Holy Roman Empire

By the way, if you contact those who run away and don't return within a week, their names will appear on the wanted list as spies. "

It's all right if you don't fight hard. The mess broke out at this time, and it is enough to kill anyone. Rafael hasn't lived enough and can't bear the blame.

Although the crisis is serious, it is not without a silver lining.Theoretically speaking, as long as we find a way to fill the food hole, this crisis can be overcome.

Over the years, everyone has made a lot of money.From a purely economic point of view, it is still affordable to take out a part to make up the price difference.

Cole's man replied bitterly: "Your Excellency, once this order is issued, I am afraid that the rest of the people will also run away.

The problem now is not money. If it is simply a loss, everyone will not run so fast.

After all, the positions on the farm are all fat, and the money that needs to be paid now can be doubled in the future.

The key is that there is money now, and there is nowhere to buy enough food!

After the Austrian government swept up the goods in advance, it established a monopoly in the international market and prohibited the flow of grain into France.

Even if it is smuggling, no one can smuggle millions of tons of grain in a short period of time without being discovered.

At most, we will pay a high price to transfer a small amount of food from other countries, and we will not be able to complete the government's task at all. "

After listening to Cole's explanation, Rafael finally understood why so many officials ran away.

It's really that the matter is too big this time, and it's at this juncture. Once it is exposed, all walks of life will not spare them.

If you don't run away at this time, there will be no chance to run later.Anyway, it's easy to run around these days, as long as you have money, you can go to a certain overseas country to hide, and come back after the limelight passes.

Earl Raffael scolded angrily: "They are all a bunch of idiots and idiots! You can't buy them abroad, why can't you buy them in China?

Who cares where the food comes from, as long as we ship enough food back to China as required by the government!

If it really doesn’t work, first borrow a batch of emergency food from the grain wholesalers we cooperate with. Anyway, the food on the farm will be sold to them. "

Deep down in his heart, Rafael deeply despised the bureaucrats under his command who ran away in a hurry, without any resilience.

After a pause, Rafael added: "Order each farm to compile a report on the locust plague, with more detailed notes on the information, and attach the photos prepared in advance, and report it to the government together.

Remember, as long as the farms in Algeria and Morocco reduce their production, don't move on Egypt, as they will be discovered if they are too deliberate.

The combination of production reduction and crop failure is tentatively set at around 20.00%[-], so the people below should not be smart about me.

Let's find a way together, whether it's borrowing, buying, or cheating, I don't care about it. After the autumn harvest, each farm must ship back at least 30.00% of the stipulated share of grain.

The rest will be dragged by me with excuses, and after the war broke out, try to find a way to blame the Austrians. "

It is impossible to completely abolish the harvest. If this is the case, it is estimated that Napoleon IV will kill people.

Rafael hasn't lived enough yet, and doesn't want to challenge the emperor's bottom line.Cut production by a quarter is almost the same.

False reporting of achievements is the norm in the French government. Everyone is bragging. Otherwise, how can France keep pace with Britain and Austria?

It's just that there is a limit to false reporting. Everyone can accept a magnification of more than ten or twenty percent; if it is multiplied several times or dozens of times, it will be unbearable.

There is no doubt that in the French farm plan, the water content is several times or dozens of times. The specific amount of water depends on the integrity of the bureaucrat in charge.

In a sense, Rafael's distribution also takes into account the principle of fairness.

For farms with little moisture, the bureaucrats get less profit, and their own production capacity may be enough, and there is no need for heavy bleeding now.

Farms that are badly watered, or simply exist on paper, have had their money swallowed by the responsible bureaucrats, and now it's their turn to bleed.

Moreover, it is not completely lost.The government also has to pay for the grain turned in, and the bureaucrats only lose the price difference.

Bleeding without hurting muscles and bones is acceptable to most bureaucrats.

After all, everyone is serving a golden rice bowl, and the loss now can be doubled in the future.There's no need to ruin your reputation for such a small benefit.

"Yes, Count!"

Now what Cole admires Earl Rafael is five-body cast, such a big matter, has been resolved in a few words.

……

Chapter 152 Acceleration

In the Confederate States of America, in a farm in Texas, thick smoke is rising at the moment, which can be clearly seen dozens of miles away.

Looking at the fire, Odell, as a farmer, had mixed feelings.

