Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 391 Rudolf Diesel
A few days later, Carlo finally met the renowned scientist known as the father of the diesel engine, Rudolf Christian Carl Diesel, at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

The father of the diesel engine had brown curly hair, a short mustache less than a centimeter long on his upper lip, and wore silver glasses, looking like an ordinary literary worker.

If Carlo hadn't confirmed that the man before him was the renowned Rudolf Diesel, he might have even mistaken him for a university professor.

“Mr. Diesel, welcome to Spain.” Carlo smiled, seemingly unconcerned about Diesel’s somewhat sullen expression.

Spain's disruption of Diesel's engine development program has understandably frustrated the company, which has invested considerable effort in it. However, this is not a major concern, as Spain will invest more funds in the future, ensuring a smoother engine development process for Diesel.

"Your Majesty, why did you invite me to Spain?" Diesel asked, somewhat annoyed.

He had no idea how he could have been doing so well in the engine lab, and suddenly become the target of the King of Spain's attention.

Unfortunately, he had no room to resist. The king in front of him not only possessed immense power, but his car company also had operations all over the world, and his assets were countless. No one would be willing to offend such a powerful figure.

“It is like this, Mr. Diesel.” Carlo was willing to put in more effort to win over this renowned scientist: “We have encountered a problem with the engine in one of our research projects, and we urgently need a capable internal combustion engine expert to serve as the chief consultant of our engine laboratory and lead the laboratory’s research on various internal combustion engines. I wonder if Mr. Diesel would be interested?”

Diesel nodded silently to himself. He naturally understood that there was a reason why His Majesty the King had his eye on him. The only thing he could boast about was his limited ability in engine development.

Diesel knew that this was no longer a choice he could make. Since His Majesty the King had forcibly brought him to Spain, he couldn't simply refuse to return.

"Your Majesty, is the engine laboratory you mentioned the one that belongs to the Royal Mercedes-Benz Company?" Diesel inquired.

When it comes to engine laboratories in Spain, the only one that comes to mind is the engine laboratory of the Royal Mercedes-Benz company. This laboratory provides Mercedes-Benz with powerful engines, enabling Mercedes-Benz to go global.

"No, Mr. Diesel. I know that the engine you are studying is not the gasoline engine used in automobiles. We have a classified project that requires exactly this kind of engine."

If you are willing to stay and work in Spain, you will be in charge of the engine laboratory related to this classified project. You will have complete control over the establishment of the engine laboratory, and I will not interfere with the amount of research funding needed, as long as we can make breakthroughs in engine development.

"I wonder if Mr. Diesel is satisfied with this job?" Carlo asked with a smile.

At first, Diesel didn't take it seriously, but when he heard Carlo promise that he would have complete control over the establishment of this so-called engine laboratory, Diesel couldn't help but be tempted.

Although he had set up his own engine laboratory, he often had to consider the opinions of these investors because of the large number of investors involved.

Although Diesel's engine experiments have yielded some results, this new internal combustion engine has also shown extremely strong potential.

However, investors prioritize their own interests, and Diesel wants unlimited research and development funding, which is virtually impossible until his engines generate sufficient profits.

Now, an opportunity has presented Diesel with to build the laboratory he truly desires and obtain unlimited research funding.

Even though Diesel was quite dissatisfied with the way His Majesty the King had invited him to Spain, he had to admit that the conditions offered were indeed very attractive.

"Your Majesty, is what you're saying true? Can the engine laboratory really be set up the way I want, and can we also get enough research and development funding?" Diesel asked impatiently.

Had he offered such generous terms earlier, Diesel wouldn't have remained dissatisfied with Carlo's blatant invitation. This wasn't just a blatant invitation; it was practically a free grant of research and development funds, like a benevolent philanthropist.

Carlo nodded and said with a smile, "Of course it's true, Mr. Diesel. As long as you agree to be the head of the engine laboratory, you can set it up however you want. I'll only be responsible for providing the funding; everything else is up to you."

In addition to the funds needed to set up the laboratory itself, I will provide you with at least 200 million pesetas in research and development funding annually. Of course, this is not an upper limit. As long as all funds are used for research and development, I can promise you that there is no upper limit to your engine laboratory's research funding; even 1000 million pesetas can be provided continuously.”

For Carlo, if money could attract one top scientist after another, he wouldn't care about the cost at all.

Ultimately, the Spanish royal family profited the most from these scientists' research achievements. Whether it was Graham's development of electricity or Benz's development of Mercedes-Benz cars, the royal family made a fortune.

Of course, the two project leaders also became millionaires instantly thanks to their respective projects.

Currently, Benz has the highest net worth among all members of the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences, with his net worth reaching tens of millions solely from royal Mercedes-Benz dividends.

This was not the era of later times; having tens of millions in assets was still quite extravagant.

1000 million pesetas is equivalent to 40 pounds, or 293.2 million grams of gold, or 2.93 tons of gold.

Among the top scientists in Europe, there are some who have reached such a level of wealth, but they are few and far between.

Most top scientists are very capable in research and development, but they are somewhat inadequate when it comes to managing their own assets.

The most obvious example is Rudolf Diesel himself. Although Rudolf Diesel achieved great success in history, he did not live a life of wealth and luxury.

The main reason was that after acquiring enormous wealth, he became addicted to gambling and eventually lost all of his income.

For members of the Royal Society, although collaborating with the royal family on research and development may only yield a small share of the profits, this income is continuous.

