Chapter 391: Britain and France Visit Together

Although the war only lasted four months, it was a huge cost for all the participating countries.

So far, Australasia has exported at least 5 million tons of food, 500,000 rifles, hundreds of millions of bullets and various weapons and equipment, strategic materials, etc. to Europe.

Including mineral resources such as oil, coal, and iron ore, Australasia also sold a lot to the British Empire and France.

These trades also brought a lot of profits to Australasia, while promoting the economic development of Australasia, which is why Australasia was the only participating country with a rapid economic growth during the war.

Thanks to the rapid expansion of the military industry, Australasia's industry has also ushered in a considerable growth.

It is worth mentioning that the French have realized the harm that their unique military uniforms bring to the army, and are currently urgently planning to replace military uniforms with colors that are less likely to be discovered.

And some factories in Australasia have undertaken the production of some military uniforms and helmets.

This also gave some civilian clothing factories in Australasia a good development opportunity. At least during this period, the market for military clothing was much higher than that for civilian clothing, because many supplies were destroyed or intercepted by the enemy before they were distributed to the soldiers.

Of course, Russia has the smallest demand for military uniforms. If you have to ask why, you can see it by looking at the uniforms with bullet holes and patches worn by Russian recruits.

Russians really take clothes, even if they are from comrades who died in battle. As long as the degree of damage to the uniform is not high, it still has value for use.

At present, there are no more taboo weapons such as poison gas on the European battlefield, but Arthur understands that if the war in Europe continues to develop like this, the Germans will definitely not be able to sit still, and poison gas will definitely be used by the Germans.

In order to deal with the possible use of poison gas by the Germans and to protect the Australasian army, under Arthur's order, Australasian scientific researchers began to urgently study gas masks, a mask that Arthur asked to isolate harmful gases.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Arthur also asked people to study reliable and convenient masks to prevent the possible pandemic influenza in a few years.

The influenza pandemic in a few years is not a minor infectious disease. If there is no preparation, it is likely to cause a large number of casualties and losses to the country and the people.

Arthur is already preparing masks, disinfectants and other supplies. The purpose is to wait for the arrival of the future influenza pandemic to reduce casualties in Australasia as much as possible, or even to eliminate casualties as much as possible.

The good news is that the outbreak of the Spanish influenza will take a few years, and Australasia is geographically remote, so it is destined not to be the most severely affected area.

As long as the national level is well protected and a large number of masks, disinfectants and other emergency supplies are prepared, it will be no problem to effectively deal with this influenza pandemic.

Regarding the integration and assimilation of all immigrants in the country, the unification of language and religion are the two policies that Arthur attaches the most importance to.

With the joint efforts of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Archbishop Steed, a large number of non-British immigrants have been trained in English, at least so that they can use English for simple communication.

You know, most of the people who set up factories in Australasia are British Australasians.

This also means that when looking for a job, knowing English is also a necessary condition. Although this does not represent a fundamental condition, knowing English or not does determine whether one can survive in the factory.

Imagine that if you can't even understand what your colleagues and leaders say and have to communicate by gestures, how can you work better?

It is precisely because of this that German and Russian immigrants are still very enthusiastic about learning English.

This also makes the language unification process in Australasia very smooth, and all language schools run by the government and the church are basically full.

In addition to unifying the language, Archbishop Steed is also trying to unify the religion of Australasia.

But religion is different from language. People can accept learning another language to help themselves live a better life, but they often cannot accept changing religion.

Some people who don't believe in religion are okay, but those who are more superstitious about religion even speak coldly to the missionaries sent by the church and directly refuse.

Arthur is not too concerned about the religious unification of Australasia. After all, in this era, secular power is far greater than religion.

For a country like Australasia, as long as the fundamental power is in Arthur's hands, it doesn't matter what religion the citizens believe in.

As long as the British and Protestants can be ensured to account for the majority of the total population of Australasia, the remaining minority of residents will have great freedom of belief.

Of course, some religions that oppose the government and royal rule and run counter to the beliefs of most British immigrants are unlikely to be taken over by the government.

The specific choice is left to Archbishop Steed to solve.

In addition to being the Archbishop of Australasia, Archbishop Steed is also the head of the Australasian Protestant Association.

