Chapter 247 The Nobles and the Agricultural Cooperatives of the Time

Hearing Constantine's words, many nobles in the conference room whispered to each other.

Although everyone got a lot of land as a fief after becoming a noble, due to the low grain prices in Greece, everyone did not pay too much attention to these lands.

Although there were signs of mechanized agriculture at this time, due to technical reasons, the so-called mechanized agriculture level was very low at the beginning of the 20th century, and slightly complicated farming labor still required a lot of manpower to complete.

This means that even if the nobles really developed the land, there was no other good way to make full use of their land except renting the land to tenants or establishing agricultural cooperatives.

In fact, if Constantine did not make special explanations and promotions today, for these people, their most likely choice would be to rent out the land and then rely on the rent to obtain land income.

It is too difficult for them to really work in the fields like farmers.

They already have military positions and have no time to manage their own land.

Emmanuil was somewhat puzzled by Constantine's emphasis on the nobles' land. After all, as the crown prince, it was unreasonable for Constantine to be so concerned about how the nobles managed their own land.

"Your Highness, can you tell us why you want everyone to actively join the agricultural cooperative?" Emmanuil's question was also what many nobles present wanted to know.

Hearing Emmanuil's question, everyone looked at Constantine with inquiring eyes, hoping that he could explain the reason.

"The reason why I hope everyone will do this is that I hope that the Greek nobles can become a political force that cannot be ignored in Greece," Constantine said sincerely.

After all, the royal family took great pains to enthronize these nobles, and the purpose itself was very clear, that is, to hope that they would become the royal family's political allies.

"You are also aware of the land situation in Greece. The farmland is relatively barren and there is not much land suitable for farming and animal husbandry. The area near Thessaloniki is currently the largest plain in Greece."

"From Thessaloniki to Skopje, although there are still mountains and hills in between, the arable land area is indeed the largest in Greece."

"With such favorable geographical conditions, this place will inevitably be the most important agricultural production area in Greece in the future. According to agricultural experts, the climate and soil here are suitable for growing crops such as wheat, citrus, tobacco, and cotton."

When everyone heard the words tobacco and cotton revealed by Constantine, the eyes of those who are more sensitive to business suddenly lit up.

Tobacco and cotton are both economic crops with relatively large demand in Greece.

Among them, the Greek army is the largest consumer of tobacco.

For soldiers who are always in danger of their lives on the battlefield, nothing can make them relax more than a cigarette.

The demand for tobacco in Greece is also increasing day by day. Every year, a large amount of tobacco is imported from the United Kingdom (actually the overseas colonies of the United Kingdom) to meet domestic demand.

Cotton is even more popular in Greece.

As a textile powerhouse, Greece has been satisfying domestic textile enterprises through imports in recent years.

Before 1912, the Ottoman Empire had always been Greece's largest cotton importer and also Greece's largest cotton cloth export market.

The second is Egypt. Due to sufficient sunlight, the long-staple cotton grown in Egypt is the best quality cotton in the world.

The cotton that can be produced in Greece is almost negligible, with only a pitiful 9,000 tons.

For the huge cotton consumption in Greece, this means that Greece's cotton textile industry is extremely dependent on the international market.

Due to the successive wars in the Eastern Mediterranean, first the Italo-Ottoman War in 1911, both the cotton exports along the Aegean coast of Asia Minor and the cotton exports in Egypt were seriously affected.

Immediately followed by the Balkan War, Greece directly declared war on the Ottoman Empire, and it was even more impossible to import cotton raw materials from the Ottoman Empire.

These two wars seriously affected Greece's cotton textile industry.

Due to the inability to import enough raw materials, textile factories emptied a large amount of production capacity.

This means that if a large number of cash crops such as tobacco and cotton can be planted in Macedonia, it will not only reduce the amount of imported goods in Greece, but also allow these nobles who own a lot of land to make a fortune.

Thinking of this, several nobles were really moved by Constantine's idea of ​​managing the land.

"I hope you will actively participate in agricultural cooperatives, unite the people in Macedonia, and build Macedonia into the richest agricultural production area in Greece"

The nobles have the advantage of having a lot of land, and naturally have more say than other farmers in the agricultural cooperatives they form.

Through these agricultural cooperatives, the nobles and the royal family can indirectly influence the farmers who join the cooperatives.

It can be expected that these agricultural cooperatives, after a long period of development, are not only an economic organization, but also a natural political organization.

For example, if these agricultural cooperatives develop well and bring rich benefits to the Macedonian farmers who join the agricultural cooperatives, then the nobles who have a say in them can naturally easily influence the members and let them choose those candidates who have closer relations with the royal family and the aristocracy when voting.

The royal family indirectly penetrates into the Greek domestic economy and politics through the nobility and agricultural cooperatives, thereby expanding the royal family's invisible influence in Greece and thus enriching the royal family's public opinion base.

Constantine made these considerations clear to everyone.

Emmanuel thought about Constantine's words and nodded in agreement: "This is indeed a good strategy. It has the advantage of achieving multiple benefits with one stone."

"First of all, we can organize everyone through advanced agricultural organizational forms such as agricultural cooperatives to cultivate Macedonian land more efficiently."

He said this with a helpless tone: "Macedonia is a land suitable for agricultural production. Due to extensive management, during the Ottoman rule, the tax collectors almost did not care about anything except collecting taxes. Later, it fell into perennial riots and serious population loss. , and there are large areas of natural forests. I heard people say that European bison are often seen deep in these woods. You can imagine how desolate they are."

"The roads are impassable and the transportation is inconvenient. The roads from Thessaloniki to the interior of Macedonia are all dirt roads and mountain roads, and no ground has been hardened."

"According to the information obtained by the personnel of the Military Intelligence Department, the best roads in the Balkans are actually the roads built by the Roman Empire."

The other nobles in the room shook their heads helplessly when they heard these words.

In order to give full play to the nobles' border defense and strengthen their control over the newly acquired territories, the royal family had most of these nobles' fiefdoms distributed in the interior of Macedonia.