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24-February-1921
''Hum…'' I murmured while looking at a rain gauge installed on one of the greenhouse farms spread throughout the region, which had become our main producers of vegetables during the winter.
''Is there a problem, mein Herzog?'' asked one of the farm foremen. He looked quite nervous while rubbing his hands together and beginning to look at the gauge with me.
''Fourteen millimeters of water during the last period. Has this not raised any suspicion for you?'' I asked while looking at the record, noticing that February's precipitation was extremely low.
''It is February, mein Herzog. Clearly, a good part of the precipitation we would receive would fall as snow, so it is understandable that it does not rain too much'' the foreman replied, trying to calm me.
But it was enough to look down at our feet to see that the snow did not even reach the same level as the previous year.
''That would be a good theory, but look at the snow under your feet. Clearly, there is less than there should be. Besides, the average precipitation for February is around forty millimeters, something relatively normal for this region. Now we are far below that'' I said while looking around, noticing that obvious lack of water.
''But that would matter much more when spring arrives, mein Herzog. Then we will indeed have to store water to irrigate the crops. For now, it does not affect the greenhouses too much either, because we obtain water from the rivers or underground aquifers, which should fill with the rains of the coming months'' the foreman explained while remaining at my side and continuing to write down everything we observed.
''Begin conserving water. We will try not to use the reserves we already have accumulated in Riga's reservoirs and will channel everything possible so we have enough water in case this ends up turning into a drought'' I ordered while beginning to think about all the measures necessary to avoid an agricultural crisis or even a famine.
I remained deep in thought while watching the foreman begin to obey and prepare the activation of the water reservoirs we had built to maintain fresh reserves in numerous irrigation basins.
Although in the Baltic our problem was normally precisely the excess water caused by the thawing of the snow, it never hurt to have reserves.
Our greenhouses cultivated products that needed a constant water supply, something that, at certain times of the year, the river itself could not always guarantee. Since its flow changed considerably with the seasons, there were moments when certain farms simply could not obtain enough water except through wells.
That was why some projects had focused on building reservoirs connected to the Daugava River, securing water throughout the year for those intensive agricultural zones that had to produce food constantly.
At least the Baltic was fairly well prepared for a possible drought.
We would have to take advantage of that as soon as possible and conserve every last drop of water we might need to avoid an agricultural disaster. Because, if my suspicions began to come true, we could face an enormous food crisis.
The true dilemma lay in White Ruthenia and Ukraine.
Although there were some regions where we had built small irrigation reservoirs, mainly in areas where gathering water was difficult, neither Ukraine nor Ruthenia had received infrastructure campaigns similar to those of the Baltic Duchy.
Ukraine had bet much more on large-scale traditional agriculture, mainly wheat and barley.
Its enormous plains were worked by ever-growing numbers of tractors that were now under the control of the Ukrainian State. Mechanization did not stop advancing, trying to reduce production costs more and more and ensure that the price of bread continued falling within Ukraine.
At the same time, we intended to export as much as possible to other States, since a good part of our neighbors lacked true food self-sufficiency.
''You really are taking all of this far too seriously over a few bad rains'' Manfred commented while standing beside me, waiting for one of our most recent prototypes to begin its flight.
''Because it is serious, Manfred. Very serious. Imagine if a food collapse occurred precisely now, when Germany is full of fanatics and radicals demanding severe changes. Add a widespread food shortage to that, and we would be talking about a crisis far worse than any we have faced until now''.
I kept my eyes on the runway, where one of our aircraft was being prepared for a rather particular mission.
''Besides, all the latest rainfall studies confirm that precipitation has fallen alarmingly. The real problem will become evident when spring arrives, the snow melts and we discover that the rivers have lost volume. After that, if the rain continues to be lacking, we could have a systematic failure of agriculture'' I explained.
Manfred stopped looking at the runway for a few seconds.
''And what are we doing to prepare?'' he asked, now somewhat more concerned by the possibility that something like that might truly happen.
''In Ruthenia, we are already carrying out studies of the aquifers, searching for underground water reserves and preparing ourselves for a possible shortage. It is too late to build new large reservoirs. At the time, they would have seemed like an unnecessary expense whose true value would only appear when precisely something like this happened''.
I walked through the area while watching the many workers move about.
''For now, we only have large reserves in the Baltic and some facilities in Ukraine. So we will have to depend on underground water extraction to maintain intensive agriculture. I only hope we do not have two consecutive years of scarce rainfall, because we need the situation to return to normal as soon as possible. If we abuse those underground reserves too much, we could end up exhausting them'' I said while watching the aircraft slowly leave the hangar, followed by several engineers.
Then I noticed that the Red Baron was looking with some displeasure at that latest creation of German engineering.
''Was it truly necessary to do this? We are using some of the most advanced technologies we have ever developed to… manufacture an aircraft that drops shit from the air'' Manfred said while looking at me with slightly narrowed eyes as he watched the machine being loaded with fertilizer for flights meant to cover large areas of land. ''They are chivalric machines, Karl. Not… some kind of flying livestock.''
