slightly. Stanisław II's open-mindedness was indubitable, knowing his limitations and willingly handing over power to his nephew.

He then signaled to Eman, who stood by the door. "Please inform Mr. Virein to prepare for a trip to Poland."

Virein was the Crown Prince's personal makeup artist, but Joseph was not fond of the heavy makeup favored by the Parisian nobility, so he was almost unemployed, now finally able to utilize his professional skills.

Sais also mentioned at the end of his report that Poland had done quite a lot of practical work over the last two years.

For example, the "Great Sejm," meaning the Polish Parliament, had officially established the Federation Military Committee; "persuaded" the Russian Army to fully withdraw from their territory; conducted Poland's first census following France's model; and based on the remnants of the Bar Confederation, together with the Patriotic Party, had formed a brand-new intelligence agency—the Freedom and Security Committee.

Meanwhile, Stanisław II had taken Joseph's advice, not hastily enacting the "May 3rd Constitution" as in history but instead made more thorough preparations in Parliament and proceeded with reforms step by step.

One could say that Poland had done all it could with its current national strength.

…

Half a month later.

In the southwest of Poland at Krakow on Tarnovsk Mountain, under the watchful eyes of numerous officials, mine shareholders, and technicians, Polish Royal Minister Mavahovski tensely observed the eight dark cylindrical machines.

As the workers continuously added coal chunks, the chimney spouted thick black smoke, and the machines began to tremble slightly.

Unexpectedly, water began to gush from a copper pipe on the side of the machine and flowed down the pre-dug drainage ditch toward the foot of the mountain.

Watching the surging water, a cheer burst forth from the crowd, "Thank God! It really extracted the water!"

"It's a miracle, that's over 80 meters deep."

"Look at the flow rate of the water—I estimate we can drain the water in the tunnel by dawn tomorrow."

"Yes, and then we can continue digging further down!"

Mavahovski excitedly nodded to Sandler standing beside him, "Congratulations, Mr. Sandler, your outstanding work is truly miraculous!"

"It should be congratulations to us!" Sandler smiled and said, "Besides, this isn't solely my achievement, the miracle belongs to LJ52."

He had immediately returned to the company from Brittany following the Crown Prince's instructions, taking all eight high-pressure steam engines in stock with him to Poland.

After the intense construction, the LJ52, with its formidable power, had extracted groundwater that had accumulated over a hundred years from the mines.

Mavahovski took a glass of wine from a servant and handed it to Sandler. "Yes, congratulations to us! To the Paris Mining Development Company!"

Sandler and everyone raised their glasses, "To the Paris Mining Development Company!"

The so-called Paris Mining Development Company was a venture Joseph had just established to invest in the Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine.

The company had purchased eight LJ52 high-pressure steam engines from the United Steam Engine Company and invested one million francs in the silver mine, thus acquiring 40% of the mine's shares.

Spending 500,000 on steam engines and adding other technical equipment, the mining development company had invested over 1.6 million francs. The mine's annual output was two million francs, allowing them to recoup their investment in two years; it was indeed a profitable deal.

The Polish government was also happy to facilitate this cooperation.

The French company promised to increase the mine's output by at least threefold. If achieved, this would significantly contribute to Poland's finances.

Even if the target wasn't met, one million francs would still help solve many of the Polish government's problems and foster good relations with France.

Now that the groundwater had been successfully extracted, the Polish government was also profiting greatly.

After watching the pumping machine operate smoothly for an hour, the Polish Royal Minister warmly gestured to the mining development company's manager and others, including Sandler, "Gentlemen, the celebration banquet is about to start, let's go back. After the banquet, we still have follow-up cooperation agreements to sign."