My Italy

In the palace of Rome, the drought in southern Italy is being discussed.

“Currently, according to our understanding, the most severe drought area is Sicily. According to statistics from the astronomical station, in last winter, Sicily received only 80-120 mm of rainfall, which was far lower than the 300-600 mm in previous years. In addition, the rainfall of 110-180 mm in Sardinia is also very dangerous, and the same is true in the southern part of the Kingdom Peninsula. The rainfall ranges from 120 mm in Cape Faroe, and the rainfall becomes more and more towards the north. Until Florence, the rainfall is the same as in previous years. The same. This is the rainfall distribution map of last winter produced by our Meteorological Bureau. Your Majesty and all ministers can take a look."

The director of the Meteorological Bureau opened a map of Italy with a nervous look on his face, on which the differences in rainfall were marked in various colors. It clearly shows the rainfall conditions in various places in Italy last winter.

Carlo looked at the rainfall distribution map in front of him and said, "Director Cox, can I ask if your Meteorological Bureau has any estimates of climate change in Italy in the future?"

Carlo's words made all the ministers present look at Director Cox.

As the center of attention, the meteorological director felt heavy pressure coming to him.

"Your Majesty, our Meteorological Bureau has also calculated before. Based on the meteorological change data for hundreds of years, atmospheric droughts as rare as last winter have only occurred four times in Italy in a century, and the most recent one was the drought of 1881. There is a half chance that this drought will subside in the second year, and there is a 30% chance that it will last for two years. Of course, there is also a very abnormal situation, but this probability is very low and unlikely. "

Clearly this man knows the consequences of unseasonal rainfall, which can be even more dire than a prolonged drought.

"Thank you very much for your explanation, we already know."

Faced with the king's kind words, Director Cox, who was granted amnesty, immediately left sensibly. Staying at this time was not a wise choice.

Sure enough, before he could walk away, he heard Carlo say. "Everyone, it is now clear that a drought is inevitable and a repeat of the 1881 situation is likely."

Carlo's words made everyone present feel nervous. Italy suffered heavy losses from the drought in 1881, directly losing Tunisia, which had been cultivating for many years. Or to put it another way, if France's invasion of Tunisia had not aroused public sentiment in Italy and diverted everyone's attention, the Italian government would have been even more sad.

However, there is still a set of data that records the impact of the drought on Italy. In 1881, the number of immigrants from Italy was 390,000, which was 150,000 more than the previous year. In the following two years, the number of immigrants from Italy was 340,000 and 290,000. It was not until 1885 that the number of immigrants returned to less than 200,000. This is enough to show that there are a lot of immigrants. question.

In addition, in the past three years, riots, vandalism, looting and other vicious incidents have tripled compared with previous years, so much so that the prison had to release some minor criminals with shorter sentences in advance to make room.

Therefore, when faced with Carlo's inquiry, the important ministers present also knew the seriousness of the problem.

"Your Majesty, according to my preliminary estimate, the affected population should be between 12 million and 15 million."

Interior Minister Edras looked at the rainfall distribution map hanging on the wall and spoke out his estimate. The Ministry of the Interior also manages the census, so looking at the affected area, it can estimate the approximate number of people affected.

But his words made everyone frown. Half of the population has been affected by the disaster, but the news couldn't be worse.

At this time, Agriculture Secretary Mark Ryder also added. "According to estimates from our Ministry of Agriculture, if there continues to be no rainfall, a major reduction in agricultural production this year is bound to happen. The national agricultural production will probably be reduced by about 18-22%. Among them, the agricultural production in Sicily will be reduced by about 50%, and the agricultural production in Sardinia will be reduced by about 50%. It is 40-45%, south of Naples it is 30-35%, from north of Naples to south of Rome it is 20-30%, and from north of Rome to Florence it is 10-20%."

The Minister of Agriculture's words made many people present feel really worried. A 20% reduction in agricultural output would cause serious problems. You must know that although Italy has developed well in recent years, agriculture still accommodates the largest number of laborers. It can be said that this reduction in agricultural production is very bad for Italy. Italy originally had insufficient grain production, so it could only maintain its livelihood by growing high-value cash crops and then purchasing grain from Eastern Europe.

The current reduction in cash crop production will affect too many people and may even bring instability to the Kingdom of Italy, so no one dares to ignore the power of this drought.

"Everyone, do you have any solutions?"

Looking at the rainfall distribution map in front of him and thinking about the more than 10 million people affected by the disaster, Carlo immediately asked. This situation has seriously affected the stability of the kingdom and must be taken seriously.

"I suggest that we start infrastructure construction in the disaster-stricken areas, such as ditches, bridges, roads and other facilities. In addition, we should also start construction of water conservancy facilities in various places that may be in disrepair during this period."

Transportation Secretary Pedersen put forward his own suggestions. Of course, the method must be the transportation aspect that he is most familiar with. Of course, water conservancy facilities can also be mentioned incidentally.

With the Ministry of Transport taking the lead, ministers from other departments immediately learned from it and offered advice and suggestions.

"In view of the reduction in crop production, the Ministry of Agriculture should take the lead and try to guide the quality and quantity of exported agricultural products."

The Minister of Agriculture, who was a step too late, had to find a way to increase farmers' income.

"In view of the seriousness of the situation in the disaster-stricken areas, I suggest strengthening the local police force. And always pay attention to the local public sentiment and grievances. In addition, the local garrison also needs to be strengthened to ensure that the government has sufficient ability to suppress the local area and prevent evil elements from taking the opportunity to cause chaos."

Home Secretary Edlas also gave his own views.

Of course, in addition to these two people, there are other people's suggestions. Anyway, they are nothing more than suppressing public sentiments and grievances, meeting the needs of people's livelihood, and recruiting redundant labor to avoid causing regional unrest.

Of course, these people's suggestions were very good, and Carlo thought they were reasonable, but they seemed to have forgotten one issue. Fortunately, the finance minister, Baron Toston, did not forget.

"If you want to provide disaster relief, you must have funds. Especially in this year's extremely large-scale drought, disaster relief funds are needed in huge amounts. And the government's emergency fund of 80 million lire is simply impossible to use, so we should issue a Disaster relief bonds should preferably have a term of five to ten years.”

Well, since we are talking about bonds, Carlo has to ask. "Sir Toston, how many disaster relief bonds is appropriate?"

"Based on the cost of disaster relief in 1881 and the current price level, I think an emergency bond of 800 million liras with a term of 5-10 years should be sufficient."

Toston gave a professional answer based on his own knowledge.

800 million lire of funds is not a small amount, accounting for more than 60% of the total government revenue.

"But I remember that in 1981 the government only spent 520 million lire on disaster relief?"

"Yes, it was true that only 520 million was spent that year. But Your Majesty, the disaster relief was incomplete and ended in a lot. If we want to avoid the results of that year, we must have less disaster relief funds."

Facing Toston's words, Carlo thought about it and acquiesced. After all, rescuing disasters is like putting out fires, and there should be no hesitation or reluctance at all.

But there is still one problem, which Carlo believes must be determined first.

“How much food does the government plan to purchase for disaster relief?”

"Purchasing food?"

"Yes."

"In terms of purchasing food, we..."

Carlo could see that the government did not plan to purchase much food. His expression was a little subtle. Is this a government dominated by a left-wing party?

"Your Majesty, this issue is a bit complicated and needs some time to explain."

At this time Prime Minister Antonio stood up.

The Prime Minister's face must be given, Carlo had no choice but to reply. "Okay, I can wait for your explanation."

Then, as if the matter was over, they continued to discuss the issue of disaster relief.