Make France Great Again-Chapter 931 - 922: An Improvised Solution

Lucien Murat also fell into contemplation, and after a moment, he began to respond to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Your Majesty, do you mean that the grain prices in the United States of America will impact our domestic market, causing it to decline along with the international market?"

"Lucien, you are correct!" Jerome Bonaparte put down the opinion in his hand and, with a solemn expression, said to Lucien Murat, "In our country, although we have set very high barriers in the field of grain, we cannot compete with their larger production!

What worries me is that even though we’ve established such high barriers, grain from the New Continent will still flood our market at a lower cost than ours!

By then, will our farmers truly be able to defeat that foreign grain?"

"Your Majesty, India is currently at war! The grain production there shouldn’t be in surplus!!" Lucien Murat responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

The uprising in India has led to the country, which originally exported grain, now unable to export to Europe, which is equivalent to artificially creating a grain gap.

"But have you considered! The Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire, these two places are also grain-producing regions!" Jerome Bonaparte frowned and said to Lucien Murat, "The Austrian Empire is now desperately trying to catch up with us and Britain. Their grain industry, tourism, and tobacco industry are the pillars for completing industrialization!

Moreover, in the current Russian Empire, Tsar Alexander is using all his power to crush the Golitsyn Government in the Peterburg Region.

Therefore, Alexander II will do whatever it takes to transport grain out of the Black Sea in exchange for weapons used in the attack!

India’s share can’t possibly satisfy their appetite!"

The thought of facing not only the crisis brought by bountiful grain but also an economic crisis made Jerome Bonaparte feel a headache coming.

More crucially, both crises have the hand of the United States of America in them.

The United States of America is truly a well-deserved "shit stirrer."

Of course, strictly speaking, the economic crisis in the United States of America is also a problem caused by the grain crisis.

"Your Majesty, why don’t we set a maximum and minimum price to keep the price of wheat within a certain range!

If that’s the case, it should work, right?" Lucien Murat suggested.

"How to maintain it!" Jerome Bonaparte asked back, "We can designate a range, but what means can we rely on to maintain this range?"

Lucien Murat then proposed to Jerome Bonaparte the establishment of bread credit.

The so-called bread credit is the government-led establishment of a bank in major cities to stabilize fluctuations in wheat prices.

In times of product scarcity, these banks can supply residents with much cheaper grain than the official market price. In times of abundance, grain prices are slightly higher than the market price. Since there are generally more years of surplus than deficit, compensating for the lowered price is not difficult for the banks.

After Lucien Murat finished his explanation, Jerome Bonaparte’s expression fell into contemplation.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Jerome Bonaparte quickly reacted.

The bread bank Lucien Murat described is essentially the 19th-century Qingmiao law.

This method is indeed theoretically feasible.

If the bread banks can operate as Lucien Murat depicted, then the prices in France could indeed be controlled within a range.

However, this contradicts the essence of banks, as their essence is profit-seeking.

Jerome Bonaparte had heard a "joke" in his previous life, which said that banks most love to lend to those who don’t need money.

As for those who truly need money, banks always ignore them.

Therefore, Jerome Bonaparte is sure that the establishment of bread banks would likely suppress the price of wheat in the market even lower.

The so-called purchasing at above-market prices in deficit years and at above-market prices in abundant years is merely a beautiful wish.

Bread banks will only purchase below market prices in deficit years and even lower than market prices in surplus years.

Or these bread banks could completely become cash machines for bureaucrats to use at will.

After all, how could a bank led by the government not have bureaucrats exploiting it?

Even if Jerome Bonaparte can control the bureaucrats in Paris, can he control the bureaucrats in the Outer Province?

As for the bureaucrat crowd, Jerome Bonaparte has always speculated about them with the utmost malice.

A good policy, if it does not align with the interests of the bureaucrats, will be transformed by these two-faced bureaucrats into a policy that harms the people.

At that time, wouldn’t the farmers’ anger all focus on Jerome Bonaparte!

"No! No!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and said to Lucien Murat, "We can’t use such a hard-line approach to interfere with the market’s rules!

