Rise of Australia

Chapter 263 Queen Mary Pregnant

To say that the formation of the Allied Powers and the formation of a complete confrontation with the Allies has changed the situation in Europe the most, in fact, it is the small and medium-sized countries around the two major military blocs.

With the clarification of the lineups of the competing parties, these small and medium-sized countries also face a problem, which is which side to take refuge in, or to remain neutral.

Such a question is not easy to decide. Each of the competing parties has a top power at the hegemony level, and both are composed of three great powers.

As a result, if a war breaks out between the two sides, it will be a huge war that can easily affect the whole of Europe, and no European country can be easily spared.

If you become a neutral country, can you really avoid this alarming war?
Beginning in September 1908, the arms race between the two major military blocs reached another level, but the main participating countries were still Britain and Germany.

After the Germans surpassed themselves in dreadnoughts, Britain immediately revised its shipbuilding plan, accelerated the construction of the planned three Bellerophon-class battleships, and issued a death sentence to the shipyard responsible for the construction of these three battleships. order, at least by the end of March 1909, it was fully built and launched for testing.

This is not over yet, the improved version of the Bellerophon-class battleship, the construction plan of the St. Vincent-class battleship has also been accelerated.

According to the original British construction plan, the completion of the three St. Vincent-class battleships will have to wait until May next year at the earliest, and the remaining two will not even be completed until March and April of the following year.

However, the Germans' catching up had already made the British feel flustered, so they specially ordered that the three St. Vincent-class battleships must be completely completed by the end of 1909, and they would enter the navy in the middle and late 1910s.

This means that from September of this year to the end of next year for more than a year, the British Empire will complete the construction of at least six dreadnoughts to consolidate its navy's first advantage.

Compared with the speed of construction in Australasia, the speed of naval construction in the British Empire is amazing, but this is still only the tip of the iceberg of the naval shipbuilding industry in the British Empire.

In addition to the construction of dreadnoughts, the British Empire also plans to carry out a new round of refitting of the weapons and equipment of the local army, and equip the eliminated weapons in the colonial army.

This is not a small expense, but it is not too much for the deep-pocketed British Empire.

You must know that the military expenditure of the British Empire has always been the largest among the major powers, and the military expenditure last year was as high as 5892 million pounds.

Ranked second is the military expenditure of the German Empire as high as 5489 million pounds.The third largest military expenditure is Russia, which seems to be less developed. Their military expenditure is as high as 5328 million pounds.

The fourth, fifth and sixth places are France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.Their military spending was £4550 million, £2113 million and £1857 million respectively.

The high military expenditures of several major powers in the military also represent that the confrontation between the two major military blocs in Europe has almost reached its peak, and the arms race has caused the military expenditures of various countries to rise steadily.

But this is not the peak of the military expenditures of various countries. According to the historical situation, the military expenditures of various countries directly doubled after the war.

If you want to say that the year of the peak military expenditure of various countries, it should be the German Empire in 1918.

The military expenditure of the German Empire this year was as high as 3500 billion German marks, equivalent to a terrifying 175 billion in pounds, which is why the war caused great pain to European countries.

Not to mention anything else, but the high military expenditure, this year's war is enough to bring down any country.

As a defeated country, Germany, after the defeat, it is not surprising that the people are faced with 50 marks of bread. The long war and high military expenditure have already caused the currencies of various countries to depreciate rapidly.

Coupled with the oppression of other countries after the defeat and the exploitation of their own domestic capitalists, the seeds of hatred sprouted in the hearts of the Germans.

Compared with the high military expenditures of the major powers, the military expenditures of Australasia, which is relatively remote, are pitifully small.

Throughout 1907, Australasia's military spending was only over £400 million.Even this year, when the shipbuilding plan has been launched, the total funding will not exceed 800 million pounds.

From this point, it can reflect the current gap between Australasia and major European countries. The population and economic situation of Australasia are still far behind European countries. This is also the key to whether Australasia can become a great power. limit.

The time soon came to Christmas in 1908. Christmas is an extremely important holiday for Western countries, and Odarasia also has a three-day national holiday on Christmas.

The preparations for Christmas in the Sydney Palace are very grand. The trees, flowers and plants in the surrounding squares have already been decorated. Even the statues in front of the palace are shining brightly under the sun.

Of course, Arthur doesn't care too much about these, because there are more important news waiting for Arthur to deal with.

After two and a half years of Arthur's hard work, Queen Mary's stomach finally heard a little movement.

On the day before Christmas, Arthur received a report from the doctor in the royal private hospital that Queen Mary might be pregnant!

This is good news for Arthur, the royal family and even the entire Australasian government and country.

