Chapter 202 Engagement and Returning Home
The news that Arthur finally chose Grand Duchess Mary soon reached the ears of Nicholas II and Queen Alexandra.
The two were very satisfied with the result and thought it was another beautiful combination between European royal families.
At least for now, Australia and Russia have the same interests in their union. Russia needs more support in the Far East, and Australia also needs an ally at the level of a great power, while limiting the rise of possible future enemies, island countries.
After marrying the Russian royal family, immigrants from Russia can be effectively accepted. After eliminating some revolutionaries and dangerous elements, Russians who have been living under the tsarist autocracy are actually more suitable to become Australian residents, and their acceptance of autocracy will be higher than other European immigrants.
On August 15, 1905, Arthur and Grand Duchess Mary had a brief contact for a few days, and after meeting a few times, they held an engagement ceremony in St. Petersburg.
During these few days, Arthur also sent a telegram to his mother, Princess Louise, to seek the opinion of her mother, Princess Louise, who naturally had no objection and even urged Arthur to get engaged quickly.
Although only the Russian and Australian royal families attended the engagement, and only a few senior Russian officials were qualified to offer on-site congratulations.
But this engagement still caused a certain sensation in Europe. This was another great union between the Romanov family and the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.
For the Russian Empire, this engagement also had a certain meaning of auspiciousness, which made some people in the Russian Empire focus on the two protagonists of the engagement, and some parades were even thinner.
Because of Arthur's good reputation among the people of the British Empire, many British people paid close attention to Arthur's engagement and offered their sincere blessings.
Although Russia's current relationship with Britain is not very good, in front of Arthur's marriage, this little conflict can be temporarily forgotten.
Taking advantage of the engagement, Arthur, on behalf of Australia, also negotiated many close cooperation with the Russian Empire, including the introduction of more immigrants, strengthening bilateral trade, and the import and export of resources from both sides.
Because of the good relationship with the Russian Empire, Australia can also open up part of the Far East market and establish some insignificant interests.
What Arthur is most concerned about is the issue of immigration. As of 1905, the total population of the Russian Empire reached 143.98 million, making it a populous country.
Because of its large population, Russia did not care about casualties in the war, which gave it the title of the European bulldozer.
Russia's weapons and equipment are generally backward, but it is precisely because of the continuous population that Russia's army has maintained a fairly strong level of strength.
Russian immigrants have many advantages. They can not only accept the monarchy well, but also endure hardships.
The Russian people are relatively tough, and the combat effectiveness of the army they formed is also very strong, and they are not afraid of death.
If there is unrest in the country, in addition to long-term oppression and rule, the excessive exploitation of the ruling class and the low status of Russian civilians are also very important factors.
This basically does not happen in Australia, and it is also the premise for Australia to maintain national stability after accepting these immigrants.
In addition, Arthur married the Russian royal family, and the relationship is closer to the Russians. The Russians will also become immigrants who are more loyal to the Australian royal family besides the British.
Of course, this is the situation after eliminating those revolutionaries and rioters. Arthur will not accept those dangerous elements who incite revolution. The interests of Australian civilians can be guaranteed by the royal family. What civilians have to do is to work hard and maintain order.
The Russian government remains indifferent to Australia's request for immigration. Russia has a large population, and immigration abroad can also reduce some of the burden.
If it were not for Australia's limited capacity, the Russian government would even want to sign an immigration treaty with Australia with an annual immigration volume of at least 500,000.
Russia's population growth has always remained at around one to two million per year, and sometimes the population growth will even exceed three million.
In 1800, the total population of Russia was only more than 35 million, and 100 years later in 1900, it had reached a terrifying 132 million, nearly four times.
This is nothing. From 1900 to 1916, in just sixteen years, Russia's population growth reached about 51 million, and the annual population growth even reached more than 3.1 million.
This kind of trouble for a large country with a large population is actually something that a small country with a small population cannot envy.
Russia's annual population growth is equivalent to half of Australia. In this era when the number of people still determines the advantage of war, more people also represent more advantages and more expendable manpower.
The immigration treaty signed by Arthur is not so crazy. The treaty will be officially implemented from the date of signing, and the specific number of immigrants will be determined according to Australia's transportation conditions.
