The next day, the Imperial Council.

A group of courtiers, led by Count Dong Jie, the prime minister of the cabinet, expressed their surprise at the defeat of the French army in successive battles.

It is really the impression that the French Empire is so powerful that no one could have imagined that it would be defeated so quickly and so badly, it is simply incredible!

Especially out of the ordinary...... The French Emperor Napoleon III left his army and slipped away first, leaving his ministers speechless.

When it comes to the noble French emperor, even if it is a foreign monarch, it is not appropriate for the ministers to comment.

Shame on His Holiness!

But there was a look of disdain in the eyes of the ministers, and it could be seen that Napoleon III's reputation had completely collapsed, presumably in various European countries, and even in France, right?

The Franco-Prussian War lasted only a few days

The collapse of the French government of Emile Olivier made European and North American governments realize the fragility of Napoleon III's rule and become even more optimistic about the future.

After discussing international affairs for a while, mainly the Franco-Prussian War and the surrounding international influences, this is the hottest gossip in the world today, and the atmosphere at the imperial meeting gradually became enthusiastic.

Emperor Richard sat on the throne and listened to the reports of the ministers of the cabinet, and the ministers were more unanimous;

In the future, France is afraid of great changes in the country, and the current reign of Napoleon III is crumbling, and the Reich should plan for this.

The Minister of Commerce, Gai Wangshan, even proposed;

It should be a good opportunity to take advantage of the occupation of several French provinces by the Kingdom of Prussia and dump the products of the empire into France through the channels of the Prussian army.

During the war

The so-called French customs are all paralyzed, domestic prices in France have skyrocketed, and the domestic price of kerosene for 8 Tang Yuan a barrel is now as high as 35 Tang Yuan in France, which is four times the export price.

As an old colonial country, France has a deep heritage, and there are not a few rich people, so such a good opportunity cannot be missed.

Prime Minister Earl Dong Jie pointed out;

Since the Chicago Agricultural Commodities Futures Exchange was put into operation, the number of large orders traded is considerable, accounting for more than 60% of this year's summer grain harvest.

Affected by the Franco-Prussian War, the transaction price was higher than 50% and a half of previous years, which played a very good role in stabilizing the market.

However, due to the sharp turn of the situation in the Franco-Prussian War, the grain reserves were suspended after two batches were sold. This is because buyers from Europe are worried that the war will end soon, so the wait-and-see sentiment is strong.

Given this negative factor, it is not expected that the government's vacancy plan will not be smooth sailing.

The Tang Empire's war readiness reserve grain depot has accumulated for more than 20 years, and the reserve is huge.

In particular, some grain depots that did not establish a regular rotation system in the early days have been stored for seven or eight years or even more than 10 years, and the mildew of old grain out of the warehouse is relatively serious.

The wheat stored in the grain depot is the main material, only wheat has no flour.

This is because sun-dried wheat is suitable for long-term storage, but once ground into flour, it is not shelf-stable and must be eaten as soon as possible.

Over time, the flour will harden and deteriorate, and it can only be used to raise pigs.

The aged wheat that came out of the warehouse this time also had many problems, and people were reluctant to process it when it was transported to the flour mill, which was troublesome and affected the reputation.

This is because the wheat that has been stored for too long will become loose and pulverized, the peeling procedure is very troublesome, the flour yield is low, the consumption is large, the quality of the processed flour cannot be guaranteed, and the taste is much worse than that of fresh flour.

Originally, 1.25~1.3 pounds of wheat can produce one pound of flour, and aged wheat as low as 1.4 pounds of wheat can produce one pound of flour, and the flour is yellow and of poor quality.

Originally, it was hoped that with the help of the food panic of the Franco-Prussian War in Europe, the "vacant plan" of the strategic reserve could be realized, but now it seems that there are many good things!

It was discussed for a while

Emperor Richard sat on the top, although there was no expression on his face, but he was quite relieved in his heart;

These important ministers here all have a good international vision and can consider problems at a higher strategic level, rather than just staring at the one-third of an acre in front of them.

Think all over the world

Only the old colonial powers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands can cultivate politicians with a global vision, and now the Tang Empire has also made up for this lesson, which is certainly worth rejoicing.

Richard coughed lightly, and the hall immediately fell silent, and all the ministers turned their eyes to His Majesty the Emperor, and stood with their hands down in waiting for the hadith.

There was a slight pause

Emperor Richard said in a calm voice;

"Zhong Aiqing;

I have been informed of what I have discussed.

With regard to the opening of the French wartime portal and the suspension of customs, the Ministry of Commerce could communicate with the Kingdom of Prussia through private channels to establish a secure port of receipt of goods and a settlement bank, and to deal with specific questions on its own.

But beware;

The relevant smuggling trade should not be carried out in an official capacity, but can be led by some chambers of commerce and operated in the name of individual traders or in the name of certain chambers of commerce, so as to avoid unnecessary international disputes in the future. ”

Emperor Richard considered it more prudently, although the Ministry of Commerce in the name of expanding channels for export enterprises, but not through the customs to enter the market of other countries is smuggling, no matter how you explain it is smuggling.

