Chapter 431 End of the Year

The war in the Dutch East Indies has temporarily entered a state of peace, which is also good news for Arthur.

After the war broke out, Arthur's focus was mainly on the war, and he had much less free time. He didn't even have time to spend time with William and Anna.

As time slowly entered the second half of December, Arthur also took Queen Mary and Williamanna's family to make arrangements for the upcoming Christmas at the palace.

In the royal palace of Australasia, you can hardly feel the trouble and panic caused by the war from the outside world. What you can feel is the warmth and happiness among the royal members.

It's a pity that it doesn't snow often in Sydney. Otherwise, with the appearance of snowy days, the scenery of Sydney and even Australasia would actually be more beautiful.

Without realizing it, the size of Australasia's territory has become exaggerated. It is no exaggeration to say that Australasia is already an intercontinental country, with a large amount of territory in Asia and Oceania.

The westernmost part of the territory is in the Middle East, and the easternmost part is in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The east-west lengthwise direction is the circumference of most of the earth.

Although the span between north and south is not that exaggerated, the northernmost part of Australasia is between the northern temperate zone and the tropics, and the southernmost part is between the southern temperate zone and the Antarctic Circle. The distance between the southernmost point and the northernmost point is also quite far.

In Australasia, you can see various climates in the north temperate zone, the tropics, the south temperate zone and the Antarctic circle. You can feel hot, cold and warm and comfortable, and the climate environment is diverse.

The tourism resources of Australasia alone are enough to make Australasia an internet celebrity country in later generations and one of the countries attracting the most tourists.

After some states and cities began to build tourism resources, the number of tourists in Australasia has been on the rise.

If it were not for the impact of this war, I am afraid that the beautiful environment and a large number of islands suitable for tourism would bring more tourists and immigrants to Australasia.

But fortunately, after this war, there should be a 20-year period of peace. This period is not only a time of rapid development in Australasia, but also a time of rapid development of Australasia's tourism and economy.

Although the war in the first half of this year went relatively smoothly, starting from the second half of 1915, the war has turned into a war of attrition for both sides.

So far, the total number of soldiers from various countries involved in the war has exceeded 10 million, and has even approached 20 million.

According to preliminary statistics, more than 2 million people died in this war, and more than 7 million people were injured, accounting for nearly half of the casualties.

Although the number of wounded is cumulative, some soldiers will continue to fight in the war after recovering from their injuries. But this cannot deny the fact that the war has taken a very serious toll on European countries.

In addition to consuming various resources and funds, war also consumes manpower, which is most important to the country.

The bad news is that this is just the beginning. Although the Battle of Verdun only lasted a short time, the casualties were already one of the heaviest of all battles to date.

Next, Britain and France will launch the Battle of the Somme. If nothing else happens, this will be a battle with heavy casualties, even the most disastrous.

To sum up in a simple sentence, both sides have no way to retreat. They must either defeat the enemy at a heavy cost or be defeated by the enemy at a heavy price.

The quick victory planned by the Germans is completely impossible. This war will depend on which side can't sustain it first and which side's country collapses first.

However, because Britain and France had a large number of colonies, they had certain advantages in a war of attrition.

If the Germans still have no means to break the situation, Germany's defeat will not only be a matter of time, but it will also face strong post-war exploitation by Britain and France.

Before he knew it, Arthur had been in Australia for 15 years.

Time has changed Australasia, and it has also changed Arthur. If Arthur who just came to Australia was just a benevolent monarch, then Arthur now is a qualified monarch who understands right and wrong and can be calm and composed in any situation.

A qualified monarch must be hard-hearted and know how to put the interests of the greater number of citizens first.

If it were Arthur who had just arrived in Australia, he might feel sorry for the large number of casualties in Australasia during the war.

Although most of them are indigenous troops, the current casualties of Australasia's regular troops have reached tens of thousands.

However, for Arthur now, if these tens of thousands or even more than 100,000 casualties in the future can be used, it seems that Australasia will become stronger after the war and even establish its status as a superpower in the future, then everything will be worth it. of.

Improving Australasia's pension policy and treating the families of all soldiers who participated in the war can be regarded as compensation for all injured or even dead soldiers and their families.

There are always people who will bleed for the country. What Arthur can do is to try his best to prevent these soldiers who shed blood for the country from being treated inhumanely after the war, or even having their own interests expropriated.

