Chapter 630

The impact of the agricultural crisis was not only limited to the European continent, but the Americas also did not escape.

European food prices plummeted, and naturally, capitalists shipped food out to sell. The price of food in the Americas was also hit.

The development of shipping technology reduced the cost of shipping, and the number of 10,000-ton ocean-going transport ships increased. Under this trend, the grain dumped by Austria also crossed the ocean and entered the Japanese market.

Of course, this was just incidental. The profit of shipping food to Japan was still too low, and no one had the leisure to do so.

Under the influence of the Meiji Restoration, the number of machinery and equipment imported by Japan from Europe increased in recent years, and the trade became more prosperous.

The 10,000-ton transport ship was first created in Austria. While reducing the cost of shipping, there was an awkward problem – the cargo was often not full.

This problem was not difficult for the capitalists. A little local products could fill the warehouse. No matter how small the mosquito was, it was still meat, and it could not be wasted.

The call of the Government of Vienna had some effect. The major grain exporting countries announced a reduction in production, but no one knew how effective it was.

Anyway, in Franz's view, the measures taken by the countries were full of loopholes. Whether they could suppress the production or not depended on the consciousness of the farmers.

Just after the autumn harvest, a large wave of new grain came on the market, and the international food price continued to fall. The capitalists knew that if it continued to fall, everyone would be finished.

In order to maintain the stability of food prices, the capitalists united with the farmers and began to pressure the government. By the end of 1872, most European countries raised import tariffs on agricultural products.

These measures were far from enough. In order to stabilize the market price, the capitalists had to destroy some of the agricultural products.

The grain importing countries were fine. The tariffs were raised, and some surplus agricultural products were destroyed, and the market soon returned to stability.

Just maintaining "stability" and wanting the food price to return to a normal level was not something that could be done overnight.

The grain exporting countries were miserable. In addition to the slow sales, there was more slow sales. This year, there were more trade disputes in the European continent than in the past five years combined.

Naturally, the four countries that suffered the greatest losses were Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Poland. In order to alleviate the crisis, in October 1872, the Government of Vienna announced the purchase of 2.7 million tons of wheat, 4.8 million tons of rye, 3.8 million tons of corn, and 1.9 million tons of soybeans for strategic reserves.

Of course, there were additional conditions. The agricultural products purchased were limited to the new grain produced in the country, and they were purchased at the lowest food price set by the government.

First, they went to the inventory, and now they began to restore it. Stimulated by this good news, food prices in the Austrian market finally stabilized.

The international food market still did not improve. Now, the problem was not the price, but the market was saturated. Many grain importing countries suspended food imports.

Seeing that the government of Vienna was purchasing grain as a strategic reserve, the Juncker nobles couldn't sit still any longer. They all jumped out to ask the Prussian government to increase the strategic reserve.

In the Berlin palace, the meeting on this issue had already begun. William I had no opinion on increasing the strategic food reserve. The only problem was that the Prussian government had no money.

The money for grain was from the Government of Vienna. According to a rough calculation, the government of Vienna had lost over a million tons of food because of this.

It was hard to calculate exactly how much they had lost. They had to take into account the price difference between the old and new grains, as well as the cost of purchasing grain reserves from the Vienna government.

The pressure on Mao Qi increased. On one hand, there was the government's empty wallet, and on the other hand, there was the interests of the Juncker nobles. After a little hesitation, reality helped him make a decision.

"Your Majesty, we don't know when the Prussian war will break out. No one can guarantee how long the war will last. It is necessary to increase the strategic food reserve.

It's just that the government has no money now. If we want to increase the strategic food reserve, we need at least hundreds of millions of marks, which is far beyond what we can afford.

If the farmers can accept credit, we can eat some of the grain, but the government can't guarantee when we can pay the money. "

This answer was irrefutable. It wasn't that the government was unwilling to increase the strategic food reserve. The problem was that the government didn't have the money to buy it.

It was possible for the government to collect the grain, but it was an IOU. When the government had the money, they would pay it back. If they didn't have the money, they would continue to owe.

From the perspective of class interests, Mao Qi's words still made many people dissatisfied. It was just that they couldn't find a reason to refute. The government still didn't have the money.

"Prime minister, I'm afraid we can't do this. There is a cost to growing grain, and the government has to at least pay the cost. Otherwise, I'm afraid many farmers will go bankrupt. "

Agriculture Minister Melanie Griffiths hurriedly persuaded. If they really did issue an IOU, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the Juncker nobles.

Mao Qi shrugged and made a helpless expression as he spread his hands.

"Where will the money come from? Our finances have always been tight. Even if the grain price is very cheap now, and each ton of rye can be bought for less than 100 marks, a million tons is still 100 million marks.

As long as the agriculture ministry can solve the money problem, collecting as much as you want isn't a problem. I guarantee that no one in the government will object. "

The Kingdom of Prussia had long been in debt. The domestic financial sector couldn't provide loans to the government. If they wanted to continue borrowing money from the outside world, they would have to betray the national interest.

Whoever dared to make such a suggestion would have to first consider whether or not they would be shot by patriotic youths when they go out.

