Chapter 263 Queen Mary is pregnant

To say that the Entente has been completely formed and the situation of complete confrontation with the Allies has changed the situation in Europe the most, it is actually the small and medium-sized countries surrounding these two major military groups. New 𝟼𝟿 Book Bar→𝟼𝟿𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚡.𝚌𝚘𝚖

As the lineups of the competing parties become clearer, these small and medium-sized countries are also faced with the question of which side to join or to remain neutral.

Such a question is not easy to decide. Each competing party has a top power at the hegemonic level, and both are composed of three powerful countries.

This leads to the fact that if a war breaks out between the two sides, it will be a huge war that can easily affect the entire Europe, and no European country can be easily spared.

If we become a neutral country, can we really avoid this alarming war?

The arms race between the two major military groups has reached a new level, but the main participating countries are still Britain and Germany.

After the Germans surpassed them in terms of dreadnoughts, Britain immediately revised its shipbuilding plan, accelerated the construction of the three Bellerophon-class battleships in the plan, and threatened the shipyards responsible for building these three battleships. Order, at least in 1 to be built, and launch experiments.

This is not over yet. The construction plan of the improved version of the Bellerophon-class battleship and the St. Vincent-class battleship has also been accelerated.

According to the British original construction plan, the completion time of the three St. Vincent-class battleships will have to wait until May next year at the earliest, and the remaining two will not even be completed until March or April of the following year.

However, the Germans' catching up had already panicked the British, so they specifically ordered the three St. Vincent-class battleships to enter the naval establishment on 1st.

This means that starting from September this year until the end of next year, the British Empire will complete the construction of at least six dreadnoughts, consolidating its advantage as the number one navy.

Compared with the construction speed of Australasia, the British Empire's naval construction speed is extremely fast, but this is still only the tip of the iceberg of the British Empire's naval shipbuilding industry. new

In addition to the construction of dreadnoughts, the British Empire also plans to carry out a new round of replacement of the weapons and equipment of the local army, and equip the obsolete weapons in the colonial army.

This was no small expense, but not too much for the wealthy British Empire.

You know, the British Empire's military expenditure has always been the largest among the major powers. Last year's military expenditure was as high as a huge 58.92 million pounds.

In second place is the German Empire with a military expenditure of 548. The third is Russia, which seems to be less developed, with a military expenditure of 53.28 million pounds.

Ranking fourth, fifth, and sixth are France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Italy. Their military expenditures are 45.5 million pounds, 21.13 million pounds and 18.57 million pounds respectively.

The high military expenditures of several major powers also represent that the opposition between the two major European military groups has almost reached its peak. The arms race has caused the military expenditures of various countries to rise.

But this is not the peak of military expenditures of various countries. According to historical conditions, the military expenditures of various countries increased several times after the war began.

If we were to say that the year when military spending by any country was at its peak, it should be Country 1.

The military expenditure of the German Empire this year reached 350 billion German marks, which is equivalent to a terrifying 17.5 billion pounds. This is why the war will cause huge pain to European countries.

If nothing else, just the high military expenditure, this year's war is enough to bring down any country.

As a defeated country, it is not surprising that after the defeat of Germany, the people were faced with 500,000 marks of bread. The long war and high military expenses had already caused the currencies of various countries to depreciate rapidly.

Coupled with the oppression of other countries and the exploitation of domestic capitalists after the defeat, the seeds of hatred sprouted in the hearts of Germans.

Compared with the high military expenditures of the major powers, the military expenditures of Australasia, which is relatively remote, are pitifully small.

1Malaysia's military expenditure is only more than 4 million pounds. Even if the shipbuilding plan has been launched this year, the total funding will not exceed 8 million pounds. New 𝟼𝟿 Book Bar→𝟼𝟿𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚡.𝚌𝚘𝚖

This point can reflect the current gap between Australasia and major European countries. Australasia's population and economic situation are still far behind European countries. This is also the key to whether Australasia can become a great power. limit.

Time has come very quickly. Christmas is an extremely important holiday for Western countries. Australasia also has a three-day national holiday on Christmas.

The Sydney Palace is very grandly prepared for Christmas. The trees and flowers in the surrounding squares have already been decorated. Even the statues in front of the palace are shining brightly under the sun.

Of course, Arthur didn't care too much about this, because there was currently more important news waiting for Arthur to deal with.

After two and a half years of hard work by Arthur, there was finally some movement in Queen Mary's belly.

On the day before Christmas, Arthur received a report from the doctor at the royal private hospital that Queen Mary might be pregnant!

This is great news for Arthur, the royal family and the entire Australasian government and country.

