Wild North America 1846

Chapter 543 Chicago Exchange and Empty Reserves

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 543 Chicago Exchange and Empty Reserves

On July 14, 1870, Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck issued the provocative "Emes Code" on the succession of the Spanish throne, which greatly offended the French government and regarded it as a blatant provocation.

My uncle can bear it, but my aunt can't either.

On July 19, the French Emperor Napoleon III, who was already dissatisfied with the Kingdom of Prussia, was determined to use force to teach the Prussians a lesson. He lost no time in formally declaring war, detonating the Franco-Prussian War.

news comes out

The whole of Europe is confused. The war clouds that have been hanging overhead for several months have finally turned into thunderstorms. Europe will usher in a large-scale war that affects one-third of its territory, and this will be a complete disaster.

The small and medium-sized European countries surrounding Prussia and France felt it most deeply, falling into huge panic and helplessness.

The combined population of the French Empire and the North German Confederation headed by Prussia exceeds 100 million. A fight would definitely be earth-shattering. This is a certainty.

As traditional agricultural powers in Europe, France and the Austrian Empire not only have a surplus of agricultural products, but can also export them nearby to meet the needs of other European countries.

it's good now

Once the war begins, more than 10 provinces rich in agricultural products in southeastern and northeastern France will be affected by the war. Provinces in Prussia and the North German Confederation that are close to the French border will not be spared. There will be a huge gap in the supply of bulk products such as grain and oil. This is

An inescapable fact.

look around the world

Only the Tang Empire had the ability to increase its exports of grain and oil products on a large scale. As a result, buyers from all over Europe flocked to the country and raised prices for grain from each other. This was the main factor that caused significant market fluctuations.

Some European businessmen who had no trading channels before were running around like headless flies. Some unscrupulous domestic businessmen saw this opportunity and took the opportunity to deceive, leading to chaos in the domestic bulk grain and oil products market and triggering economic crimes.

Rapid growth.

In view of this

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior, the General Administration of Police Reform, the Audit Office and other government departments, rectified various chaos in the economic field. They arrested a group of illegal traders and punished them, thus safeguarding the hard-won business of the Tang Empire.

reputation.

Daming Palace, Qinzheng Palace

In the past two years, Emperor Richard has restrained his tendency to run around and stayed in Chang'an City for a year and a half. This was a rare thing in previous years, and it also made the Royal Guards and Royal Attachés responsible for security very relaxed.

for a while.

Today is the routine time for the cabinet to enter the palace to meet His Majesty and report on a series of major events at home and abroad. The focus is naturally on the Franco-Prussian War, where the European armies are gathering, which is about to begin.

After reporting some related matters, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Earl Dong Jie, changed the topic and mentioned the current chaotic situation in the domestic bulk agricultural product market, and said worriedly;

"...

After a series of rectifications, the domestic bulk agricultural product market has been initially standardized, stabilizing the confidence of businessmen from various countries in the imperial market.

However, considering that the European continent will be in turmoil for a long period of time in the future, with a large demand for bulk grain and oil products and food, how long can the surprise joint rectification operation be sustained? The effect is still questionable?

Many buyers from Europe do not have stable purchase channels, nor do they have trustworthy domestic business partners. If they search all over the world for sources of goods, they will inevitably not be deceived again.

In view of this

The government plans to take two steps to solve the problem. The first is to establish a bulk agricultural product trading market. Considering the current situation of agricultural production areas and cities, it is inclined to establish this bulk agricultural product trading market in Chicago.

After the establishment of a bulk agricultural product trading market, foreign buyers can purchase spot or futures based on the reliable market information provided by the market, which will help lock in long-term orders and provide a reliable sales channel for the development of imperial agriculture.

The second step is to consider large-scale evacuation of the empire's strategic grain reserves, selling some wheat, black beans, rice, corn and oats that have been stored for a long time, as well as some edible oil, and replacing them with new grains.

There are also some other reserve materials that should be sold in large quantities when their value is high to vacate the inventory, and then be purchased and stored as planned in subsequent years to achieve the replacement of the old with the new in the strategic reserve.

The oldest grain stored in the empire is more than 10 years old. Many of them have become moldy and eaten by insects and rats. Their nutritional value has been greatly reduced, and there will also be a certain amount of losses.

Taking advantage of the current enthusiasm in the market to sell off the grain reserves, on the one hand, it can stabilize prices, and on the other hand, it can exchange for reserves at a high price and sell this batch of 16 million tons of reserve grains at a higher price. The price is higher than when it was originally purchased and stored.

At least 50%~70% higher.

According to government statistics;

More than 430 strategic reserve warehouses located throughout the empire can be included in the vacating plan to achieve orderly replacement of old strategic reserves with new ones.

Although the empire is looking forward to a bumper summer grain harvest this year, traders from Europe have a very big 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 vacate warehouses and sell off grain reserves. On the other hand, it plans to mobilize farmers and ranchers across the country to sell their grain stocks, clear their inventories, and prepare for the next year's bumper grain harvest.

