Chapter 552: Feudal Residue is Powerful

  Chapter 540 – Feudal Residue is Powerful

The changes in the grain futures market directly affected the price of grain, and the capitalists unanimously made price increases.

This price increase is limited to the transaction price, the grain purchase price is still not much change, from the downstream market affects the upstream market, which needs time to ferment.

Raising grain trading prices is essentially about getting rich. Since last year, the prolonged low grain prices have seriously affected everyone’s interests.

The improved grain prices are not substantial, and the problem of excess grain capacity has not been fundamentally solved. It is nothing more than capitalists wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to make a profit to make up for their losses in the agricultural crisis.

Franz did not feel optimistic, if those responsible for the manipulation are food capitalists, then for their own interests, ultra-high, and stabilized food prices, is in their best interests.

Unfortunately, the current three major European grain futures markets, in addition to Austria’s food capitalists relatively strong, have a certain say, Britain and France are financial capital as the dominant.

Even Austrian food capitalists do not have the strength to manipulate the market, even if it is coupled with the relevant capital of the agricultural processing industry, just barely have the strength.

Britain and France, not to mention, unless the entire entity economic capital tied together, or futures markets will always be the turf of financial capital.

Short, flat and fast, will always be the best pursuit of capital, sink to do business, not the purpose of financial capital, which means that the food market at any time there may be a second collapse.

Now everyone is still working together to join forces to do high food prices, and so on up almost, attracted enough speculators to go in to take over, it is time for the end to come.

……

At the Vienna Palace, Franz summoned Minister of Agriculture Holles.

“Grain prices are recovering, but the problem of overcapacity remains unresolved, and the next job for the Ministry of Agriculture remains to reduce production.

Don’t worry about not having enough food, even if we encounter an unexpected situation, we have enough strategic reserves for emergencies.”

The government can’t just interfere in the market, and besides, the futures market, which is an international capital betting game, is not something that the Austrian government can intervene in. Unless the British, French and Austrian governments intervene in the market at the same time, it will only have side effects and cause more losses.

Affected by the agricultural crisis, Austria also appeared food stagnation, the government implemented the minimum protective price policy, and soon acquired a large number of food.

The Vienna government itself is a large food consumer, not at all worried about storing too much food. Government agencies, schools, the army, together there are several million people to eat it.

Influenced by Franz, the government has long been in the habit of storing grain. In addition to meeting its own needs, it usually eats in when food prices are low and throws out when they are high.

Of course, this is just the usual period, after the agricultural crisis is in full swing, the Vienna government does not dare to open the purchase. Continue to play that way, really will go bankrupt.

Minister of Agriculture Holls: “Your Majesty, we are planning an agricultural summit, inviting the big capitalists and big farmers in Europe who are engaged in the agricultural field to participate together. Combining the strength of all of them, we will contribute together to stabilize food prices.”

Franz froze, then reacted. This kind of is the normal operation, as the world’s number one agricultural exporting country, encountered an agricultural crisis how can be passive response?

To know the agricultural crisis before the outbreak of the international trade in agricultural products pricing power, has always been in the hands of Austria.

The Russians do not abide by the rules and the British played a bundled loan sales, breaking the Austrian monopoly on the pricing power, which led to a plunge in food prices.

After this wave, the capitalists naturally realized the terrible consequences of such unruly competition, and it was almost inevitable that they would embrace it again at this time.

I’m afraid that the Ministry of Agriculture, which has triggered this program, can’t be separated from the influence of capital. Either the aristocrats engaged in agricultural production or the capitalists in related fields may be behind the scenes.

Knowing what he knows, Franz has no intention to pursue the root of the matter, this kind of thing is inevitable. There are many ways for capital to influence governmental decisions, and many times the parties involved are brought up to speed before they can react.

“It sounds great, just on what basis will it be implemented? Even if more results are reached at the agricultural summit, how much can they be utilized without being mandatory and binding?

If we can’t solve the problem, we might as well find a way to push up tariffs on the high grain trade and increase the costs for our competitors.

Make more contact with the big farm owners, I’m sure they’ll have the same interest, and encourage them to mobilize the masses of farmers to join together to put pressure on the government.”

This is a very underhanded idea, and very bad for the industrially backward country. Perhaps in the end it may develop into a tariff on all agricultural products.

But Franz wasn’t worried in the least; it was only the less profitable primary processing companies that would be affected. There would be some impact on Austria in the short term, but in the long term, it would help to further promote industrial upgrading.

You can’t expect to grind flour for the rest of your life, can you? This kind of enterprise without much technical content, sooner or later will be squeezed unprofitable.

If we don’t develop new products with higher added value, this kind of processing enterprise with low technological content and standing still and unwilling to move forward won’t survive for long in this cruel world.

All these are only on the surface, if there is no other aspects of the gain, this is to kill the enemy a thousand self-loss tactics, how can Franz use it?

Raising the price of food is the most affected is the industry, prices rise enterprises have to pay more salaries, otherwise the workers can not survive.

This is the fundamental purpose of Franz, perhaps in the short term, the impact is not obvious, but with the passage of time, the more tariffs on imports of agricultural products, the aftermath will come out.

High labor costs will lead to labor-intensive enterprises to become unprofitable, in order to higher interests, capitalists will inevitably put money into the financial sector of higher returns.

The first ones who couldn’t hold out in the original time and space were the French. After the Franco-Prussian War, without the government’s suppression of capital, France began to run wild along the road of no return of the usury empire.

