Chapter 431 End of the Year

The war in the Dutch East Indies has temporarily entered a peaceful state, which is also good news for Arthur.

After the outbreak of the war, Arthur's focus was mainly on the war, and his free time was much less, not even with William and Anna.

As time slowly entered the second half of December, Arthur also took Queen Mary and William and Anna's family to decorate the upcoming Christmas in the palace.

In the palace of Australasia, there is almost no sense of the troubles and panic caused by the war in the outside world, and there is only warmth and joy among the royal family members.

It's a pity that Sydney doesn't snow often, otherwise, with the decoration of heavy snow, the scenery of Sydney and even Australasia would be more beautiful.

Unconsciously, the scale of Australasia's territory has become very exaggerated. It is not an exaggeration to say that Australasia is already an intercontinental country with a large amount of territory in Asia and Oceania.

The westernmost part of the territory is in the Middle East, and the easternmost part is in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The east-west longitudinal direction is more than half of the circumference of the earth.

Although the span from north to south is not so exaggerated, the northernmost part of Australasia is between the northern temperate zone and the tropical zone, and the southernmost part is between the southern temperate zone and the Antarctic Circle. The distance between the southernmost point and the northernmost point is also quite far.

In Australasia, you can see various climates in the northern temperate zone, tropical zone, southern temperate zone and Antarctic Circle, and you can feel hot, cold and warm and comfortable. The climate environment is varied.

The tourism resources of Australasia alone are enough to make Australasia a popular country in the future and one of the countries that attract the most tourists.

After some states and cities began to build tourism resources, the number of tourists in Australasia has been on the rise.

If it were not for the impact of this war, I am afraid that the beautiful environment and a large number of islands suitable for tourism would bring more tourists and immigrants to Australasia.

Fortunately, after this war, there should be a 20-year period of peace. This period is not only a time of rapid development of Australasia, but also a time of rapid development of tourism and economy in Australasia.

Although the war went smoothly in the first half of this year, since the second half of 1915, the war has become a war of attrition between the two sides.

So far, the total number of soldiers deployed in the war has exceeded 10 million, and has even approached 20 million.

According to preliminary statistics, the number of people who died in this war has exceeded 2 million, and the number of injured has reached more than 7 million, nearly half of them.

Although the number of injured is cumulative, some soldiers will continue to participate in the war after recovering from their injuries. But this cannot deny the fact that the war has been very consuming for European countries.

In addition to various resources and funds, the war also consumes the most important human resources for the country.

The bad news is that this is just the beginning. Although the Battle of Verdun lasted only a short time, the casualties are already one of the most serious in all the battles so far.

Next, Britain and France will launch the Battle of the Somme. If nothing unexpected happens, this will also be a battle with heavy casualties, or even the most tragic.

To sum it up in a simple sentence, both sides have no way to retreat, either defeat the enemy at a heavy price, or be defeated by the enemy at a heavy price.

The quick victory planned by the Germans is completely impossible. This war depends on which side can no longer hold on and which side collapses first.

However, Britain and France have a certain advantage in the war of attrition because they have a large number of colonies.

If the Germans have not found a way to break the deadlock, Germany's defeat is not only a matter of time, but also faces strong exploitation from Britain and France after the war.

Unknowingly, Arthur has been in Australia for 15 years.

Time has changed Australasia, and it has also changed Arthur. If Arthur, who just came to Australia, was just a benevolent monarch, then the current Arthur is a qualified monarch who knows the right and wrong and can be calm in any situation.

A qualified monarch must be hard-hearted and know how to put the interests of the majority of citizens first.

If it was Arthur who had just come to Australia, he might feel sorry for the large number of casualties in Australasia in the war.

Although most of them are indigenous troops, the casualties of Australasia's regular army have reached tens of thousands.

However, for Arthur now, if he can use these tens of thousands or even more than 100,000 casualties in the future, it seems that Australasia will be stronger after the war, and even establish its status as a superpower in the future, then everything is worth it.

Improving Australasia's pension policy and treating the families of all soldiers who participated in the war well can be regarded as compensation for all injured or even dead soldiers and their families.

