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6-29-December-1915
''Well… I am surprised'' I said, watching as a dozen ships arrived at the port of Odessa, flying the Romanian flag and docking slowly.
''This is wrong… there were supposed to be more ships, something must have happened'' said the papal envoy who had accompanied me to Odessa to receive the shipment.
Supposedly, a convoy of 20 Italian ships, 12 Spanish, and 7 Portuguese had been bringing a large amount of supplies to support the food crisis. They were meant to dock at a Romanian port, be unloaded, and then transferred onto Romanian ships before reaching Odessa.
But it seemed many had been intercepted, just as I had expected.
''It was to be expected… I am actually surprised that several ships managed to get through anyway, because with a third of the convoy we already have around 12 Romanian ships arriving loaded with food'' I said, clearly surprised, since I had not been sure anything would make it through. My pessimistic expectations had been exceeded several times.
''But… His Holiness had explained to the Entente delegates that these shipments had no military support, only to help with the crisis… nothing more than that… we had no intention of supporting the war'' said the envoy, removing his cap and revealing his tonsure, visibly worried.
''It is food… any food we do not have to provide ourselves is food that can be used for the war, just like clothing and medicine, and especially money… so it is completely expected. But even so I am surprised… truly… I thought we would only see a messenger arriving to tell us everything had gone wrong'' I said, nodding.
The papal delegate looked at me with some confusion, but I maintained a faint smile. If this compensated for what had been spent, I would be more than satisfied, because overall we had lost two weeks of supplies with the regent's display of charity, which had undoubtedly calmed the population. Since that moment, fights had decreased considerably, and we had to intervene less in potential pogroms targeting Jews again, with people believing they had something hidden in their homes.
For now, those homes were just as empty as the others, so they were simply disturbances that had to be managed, but they had decreased significantly. If the granaries were refilled using papal funds and the arriving food, I would be satisfied, now that things had calmed somewhat.
Finally, the ships docked, and the papal delegate wasted no time. He quickly went to speak with someone from the ships who was dressed in Catholic priest garments.
''So… what happened… why did not all the ships arrive'' the delegate asked, concerned, looking at his counterpart, who seemed defeated.
''They forced all the Spanish ships to stop at another port, diverting them toward Italy while they were passing near the Dardanelles. And the same happened with some Italian ships. We do not know exactly why. But the Portuguese ships had no trouble with the British blockade fleet. They passed without issues, along with some other Italian ships. So this is everything that managed to get through the blockade'' said the other priest, removing his hat and lowering his head.
''Well… there is the solution for now. The Portuguese ships will have to make more trips and carry more. They are allied with the British and although they are neutral for the moment, that can be exploited'' I said with a faint smile, stretching my neck as I watched the sailors moving cargo inside the ships.
''A large shipment was lost… we must inform the ships coming from Argentina and Brazil so that the same thing does not happen'' said the papal delegate, looking at his counterpart.
''Yes… we must inform them immediately or we risk the same outcome'' said the other priest, putting his cap back on.
''I will go send a telegram… he is a Major and head of the Ukrainian security forces. He is in charge of maintaining food rationing in the country, so everything must go through him'' said the papal delegate who had introduced me, quickly heading toward the telegraph office to send a message explaining the safe route to Romania.
''Ah… eh… Major… Monsignor Emilio da Abruzzo…'' said the prelate with a slight smile.
''Karl von Posen… tell me what we have… wheat… barley… potatoes'' I said, clasping my hands while watching the sailors begin unloading large sacks with cranes.
''Mainly rice… the Portuguese ships are loaded with fabrics, clothing, medicine… and rye. But the ones carrying more food were the Spanish and Italian ships that were stopped'' said the monsignor, shaking his head. His face showed disappointment as he frowned and looked to the sky.
''Well… it is not as if I did not expect it… the King of Ukraine is far more optimistic, I am more realistic. I expected no ship to pass, but I was wrong. Still, I will not waste this opportunity to see what they brought, because it must still be several tons of food… some hundreds… though I doubt thousands'' I said while pulling a knife from my belt and observing the sacks being lowered.
I drove the knife into one of the sacks and opened it with a clean motion, looking at its contents. I was surprised to see unhusked rice. I filled my hand with it and turned to the monsignor, showing him my palm full of unprocessed rice.
''Ah… well… it is much safer to transport it like that, less risk of spoilage due to humidity… those who contributed did so with what they had available and we cannot be demanding with donations from the faithful'' said Emilio, smiling nervously as he approached and pointed at the rice.