The British followed suit, and followed the self-defeating path. Otherwise, during World War II, the Luftwaffe would not have been able to ravage the skies over the British Isles, let alone blockade sea transportation by submarines.

Looking at the incomprehensible Minister of Agriculture, Franz did not explain. This kind of obscure means is simply not something that can be explained in a few words. In case it leaked out and caused the countries to be alert, it would be unattractive instead.

When things happen, then expose it then it doesn’t matter. The government could lower the tariffs and first see if the farmers in the country would agree.

Even if it was forced, could it expect the capitalists who had tasted sweetness in the financial sector to turn back?

There is no sweet taste of the more need to consider, unlike the real economy, play the financial a loss in the end, that is a common thing.

Earned is profiteering, lost out of the real money. Wealth is a number, today’s billionaire, tomorrow see on the rooftop. This kind of thing London, Paris, Vienna, several financial centers, every once in a while will be staged.

Under the black hand to the black hand, the production should be reduced or to reduce production. Opened the window, looked at the sky, Franz added: “These secretly carried out on it, do not make everyone know.

The focus of the Ministry of Agriculture is still to find ways to cut food production capacity and promote cash crop cultivation. The government can encourage enterprises and farmers to sign planting contracts to put their minds at ease.

I see that in certain areas, the agricultural cooperatives that the nobles have been tinkering with are also a good way to go. When people join together to plant on a larger scale, they have more confidence in negotiating with companies.

The government could push for the establishment of similar semi-official organizations, or simply private organizations. It’s up to the people to freely decide whether or not to participate, and the governing body lets them elect themselves.”

Agricultural cooperatives are also not new affairs, in many areas of Europe, there are such mutual help and win-win organizations.

It really developed in Austria after the abolition of serfdom and the agrarian revolution. The initial purpose wasn’t for mutual aid either, it was mainly the nobles who wanted to maintain their influence at the local level and stepped in to establish this kind of organization.

Even now, not everyone can join. Feudal dregs are everywhere, and those who join these organizations are either their own vassals or former serfs who refuse to accept anyone else into them.

Especially after the beginning of the Austrian colonial era, after seeing a nobleman pull out a private army in the shortest possible time through this model, almost all the fiefdom nobles realized the role of “agricultural cooperatives” and acted one after another.

Facts have also proved that this kind of private army, which knows its roots, is much more reliable than mercenaries recruited from outside.

The African continent is not a good place, especially after getting rich, betrayal, betrayal almost every day, mercenaries killed their employers are also widely rumored in the civil society.

Maybe it was because of loyalty, or maybe it was because you can’t run away from a monk, but you can’t run away from a temple. Franz has yet to hear of a nobleman who was killed by a rebellion of his own private army.

Loyalty is not given for nothing, to make people sell their lives, there is also a price to pay. Buying people’s hearts in normal times is essential.

For example, during the grain purchase season, the nobles who are the leaders of the agricultural cooperatives will intervene and negotiate with the merchants, or they will directly organize people to transport the grain out for sale, so as to avoid being suppressed by the merchants.

Another example: promoting agricultural cultivation techniques, coordinating civil conflicts, and occasionally lending money on the side to save the day.

This aspect of the old big nobles did a little better, they had long been fed and washed ashore, and would not easily joke about their own reputation.

……

Fortunately, this is the European continent, otherwise on the practice of these guys, long ago dropped his head.

Franz all thought about whether to kick these feudal remnants out, and then considering that he was also a feudal remnant, silently chose to be invisible.

Buying people’s hearts and minds, let’s buy people’s hearts and minds. In any case, they are only operating in their original territory, and they are not extending their claws, not to mention wanting to rebel, Franz is also too lazy to care about it.

There are these people in the local watch, but also can protect the territory and peace, at least the mountain bandits, bandits, revolutionaries and so on, they are taken to exchange for military service.

That’s right, catching revolutionaries in Austria is also military service, and Franz is sparing no effort to combat these existences that dare to rebel.

Harboring and harboring revolutionaries, then I’m sorry, no matter who it is, don’t think it’s a good time, it’s just a matter of how they die.

Forewarned is still there, the unlucky aristocrats exiled to the Arctic Ocean have the most to say. Of course, if technology advanced a few hundred years later and was able to bring back to life those in the frozen state, maybe they would still have a chance to accuse Franz of atrocities.

Apart from the organized ones, naturally, there were the unorganized ones. Since these organizations had positive effects, Franz naturally didn’t mind promoting them.

It was too difficult to convince the masses of peasants to carry out agricultural restructuring. The government enforced it. It would only make things worse.

If you don’t let farmers grow food, you have to tell them what to grow, right? It’s the kind of thing Franz can’t believe bureaucrats.

Bureaucrats can make a decision with a slap on the ass and then pat themselves on the back, and then no one will know if the cash crop that is grown can be sold or not.

The consequences of this are worse than overproduction of food, which, even if it doesn’t sell, you can still keep for yourself, or at least make sure the farmers don’t go hungry.

If the cash crops can not be sold, it can only rot in the ground. A year of crop failure can bite the bullet, if a few years in a row are like this, this horrible consequences, think of Franz shudder.

Holes is not opposed to the establishment of agricultural cooperatives, there have been many successful cases, indeed conducive to the development of agricultural production, as long as the continuation of the replication of successful experiences can be.

After a little thought, Minister of Agriculture Holls replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

……

(End of chapter)