Only when there is a monarch can it prove that the dynasty can continue.Now that the power of the monarchy in Australasia is so high, officials are also afraid that the monarchy will fall into his hands and the country's years of hard work will be in vain.

Arthur took his possible eldest son or eldest daughter very seriously.Not only did he accompany Queen Mary from the moment he received the news, but he also summoned all the famous doctors in Australasia to recuperate Queen Mary in the royal private hospital.

In fact, thanks to Arthur's efforts, the Royal Private Hospital has already become the most advanced hospital in Australasia with the most top medical talents.

But it's better to be prepared for this kind of thing. Arthur has even started to plan to hire experts with high salaries from major hospitals in Europe. Anyway, there is nowhere to spend the money.

Regarding such good news, Arthur did not order to conceal it.Spreading such news can also increase the confidence of the government in its work, and they don't have to worry that after Arthur, their contributions to the country will be forgotten by the rulers.

On Christmas Day, Arthur received congratulations from all over Europe.

Among them, Russia and Germany are the fastest. After all, Queen Mary was born in the Russian royal family, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Arthur have a cousin relationship, and the diplomatic relationship between Germany and Australasia is also very good.

Not only Russia and Germany, including the British Empire, many European powers and small and medium-sized countries also sent congratulations to Australasia.

This included states controlled by members of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, as well as other small and medium European monarchies.

After all, this is still an era of monarchy. For the European royal families with intricate relationships, perhaps Arthur can really get involved with most European monarchy countries.

As for his possible eldest son or eldest daughter, Arthur has ardent expectations for her.

All kinds of strict traditional elite and aristocratic education, coupled with its deeper training, cannot escape.

As the son or daughter of a king, the little guy in Queen Mary's belly is estimated to have only two to three years of good life, and then he will enter a rigorous education.

Australasia has a good development environment and timing, and Arthur is confident of developing it into a top power.

However, the succession of the country should also be cautious.For the development of the country and the continuation of the royal family, it is very necessary to cultivate a capable heir for oneself and the country.

Even if they are not heirs, Arthur's descendants also represent the dignity and prestige of the royal family, which is also destined to prevent them from becoming waste.

On Christmas Day, Arthur spent warmly with his family, and the officials were very tactful and did not disturb Arthur.

But from the second day of Christmas, blessings and congratulations from various officials have been pouring in. If Arthur hadn't been lazy and let the Kent housekeeper come forward to reply in a unified way, I am afraid that this day will have to be in an environment of being congratulated.

Kent's butler has been smiling ever since he heard the news.Arthur's queen is the greatest news for the Kent steward. This news is even more exciting than Arthur becoming the king of Australasia.

Queen Mary has also completely become a protected animal of the royal family. Not only Princess Louise is always with her, but also more than a dozen maids are always on hand, so that Queen Mary can avoid any fatigue.

In order to celebrate, Arthur specifically signaled the Royal Relief Committee to provide at least two catties of mutton and ten catties of grain to adult citizens with an annual income of no more than [-] Australian dollars for free on Christmas Day.As for the underage citizens, a catty of mutton and a liter of milk are uniformly provided.

At present, there are very few people in Australasia with an annual income of no more than 700 Australian dollars. Even if you look at the country’s population of more than 80 million, there are no more than [-] people with an annual income of no more than [-] Australian dollars.

Many of these are elderly people who are already unable to work. Even if you add underage citizens across the country, it is expected that the cost this time will not exceed 500 million Australian dollars.

500 million Australian dollars is a sprinkle of water for Arthur, who has an annual income of more than 4000 million Australian dollars. In the face of maintaining his reputation and support, Arthur is still very generous.

Arthur's behavior naturally aroused the favor of many Australasians. Even if they were not the audience of this event, the reaction to this event was a little grateful.

If it weren't for Arthur, they knew they wouldn't have the life they have now. Facing such a benevolent and loving monarch, what else can they do except remain grateful and loyal.

Although Arthur's support in Australasia does not have an accurate figure, if anyone dares to say something bad about Arthur on the streets of Australasia, I am afraid that everyone will glare.

If the words are more serious, it may not be guaranteed whether they can get out of Australasia alive.

If there are radicals, all of them are like shrinking turtles.

Arthur's reputation among the people is not a joke. There are really people who are short-sighted, and the people don't mind sending him to God, so that God can forgive him.

After the Christmas holiday, it can be clearly felt that the atmosphere in Australasia has become more joyful, and the government's work efficiency has become much more effective.

At this time, Australasia can be regarded as a united heart. On the premise of no worries, they have made their own efforts and contributions to the rise of Australasia.

　3000 [-] words, the second update, asking for a monthly ticket, asking for support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)