What does it mean? It means that the number of Russian immigrants that Australia can transport is the same as the number of Russian immigrants it can obtain every year.
Of course, immigration matters cannot be rushed. According to Arthur's estimate, starting from 1905 this year, the number of Russian immigrants going to Australia each year in three years will not exceed 100,000, and the average annual number will only be around 40,000 to 50,000.
This is because Russian immigrants need to be carefully screened, and any factors that may join the revolution and chaos and affect Australia's stability need to be eliminated in advance.
Of course, these tasks need to be done by Barty Crouch's Royal Security Intelligence Service.
It has been more than three years since the establishment of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, and the group of people selected from the army at the time have become very skilled in intelligence work.
Of course, the expansion of manpower in the past three years has not stopped, but intelligence personnel need to undergo more rigorous background checks and loyalty tests before they can successfully enter the Royal Security Intelligence Service.
So far, the Royal Security Intelligence Service has more than 500 people, but the most elite backbone is still the more than 100 people selected from the army at the beginning.
At present, the Royal Security Intelligence Service has sent more than 100 intelligence personnel to major regions of the world. They live in other countries in various identities and provide intelligence work for the Royal Security Intelligence Service.
Of course, the main scope of the Royal Security Intelligence Service's work is still in Australia and New Zealand. There are more than 200 intelligence officers stationed in these two regions, collecting all the intelligence in Australia and New Zealand for the Royal Security Intelligence Service and Arthur, and also monitoring all officials and political parties in the two regions, and detecting some unstable factors in advance.
Compared with the sensation caused in Europe, this engagement caused a greater sensation in Australia.
After all, one of the protagonists of the engagement is their beloved Duke Arthur, and the other protagonist is also a princess of a powerful country, Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Tsarist Russia.
Such a strong alliance makes the Australians very satisfied and offer their blessings.
If it weren't for the persuasion of Australian government officials, the people would even spontaneously form a parade to celebrate and offer greater blessings and cheers for Arthur.
It can only be said that the parade, an action used to express one's own ideas, has been deeply engraved in the minds of Europeans.
Whether it is to express dissatisfaction or excitement, the parade is already the top priority that Europeans can think of.
Because of Arthur's good reputation in Australia and New Zealand, a large number of residents in the entire Federation of Australia and New Zealand paid close attention to this engagement, and even created many versions of this engagement based on their imagination.
Some said that Arthur and Archduchess Mary fell in love at first sight and decided to stay together for life, and there were also various other versions that were widely circulated.
The Australian government even sent a telegram to ask Arthur whether to impose certain restrictions on various gossips about this engagement in the country.
After all, this is related to the prestige of the monarch himself, and entertainment gossip may also go astray.
Although Arthur did not agree to ban these news, he still instructed the Victoria Daily and the Australian Daily News to report this engagement publicly to eliminate some of the rumors that were becoming more and more outrageous.
However, the good news is that Arthur has a good reputation, and various entertainment gossips are limited to this engagement, and most of them are blessings, without any smears or negative emotions.
On August 29, 1905, after staying in Russia for more than half a month, Arthur finally embarked on the journey back to Australia.
This trip to Europe has taken more than two months, and with the time spent on the return trip, it almost fits the original four-month itinerary.
This trip was somewhat beyond Arthur's expectations at the time. Not only did the negotiations with Germany and Russia go very smoothly, but a further immigration treaty was also signed.
It can be expected that in the next few years, the number of immigrants in Australia will usher in a greater explosion, and Russian immigrants will also become the main force among the Australian immigrants.
In addition to immigration and engagement, Arthur is looking forward to the technology of the basic industry discussed with Germany.
At present, Australia's industrial situation is relatively biased. The steel industry and some manufacturing industries that Australia can use are relatively developed, and this aspect has already taken shape.
However, the basic industries involving all aspects and the industries that Australia currently does not use are still in a relatively weak state. If there is no strong boost to the development of these industries, it may take a long time to make up for it.
Compared with Australia, Germany's basic industry is very strong and has basically no shortcomings. Germany's basic industry assistance this time can also bring growth to Australia's basic industry.
If it can be combined with certain incentive policies, there is hope that the weakness of the basic industry can be made up in a few years.
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