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Only when a monarch has a daughter can it prove that the dynasty can continue. Now that the power of the Australasian monarch is so high, officials are also afraid that the royal power will fall into other hands and the country's hard work over the past few years will be wasted.

Arthur showed great importance to his possible eldest son or daughter. Not only did he stay with Queen Mary from the moment he received the news, he also summoned all the famous doctors in Australasia to sit in the royal private hospital to recuperate Queen Mary.

In fact, thanks to Arthur's efforts, the Royal Private Hospital has become the most advanced hospital in Australasia with the largest number of top medical talents.

But it's better to be prepared for this kind of thing. Arthur has even begun to plan to hire experts with high salaries from major European hospitals. Anyway, there is nowhere to spend the money.

Arthur did not order to conceal such good news. Spreading such news can also increase confidence in the government's work, and they do not have to worry that after Arthur, their contributions to the country will be forgotten by the rulers.

On Christmas Day, Arthur received congratulations from all over Europe.

Among them, Russia and Germany are the fastest. After all, Queen Mary was born in the Russian royal family, and Kaiser Wilhelm II and Arthur are cousins. Germany and Australasia also have very good diplomatic relations.

Not only Russia and Germany, but also many European powers and small and medium-sized countries, including the British Empire, also sent congratulations to Australasia.

These included countries controlled by members of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, as well as other small and medium-sized monarchies in Europe.

After all, this is still an era of monarchy. For the European royal families with complicated relationships, maybe Arthur can really have a relationship with most European monarchies.

Arthur has ardent expectations for his possible eldest son or daughter.

All kinds of strict traditional elite aristocratic education, coupled with deeper cultivation, cannot be escaped.

As the son or daughter of a king, the little one in Queen Mary's belly is expected to only have a good life of two to three years, and then he will enter a rigorous education.

Australasia has a good development environment and opportunity, and Arthur is confident that it will develop into a top power.

But in the future, the succession of the country must also be cautious. For the development of the country and the continuity of the royal family, it is very necessary to cultivate a capable heir for yourself and the country.

Even if they are not heirs, Arthur's descendants still represent the dignity and reputation of the royal family, which is destined to prevent them from becoming waste.

Arthur spent Christmas day warmly with his family, and the officials were very sensible and did not disturb Arthur.

But since the second day of Christmas, blessings and congratulations from various officials have been pouring in. If Arthur hadn't been lazy and asked the Kent steward to come forward and give a unified reply, I'm afraid he would have been in an environment of being congratulated all day long.

Ever since Steward Kent learned the news, he was all smiles. Arthur's pregnancy is the greatest good news for the Kent steward. This news is even more exciting than Arthur becoming the king of Australasia.

Queen Mary has also completely become the protected animal of the royal family. Not only is Princess Louis always with her, but there are also more than ten maids on hand at any time, so that Queen Mary can avoid any fatigue.

In order to celebrate, Arthur specifically asked the Royal Relief Committee to provide at least two kilograms of mutton and ten kilograms of grain free of charge to adult citizens with an annual income of no more than twenty Australian dollars on Christmas Day. As for minor citizens, they are provided with one pound of mutton and one liter of milk.

At present, there are very few people in Australasia whose annual income does not exceed 20 Australian dollars. Even if we look at the country's more than 7 million people, there are only less than 800,000 people with an annual income of less than 20 Australian dollars.

Many of these are elderly people who are unable to work. Even if minor citizens nationwide are included, the cost this time is not expected to exceed 5 million Australian dollars.

Five million Australian dollars is just a drop in the bucket for Arthur, who has an annual income of more than 40 million Australian dollars. Arthur is still very generous when it comes to maintaining his reputation and support.

Arthur's behavior naturally aroused the favor of many Australasians. Even if they were not the audience of this event, the reaction to hearing about this event was with a little gratitude.

If it hadn't been for Arthur, they knew they wouldn't have the life they had now. Facing such a kind and loving monarch, what else could they do besides remaining grateful and loyal.

Although there is no accurate figure for Arthur's support in Australasia, if anyone dares to say something bad about Arthur on the streets of Australasia, everyone will probably glare at him.

If the words were more serious, there might be no guarantee whether he would make it out of Australasia alive.

If there are radicals, all of them are just like cowards.

Arthur's reputation among the people is no joke. There are really short-sighted guys, and the people don't mind sending him to see God and letting God forgive him.

After the Christmas holiday, it can be clearly felt that the atmosphere in Australasia has become joyful, and the government's work efficiency has become much more effective.

At this time, Australasia can be regarded as united, and without any worries, they will make their own efforts and contributions to the rise of Australasia.

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