Despite the massive success of the Arren Industrial Syndicate and the endless stream of gold backed by the AD&T, Alex faced a critical, physical limitation: fuel scarcity. The blast furnace devoured charcoal faster than the local forests could regenerate. This bottleneck inflated the cost of steel and put a hard, non-negotiable ceiling on the rail production.
"Garth, we are constrained by photosynthesis," Alex grumbled, pointing to a graph that showed charcoal price spiking. "We need a faster, denser, and hotter fuel source that does not rely on chopping down every tree in the kingdom."
Alex knew the answer lay beneath the soil. He needed coal.
The local lore spoke of "black rocks that burn," often found near the foothills—rocks that were avoided because they burned with a foul smoke and left a messy residue, unlike clean charcoal.
Alex dispatched a geological survey team (a Foreman, two apprentices, and a cartload of digging tools) to the foothills, instructing them to search for large, accessible seams of the "black earth." He used his knowledge of regional geology from the original novel's world-building lore to guide them to a promising valley.
The team quickly found a substantial, easily mined coal seam. The problem was the quality. The raw coal, when thrown into the blast furnace, introduced too many impurities (sulphur) into the iron, ruining the steel and clogging the furnace.
Garth was appalled. "It is dirty, My Lord! It makes the steel brittle and stinks like the lower pits! We must abandon it!"
"We will process it, Garth," Alex countered. He recognized the problem: he couldn't use raw coal; he needed coke.
Alex designed a simple system of large, sealed, brick coking ovens.
* The Process: Raw coal was heated inside the sealed ovens without the presence of oxygen. This baked out the volatile impurities (like sulfur and gasses, which caused the nasty smoke).
* The Result: The residual product was coke—a clean, porous, and almost pure carbon fuel that burned far hotter and cleaner than charcoal, making it ideal for the blast furnace.
The coking operation was a success. The blast furnace, fueled by coke, now reached even higher temperatures, allowing the production of superior quality pig iron at a fraction of the previous fuel cost. The cost per unit of steel plummeted to a point where no other kingdom could compete.
***
The coking operation was efficient, but it was dirty and required constant labor in the pits. This led to an unexpected labor issue: poor working conditions that violated Alex's unstated goal of systemic harmony.
Old Man Silas, promoted to Chief Agricultural Officer, rode up to Alex, covered in coal dust. "My Lord, the air in the valley is thick, and the men are coughing! We are trading clean forests for black lungs! The workers are demanding higher compensation for the 'curse of the black rock.'"
Alex, viewing this not as a moral dilemma but as an unmitigated health risk and liability, took immediate action.
He introduced basic ventilation shafts in the mines and mandated the use of damp cloths over faces to filter the worst of the dust.
He used the massive savings from the cheaper coke fuel to establish the Arren Industrial Sickness Fund. A small fraction of the wages was deducted, and the Syndicate matched it, providing guaranteed care for any worker injured or sickened on the job. This wasn't pity; it was the world's first rudimentary worker's compensation insurance—a necessary cost to ensure long-term, stable labor.
The introduction of the insurance fund immediately calmed the workforce. The Syndicate was not only offering the highest wages but was also the only employer that guaranteed their safety and health. The laborers were willing to work in the dirtiest conditions because the risk exposure was quantified and covered.
With unlimited, cheap, high-quality fuel, the Arren Industrial Syndicate was now unassailable. Alex had secured:
* Food: Three-Field System.
* Finance: Gold Standard and AD&T.
* Logistics: Railway and Telegraph.
* Fuel: Coke-Powered Blast Furnace.
He no longer had to trade his precious gold for imported goods; he could use his superior steel and cash to buy anything he needed. The kingdom, and the Hero's war effort, were entirely dependent on him.
Next priority: The reliance on manual labor for the mines and the transportation of the coke is still slow. To fully exploit the coal reserves, Alex must mechanize the power source itself. It's time to invent the steam engine to power everything.