Influenced by the French Farm Plan, British experts and scholars also advocated the "Food Self-sufficiency Strategy" and suggested that the government open up granaries belonging to Britain in overseas colonies.

Unlike the French, the British had too many choices. With the advantages of the Royal Navy, Britain did not have to worry about food.

Whether it is the alliance countries in North America, Argentina and Brazil in South America, they are the granaries of Britain.

Even the newly developed regions such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, etc. have the potential to become an imperial granary.

It really doesn't work, it's enough to squeeze from India.

Anyway, the population of the British Isles is only a little bit, and the local area can support 70% of them. The problem of eating for a few million people is not difficult for John Bull.

No matter how high food security is in Britain, it does not prevent experts and scholars from bragging. As long as the money is in place, there is nothing to do.

For the sake of the pound, experts quickly listed a lot of reasons, and even the Great Irish famine, which was ashamed to meet people, was brought up to talk about it.

Before the government could react, the public panic first. I don’t know which unscrupulous capitalists were spreading rumors claiming that Russia and Austria suffered drought and that autumn grain was out of stock in the second half of the year.

Someone believed such a ridiculous rumor, but it was not one or two, because the price of grain has really risen.

As a lawyer, Bill has much better knowledge than ordinary people. He was not affected by rumors and went to buy food.

"Sir, it has been rumored that Eastern Europe has suffered droughts, and Russia and Austria have lost their autumn crop this year, and the food prices in London have risen slightly.

In order to reduce expenses, it is recommended that you stock up on a batch of grain first. If the funds are sufficient, you can reserve more and wait until the grain price rises before selling it."

The housekeeper’s reminder did not shake Bill’s judgment. What kind of drought can make all the food in Russia and Austria completely eliminate?

You should know that it is only June, and the grain has not been planted for a long time, and there is still a long time before autumn grain harvesting.

Even if there is not a drop of rain in the first half of the year, as long as there is sufficient rain in the future, most of the crops can still be preserved.

If the Russian-Austrian alliance had no food collection, the international food prices would have been rising long ago.

A small increase?

If you don’t increase by three or five times, you’re sorry for the conscience of the capitalists.

Bill smiled and said, "These are all rumors, only ignorant idiots will believe it. If Russia and Austria really had no food harvest, they would have stopped exporting food to the outside world.

Without Russia and Austria's food, the international food market will be paralyzed. The most sensitive futures market has not responded, so what should I worry about?"

This is a fact, the futures market is indeed the most sensitive. On the contrary, there are some signs of a decline in grain production capacity, and the dealers will not give up speculation.

"Yes, sir. I also think that it is impossible for Russia and Austria to harvest food, but it may be true that drought is caused.

Just yesterday, the London Daily also reprinted a drought-resistant plan by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture. If there were no drought, such a plan would not have occurred at all.

With the credibility of the London Daily, they should not lie on such news. The futures market did not react, and it is likely that the dealer concealed the news."

After listening to the butler's explanation, Bill suddenly believed it. After all, the futures market was too severely manipulated by the dealer, and many times the rise and fall were not determined by the market.

After hesitating for a while, Bill made a decision: "Then go and buy a batch of grain first, but don't have to go to the grain store to buy it. I will contact the wholesaler directly."

...

In the spirit of "it is better to trust what it has than nothing", there are still many people who make similar decisions.

Anyway, food is a necessity for daily life, even if the price does not rise in the later period, it will be kept for eating slowly.

It’s better than not being prepared. When the price of grain surges, we will go and buy food.

Affected by the rush to buy, London's food prices are rising all the way. Affected by this price increase, more and more people joining the rush to grab the grain.

The increasingly fierce trend of snatching food in the Prime Minister’s residence on Downing Street has made Prime Minister Gladstone uneasy.

Food is the most important thing for people, and it is common in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

Just a rumor can make the UK's food prices rise, which is enough to prove that Britain's food security is not so stable.

Gladstone: "What do you think about the people's advocacy of self-sufficiency in recent times and the continued rise in domestic food prices?"

How do you look? Sitting and watching.

Everyone present knew that it was nothing more than watching the French people’s plan for a large farm, and a group of guys who wanted to make profits from it manipulate public opinion behind the scenes and create panic artificially.

Agriculture Minister Dies Barrelus: "The government has arranged to refute the rumors, but the results have been minimal. After a while, the domestic food prices will stabilize.

This fluctuation also indirectly confirms our food security. It is too much affected by external factors and is not as stable as we imagined.