Don't be fooled by Benz's current net worth of only tens of millions. The dividends from Royal Mercedes-Benz will only increase in the future, and this multi-millionaire will eventually become a billionaire.

Upon hearing Carlo's promise, Diesel remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "If what Your Majesty says is true, then I am willing to stay in Spain and serve as the head of the engine laboratory. However, I hope that you can bring my family here, and preferably all my research and development achievements and data from the engine laboratory as well, which will also speed up the establishment and research progress of the laboratory."

Carlo nodded and smiled, saying, "Your family has been arranged and will be able to board the cruise ship to Spain today. As for your research results and related materials from the engine lab, they are already in transit."

"We've bought your previous lab. Except for what we can't move, everything else will be brought to Spain."

Hearing what Carlo said, Diesel was somewhat glad that he had agreed to Carlo's request. His family and laboratory had already been arranged clearly, and given the current situation, he had no choice but to agree to stay and work in Spain today.

Fortunately, Carlo's offer attracted Diesel, and before things turned sour, he successfully persuaded Diesel to agree to stay in Spain.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Carlo continued, "Does Mr. Diesel have any requirements for the construction of the laboratory? If he is unwilling to place the laboratory in Madrid, Barcelona or other cities are also good choices."

However, I suggest locating the laboratory around Madrid. If manpower is needed, the University City of Madrid can provide you, Mr. Diesel, with sufficient support staff.

Graham’s power laboratory and Benz’s Royal Mercedes-Benz are both in Madrid, precisely because of the constant stream of university graduates from the University City of Madrid every year.

The University City of Madrid is Spain's first academic district comprised of multiple universities. It houses eight universities of varying sizes, covering almost all majors, and is the top choice for Spanish high school graduates applying to universities.

The most famous institution in the university city is the Royal Academy of Sciences, which is known as the cradle of academicians of the Academy of Sciences. To date, it has produced hundreds of academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences for Spain.

Although the number is only a little over one hundred, we must also consider the time when the Royal Academy of Sciences was established.

This university was established after the Royal Society of London, and it is less than 30 years old to date.

It has only been 25 years since the first graduating class of the Royal Academy of Sciences graduated.

The fact that the Royal Society can train hundreds of members in such a short period of time is proof of how excellent the Royal Society's education and training system is.

But thinking about it, it's quite normal. The relationship between the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Sciences is already quite clear, with many prominent Fellows of the Royal Academy of Sciences serving on the Royal Society.

University graduates trained by these outstanding academicians, even if they are not qualified to enter the Royal Society of Sciences, are definitely competent scientific researchers.

Not to mention the master's students who are carefully selected from these ordinary university graduates. They usually study while assisting their supervisors in research at the Royal Society, so their probability of joining the Royal Society is naturally higher.

Diesel nodded, agreeing with what Carlo had said.

Although Diesel conducted most of the experiments in the previous engine laboratory development, this does not mean that engine-related experiments and tests only require one person. Of course, the more people involved in such experiments, the better, as it can save a lot of time and costs.

Developing engines is not a simple task; it requires not only experts in mechanical design but also experts in chemistry and fuels.

Carlo also mentioned that this engine laboratory is linked to a classified research project in Spain, which means that after Diesel's engine laboratory is established, it will need to frequently deal with the project team of this classified research.

In this situation, the more staff the engine lab has, the better. Some simple tasks can be delegated to these people, allowing Diesel more time to conduct his own research.

"I have no special requirements for the location of the engine laboratory, but I hope that the laboratory can be set up as soon as possible. Your Majesty, my diesel engine experiment was successful last year, and there is a very high probability that this invention will be perfected this year."

"If the engine laboratory could be built sooner, the first relatively complete diesel engine might be born this year," Diesel said.

The reason he was so frustrated was precisely because his research had reached a crucial juncture. Had it not been for this unexpected incident, he was confident that he could have manufactured a relatively complete diesel engine within three months.

Although the progress has been somewhat affected, it can still be salvaged. As long as the engine laboratory is completed sooner and all the data from the French engine laboratory is transported to Spain, Diesel is confident that he can manufacture a relatively complete diesel engine of his vision within this year and then begin experiments on diesel engines.

Upon hearing Diesel's words, Carlo nodded and immediately replied, "The laboratory currently has a ready-made site, right next to the engine laboratory of Royal Mercedes-Benz."

That place was originally Gram's power laboratory, but after the success of his research and development in electricity, the power laboratory was moved to a larger location.

The entire experimental area can be used as a research and development site for engines. If your diesel engine research and development goes smoothly, I would not mind merging the two engine laboratories to build a large factory that integrates engine research and development and manufacturing.

You'll be the general manager of this engine factory, and you'll receive 2% of all the profits generated.

Diesel wasn't interested in the 2% profit share, but he was quite satisfied with the engine facility Carlo had given him. Its proximity to the Royal Mercedes-Benz engine laboratory meant that if he encountered difficulties in his own diesel engine experiments, he could refer to gasoline engine experiments to find solutions.

As for the merger of the two engine laboratories and the subsequent profit sharing that Carlo mentioned, for a top scientist like Diesel, money is not that important.

The reason is simple: he was the head of the engine laboratory before, and his annual salary was 3 marks, or 3.75 pesetas.

With such a high salary, the profit sharing from the engine lab and subsequent factories became less important to Diesel.

His current assets are enough for him to live a wealthy life. For Diesel, who is passionate about engine experiments, his experiments are the most important thing, which is why he chose to join Spain.

(End of this chapter)