On July 14, 1870, Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck issued a provocative "Emsmi Telegram" on the question of the succession to the Spanish throne, which greatly angered the French government and regarded it as a blatant provocation.

Uncle can bear it, but aunt can't bear it.

On July 19, the French Emperor Napoleon III, who had already seen the displeasure of the Prussian Kingdom, decided to teach the Prussians a hard lesson by force, and lost no time in formally declaring war, triggering the Franco-Prussian War.

The news is out

The whole of Europe was stunned, and the clouds of war that had been hanging over their heads for months had finally turned into thunderstorms, and Europe was about to face a large-scale war that would affect a third of its territory, and it would be a complete disaster.

The small and medium-sized European countries surrounding the two countries felt it most acutely, and fell into great panic and helplessness.

The combined population of the French Empire and the countries of the North German Confederation led by Prussia exceeded 100 million, and the fight would certainly be earth-shattering, which was a sure thing.

The French and Austrian empires, as traditional agricultural powers in Europe, not only had a surplus of agricultural products for themselves, but also could export them nearby to meet the needs of other European countries.

It's good now

Once the war starts, more than 10 provinces rich in agricultural products in the southeast and northeast of France will be affected by the war, and Prussia and the provinces of the North German Confederation countries near the French border will not be spared, and there will be a huge shortage in the supply of grain, oil and other bulk products.

Look around the world

Only the Tang Empire had the ability to increase the export of grain and oil products on a large scale, so buyers from European countries flocked to buy grain at higher prices than each other, which was the main factor leading to large market fluctuations.

Some unscrupulous businessmen in China saw this opportunity and took the opportunity to deceive them, resulting in chaos in the domestic market for bulk grain and oil products, and the rapid growth of economic crimes.

In light of this

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of the Interior, the General Administration of Police Reform, the Audit Office and other government departments, rectified all kinds of chaos in the economic field, arrested and punished a number of illegal traders, and safeguarded the hard-won goodwill of the Tang Empire.

Daming Palace, Qinzheng Palace

In the past two years, Emperor Richard has restrained his desire to run around, and has stayed in Chang'an City honestly for a year and a half, which is a rare thing in previous years, and it has also made the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Military Attache Chamberlain, who are responsible for security, very relaxed for a while.

Today is the routine cabinet entering the palace to meet His Majesty and report on a series of major events at home and abroad, and the focus is naturally on the Franco-Prussian War, which is about to start with a large number of European armies.

After reporting some related matters, Earl Dong Jie, the prime minister of the cabinet, changed his words and mentioned the current chaotic situation in the domestic bulk agricultural product market, and said worriedly;

“……

After a series of rectifications, the domestic market for bulk agricultural products has been initially regulated, which has stabilized the confidence of merchants from various countries in the imperial market.

However, considering that the European continent will be in turmoil for a long time to come, and the demand for bulk grain and oil products and food products is large, how long can the surprise joint rectification operation last, and the effect is still questionable?

Many buyers from Europe do not have stable purchase channels, nor do they have trustworthy domestic business partners, so they go all over the world to find the source of goods, and it is inevitable that they will not be deceived again.

In light of this

The first is to establish a market for agricultural commodities, which is preferred to be established in Chicago, taking into account the current situation in the agricultural producing areas and cities.

After the establishment of the bulk agricultural trading market, foreign buyers can buy spot or futures according to the reliable market information provided by the market, which helps to lock in long-term orders and provide a reliable sales channel for the development of the empire's agriculture.

The second step is to consider the large-scale vacancy of the Empire's strategic grain reserves, and sell some of the wheat, black beans, rice, corn and oats that have been stored for a long time, as well as some edible oils, and put them into storage for new grain.

There are also some other reserve materials, which should be sold in large quantities when the value is high, and the inventory should be vacated, and then stored as planned in the following years, so as to realize the replacement of the old with the new in the strategic reserve.

The Empire's grain reserves have been in stock for more than 10 years, and many of them have been moldy and moth-eaten bites, greatly reducing their nutritional value, and there will be a certain amount of loss.

Taking advantage of the current market enthusiasm to sell the grain reserves, first, we can stabilize prices, and second, we can exchange the reserves at a high level and sell these 16 million tons of grain reserves at a higher price, at least 50%~70% higher than when the reserves were first collected.

According to government statistics;

More than 430 strategic reserves scattered throughout the empire can be included in the vacant plan, so as to achieve an orderly replacement of the old strategic reserves.

Although the Empire has the prospect of a bumper summer grain harvest this year, traders from Europe have a very large appetite, and this year's summer grain alone may not be able to meet the strong demand in Europe.

To this end, the government plans to sell off grain reserves on the one hand, and on the other hand, it plans to mobilize farmers and ranchers across the country to sell their grain stocks and empty their stocks in preparation for a bumper grain harvest next year.

From the present point of view, the prosperity of the international grain and oil trade market is a good thing, and there is no need to worry about the excessive backlog of agricultural products in the past few years. ”

Speaking of which

The cabinet ministers in the Qinzheng Hall all showed relaxed smiles on their faces, and the bumper harvest of agricultural and animal husbandry products was unsalable, which has always been a big problem in the agricultural field of the Tang Empire.