''It is completely necessary. We have to obtain the maximum possible economic return from our investments. Maintaining an aeronautical industry dedicated exclusively to building military aircraft is not sustainable in the long term''.
I smiled while watching the pilot begin to climb into the cockpit.
''Now we have increasingly better engines that allow us to carry more weight and travel greater distances thanks to being able to carry more fuel. We have to take advantage of those advances to continue mechanizing agriculture. I want the same work to be done with fewer and fewer people, so we can concentrate that labor force in the factories, where it is also much easier to collect taxes on production.''
The engine began to start.
''And, at the same time, if we manage to considerably increase agricultural yield, we will have more surplus to sell and fill the State's coffers. So yes, Manfred: some of your wonderful knights of the air will have to get used to dropping fertilizer, because a single one of these aircraft can replace the work of thousands of people, reducing the cost of agricultural wages in exchange for fuel and repairs. Besides, we will not have to keep feeding animals to transport shit to such distant places either. It will only have to be taken to the facilities where the fertilizer is prepared and liquefied'' I said while watching the aircraft take off and soon soar through the skies.
''Yes, I understand all of that… I understand that a good part of these enormous investments that allow our equipment to improve come mainly from your desire to continue modernizing the Duchy's agriculture. But it is still somewhat annoying that part of those funds ends up being diverted toward civilian research, when our secret advances were supposed to be handed over later to trusted civilian companies so they could use the technology. That is when those investments should be made, not by using the research and development resources you gave to many of those researchers and engineers you brought in'' Manfred said while grimacing and watching the aircraft fly.
It did not take long before it began spreading fertilizer over a snow-covered field.
''Well, we can always use this for other things… I mean, technically it would be possible to place mustard gas or sarin gas in the containers and have a pilot make low passes while releasing the gas over enemy positions'' I commented, shrugging.
Manfred's eyes opened completely when he heard my proposal.
''Never. That shit should never be used. Using gas during the war was one of the stupidest things that could have been done. I would rather die than allow any of my aircraft to carry something like that'' Manfred replied, visibly annoyed by the idea.
''It is good to hear that. What kind of soldier would I be if I recommended using gas when I was terrified to the bone every time there was a chance of breathing that shit on the battlefield? During all my time at the front, I can count on one hand the number of times I had to use the mask, but I must admit that I was always terrified of thinking it might fail and I would end up inhaling that thing'' I replied, smiling while showing my teeth and observing the positive results of our spraying, fertilizing and seeding aircraft.
''Yes, that thing was horrible. Besides, I heard it left enormous stretches of land contaminated, to the point that some regions of the French countryside cannot even be used for living or farming. What would happen if something like that were used over our own home?'' Manfred asked while shaking his head and closing his eyes for a few seconds.
''True. But leaving that aside, we still do not have real civilian companies dedicated to manufacturing aircraft. For a company to decide to build them, there must be people who actually need them. Besides, since a good part of our aeronautical technology is still cutting-edge Duchy technology, we cannot simply sell it, so the market is incredibly limited''.
I looked back toward the aircraft.
''No one is going to make those investments on their own while the market remains so small. We have to continue developing better engines until the one currently used by that machine, and which now concentrates a good part of our joint research, ends up becoming obsolete. Then we will be able to hand that old design over to some civilian company so it can begin manufacturing it. For the moment, that is practically the only option we have'' I said while watching the aircraft begin to turn back toward the airfield.
Manfred took his binoculars and began observing the field.
''Well, yes… it is quite effective, truthfully. The whole ground is stained with the color of the fertilizer, so we can say this has been a success… I suppose. Although now it leaves a bad taste in my mouth thinking that a machine like that could also be used for chemical warfare'' Manfred said while slowly moving his head from right to left, examining the field.
''Relax. As long as I remain in power, we will not use that kind of warfare. Besides, we are aiming for something much more traditional: dropping bombs''.
I raised my gaze slightly toward the sky.
''I have one of those gifted engineers working on a theoretical prototype of an enormous aircraft capable of carrying tons of bombs. Although, of course, for the moment everything is purely theoretical. They are only studying how an aircraft capable of carrying such weight should be designed and what kind of engines we would need to make a monster like that even manage to take off from the runway'' I said while patting him on the back.
I almost made the binoculars slip from his hands while he continued observing the results.
''Well, that would be interesting to see, although I do not know how… Transport? Something like that to make money, as you say everything has to make some economic sense'' Manfred said while remaining thoughtful.
''Transport of materials, mainly. You can attach parachutes to supplies and drop them from the air or… transport passengers. We may even have to train our own special parachute force, although first we need to obtain a parachute that works almost all the time'' I replied while beginning to walk toward the airfield to congratulate the engineers.
After all, the success of that test, we finally had a new engine that had managed to set a power record.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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