''Oh no, I am not complaining, this is perfect for planting. There are several areas with the correct geographic, climatic, and river conditions for rice cultivation. So instead of eating it, it may be planted and help diversify crops. Until now we were planning to plant wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, and corn, so this adds something more to the diet. And considering everything comes like this, we have enough for a plantation'' I said, returning the paddy rice to the sack, quite satisfied to have rice within reach.
''But this food is for the starving, to try… to solve the hunger'' said Emilio, clearly concerned, clasping his hands and standing beside me while keeping his gaze fixed on mine.
''It is better to plant it. The King will buy more food with the money he received, so I assume one or two more months of food will arrive. With that we can last until March. With a good shipment we could reach April and begin gathering from the nearby forests. I can also replace part of my wheat and rye reserves with rice, so we could stretch the food a bit further, maybe until June. From there we depend on the Empire sending budget, since the fiscal year begins in April, and that is when all collected funds are distributed'' I said, placing my hands on my hips while watching the work continue.
The sailors were unloading cargo of fabrics and clothing, as well as more food, which my men quickly began transporting to the train station on horse-drawn carts to secure it in case of a starving mob.
I was quite satisfied with everything. It might not have been in the regent's plans, but it was ideal, as there was now much more variety and we were no longer dependent on a single source.
The papal envoy and Emilio remained in the area, as they would manage the next shipments. They did not want the same thing to happen again, so they were trying to coordinate with the remaining convoys and redirect them to Portuguese ships, although it remained to be seen how that would turn out.
All of this was a great opportunity. Now everything had to be prepared.
With the steady increase in food production from my greenhouses, I began expanding the work system in the area, preparing a few greenhouses, or rather laying the foundations to germinate rice seeds in large quantities so they would be ready when planting time came, along with preparing the land itself.
So, while everything remained calm after a failed Russian offensive and the winter should prevent further advances, we began massive preparations in Odessa and Kherson for planting.
In the Odessa and Kherson regions, wheat was normally planted to make the white bread people preferred, but there were also lands used for livestock, livestock the Russians had evacuated, leaving nothing behind. This meant those lands were now empty, especially since some areas already had furrows prepared for wheat cultivation, while others remained untouched, particularly lands that had belonged to Russian nobles who had disappeared.
Where I planned to establish rice cultivation was in the Danube Delta, lands that were not fully occupied. On the contrary, they were relatively empty because the area was a marsh due to the rivers and rainfall, making it ideal for rice.
So, bringing food from my greenhouses, I launched another work program, though this one was far more ambitious. In my greenhouses, I already had several tens of thousands working for me in construction and plant care, but this would be on a much larger scale.
Taking advantage of the fact that the ground had not yet frozen, we were still in that period when the soil remained soft before the cold hardened everything. We began the work, and since much of the Danube Delta belonged to the Kingdom of Ukraine, I initiated a general mobilization of workers.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and thousands of Germans living in their own colonies in the region joined, which made it much easier to organize, since many spoke the same language and reduced the need for translators.
With tools taken from the warehouses, we began draining the marshes, digging channels from the largest swamps toward the Danube River.
At the same time, we began gathering materials such as cement, wood, and iron to construct gates for irrigation systems.
But the first phase of the entire project was draining the marshes, where each of the main swamps in the region began to be drained by redirecting excess water toward the Danube.
This would take much longer, so while we still had time, the people worked continuously. I distributed the donated clothing, heavy wool garments that provided insulation against the falling temperatures.
As the days passed, I watched the water levels in the marshes drop, and trees were cut down, while teams of horses were used to pull out roots, leaving behind land that was usable, though soaked and covered in mud.
Whenever possible, work continued in multiple areas, preparing the soil to create a base for planting rice and digging the channels needed to bring water from the Danube when required, simply by opening a gate.
Given the season, it was not ideal to work with cement, but leaving the channels dug so that, when spring arrived, we could begin pouring cement into the irrigation canals would save valuable time.
So all the work focused on draining, leveling, digging channels, and preparing the irrigation system that would support everything.
That became my routine, mobilizing a workforce of 50,000 workers, along with 1,200 soldiers dedicated to cooking for them every day while they continued their labor.
That was my December routine, moving between my greenhouses, checking the monthly harvests, distributing them, ensuring everything reached my workers, while also supervising this agricultural project, and without forgetting that I still had to oversee the construction of German colonies in the areas designated by the King of Ukraine to settle colonists.
So I had an enormous workload, managing soldiers, workers under my command, and prisoners of war, overseeing the labor of nearly 250,000 people, a massive number only made possible by having a group of educated officers capable of handling these responsibilities professionally, along with the support of Austro-Hungarian administrators who helped me manage the administrative chaos.
I did not even want to imagine the chaos when the time came to coordinate millions during the harvest, but this was good preparation for that day.
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