Rise of Australia

Chapter 340

Originally, Prime Minister Kent planned to prepare a welcome banquet for Minister Gray and the British visiting team, but was rejected by Minister Gray on the grounds that the journey was exhausting.

And indeed it is.Even though the British visiting team took the most luxurious cruise ship in the UK and was escorted by British warships, it still took more than a month to arrive in Australasia.

During this period, the visiting team also stopped at the Suez Canal and India successively, which indirectly extended the time on the road.

After staying on the cruise ship for more than a month, even Minister Gray, who thought he was used to such bumps, couldn't help but feel tired and tired.

After giving simple instructions to his subordinates, Minister Gray lay down on the big bed in the Royal Victoria Hotel, and fell into a deep sleep with a comfortable face.

On February 1913, 2, the second day after the British delegation arrived in Sydney Harbor, Arthur received the British delegation at Sydney Palace, accompanied by the cabinet government headed by Prime Minister Kent.

After greetings from the British delegation, Arthur smiled, looked at the leader, Minister Gray, and said, "Minister Gray, how was your rest yesterday?"

"Very good, Your Majesty. Sydney doesn't have the bad environment of London, and the air is much better than London." Minister Gray nodded with a smile and replied respectfully.

The name of British Foreign Minister Gray is well known in Europe at present.

Of course, all this depends on the series of diplomatic attitudes Minister Gray has adopted towards European countries during his term of office.

Minister Gray is one of the candidates in the cabinet government of the British Empire who firmly advocates being tough on Germany and hostile to Germany.

If one were to choose the most hostile to Germany in the British cabinet, Minister Gray deserved it.

During the tenure of Minister Gray, Britain successively signed agreements with France and Russia, which single-handedly contributed to the real confrontation between the two major military blocs in Europe.

Such a person with a clear attitude came to Australasia. In addition to wooing Australasia, he was also releasing a message to the outside world, that is, Australasia and the United Kingdom are getting closer.

This actually tied Australasia to the British chariot in disguise.After all, after receiving Minister Gray with a very high standard, even if Australasia does not express its attitude to the outside world, and does not release any news of entering the UK, it will be naturally classified as a category close to the UK by the outside world.

In this way, the neutrality that Australasia had previously strictly guarded would also be broken.

Unless Australasia can immediately reiterate its neutral position and re-emphasize its decision not to join any party.

But in this way, it will obviously damage the relationship with the British.After all, judging from the special relationship between Australasia and the United Kingdom, if it is not a good ally relationship, the relationship has already weakened.

Now that he has decided which side to choose between Britain and Germany, Arthur will naturally not hesitate.

Although joining the Allied Powers and becoming an enemy with Germany, it obviously hurt the feelings with William II and the Germans.

But what is personal emotion to the national interest?
No matter how bad it is, Arthur tried his best to ensure the safety of William II's family and the German royal family in the war, which can be regarded as compensation for William II.

I hope that William II can get rid of the fate in history, and don't lose the German throne because of being emptied of power in the later period of the war, and let the Hohenzollern family decline from the altar.

In fact, the most severely damaged class in the First World War is the monarchy and aristocracy, which are deeply rooted and very powerful.

The royal families of the great powers who directly lost the throne after World War I include the Russian royal family, the German royal family and the Austro-Hungarian royal family.

Much more so in countries where the sovereign loses some or even most of his power.

The weakening of monarchies around the world is not a good thing for Arthur either.As one of the monarchs of the European faction, the stronger the European royal family, Arthur can also enjoy some benefits.

Therefore, to preserve the royal families of as many countries as possible during the war is also one of Arthur's goals.

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the British government and the royal family, I would like to extend my regards to you and the Australasian royal family, as well as the government and all Australasian people. We look forward to further exchanges with Australasia, and we are natural allies , is also a closer blood relative." As a seasoned foreign minister, Gray played the emotional card as soon as he came up, telling the good relationship between Australasia and the United Kingdom.

In fact, relying solely on the relationship between Australasia and the United Kingdom, it is impossible for Australasia to stand on the opposite side of the United Kingdom.

At present, more than half of the more than 1200 million people in Australasia, nearly 800 million people, are British immigrants.

This also means that British immigrants are fundamental to Australasia.In Australasia, the government and royal family also had to take into account the views of British immigrants.

Perhaps Arthur can rely on his great prestige and popular support, and against the wishes of the people, he can take refuge in Germany.

But it would also hurt the feelings of British immigrants and have a detrimental effect on the rule of Australasia.

Under various circumstances, Minister Gray believed that Australasia would strictly abide by neutrality at worst, and there was no possibility of joining Germany, that is, the Allied Powers.

Although Australasia's geographical location is very important, it can pose a threat to the Indian and African colonies of the British Empire.

But Minister Gray confidently stated that Australasia will only belong to its own people, and India and Africa are still safe.

"Of course, although Australasia is very far away from the British Empire, the blood relationship between our two countries will never change." Arthur nodded as a matter of course, and replied.

The reason why the British gave Australasia a lot of aid, in Arthur's view, was that the close relationship between the two countries had a very important influence.

Moreover, Australasia is far away from Europe and will not affect the status of the British Empire in Europe.Even if it is just to take care of the emotions of the domestic people, it is impossible to directly join the camp against Britain.

This also means that it is basically impossible for Australasia to stand on the opposite side of the British Empire, which has long been determined by the close relationship between the two parties.

Unless the immigration structure of Australasia has changed, British immigrants have changed from a majority to a small number, or even a very small number.

Such a situation can change the policy of Australasia. Before that, it is impossible for Australasia to be hostile to the United Kingdom even if it is only for the sake of Queen Victoria.

