Chapter 636

In London, affected by the collapse of domestic food prices, the capitalists who originally signed a contract with the Russians were not prepared to honor it.

Not only would it violate British law, but it would also involve diplomatic issues.

Moreover, the food purchase money was used to repay the Russians' domestic bank debts. The early loans had been given out. If they defaulted, the Russians could also legally renege on the debt, and the bankers would certainly not agree.

Take rye as an example. The price of rye in the UK market was about 6 to 7.5 pounds per ton. The original contract with the Russians stipulated a price as high as 9.1 pounds per ton.

This meant that not only would they not make money from this deal, but they would also lose money.

Of course, even if it was 9.1 pounds per ton, these capitalists would not lose money. The added value of the finished product was still enough to offset the price difference.

However, qualified capitalists certainly did not want to suffer this loss. This meant that they would earn 1.5 to 3 pounds per ton of rye.

This number seemed insignificant, but if it was magnified to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of tons, it would be an astronomical figure.

They could not directly renege on the debt. This was not a problem for the capitalists. This was the job of members of parliament, and it was also a good way to guide public opinion. In short, they must find a reasonable and legal reason to renege on the debt.

The rising tide of anti-Russian sentiment was not a good thing for the newly appointed Gelston cabinet.

The "pound – gold system" established monetary hegemony. If they forced the Russians out at this time, they would immediately be beaten back to their original position.

The previous government relied on this political achievement to almost make a comeback in the election. If they had not dug up old debts in time and encouraged the families of the soldiers killed in the Anglo-Burmese War to cause trouble, Gelston might not have been able to live in Downing Street.

Throwing away the newspaper in his hand, Prime Minister Gelston complained incessantly, "Damn it, f * ck off, you can't even rest in peace after leaving, and you even left us such a bomb!"

This kind of thing was common during the change of government. Everyone was a member of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. They were innately opposed to each other in politics, and their identities determined their positions.

If he didn't screw Gelston over, how could he ensure that his party would win the general election? If they were in his shoes, Gelston would probably make the same choice.

Anyway, it was all within the rules of the game. The mess left by the cabinet was completely in accordance with the law. Other than complaining in private, there was nothing Gelston could do. He could not even use this problem to criticize the previous government.

"Prime Minister, the biggest problem now is not the people outside, nor the MPs, but the capitalists who do not want to fulfill the contract.

With the current food price, according to the treaty with the Russians, they may lose millions of pounds per year. Even if it is divided, it is not a small number.

More importantly, this is not a year, but five years in a row. After such a long period of time, if something unforeseen happens midway, they'll be replaced. "

As he spoke, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd picked up the newspaper on the ground, folded it twice, tore it up, and threw it into the trash can.

Obviously, he was not as easy as he looked. In the interests, the Gelston, Gelston, Empire, and Gelston.

Even if the government wanted to take action, they couldn't find an excuse. Everyone attributed the plummeting food prices to the Anglo-Russian Food Loan Agreement, thinking that this was the aftermath of the government's interference in the market.

Everyone attributed the plummeting food prices to the Anglo-Russian Food Loan Agreement, thinking that this was the aftermath of the government's interference in the market.

It was the predecessor's achievement, but now they needed to clean up the mess. If they did well, they wouldn't get any credit. If they didn't do well, they would be scolded.

After calming down, Prime Minister Gelston sat back in his seat and asked, "What do they want? Breaking the contract is impossible. We still need the Russians. "

The British pound hegemony system had just been established, and Russia's gold standard reform had just begun. They could not turn against the Russians before they were completely bound to them.

This would take at least five or six years, so the Anglo-Russian loan also lasted for five years. The Government of London bound the Russians through the loan. It could not be called a loan. It was more appropriate to describe it as a food transaction contract.

Compared to the huge benefits brought by the currency hegemony, the losses of the food capitalists were not worth mentioning. Although this achievement was mostly taken away by the previous government, Gelston still wanted to continue.

Otherwise, the bankers in the country would send him to God. Don't think that the United States had the habit of assassinating the president. The capitalists of Britannia dared to do the same.

It was just that the British aristocracy still had a certain amount of power. The capitalists could not completely control the government. Otherwise, the food capitalists would not do the roundabout work.

The era of big monopolies was approaching, and it was not far from the time when the capitalists would explode. When the consortiums were established, they would completely enter the era of oligarchy.