This matter is not official and can be touched, and it is more appropriate to use the name of the non-governmental chamber of commerce.

The French Empire did not fall and slump, this kind of matter will definitely have to find a future account, and it will be a joke at the government level.

To tell the truth, if it is according to the attitude of the traditional Chinese official government, it is categorically not allowed to do such a thing that breaks the rules.

However, in the international environment of today's world, it is not abrupt.

The law of the jungle formulated by the great powers led by Britain is a reasonable choice to take advantage of the situation, and if you have the opportunity to let others go in vain, you will only say stupidity, instead of praising you for following the rules.

Even though Emperor Richard is rich and rivals the wealth of the country, he is also enthusiastic about the huge wealth accumulated by France for hundreds of years, and he can't help but take a profit.

Who will do it if there is no profit and is infamous?

This time the Kingdom of Prussia was engaged in large-scale smuggling of goods, and the upper nobles of the empire, including the royal family, benefited from it, and the Kingdom of Prussia could use this to make up for part of the military expenditures, and both sides benefited, and only France suffered.

Due to the high tariff barriers, the French market is the dream lover that the Tang Empire longs for but can't get.

France is like a noble lady raised in a deep boudoir, eating and wearing all the first-class top goods, the home is luxuriously furnished, and the corners of the house can sweep a bunch of francs out.

For the Tang Empire, which was founded on trade, how attractive is it to imagine?

It's a pity that France's high tariff barriers have always existed, and the high entry tax of 135% on kerosene imported from the Tang Empire, in addition to the profits tax and the messy surtax, the total tax is as high as 200%, which makes the oil companies grit their teeth with hatred.

Even so

France is also the second largest market in Europe after the United Kingdom, with more than 5.5 million barrels of kerosene consumed annually, which shows the affluence of the French aristocracy and middle class, which is really not a joke.

Is it a matter for an aristocratic family to use 10 barrels and 8 barrels of kerosene a year?

Is it a matter for a wealthy French middle-class family to use one or two barrels of kerosene a year?

Don't say anything else

As a world-renowned usury empire, the French rentier class alone is as high as 2.2 million people. Hundreds of years of colonization of the world have yielded the largest middle class in Europe, and the spending power is now staggering.

Oil companies with royal and aristocratic backgrounds smuggled to France on a large scale, and the huge profits they made were naturally reflected in dividends.

Other good things such as grain and oil products, tobacco, toffee, cheese and chocolate, wine, canned meat and fruit, etc., can take advantage of the opportunity to rush into the French market and make a lot of profits.

His Majesty the Emperor's statement made the eyes of all the ministers present light up, and they all cast their approving eyes on the Minister of Commerce, Count Gaiwangshan, and their hearts became hot, and they all thought about which family property should be included in the list of smuggling.

The Earl of Gaiwangshan stood up respectfully from the train, and replied with both hands; "Weichen obeys the order, and must handle this matter safely, and he does not dare to live up to the trust of the saint."

Emperor Richard nodded slightly, turned his gaze to Count Dong Jie, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and continued;

"Dong Aiqing, the plan to reserve grain and vacate the warehouse is not a day's work, and this matter must not be urgent.

With such a large amount of grain reserves thrown into the European market, just the news is enough to crush the entire market. Therefore, we have to be cautious and think long-term.

I want to come;

How can a country in France be in turmoil and calm down in a moment?

Even if it is as the secretary thinks; The Franco-Prussian War ended with the victory of the Kingdom of Prussia.

However, the enormous social upheaval and rebalancing of power in Europe will not end in a year or two, but will continue for a long time.

Considering the post-war arrangements, the reparations for defeat and the garrison of the Kingdom of Prussia, as well as the internal political turmoil of the Kingdom of France, this major European grain producer, at least in the next 3~4 years, a significant reduction in grain production has become a foregone conclusion.

This situation will inevitably exacerbate the risk of food shortages in Europe, and even do not rule out famine in some areas.

In this fundamental case

The final completion of the "vacating plan" is only a difference between a few months earlier or a few months later, and will not affect the final implementation of the plan.

By emptying the storage capacity, the imperial government has the ability to collect and store the bumper domestic harvest for a long time to come, stabilize prices from large fluctuations, and create a better environment for the overall economic development.

Based on the status quo

It can be judged that in the next 5~8 years, the world grain market will always maintain a high level of operation, which is conducive to the establishment of the empire's grain procurement and storage and a scientific rotation mechanism for three to five years, which is generally good news. ”

Implication;

What are you afraid of if the quality of grain reserves is poor?

When there was a shortage of food in Europe, didn't you eat black bread mixed with sawdust and wild vegetables?

His Majesty the Emperor's words seemed to see the sun, and the ministers of the cabinet nodded frequently, and stood up in unison to salute; "My emperor Shengming, the high candle of the temple is thousands of miles, and the ministers can only admire!"

"All Aiqing is exempt from courtesy, flat!"

"Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live!"