Fortunately, this time is just a rumor. If Russia and Austria really suffer from a severe drought, the consequences will be serious.

From a security perspective, the French’s food self-sufficiency plan is still worthy of our imitation.”

Whether it can make money is aside. Once the Agricultural Self-Sufficiency Plan is launched, the Ministry of Agriculture’s right to speak in the government will greatly increase.

As one of the vested interests, Dies Barrelus could not object.

Chancellor Akiji Childes warned: "We are different from the French. Strategic plans that work in France may not be able to be implemented in Britain.

The French are not in the free trade system, they are engaged in food self-sufficiency plans and can rely on tariff barriers to protect them. This investment is still guaranteed.

Judging from the current situation, it is inevitable that international grain prices will fall, and the future market competition will be very fierce.

If we follow the trend, we must compete directly with major grain-producing countries in the world, and perhaps we will not even be able to sell the cost of growing grain at that time.

From an economic perspective, this is an investment destined to lose money. The domestic market turmoil is only temporary and will recover soon.

There are too many places in Britain that can import food. With the Royal Navy here, there is no need to worry about being blocked."

While enjoying the benefits brought by the free trade system, Britain must also be subject to the free trade system.

In normal times, there is nothing wrong with it. Anyway, Britain imports industrial raw materials, grain, and these essential products, so there is no need for tariff barriers at all.

If you want to achieve self-sufficiency in food, it will not work. This requires direct competition with major grain-producing countries, or in a price war.

Anything you want to use, you know that the production cost of growing grain in colonies will be higher than that of other grain exporters.

If you lose money and gain a reputation for self-sufficient food at most, it will actually have little effect on the growth of the British Empire's national strength.

Foreign Secretary George retorted: "Economic, we may lose money, but politically different.

Judging from the performance of the French, they are gradually losing the strength to check and balance Austria, and the continental balance is being broken.

The French's agricultural plan seemed to be just to ensure their own food security, but in fact it was also a retaliation against Austria.

If we follow up, the international food market will shrink directly by half. Affected by this, countries that rely on grain exports will be severely damaged.

As the world's largest agricultural product exporter, Austria is the first to bear the brunt, which helps balance the strength between France and Austria."

Anyone who is strong will suppress it. This is the unchanging foreign policy of the British government for hundreds of years. Now it is Austria's turn.

The more problems you consider, the harder it will be for Prime Minister Gladstone to make a decision. This is not just a matter of money, but also involves changes in the European political situation of the British government.

After hesitating for a while, Gladstone asked: "What about the Russians' reaction? Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered it?"

This is not a matter of suppressing one, but a combination of two major powers at the same time. Once Russia and Austria join forces, it will be an invincible combination on the world island.

If you are too anxious, people use the war to divert the crisis and go straight to India without caring about it, then you will be very happy.

Foreign Minister George shook his head: "The Russian-Austrian alliance has lasted for three generations. In nearly a hundred years, the interests of the two countries have long been intertwined.

We have also put in a lot of effort to split this alliance, but now the two countries are still standing together.

What is the diplomatic method of the Habsburg dynasty? You can find out by looking through history books. Franz is the best among all monarchs, and it is unrealistic to isolate Austria.

The Russian-Austrian alliance cannot be separated for a while. Since the Russians expanded to Central Asia, they have become our enemy, and offending them will be offended.

Perhaps after the international food market shrinks, in order to compete for the market, Russia and Austria will part ways due to interests.

Even if the league becomes more solid, the situation will not be much worse than it is now.”

Threat India?

If Russia and Austria do not take action, will they not threaten India? In any case, George's view, a powerful country close to India is a hidden danger.

There is no way, the crisis awareness of marine civilization is so strong. Instead of facing the powerful Russia and Austria, it is better to face the weakened Russia and Austria.

As long as the Austrian financial backer is out of money, the poor Russians can't make trouble. As for Austria, aren't there still French people restraining them?

Although France's economy is not very good, everyone still has no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the French army.

If there wasn't such a big boss here, the British would have been unable to sleep long ago. Austria is much more awesome than the German Empire in the same period of history.

After hesitating for a while, Gladstone, who was politically stunning, decided to beat the ball.

"The agricultural self-sufficiency plan involves investment of tens of millions of pounds. It is still too hasty to make decisions just by making a few of us.

The Ministry of Agriculture prepares a plan and submits it to the parliament for deliberation, and first listen to the opinions of the parliamentarians."

...
Chapter completed!