Chapter 597 Meeting with Nicholas II

After attending Dmitry's coronation ceremony, Arthur chose to go to nearby St. Petersburg and take Queen Mary back to her parents' home.

In any case, Russians are an important part of the population of Australasia, and the relationship between Australasia and Tsarist Russia is still worth maintaining.

Today is different from the past. The current status of Russia and Australasia has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the Russian government also attaches great importance to Arthur's visit.

In the East Palace, Arthur finally met Nicholas II, whom he hadn't seen for more than ten years. Nicholas II looked much older. Although only ten years had passed, he looked at least twenty years older.

Let Queen Mary take a few little guys to reminisce with members of the Russian royal family, and Arthur and Nicholas II entered a conference room.

"Arthur, long time no see!" Nicholas II looked at Arthur, who was in his prime and full of vigor, and said with emotion.

"Long time no see, cousin Nicholas." Arthur also said with emotion.

The last time they met, Nicholas II's status was higher than Arthur's. Now Arthur's status in the European royal family has surpassed Nicholas II.

Although Arthur and Nicholas II are of the same generation, Nicholas II is much older than Arthur. The difference in status between the two also made them feel the emotion brought about by the change of the situation.

"Thank you for your help before, otherwise, it would be a problem whether the Romanov family can maintain their rule." Speaking of which, Nicholas II is still very grateful to Arthur.

If it weren't for Arthur's strong support for him during the previous revolution, I'm afraid he wouldn't have had a chance to turn the tables, and now Russia would have become a republic.

Although the situation in Russia is now more chaotic, and a large number of countries have become independent from Russia.

But in the final analysis, the essence is still under the rule of Tsarist Russia. If it develops peacefully for 20 years, Russia will still become the European bulldozer it once was, after all, the land area and population are still ahead of other European countries.

"This is what I should do, cousin Nicholas. In any case, maintaining the monarchy is the common goal of all European royal families." Arthur said with a smile.

Nicholas II nodded and believed what Arthur said.

After all, Australasia played a part in helping him and William II keep their thrones.

Otherwise, there should be two more powerful republics in Europe, and the Hohenzollern and Romanov families would become the history of European dynasties.

"Arthur, the recovery of the Russian economy still needs the support of Australasia. I hope we can establish further cooperation to help Russia recover its economic and industrial level faster." After sighing, Nicholas II put forward conditions to Arthur and said sincerely.

Although Russia can also get support from Britain and France, the support from Britain and France requires Russia to pay a greater price, and the sincerity is not enough.

Although the cooperation with Australasia is also an exchange of interests, at least Nicholas II understands that Arthur has no other requirements and will not covet Russia's land.

This is actually determined by the distance of Australasia. Because it is far away in Oceania, Australasia does not pose much threat to European countries, which is also the reason why Australasia can gain the trust of many European countries.

But Britain and France are different. Even if they don't have direct land demands, they will try every means to control a country, which is something many European countries don't want to see.

"That's natural." Arthur said with a smile: "Of course I'm happy for Russia to restore its industry and economy. After all, Russia is one of Australasia's most important allies."

"However, Australasia's help is still a little thin. Russia still needs the support of Britain and France to better restore the post-war order."

Nicholas II also nodded, and he also approved of the proposal to obtain support from Britain and France.

Currently, the two most powerful countries in Europe are Britain and France. If you want to better restore order, you must get the consent of these two countries.

"Arthur, I want to invite some Australasia officers to help us train the army. I want to form a brand new army and even promote military reforms throughout Russia." At the end of the conversation, Nicholas II made his final proposal and said to Arthur.

Arthur was not surprised that Nicholas II proposed military reforms. After all, the Russian army did not perform well in previous wars and civil wars, and it could even be said to be a mess.

Poor logistics, chaotic command, unsatisfactory cooperation and uneven weapons and equipment, this is the true portrayal of the Tsarist Russian army from World War I to the Civil War.

It is precisely because of this that Tsarist Russia suffered huge losses in World War I, and the combat effectiveness of Tsarist Russia in the Civil War could only barely compete with Soviet Russia.