After living for most of his life, this was the first time he encountered a buyer who bought the grain and burned it on the spot instead of transporting it away.

But for the sake of Aegis, Odell would not refuse no matter how weird the buyer's request was.

Still couldn't help being curious, Odell asked the doubts in his heart: "Mr. Ulbert, our transaction is completed.

But don't you think it's a pity that such good food is burned like this? "

Ulbert said helplessly: "There is no way, the French are sharpening their knives and wanting to invade my motherland.

As a businessman, I don't have the ability to go back to my country to fight, but I still want to do what I can.

Not long ago, news came from Europe that Austria finally officially intervened.A proclamation was also issued, ordering the French to stop their acts of war, or to call on all countries in the world to impose an embargo on supplies to France.

It is said that thirteen countries have announced their joining, and this is the only chance to avoid war.

As long as the French cannot buy enough strategic materials, they will not be able to launch a war of aggression, and my motherland will be free from the threat of war. "

There are announcements, of course. In order to occupy the moral high ground, Franz has recently issued many announcements to persuade the French to rein in the precipice.

The same words, falling into the ears of different people, have completely different effects.

In the eyes of the European people, Franz is doing his best to avoid war; in the eyes of the French, this is because Austria is afraid.

On the one hand, there is a tough diplomatic treatment, and on the other hand, they are shouting the banner of peace, obviously not wanting to fight.

Apart from being afraid of France, there was absolutely no need for Franz to stand up and shout meaninglessly.Even the threat is a weak material embargo, and there is no arrogance to fight if you want to.

Many French also suspect that as long as they do it themselves, Austria will withdraw and can easily seize the Central European region.

The [-]-country embargo sounds scary. Anyone who knows the inside story knows that it is a joke, just look at the participating countries.

Needless to say, the three countries of Belgium, Germany, and Austria are necessary, and then there are Greece and Montenegro.

Opening the map, it is not difficult to see that these two small countries must join the embargo alliance, because after Austria blocked France, their trade with the French has been interrupted.

The rest of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the Papal States, Tuscany, Lucca, Modena, and Parma are all clearly French territories, and they have also announced to join the embargo alliance.

There is no doubt that these guys who join in the fun are announced by the government-in-exile on behalf of their own country. It is impossible for the French-controlled state government to jump back at this time.

Coupled with an exile in the Austrian Mexican Empire, it happened to be a thirteen-country embargo.

Odell said with emotion: "You are really a patriotic businessman! But you don't sell the grain to the French, so why burn it?"

What is popular these days is that capital has no borders. Patriotic businessmen are definitely rare creatures. Most businessmen only have interests in their eyes.

Ulbert replied righteously: "I don't sell to the French, and there are other people who will sell the grain to the French. As long as it is resold, the final flow of the grain is beyond my control.

As far as I know, in order to put pressure on the French, the Austrian government also sweeps the market.

As long as the French government does not make concessions, the food in their hands will not flow into France, and it is inevitable that food prices will continue to rise in the short term.

As you know, I am a businessman, and a businessman cannot resist the temptation of profit.

In case the price of food keeps rising midway, I can't guarantee whether I can stick to myself in the face of interests.

To avoid the worst from happening, it's better to burn it. "

……

Perhaps it was an accidental coincidence that they happened to meet a reporter from the San Franco Daily when they were talking, and recorded all this with a pen.

After the newspaper published the news, it quickly caused a sensation in the Confederate States.The patriotic businessman would rather burn the grain than sell it to the French. Such a touching story will naturally be widely circulated.

Soon there were frequent news of businessmen burning grain everywhere, some were patriotic businessmen, some were purely out of righteous indignation, anyway, no one wanted the French to buy grain.

A bullish case emerges.Grain is a just-needed item. Before it was snapped up by Austria, and later by righteous merchants who burned it, the amount of grain circulating in the market has decreased, and price rises are inevitable!

Under the fuel of the capitalists, everyone thought that the price of food was going to skyrocket, and even ordinary citizens began to hoard food.

Then, the price of grain transactions in the Allied countries began to soar, and there was a tendency to catch up with Europe.

Especially in the futures market, the price of grain transactions more than doubled in a few months.

Similar scenes were not only staged in the Confederate States, but also in other American countries.

It's just that the script has been changed, and it is not necessarily all food that is bullish, and other industrial raw materials have not fallen behind.

