industrial lord

Chapter 771: Dark Clouds
Beneath the surface of the Rhine Alliance's calm, undercurrents are surging, and a subtle tension is quietly spreading.

The late summer breeze began to bring coolness, blowing across the towering towers of Wessenburg.

Frederick and Maria ended their honeymoon and returned to the capital of the duchy.

The dust of her journey had barely settled when Maria set off for Bohemia for her routine inspection, as scheduled, while Frederick went straight to Chestnut Village to check on the crucial annual winter wheat harvest.

He stood on the high ridge of the field, the ground beneath his feet dry and the autumn sun, carrying a sense of powerlessness, illuminating the wheat field that should have been golden and full.

Frederick bent down, pinched open a heavy ear of wheat with his fingertips, and examined it carefully.

The fullness was far below expectations, and his brows gradually furrowed, as if shrouded in a dark cloud.

"This year's harvest is not ideal," he said in a low voice to Agriculture Minister Monofelo beside him, his tone revealing an undisguised seriousness.

Monoflo's face was as heavy as the ground beneath his feet.

He bent down to pick up a few fallen grains of wheat and replied in a deep voice, "What you see is absolutely right, sir."

"Last year's cold weather led to widespread crop failures, and the further north you go, the more pronounced the reduction in yield becomes."

"I heard that in some parts of the lowlands, there has been a complete crop failure, and even the seeds that have been sown may not be able to be harvested."

He shook his head heavily, his worry evident in his expression.

Frederick paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the rather thin ears of wheat.

On his way back, he did indeed observe along the way, and the situation in the northern fields was indeed more severe.

The winter chill grows stronger year by year, and the wheat ears in the fields become increasingly sparse—in his eyes, this is no longer just a simple, accidental natural disaster, but the beginning of a period of hardship from which he has no idea when it will end.

"The Ministry of Agriculture is urgently considering promoting the planting of spring wheat," Monofello continued, reporting on the countermeasures, "intending to avoid the frosts and long cold periods of winter."

“But spring wheat yields are not as stable as winter wheat yields,” Frederick’s concerns were not lessened, but deepened. “Moreover, planting spring wheat requires higher technical skills and guidance from technicians.”

"Monoflo, you need to compile a detailed assessment report as soon as possible, carefully comparing the losses caused by the low-temperature disaster with the potential yield reduction risk from a complete switch to spring wheat, and determine which is more important."

He paused briefly, his eyes sharpening, and added, "In addition, conduct another research report on the feed structure and existing planting area of ​​the livestock industry."

"Since grain production is destined to decline, we must plan ahead and expand the area of ​​wheat fields to ensure the supply of staple food."

"As for the feed needed by livestock, we can consider transporting some from the relatively warmer south."

Monoflo quickly pulled out his notebook and meticulously wrote down his leader's instructions.

Frederick looked again at the yellowing, yet clearly not very bountiful, waves of wheat surging in the wind, and sighed silently.

The poor harvest following the defeat was like adding insult to injury, casting a huge shadow that was quietly eroding the confidence of the Rhine Alliance in the future. Some even dug out scriptures again, fearfully claiming it was divine punishment, prompting the priests to repeatedly refute such fallacies during team building activities.

Frederick knew in his heart that the spread of this panic was more worrying than the actual natural disaster; it was shaking people's hearts.

“My lord,” Monofro said, gathering his thoughts before speaking again, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of excitement, “the Ministry of Agriculture is about to implement a new draft land reclamation plan, which will be carried out in close collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry, and the National Bank of Wesenberg.”

"The core is to increase the export of our domestically produced agricultural machinery to stimulate production, while the Rhine Alliance will use more efficient agricultural machinery to improve the overall cultivated area and efficiency."

His tone grew stronger, filled with determination to make a fortune, as he said, "The current crisis is precisely the best time to thoroughly reform the old farm system and promote large-scale mechanized farming."

"Moreover, I believe that such changes should not be limited to the Rhineland; they could become a new growth point for our economy."

Frederick showed no emotion on his face, only calmly replying, "This matter is of great importance; let's discuss it in detail at the next meeting."

He was fully aware of the matter concerning farm reform.

Although Monoflo's farm reforms used some trendy terms from the Wessen Daily, they were essentially the same ideas Hojenproz had told Theodore. Recently, thanks to Theodore's promotion, they have been the subject of much discussion and have gained considerable acceptance in society.

Although Frederick himself did not directly push for it out of caution, he was well aware that the underlying forces were not to be underestimated; it represented the strong desire within the Rhine Union to break through its predicament.

After a moment's thought, he gave Monofello clear instructions: "Now that the direction has been set, your Ministry of Agriculture should take the lead, and work with the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Finance to jointly formulate a detailed reclamation plan."

“Remember,” he emphasized, “we must integrate and coordinate the key links of agricultural machinery purchase and promotion, sales of high-quality seeds and livestock seedlings, fertilizer and pesticide supply, and agricultural product allocation and transportation, and promote them in a bundled manner to achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

For him, this was not just an agricultural revolution concerning basic survival, but also a crucial business opportunity and a key step in revitalizing the entire Rhine Union economy.

However, deep down, he was considering a more far-reaching plan: how to deal with the inevitable sharp inflation caused by the massive influx of gold.

The huge amounts of gold that had been successfully transported back from the south on two previous occasions had brought the gold reserves of the Duchy of Wessen far beyond what its current commercial scale could support.

If this batch of gold is allowed to flow into the market in a disorderly manner, it will inevitably lead to catastrophic currency devaluation and soaring prices.

Frederick originally hoped to absorb these monetary increments by expanding production and increasing the supply of various goods, thereby balancing prices.

However, with the sharp decline in wheat production and the sudden shortage of grain supply, it is not only unable to suppress basic prices, but may instead lead to price increases in grain, thereby pushing up the overall price level and creating a vicious cycle.

Frederick could not stand idly by and watch this dangerous situation unfold.

The only viable strategy at present is to rely on Wesson Bank to strictly control the pace and scale of this gold inflow into the market.

However, this brings another thorny problem: if funds cannot be effectively and promptly invested in the production sector to stimulate output growth, then no matter how much gold reserves there are, they are just cold numbers on the treasury books and cannot be transformed into real national power.

On the way back to Wesenberg, Frederick kept thinking about what to do.

(End of this chapter)