The Rise of Australia

"What a vast plain!" George V couldn't help but sigh while visiting the Murray River Basin with Arthur.

Although there were many plains under British rule, there were also plains that were more suitable for development than the Murray River Basin.

But the problem is that the Murray River Basin Plains in Australasia are in their own homeland, while the plains that are better developed by the British are in India and other colonies. The first thing they have to face is the threat of rebellion in the colonies.

Although the British Empire controlled a large number of colonies, George V, as the country's ruler, knew that only when the local strength became stronger, the country would become more stable.

Although Britain's current strength seems to be strong, a considerable part of the credit is contributed by the colonies.

Once Britain loses most of its colonies, the strength it can retain may not be comparable to that of France and the United States.

It is precisely because of this that George V became so envious of Australasia's vast trade territory and large amounts of developable land.

Among other things, if Britain's territory were to double in size, other countries would have no hope of competing for hegemony.

If it had such a huge continent like India and Australasia, Britain would directly become the world's number one in terms of faults, and it would not be difficult to surpass the United States economically and industrially.

But unfortunately, such an idea can only be thought about after all. No matter how large the land owned by the colonies was, to put it bluntly, it had little to do with the British mainland.

The United States, once a paradise for immigrants, and now Australasia, a paradise for immigrants, were once colonies of the British.

It is not that the British have not developed the United States and Australasia, but the problem is that even if they develop the British, they may not be able to hold on to them.

Just like the United States, after the colonies formed their own climate, it became natural to seek a higher independent status, and even direct independence.

This is also the reason why many European countries are unwilling to focus on developing colonies. Even if the potential of the colony is greater than that of the mainland, it is not the mainland after all.

Portugal once controlled Brazil, and the Netherlands once controlled the Dutch East Indies. Aren't they now also third-rate weak countries in Europe?

Of all the great powers in the world, which one did not rely on the strength of its homeland to rise? Even if they get rid of their colonies, these powerful countries still have the strength to crush second- and third-rate small and medium-sized countries.

"How can such land be as good as the land in the British Empire?" Arthur said with a smile: "It will take more than ten years to develop the land alone, and there must be enough manpower to cultivate it.

With the population of Australasia, I am afraid that there will not be much development progress in the Murray River Basin within 20 years. "

Hearing what Arthur said, George V nodded involuntarily.

To be honest, Australasia does have advantages of one kind or another, and it is destined to be a strong competitor for world hegemony in the long run.

But the problem is that in the current view of George V, Australasia, with a population of only more than 20 million, is destined not to be a rival to the British, and will not pose a threat to the British hegemony at all.

For Australasia to have a real threat, the population must grow to at least 40 million people.

Judging from the current population growth rate in Australasia, this will already be more than ten years later. By then, Britain will have become more powerful, and naturally there will be no need to worry about the threat from Australasia.

Compared with Australasia, the United States, which has a larger population, more developed industries, and a more prosperous economy, is Britain's number one competitor.

France, the so-called European hegemon, is also worthy of the British's fear. Confronting France and the United States is the main purpose of the British. Australasia will only be a reliable ally in a short period of time, and is far from becoming an enemy.

More importantly, Arthur's current attitude towards stable development is what reassures George V the most.

An Australasia that develops with peace of mind is definitely a rare close ally to the British. There is no need to worry that Australasia will create some unstable factors in the world situation.

The reason why I believe that Arthur and Australasia will develop stably is because of Australasia's vast territory and the two large islands of Sumatra and Java that were just acquired.

Even the British are very excited about Sumatra and Java, but the British are destined to be unable to obtain these two islands.

There was no way. The regulations for the Dutch East Indies at that time were that no great powers were allowed to covet it.

The Australasian operation received joint support from Britain and France, and a large number of interest exchanges were conducted for this purpose, including support for the British operation in Central America and so on.

If the British dared to covet these two islands, I am afraid that the French would have already begun to support the Dutch, which would make the British unhappy.

This is also the gap between British and Australasian diplomatic actions. As two countries, Britain's actions will face obstruction from many countries, but Australasia's actions will basically not. After all, Australasia has no formal competitors. The United States can only count as half, but it is excluded. Outside the World Alliance.

The British have many competitors. Before, their European competitors were Germany, but now they are France.

