Chapter 806

Influenced by the French farm plan, British experts and scholars also advocated the "grain self-sufficiency strategy" and suggested that the government open up granaries belonging to Britain in overseas colonies.

Unlike the French, the British have too many choices. With the advantage of the Royal Navy, Britain did not have to worry about food in essence.

Whether it is the Confederate countries in North America, or Argentina and Brazil in South America, they are the breadbasket of Britain.

Even the newly developed New Zealand, Australia, Canada and other regions also have the potential to become the granary of the empire.

It really can't be done, it's enough to squeeze in from India.

Anyway, the population of the British Isles is so small, and the local people can provide 70% of the food themselves, and the problem of feeding the remaining millions of people is not difficult for John Bull.

No matter how high Britain's food security is, it does not prevent experts and scholars from bragging. As long as the money is in place, nothing can be done.

For the sake of the pound, experts were quick to cite a slew of reasons, and even the Great Irish Famine, which was embarrassing to be seen, was brought up to speak.

Before the government responded, the people panicked first. I don't know which unscrupulous capitalists are spreading rumors, claiming that Russia and Austria have suffered from drought, and the autumn grain harvest in the second half of the year has been lost.

Some people believe such absurd rumors, not one or two, because food prices have really risen.

As a lawyer, Bill's knowledge is much better than that of ordinary people, and he is not affected by the rumors and runs to buy food.

"Sir, there have been crazy rumors that Eastern Europe has suffered from drought recently, Russia and Austria have failed to harvest this year's autumn grain, and food prices in London have risen slightly.

In order to reduce expenses, it is recommended that you stock up on a batch of food first. If you have sufficient funds, you can reserve some more and sell it after the price of food has risen sharply. "

The butler's reminder did not shake Bill's judgment. What kind of drought can cause Russia and Austria to completely fail to harvest food?

You must know that it is only June, and the grain has not been planted for a long time. There is still a long time before the autumn grain harvest.

Even if there is not a drop of rain in the first half of the year, as long as there is sufficient rain in the back, most of the crops can still be saved.

If the two countries of the Russian-Austrian alliance had no food harvest, international food prices would have skyrocketed long ago.

Slight increase?

If it does not increase three or five times, it will be sorry for the conscience of the capitalists.

Bill smiled and said: "These are all rumors, only ignorant idiots would believe them. If Russia and Austria had no grain harvest, they would have stopped exporting grain long ago.

Without Russian and Austrian food, the international food market would be paralyzed. The most sensitive futures markets have not reacted, so there is nothing to worry about. "

It is a fact that the futures market is indeed the most sensitive. On the contrary, there is a little sign of a decline in grain production capacity, and the dealers will not give up the speculation.

"Yes, sir. I also don't think it's possible that there will be no food harvest in Russia and Austria, but the drought may be true.

Just yesterday, the London Daily published a drought plan from the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture. Such a plan would not have arisen had it not been for the drought.

With the credibility of the London Daily, they should not lie on such news. The futures market did not respond, and it is likely that the bookmaker concealed the news. "

After listening to the butler's explanation, Bill believed three points at once. After all, the futures market is too heavily manipulated by the bookmakers, and many times the ups and downs are not determined by the market.

After hesitating for a while, Bill made a decision: "Then go buy a batch of grain first, but you don't need to go to the grain store to buy it, I will contact the wholesaler directly."

...

In the spirit of "it is better to believe what you have than not to believe what you don't have", there are still many people who have made similar decisions.

Anyway, food is a necessities of life. Even if the price does not rise in the later period, it is still eaten slowly.

It’s better than being unprepared, waiting until the skyrocketing price of food comes, and then rushing to buy food.

Affected by the panic buying trend, the price of food in London has been rising all the way. Affected by this price increase, more and more people join the food rush.

In the Prime Minister's official residence in Downing Street, the intensifying wave of food grabs has made Prime Minister Gladstone uncomfortable.

People take food as their heaven, which is common in ancient and modern China and abroad.

Just a rumour can make British food prices rise, enough to prove that Britain's food security is not so stable.

Gladstone: "What do you think of the recent propaganda of food self-sufficiency and domestic food prices continuing to rise?"

How to look, sit and watch.

Everyone present knew that it was nothing more than watching the French plan a big farm, and a group of guys who wanted to profit from it were manipulating public opinion behind the scenes and artificially creating panic.

Agriculture Minister Diez Barreiros: "The government has arranged to refute the rumors, but it has little effect temporarily. After a period of time when the autumn grains are on the market, domestic grain prices will stabilize.