These days, the Kingdom of Prussia was also full of youths. These people were the guarantee of the Prussia army's combat power, but at the same time, they were also the Kingdom of Prussia's ticking time bomb.

Melanie Griffiths hadn't lived long enough and didn't want to become the target of patriotic youths. He wouldn't do such a thing.

"I'm sorry, Prime Minister. This isn't within my scope of work. You have to ask the Ministry of Finance. If the government can't stabilize grain prices, then it should be possible to formulate a more active agricultural policy, right? "

Mao Qi: "Of course! As long as it has nothing to do with money, we can try our best to solve other problems. "

Melanie Griffiths: "That's for the best."

Melanie Griffiths, who was already prepared, took out a document and handed it to William I.

"Your Majesty, this is the agriculture ministry's plan to reduce grain production. We have learned from the Austrian experience and are preparing to implement the 'Land Fallow Law'."

This proposal surprised everyone. Before this, the Government of Berlin had discussed this issue, but because of the strong opposition from the agriculture ministry controlled by the Juncker nobles, it ended in failure.

After skimming through the document, William I's face turned gloomy. It was the same land fallow law, but Prussia's land fallow law was much more explicit.

On the surface, it didn't seem like a big problem, but a closer look would reveal that many of the problems were vague and vague. After a bit of analysis, it would be obvious that this was only considering the interests of the Juncker nobles.

The nobles had a lot of land. Even if a strict land fallow law was introduced, they would still have enough land to rotate and cultivate. The ones who would suffer the most were the farmers who didn't have enough land.

According to the regulations, due to the emergence of crop rotation technology, the time for land fallow would be reduced. The ordinary farmers who had just enjoyed a few days of good days would soon be out of luck again.

If this was really implemented, a new round of land acquisition would occur in Prussia, and a large number of farmers would go bankrupt.

"Melanie Griffiths, are you sure that the content of this is realistic? Has the agriculture ministry not considered the consequences of doing this?"

Facing William I's question, Melanie Griffiths' expression didn't change and calmly replied: "Your Majesty, after the agricultural crisis breaks out, the market will inevitably go through a round of elimination.

Whether we implement the Land Fallow Law or not, the wave of bankruptcy will still break out. If we take the initiative to take measures, we will be able to get through this crisis sooner and avoid implicating more people. "

This was twisted logic, but it was also the truth. The farmers couldn't compete with the big farmers, and this was the inevitable result. According to the current situation, the price of food had already collapsed. The farmers would only be able to hold on for a few years at most before going bankrupt due to debt.

This wasn't something that could be changed by manpower, it was only a matter of time. The reason why the Juncker nobles changed their minds and agreed to reduce production was not only to maintain the price of food, but also because they wanted to expand their land and expand their family business.

Perhaps ordinary people would think that the price of food had plummeted and that land had become worthless, but the Juncker nobles who held the power didn't see it that way.

The population was constantly growing, but there was no way for the land to continue growing. From this point of view, the price of food would only rise sooner or later.

Even if the international price of food couldn't recover, they could still change the rules and artificially raise the price of domestic agricultural products.

The original German and Space-Time Empires didn't have enough food production, so the Juncker nobles dared to set restrictions and prevent foreign agricultural products from entering the domestic market, let alone now.

The farmers going bankrupt was also what the Juncker nobles wanted to see, since they could obtain more cheap labor. As long as they analyzed the benefits, they would know that this plan couldn't be stopped in the Kingdom of Prussia.

…

After the Kingdom of Prussia introduced the "Land Fallow Law", which was full of annexation, European countries quickly began to follow suit.

The big farmers and the big capitalists worked together to divide up this feast. The farmers got more land, and the capitalists got cheap labor. The cooperation between the two sides was seamless.

Austria wasn't able to escape unscathed, but there was still a Law Prohibiting Land Annexation in front of them. This was a law signed by Franz after the Vienna Revolution of 1848.

It clearly stated: Private transactions of small pieces of land are prohibited, and they can only be sold to the local government at market price. (Specifically, land less than 200 hectares)

These reclaimed agricultural lands can only be sold by the local government to farmers with less than 50 hectares of farmland, retired soldiers with less than 100 hectares of farmland, and nobles with less than 200 hectares of farmland.

(Note: Once the purchased area reaches this limit, no more purchases can be made)

If the purchased land wants to be sold again, it can only be sold to the government and can't be directly traded with individuals.

Simply put, small farmers can buy, but if the big farmers want to expand, they can only buy farms with more than 200 hectares of land.

From the perspective of productivity development, the small farmers' economy will inevitably collapse, and the mainstream of agricultural production in the future will be farms.

This kind of land annexation will increase the competitiveness of agriculture, so Franz naturally can't stop it, but he also doesn't want to see domestic agriculture being monopolized, so he introduced this law to restrict the expansion of the big nobles.

Because of this law, more than 80% of the farmland in Austria is locked and can only be circulated in the hands of ordinary people.

If the nobles want more land, it's better to go to the colonies. As long as the farmland exceeds 200 hectares, they can only buy it from the big farmers if they want to expand.