In fact, Marin was equipped with bronze cannons in the Beihai Army, and there was some financial pressure. Fortunately, he funded the development of Sweden's Faylon giant copper mine, and he was able to obtain a lot of copper ingots every year. In addition, cheap copper could be sourced from India and the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, they dare to have the confidence to engage in an arms race with others.

However, the large-caliber heavy guns such as the Hongyi cannon and the Karen naval gun on the warship are all cast from mild steel. Anyway, people from other countries can't easily go to the warships of the North Sea countries to inspect the artillery. And those warships that need to appear in people's sight, the heavy cannons on them, Marin ordered to smear the surface of the cannon body with gold dust, which looks like copper cannons. Anyway, those outsiders who got on the ship did not dare to scratch the artillery, and they could not see the truth.

Even many sailors on the ship did not know that the ship's guns were originally cast of iron. Only the captains and other management, as well as the gunners, will know the material of the gun. Of course, those veteran sailors must know. Only the newcomers will not know the secrets.

And those outsiders who don't know the truth, after seeing the "copper cannon" of Yishui on the armed merchant ships of the Beihai Kingdom, all smacked their tongues - Nima, the Beihai Kingdom is really rich! It costs so much copper to cast a cannon......

However, because of this, Marin's business of purchasing cheap copper in India was targeted by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Inspired by Marin's revelations, it dawned on the top brass of the two countries – yes, why can't we buy cheap bronze cannons in India?

Although under the original spice trade transfer agreement, Spain and Portugal could not restrict Marlin from purchasing cheap copper in India. However, they can compete with Marin and rush to buy cheap copper from India! Therefore, Marin can also feel that it will be much more difficult to source cheap copper in India in the future.

In addition, there were also problems with procuring cheap copper in the Ming Dynasty. It turned out that Kong Tai's behavior of purchasing a large amount of copper in the Ming Dynasty caused dissatisfaction among the Ming cabinet. Because, the auxiliary ministers of the Ming Dynasty thought that the Ming Dynasty itself was short of copper, how could they watch the outflow of copper?

It also happened that because the treasure money was not accepted by the people, the Ming court was already discussing the complete abolition of the treasure banknote. At this time, copper coins became the only legal tender. The withdrawal of treasure money will also cause the demand for copper coins to soar. Therefore, the princes of the Ming Dynasty, who were discussing the abolition of treasure banknotes, were very unhappy with Kong Tai's purchase of copper, a large amount of coinage material.

For this reason, the Ming cabinet has issued a document to Kong Tai, asking him to restrain the purchase of copper in Daming. Because, copper is a material for coinage, and the Ming Dynasty itself is also lacking......

Kong Tai sent the news back to the mainland, and Marin was also a little worried. It will definitely be difficult for India to buy copper, after all, the North Sea countries have no colonies in India, and it is not as convenient as Spain and Portugal to buy cheap copper. And the Ming Dynasty also restricted the purchase of copper, so where to get copper?

Marin first thought of Japan, but the problem is that the current situation in Japan is complicated. Moreover, the strength of the domestic armed forces is not weak. It would have been difficult to conquer Japan without launching a nationwide expedition. However, in that case, the risks are also extremely high. After all, there is a danger that the nest will be destroyed. And if there are fewer people to be sent, they will not be able to suppress the counterattack of the Japanese local forces. Even if you occupy the copper mountain, you may not be able to mine copper ore with peace of mind.

Then, there are only other places to consider......

Marin thought of the Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile, which was the world's largest copper mine in the future, and it was still an open-pit mine! But after thinking about it, Marin gave up again......

Why? The problem lies in the local environment of the Chukikamata copper mine! Chuquicamata is located on the edge of the desert in northern Chile, where the climate is unusually dry and hot. In such a harsh environment, it is impossible to gather a large number of miners to mine. But the supply of fresh water is very difficult.

For example, the saltpeter mine near Iquique, which Marin is now mining, can only be mined by drought- and heat-tolerant Egyptian slaves because of the climate, and it is difficult to increase production. The main thing is that the supply of fresh water is difficult, and it can only be supplied by camels. The saltpeter mines near Iquique are relatively close to the sea, and the supply of fresh water is not a problem. Chuquikamata is deep in the desert, near the western foothills of the Andes, far from the sea, and it is really difficult to guarantee a fresh water supply...... Unless, wait until later, when the train opens......

