Before coming to Lorraine, the research internship team led by Professor Xiao Yang had formulated an exploration and exploration plan based on the geographical and geological characteristics of Lorraine and the existing mineral distribution, and planned to use the four months before the arrival of winter to carry out targeted mineral exploration and geological survey. They were divided into two groups, the mineral exploration team analyzed and inferred from the surface morphology, soil and sand and gravel composition, selected suitable sites for drilling, conducted physical and chemical tests on the drill extracts, and further judged the situation of underground mineral deposits - this is an iterative process, bad luck, a hundred times could not find a deposit suitable for commercial mining, luck several times to get it; The geological exploration team carried out geological surveys of the planned canal to help refine the canal expansion plan, and once the mineral exploration team had surveyed the veins, they quickly carried out targeted geological surveys in the surrounding area, designed reasonable river routes and assisted in the development of engineering plans.

The technical support team has arrived, and the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance is fully cooperating. On the mineral exploration team, led by veteran miner and mining investor Morton Palach, the team was provided with manpower and equipment support from the mining company. The geological survey team, led by Pamela Wader Stein, son of Lohr Wad Stein, is the leader of the geological survey team, with manpower and equipment support from the United Shipping Company. After the exploration and survey began, both groups of men and horses took the order from north to south, west to east, near and far, but the specific areas and routes were different, at first close to each other, and then gradually distant. Professor Xiao Yang's best field is mineral analysis, and he spends more than half of his time following the activities of the mineral exploration team. In the beginning, she would return to Somsonas every three or five days or a week with a pile of ore, stay for a day or two, discuss business with Weiss and others during the day, and accompany her little candy at night. Later, as the exploration site became farther and farther away, it gradually became a trip back more than a week or half a month, and Little Candy showed a strong ability to adapt, she was a follower to Kemp during the day, and a room with the girls at night, never noisy, only occasionally relying on Weiss to answer her "why".

The short summer days are gradually fading away under the blowing of the autumn wind. In autumn, not only are the temperatures pleasant, but there are fewer torrential rains, and the continuous improvement of management methods has led to the peak of the construction efficiency of the canal, and the construction schedule is far ahead of the schedule.

On such an autumn afternoon, Weiss was called back to Clumberg-Heissen Castle from the canal construction site, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Professor Yang with a spring breeze on his face and bright eyes, and muttered in his heart: What is the situation? Didn't you discover a big gold mine?

"You won't believe it, look what we found." Professor Xiao Yang pointed to the inconspicuous-looking ores on the table.

"What is this?" Weiss asked.

Without waiting for Professor Xiao Yang to answer, Old Palach's voice came from the next room: "Don't worry, the answer will be revealed soon!" ”

Following the prestige, I saw the old miner wearing leather gloves and holding a wire in each hand. Although built in the last century, the castle was electrified more than a decade ago. Wallens' thermal power plant provides domestic and industrial electricity to most of Lorraine's towns. Many of the lines were damaged during the war and have been repaired in recent months.

Under the watchful eyes of Weiss, Nordic Mick and several other members of the Lorraine Industrialists' Alliance, Old Palache connected two wires to the ends of one of the ores, and the light gray stone actually shook.

"Oh my God!" Nordic suddenly exclaimed, "Is this the Starsource Stone Mine?" ”

Aside from the Star Source Stone, what else could have such a strange situation under the action of electricity?

Everyone was excited, but Weiss was the only one who was exceptionally calm. Prior to this large-scale exploration and exploration, the Union of Lorraine Industrialists had registered a mining consortium and had completed legal exploration and exploration procedures in the name of the company with the mine management department of the Provisional Government of Lorraine, and had paid the deposit in full. Once the mineral deposit is discovered, apply for a formal commercial mining license according to the estimated stock and recoverable amount of the mineral deposit, pay the corresponding taxes in advance, and achieve the statutory technical and security conditions, commercial mining can be carried out, but the Xingyuan stone mine and precious metal mine are related to the national strategy, citing the "Federal Defense Act" and the "Federal Strategic Resources Management Ordinance", after the mineral deposit is discovered, it is necessary to unconditionally accept the control of the mine management department, and the government can choose the mineral supply monopoly or the compulsory repurchase of mining rights after the verification of the situation.

For the discoverers of mineral deposits, the purchase or repurchase of mining rights by the government's monopoly on ore is not the maximization of profits, but it is also more profitable than the exploration of ordinary minerals. If all the proceeds are attributed to one person, it is equivalent to winning a mega jackpot. Today, the Union of Lorraine Industrialists carries out exploration and mining under the name of the Mining Syndicate, and it is not an exaggeration to say that such a discovery can be summed up as "three years after opening".

Federal laws and decrees clearly stipulate that once an explorer discovers a star source, he must report it to the government in a timely manner, and the government will make overall arrangements for subsequent mining. Weiss worries that after the news is announced, it will soon lead to a wave of "gold rush". More investors come to Lorraine to explore and mine, which is not a bad thing for the regional economy, but if they take the extensive route as before, it will not only have an impact on the order of the mining industry, but also damage the ecological environment, which is contrary to their original intention of building and developing Lorraine.