Improving the combat effectiveness of the army is the first thing that Nicholas II is determined to change.

At present, the total number of Tsarist Russian troops exceeds one million, and Nicholas II naturally does not have such a huge ambition to reform millions of troops at one time.

After taking over the list of requirements provided by Nicholas II, Arthur realized that Nicholas II's demand was to carry out a comprehensive reform of the current small number of troops, that is, the current Russian First Army.

The current Russian First Army is a collection of Russia's elite troops. The total number of the entire army is 60,000, with a total of 5 armies, each with 3 divisions.

It can be seen that the obvious characteristics of the Russian army are that the number of troops is relatively bloated, with an average of more than 20,000 people per division, which is significantly different from the average size of 60,000 people per division in Australasia during World War I.

Such a large army group size has led to a surge in logistical pressure. The weapons and equipment and logistical resources allocated to each division are not as much as imagined, which also led to the poor situation of Russian logistics during the entire World War I.

In order to carry out a desperate reform, Nicholas II decided to completely imitate Australasia in the First Army and form a new division with 60,000 people in each division.

In order to better learn the military organization, deployment of weapons and equipment, etc. of Australasia, it is also an important part of Russia's military reform.

This also means that after the comprehensive reorganization of this entire army group, Russia will have to pay a lot of resources and time for this, and the cost will definitely not be less.

"Completely reorganize the entire First Army?" Arthur asked with some curiosity.

"Of course." Nicholas II nodded, and said with a slightly serious expression: "The opportunity will not wait for anyone, and Russia's situation also needs a better army. I will cut some troops to reduce military expenditures, and all of these reduced military expenditures will be used in the reorganization of the First Army.

Arthur, the reorganization of the army still needs the strong support of Australasia, and Russia will never forget the friendship of Australasia." At the end of the words, Nicholas II looked at Arthur and said in a very sincere tone.

Help Russia with military reform?

This is not a problem for Arthur at all. First of all, whether Russia is strong or not is not bad for Australasia at all, and it can even add a more reliable ally.

Secondly, only when Russia becomes strong, if World War II breaks out in the future, can Germany be successfully restricted to Europe.

After all, it would be very difficult to defeat Germany during World War II if it relied solely on Britain and France.

The development of this world has long been different from history. The signing of the US-Island Alliance also made Arthur doubt whether the United States would join the future Allies instead of the Axis as in history.

In addition, Russia is still in chaos, and it is basically impossible to fight against the future World War II with the current European situation.

If the three countries of Britain, France and Russia unite to fight against Germany, perhaps they can suppress the Germany in history.

Although it is not certain whether the world will develop as history does, the rise of Mussolini in Italy and the birth of the Nazi Party in Germany have forced Arthur to remain vigilant.

A Russia that has restored its strength can not only compete with island countries in the Far East, but also deal with Russia that will start a war in the future.

Under comprehensive consideration, making Russia stronger is beneficial to the development of Australasia, and Arthur will naturally not refuse Nicholas II's proposal.

"Of course, no problem, cousin Nicholas. As an ally of Russia, I am naturally happy to see Russia become stronger." Arthur smiled and nodded, agreeing with Nicholas II's proposal.

"Australasia is willing to provide Russia with weapons and equipment needed for Russia's military reform, training officers, etc. We also welcome more Russian officers to study in Australasia to learn more military tactics and military ideas."

Helping one is helping, helping two is also helping. Military students from Finland and Russia can also be arranged together for centralized education, etc.

Arthur does not have to worry about the conflict between the two countries for the time being. After all, neither Nicholas II nor Dmitry is stupid, and the two countries are from the same royal family, so they have natural advantages in terms of relations.

Even if Nicholas II is smarter, he can sign an alliance with Finland to increase his influence in Eastern Europe.

Although Finland may be abandoned for this, for Russia at present, the most important thing is to complete domestic unification.

Those separated countries, including Lithuania, are still difficult for Russia to take back if there is no special event or war.

Even Lithuania, which is controlled by Poland, is impossible for Russia to go back with the support of Britain and France.

Russia's hope of regaining these countries may only be placed after a powerful country destroys these independent countries.

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