The competitor in the Atlantic and Pacific is the United States, and other regions and other powers also have certain disputes of interests.

Even just relying on the British's status as world hegemon, many countries want to trick the British and restrict the development of the British Empire.

There is nothing that can be done about this. The British Empire is already very strong now. If the British Empire becomes even more powerful, it will really be unstoppable.

There is no need to even think about it. If the British push too hard, the Franco-Russian alliance will still become a force against the Anglo-Australian alliance, and even Austria-Hungary will join in.

After accompanying George V to visit St. Arthur's Castle, Arthur met the current Grand Duke of Finland, Dmitry, at the New Palace.

Although they haven't seen each other for more than a year, Dmitri's own temperament has changed to a considerable extent compared to more than a year ago.

After all, when you become the monarch of a country, your temperament will become more majestic under the influence of a long period of time, giving people a feeling of being hidden.

Fortunately, Dmitri's attitude towards Arthur was relatively respectful, and he did not become arrogant at all just because he became the Grand Duke of Finland. After all, he also knew how he came to be the Grand Duke and how to keep it.

"Dmitri, how is the current situation in Finland?" Arthur asked with a smile, looking at Dmitri who had a completely different temperament in front of him.

"Not bad, Your Majesty. At present, the Grand Duke's escort team has been formed, and I have also taken back part of the financial power.

Although he still cannot control the entire government, it is still easy to influence the government. Your Majesty, thank you for your support. Finland will surely be a permanent ally of Australasia. "Dmitri nodded and said with a slight smile.

With the weapons, equipment and financial support provided by Arthur, it is only a matter of time before he takes control of the Finnish government's voice.

Because this small country cannot fight against the great powers at all, the Finnish government also understands this and respects the new Grand Duke.

The first thing Dmitry did when he took office as the Grand Duke of Finland was to complete the Grand Duke's Guard and have his first military force.

This Archduke's Guard is completely organized according to the Australasian Guards, and even the number of weapons and equipment and heavy firepower weapons is not much different.

Although the total number of the Grand Duke's Guards is only a little over 1,000 people, in Finland, which has a population of only a few million people, this armed force is completely sufficient to protect itself.

Looking at the confident Dmitry in front of him, Arthur still reminded: "The world economy is basically in a prosperous state at present, but this prosperity is a bit abnormal compared to before.

Dmitry, try to weaken economic ties with countries like Britain, France and Germany. Finland simply cannot bear the impact of the economic crisis.

Keep some money in reserve for emergencies in case an economic crisis breaks out. "

"Economic crisis? What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Dmitri was stunned and asked quickly.

"It's just the speculation of some economists in Australasia, but it's still good to prepare in advance." Arthur waved his hand and explained.

Finland is useful to Australasia, and Arthur does not want Dmitri, who has worked hard to become the Grand Duke of Finland, to lose his title due to the economic crisis.

Even if this is not the case, if there is no preparation, the economic crisis will cause considerable damage to Finland.

In particular, Finland currently does not have a complete industry, and not far from Finland is Germany, which exports a large number of cheap industrial products.

If Finland cultivates an economic market that is too dependent on German industrial products, Finland will also become a victim when the future economic crisis breaks out, and its economy and other construction will suffer huge losses.

"I understand, Your Majesty." Dmitri nodded, showing his importance.

The topic of economic crisis is not new to countries around the world, and it has happened several times in history.

There are many reasons for the economic crisis. No matter what, preventing economic crises is indeed a good thing.

"Your Majesty, I came here with the request of the government." Dmitri said with a smile.

"Request?" Arthur looked at Dmitri with doubtful eyes.

"The government asked me to purchase a batch of warships from you to strengthen Finland's navy. Our budget is about 4 million Australian dollars and we want to build one battleship, ten small and medium-sized warships and ten submarines." Dmitri explained .

As a country on the Baltic Sea, Finland also has a navy. However, it was once a member of Tsarist Russia, and all of Tsarist Russia's funds were used to build its own Baltic Fleet, although it was impossible to help Finland build a large-scale navy.

This also leads to the fact that Finland's fleet is more of a patrol fleet. To put it nicely, it maintains order. At worst, it can only operate in offshore waters.

The second update of 3000 words, please vote for me and support!