Chapter 463 Chaotic Meeting Place and Surprising Proposal

"Russia needs the support of Australasia. We hope to obtain the entire Polish region, East Prussia and Silesia. At the same time, Russia has also made great contributions in this war. We need at least 12 billion pounds of compensation from Germany to improve the impact of the war in the country." Hearing Arthur's inquiry, Archduke Paul said the conditions he originally wanted without hesitation.

Arthur's originally calm mood fluctuated a little. He did not expect that the Russians' appetite would be so big.

Poland, East Prussia and Silesia, if you add the Galicia region annexed by Russia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Austrian Poland, this is as high as hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land, and all in the core area of ​​the Allies.

If these areas can be obtained under the leadership of Nicholas II, Nicholas II's prestige in Russia will definitely rise significantly.

This is inevitable. The monarch who expands the country's territory will always make people forget some of his shortcomings naturally.

If another 12 billion pounds of compensation can be obtained, Russia will soon be able to recover and reproduce the glory of the European bulldozer at that time.

But according to the current situation in Russia, it is basically impossible to get Britain and France to agree to the Russians' demands.

Russia in its heyday was worthy of fear from all countries, but the domestic forces were mixed, and even the disputes between the royalists, the bourgeoisie and the workers' alliance were like a three-legged tripod, making Russia a paper tiger that seemed brave but was actually in chaos.

"Australasia will not oppose Russia's demands, but whether other countries will support it depends on you." Arthur was silent for a while before speaking.

Post-war Europe is actually a murky water. If Australasia supports Russia's division of Germany, it will inevitably make some German civilians dissatisfied with Australasia, which runs counter to Australasia's plan to attract German immigrants and technology.

What's more, it is useless to rely on Australasia's support alone. The attitude of Britain and France is also very important.

Hearing that Australasia was unwilling to support Russia in the peace talks, Archduke Paul was a little disappointed, but not too surprised.

After all, the benefits that can be divided from Germany and the Allies are limited. If one country gets more, it means that other countries will get less.

After calming down his disappointment, Grand Duke Paul proposed the second purpose of his visit: "Your Majesty, can we secretly purchase a batch of weapons and equipment from your country? Although the war has been won, the order in Russia still needs to be maintained by the army. If possible, we hope to postpone the payment of the money for this batch of weapons and equipment. After all, the government does not have much surplus food at present."

Arthur was not surprised at the Russians' proposal to purchase weapons and equipment. After all, the chaotic order in Russia needs to be resolved. I believe that all forces are looking for channels to purchase more weapons and equipment.

"Of course, there is no problem, Grand Duke Paul. If your country has no problem, we can even exchange this batch of weapons and equipment with the previous population payment method. Within three months, we can provide your country with 600,000 rifles, 2,000 machine guns, 1,100 artillery pieces of various types, hundreds of millions of bullets, and five million artillery shells. We hope to sign a further population immigration agreement with your country, which may increase the number of immigrants to about 2 million per year." Arthur would naturally not refuse the Russians' request to purchase weapons.

Because Arthur could not determine when the war would end, Australasia's military factories were in production until Germany announced an unconditional cessation of the war.

The Russians' purchase of weapons could help Australasia clear its weapons inventory. After all, the next large-scale war might have to wait until 20 or 30 years later, and these weapons might have already become obsolete by then. It would be better to sell them earlier.

Compared with Russia's currency and mineral resources, Arthur valued Russia's endless population more.

Russian immigrants who have been strictly screened are an excellent source of immigrants second only to British immigrants. Because these Russians are more adapted to peasant life and autocratic monarchy, they are easier to manage.

It is not easy for immigrants from republican countries to accept the monarchy of Australasia.

Even if they accept it on the surface, their hearts will not easily adapt to the existence of a king above their heads.

Compared with Russian immigrants, immigrants from republican countries undoubtedly have a higher rebellion rate and are more likely to endanger the country's rule.

Therefore, for Arthur, the best immigrants are British immigrants, followed by Russian immigrants.

Next are immigrants from European monarchies, followed by European immigrants, Asian immigrants, etc.

As for immigrants from Africa, there are some, but they will be dismissed at the first opportunity. If they are unwilling to leave, they will basically be arranged to colonies in various ways, and then disappear without a trace in a very short time.

The immigration policy of Australasia will not exclude immigrants of any race, but Australasia does not welcome Nigo, which is a tacit understanding of the Australasia government from top to bottom.

