Chapter 57 William II's Conditions

For William II, he would rather see Australia lean towards Germany. Even if it cannot directly participate in future wars, it will at least pose a considerable threat to France's colonies in East Africa and Asia.

But if Australia forms a close cooperation with Britain, which is closer to it, it will be easier to win over Australia with Britain's strong strength and closer blood relationship.

At that time, Australia may not only not become a surprise soldier in the war, but will become a logistics supply station for Britain and France, and may even threaten Germany's overseas colonies.

This is something William II does not want to see. The extent of Britain's assistance to Australia is also likely to change Australia's position in the war in the future.

If it is a direct war, William II is confident that the German army is not weaker than anyone, and can even create a huge advantage against any army.

But this does not mean that William II has lost all his reason. If Germany is blocked, all sea transportation lines, and France and Russia have a huge territory and colonies as support, then no matter how brave and good the German army is, it cannot resist the enemy's endless logistics supply.

Winning over Australia, and letting Australia cause some damage to France's colonies and maritime transport routes during the war, not all of them, as long as they can cause some destruction, William II will have the confidence to completely defeat France in the war, or even directly resolve the war.

This is why William II is so concerned about Britain's aid to Australia. Compared with Germany, which is far away and has no relationship, Britain has a more important position in the hearts of Australians.

"The real negotiations have not started, but it is estimated that the annual aid will not be too much, and it should be around the five million pounds stipulated by my grandmother." Arthur pretended to sigh and shook his head helplessly.

Arthur also knew what William II wanted to know, so he didn't mind making William II happy.

In any case, William II would definitely be happy to see Britain reduce its support for Australia, and keeping it at five million pounds is the best answer.

Is five million pounds a lot? Looking at this number alone, it is actually not a small amount, which is the total income of more than 10,000 excellent workers in a year.

But this number seems a bit small and powerless in the context of the country's industrial development.

Under the premise of having huge industrial equipment to support it, Australia's annual industrial development investment is as high as 4 million pounds, and it is only a small-scale development plan.

For industrially powerful countries like Britain and Germany, 5 million pounds is just the cost of two main battleships.

"Haha, I thought it was much more, Arthur. Uncle Edward is really a fool. Australia is so poorly developed, but he is not willing to spend more money to help Australia develop. Before leaving, grandma specifically asked to take care of you, Arthur, but she didn't expect that in the end it would only be exchanged for 5 million pounds." Sure enough, William II laughed when he heard the 5 million pounds, and his words were full of disparagement of Edward.

"It's nothing. After all, Britain is not decided by Uncle Edward alone. 5 million pounds is enough for Australia. At least it can give Australia's industry a hint." Arthur continued to pretend to be miserable, and was also waiting for William II's next words.

"Okay, Arthur. As your cousin, I feel it is necessary for me to help you and Australia in such a difficult time. Although the German Empire is not as rich as the British Empire, it can still provide decent assistance." William II patted Arthur's shoulder with his right hand, stood up and said righteously.

"The 500 million marks of low-interest loans we agreed on before are invalidated. I will make the decision to give you these 500 million marks directly as the start-up capital for your industrial development. At the same time, I will mobilize major German banks to jointly invest and provide you with at least 10 billion marks of low-interest loans. You can use this mark to buy the industrial equipment and resources you want in any region of Germany. I think that whether from the perspective of interests or from the perspective of our blood relationship, Germany and Australia are friends, aren't they?" William II waved his hand and directly gave the 500 million marks promised to Arthur.

According to the exchange rate between the mark and the pound, the funds provided by William II are about 25 million pounds of sponsorship and 50 million pounds of low-interest loans, which is a big deal for any country.

"Really? Cousin William, thank you so much. On behalf of Australia and all Australians, I thank your Majesty and all Germans for your assistance to Australia. May the friendship between Australia and Germany last forever." Arthur was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect William II to be so generous. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and began to compliment William II.

Arthur didn't lose out by complimenting others, not to mention that William II spent a lot of money.

Even the aid and loans amounted to 75 million pounds, which was definitely a huge sum for Australia's development.

"This is not over yet, Arthur. As the saying goes, it is better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish. Germany will send a team of industrial experts to contribute to the industrial development of Australia. As long as it does not involve particularly important strategic technology, Germany can sell it to Australia at market prices. We hope that Australia can develop and become the overlord of the South Pacific, and provide important help to Germany in the future. We do not regard Australia as our subordinate or weak, but as an extremely important ally, Arthur." After William II finished speaking all the conditions, he looked at Arthur and asked with a smile: "How about it, Arthur, are you willing to lead Australia to become an important left and right arm of Germany?"

"If Australia can develop smoothly, then we will help Germany in future wars. If the sea transportation routes are not cut off, Australia can also export various mineral resources and other materials to Germany to help Germany win this war." Arthur did not answer directly in the affirmative, but used a more tactful way.

But in the eyes of William II, all this actually meant that Arthur agreed. After all, not every lord of Arthur's age can withstand such temptation.

In William II's view, although Arthur has a lot of ideas, his heart is actually no different from other people of this age, and they are all more impulsive and idealistic.

I believe that once Germany offers such conditions, even if Arthur is not immediately tempted, he will change his position to Germany after William II fulfills the conditions promised one by one.

But William II did not expect that Arthur is not a person who will be affected by external factors. What's more, Arthur is a time traveler. With his advanced ideas and experience in his mind, Arthur will only choose the one that is most beneficial to himself and Australia based on various conditions.

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