Time actually passed very quickly, and before they knew it, William and Anna were already five years old.

The child who was just an infant five years ago is now able to follow Arthur and help him decorate the Christmas scene.

Queen Mary, on the other hand, stood aside with a kind smile on her face, supported by her maid and under the care of Arthur's mother, Princess Louise.

"Mary, remember not to stand for too long." Arthur reminded her from time to time.

Queen Mary became pregnant again and was already seven or eight months pregnant. Now my belly has swelled so high that I can even feel the baby's movements.

The royal family is about to have a new member, which is good news for Arthur.

At present, the Australasian royal family is still too thin. Arthur, Princess Louise, Queen Mary, William and Anna, these are all the members of the Australasian royal family.

Arthur and other five people control the entire royal family consortium, with a huge wealth of more than 700 million Australian dollars, and the per capita property is as high as more than 100 million Australian dollars, which is enough to show the luxury and wealth of the Australasian royal family.

As long as there are no inheritance issues, having more children would be beneficial to both Arthur and the royal family.

Anyway, each of Arthur's children will receive a large amount of property, and they will also receive noble titles. There is no shortage of status and wealth in Australasia, and there will be no worries about raising children.

A larger number of royal members is also good for consolidating the status of the royal family. If there are only five members of the Australasian royal family, if something unexpected happens, the royal family's rule may not be guaranteed.

Looking at the current British royal family, there are already a very large number of direct line members. With various collateral lines and distant relatives, the line of succession of the British king can even be ranked in the hundreds.

Although the bloated number of royal families will lead to increased expenses, the British royal family does not have to worry about the succession of the throne, because there are still hundreds of heirs waiting for the throne.

Even Arthur has the right to inherit the British throne. However, the time when Arthur's succession was highest was actually during the reign of Edward VII.

Not counting Edward VII and all his children, Arthur should have been the first in line of succession at the time.

Of course, the King of England and all his children died, so the probability of such an event happening is still very low.

Arthur didn't have much idea about the British throne. After all, since the death of Edward VII, the British throne has not been as dazzling as it seems. The complex relationship between various political parties and factions has greatly restricted the power of the British king.

Unless there is another one like Queen Victoria, who has been on the throne for too long and has a high status in the hearts of the people, she can gain a lot of power.

Otherwise, the power of the British monarch will become weaker and weaker from generation to generation, and eventually he will gradually lose his right to speak in the government.

Of course, although a monarch like Queen Victoria was able to significantly increase the power of the British monarch during her tenure, this was not permanent.

A monarch who reigns for a longer period of time is destined to have a successor who will not be too young. Just like Queen Victoria and Edward VII, Edward VII became King of England at the age of 60, which also led to his death nine years after becoming King.

Although Edward VII successfully inherited the power and status of Queen Victoria, he did have a considerable voice during his reign.

However, because the British monarchs changed quickly during this period, the next British monarch, now George V, lost power in the government.

The later Queen Elizabeth reigned longer than Queen Victoria. Her status in the United Kingdom was indeed good, and she could even play a role in stabilizing the British Isles.

But the problem is that her successor, Prince Charles, was 74 years old when he inherited the throne, and was even 75 years old when he was crowned.

Such a monarch's reign is destined to be short-lived. If the British regime experiences frequent rotations again, the power of the next British monarch is destined to weaken even more.

Of course, it seems that later British monarchs did not have much power, and they did not weaken much if they were weak.

Although Australasia is not as powerful as the British Empire, the good news is that the political environment in Australasia is relatively simple. All political parties are unified and managed by the Royal Parliament, and the relationship between them is not too complicated.

Because the country was founded not long ago, Arthur was able to control most of the government's power well, and there was no opposition that could pose a threat.

Coupled with the various policies of the royal family and the government that Arthur has always advocated, the Australasian royal family still has a high status in the hearts of Australasians.

It is not even an exaggeration to say that Arthur's status in the hearts of Australasians can even surpass Queen Victoria's status in the hearts of the British.

After all, Arthur was the first king of Australasia, which led to the independence and unity of Australia and New Zealand.

As the founder of the country and having ruled the country for more than ten years, Arthur's reputation can never be shaken as long as he touches the fundamental interests of the people.

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