Relatively speaking, the British Prime Minister of this era was happy. In the era of oligarchy, politics became a game of capital. That was the real tragedy.

"They want the government to fund this batch of food and establish a strategic food reserve like Austria. In theory, there is no problem. Britannia is just an island country, and its own food production is limited. It is not a big problem to reserve a batch of food. "

The Britannia of this era was at its peak. Rich and powerful was the best description for them.

Even though the Government of London was already in debt because of the war, they did not panic at all.

The huge wealth brought by the colony was enough for them to deal with it easily, and they even had the spare money to establish a strategic reserve system.

Gelston did not object. Although he did not think that it was necessary for Britannia to establish a strategic food reserve, he was not going to stop everyone from making a fortune.

The most prosperous era of Britannia was also the most corrupt era. Once such a big project was promoted, it would bring a rolling source of wealth.

Gelston smiled indifferently and put his hands on the table, palms facing the sky. "If they can persuade Congress to allocate funds, I have no opinion."

Obviously, this was impossible. If they were sure that they could persuade Congress to allocate funds, the capitalists would have done it long ago and not done so much.

To put it bluntly, the involved food capitalists had limited voice in the British capital market. They could not even represent the food processing industry.

They did have their own people in Congress, but it was still very difficult to influence the decisions of Congress. Not to mention anything else, their competitors would not let them get what they wanted.

To be able to create the current momentum, it was all because of the current social environment. If it were not for the plummeting domestic food prices, they would not have been able to organize so many farmers to participate in the demonstration.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Laruke Royd shook his head. "If they can persuade Congress, they will not come to us. They have promised to sponsor our campaign fund of 200,000 pounds as long as this plan is passed by Congress.

In addition, there are other benefits. It is not convenient to talk about the specific details, so we need to communicate in private. "

Politics also needed to be supported by money. There were many behind-the-scenes deals hidden behind every election. If there was only investment and no return, who would sponsor for free?

If there was no income, how could a political party survive? If there was no money to support a campaign team, no money to increase the public's favorability, how could they win the election?

In the face of reality, politicians were usually relatively low moral integrity. Prime Minister Gelston was no exception. A political party needed the support of capital, and the two sides were intertwined from the beginning.

…

Under the push of the Liberal Party, on October 21, 1872, the British Parliament passed the proposal to establish a strategic food reserve by a narrow margin.

On October 24, the Government of London suspended the Anglo-Russian food loan deal, citing the need to stabilize the domestic food market.

After some symbolic negotiations, a week later, the Government of London reluctantly bought the food within the scope of the treaty at a price higher than the market price.

There was no doubt that this was all done for the people. The real reason was to deal with the aftermath of the food capitalists, and the government took over the losses.

The Anglo-Russian deal went smoothly, and Franz was not disappointed. The benefits of monetary hegemony were greater, and the Government of London naturally knew how to choose.

The only thing that was unexpected was that the British would establish a strategic food reserve. After all, the Royal Navy dominated the world, and no country in the world could match it. There was no enemy that could block Britannia.

This change was a small problem, and the final goal was achieved. Although it could not disrupt the Anglo-Russian deal, the collapse of the international food market still greatly damaged the vitality of the European agriculture.

In this era, there was no such thing as food subsidies, and even taxes could not be reduced. The government was willing to reduce agricultural taxes because it valued the people's livelihood.

For large farmers, the agricultural crisis was a great opportunity for mergers, so why should agricultural taxes be reduced? Without these taxes, how could the farmers go bankrupt as soon as possible? If the farmers did not go bankrupt, how could they carry out land mergers?

The tax reduction was inevitable, but it had to wait until everyone completed the land merger, or else it would be cutting off their source of income.

The large-scale bankruptcy of European farmers was also what Franz wanted to see. The Austrian colonies were short of people.

He did not want immigrants from Britain and France, nor did he expect immigrants from Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. The remaining countries could always be considered.

Today was different from the past. Now that Austria's rule in the colonies was stable, it was completely possible to digest some of the immigrants.

Unlike in the beginning, except for native immigrants and German immigrants, Franz did not dare to accept a large number of immigrants from other countries.

He was afraid that the guest would become the host. On the issue of ethnic assimilation, it was usually more people assimilating less people. It was not easy to do the opposite.

This could be considered as exchanging food for people. It was equivalent to Austria selling a batch of food in exchange for a batch of labor.