King of German Mercenaries

The reason why Marin put the salt cooking base on Texel Island before was because he had only one territory like Texel Island at the time, so he couldn't put it anywhere else. And, because the coal comes from Bochum, it needs to be shipped from the mouth of the Rhine. Therefore, Thorenche has also become the closest place to the mouth of the Rhine in the Marin Territory, and it is also the most convenient place for coal transportation.

The incident of the detaining of the coal carrier in the Principality of Geddes also reminded Marin, that is, Texel Island is so close to the Netherlands, the secret of the salt cooking base is easy to be discovered. That is to say, the west coast of Texel Island has talked a lot, and it is not suitable for ships to sail. Otherwise, ships would have docked to observe the Yancheng Salt Cooking Base on Texel Island.

And with the frequent docking of coal ships at the port of Thorenche, the Dutch people on the opposite side began to be a little curious-why did Texel buy so much coal...

The Dutch on the opposite side of the salt didn't know, because every time Marin shipped the salt out, it was well packaged and never exposed. Moreover, the island of Texel also prohibits outsiders from going to other places unexpectedly in the port of Thornche, and offenders are immediately arrested. Therefore, the secret of Yancheng was kept for a long time.

But Marin knew that if the fishermen had a telescope in their hands, far away from the salt-boiled center of Yancheng, they would be able to see clearly. Therefore, Marin's control of the telescope is more stringent. Even, Marin requested that only serfs from the original Hoffman Manor, or serfs who had been with Marin for a long time, the whole family was loyal, and had no foreign relations, were eligible to use the telescope.

However, for further secrecy, Marin still built a tall wall on the west side of the Yancheng Salt Boiling Center by the sea to block the eyes from the sea.

Even so, because of the need for coal ships on the Rhine and Newcastle, Marin felt that it was not very safe here. After all, there are too many coal carriers, which will also arouse the curiosity of the outside world.

If it is a normal business activity, but Marin has moved the capital to East Friesland, and the business activity here has not decreased but increased, it seems a bit abnormal. After all, according to common sense, it is only reasonable that a place that has lost its status as a capital should be depressed. The most optimistic, that is, it is similar to the past, and there is no reason to be more prosperous and lively than before.

As it happens, importing coal from Newcastle is actually no better than unloading it at the port of Thorench. There are so many islands in the Wadden Archipelago, and it's almost the same where to unload. Even in the newly acquired East Frisian Islands, there are many places suitable for boiling salt.

Moreover, the huge sea-going ship loaded with coal and entering the narrow Mars channel is called attention. After all, the ships that came to unload in the port of Thorench were all small and medium-sized ships from the Rhine. Suddenly replaced by a large ship, it is easy to cause speculation.

What's more, the Mars Waterway is the main waterway for the merchant ships of the Amsterdam people to enter and leave the Wadden Sea. The Dutch fishermen in Den Helder on the opposite side may be a little stupid and can't figure out the reason. Had the clever and cunning merchants in Amsterdam found out, they might have deduced the truth.

Therefore, Marin made adjustments and moved the location of Yancheng a certain distance inland, and no longer placed it on the beach, which is easy to attract the distant view of passing ships. Moreover, walls were erected around the salt-boiled base, and only smoke was seen inside. Not sure, I thought there was a steel base inside. As for taking seawater, this is very simple, just dig a diversion ditch and bring in seawater. Likewise, an additional drain could be dug to drain the excess brine out to the sea, but in a different direction...

After thinking, Marin made a decision to partially relocate the salt cooking base. Specifically, the Yancheng Boiled Salt Center only reserves the production capacity to supply Wright, the head of the Wiggins Chamber of Commerce in Cologne, and the Principality of Cliff.

Then, the extra manpower was transferred to an island in the East Frisian archipelago to re-establish a salt boiling center. Marin has already thought about the name of this new boiled salt center.

It's called "New Yancheng"...

New Yancheng will fully use imported British coal in the future, and the salt produced here will be shipped to the Teutonic Knights nearby. At the same time, the salt produced in New Yancheng will also be supplied to the whole territory of East Frisian Country.

At present, the East Frisian country's salt depends on Lüneburg's mineral salt, which surprised Marin. You know, East Frisian is a coastal country, and it is a joke to import salt from a landlocked country.

But the fact is that, like the Netherlands, the East Frisian coastal area lacks the firewood needed to cook salt. Although there are some retail households who cook salt, they cannot form a scale. Moreover, the original Serksner family seems to control the interests of salt sales. Therefore, the Serksner family forbids coastal fishermen to cook salt without permission, and can only buy the Lüneburg mine salt monopolized by the Serksner family.