Of course, it is unrealistic to conceal or delay reporting, not to mention the people who gather here to discuss, there are so many mouths at the exploration site, even if the news is forcibly blocked, it will not be long before it spreads. Weiss analyzed and judged with the way of thinking of a commander: in the face of such a sudden situation that is not a bad thing in nature, what needs to be done now is to guide and promote it in a proper way, and the fulcrum lies in the Provisional Government of Lorraine. This is a tough battle, not very difficult, I am afraid of a slight negligence, and eventually it will develop into an irreparable situation.

After a night of deliberation, the next morning, he dragged the elder Palach and Nodimik out of bed, and the three of them used a breakfast time to discuss the current situation and rational solutions, and after reaching a consensus, Weiss and Palach the elder rushed to Mason with samples of ore, and had people send a telegram to the other members of the Alliance, asking them to rush to Mason to attend the emergency council.

Lorraine's roads extend in all directions, but there aren't many roads that are suitable for cars to drive quickly. The road between Somnas and Mason is mainly mountainous, and it takes seven or eight hours by horse-drawn carriage, and five or six hours by car, after all, the car can't stand it when it's fast, and people can't stand it. After the canal is completed, the boat will travel from Somsonas to Mason, which will take half a day at the earliest. Because of the backwardness of transportation efficiency, Weiss focused on the commercial transportation sector in the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance plan, and the medium and long-term plan is to rely on the local machinery manufacturing industry to establish a civil air transportation network. As far as aviation technology in wartime is concerned, it is essentially sufficient, but the stability, safety, and comfort aspects still need to be developed and improved.

It was already afternoon when I arrived at Mason. Weiss and Palach Sr. split up, one to Acting Governor Blinds and the other to the head of the mining administration. The elder Palach's task was to find the mining management department to go through the legal procedures, lock the exploration and mining rights of the Xingyuan stone deposit in the United Mining Company, and try to win the support of the relevant person in charge of the mining management department - the decision to choose whether to buy back the mining rights or monopolize the purchase of ore lies with the federal government, but at the level of the Lorraine Provisional Government, the mining management department still has the right to make preliminary recommendations, and this right to make recommendations usually has a "preconceived" effect, and it is rare for them to be overturned by the higher authorities. Weiss's task is to do the ideological work of Blinders, and try his best to persuade him to use temporary decrees or administrative regulations in the name of the Provisional Government of Lorraine to make it clear that enterprises entering Lorraine for exploration and mining of minerals in the future must use equipment and technology of a certain level in exploration and mining, and set aside special funds for ecological protection and ecological restoration during the exploration and mining period, so as to prevent some speculators from blindly coming to explore and play a positive role in protecting the social and economic order and natural environment of Lorraine.

Weiss's advice is legal, reasonable, and a state-of-the-art management approach that is beneficial to the reputation of the Provisional Government of Lorraine and its current officials, but it is cumbersome and requires adequate preparation and legal procedures. Acting Governor Blinders agreed with Weiss's proposal and asked the mine management department to start making arrangements immediately, while Weiss said they could provide some human support free of charge, given that the Lockraine interim government has relatively few staff and is now devoting a considerable part of its energy to preparing for the parliamentary elections. At first, Blinds felt that it was inappropriate for people from civil society organizations and enterprises to intervene in government affairs, but when Weiss said that they had invited top professors and outstanding students from the School of Geography and Geology of Ulster University of Technology, these scholars were not only professionally competent, but also rigorous and neutral, so he felt that there was something to be done, and agreed to the professional help of the Lorraine Industrialists Union.

In the evening, the directors of the Union of Lorraine Industrialists arrived. In the case of the newly discovered Xingyuan deposits, the old industrialists believe that the potential profits are at least equivalent to three free Lorraine canals, and that the formalities that the elder Palach is responsible for will lock in these promising future profits to the United Mining Company as long as they are completed. After discussion, all the people unanimously agreed that the United Mining Company will be the main body to carry out a comprehensive exploration of the newly discovered Xingyuan stone deposits, and half of the government funds obtained from this business will be used to purchase additional equipment, introduce technology and recruit talents for the United Mining Company, and half will be allocated to the United Mining Fund to fund the alliance members who are experiencing business difficulties, rescue miners in difficulty and meet various other unexpected needs. This was the first time since the establishment of the Lorraine Industrialists Union that everyone had decided on the issue of revenue distribution, and everyone expressed their opinions and showed their strengths, and finally reached a tacit agreement to form an effective joint force, just as they had done in the fight against the Norman invasion, which was undoubtedly very gratifying. As mentioned in the Grumman Group, the most difficult problem to solve in the situation of joint operation is the distribution of profits. Traditional cooperation can overcome some difficulties, but in the face of attractive benefits, only self-interest comes first. The firm comradeship-in-arms is difficult to continue from generation to generation, and it will eventually be lost to time, but at least for now, in the era when the "Big Seven" are jointly in charge of the overall situation of the alliance, it is time to struggle.