Chapter 392 Testing each other

Although it is a sure profit for Australasia, the French actually have ulterior motives behind this deal.

Although the Kerguelen Islands are located in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, they are also in the Indian Ocean after all.

If Australasia acquires this area, it will not only get closer to South Africa, but will also expand its power in the Indian Ocean region.

For the British Empire, which regarded the Indian Ocean and India as forbidden areas, whether it could accept it or not was a question.

In other words, France's behavior is suspected of sowing discord between Australasia and the United Kingdom.

The reason why France sows discord between Australasia and Britain is actually very simple.

The four major Allied powers seemed to be united, but only to concentrate on dealing with Germany. At present, Germany has shown its decline, so carving up post-war interests has become a more important thing, and at least it needs to be planned in advance.

For France, what the French want to do most after the war is, first, to retake Alsace and Lorraine, and second, to occupy part of German land, when France becomes a European hegemon or even a world hegemon again.

But such behavior will naturally not be allowed by the British. You know, France is Britain’s neighbor across the Channel.

In any case, the British will never allow the French to become bigger and become the new overlord on the European continent.

This also means that after the war, the relationship between Britain and France is questionable.

If the French want to achieve their own strategic goals, it will be very important to win over their allies within the Entente.

As for the remaining two Allied members except Britain and France, Russia exposed too many shortcomings in the war, and the damage this war caused to the Russians was also huge.

Even if the war is won in the future, it will still take some time to lick the wounds and restore the domestic economy and stability instead of competing for interests with Britain and France.

This also means that after the war, it is impossible for the Russians to clearly support France in acquiring more land.

Apart from Russia, the only other great power of the Entente was Australasia.

Although Australasia currently looks very weak, it is still one of the great powers, and it is destined not to be consumed too much by this war.

But with the construction of the Australasian navy, after this war is over, Australasia will definitely become a power with a certain say.

Even if Australasia will not support France, they must sow discord between Australasia and Britain so that Australasia will not firmly support Britain. This is the plan and intention of the French.

The Kerguelen Islands are closer to Africa and can serve as an excellent naval base and Australasia's breakthrough in the Indian Ocean.

Arthur does have ideas about this, because this area is very close to Madagascar and South Africa. If he obtains the Kerguelen Islands, he may even take over the French Madagascar, and successfully turn Australasia into a three-continental island. countries, namely Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Moreover, by occupying more land and spheres of influence in the Southern Hemisphere, Australasia can also claim more territory in Antarctica.

Although there is currently no technology and method for mining Antarctica, considering the abundant resources in Antarctica, it is still beneficial to claim a large area in advance.

Among other things, from the Kerguelen Islands to the South Pacific Islands in the easternmost part of Australasia, Australasia's sphere of influence will cover most of Antarctica.

As long as Australasia's guns are strong, then most of Antarctica belongs to Australasia.

However, although he already had an idea, directly agreeing was not Arthur's way of doing things.

"Mr. Crete, I admit that what you said is indeed true. But a barren land like Kerguelen is not of great use to us." Arthur shook his head and rejected the proposal of French Ambassador Crete.

"Your Majesty, if your country is willing to continue to provide combat troops, in terms of the distribution of benefits after the war, on behalf of the government, I can agree with your country to take more industrial equipment and technology from Germany. We will also accept your country's behavior of attracting talents in Germany. I won't object." Seeing that Arthur already had the intention of refusing, Crete quickly continued.

There has been a preliminary draft on the distribution of post-war benefits within the Allied Powers, and the proportion allocated to each country has been fixed.

In exchange for a steady stream of reinforcements from Australasia, the French have spent a lot of money and are willing to receive less industrial equipment and technology.

As for the issue of attracting German talents, including Britain and France, they have no idea of ​​attracting most German talents.

Among other things, this war has been so fierce that Germany has caused hundreds of thousands of casualties to British and French troops, and Britain and France have also caused hundreds of thousands of casualties to German troops.

The hatred between several countries is not just a blood feud, but it is definitely a deep hatred.

Maybe some of them had family members who joined the army and were killed by the British and French forces.

Under such a premise, except for some particularly outstanding talents who can change a certain industry, Britain and France dare not recruit talents in Germany.

The Russians may have ideas, but Russia can't even control itself now. If we say that absorbing such German talents after the war, it will cause greater chaos in the country.

In this way, there will be no country within the Allied Powers competing with Australasia for German talents, and most of the German talents will fall into the hands of Australasia.

