The Rise of Australia

Chapter 840 George V Is Critically Ill

In the vast Mediterranean, a fleet is sailing slowly on the sea. The waves on the Mediterranean are not big, and the blue sea and the blue sky in the distance are connected in a line, rendering a very brilliant and beautiful scenery.

This fleet transported part of Spain's gold to Australasia to complete the second link agreed by Spain and Australasia, which is to transfer Spain's gold to Australasia.

Of course, the transaction between the two parties cannot be completed in one go. Australasia cannot give Spain a large amount of weapons and equipment at one time, and Spain cannot give all the gold to Australasia at one time.

Driving in the Mediterranean, the Australasia fleet remained highly vigilant.

The amount of gold transported by the fleet is as high as 50 tons, accounting for about one-tenth of Spain's total gold reserves, and the total value is very huge.

The actual value of 500 tons of gold is equivalent to 515 million Australian dollars. Even one-tenth of it is equivalent to 51.5 million Australian dollars, which is one-ninth of Australasia's annual fiscal revenue.

What the Australasia fleet is guarding against is naturally the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean. The actual value of these 50 tons of gold is enough to witness 5 main battleships, and the potential value is far more than 5 main battleships.

If the Italian army really wants to use all its warships to attack the fleet transporting gold, this transport fleet may not be the opponent of the Italian Navy.

Of course, this possibility is very small. Italy has chosen to give in before, and they are very likely not to change their minds in a short time unless they are ready for war.

The good news is that the fleet crossed the entire Mediterranean from west to east without seeing any trace of the Italian fleet.

This at least proves one thing, Italy has no plans to offend Australasia for the time being, and Europe will not face a full-scale war for the time being.

Passing through the Suez Canal in the southeast of the Mediterranean, and then through the narrow and long Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the fleet finally arrived in the Indian Ocean.

This also means that this transport fleet is completely safe. In the Indian Ocean, where the British and Australasia fleets jointly escort, safety can be guaranteed.

After successfully arriving in Australasia, the gold was transported to the Royal Bank headquarters in Fort St. Arthur and stored in the heavily guarded Royal Vault.

This vault was planned at the same time as the construction of Fort St. Arthur, and it is considered one of the most heavily guarded areas in Australasia.

As the largest bank in the entire empire, the Royal Bank stores currency, gold, and other high-value items. The Royal Vault has a whole vault guard team, with more than 300 people patrolling inside and outside the vault and around it in three shifts.

It can be said that without Arthur's permission, no fly will fly into the vault. The vault is surrounded by multiple layers of special steel plates. Even if an army wants to conquer the vault, it will take hours.

In Australasia, except for the palace, there is no place safer than the Royal Vault.

Not only the currency and gold of the Royal Bank are stored here, but also the precious items belonging to the government and a large number of Royal Bank customers.

At present, Australasia has more than 1,900 tons of gold reserves, most of which are stored in the Royal Vault.

This also shows the importance of the Royal Vault. Even with Arthur's permission, it still requires layers of procedures and multiple inspections before entering.

As time came to July 1935, Arthur finally understood why the British had not made any moves in the Spanish Civil War.

King George V of the United Kingdom, who ruled Britain for 25 years and led the British Empire to win the First World War, is now terminally ill and will not live long.

This is not alarmist, but the news announced by the British Empire.

As an ally of the British Empire, Australasia is naturally the first country to get the news.

Arthur was not surprised to hear that George V was about to die.

As early as the last time he saw George V, Arthur found that his mental state was not good. George V was born on June 3, 1865, 23 years older than Arthur.

Although they are of the same generation, George V is now 70 years old and is a real old man.

He took over the throne at the age of 55 and ruled the British Empire for 25 years. George V is still relatively long-lived.

But the bad news is that George V took over the throne of Edward VII. And soon after he took over Britain, the British Empire faced one of the largest wars in human history, the First World War, which was named the European Super War.

Although the British Empire successfully won the world war, some concessions made by George V in this war also made him completely lose control of the government.

The glory of the Victorian era also ended completely when George V took the throne, and the majesty of the British Empire was constantly challenged.

Along with the news of George V's critical illness, a letter written by George V himself came to Australasia.

In this letter, George V clearly stated his concerns about his two sons and asked Arthur to fulfill the agreement he had reached with him and help stabilize the British royal throne in the future.

