The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 603 - 461: Development in War and Russian Visitors

In early February 1918, the total cost of the government war and the domestic situation were fully accounted for, and the final result was reported to Arthur’s desk.

Compared to the last time the population was counted, the population of Australasia had grown to 18.678 million, now approaching the 20 million mark.

Now that the war is over, the immigration policies of various countries have gradually resumed, and there is a possibility of welcoming more immigrants in the new year, thereby breaking through the 20 million population mark.

In 1917, Australasia’s gross domestic product reached 2.24 billion dollars, equivalent to 448 million pounds, 896 million Australian dollars, with a growth rate of around 7%.

From this data, it can be seen that the impact of the war on Australasia’s development was minimal.

Even the war has promoted the development of various industries in Australasia, including military industry, clothing industry, and various light industries, all of which have benefited from this war.

In 1917, the Australasian government’s total fiscal revenue was 166.1 million Australian dollars, with growth rates of 17% and 15% in the past two years, both very impressive.

In 1917, the United States joined the war, which did steal away some of Australasia’s market and led to a slight decrease in the growth rate of Australasia’s fiscal revenue, but the war ended when the impact was not significant.

In contrast, the government’s total fiscal expenditure in the same year was as high as 145.5 million Australian dollars, nearly half higher than before the war.

In 1917, the government’s total fiscal surplus was as high as 20.6 million Australian dollars, which is equivalent to six super dreadnoughts, and the fiscal situation was still very good.

Similarly, the income of the royal family’s financial group is also very exaggerated. It is no exaggeration to say that the expansion speed of the royal family financial group during the war period is no weaker than the growth rate of government fiscal revenue.

If the pre-war royal financial group was famous for various heavy industries, then at this time the royal financial group also had many light industries, such as the Royal Clothing Manufacturing Factory, Royal Military Boot Manufacturing Factory, Royal Canned Food Production Factory, etc.

According to the statistics of the royal financial group, during the more than three years of the war, Australasia exported more than 5 million tons of canned products to Europe.

Considering the adult weight of a wild rabbit ranges from 80 to 100 catties. These canned products are equivalent to about 120 million wild rabbits, which shows the number of wild animals killed in Australasia in recent years.

There is no alternative to this. Australasia’s ecosystem is much more vulnerable than European countries. After all, Australia is a completely independent continent, and its ecological environment is different from Europe and Asia.

In recent years, Australasia has implemented strict environmental protection laws and animal and plant protection laws, providing stringent protection for Australasia’s carnivorous animals, prohibiting arbitrary hunting.

In addition, the government encourages the public to hunt wild animals such as kangaroos, wild rabbits, wild boars, and wild camels, which can be sold to canneries or used for self-consumption.

About once a month, the government and the royal family organize a large-scale hunting activity, and those who excel in hunting achievements receive certain rewards.

Apart from the official hunting activities organized by the government and the royal family, Australasia also has many hunting clubs and associations, responsible for hunting wild animals and selling them to canneries for profit.

Don’t underestimate the income of these hunting clubs and associations. If they are proficient in hunting skills, their income can even exceed that of farmers and herdsmen.

Of course, hunting in the wild also has certain risks, especially in the more dangerous natural environment of Australasia.

But as it is called high-risk, high-return, every year there are still many people willing to participate in these hunting activities, to relax, earn extra income, and show off in front of their family, friends, or even others.

In addition, the government has also enacted stringent laws on alien species to prevent as much as possible the damage caused by alien species to the Australasian environment.

Animals such as wild rabbits and camels are all alien species. The extreme breeding of wild rabbits has caused large areas of land to be eaten away and even desertified.

Environmental protection is one thing that Arthur can do for the future monarchs, and it is also an important way to protect Australasia’s land environment.

Whatever the case, environmental protection and wildlife hunting will continue, and ecological management of Australasia is also an urgent matter.

On February 5th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly reported that Russian Grand Duke Paul had arrived, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already hosted him.

Arthur nodded, and immediately decided to meet Grand Duke Paul right away.

Anyway, the Australasian royal family and the Russian monarchy are both related by marriage and natural allies.

Under any circumstances, it is necessary to meet Grand Duke Paul. Besides, Russia’s monarchy has not yet been overthrown, both nobility etiquette and Queen Mary require Arthur to receive this Russian guest.

In fact, Arthur had long understood Grand Duke Paul’s intentions. Although Russian monarchism was preserved, Nicholas II’s power was severely restricted compared to before the civil unrest, and he had little power, barely able to stay in the Winter Palace and remain out of sight.

This status quo was very dissatisfying for the ambitious Nicholas II, who had been waiting for an opportunity to regain power.