Now that Marin has been in control of East Friesland for several months, as a salt tycoon, Marin naturally wants to take the monopoly of salt into his own hands. This is a lucrative industry. The feudal dynasties in China have obtained a lot of taxes from the monopoly of salt and iron, and also fed a large number of corrupt officials. The whole of East Friesland, including the Wadden Islands, already has a population of more than 80,000. So many people add up, the consumption of salt is also very considerable, and the profit is naturally a lot.

Moreover, because the sea salt boiled in Marin's boiled salt base has the habit of abandoning bittern, the bitterness in the salt is very weak and can hardly be tasted. Therefore, the salt produced in Yancheng is currently a high-grade salt in the European market. Only certain high-quality salt mines can produce it, and the price is very high.

Marin's plan is to use high-quality sea salt to completely replace Lüneburg's bitter mineral salt and become the condiment of East Frisian people. Moreover, for its price, Marin also intends to adopt parity, not the price of high-grade salt. Because, even with parity, Marin is still able to make huge profits.

In order to choose the address of the new Yancheng, Marin personally made a trip to the East Frisian Islands to choose a suitable place to cook salt.

First of all, the island of Borkum on the sea route to and from the North Sea from the port of Emden was excluded. Because, on the edge of the busy route, it is easy to attract the attention of passing merchant ships. The businessmen are very sensitive people, and if they see the clues, they will be punished by the cottage...

Second, it can't be too far east. Because the easternmost island of Wangaoge is already close to the seaside of the rebellious Yevre area. It's not good to be seen by the Jever traitor.

Therefore, when Marin chose the location, he could only choose a few islands in the middle...

Marin hesitated for a long time between Norderney and Baltrum, but in the end, Marin chose the smaller Baltrum.

Because of Marin's on-the-spot investigation, he found that Norderney Island has a large area and abundant freshwater resources, so there are already many residents on the island. Moreover, there are frequent exchanges between Norderney Island and the seaside town of Norden across the sea, which is not conducive to confidentiality.

The Baltrum Island to the east of Norderney Island is much smaller than Norderney Island, only about 6 square kilometers. Moreover, there are currently no residents on the island, which makes it seem a bit desolate.

But this is not a problem. What Marin wants is a remote place, a prosperous and lively place, and he still has no choice. After on-the-spot investigation, Marin found that there are freshwater lakes and creeks in the southern half of the island, which can fully supply the freshwater for the salt boiling center.

Moreover, this small island is very strange. In the southeast of the island, there is a small peninsula that plunges into the sea abruptly, like a natural long bridge pier. Marin poked with a wooden pole and found that the water on both sides of the natural long bridge pier is quite deep, which is very suitable for docking ships.

In the end, Marin finally made up his mind and built the new Yancheng on the southwest corner of Baltrum Island, on the edge of the natural long bridge pier. Of course, like Yancheng on Texel Island, the salt boiling center is no longer open air, but a tall wall was built to facilitate defense.

Because, Baltrum Island and Texel Island are different. Most of the sea around Texel Island is not suitable for boats to dock, but Baltrum Island is small, but there are several places to dock.

For the sake of safety, Marin decided to build the new Yancheng into an urbanized island with a professional salt-boiled and a particularly strong defense. If the enemy wants to attack, they must first face the solid city wall...

However, in order to prevent the island from becoming self-reliant in the future, although the island has sufficient fresh water resources and can grow some land, Marin still prohibits the cultivation of food on the island, and only allows to grow vegetables. All food on the island is sent by Marin by boat. In this way, the food is stuck in Marin's hands, and there is no worry that they will give birth to the idea of ​​self-reliance. After all, the castle on the island can not only guard against the enemy, but also may prevent Marin from exercising his power...

Moreover, the small island of Baltrum Island is only more than 6 square kilometers in area. Even if it is not used to grow food, it is not a pity.

After choosing the address, Marin immediately ordered some salt-boilers and family members in the old Yancheng to start relocating to the new Yancheng. In addition, a group of masons were also brought to Baltrum Island and began to build salt cauldrons and adobe houses. As for the walls and castles, there is no rush. The most important thing is to build the salt-boiling pot and the houses where people live first. After all, the Teutonic Knights are waiting for the salt to come out here. Moreover, this place is relatively remote, far away from the route, and even away from the open sea towards the land, outsiders generally do not come here, and domestic fishermen do not dare to approach here as long as they give orders. A city wall or something, I don't need it for the time being.

In addition, Marin also sent people to repair the natural "Long Bridge Pier" on the southwest corner of Baltrum Island to make it convenient for coal ships from England and salt transporters from here. Merchant ships...