"Your Majesty, on the orders of His Majesty the King and the Cabinet, I have come to discuss with your country a plan to bring the two countries closer together. To tell you the truth, apart from Germany, I think the British Empire and your country also have common interests. The enemy of your country is the United States on the other side of the Pacific Ocean." Minister Gray said with a smile.

"Although Germany is the main enemy at present, the growth of the Americans should not be underestimated. Because of the unique geographical location of the United States, perhaps this is our greatest enemy. Although the United States is located on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean of the British Empire, it is also located in your country The other side of the Pacific Ocean. Now that Europe is so powerful, if the United States wants to expand, it can only start from the Pacific Ocean. In fact, they did. If your country wants to continue to expand in the north, sooner or later it will be with the United States People hit it straight."

From what Minister Gray said, Arthur analyzed a piece of news, that is, the British government does not oppose the continued northward expansion of Australasia.

This actually means that, to a certain extent, in order to win over Australasia, the Dutch East Indies is an area that the British think they can give up.

Anyway, it wasn't the British's own colony. Using the Dutch land to win over their allies was not a bad deal for Minister Gray.

Seeing that Arthur nodded and seemed to agree with what he said, Minister Gray struck while the iron was hot, and continued: "Your Majesty, if you agree, on behalf of the British government, I am willing to sign an agreement with your government, an agreement on joint defense against the U.S. government. If you agree, the British Empire supports your country's expansion in the Dutch East Indies. And, if your country and the United States break out in Southeast Asia, the British Empire is willing to lend a helping hand at the first moment and stand firmly in Australia Behind Lacia."

The British government still attaches great importance to allies like Australasia.Especially after the policy of supporting Australia and resisting the United States was formulated, for the British Empire, Australasia was second only to France and Russia in importance, and it was the third most important ally of the British Empire.

Ranking third does not mean that Australasia is unimportant, but France and Russia, as the top powers, have too strong military strength, and Britain also relies on these two countries to defeat Germany.

Secondly, although Australasia's own military strength is enough to be a great power, it is only the lowest power.

In addition, Germany is still the most important enemy of the United Kingdom, and the United States is only the potential greatest enemy.

In this way, the importance of Australasia will naturally fall behind France and Russia, ranking only third.

"Of course, if His Majesty is willing, we are also very happy to see Australasia join the camp of the Allied Powers. If Australasia can join the Allied Powers, then we will have the four major powers of Britain, France, Russia, and Australia. Whether it is the military strength or background displayed so far, it far surpasses the three major powers of Germany, Austria, and Italy.” In order to win over Australasia, Minister Gray directly spread the news among European civilians and some governments, and Australasia Rumors about the position of the eighth power in West Asia clearly stated.

Minister Gray believes that the position of the eighth power personally recognized by the British Empire is definitely attractive enough for the Australasian government and royal family.

After all, after becoming a great power, it is considered to have truly reached the top position in the world.

All the great powers are ants, this sentence is not just talking in this era.For the eight major powers, these eight countries control almost the vast majority of the world's regions and wealth, and they also have enough say in anything that breaks out in the world.

The power of one great power may not be strong enough, but if several major powers have negotiated with each other, then even if the remaining countries object, it will definitely not help.

"We naturally understand what Minister Gray said. In fact, we are also looking forward to cooperating with the British Empire. But unfortunately, judging from our current level of development and military preparations, it is difficult to help the British Empire." Ah Se didn't speak, but glanced at Prime Minister Kent.After receiving Arthur's signal, Prime Minister Kent smiled and spoke.

Although the cooperation between Australasia and the United Kingdom is a foregone conclusion, it is Arthur's job to strive for more benefits for Australasia and more British aid.

It's just that, of course, Arthur doesn't need to speak up for such a matter, and the people under him will handle it very well.

"Naturally, Prime Minister Kent, Your Majesty. Apart from the potential common enemy of the United States, Germany is currently the greatest enemy of the British Empire. If Australasia can join the organization of the Allied Powers and make some contributions to the future resistance to the Germans." , we are willing to provide more support to Australasia and help Australasia have more strength." Minister Gray nodded with a smile and said it as a matter of course.

Now that the British government has decided to win over Australasia and support Australasia to fight against the United States.

Then support for Australasia is inevitable. After all, the current industry and economy of the United States are already a top power.

Coupled with the natural disadvantages among the population of Australasia, if you want Australasia to resist the expansion of the United States in Asia, or even directly become the first front line of confrontation with the United States, you must make Australasia have a stronger power, at least the gap with the United States is smaller.

After hearing what Minister Gray said, the members of the Australasian cabinet and government present here were obviously interested, and one by one couldn't wait to put forward their own conditions.

Although Australasia can develop on its own, with the help of the world's most powerful country, the British Empire, it can avoid detours and develop more rapidly.

For ministers in these sectors, it is vital for their sector to have access to British talent and technology.

In just a few minutes, the ministers of various departments put forward their demands on talents, technology, equipment, etc. The scale of the demands was even more exaggerated, which even surprised Minister Gray.

In the description of these cabinet ministers, Australasia is like a baby waiting to be fed, requiring a lot of talents, technology and equipment in all aspects.

But this obviously deviates from the intelligence that Minister Gray knows.According to what Minister Gray has learned, although Australasia still has shortcomings in some aspects, some advanced technologies and industries are already fully capable of being comparable to the last powers like Italy.

Because the matter is so important, the negotiations between the two parties have also fallen into a tug-of-war.Arthur is also happy. If more aid can be obtained for Australasia, this is very important for the development of the country.

　Ask for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)