Hearing that Arthur wanted to exchange some advanced weapons for the Russian population, Grand Duke Paul was already very happy and quickly assured: "Of course, no problem, Your Majesty. We are willing to help your country make advance selections to ensure that there will be no reactionary forces among the immigrants coming to Australasia. If possible, we also want more weapons and equipment, which will be a long-term cooperation."

What Russia lacks the least is population, and it is this huge population that is more difficult to manage.

Before the outbreak of the war, Russia's total population was about 172 million, the largest native population among all the great powers.

The war did not affect the growth of Russia's population at all. As of the beginning of 1918, Germany's population has reached nearly 181 million, and it is growing at a rate of 3 million per year.

Such a growth rate is still due to the impact of the war, otherwise the population growth will only become more and more exaggerated.

This is also the reason why Russia is not worried about the population at all. Even if 2 to 3 million people immigrate abroad every year, Russia's population will not decrease at all.

And the population of up to 180 million has ensured that Russia has the capital of a superpower, and more people are also a burden for the current Russian government.

After all, the more people, the more resources are consumed. The reason why Russian workers and people launched an armed uprising before was that there were not enough resources in Russia, and a large number of people were affected by hunger and war.

Arthur couldn't wait to sell all the weapons in World War I, and Grand Duke Paul couldn't wait to get more weapons and equipment for Russia.

The officials hit it off and signed a five-phase purchase treaty.

The treaty stipulates that Australasia will provide Russia with a large amount of weapons and equipment every year in exchange for Russia's annual immigration of about 2 million people.

Russia will screen these immigrants in advance to ensure that there are no spies and members of the revolutionary party mixed in.

The transportation and resettlement of immigrants are all the responsibility of Australasia. After ensuring that there are no problems with the population of immigrants, Russia will not provide any after-sales service.

This transaction can be said to be a win-win situation. Australasia can solve the population problem and Russia can obtain the weapons and equipment it needs.

Although Arthur did not agree to the diplomatic support of the conference, the issue of weapons and equipment was resolved, which also made Archduke Paul feel relieved.

Fortunately, Australasia did not open its mouth, which also made Archduke Paul grateful to Arthur.

Archduke Paul originally thought that he would have to spend some time talking, and even start with Queen Mary to see if he could play the emotional card.

Unexpectedly, Arthur was very generous in terms of weapons and equipment. Russia could exchange a large amount of weapons and equipment for those useless populations to strengthen its military strength.

Although the atmosphere in Australasia was very harmonious and beautiful, the Paris Peace Conference being held in Paris was in chaos.

In order to gain more benefits for their own countries, the delegations and diplomats of various countries have used many means, and the relations between various countries are very complicated.

In just a few days after arriving in Paris, Prime Minister Bent met with representatives of the Allied Powers including the British Prime Minister, the French President, the American President, the Russian Prime Minister (Bourgeois Party), the Italian Prime Minister, and received visits from representatives of Romania, Serbia, Italy, Montenegro and other countries.

Even Belgium, which seemed to have nothing to do with Australasia, asked to meet with Prime Minister Kent and talked for several hours.

These talks seemed very harmonious, but in fact, they did not give in to each other's interests. Even in the peace talks, some countries quarreled for a little bit of interest, and the harmonious atmosphere of the peace talks disappeared, as if they were two enemies.

During these few days, the room of the four great powers of the Allied Powers was the most popular. Everyone knew that the real masters of the peace talks were actually the representatives of the four great powers of the Allied Powers.

The Americans seemed strong, but because of their weak military, they were not taken seriously by major European countries.

Needless to say, Italy, the performance of the Italian Army was even far worse than that of the Balkan Alliance. They were able to become a great power entirely because of their navy and a slightly larger industry.

The person who presided over the peace talks was the chairman of the Paris Peace Conference and the host French Prime Minister Clemenceau.

Clemenceau made very strict demands on the Germans right from the start. There were a total of 15 clauses restricting the Germans, including:

Disbanding all German government troops, confiscating all heavy weapons of the German army, dismantling all military facilities and military-industrial enterprises in Germany, making Poland and Bavaria independent, France taking back Alsace and Lorraine, and establishing an independent republic on the left bank of the Rhine, Germany paying France a total of 15 billion pounds in compensation, arresting all war criminals who started the war, and the Allies forming an international joint tribunal for trial

This strict requirement almost cut Germany's strength in half, and would also cause Germany to lose important areas including Poland and Bavaria.

If the French's request is really agreed to, Germany will not be able to retain its status as a great power for at least 20 years.

If you want to restore Germany's strength before the war, it is impossible without 50 years to start.

This is a disaster for Germany and the German government, and the French proposal also caused the entire peace talks to explode.

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