From the current point of view, the prosperity of the international grain and oil trade market is a good thing, and we no longer have to worry about the excessive backlog of agricultural products in recent years."

Speaking of which

All the ministers in the Qinzheng Palace had relaxed smiles on their faces. The agricultural and animal husbandry products had a bumper harvest but were unsalable, which had always been a big problem in the agricultural field of the Tang Empire.

On the one hand, the empire carried out large-scale stockpiling; on the other hand, it mobilized farms to raise pigs, chickens and ducks. To this end, many agricultural feed factories were built, diverting a considerable part of agricultural output.

Raising pigs must be fed with grain. The number of fattening pigs has rapidly increased from one million to ten million, and the annual growth rate is very large.

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

If it were not a world-class agricultural production country, it would really not dare to be so extravagant!

On the other hand, it is vigorously developing the food and brewing industry. Various flavors of food and local snacks are springing up like mushrooms after a spring rain. There are tens of thousands of food processing factories and workshops, which solves a large number of labor problems and consumes hundreds of dollars.

Thousands of tons of grain.

The last aspect is, of course, grain exports.

Now that a war has broken out in Europe, isn't it a happy thing that the grain sales problem that has troubled the imperial government for many years has been solved?

Emperor Richard was sitting high on the throne. 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, I am very relieved!

Chicago is a core city located in the Great Plains of central North America. The surrounding provinces are major food-producing areas, with dense farms and pastures. The railway transportation is very convenient, and the water transportation from Lake Michigan to Europe is also very smooth.

Well...it's a good idea to build the bulk grain futures market here and it can be set up quickly.

Such new things will definitely encounter many problems in their development. Don't hesitate or be afraid, just find the problems and solve them.

Continuously improving trading rules and building a stable sales channel for European buyers and the majority of small and medium-sized farmers is a great thing that benefits the country and the people.

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

The warehouse vacating plan proposed by Dong Aiqing is of great importance. It must be carefully planned and the grain stocks will be sold gradually according to the plan. The quantity of each batch should not be too large, and must not scare those European buyers.

I want to emphasize one point; that is, earmarked funds are used for special purposes.

The proceeds from grain reserves sold on the Chicago Grain Exchange, as well as other bulk reserve materials, must go into a special supervision account of the Ministry of Finance and be used exclusively for special purposes.

These funds will be used for subsequent replenishment of strategic reserves, and the General Audit Office and the Independent Commission Against Corruption must follow up throughout the process to prevent anyone from taking advantage of them.

My dear friends, you must keep this in mind;

Never use a golden mountain to test the greed of human nature. Any policy formulation must have checks and balances, prior planning, process supervision, and post-event auditing to allocate responsibilities to everyone and every department.

Whenever problems arise in any link, the officials in that link will be held accountable and severely punished.

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

Both plans should be implemented as soon as possible. A special committee will be organized by the cabinet, and elite soldiers from various ministries will be mobilized to participate. It will supervise the establishment of the futures exchange and the subsequent trading process. It will also supervise the whole process of the vacating plan, check for deficiencies and fill in the gaps, so as to ensure that Complete.

This is an important point, dear friends, please do not slack off!"

"Your Majesty is wise, I dare not disobey you even a little bit!" All the ministers stood up together with solemn expressions, bowed and saluted.

As the saying goes, whoever plays with the bird is the same!

With such a discerning sage watching over his head, the important ministers in the cabinet, including officials from various ministries, really did not dare to slack off at all.

The imperial government operates with high efficiency, and corruption and blame-shifting have been greatly reduced. It can be said to be the most clear and efficient government in the world today.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Army General Staff Headquarters has drawn up a military observation mission to Prussia and France. The plan is to depart today. Please give me your Majesty's permission." First-class Duke of the Town, Field Marshal Dai Guofu, stood up from the train and said. .

in this era

Once a large-scale war breaks out, it is customary for the world's major powers to send military observation groups to observe the situation on site. Even if France has various dissatisfaction and complaints against the Tang Empire, it will still receive the military observation groups from the Tang Empire very well and provide them with generous benefits. noble treatment;

What is reflected here is the spirit of 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 leader of the military observation group to Prussia with the rank of major general of the army. There were also many underage members of the royal family in the group, including the seventeenth son of the emperor, the nineteenth son of the emperor and the twentieth son of the emperor. The lineup was quite luxurious.

His Highness Tang-Li Kun has studied in Germany for 4 years. He is very familiar with the local situation and has many contacts with the princes and ministers of the Kingdom of Prussia and German states. He is an ideal candidate to serve as the leader of the military observation group.

Emperor Richard had always advocated letting the prince go out for training. After hearing this, he nodded slightly and said, "Since we have made arrangements, we will set off immediately. There is no need to report again. Everything is based on the orders of the military department."

"Your Majesty, I am ready to take your orders." Marshal Dai Guofu saluted respectfully.

In front of His Majesty, no veteran who has made great contributions to the founding of the country dares to slack off in the slightest, let alone show any arrogance in taking credit, and behaves so well.

Who dares to have small thoughts in His Majesty's eyes that are so wise and can see through people's hearts?

(End of chapter)