Although Australasia also participated in the war against Germany, there were also casualties between them.

After all, the relationship between Australasia and Germany is already good. As long as the hatred between the two sides is transferred to the indigenous people, these German talents can be perfectly absorbed.

Anyway, the vast majority of the Australasian Expeditionary Force is indeed composed of indigenous troops. Those Aboriginals who participated in the war and served Australasia may have been repatriated to Southeast Asia and other areas.

The remaining indigenous people in Australasia can only bear the hatred of the Germans on behalf of the Australasians as the scapegoats of the indigenous people who participated in the war.

Arthur nodded, agreeing with Crater's opinion.

The reason why Arthur participated in the First World War was to obtain more benefits from the distribution of interests after the First World War and to push Australasia to the status of a top power.

Of all the post-war profit distributions, the most attractive ones are naturally Germany’s many factory equipment, technical workers, and talents.

Germany has developed over the past few decades and has achieved quite outstanding results. In education, medical care, scientific research and many other aspects, Germany has cultivated a large number of talents, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or millions.

Coupled with Germany's strong industry, factories are blooming everywhere and tens of millions of workers.

To be able to absorb part of German industrial equipment, industrial technology, industrial technology and technical workers, and scientific research talents, Australasia's national heritage will take a big step forward, and it is even hoped to fully catch up with countries like Italy after the war.

If before World War I, Australasia competed with Italy and the island countries for the status of the last great powers, then after World War I, Australasia will compete with the United States. For the position of the great powers, the goal is to maintain the five and compete for the third.

The good news is that because of Australasia's support for the Allies, the United States does not gain much in the current war.

When signing the alliance, Arthur specifically pointed out that Australasia would be the main supplier of supplies to the Allied Powers.

Until Australasia is short of supplies, the Allies cannot import large quantities of supplies from non-Allied countries as a reward for their allies.

This has also resulted in the arms trade between the Allied Powers being almost exclusively conducted between the four major powers. From the beginning of the war to the present, the United States has not received any arms orders from Europe.

The Germans have no idea of ​​​​purchasing weapons for the time being, because the war is not long and Germany's domestic supplies are barely enough.

Under such a premise, the Germans naturally trust more in weapons produced in their own factories rather than purchasing them from the distant United States.

What's more, the Atlantic Ocean has already been blocked by the Allied Powers. It is very difficult for the Germans to purchase resources and weapons from overseas, so they might as well count on their allies to make some contributions.

"Two ambassadors, since you have made such concessions in terms of interests, Australasia will naturally not chill the hearts of its allies. Please rest assured that 200,000 reinforcements will arrive in Europe before April and be invested in the war. Germany's war. If you can ensure that Australasia can give priority to German industrial equipment and technology after the war, then I can also guarantee that at least 500,000 indigenous troops will be provided to the European battlefield every year to defeat the enemy with the strength of the whole country." Se smiled and looked at the two ambassadors.

Winster and Crete looked at each other and did not agree to Arthur's request.

However, Arthur felt that it was still possible. At present, it can be clearly seen that Britain and France are prepared for each other. Neither of them is willing for the other party to absorb Germany's achievements after the war, thereby stabilizing their respective hegemony.

The French wanted to become the European hegemon after the war, and the British wanted to stabilize their hegemony, so naturally they could not agree to the French's excessive expansion.

This will also lead to problems between Britain and France sooner or later, but because the current enemy is the Germans, and the strength of the Germans is far greater than the rift between Britain and France. As a result, Anglo-French relations remained strong.

If Britain and France compete, Australasia may indeed benefit.

After all, neither side wants the other to gain too much benefit, so it is better to give all the benefits to Australasia. Britain and France will still maintain the current situation except for some land.

If Arthur made such a request, I am afraid that the British and French representatives would directly glare at him.

Arthur's request is tantamount to the war that Britain and France won at great cost, directly making Australasia a wedding dress.

Although Britain was unwilling to see France return to be the European hegemon after the war and threaten its own status.

Presumably Britain is not willing to see Australasia rise rapidly and become a new major concern for the British Empire due to its superior geographical location.

For the British, France and Australasia were their allies. Since they are allies, they cannot be too strong.

France gained the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine, and it was enough to compensate for some colonies. As for Australasia, it is enough to obtain some German colonies and industrial equipment and have the strength to compete with the United States.

As for the biggest interests, of course it is the British themselves who control them. If they cannot ensure that their status as world hegemon is not shaken after the war, then for the British, this war will be unnecessary.

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