industrial lord

Chapter 772 Prepare for a rainy day
After years of construction, the office and administrative district in the southeast of Weisenburg has been basically completed, and the newly built government building of the Duchy of Weisen and the buildings of various departments are located here.

In the government building, Frederick sat in his office, intently reading a document from the observatory.

Not only are temperatures low now, but rainfall is also decreasing.

After reading the documents, Frederick stood up and stood by the window behind him, his face etched with a solemnity beyond his years.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk."

A regular knocking sound rang out.

"Come in."

Frederick's voice was calm, but carried a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

The door was pushed open, and his secretary, Vanessa, strode in with the Minister of Administration, Frick.

Frick's secretary, carrying a stack of documents, looked no better than the sky outside the window.

He bowed slightly and said, "Sir, the latest intelligence you requested has been gathered. The situation is worse than we anticipated."

Frederick turned around, his sharp blue eyes looking at Frick, gesturing for him to sit on the sofa and for Vanessa to make tea, before saying, "Speak."

“The unusually long winter and extreme low temperatures last year caused damage across the entire region.” Flick began to read a report, his speech quickening. “The Kingdom of Gaul, the Kingdom of Piast, the Kingdom of Lisenberg… along with many members of our Rhine Union, have all experienced a conservative estimate of around 20% reduction in winter wheat production this year.”

Frederick frowned, knowing the situation was bad, but he hadn't expected it to be this serious.

Frick, with an air of indifference to life and death and a "fight it or die" attitude, continued reading: "Although wheat production has decreased by 20%, thanks to the promotion of magical fertilizers such as urine essence in the past few years, the basic yield in various places has increased significantly."

"Looking at the final numbers alone, they are far from reaching the famine warning line."

Frederick breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the problem wasn't as serious as he had imagined.

“That’s the problem, sir!” Frick’s voice rose abruptly, filled with anxiety. “Production has increased, but the tenant farmers on most of the land haven’t enjoyed much of the benefits.”

"Landlords and lords had already raised land rents and increased various levies during the harvest season."

"Even with reduced grain production, these fixed taxes haven't been reduced by a single penny!"

"Many farmers work hard all season, but after paying their taxes, they don't even have enough food left to last until next summer's harvest!"

He took a deep breath, his tone becoming extremely serious, and continued, "Therefore, the Council of Ministers judges that we are most likely facing not a traditional, widespread famine caused by absolute shortages, but a structural famine!"

"There will be plenty of food, but it will be hoarded in the granaries of large landowners and grain merchants, and the price will be driven sky-high!"

"Farmers who lose their grain reserves and have no money to buy more will be the first victims."

A brief silence fell over the office, broken only by the whirring air conditioner in the corner.

Frick was second only to Psyche in age within the Duchy of Wessen's government. He was knowledgeable and experienced, and his judgments based on the current situation and his experience were highly persuasive.

Frederick leaned back on the sofa, holding a teacup, his gaze fixed on the world map drawn by Psyche on the wall, remaining silent for a long time.

Structural famine means that hunger is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one, a complete failure of the distribution mechanism.

He could almost see the desolate fields and the empty villages, and the countless desperate farmers with their families, surging like a tide into the already burdened towns.

Frick's voice broke the silence again, painting an even more terrifying picture: "It is almost foreseeable that large numbers of bankrupt farmers will be forced into exile, becoming rootless duckweed, and flooding into the cities."

"If cities cannot provide enough jobs, the influx of migrants will inevitably lead to a deterioration of public security."

"Handicraft guilds are closing down one after another due to rising raw material costs, transportation disruptions, and shrinking market demand, and the unemployment rate will rise sharply."

"At this time, bandits and beggars walk together, and hunger and despair dance together." "And those noble lords who control the grain..." He paused, his voice filled with contempt, "They will never let go of this opportunity to make a fortune from the disaster. They will only hoard grain even more frantically, further driving up grain prices until they are completely drained of their last drop of blood."

Whether all of this will happen depends on whether this winter will be as early and cold as last year.

"If winter continues, we will face the same predicament we faced fifteen years ago."

Frederick did not fly into a rage, nor did he curse or smash the cup.

Because he knew that doing these things would be futile and would only be a waste of effort.

Fifteen years ago, he absorbed a large number of disaster victims, which laid the foundation for the current Duchy of Weisen.

But now, the situation is somewhat different. The scope is too wide and the number of people is too large for the Duchy of Wesen to handle.

As for bringing in grain to suppress grain prices, don't even think about it.

Most importantly, local lords set up checkpoints and levied tariffs of several hundred percent, sometimes even forcing sales to the lords themselves, rendering all efforts futile.

“Our vision cannot be limited to the Duchy of Wesen,” Frederick said thoughtfully, “or even to the Rhine Alliance; we must look to a much wider area.”

Frick immediately became serious, keenly realizing that the Grand Duke of Wessen's supreme directive represented a major shift in the Duchy of Wessen's foreign policy direction.

“Make a note of this,” Frederick said. “Make it a top priority and include it in the core agenda of the next Supreme Ministerial Conference.”

“Yes, sir!” Frick immediately straightened his back.

Frederick stood up and began pacing back and forth on the thick carpet, saying:
"First, increase grain procurement. Whether it's within the Rhine Alliance or abroad, buy as much as you can."

He paused for a moment, then continued:
"Second, if a famine occurs, be prepared to provide work relief."

"Send someone to Cologne to communicate with Count Rank. This work-for-relief program covers the entire Rhine Union and the area east of the Elbe River, and includes the construction of transportation and water conservancy facilities."

"I will advance the funds, and the lords and landowners in various places will only need to repay the low-interest loan over many years. If paper money is used, interest will be waived. You can figure out the reasons yourself."

"My request is simple: the court shall establish a committee, which His Majesty the King authorizes me to manage, to handle matters such as coordinating transportation and water conservancy planning, as well as construction and implementation."

"Third, we need to build a financial system with our own core."

"This is a crisis, but also an opportunity."

"Our banknotes currently have a higher credit rating than the inferior gold and silver coins around them, and have been extremely popular for the past few months."

"This work-for-relief program should be used as an opportunity to promote the use of paper currency."

After he finished speaking, he looked intently at Flick and said seriously, "We have a year left, which is both a long and a short time."

“All departments need to cooperate; for example, the Ministry of Agriculture’s plan can be integrated into it.”

"In short, we must be cautious and do everything we can to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Understood!" Frick bowed deeply, his face regaining its radiance.

He had great confidence in Frederick and believed that they would overcome this difficulty again.

At the same time, it is clear that this is an unprecedented political operation.

Flick is about to retire, and if he can get this done before he retires, it will be a good ending.

(End of this chapter)