So, Marin had to temporarily abandon this super copper mine in Chile. Then he thought about the Olympic Dam in Australia...... But he quickly denied the mine, because the Olympic Dam was a large reservoir and was associated with gold. However, at a depth of more than 100 meters underground, it is extremely difficult and dangerous to mine this copper mine at the current level of technology...... Therefore, this can only be PASSED......

In addition, Marin is aware of the Bingham copper mine in the United States, the copper mine in Zambia and the copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo...... However, none of this worked......

The Bingham copper mine in the western state of Utah, deep inland, was clearly not in a position to be exploited by Marin. The copper mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one is currently Spanish territory and the other is Portuguese territory, which is not easy to start.

Also, there seems to be a copper mine in Panama? But Marin vetoed plans to mine copper in Panama. Because, the climate in Panama was too harsh at this time. Take a group of miners to Panama to mine copper, and who knows how many of those miners will survive.

The same is true for the copper mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the climate is life-threatening in this unexplored and primitive age. Want to go to copper mining? Let's rest...... If you go to the rainforest to mine copper, you might as well go to the desert of Chuquicamata, Chile. At the very least, it's easier to survive in the desert than in the rainforest, as long as there's water. After all, there are no poisonous mosquitoes and insects. If there were, I would have died of thirst......

……

Marin was very sad and ran to the liver to find comfort. After listening to Marin's complaints, Liver Fu Shuizi made a good suggestion......

"Husband, why are you obsessed with occupying the Copper Mountain? It's okay to develop it in collaboration with people......"

"Cooperation? How to cooperate? Marin was stunned.

"Didn't you say that there are a lot of copper mountains in Japan? If you want to get copper quickly, why not use the local daimyo to develop the mine first? In this way, I want to get copper quickly! ”

Marin thought about it, really. However, he was worried that after the copper mine was mined, the local daimyo would turn against him and not sell copper to him......

After listening to Marin's worries, Liver Fu Shuizi covered his mouth and chuckled:

"Husband-sama filtered, you know, Japan is short of supplies. As long as you can bring goods that are in demand in Japan, such as weapons and armor that are urgently needed by the daimyos, as well as rare goods such as silk and cane sugar, which are urgently needed in Japan, do you still have to worry that the other party will not sell you copper? ”

Marin reacted immediately - yes, it's a seller's market now. Those daimyo of the Japanese order system were poor one by one, and they couldn't exchange any goods with people at all. If there is copper to exchange, it will definitely be taken out. Because, they can't exchange other valuable goods with others......

"Perhaps, we can really use the local daimyo to develop the copper mine first?" Marin said with some uncertainty.

Liver Fu Shuizi said:

"My lord, it will indeed be very convenient to let those local daimyo develop the copper mountain. After all, they are locals...... In addition, after the development of Copper Mountain, Nobunaga's army will not be able to take it......"

Marin's eyes lit up - yes, use the locals to develop the copper mountain first. Then, when he had accumulated enough strength, he took down the copper mountain...... Hey......

At this time, the name of a famous copper mountain came out - Ashio Copper Mountain!

The Ashio Copper Mountain is one of the largest copper mountains in Japan during the Edo period and is the main source of material for the Kanei Tsuho, Japan's most widely minted copper coins issued during the Edo period. It is said that at its peak, the annual output of Ashio Copper Mountain reached 1,200 tons! This is the output of ancient times, the output of the purely artificial era!

If, Marin now fools the local daimyo of Ashio Copper Mountain to develop the copper mine first and obtain enough copper...... In the future, I will find a way to swallow the Ashio Copper Mountain......

Moreover, this method is very feasible. In this era, Japan was one of the few populous countries in the world, and there was no shortage of human resources to develop copper mountain. For example, the Chuquicamatta copper mine in Chile is completely empty, and moving a large number of miners there is a lot of trouble in itself. Unlike Japan's Copper Mountain, a large number of laborers can be used as miners from nearby. Therefore, if you want to develop a mine quickly, you have to be in a region like Japan where there is no shortage of human resources. In a deserted place, it is difficult to find miners who are mining......