……

It is not only the French who are affected by rising prices, but the whole world suffers together.

There is no way, the capitalists are too powerful.Austria just made a head start, and the rest is up to them to manipulate.

As the newspaper put it: "At the emperor's order, Europe trembles and the world changes.

Thick smoke rose from the farm, changing the color of the sky and the earth; a flaming mountain grew out of the coal mine, turning day and night upside down!

Poor people, still running for three meals a day, worrying about keeping warm..."

Whether the satirical news was directed at Franz or Napoleon IV is a question worth discussing.

However, Franz, who was in a good mood, directly acquiesced that he was satirizing Napoleon IV, and quietly sent someone to change the emperor into the French emperor.

The act of burning materials later was also interpreted as a means for the people to oppose French hegemony. Unfortunately, it was used by unscrupulous capitalists, and finally accidentally injured the world.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, these are diplomatic notes from various countries. They hope that we can exercise restraint and stop the current economic tactics."

What should come is still coming. Anyway, the matter was also caused by Austria, and there is nothing wrong with people protesting.

But is the rise in prices the responsibility of the Austrian government?

the answer is negative!

No matter how rich the Austrian government is, there is no way to buy up all the supplies in the world.The materials that were actually bought by the Austrian government actually accounted for only a small part.

Although the burning operation was first planned by the Austrian government, it was just a show, and only a few thousand tons of food were burned.

The materials bought with real money were burned, and Franz was not so brain-dead.

The burning of materials is nothing more than creating an excuse for the capital market to make everyone believe that there will be a shortage of materials in the market and push up prices.

In the case that the country is not enough, it is natural to restrict exports.France is not a member of the free trade system, so it must be the number one unlucky guy.

As for some small countries that were accidentally injured, Franz can only say that he is sorry.After all, there is no perfect tactic in this world, and it is inevitable that someone's interests will be damaged.

Franz asked with concern: "How much have commodity prices in the international market increased compared to a year ago?"

Weissenberg: "Overall prices have been raised by 31.4%, coal prices by 94.1%, food prices by 144.1%, steel prices by 79.7%..."

After hesitating for a while, Franz said slowly: "The price is almost the same, let's start shipping! If this drags on, everyone will be unable to sit still."

Although economic tactics are good, the problem is that public anger is hard to offend.It's fine to make a fortune. If you keep playing, the governments of various countries will definitely intervene.

In fact, the governments of various countries have been able to delay protesting until now, and the capitalists have also made great efforts.

Prices are determined by market supply and demand, and no one has trouble with money. Austrian sweeps up prices, and capitalists are the biggest beneficiaries.

In order to make huge profits, I don’t know how many capitalists burned materials under the guise of resisting French hegemony, which contributed to the rise in prices.

Prime Minister Karl objected: "Your Majesty, we will start shipping now, and these supplies will flow into the hands of the French..."

In a sense, the Austrian government is now shipping goods, increasing the war potential of the French, and it can be regarded as a kind of "enemy".

If Franz didn't say it, if anyone proposed to sell the supplies hoarded overseas, Prime Minister Karl would have to greet his whole family.

Franz shook his head: "We can't drag it any longer, the price of goods has risen to a high level, and if we drag it any further, these materials will fall into our hands.

It was originally bought at a high price. If you don’t take advantage of the current opportunity and don’t sell it, it will be difficult to sell it later.

As for the enemy you are worried about, it is completely superfluous.Even if we don't sell it, the French can still buy it.

Don't forget that the current capital world is overcapacity, not undercapacity.

Compared with the entire market, the materials we hoard account for at most one or two percent of it.

As long as the French delay the start of the war, all problems will be solved.

The current international situation is not suitable for us to take the lead in provoking war.Politically, it is the French who must fire the first shot, and we can only respond passively.

Selling supplies now not only sells the face of the governments of various countries, but also takes the opportunity to make a fortune and cheat the French by the way, why not do it? "

This is a fact. Regardless of whether the French government is willing to accept it or not, the price has already gone up anyway, and you must accept the high price if you want to buy it.

After contemplating for a moment, Prime Minister Karl nodded: "If that's the case, then we'd better stimulate the French and start a war before shipping."

If you want to do it, you must do it absolutely, and the highest price point must be after the outbreak of war.The French have not launched a war for a long time. The biggest problem is that they do not have enough strategic materials in their hands.