I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 778 The Endless Civil War
The person who shot the Australian representative was an Irishman.

In 1921, Britain and Ireland signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which confirmed that the 29 counties in southern Ireland would implement autonomy in the form of the Irish Free State.

Like Australia, the Irish Free State remained in the Commonwealth as a dominion. Senior officials of the Free State had to swear allegiance to the British king. At the same time, Britain established a governor in Ireland and had the right to establish a military base in Ireland in times of war.

Although the Anglo-Irish Treaty eased the tension between Britain and Ireland to a certain extent, it did not bring peace to Ireland.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty caused internal divisions in Ireland. The Conservatives were satisfied with the result, while the radicals believed that the establishment of the Irish Free State was a betrayal of Ireland.

After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Ireland fell into civil war. In September of the following year, the conservatives and some radicals reached an agreement. Although the large-scale civil war ended, some extreme radicals adopted more violent methods to fight against the British government and the Irish Free State government.

The Irish gunman came from an extremely radical group.

When the news reached Australia, public opinion was in an uproar, with some believing that the gunman was sent by the British government to punish Australia.

Stanley Baldwin felt aggrieved. He had barely had time to appease the Australian representatives, so how could he possibly send gunmen to shoot them?

But even if the gunman was not sent by the British government, the British government still has responsibility.

After all, the Irish issue itself was created by the British government.

The British government is also not to blame for its failure to provide adequate protection for Australian representatives.

If Australia had not sent anyone to London to attend the Imperial Conference, would this incident have never happened?
They are all representatives, so why didn't the gunman assassinate the representatives of Canada or India, but instead targeted the Australian representative?

So it's all the British government's fault.

The people who are most happy about this are definitely the Russian media reporters stationed in London.

So on July 7, two reporters from the Constantinople Daily stationed in London were expelled by the British government.

This is too much.

British Ambassador to the United Kingdom Mikhail Mikhailovich took the initiative to find Stanley Baldwin and expressed strong protest to him.

Mikhailovich was the second son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich. He lost his right to inherit the title because of his intermarriage between the noble and the commoner. He had been living abroad after his marriage. Unexpectedly, he turned a disaster into a blessing and survived until after the war.

Stanley Baldwin explained to Mikhail why the British government expelled the two journalists.

The two journalists tried to get close to the Australian representative who was hospitalized due to injuries by means of bribery and obtain first-hand information.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of behavior is understandable. British journalists are very powerful and have even sneaked into Buckingham Palace to obtain first-hand information.

He comes to cause trouble at this time and deserves to be singled out as an example by the British government.

Mikhail accepted Stanley Baldwin's explanation.

But the next day, the Russian government expelled two British Embassy staff members in Russia.

Baldwin was furious.

Even if Russia wants to retaliate, it should expel journalists from British newspapers stationed in Russia. Expelling embassy staff will lead to escalation of the conflict.

What Stanley Baldwin did not expect was that just after Russia expelled the British embassy staff, the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, which had nothing to do with the incident, also expelled two British staff members from the Grand Duchy of Yuriev.

It’s fine if Russia targets Britain.

The Grand Duchy of Yuriev actually dared to get involved. What is it trying to do?
Want to provoke a confrontation between Britain and Russia?
The most amazing thing about this matter is that when Baldwin wanted to take revenge on the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, there was no one to drive him away.

The Grand Duchy of Yuriev has no embassy in the UK.

That's right, the Grand Duchy of Yuriev and the United Kingdom have no diplomatic relations at all. As for why the British government has staff in the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, you have to ask the British government.

Although the United Kingdom did not establish diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, Australia had an office of the Grand Duchy of Yuriev.

The British government then expelled two staff members of the Grand Principality of Yuriev stationed in Australia.

This is why Britain’s tight grip on diplomatic power is so significant.

Alan took the initiative to attack Chamberlain in the League of Nations, saying that the British government's restrictions on overseas dominions and colonies would seriously affect the development of overseas dominions and colonies.

"This is an internal matter of the Commonwealth and has nothing to do with you."

Chamberlain didn't want to bother with Alan.

It would be fine if little Nicholas just took advantage of his seniority and made indirect accusations all day long, but Chamberlain would not argue with him.

Alan wanted to compete with Chamberlain, but it was almost there.

"Yes, it really has nothing to do with us, and we have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth, but can't we even talk about it?"

Alan became the lip service for Britain's overseas colonies and dominions.

Britain's overseas dominions and colonies were also very conflicted. They only wanted to get benefits but did not want to assume any obligations to Britain.

There are indeed advantages to staying in the Commonwealth. At least you don't have to worry about national defense and can focus all your energy on developing the economy.

However, from an economic perspective, remaining in the Commonwealth would affect the economic development of the dominions and colonies.

So Australia's real demand is to enjoy the protection of the Royal Navy while selling wool and wheat at a good price.

"Mind your own business."

Chamberlain is in a bad mood, so please watch your mouth.

Little Nicholas was watching with great joy. The League of Nations was a place for empty talk. He would feel uncomfortable if he didn't criticize someone for a day.

Bobov also criticized Australian politicians for failing to better protect the interests of Australian companies.

No matter how powerful Rio Tinto is, it is a British company and has nothing to do with Australia. Yuriev Mining Company is a legitimate Australian company.

Therefore, instead of protecting the interests of Yuriev Mining Company, the Australian government wants to sell Theo's iron ore to Rio Tinto, which is pure betrayal.

The Western Australian government also has issues with the Australian government.

In addition to paying part of the taxes paid by the Yuriev Mining Company to the Australian government, part of the taxes is taken away by the United Kingdom, leaving very little for the Western Austrian government.

Without having to rely on the Australian and British governments for a cut, the Western Australian government's finances would be very healthy, and every Western Australian would benefit from it.

So even before the Imperial Conference was held, some people in Theo were demanding independence.

It is not Australia's independence, but Western Australia's independence, complete independence, neither subject to the constraints of Britain nor subject to the management of the Australian government.

This situation has aroused the vigilance of the Australian government.

Will the Anglo-Irish War take place in Australia?

(End of this chapter)