The Rise Of Australasia

After the United Kingdom and Australasia agreed to Russia's request, the operation to rescue the Russian royal family had essentially succeeded.

As long as there were no further attempts on Nicholas II's life from within Russia, Nicholas II's loyal military would have no problem reaching the Far East safely.

Now that the lives of Nicholas II and his family were no longer in danger, what Arthur was naturally concerned with was the subsequent establishment of the Australasian Empire.

Whether to establish the empire before or after the war, Arthur still had some hesitation.

If the empire were established before the war, it could become more stable after successfully weathering the war.

But if it were established after the war, there would be no opposition from other countries, and the new empire would immediately become the leader among all monarchical countries.

Overall, whether the empire was established before or after the war, there were benefits in each case.

Moreover, the longer the empire was established, the deeper the people's recognition of it. By the time William succeeded to the throne, there would be no opposition to his reign, and both the monarchy and the country could exist for the long term.

Thinking of this, Arthur decided to prepare as soon as possible, aiming to establish an empire encompassing all of Australasia before the outbreak of war.

Although it was just a change in title and status, it was undoubtedly a major event for all of Australasia.

The same was true for Arthur. Whether it was the corresponding ceremonies or attire, everything needed to be meticulously prepared to honor Arthur's efforts.

To this end, Arthur decided to reorganize all of Australasia to await his most glorious moment in the best possible state, that is, when he would become the Emperor of Australasia.

Having confirmed that the lives of Nicholas II and his family were safe, Arthur was no longer interested in when they would arrive in Australasia.

After all, aside from fulfilling his agreement with Arthur, Nicholas II had no other way to ensure the survival and prosperity of the Romanov Family.

Now truly at leisure, Arthur decided to embark on a detailed nationwide population census to clarify the actual population of Australasia.

Just discussing the numbers, the population of Australasia had already surpassed 40 million.

However, due to the lack of detail in the statistics from each region, the proportion of each ethnicity in the total population and the specific population figures were still approximate.

In order to better understand the entire country, a large-scale population census was very necessary.

Besides confirming the specific population figures of the country, even more important was to eliminate any spies from other countries possibly within the nation.

If Australasia were to go to war with the Island Nation in the future, starting to comprehensively eliminate Islander populations now was necessary for the future stability of the country.

"Minister Hunter, how is the country's financial revenue and economic situation this year?" Arthur asked solemnly, looking toward the son of the old Butler Kent, the brother of the former Prime Minister Kent, Finance Minister Hunter.

"Your Majesty, in 1931, our economy still maintained high-speed growth. Our gross national product for the entire year reached 7.831 billion Australian dollars, and our fiscal revenue exceeded 437 million Australian dollars," Minister Hunter said excitedly:

And our total fiscal expenditure was only 403.5 million Australian dollars, resulting in a fiscal surplus of 33.5 million Australian dollars."

Hearing the economic and financial news reported by Minister Hunter, Arthur nodded with satisfaction, appreciating Hunter's work.

Since the end of the economic crisis, Australasia's economy had once again begun to soar.

Especially after the fall of the United States, with the influx of substantial American capital and European immigrants, Australasia's growth rate far exceeded the past and had become the fastest-growing country in terms of economy and industrial development.

Although it still could not compare to the terrifying industrial and economic power of the United States at its peak, the current real industrial and economic data of Australasia could be said to be second only to the mighty British Empire.

If it were not for the fact that some external data had been deliberately concealed by Arthur, Australasia would probably already be recognized as the second major power, rather than France.

The reason Arthur was content to let France remain on the seat of the second major power was not only because he indeed needed France to attract the enmity of the British but also because he was very confident about France.

Although France was developing, too many internal problems still plagued it. The pace of France's development was even slower than that of Britain, hardly a competitor to Arthur.

As long as Britain weakened in the upcoming war, Australasia would become the most powerful country in the world.

Apart from Russia, the country with the most potential to become a formidable foe, the remaining countries would have no strength to challenge Arthur and Australasia's hegemony in the short term.

"How much budget does the Ministry of Finance still have available for use? If a super war of the same scale as the previous European Great War were to break out in the next few years, could our economy withstand at least three to four years?" Arthur continued to inquire.

