Chapter 45 Conversation

The negotiation with William II went smoothly, which made Arthur feel much better because of Queen Victoria's critical illness. new

Seeing that Queen Victoria could no longer hold on for a few days, no matter how deep the relationship between Arthur and Queen Victoria was, they had to consider Australia's future.

After losing the asylum and support of Queen Victoria, they basically lost the support from Britain.

Although Crown Prince Edward has a good relationship with Arthur on the surface, he will never put a lot of effort into helping Arthur and Australia rise.

Although Arthur has a handle on Crown Prince Edward, if such a handle is made public, not only will the status and reputation of Crown Prince Edward be greatly affected, but even the status of the British monarch and nobility, as well as the status of monarchs around the world, will be greatly affected. impact.

Born in the British royal family, to a certain extent, Arthur is a member of the British royal family, and both prosper and lose.

Once the status of the British royal family suffers a severe impact, Arthur's legal status in Australia may also be affected.

After all, although monarchy is still the mainstream in European countries, in fact, democracy and liberal trends have had a huge impact on the monarchy. new igh.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Compared with publicizing these evidences and handles, using these evidences and handles to obtain sufficient benefits from Crown Prince Edward is a more appropriate solution.

But on the other hand, after obtaining enough benefits, Arthur will naturally turn against Crown Prince Edward. Although it will not break with the British Empire, at least during the reign of Crown Prince Edward, Australia wants to be close to the British Empire. cooperation is impossible.

After both achieved their more satisfactory goals, William II and Arthur were in a happy mood, so the already beautiful and moving scenery of the Isle of Wight became even more outstanding in their eyes.

"Arthur, what do you think of the current situation in Europe? Now that the confrontation in Europe has become clear, do you prefer our Three Kingdoms Alliance or the so-called St. Petersburg Military Agreement between France and Russia?" On the way back to the manor, William II suddenly asked Arthur Se asked.

"The situation in Europe?" Arthur was stunned, but continued to answer: "Judging from the current confrontation, I think the strength of the two major military groups is almost balanced. France and Russia have a large amount of land area and population, while Germany It has a strong army and advanced industry. I think if a short war breaks out, the advantage will be with Germany. But if the war lasts for a long time, the advantage will gradually be transferred to France and Russia."

This is actually the original historical answer. Although Germany fought bravely in the early stage, after the war turned into a war of attrition, its foundation was completely inferior to Britain, France and Russia, three countries with vast territories and large populations. new

Especially when maritime transportation lines are interrupted, even if Germany has a huge industry, it will stagnate due to lack of raw materials.

"Hahaha, Arthur, you have underestimated one thing, and that is the strength of the great Junker nobles and the German army. No matter how large the land areas of France and Russia are, they will never be able to sustain the crazy attack of the German army. Once When the war breaks out, all German armies are confident that, just like the last Franco-Prussian War, they will quickly capture Paris and end this war quickly." William II laughed and directly overturned Arthur's view.

The war that William II referred to was the founding war of the German Empire, which was also the famous Franco-Prussian War.

The Franco-Prussian War started with France, and it took less than two months for Napoleon III to personally lead the army to surrender.

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Even if a revolution broke out in France and continued to resist Prussia, Paris was still captured by the Prussian army's successive attacks, forcing the French government at the time to sign a humiliating peace treaty.

This war directly defeated the Second French Empire, leading to the outbreak of revolution in France and the establishment of the Third French Republic.

It also recaptured Alsace and Lorraine, which were originally occupied by France and had rich coal resources, and forced France to pay a large amount of compensation. As a result, France fell behind other powers during the second industrial revolution and lost the power of Central and Western Europe. The dominant position was completely overtaken by Germany.

This is also the reason why William II is confident. The German army captured Paris with overwhelming force decades ago. So now that Germany is more powerful, why not achieve this great feat?

It can be said that because of physical defects since childhood, William II has a character of inferiority and arrogance.

And because he single-handedly kicked out the iron-blooded Prime Minister Bismarck from the German political arena, Wilhelm II gained a huge voice in the German political arena.

All Germans were imagining defeating France in a short time after the war started. Who could have imagined that this war would last for several years and directly defeat the arrogant German Empire?

"Cousin William, maybe what you said is right. But France and Russia are both powerful countries that dominate a corner, but apart from Germany, the Allied Powers can barely match the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I I am not very optimistic about Italy's performance. Italy has a direct regional conflict with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although it is covered up by the larger conflict with France, who can guarantee that France will not give in in exchange for Italy's defection? Arthur said with a smile.

Reminding William II does not mean that Arthur wants to support the Allies. A Europe that fights more fiercely is also good for Australia.

The situation in World War I will only become clear after the United States decides to join the war. Before that, the two major military groups have their own victories and defeats, and the war is relatively balanced.

So why can’t the person rocking the boat be Australia? Giving Australia ten years to develop, Arthur was confident that he would build a good industrial system and even have the ability to directly affect World War I.

The status of a neutral country and a victorious country after the war is very different. Especially during World War I, there were a lot of money-making plans. These old powers have been sucking blood colonies for hundreds of years. Why can't Australia be allowed to suck them for a while? Where's the blood?

"Maybe, Arthur. But we don't expect anything from Italy. They only need to remain neutral in the war and not fall to the side of France and Russia. Germany will have the confidence to defeat France in a short time and end the war completely."

For an extremely conceited and extremely confident obsessive, it was impossible for William II to be persuaded by Arthur so easily.

Of course, Arthur did not want to persuade William II. What is more important for Arthur and Australia now is how to obtain benefits from the two major military groups to enable Australia to develop rapidly.

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