Chapter 277 The Old King Falls

As time entered April, Australasia also ushered in the late autumn of the southern hemisphere.

To be honest, when Arthur came to Australasia from the UK, he did not adapt to the opposite seasons of the southern and northern hemispheres of Australasia.

When the northern hemisphere is in summer from June to August, it happens to be the coldest season in the southern hemisphere.

But the good news is that Arthur can still feel the snow when the British are in summer, but it is not much.

As the head of a country, Arthur's life is noble and luxurious, but also boring and boring.

First of all, there are too many state affairs, and there are many things that the government cannot decide, and Arthur's opinion needs to be consulted.

Secondly, there are various constructions carried out in the country, as well as many more important things, which Arthur also needs to inspect every once in a while.

Arthur's reputation and support among the people are very good. He basically gives a speech every Christmas, which is spread all over the country through newspapers.

In addition to these, Arthur needs to understand the inspection of the army, weekly cabinet meetings, reports from various colonies, the development of major enterprises in the royal consortium, etc. every once in a while.

After all, how can a monarch who doesn't know much about the development of his army, government territories and his own enterprises manage and coordinate a large country?

In May, when Minister of Industry Pierre was reporting to Arthur in his office on the current construction of the Leonora Industrial Base, Butler Kent hurried over and said, "Your Majesty! There is big news in the UK."

Minister Pierre was very tactful and quickly said that he would come back another day to report, and then left in a hurry.

After Minister Pierre left, Butler Kent came up and said, "Your Majesty, according to the news from the British royal family, King Edward just died today."

Arthur stood up and then sat down immediately. His expression returned to normal, showing a serious look, and asked, "Is the news accurate? Why did Uncle Edward suddenly die?"

"It was a telegram sent directly to us by the British royal family, and the news is basically correct. As for the cause of King Edward's death, the British royal family has not disclosed it yet." Butler Kent replied.

"Let the navy prepare the fleet, and notify Foreign Minister Pierre at the same time to immediately form a visiting delegation and set off to Britain tomorrow." Arthur gave the order without any hesitation.

Even if the relationship with Edward VII is not good, on the surface, they are still uncle and nephew with a good relationship.

What's more, Arthur has a high support among the British people, so he naturally can't do stupid things to ruin the goodwill of the British at this time.

After all, the support of the British is still very important to Australasia. With Arthur's status in the hearts of the British, the British government cannot be hostile to Australasia.

Although these are not important in terms of national interests. But these politicians are not fools, and no one will jump out to be the first to be hostile and scolded by the British people.

At present, the news of Edward VII's death should only be known by the royal families of some relatively powerful monarchies, and the British government has not announced it to the outside world.

This is also normal. After all, the transfer of power of any monarch may cause turmoil in the country and society.

For a country like Britain that has a large number of colonies and is united by multiple kingdoms, national stability and calmness are the most important.

For Arthur, the death of Edward VII is not necessarily bad news, but it is not all good news.

After the death of Edward VII, it also officially marked the end of the Victorian era. This also means that the remaining prestige of Queen Victoria has become less and less. As time goes by, Arthur's status in the hearts of the British people will gradually decline and become less important.

What's more, starting from the next British King George V, the power of the British monarch is not so great, and it can't suppress the formal groups and organizations of all sizes in the UK.

Historically, George V did not have the means of Queen Victoria and Edward VII, which is why in World War I, in order to stabilize the position of the royal family, the British royal family had to abandon the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty and change their surnames to Windsor.

Although this was called to comply with public opinion, the king of a country had to change his surname for the sake of public opinion. Doesn't it mean that the power of the royal family and the monarch has declined?

If the people are very supportive of the British royal family, then the hatred should be directed at Germany, not at the royal family who came to Britain from Germany hundreds of years ago and have become authentic British except for their surnames.

You know, changing surnames is not only about the dignity of the royal family, but also about the honor and history of a family.

As the monarch of the most powerful country in the world, George V's behavior of changing his family's surname actually symbolizes the weakening of the British monarchy and the power of the British royal family.

