As for staple grains, after France acquired Algiers, that enormous grain-producing region, it had no more worries on that front—
Algiers's current wheat output, after retaining enough for its own rations, was sufficient to feed one-fifth of the French population.
Moreover, since last year, the Ministry of Agriculture had begun promoting potato cultivation in Tunisia and Tripoli. Those regions had suitable climates and abundant water resources, and people were often too lazy to grow wheat on much of the relatively infertile land there.
The Ministry of Agriculture encouraged people to plant potatoes on such "rotten land," offering subsidies of 3 to 5 Francs per mu. After that, there was no need to tend them at all; once they ripened, one simply went and harvested them. Even planted this way, their yield reached nearly 40 percent of that of an equal area of Farmland in Europe.
It could be said that France now had not only enough food for itself, but could even shoulder the food supply for all the troops in Spain and Northern Italy.
Thus, after the Crown Prince finished giving instructions regarding the Canned Food Factory, the Minister of Agriculture had nothing further to discuss.
What surprised everyone next was that the Crown Prince skipped over every Cabinet minister and turned to look at the editor-in-chief of the Paris Business Daily, who sat by the eastern window.
"Mr. Denico, starting today, we will begin stricter news controls," Joseph said. "The direction of our propaganda shall be this—first, we must fiercely denounce the shameless invasion of our country by the Anti-French Coalition led by England, Prussia, and Austria. Especially the English: they have always aimed to destroy France. We must rise up and resist if we are to survive."
Well, if the English heard that, they would probably cry