Although it was unclear when the upcoming World War II would occur, making thorough preparations was absolutely necessary.

In theory, during World War II, Australasia could obtain sufficient income by selling a large amount of resources and supplies, but it would also have to face the Island Nation, still a rather powerful enemy.

Once the war starts, expenses would come flooding in incessantly. If one doesn't make preemptive measures, and only begins to prepare materials and equipment once the war arrives, that would be far too late.

Only by being well-prepared in advance, ready to face a super war like the previous European conflict, could Australasia face the upcoming World War II with composure.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Finance currently has around 257 million Australasian dollars available for allocation," Minister Hunter swiftly replied:

Taking into account our domestic economic growth, I believe our economy can support a war for at least five years.

As long as we can protect our maritime trade routes, we can hold out for even longer," he said.

Wars certainly can't be sustained with just the small amount of money in the national treasury. Once war breaks out, the government will issue various bonds, trying to raise more funds from the civilian population for military expenses.

Secondly, upon the outbreak of war, whether state-owned or civilian, factories have the obligation to follow the state's orders, to produce the various materials and equipment the country needs.

Furthermore, with two moderately sized markets like Kalimantan and the Philippines, and the large market of Europe, Australasia would have no problem supporting a war for at least five years.

"What is the current situation at the Ministry of Industry? Are our reserves of grain and weapons and equipment sufficient?" Arthur continued to focus his gaze on the Ministers of Industry and Agriculture, asking the questions he was more concerned about.

To face the war, the reserves of various industrial products, including weapons and equipment and grain, are also extremely important.

Before the outbreak of World War I, Arthur had the factories produce a large amount of weapons and supplies, successfully reaping a fortune during World War I.

This was why the Royal Consortium quickly became the largest capital in Australasia, with an annual income not much less than that of the government.

World War II wouldn't be much different from World War I, and Arthur planned to prepare a large batch of weapons and equipment, as well as food supplies that would be scarce during the war, in advance to sell to Europe at higher prices once the war broke out.

After all, once the war erupted, prices for various supplies would skyrocket. Producing these materials now at low cost meant future profits would be at least several times, or even over ten times higher.

The money earned from these weapons and grain supplies could be used for Australasia's military expenses, in a sense, using the money from Europe and other countries to support Australasia's military—Australasia only needed to act as the middleman to make a profit on the difference.

"Your Majesty, last year our total steel production output reached 15.452 million tons, second only to Britain, the Great Lakes Industrial Area, and France, and slightly ahead of Germany.

Because of your orders to limit industrial expansion, we have not greatly increased the total steel production output in recent years but have focused on the development of the chemical industry and other industries instead.

If necessary, we can expand the total steel output to 20 million tons at any time and increase the steel production output to 25 million tons within three years," Industry Secretary Joey answered.

Arthur nodded, expressing no dissatisfaction with the drop to fourth place in the world for total steel output.

The previous economic crisis had already shown the world the ills brought about by unrestrained development. The market in Australasia was not large at present; besides domestic consumption, there were only Kalimantan and the Philippines, two reasonably decent markets.

But these two markets could only be considered decent, far from excellent. Their capacity for absorbing industrial products was not strong, which was bound to mean that industrial development in Australasia would not see a significant boost in the short term.

Although it seemed to be only fourth in the world, the industrial strength of Australasia was definitely not weak.

As Minister Joey said, if Arthur wished, Australasia's industrial scale could be expanded at any time to the world's top three, easily dethroning France from the top three industrial nations.

However, the problem was that this seemed unnecessary. After all, France had vast colonies where it could dump various industrial products, something Australasia did not have.

If industry were to expand blindly, there could be another economic crisis, which clearly did not align with Arthur's plans.

It's worth mentioning that the Island Nation, currently Australasia's biggest rival, had not seen much development in its industrial strength either.

In 1931, the Island Nation's steel production output was only about 650,000 tons, and the total steel output was just 1.5 million tons, roughly one-tenth of Australasia's.

Such a huge lead in industrial aspects meant that in any future war, the Island Nation was definitely the country that would falter first.