There must be someone who bleeds for the country. What Arthur can do is to try his best to prevent these soldiers who bleed for the country from being treated inhumanely after the war, or even having their own interests encroached upon.

Time actually passes quickly. Before we know it, William and Anna are already five years old.

Five years ago, they were just babies crying for food, but now they can follow Arthur and help him set up the Christmas scene.

Queen Mary, supported by her maid and cared for by Arthur's mother, Princess Louise, stood aside with a kind smile.

"Mary, remember not to stand for too long." Arthur reminded from time to time.

Queen Mary is pregnant again, and has been pregnant for seven or eight months. Now her belly is bulging very high, and you can even feel the baby's wriggling.

The royal family is about to add a new member, which is good news for Arthur.

At present, the royal family of Australasia is still too thin. Arthur, Princess Louise, Queen Mary, William and Anna are all members of the Australasia royal family.

Arthur and the other five people control the entire royal consortium, with a huge wealth of more than 700 million Australian dollars, and the per capita wealth is as high as more than 100 million Australian dollars, which is enough to show the luxury and wealth of the Australasia royal family.

Under the premise of no inheritance problem, having more children is good for Arthur and the royal family.

Anyway, each of Arthur's children will get a lot of property, and they will also get noble titles. There is no lack of status and wealth in Australasia, and there is no trouble about raising children.

More royal family members are also good for consolidating the royal status. If there are only five people in the royal family of Australasia, if there is any accident, the royal rule may not be guaranteed.

Looking at the current British royal family, there are already a lot of direct line members, plus various collateral and distant relatives, the British king's succession order can even be ranked hundreds.

Although the bloated number of royal families will lead to increased expenses, the British royal family does not have to worry about the succession to the throne, because there are still hundreds of heirs waiting.

Even Arthur has the right to inherit the British throne. However, the time when Arthur's succession order was the highest was actually during the reign of Edward VII.

If Edward VII and all his children are not counted, Arthur should be the first heir at the time.

Of course, the probability of the British king and all his children dying is still very low.

Arthur did not have too many ideas about the British throne. After all, since the death of Edward VII, the British throne has not seemed so dazzling. The complex relationship between various political parties and factions has greatly restricted the power of the British king.

Unless there is another person like Queen Victoria, who has been on the throne for too long and has a lofty status in the hearts of the people, she can obtain considerable rights.

Otherwise, the power of the British monarch will become weaker and weaker from generation to generation, and eventually gradually lose the right to speak in the government.

Of course, although a monarch like Queen Victoria can greatly increase the power of the British monarch during her term of office, this is not permanent.

A monarch who reigns for a longer time is destined to have his successor not too young. Just like Queen Victoria and Edward VII, Edward VII became the King of England at the age of 60, which also led to his death nine years after becoming king.

Although Edward VII inherited Queen Victoria's rights and status very well, he did have a lot of say during his reign.

But because the British monarch changed very quickly during this period, the next British monarch, the current George V, lost power in the government.

Queen Elizabeth of later generations reigned longer than Queen Victoria, and her status in the UK was indeed good, and she could even play a role in stabilizing the British Isles.

But the problem is that her successor, Prince Charles, was already 74 years old when he inherited the throne, and was even 75 years old at the coronation ceremony.

Such a monarch's reign is doomed to be short-lived. If the British regime undergoes frequent rotation again, the power of the next British monarch is doomed to weaken further.

Of course, it seems that the power of the British monarchs in later generations is not much, and the weakening will not be too much.

Although Australasia is not as powerful as the British Empire, the good news is that the political environment in Australasia is relatively good and single. The various political parties are uniformly managed by the Royal Parliament, and the relationship between them is not too complicated.

Because the country was established not long ago, Arthur was able to control most of the government's power well, and there was no opposition that could pose a threat.

In addition to the various policies of the royal family and the government that Arthur has always advocated, the Australasian royal family still has a high status in the hearts of Australasians.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Arthur's status in the hearts of Australasians can even surpass that of Queen Victoria in the hearts of the British.

After all, Arthur is the first king of Australasia, which made the Australian and New Zealand regions move towards independence and unity.

As the founder of the country and has ruled the country for more than ten years, as long as Arthur touches the fundamental interests of the people, Arthur's reputation will never be shaken.

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