The silver mines of the Hartz Mountains, Marin did not know how large the reserves were. However, he knew that Leibniz had worked as an engineer at the Harz Mountain silver mine in the late 17th century. The Rammelsberg mine, on the other hand, was mined until 1988.

Therefore, Marin can be sure that the reserves of the Hartz Mountain silver mine must be very large. Although I don't know how much, the amount is certainly not small. According to a report from a spy sent by Kohler to the Harz Mountains, the ore produced there contains about 140 grams of silver per tonne. If 27 million tons of ore are calculated, then the total silver reserves are estimated to reach 3,780 tons, which is 100 million taels of silver.

However, the mine has been mined for more than 500 years and now has a maximum of just over 2,000 tons. However, this is also a very scary number.

In the future, Marin will need a large amount of silver to trade and purchase from the Ming side. So, Marlin is now very short of silver.

Although it is said that Marin has long had a plan to capture Iwami Ginzan in Japan. But the problem is that it will take years to really conquer Japan. First of all, he was going to send troops to help Ichifu Suiko capture Osumi Province and fight against the Shimazu clan. Then, when the Shimazu clan is resolved, he can free up his hands to seek Iwami Ginzan. Moreover, even if the Iwami Ginzan is taken, it is necessary to organize manpower to explore, and then recruit enough manpower and equipment to develop Iwami Ginzan...... It is even necessary to repair the mountain road leading from Yinshan to the outside world......

This whole set has not been done for several years. By the time Iwami Silver Mountain really produces a large amount of silver, it is estimated that it will be seven or eight years later, and it will be too late.

The silver mines in the Hartz Mountains are different, which have been developed for hundreds of years. It's just limited to technology and scale, and the output has not been able to rise.

But there is one thing, the silver mine in Hartz Mountain has a complete set of facilities, and the road out of the mountain is not a problem, and there is no need for Marin to spend time building those infrastructures.

In other words, the mine will be able to continue to produce silver once it is in its hands. And if Marlin increases investment, the output can be even larger.

For example, Marin was able to increase silver production by installing more efficient blast furnaces and applying ash blowing (which only began to be used in Japan in 1533 when it was applied to Iwami Ginzan). (In fact, Marin didn't know that there was a method of blowing ash in Europe.) It's just that he hasn't run a silver mine and doesn't know the secret. After all, in this era, the ash blowing method can also be said to be the "high technology" kept secret by the silver mine owner. ）

But at this time in Europe, other countries did not have more efficient blast furnaces, and Marlin invested in blast furnaces, which would definitely improve production efficiency and obtain more silver. Then, take it for trade.

……

In fact, before Spain mined gold and silver in the Americas, Europe not only had ultra-low grain production, but also a serious shortage of precious metals such as gold and silver.

At present, the reason why many European countries are desperately doping copper in silver coins is not only the intention of making huge profits from minting bad coins, but also the helplessness of insufficient silver production.

It can be said that in this era, Europe was a poor world that lacked both materials and gold and silver for minting coins.

If Marin had made public the secret of high grain production at this time, the consequence for Europe would have been a collapse in prices. Because, the grain production is high, but the amount of money is insufficient, and the only consequence is that prices plummet.

This was the case in the Ming Dynasty, which was extremely rich in products, but lacking in gold and silver. Therefore, silver is very valuable, and a tael of silver can buy a lot of things.

However, don't assume that low prices are a good thing. Because, the price is low, and it is very difficult for the people to make money, and it is good to earn a few taels of silver a year. Moreover, those who can earn a few taels of silver a year are farmers who have land at home. The tenants were even more miserable, because most of the income had to be given to the landlords, and it would be good to have one or two taels of silver left.

Therefore, for society to develop, it needs not only enough materials, but also enough money. Only when there is money and goods can the society truly prosper when the circulation of materials is promoted.

Moreover, Ma Lin had studied the text "Overcharging Three or Five Buckets" in his previous life, and he talked about the problem of grain cheapness hurting farmers. Therefore, despite the bumper grain harvest in Beihai Country, Marin has been deliberately suppressing and not selling grain on a large scale. Otherwise, food prices would have collapsed long ago, which could lead to major unrest. Fortunately, he later started a large-scale winemaking business and dealt with the backlog of grain. Otherwise, those nobles in the country will definitely be dissatisfied.

In short, governing a country is not so simple. We must not only worry about increasing grain production, but also pay special attention to issuing enough currency. Otherwise, economic development will certainly be constrained.

Of course, in the future, this will not be a problem. Because, in later generations, paper money was used, and there was no cost. Officials in various countries are eager to issue paper money indiscriminately, and they are not worried about the lack of money at all, but only about the lack of goods.

But in this era, because the anti-counterfeiting technology is not mature, you can't mess with banknotes. Otherwise, counterfeit money will fly all over the sky. Or, as in the Ming Dynasty, treasure notes turned into straw paper......

In this case, what Marlin can do is to increase the production of gold and silver to meet the needs of society. In addition, it is to promote and issue copper coins to meet the needs of social trade. After all, it's hard to find silver coins to buy odd and bits of groceries......

……

Marin, of course, was worried about the supply of silver. On the other hand, they are constantly minting counterfeit silver coins of nickel and white copper, impacting the French market.

In the two years that Marin went to Daming, the Beihai State Mint actually minted 100 million French Denier silver coins, worth 833,000 gold coins.

When Marin returned, he waved his hand - these 100 million fake Deniers silver coins made of nickel white copper were immediately sent to France for a large purchase.

Counterfeit money naturally has to be spent and exchanged for goods......

Then, a large amount of French livestock, grain, and oak were purchased by Marin's chamber of commerce......

There is no need to talk about livestock or anything, you can eat meat, you can use it. For example, many mules in France were bought by Marin's men with counterfeit silver coins made of nickel and white copper to be sent to the Americas.

As for food, Marin actually didn't lack anything at all. However, because the cost of mining and smelting nickel is much lower than that of silver, the cost of minting coins is very low. It is used to purchase French grain in large quantities, in fact, mainly to raise the price of food in France and make the French hungry.

You know, in ancient times, grain production was not high. Once a country is short of food, it is easy to have an unstable situation. Marin's purchase of these grains was not enough to make France unstable, but it was enough to make the French panic and fear that something would happen.

As for the purchase of French oak, it is necessary to mention the sinister intentions of Marin......

Marin had always been concerned about France's involvement in the Great Voyage, because France was very strong in man and material. Once the French join the game, the pressure on Marin is very high.

So, Marin has been suppressing France's seafaring potential......

Previously, he had advised Edward to instruct the English merchant ships to pretend to be pirates to loot the French coast and plunder the ships to attack France's seafaring potential when they were fine.

But this was not enough, as long as the French had the materials to build ships, they could build ships......

Therefore, Marin specially sent people to France with nickel and white copper counterfeit silver coins to purchase oak for shipbuilding, so that the French would lack shipbuilding materials.

Of course, this amount of money was not enough to make the French short of oak. Therefore, Marin asked his men to use fake silver coins to purchase tall oak logs suitable for keels in France. In particular, the tall oaks that are old are the targets of Marlin. As for the short ones, Marin didn't look down on them. Because, even if that kind of oak is used for shipbuilding, it can't make a big ship, and it can't be used as a ship for great navigation......

This is probably the first time in human history that money (and counterfeit) has been used for such a strategic purpose......

After arranging the purchase plan, Marin ordered the North Sea Mint to mint another 500 million French "silver coins" of nickel white copper......