Rise of Australia

Chapter 284 New Warship Orders
After the trip to Germany, Arthur went to Russia immediately, visited Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duke Sergei, and visited Crown Prince Alexei who was still on the hospital bed.

No way, maybe this is the trouble of more relatives.Whether it is Germany or Russia, they are relatively close relatives to Arthur, and the relationship between countries is also very friendly, which also means that Arthur must move around.

What's more, whether it is Germany or Russia, there is still a lot of help that can be provided to Australasia. Their status as great powers is also a very scarce ally in Australasia at present.

Of course, there is actually not much substantive help that Russia can provide to Australasia. Perhaps the most useful thing is the continuous flow of Russian immigrants.

During the few days in Russia, Arthur re-signed an immigration treaty with Nicholas II.

The treaty stipulates that Australasia will pay the Russian government 500 million rubles in compensation every year in exchange for the Russian government's massive support for the export of immigrants to Australasia.

Of course, because of paying more funds, Arthur also made a request, that is, when screening immigrants, they must meet the corresponding conditions of Australasia.

Although 500 million rubles is not too much assets for Arthur, it is naturally not too little for the Russian government's finances.

Under the witness of Nicholas II and Arthur, the two governments quickly signed an agreement.

Nicholas II even said with a smile that if Australasia needs it, he can mobilize the government to export millions of immigrants to Australasia every year.

To be honest, for the Tsarist Russian Empire, it is completely possible to export millions of immigrants every year.

You know, as of 1910 this year, Russia's population was as high as 1.6 million people.In recent years, the annual increase in the Russian population has fluctuated around 300 million to 500 million, and the annual export of 100 million people is completely painless for the Tsarist Russian Empire.

But the problem is that if Australasia receives 100 million Russian immigrants every year, although it can rapidly increase the population of Australasia in a short period of time, there is even hope that the population will exceed 1500 million before World War I.

But the consequences of this may be that the proportion of ethnic groups in the country is not balanced, and the number of Russian immigrants will even approach that of the main ethnic group, the British immigrants, which will affect domestic unity and stability.

According to the new immigration treaty signed by Arthur and Nicholas II, this immigration treaty lasts for five years, Australasia pays 500 million rubles every year, and Russia exports 40 immigrants after screening to Australasia .

The five-year validity period of the treaty will allow Australia to have about 200 million Russian immigrants, which is the maximum number of Russian immigrants that Australasia can absorb.

Coupled with immigrants from the United Kingdom, Germany and other parts of Europe, Australasia is expected to have a population of over 1915 million around 1300, of which the British population can still maintain more than 60% of the qualifying line.

Waiting until after World War I to accept a large wave of refugees should raise the population to 1920 million by 1700.

Although it is uncertain whether there will be World War II in this world, within five years after the end of World War I, the population of Australasia is expected to break through to 2000 million, completely determining the strength and status of the great powers.

During the past few days in Russia, the Russian Admiralty frequently asked Arthur to meet, and finally agreed on a new warship purchase order under Nicholas II's nod.

The previous two Sovereign-class battleships, Petropavlovsk and Poltava, both showed good combat effectiveness and performance, and their actual performance in training far surpassed all the old-fashioned battleships before the Pacific Squadron.

The performance of the two dreadnoughts made General Makarov, who was far away in the port of Lushun, report the news to the Admiralty and Nicholas II overnight, asking the Russian government to order more Sovereign-class battleships.

According to General Makarov's original words, if the Pacific Fleet can be equipped with two more dreadnoughts, then even if the island country has the support of the United Kingdom, it is destined to be impossible to be Russia's opponent.

It's a pity that the United Kingdom conceded some of its interests and reached an agreement with Russia, and Russia could not act in the Far East for a short time, so General Makarov's plan fell through.

However, the power of the Sovereign-class battleship has also come into the sight of the Russian high-level.

Russia has a very strange feature. High-level officials are willing to spend a lot of money to buy majestic cannons and battleships, but they are not willing to provide fresh meat and food to the naval officers and soldiers on the battleships, as well as corresponding fresh-keeping refrigeration equipment.

The officers in charge of procurement would rather take the risk of being killed by rebellious navy soldiers than buy fresh ingredients to provide to the navy soldiers, and even regard this as the norm in the daily life of the navy.

In 1905, the battleship Eagle caused riots because the officers brought sick and dead cows to the kitchen to make lunch and distributed them to the sailors. In June, the battleship Potemkin caused a riot because the procurement officers made rotten meat with maggots into borscht. The soup was distributed to the officers and men, causing the entire battleship to be seized by the rebel navy soldiers, who fled to Romania.

In May 1907, some naval officers and soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet were preparing to revolt on four battleships, but because the plan was revealed, the uprising failed in the end.

