Free 1632: Essen Steel by Eric Flint Page B

shrugged. "We saw several books with dates indicating they were published in the 1990's, more than three hundred fifty years from now. Many of the processes my brother-in-law wishes to establish in Amsterdam require coal of a particular kind that is found in the western parts of County Mark. The area around Duisburg will function as the port for shipping until locks are built on the Ruhr."
    "Locks, I might add," Gerard said slowly, "that will open up more than just the western portions of County Mark. There are other areas in Europe with this kind of coal, of course, but … "
    Schwarzenberg nodded. Better and better. The Dutch would prefer the County Mark location, obviously. But the message was clear. The price had to be right.
    Three days later Dirck Graswinckel and Steven Gerard rode out of Berlin.
    "Now that wasn't so bad."
    "Won't Louis be upset?" Dirck asked. "We paid more than we were authorized to offer."
    Gerard shrugged. "Not by much. Louis expected us to use our judgment. Once it became clear that Schwarzenberg wanted a cut, I knew we'd have to pay a bit more. Ten thousand guilders to Schwarzenberg isn't bad considering it's a one time payment. I think Schwarzenberg is looking to invest anyway. And we got much of the county west of Dortmund above the Ruhr, as well as Duisburg. Louis will be pleased."
    "I wonder how he's doing?" Graswinckel murmured.
    * * *
    At that moment, far to the southwest in Düsseldorf, Louis de Geer was doing just fine. In fact, he had had a much easier time than Graswinckel and Gerard. After a brief stopover in Mainz to talk to Axel Oxenstierna, he had traveled down the Rhine to Düsseldorf, sending Jan de Vries ahead to investigate the state of Wolfgang Wilhelm's finances. As with most German counts and princes, Wilhelm was deeply in debt. The price he had settled for was fifteen thousand guilders, but the piece of Berg that De Geer needed was relatively small and mostly north of the Ruhr River. When Wilhelm had hesitated at the last minute De Geer had casually let drop that he was on his way to see the new Dutch commander at Wesel. The hint was immediately understood: balk at the deal and Dutch troops might pay a visit to Düsseldorf. Not that Louis had been lying; he was indeed on his way to Wesel to see his old friend, Lieutenant General Hermann Otto, Count of Limburg-Styrum.
    When he walked into Otto's office in Wesel a week later and told him what he had done, Otto laughed uproariously. "Ha! Did he turn white?"
    De Geer grinned. "As a bed sheet."
    "Not that I'm allowed to sally from Wesel, of course," grumbled Otto. "Frederik Hendrik wants a firm flank to protect him as he drives down upon Maastricht. But what am I doing here? I'm a cavalry general, damn it!"
    "Frederik Hendrik needs someone he can trust," replied De Geer.
    "I know, I know. But still … " Otto looked up at De Geer. "Now, what really brings you here my friend?"
    De Geer smiled. "I'm forming a company you might be interested in."
    After De Geer had explained the formation of his new company and what it would do, Otto smiled. "So, at last Styrum will be important again?"
    Herrschaft Styrum was a small, strategically located property near Muelheim. It had grown up around a ford across the Ruhr River along a branch of the old royal road, the Hellweg.
    De Geer nodded. "We will be putting in a lock at Muelheim and other fords up river to help make the Ruhr navigable. That is something we can get started with right away. With your permission, of course."
    Otto grinned. "No need letting troops idle in garrison around Essen. You will pay for the labor of course?"
    De Geer nodded again. "Certainly. And I hope you will want to become one of the investors in Essen Steel. We will need iron workers as well. Isn't Limburg known for its wire pulling mills?"
    Otto laughed. "Indeed. And if what you say about the new pistons for air blast is true, we will have extra iron to provide your iron and steel complex. But you mentioned the