If the monarch during World War I was Queen Victoria, there would be no royal family in Britain who would change their surnames.

Unfortunately, there are not many great monarchs like Queen Victoria, and the last glory of the Victorian era is about to end.

It is worth mentioning that Arthur is also from the British royal family and is a direct descendant of the British royal family.

If the British royal family continues to change its surname as in history, will Arthur admit it?

Arthur shook his head secretly and rejected this idea. There was no power in Australasia that had the power to change Arthur's surname, and Arthur had no intention of changing his surname.

Anyway, the British royal family after George V was not so close to Arthur, and there was no need for Arthur to change his name with the British, which would only make him lose face.

After asking Kent, the housekeeper, to notify the Navy and Minister Andrew, Arthur returned to the bedroom of the palace and said goodbye to Queen Mary with an apologetic look.

Originally, after the last tour, Arthur promised Queen Mary that he would not leave the palace frequently for at least two years to ensure that William and Anna could see their father at any time.

Unexpectedly, in less than half a year, Arthur had to breach the contract.

However, there was no way around it. Queen Mary understood this very well, and even smiled and comforted Arthur, telling him not to worry, with her and Princess Louise in the palace, there would be no problems.

Of course, before leaving, Arthur also needed to hold a cabinet meeting to arrange the work of the government after he left Australasia.

The death of Edward VII is also a big trouble for the old empire of the British Empire.

Although Arthur has no good feelings for Edward VII, he has to admit that this old man with an unruly private life does have some ability in handling government affairs.

Although the British Empire is currently the world's first power, with the world's first navy and the world's third industry.

But the internal situation of the British Empire is already very bad. There are not only class contradictions, but also political contradictions and party disputes.

At present, the two major parties in the British Empire, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, are the main forces in the political struggle.

Prime Minister Asquith, the leader of the Liberal Party, has completed many reforms in the British Empire and gained considerable reputation, which also allows the Liberal Party to remain the ruling party in the British Empire.

But the problem is that Edward VII, who supports reform, has passed away. Whether the Liberal Party can continue to be the ruling party depends on King George's opinion.

In other words, King George, who is about to succeed to the throne, is very important to the future political trend of the British Empire.

If King George chooses the Liberal Party, then the political struggle in the British Empire may be delayed or the hidden dangers of political struggle may be temporarily eliminated.

But if King George chooses the Conservative Party, which is hostile to the Liberal Party, then the reform dispute between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party will begin.

However, the good news is that for a powerful country like the British Empire, the struggle between political parties is not so costly for the country.

In other words, the consumption of the struggle between political parties is just a drop in the bucket for the British Empire and will not affect the status and power of the British Empire.

But there is a problem. All this is without the involvement of foreign forces. If Germany or other countries want to take the opportunity to do something, it may make the already chaotic British political arena even more chaotic.

However, all this has little to do with Arthur. Australasia currently has little influence in the international community, and no country has any ideas about Australasia for the time being.

After all, if you have ideas about Australasia at this point in time, you will face the three major powers of Britain, Germany and Russia.

Going deeper, Britain can bring in France, and Germany can bring in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Doesn't this mean that if you have ideas about Australasia, you may face the joint condemnation of the five major European powers of Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Austria?

In today's world, no country can withstand the joint pressure of these five countries, which also means that Australasia will be relatively safe for a long time, at least before other countries and forces rise.

Arthur called a cabinet meeting, one is to ask the cabinet about the current situation in Britain and Europe, and the other is to make the cabinet fully prepared to guard against the possible outbreak of European war.

Although the First World War in history will not break out until a few years later, Arthur dare not rely entirely on history.

What if a country has a brain twitch and directly launches a war at this moment. As the saying goes, a single hair moves the whole body. If the entire European war starts directly, won't Australasia, which is not prepared, miss a lot of benefits in vain?

Arthur's first order is to let the Ministry of Industry be prepared at any time. If European countries have a tendency to start fighting, the production of major factories can be increased accordingly.

Strategic materials such as medical care, food, supplies, equipment, weapons, ammunition, etc. can be transported to Europe in large quantities at that time in exchange for more benefits.

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