Various uprisings made Nicholas II lose confidence in the frequent mutiny of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. If it weren't for the importance of the navy, the Pacific Fleet under General Makarov made Nicholas II lose confidence. The world has seen hope. I am afraid that the Navy, as in history, was directly assigned to the Army's management of the Baltic Fleet, which was responsible for guarding the safety of the capital St. Petersburg.

I have to admit that the Tsarist Russian Empire has become extremely corrupt internally so far.

The upper and even middle levels of the empire have become very decadent and extravagant, while the bottom-level army is dilapidated, the soldiers lack training, and the discipline is chaotic. It is no longer the appearance of a great power country.

However, Arthur was also powerless about this. After all, he was not a member of the Russian royal family. Even if Arthur made an opinion, it was unlikely to be adopted by Nicholas II.

I can only pray that the future Tsarist Russia will collapse slowly in the war, and see if there is any hope to save the Russian royal family.

The new warship purchase order can be described as a big deal, and it should be Russia's last purchase order within five years.

This purchase order includes two Sovereign-class battleships and two Unification-class battlecruisers, for a total of four powerful capital battleships.

Arthur was surprised at the Russians' generous spending at first, but when he heard that all four warships would be equipped in the Baltic Sea, Arthur also understood that there should be support from Britain and France.

After all, the stronger the Russian navy in the Baltic Sea, the greater the constraints on the Russian High Seas Fleet.

If the French are more powerful in the dreadnought, they can even unite with the United Kingdom to block the High Seas Fleet in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

It's a pity that the actions of the French on the dreadnought are as slow as in history, and perhaps they will be like in history. The north and west coasts of France depend on the protection of the British.

The two Sovereign-class battleships were named Empress Maria and Catherine the Great, while the two Unity-class battlecruisers were named Gangut and Sevastopol.

According to the agreement reached between the Russian Navy and Australasia, Australasia needs to deliver half of the four main warships by the end of 1913, and complete the delivery of the entire order by the end of 1914.

Arthur made a little calculation, and the time was completely in time.

Australasia is currently under construction on two cruisers of the Consolidated class, which should be completed by early 1911.

In nearly three years from the beginning of 1911 to the end of 1913, the construction and testing of two of the four warships could be completed.

The cost of the Sovereign-class battleship is about 190 million pounds, and the sale price to Russia is 240 million pounds.

The cost of the Unification-class cruiser is slightly cheaper, around 172 million pounds, and the sale price to Russia is 210 million pounds.

Because of the good relationship between Russia and Australasia, the selling price of the two warships to Russia is a little cheaper than the selling price to the outside world, but the profit of the shipyard is definitely a lot, and each ship has more than 40 pounds. pure profit.

The total cost of the order for four Russian warships is as high as 8100 million rubles, which is 1800 million Australian dollars.

Arthur's Royal Dockyard is expected to earn as much as 352 million Australian dollars in this transaction. After deducting taxes to the government, the shipyard should be able to earn at least 300 million Australian dollars.

It has to be said that the profit of exporting arms, especially the sale of warships is really high.This order of warships, only four warships, will allow Arthur to build another battlecruiser.

As time entered the second decade of the 20th century, the competition in Europe became more intense visibly.

As long as it is a country in the two major military blocs, it cannot be spared from this arms race.

According to the Royal Intelligence Service, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has also secretly built a dreadnought ship, and named it a joint force-class battleship.

It's just that among the major European powers, the road to the dreadnoughts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can be regarded as relatively difficult.

It has been several years since the dreadnought was born.Countries like Britain and Germany have innovated on the basis of dreadnoughts, designed and built more powerful dreadnoughts.

However, powers like the Austro-Hungarian Empire have not even started the most basic dreadnought ships, and they are still at the point of talking to the parliament.

If the Admiralty hadn't raised funds without the approval of the parliament and started construction of two dreadnoughts, I am afraid that the first dreadnought of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would have to wait until the end of 1915.

Britain and Germany, the two countries most capable of exporting dreadnoughts, are currently in a state of naval competition, and it is basically impossible to absorb too many orders for warships.

In other words, in the next few years, it should be the best opportunity for Australasia to sell warships to foreign countries.

You must know that in this era, in addition to the naval competition in Europe, there is also a naval competition in this small region of South America. This is also an opportunity for Australasia.

After all, it's about making money, not shabby.It will be of great significance to the Australasian Navy if the money earned from the sale of the Sovereign-class battleship can be used to build more St. Vincent-class battleships.

After finalizing the final order and delivery time with the Russian Navy Department, Arthur hurriedly embarked on the journey back to Australasia.

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(End of this chapter)