The Rise of Australia

Time passed by and soon came to June of 1901.

After waiting hard for several months, Arthur thought there was no hope of purchasing immigrants from the Netherlands.

But what was unexpected was that the Dutch fleet quietly arrived in Australian waters from the Dutch East Indies.

If the Dutch fleet had not used semaphore to indicate its intention early in the morning, the Australian Navy would have really thought that an invader was coming.

The leaders of the Dutch fleet were Herbert von, the Dutch Foreign Minister, and Wilhelm Rasbourne, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Accompanying her was a more distinguished guest, the mother of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Queen Emma of the late King William III.

The reason why Queen Emma has a distinguished status is that in addition to being the mother of the current Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, she was also the former regent of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Arthur was very surprised to receive this news, and then ordered Prime Minister Evan to go to greet him immediately.

At the same time, someone prepared a welcome banquet, and invited his mother, Princess Louise, to attend and use the same status to entertain the Queen Mother Emma.

Soon, Prime Minister Evan invited the Queen Mother Emma, ​​Minister Helbert and Governor William to the manor.

As the first official residence of Arthur and the royal family, this small manor also replaced almost all functions of the palace. It could not only hold temporary cabinet meetings, but also hold banquets to entertain guests.

At the banquet, Arthur finally met the Queen Mother Emma, ​​as well as the Dutch Foreign Minister Herbert and Governor William.

It can be clearly seen that the long sea journey has brought several people to a state of exhaustion. Governor William is fine, Queen Mother Emma is still Minister Herbert, but both of them are not in a good mental state.

The banquet was divided into two main bodies. Queen Mother Emma and Princess Louise stayed aside, followed by two naughty guys, Margery and Patricia.

On the other side of the banquet, Minister Herbert and Governor William were talking seriously about international affairs with Prime Minister Evan, without forgetting their identities.

This also made Arthur feel awkward sitting in the middle. His identity was a bit inappropriate to participate in both conversations, so he could only find a suitable time to exit.

This also caused Arthur to be unclear about the conversations between the two parties. Prime Minister Evan was fine. All important matters discussed needed to be reported to Arthur.

But things are different here with Princess Lewis. The topic between women is not something that Arthur can participate in, and it is definitely not something that Arthur can know about.

However, it can be seen from the expressions of the two people after the conversation that the two people were very happy with each other's conversation. The two people with similar identities and circumstances had some words and felt quite close to each other.

After the banquet, Queen Mother Emma was arranged to live in the manor, while Minister Herbert and Governor William stayed in the best hotel in Australia.

Although it is just a few independent apartments converted into a hotel to entertain important guests, because the guests received are almost all princes, nobles and dignitaries, the decoration in the hotel is also very luxurious, and it also has hot springs, fountains, gardens and private meetings. room, office.

After letting several people rest for a full day, Arthur invited Minister Herbert and Governor William to attend the meeting in the afternoon of the next day.

After all, the fact that the Netherlands can send such a grand diplomatic mission means that there must be important things to discuss.

Although Prime Minister Evan, Minister Herbert and Governor William seemed to be having a good time at last night's banquet, these old political foxes would not reveal their true purpose at a small banquet.

In the conference room of the Government Building, Arthur met Minister Herbert and Governor William again.

After a long rest, the mental state of the two men improved significantly. Governor William, in particular, has swept away his previous fatigue and is in excellent spirits.

"His Royal Highness the Duke of Australia!" When the two saw Arthur, they immediately saluted respectfully.

Arthur was stunned. He didn't expect that two senior officials from the Kingdom of the Netherlands would respect him so much. But he reacted quickly and nodded to the two of them with a smile.

"Minister Herbert, Governor William. I wonder what the important thing is for your government to send you here? If it is for the purchase of immigrants plan we proposed before, you only need to send us a transoceanic telegram. There is no need to go to such trouble. "At the conference table, Prime Minister Evan asked Minister Herbert and Governor William with a smile.

A diplomatic visit team composed of a cabinet minister and a feudal official, coupled with the blessing of the country's Queen Mother, was equivalent to a formal diplomatic visit to any country.

But here's what's surprising. Although the Netherlands and Australia do not have any hatred or disputes, similarly, the Netherlands and Australia do not have any common interests or good relations.

Australia even has a certain competitive relationship with the Netherlands in Southeast Asia. Although the relationship between the two countries cannot be said to be bad, it is definitely not very friendly.

On this basis, the Netherlands quietly sent an extremely formal diplomatic visit team. The purpose of this visit left everyone confused.

"Your Highness, Prime Minister Evan, and all your lords. Please rest assured that Governor William and I only aim to achieve a good cooperative relationship with Australia. After the government and Her Majesty the Queen learned of Australia's plan, they quickly agreed to your country's purchase Immigration plan. We are happy to help Australia purchase immigrants and are willing to reach a treaty to this end." Minister Helbert stood up and said very sincerely.

Seeing that Minister Helbert was very sincere, Arthur also fell silent.

Although it seemed strange that the Kingdom of the Netherlands would mobilize for such a small matter, it would not do any harm to Australia after all, so the meeting continued.

"In that case, Minister Helbert. I wonder how many immigrants your government is willing to sell to us every year? What is the selling price of each immigrant? What about the capture, transportation, and handling of international affairs of immigrants?" Prime Minister Evan He nodded and continued to ask.

Buying immigrants is not as simple as it sounds. To transport immigrants from the Dutch East Indies to Australia, not only must they be captured with great effort, but they must also be successfully transported as quietly as possible.

The manpower and material resources consumed are not high. For Australia, which has very few soldiers and warships, there is no extra force to capture the indigenous people and then transport them to Australia.

"We are willing to take on the work of capturing and transporting the indigenous people." Minister Helbert said with a smile: "We can transport it to any port in Australia, you only need to be responsible for receiving it."

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