On the one hand, the empire mobilized farms to raise pigs, chickens and ducks, and for this purpose, many agricultural feed factories were set up, diverting a considerable part of agricultural production.

Pigs must be fed grain, and the number of fat pigs has risen rapidly from one million to ten million, and the annual growth rate is very large.

In 1870, the stock had reached more than 17 million fat pigs, providing the market with a variety of pork products, greatly enriching people's lives and improving the quality of life, at the cost of consuming nearly 10 million tons of grain.

If it weren't for the world's largest agricultural producer, I really wouldn't dare to be so extravagant!

On the other hand, it is to vigorously develop the food and brewing industry, with various flavors of food and local snacks springing up like mushrooms after a rain, and tens of thousands of food processing factories and workshops have solved the problem of a large number of labor forces, while consuming millions of tons of grain.

The last aspect, of course, is grain exports.

Isn't it a happy event that now that a war has broken out in Europe, and that the problem of grain sales that has plagued the imperial government for many years has been solved?

Emperor Richard was high on the throne, and after hearing this report, he couldn't help but show a look of satisfaction on his face, nodded and said;

"These two measures are very good, and I am very relieved!

Chicago is located in the core city of the Great Plains in the middle of North America, and the surrounding provinces are major grain producing areas, with dense farms and pastures, very convenient rail transportation, and smooth waterway transportation from Lake Michigan to Europe.

Well...... The bulk grain futures market is very well built here, and it can be quickly organized.

Such a new thing will definitely encounter a lot of problems in the development, don't hesitate, don't be afraid, just find the problem and solve the problem.

It is a great thing for the benefit of the country and the people to continuously improve the trading rules and build a stable sales channel for European buyers and the majority of small and medium-sized farmers.

I agreed, and immediately sent agents to prepare for the establishment of the Chicago Bulk Grain Exchange.

Dong Aiqing's plan to vacate the warehouse is very important, it must be carefully deployed, and the grain storage must be sold gradually according to the plan, and the quantity of each batch is not too much, so as not to scare those European buyers.

I want to emphasize one point; That is, the special fund is earmarked.

The proceeds from the sale of grain reserves and other bulk stockpiles at the Chicago Bulk Grain Exchange must be put into a special custody account of the Treasury Department and earmarked for special purposes.

These funds are used to replenish the strategic reserve in the future, and the Audit Office and the ICAC must follow up on the whole process so that no one can get their hands on it.

Dear Aiqing, you must keep in mind;

Never use a mountain of gold to test the greed of human nature, any policy must have checks and balances, there must be pre-planning, there must be process supervision, there must be post-audit, and the responsibility must be allocated to each person and each department.

Officials in any link where there is a problem will be investigated and severely punished.

Only by maintaining openness and transparency, open supervision and power restraint in the system can a good policy be implemented, instead of allowing crooked-mouthed monks to read the wrong scriptures.

Both plans will be implemented as soon as possible, and the cabinet will set up a special committee to participate in the participation of elite soldiers from various ministries to supervise the establishment of futures exchanges and the subsequent trading process, and to supervise the whole process of vacating positions, and to check and fill in the gaps in order to improve them.

This is a critical place, and Zhu Aiqing must not slack off! ”

"Your Majesty, the ministers don't dare to disobey it slightly!" All the ministers stood up with solemn expressions and bowed.

As the saying goes, what people play with what birds!

With such a discerning Saint Monarch staring overhead, the important ministers of the cabinet, including the officials of various ministries, really did not dare to slack off at all.

The imperial government has shown a situation of high efficiency, corruption and blame have been greatly reduced, and it can be said that the most clear and efficient government in the world today.

"Your Majesty, the General Staff Headquarters of the Imperial Army has drawn up a military observation mission to France and France, and plans to leave on the same day, please show your Majesty." First-class town Guogong, Field Marshal Dai Guofu stood out of the train and started to play.

In this day and age

In the event of a large-scale war, it is customary for the world's powers to send military observation missions to observe the scene, even if France has various dissatisfaction and complaints about the Tang Empire, it will still receive the military observation team from the Tang Empire very well and give them preferential aristocratic treatment;

This reflects the chivalry that Europeans have always advocated.

According to the plan;

His Royal Highness Tang Li Kun, the seventh son of the emperor, served as the head of the military observation mission to Prussia with the rank of major general, and there were many members of the royal family who were not yet minors, such as the seventeenth, nineteenth and twentieth sons of the emperor, and the lineup was quite luxurious.

His Royal Highness Don Lee Kun studied in Germany for four years, is very familiar with the local situation, and has many contacts with the princes and ministers of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German states, making him an ideal candidate to serve as the head of the military observer mission.

Emperor Richard has always advocated that the prince should be released for tempering, and after hearing this, he bowed his head slightly and said; "Since it has been arranged, let's leave immediately, don't report again, everything is based on the orders of the military department."

"Your Majesty, the old minister will take the order." Marshal Dai Guofu said respectfully.

In front of His Majesty, no veteran of the founding of the country dared to slack off, let alone show the slightest arrogance, and he was not like words.

His Majesty the Emperor has a pair of wise eyes that can see through people's hearts, who dares to be careful?

(End of chapter)