Religious issues should be left to religion itself to solve. If Archbishop Steed is capable of making the vast majority of Australasia believe in Protestantism, Arthur will definitely welcome and support it.

After a brief cabinet meeting, Arthur patiently waited for the arrival of the National Day of the new year.

But unexpectedly, before the arrival of National Day, Arthur took the lead in waiting for guests from Europe.

The visitors were Henry Winston, the British Ambassador to Australasia, and Topin Crete, the French Ambassador to Australasia.

The status of these two people in their respective countries is not small, because they are responsible for the contact with the allies of the Allied Powers, and they are also the bridge of communication between Australasia and the Allied Powers.

Although Arthur had already guessed the purpose of their visit, he still received them in the banquet hall with a smile.

The purpose of Britain and France's visit is actually very simple, and it is definitely related to the current war in Europe. Britain and France had to bear a large number of casualties every day on the European battlefield, and the Australasian troops only had over 300,000 troops at full strength, and now there are only more than 200,000.

Moreover, the Australasian Expeditionary Force is composed of the vast majority of indigenous people. Under such circumstances, Britain and France naturally want Australasia to send more reinforcements to relieve the pressure faced by Britain and France.

After everyone exchanged greetings and sat down, Arthur got straight to the point and asked directly: "Two ambassadors, why are you here today?"

Henry Winston and Toppin Crater looked at each other. Winston spoke first and replied very respectfully: "Your Majesty, to tell you the truth, the battlefield in Europe is very anxious now. In order to defeat the Germans as soon as possible, , we hope that your country can send at least 200,000 more reinforcements to help us launch a larger offensive, regain the lost territory of France, and even directly invade Germany."

So far in the war, France and Germany have both won and lost, and the offensives of both sides have reached a stalemate, turning into a protracted and cruel war of attrition.

A war of attrition naturally requires human lives. It can be seen from the daily casualty figures on the Western Front battlefield that the British, French and Australian allied forces suffered nearly 20,000 casualties every day in the war of attrition, and more than 3,000 people died. The rate of consumption of manpower was extremely terrifying.

At this time, whichever side has more manpower means that it has more advantages to consume.

Naturally, it goes without saying that Britain and France are the main target of Germany's attack, and the current casualties have been very heavy.

The British Empire has so far sent more than 500,000 expeditionary troops to France, including 400,000 colonial troops and 100,000 regular troops.

Only Australasia not only dispatched more than 300,000 troops, but also only one division of regular troops.

Although the Fourth Division of Australasia performed very well in the war, the combat effectiveness of a single division was not weaker than that of the German division.

Such a move cannot change the battlefield on the Western Front at all. Australasia needs to contribute at least another 200,000 troops to have a certain impact on the battlefield on the Western Front.

"If I remember correctly, what our alliance agreed at that time should be 300,000 colonial troops and a regular division! As early as two months after the war broke out, Australasia had already completed the task in full, and also Frequently transporting supplies to various allies, absolutely nothing is carried." Arthur glanced at the two ambassadors and said with a chuckle: "And judging from the size of our army, we simply cannot organize another 200,000 troops in a short period of time. The army. If you need supplies, there may be a way, but in terms of the army, we are really powerless."

Winston and Crete looked at each other, and Crete was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that we are absolutely here with sincerity. Mr. President also knows that your country is not easy. If your country is willing to do it in three We are willing to support an army of 200,000 men within a month. We are willing to pay half of the cost of establishing this army and bear half of its military expenses for fighting in Europe. In addition, we are willing to transfer the Kerguelen Islands to your country and sell it to you. The country provides an interest-free loan of 500 million francs.”

The Kerguelen Islands are located in the southern Indian Ocean, between the French colony of Madagascar and Australasia.

If Australasia can acquire this colony, its sphere of influence will also expand to the Indian Ocean.

After hearing the French's conditions, Arthur couldn't help but narrowed his eyes and looked at Ambassador Crete with deep meaning.

I have to say that the conditions for the French are indeed generous. Australasia only needs to dispatch 200,000 indigenous troops to obtain an interest-free loan of 500 million francs, a colony that can expand its sphere of influence.

Even half of the cost of setting up and fighting the 200,000-strong army was borne by France. From a profit perspective alone, this sale of Australasia was definitely not a loss.

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