Changing the region can only be done slowly, and Carlo has plenty of patience for it.

But for another thing, Carlo's patience is not so high, and that is to build up Italy's grain reserves.

Speaking of which, Italy is the standard grain importer. Italy's grain imports are second only to the British Empire and the second largest grain importer in Europe, and the amount of grain Italy needs to import has reached about 2.4 million tons, and the annual cost of purchasing grain is not a small amount. And with the increase of Italy's population in recent years, Italy will inevitably import more and more grain.

So, for this food problem, Carlo can not sit idly by. You must know that the saying that there is no agriculture, no stability, no work, no wealth, is not wrong with Italy at all. The issue of food security has reached a point where there is no room for delay.

So today, Carlo gathered his important ministers to discuss the food problem in Italy.

"Ministers, I have just looked at the statistics of the total grain production over the years, and the results make me very uneasy, in the last year our total grain production in Italy was 8.71 million tons, and the grain gap reached 22 percent, so it can be said that our country's large annual grain imports have put our country in a subordinate position of grain domination. This makes me very uneasy, and I am afraid that suddenly other countries will not export food to my country, and what will we do. So then I checked my country's grain reserves, after all, every housewife knows that the family needs to prepare at least half a month's worth of food, and you can't buy food in two or three days, but the results of the check made me very shocked, because my country's grain reserves are only 150,000 tons, which is enough for the people of the whole country to eat for four or five days, and then what? ”

Carlo looked at the ministers who were seated, and then continued. "Gentlemen, you are all important ministers of the kingdom, and you must face up to the dangers that may arise from the food reserves, which are at stake for the safety of the kingdom. So you can give your suggestions and suggestions,"

Carlo's words made the important ministers present immediately take action, only to see Home Secretary Edras immediately speak. "Your Majesty is right, my country's grain reserves are indeed on the low side, and we didn't pay enough attention to the grain reserves before, so I think the grain reserves must be increased, at least to one million tons."

Edras's words did not attract the echo of the other ministers, because they knew that there was one problem, and that was money.

That's right, what about the kingdom's finances, who here doesn't know, if you want to complete the reserve of one million tons of grain as mentioned by the Minister of the Interior, then it will cost about 80 million to 90 million lira, and such a high cost is the biggest problem in completing the grain reserve.

Sure enough, His Excellency Tejela, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was in charge of the Kingdom's finances, stepped forward. "Lord Edres, I fully agree with what you said. At present, the purchase of one million tons of grain, according to 60 percent of wheat, 30 percent corn, and 10 percent of other grains, will cost at least 80 million lire, and large-scale procurement will drive up grain prices, and then the cost will be even more. So where does all this money come from? ”

True, Chancellor of the Exchequer Tejera is not against the country's grain reserves, but where will this money come from?

"And how much food do you think should be stockpiled?"

The Secretary of State regretted this as soon as he said this, because he was not handing over the initiative to the other side.

Sure enough, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Tejera immediately took over the conversation. "I think we can reserve 500,000 tons first, and it will take three years to ensure fiscal health."

In the face of Teyela's words, the important ministers present also discussed a lot, this is really difficult to do without money, the current domestic finances are tight enough, and this will cost a grain reserve fund, and anyone will feel a headache, 500,000 tons is not bad. It is not a small amount of money to spend more than 10 million lira a year.

Looking at the ministers seated, a trace of annoyance flashed in Carlo's heart, these ministers could not see the significance of grain reserves to Italy, and they were always entangled in the problem of money.

In fact, Carlo has wronged these ministers a little, and everyone knows the issue of food security, but the issue of importance can really be discussed. Because food reserves can only reduce the risk of food security, and cannot make this money profitable. And listening to Your Majesty's meaning, this reserve of grain will not be less, and the cost will be large. Not to mention that the Italian government's finances are not rich in themselves.

Carlo knew a little about the ministers' ideas, but he had to push through the grain reserves, which was a matter for Italy's future.

Because in more than ten years, a war will break out that will affect the whole world, and Italy, which already needs to import a large amount of grain, will really not be able to buy grain with money at that time, so the reserve of grain must start now. You see, this is the cognitive gap between the two.

Look at the countries that are not ready for long-term operations, Britain and France, with their superior navies, were able to buy supplies from all over the world, and what about Italy?

Where can they buy supplies, especially grain, the traditional purchase of Eastern Europe, is at war, and even Russia itself does not have enough to eat and can sell it to you.

Besides, Italy has not yet decided which side to stand on, and it must be prepared for a rainy day.

Thinking of this, Carlo looked at His Excellency the Prime Minister, who was sitting there, and before the meeting, he had spoken to the Prime Minister.

Seeing His Majesty's gaze at him, Antonio knew that he had to step up at this time. "Uh-huh."

The prime minister is just not ordinary, a cough attracts everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, on the issue of food reserves, I don't think the Chancellor's statement is one-sided, and the lack of money is not a problem. In fact, I believe that one million tons of grain reserves will not allow our country to guarantee food security at all. I believe that at least three million tons of grain reserves will be needed to initially allow our country to establish safe grain reserves. ”

Prime Minister Antonio's words surprised all the ministers present, because it would require at least 240 million lira, which is equivalent to 11.6% of Italy's total fiscal revenue last year. It's not worth spending so much money specifically on food reserves. Why should this money be invested in food reserves?

"Prime Minister, where should I start with this money for food purchases?"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer raised the most worrying issues.

"I think we can issue a bond to raise funds to purchase grain and build up grain reserves, and we can completely choose six or seven cities to build special grain reserve depots to ensure food security. It took four or five years to complete the task of grain reserves. ”

Well, the Prime Minister's words leave nothing to say, issue a debt to solve the problem of lack of funds.

After some tossing and turning by the Italian government, the total scale of Italy's foreign debt has now dropped to 5.64 billion lira, but at present, it seems that the scale of this foreign debt will continue to decrease.

And for Carlo, it is not bad to spend four or five years stockpiling three million tons of grain. Of course, we can continue to increase the grain reserves in the future, in Carlo's mind, at least to meet the food of the whole country this year, after all, Italy's own grain production is not high, how to survive those difficult years if you don't hurry up to buy some food.

Of course, when the prime minister came forward to come up with a solution, and the king expressed his support, the other ministers could only express their obedience. Next, the ministers present also made suggestions on who should manage the grain reserves, the choice of cities, and the renovation of grain.

The atmosphere of the scene is also becoming more and more lively under Carlo's gaze.