Otherwise, the market will autonomously react!

By then, the situation will be even worse!"

"Your Majesty, what should we do then?" Lucien Murat asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"Let me think!" Jerome Bonaparte muttered softly.

After a while, Jerome Bonaparte suddenly recalled a policy of a certain Iron Chancellor from the past.

"We could appropriately raise the cost of grain entering France. As long as foreign grain cannot massively impact the domestic market, then domestic grain prices can stay within a relatively favorable range!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Lucien Murat.

Back then, Bismarck relied on raising grain tariffs to fend off the impact of Russian Empire grain prices and thereby maintain the interests of the Junker Nobility domestically.

Of course, this method inevitably led to antagonism between the German Empire and the Russian Empire, laying the foundation for France and Russia’s collaboration.

And by doing so, Jerome Bonaparte might similarly cause France’s relationship with major grain-producing Russia to decline, except that now the Russian Empire does not dare to antagonize France.

Besides, Jerome Bonaparte raising tariffs is just a temporary expedient, especially given the simultaneous arrival of the grain crisis and economic crisis in the United States of America.

Once the influence of the economic crisis in the United States of America wanes, Jerome Bonaparte can adjust things back.

"Your Majesty, this indeed is a good idea!" Lucien Murat reluctantly praised.

In his view, Jerome Bonaparte’s policy to raise tariffs was merely curing the symptoms rather than addressing the root causes, as the real solution lies in his bread bank.

However, the Emperor was unwilling to heed his suggestion to establish a bread bank!

Alas! Who made him the Emperor!

Lucien Murat couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, then he raised his head and said to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I’ll take my leave!"

"Go, go!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand at Lucien Murat.

After Lucien Murat left, Jerome Bonaparte reviewed all the documents and reorganized them again.

Subsequently, at Bashirio’s call, Jerome Bonaparte went to the dining room for a meal.

That evening, before Jerome Bonaparte lay down to rest, he informed Empress Augusta of Count Algou’s passing.

Empress Augusta reacted particularly calmly, "I know!"

"Hmm?" Jerome Bonaparte looked at his wife in surprise and asked, "How did you know?"

"Bashirio reported it to me!" Empress Augusta said to Jerome Bonaparte, "He reported it to me right after informing you!

Have you forgotten?"

Jerome Bonaparte paused for a few seconds, then scratched the back of his head and said, "Maybe I didn’t hear it clearly at the time!"

"Why were you looking for Algo?" Augusta curiously inquired.

"Don’t you feel that Fuld and Belilla’s influence in the Bank of France is getting too large?" Jerome Bonaparte said to Empress Augusta, "If this continues, the whole of France will become their one-man show!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Aren’t theirs yours?" Augusta said puzzled to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Theirs isn’t necessarily mine!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and said to Empress Augusta, "Only when our interests align do theirs become mine! When our interests don’t align, they are they, and I am I!"

"What? Is Fuld planning to betray?" Empress Augusta asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"No!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and said to Empress Augusta, "Fuld is still loyal to us now!

However, as his sphere of influence grows larger, his loyalty could no longer be certain!"

Loyalty has never been absolute. Remember Sima Yi from back in the day? He served three dynasties and was a regent councilor, and he was already reaching the end of his life.

You know that during the Gao Pingling Rebellion, Sima Yi was already 70 years old, and at such an age, he was considered long-lived. Plus, Sima Yi, having been in the military for long, probably had some health issues.

At 70, an age ready to depart the world at any moment, everyone believed Sima Yi was the second Zhuge Kongming.

Yet, with only two years left in his life, he resolutely launched the Gao Pingling Rebellion, paving the way for the Sima Family, and made future emperors wary of veteran ministers.

Fuld’s loyalty is likely something that exists only when his influence hasn’t expanded too much.

"So what are you planning to do?" Augusta continued to inquire Jerome Bonaparte.

"Since Count Algou is dead, I can only choose the Rothschild Clan to compete with Fuld!!" Jerome Bonaparte sighed helplessly to Augusta.