I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 106: The Flour Riots

Joseph didn't even need to look to know that the reports below were all written by renowned scholars from the French Academy of Sciences. These scholars, lacking Lamarck's academic integrity, had quickly churned out reports on the "severe drought" for a fee of seven or eight hundred livres each, taking only half a day to complete them.

Brienne patiently waited for Joseph to finish skimming through the first two reports before expressing his concern, "Your Highness, the remaining reports come to similar conclusions. If such a situation truly occurs, there will undoubtedly be significant unrest..."

Joseph was pleased. He had intended for these reports to pressure Brienne into considering the famine problem, and now Brienne had brought it up himself.

In fact, after the recent tax law incident, Brienne had developed a habit of consulting the Crown Prince when faced with major issues.

"Just like what happened in Normandy a few years ago, or even earlier in Burgundy and Reims," Brienne said, looking at Joseph. "I was just about to report this to the Queen so we can prepare in advance..."

Joseph thought he was about to suggest stockpiling disaster relief grain and was ready to agree, but then he heard Brienne say, "Prepare the army to deal with potential riots."

Joseph nearly choked on his words. After all that talk, was his plan just to suppress the unrest with force?

Brienne, however, had no other choice. For more than a decade, natural disasters had frequently plagued France, leading to poor harvests and multiple "flour riots."

From Reims to Burgundy, Normandy, and even the areas around Paris, hungry people stormed bakeries or the homes of wealthy nobles, seizing flour and bread, leaving behind only what they deemed a fair price.

This behavior even had a specific term: "People's Tax."

The most recent flour riot occurred in Normandy two years ago. The French government had to deploy over 20,000 soldiers and arrest more than 500 people just to barely quell the unrest.

Currently, the French government was strapped for cash and couldn't afford any disaster relief funds. Seeing signs of famine, Brienne felt that preparing the army for suppression was the only viable option.

Joseph set the reports aside and said, "Archbishop Brienne, I've already reviewed these reports through other channels. The reason I'm here today is to discuss this matter with you."

"Oh? And what are your thoughts, Your Highness?"

"We should find a way to provide food to the people and prevent riots from occurring. You know that whether it's a riot or a military suppression, both would cause serious damage to the affected regions."

Brienne, his face lined with worry, said, "You're right, Your Highness, but given our financial situation..."

Joseph quickly got to the point:

"If we promote potato cultivation nationwide, we can significantly mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

"On the same amount of land, potatoes can yield four to six times more than wheat.

"Prussia and Austria have faced similar natural disasters in recent years, but they've experienced far fewer famines than we have, even though their agricultural productivity is far lower than France's."

At this time, Prussia and Austria still operated under a feudal system with low agricultural productivity.

"Their ability to survive crises relies entirely on large-scale potato cultivation. Without this high-yield crop, the Austro-Prussian War a decade ago might not have lasted even two months."

He was referring to the War of the Bavarian Succession. Both Prussia and Austria, lacking proper supplies, survived by digging up and eating potatoes, managing to sustain a year-long conflict. This war was thus nicknamed the "Potato War."

In fact, across Europe, only in France and Italy—especially in Catholic regions—were potatoes still strongly rejected. In most other places, potatoes had long become a staple food.

Joseph patted the reports on the table, "If we also cultivate potatoes on a large scale, even if disasters cause crop failures, the harvest would still far exceed that of grains. The government would only need a small amount of money for disaster relief to get through the crisis."

Brienne still looked troubled, "Your Highness, I'm aware of the potential benefits of this crop, and your plan is worth trying.

"But promoting potatoes on such a large scale would require a significant amount of money. Additionally, the farmers are highly resistant to potatoes..."

Joseph knew Brienne was right. Farmers typically purchased their seeds for the next season in advance. Suddenly asking them to switch to potatoes wouldn't be welcomed, and they likely wouldn't have the money to buy seed potatoes.

After some thought, Joseph suggested, "I'll find a way to overcome the resistance to eating potatoes, but we'll need the Church's help to promote it.

"As for the money to buy the potatoes, you can allocate some funds from the treasury, and I'll cover the rest.

"You'll need to send people to the northeastern provinces to purchase large quantities of potatoes and distribute them to other regions. We can give them to the farmers for free to plant, and after the harvest, they only need to repay two-thirds of what they received.

"If no one is willing to plant them, the potatoes can be stored as disaster relief food."

Brienne did some quick calculations and frowned, "Your Highness, to achieve sufficient planting scale, we'll need at least 5 million livres, and the government can only provide 1 million at most."

Joseph nodded, "Alright, within two weeks, I'll arrange a 4 million livre loan to the government through the Royal Treasury Bank."

Although he didn't have much cash on hand, he could mortgage shares in his paper mill to Mirabeau and others to borrow some money, then sell some Paris Angel shares to raise around 4 million livres.

And in a few months, Paris Fashion Week would generate a substantial profit.

The two then discussed the details of the potato promotion plan, and Brienne began gathering his staff to draft a detailed plan.

While the idea was simple, it involved the entire food production system of France, with countless intricate details that couldn't be implemented casually.

For example, how many potatoes to send to each region? If some areas are willing to plant them or run out of potatoes, how should they be redistributed? After transporting the potatoes from the northeastern provinces, how would they replenish their food supply by purchasing potatoes from Prussia or Austria? How should the Church accompany the potato shipments to persuade farmers to change their views on potatoes?

All these details needed careful planning.

Seeing that there wasn't much more he could contribute, Joseph prepared to take his leave.

Brienne escorted him to the gates of Versailles, still concerned, "Your Highness, do you really think you can get the farmers to eat potatoes?"

Joseph sighed and nodded, "Don't worry. As long as we keep promoting it, if two or three out of ten people accept potatoes, it will go a long way in alleviating famine."

In fact, he had already instructed Denico yesterday to start printing pamphlets educating people about potatoes, and he had more promotional strategies planned, which would be implemented soon.

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