From this fluctuation, it also confirms from the side that our food security is too affected by external influences, and it is not as stable as we imagined.

Fortunately, this time it is just a rumor. If Russia and Austria really suffer from a major drought, the consequences will be serious.

In terms of security, the French food self-sufficiency plan is still very worthy of our emulation. "

Whether it can make money or not, once the agricultural self-sufficiency plan is launched, the voice of the Ministry of Agriculture in the government will be greatly increased.

As one of the vested interests, Diez Barreiros is unlikely to object.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Chai

"We are different from the French, and what works in France may not work in Britain," Dess warned.

The French are not in the free trade system. They have a food self-sufficiency plan and can rely on tariff barriers for protection. This investment is still guaranteed.

Judging from the current situation, it is inevitable that international grain prices will drop, and the market competition will be very fierce in the future.

If we follow suit, we will have to compete directly with the world's major grain-producing countries, and perhaps we won't be able to sell the cost of growing grain.

Economically, this is an investment that is doomed to lose money. The domestic market turmoil is only temporary and will recover soon.

There are so many places in Britain where food can be imported, and with the Royal Navy there, there is no need to worry about being blocked. "

While enjoying the benefits of the free trade system, Britain must also be subject to the free trade system.

In normal times, there's nothing wrong with it. Anyway, what Britain imports is industrial raw materials and grains, which are necessities and do not need tariff barriers at all.

It is impossible to achieve food self-sufficiency, which requires direct competition with major grain-producing countries, or a price war.

Whatever you think about it, you know that growing food in the colonies will cost more to produce than other food exporting countries.

Losing money and making a profit, at most one can gain the title of food self-sufficiency, in fact, it has little effect on the growth of the national strength of the British Empire.

Foreign Secretary George retorted: "Economically, we might lose money, but politically it's different.

Judging from the performance of the French, they are gradually losing their ability to check and balance Austria, and the continental balance is being broken.

The French agricultural plan, which seems to be only to ensure their own food security, is actually a revenge action against Austria.

If we follow suit, the international grain market will shrink by half. Affected by this, countries that rely on food exports will be hit hard.

As the world's largest exporter of agricultural products, Austria is the first to bear the brunt, which helps to balance the power balance between Fao and Austria. "

Whoever is stronger will be suppressed. This is the British government's foreign policy that has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Now it is Austria's turn.

The more issues that are considered, the harder it will be for Prime Minister Gladstone to make a decision. This is not just a question of money, it also involves the political changes in the British government's European continent.

After hesitating for a while, Gladstone asked, "What about the Russians' reaction, has the Foreign Ministry considered it?"

This is not a question of suppressing one, but suppressing two major powers at the same time. Russia and Austria are in a group, and they are an invincible combination on the world island.

In case of urgency, people use the war to divert the crisis, regardless of whether they go straight to India, it will be a lot of fun.

Foreign Minister George shook his head: "The Russian-Austrian alliance has lasted for three generations, and for nearly a hundred years, the interests of the two countries have long been intertwined.

We have also worked hard to break up this alliance, but now the two countries are still standing together.

How about the diplomatic means of the Habsburg dynasty, you can find out by flipping through the history books. Franz is the leader of the monarchs of all generations, and it is simply unrealistic to want to isolate Austria.

The Russian-Austrian alliance could not be separated for a while. From the beginning of the Russian expansion into Central Asia, it has been our enemy, and if you offend it, you will be offended.

Maybe after the international grain market shrinks, Russia and Austria will part ways because of their interests in order to compete for the market.

Even if the alliance were to become stronger, the situation would not be any worse than it is now. "

Threatening India?

If no action is taken, Russia and Austria will not threaten India? Anyway, in George's view, the powers close to India are hidden dangers.

No way, the sense of crisis of marine civilization is so strong. Instead of facing a strong Russia and Austria, it is better to face a weakened Russia and Austria.

As long as Austria, the financier, runs out of money, the impoverished Russians can't make waves. As for Austria, aren't the French still holding back?

Although the economy of France is not good, there is no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the French army.

If it weren't for such a big boss, the British would have been sleepless for a long time, and now Austria is much more powerful than the German Empire in the same period of history.

After hesitating for a while, Gladstone, who was politically savvy, decided to play football.

"The agricultural self-sufficiency plan involves an investment of tens of millions of pounds. It is still too hasty to make a decision by just a few of us.

The Ministry of Agriculture prepares a plan and submits it to the parliament for deliberation, first listening to the opinions of the parliamentarians. "

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