At present, the war had ended, and the anti-war sentiment among the Russian people naturally subsided. As the Russian army returned to their homeland, Nicholas II also regained control of a few Royalist forces, sparking hope for a return to power.

But relying solely on Nicholas II and the Royalist forces is not enough, as besides the Provisional Government, Nicholas II had an even more significant threat: the Workers’ Alliance.

Because of this, Nicholas II wanted to find more allies, such as several countries among the Allies.

Also, considering Arthur’s previous suggestion of a European Royal Family Union Declaration, Nicholas II first thought of Australasia and sent Grand Duke Paul, who had the closest relationship with Australasia, as his representative.

Grand Duke Paul was the brother of Duke Sergei and the youngest son of the late Tsar Alexander II.

Based on bloodline, Grand Duke Paul was Queen Mary’s maternal uncle and, apart from Duke Sergei, the person with the closest blood relationship to Queen Mary.

Of course, there was also Queen Mary’s younger brother. However, young people ultimately lack persuasive power; therefore, Nicholas II decided to send Grand Duke Paul as their representative.

As for Arthur’s father-in-law, Duke Sergei, who was also Queen Mary’s adoptive father, he had already passed away in a bomb attack and entered heaven.

Arthur had only met Grand Duke Paul a few times, and they were not very familiar with each other.

But after receiving Nicholas II’s instructions, Grand Duke Paul played the emotional card upon meeting Arthur, inquiring several times about Queen Mary’s condition, and expressing Nicholas II’s concern for Arthur, Queen Mary, and princes and princesses like William and Anna.

"Your Majesty, Russia needs your help, and the Romanov family needs your help!" After some small talk, Grand Duke Paul finally got to the point and revealed his true intentions for visiting Australasia.

"Where does this come from, Grand Duke Paul? As far as I know, although the rebellion has had some impact on the rule of the Romanov family, the position of your royal family is still stable and does not seem to need Australasia’s help," Arthur raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise, and asked.

"Your Majesty, as you know, Russia made a huge contribution to the Allies in this war. But some damned rebels, while the army was deployed on the front lines, launched a rebellion and captured the government departments and the Winter Palace. Although His Majesty temporarily succumbed to these rebels, he longs to restore the rule of the Romanov family. For the Russian people, monarchism is the light.

Only under the leadership of the great Nicholas II and the rule of the Romanov family can Russia regain its brilliance," Grand Duke Paul knew that Arthur and Australasia were no longer the way they were before and were nations that even pre-war Russia would need to pay attention to.

Nothing else can be said, but with the status of being one of the Four Powers of the Allies, it is enough to make any country in the world value their position.

Although their strength still lagged behind Britain, France, and Russia, they were on an equal footing in terms of status and could sit together at a negotiating table to divide the spoils of the defeated powers, rather than waiting for a meeting notification like Italy.

Arthur nodded, expressing understanding.

In fact, it was indeed the case, as the millions-strong Russian army was deployed on the frontlines, which allowed the rebels to quickly break through St. Petersburg and the Winter Palace.

However, in reality, Nicholas II had made many blunders, as without a few foolish acts, there wouldn’t have been so many workers and common people joining the rebellion before.

Seeing Arthur nod, Grand Duke Paul’s heart was joyous, and he promptly said, "Your Majesty, for the sake of the Russian-Australian alliance, for the sake of the marriage between the two royal families, and for the sake of the European Royal Family Union Declaration, please support His Majesty Nicholas II in regaining power, abolishing the Provisional Government, and eliminating the Moscow government established by the Workers’ Alliance.

Only then can the great and glorious, historically long-standing monarchism shine all over Russia."

"Grand Duke Paul, just say what kind of support you need," Arthur asked directly.

At least for Russia at present, monarchism does not seem to be very promising. If the monarchy and Nicholas II brought hope to the people, there would not have been such a scale of rebellion throughout Russia.

However, regardless of the situation, with the kinship relationship between the two countries and Arthur’s proposal of the European Royal Family Union Declaration, and considering Australasia’s interests, maintaining a monarchist Russia is still necessary.

A monarchist Russia is an ally of Australasia, but a republican Russia is uncontrollable.

Looking at it this way, the choice becomes clear. However, the support will be limited to the provision of weapons, equipment, and funds, and the scope of the support should be within Arthur’s acceptable range.

After all, Arthur is not doing charity, and he has no plans to spend a large amount of money and development time for the Romanov family and Nicholas II’s dowry.

If Nicholas II can also bring in Britain and Italy, Arthur wouldn’t mind giving them more aid.

But if only Australasia is helping Russia, then it can only be a friendly help, and the amount of assistance will depend on Arthur’s mood.