Greece’s Roman Road

"Your Excellency, Greece builds power stations as basic energy sources and makes full use of one of Greece's few resources - lignite. I agree with this, but I have a question. Why did you choose alternating current instead of direct current?" Kang Toriotis revisited.

"Will such a choice be risky? If future power development proves that direct current is more promising, what about the alternating current system that Greece spent a huge amount of money on?"

Judging from the attitude of Cantoriotis' frequent questioning, Constantine could be sure that the representative of the merchant living in Egypt was indeed moved.

Otherwise, he would not have questioned at all.

It is precisely because investing in the cotton textile industry in Greece requires a large amount of capital that Cantoriotis is eager to understand the confidence of Constantine to directly build an alternating current system.

Both direct current and alternating current systems are exclusive, and you cannot build two systems in the same area.

It's like, you can't install two water company pipes in one house.

Seeing Cantoriotis asking this kind of professional question, Tesla took the initiative to answer: "Mr. Cantoriotis, alternating current has obvious advantages over direct current."

"For example, the problem of long-distance transmission of direct current. Once the transmission distance of direct current exceeds one kilometer, the voltage will decline sharply. Therefore, with the current technical means, if you want to use direct current on a large scale, this is an unsolvable problem. "

"Therefore, it must be ensured that there is a DC power station within one kilometer around each user, otherwise the voltage reduction cannot meet the user's use at all"

"Moreover, in industrial production, the structure of DC motors is complex and the cost is higher."

"Alternating current is different. Due to the particularity of alternating current, transformers can be used for long-distance transmission. The higher the power, the lower the loss during power transmission. Therefore, the use of alternating current not only frees users from distance restrictions, but also can be transmitted over long distances more economically”

"Moreover, the AC motor has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and is more conducive to mass production and use."

Cantoriotis listened intently to Tesla's explanation.

"But my friend in New York, USA, said that Edison, the boss of GM, a famous inventor in the United States, is actively promoting the direct current system."

When Cantoriotis inquired about the development of the electric power industry, he heard that the electric power industry in the United States was developing rapidly, so he sent a telegram to a friend who lived in a Greek settlement in New York.

After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, the conditions of Greek and Jewish merchants were very similar. They did business all over the world, and the more prosperous commercial cities basically had Greek settlements.

The power system is a system. Since what Constantine wants to build is an alternating current power station, Cantoriotis naturally also purchases textile machines powered by alternating current.

Once alternating current proves unsuitable, or direct current is more suitable for large-scale industrial production, he will suffer huge losses.

Hearing this, Constantine burst into laughter. He didn't expect the "direct current versus alternating current" dispute between Tesla and Edison to happen even after Constantine intervened.

Compared with Tesla, who is still unknown, Edison, who is famous for his reputation, is indeed much more credible.

No wonder Cantoriotis was puzzled.

Tesla did not expect that he had already come to Greece to study AC. He was stunned to hear the news of his former boss, Edison, across the vast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

"Actually, Tesla's advantages and disadvantages of direct current and alternating current were just summed up by Tesla when he was working in Mr. Edison's laboratory." Constantine took over.

"Mr. Tesla worked in Mr. Edison's laboratory before, and before coming to Greece, he has been working on direct current research in Edison's laboratory, so his views are trustworthy."

Hearing that Cantoriotis moved out and Edison questioned his move to develop alternating current, Constantine didn't know how to explain it to him for a while.

It is also impossible for him to tell Cantoriotis that this is Tesla, a great scientist known to the world in the future, who is trustworthy.

The same alternating current will be popular in the world, which has been proved by history.

He couldn't say that.

This job of attracting investment to Greece is not easy to do.

"Well, Mr. Cantoriotis, if later practice proves that alternating current, compared to direct current, is not suitable for industrial production, then I shall bear the loss arising from your investment in Greece."

Constantine had absolute confidence in the alternating current, so he dared to make a promise.

When this statement came out, everyone except Tesla was taken aback.

They were amazed at Constantine's confidence in alternating current.

Hearing that Constantine's attitude was so resolute, Cantoriotis also determined that Constantine was not a young man who was hot-headed for a while, but made a decision after careful consideration.

Therefore, he also expressed his attitude and said: "Your Excellency, since this is the case, then on behalf of the Greek merchant group in Alexandria, Egypt, I will make a decision to build a cotton spinning and weaving factory in Greece."

"It's just that I have a condition"

"I hope the Greek royal family will also invest a certain amount of money~www.wuxiax.com~ to occupy a part of the shares"

Cantoriotis looked straight at Constantine.

Constantine was stunned when he heard the words, then turned to think and understood Cantoriotis' thoughts.

There are two reasons:

First, if there is a loss due to the risk of alternating current, the loss will not be borne by his family alone.

As for Constantine's so-called damages, this kind of empty promise cannot be fully counted on.

As for the second reason, which is more complicated, it is the political support behind the business.

Cantoriotis, who started his business as a comprador in Egypt, naturally understands the essence of business.

When it comes to capitalism and the market economy, the first impression of many people is free and fair competition, the spirit of contract, and so on.

This is indeed an aspect of the capitalist market economy, but it is not comprehensive.

If you just want to make a fortune, it is feasible to rely on the shrewd and excellent management ability of the operator, or the technical ability of the business organization.

But if you are not only satisfied with this, and want to become a big international businessman who calls the wind and the rain, it is impossible without a political power platform behind you.

For example, the cannons produced by Krupp have been famous at home and abroad since the Franco-Prussian War. The Qing Dynasty in Asia knew that Krupp cannons were good, and bought a lot of cannons produced by Krupp.

But what you don't know is that Kaiser Wilhelm II was the majority shareholder of Krupp.

In addition to Wilhelm II, Krupp also has a group of directors with powerful energy, and they also have a share of the credit behind the Krupp cannons snapped up by the armies of various countries.

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