In the final analysis, George V was a wise man. Although his son, Prince Edward, has not behaved so outrageously so far, he is not suitable to be the King of England after all.

The status of the British royal family is not as stable as it was in the Victorian era. If Prince Edward is allowed to cause trouble for a while, I am afraid that various waves of revolution will break out in the British Empire, and it is even possible to overthrow the British royal family.

George V placed his hopes on Arthur. In addition to Arthur being a member of the British royal family, another major reason is that Australasia is a close ally of Britain and will not pose too much threat to Britain in Europe.

To help the British royal family stabilize the throne? Of course.

As the most powerful country, the British Empire's monarchical system is good news for monarchical countries around the world.

For the monarchy itself, the more countries that practice monarchy, the more stable the concept of monarchy.

Secondly, a monarchical Britain is obviously closer to Arthur than a democratic republic.

What's more, the current British royal family and Arthur are also considered a family. Although George V changed the surname of the British royal family, in terms of blood relationship, the royal families of both countries have the same grandmother and grandfather, that is, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Moreover, helping Britain stabilize the throne is equivalent to helping Britain stabilize its domestic political order.

Europe has become increasingly chaotic, and war may break out at any time.

For Arthur, a relatively stable Britain can only assume the role of a major country against Germany.

Under the premise of uncertainty about whether the French can be trusted, the stronger Britain is, the easier it is for Australasia to succeed in its plans in Europe.

Obviously, George V's critical illness has received a lot of attention from the British government.

The death of a king who is still prestigious among the people is definitely a heavy blow to the British.

Look at George V's heir, Prince Edward, who is well-known in the European royal family. His reputation is not even bad, it is simply terrible.

Not to mention the unconfirmed gossip about Prince Edward, there are more than ten confirmed mistresses.

Although most of these were consensual, they have caused substantial damage to the reputation of the royal family.

People don't want to see a prince with a lot of scandals become their monarch. What's worse is that Prince Edward's relationship with the Church of England is not very good.

As early as 1928, George V gave Prince Edward Belvedere Castle in Berkshire as a residence.

George V's original purpose was to let Edward, as the prince of the crown, have his own private residence so that he could have more private space.

But unexpectedly, Prince Edward had his own private space, but what he did was far beyond George V's imagination.

In just a few years, Prince Edward had affairs with some married women many times, including the more famous Frieda Dudley Ward, the Marchioness of Furness and Wallis Simpson.

Yes, it was the heroine of the famous incident of loving beauty more than power, Prince Edward's favorite mistress, Mrs. Simpson.

Why mention Mrs. Simpson specifically?

Because at this time, Wallis Simpson was already a married woman who had been married twice. When she was having an affair with Prince Edward, Mrs. Simpson had not yet divorced, and her husband, Ernest Simpson, and Mrs. Simpson were still very much in love.

However, not long after Prince Edward and Mrs. Simpson started dating, Simpson divorced her husband, Ernest, and became Prince Edward's mistress.

What made the relationship between George V and Prince Edward worse was that after Mrs. Simpson divorced, Prince Edward once proposed to George V to marry Mrs. Simpson.

This was simply unacceptable to George V. Not to mention the importance that European royal families attached to blood and aristocratic status.

Even if Mrs. Simpson was born into a European aristocracy, with her experience of two marriages, she would never become the Crown Princess of the British Empire.

After all, the Crown Princess is the future Queen. Letting such a woman become the future Queen of the United Kingdom is a huge blow to the reputation of the entire British royal family.

George V's stern refusal was not taken seriously by Prince Edward. Although his idea of ​​marrying Mrs. Simpson was forcibly interrupted, Prince Edward still maintained close contacts with Mrs. Simpson.

It was also from this incident that George V was completely disappointed with Prince Edward and reconsidered the successor to the throne, that is, Prince Edward's younger brother, Prince Albert, that is, George VI.

However, relying on George V alone, he could not change the succession law of the British throne or force Prince Albert to succeed to the throne.

This is also the reason why George V asked Arthur for help. Although he could not change the fact that Prince Edward succeeded to the throne, George V believed that Prince Edward's becoming the King of the United Kingdom was temporary.

After becoming the King of the United Kingdom, Prince Edward's ambitions will be infinitely magnified.

At that time, without the constraints of George V, Prince Edward, who has a decadent private life, is destined to be opposed by the cabinet and the church, and even a crisis of the throne will break out.

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