Chapter 463 The chaotic venue and surprising proposal

"Russia needs the support of Australasia. We hope to gain the entire Poland, East Prussia and Silesia. At the same time, Russia has also made a huge contribution in this war. We need at least 12 billion pounds of Germany's Only by paying compensation can the impact of the war in the country be improved." Upon hearing Arthur's inquiry, Archduke Paul stated the conditions he originally wanted without any hesitation.

Arthur's originally calm mood had a slight fluctuation. He did not expect that the Russians' appetite was so big.

Poland, East Prussia and Silesia, if you add the Galicia region annexed by Russia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Austrian Poland, this is hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land, and they are all in the core area of ​​the Allies.

If these areas can be obtained under the leadership of Nicholas II, Nicholas II's prestige in Russia will definitely increase significantly.

This is inevitable. A monarch who expands territory for his country will always make people forget some of his shortcomings.

If it can receive another 12 billion pounds in compensation, Russia will soon be able to recover and regain the glory of the European bulldozers at that time.

But judging from the current situation in Russia, it is basically impossible to get Britain and France to agree to the Russian demands.

In its heyday, Russia was worthy of the fear of all countries, but domestic forces were mixed, and even the disputes between the royalists, the bourgeoisie and the workers' alliance made Russia a paper tiger that seemed brave but was actually a mess inside.

"Australasia will not oppose Russia's request, but whether other countries will support it is up to you to fight for it." Arthur was silent for a while, and then said.

Post-war Europe was actually in troubled waters. If Australasia supported Russia's partition of Germany, it would inevitably make some German civilians dissatisfied with Australasia. This would run counter to the Australasian plan's strategy of attracting German immigrants and technology. .

What's more, it's useless to rely solely on the support of Australasia. The attitudes of Britain and France are also very important.

Archduke Paul was slightly disappointed to hear that Australasia was unwilling to support Russia in the peace talks, but he was not too surprised. New 𝗰𝗼𝗺

After all, the benefits that can be divided between Germany and the Allies are limited. If one country gets more, it means that other countries will get less.

After calming down his disappointment, Archduke Paul proposed the second purpose of his visit: "Your Majesty, can we secretly purchase a batch of weapons and equipment from your country? Although the war has been won, Russia's order still needs the army. Come for maintenance. If possible, we hope to postpone the payment for this batch of weapons and equipment, after all, the government currently does not have much surplus food."

Arthur was not surprised at all by the Russians' proposal to purchase weapons and equipment. After all, Russia's chaotic order needed to be resolved. He believed that all forces were looking for channels to purchase more weapons and equipment.

"Of course there is no problem, Archduke Paul. If your country has no problem, we can even exchange this batch of weapons and equipment with the previous population payment method. Within three months, we can provide your country with 1,100 machine guns and 1,100 various types of weapons and equipment. Artillery, hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition, and five million rounds of artillery shells. We hope to sign a further population immigration agreement with your country, which may expand the number of immigrants to about 2 million per year." Arthur naturally disagreed with the Russians' request to purchase weapons. Will refuse.

Because Arthur could not tell when the war would end, Australasia's armaments factories remained in production until Germany announced an unconditional cessation of the war.

The purchase of weapons by the Russians will also allow Australasia to clear out its weapons inventory. After all, the next large-scale war may have to wait until twenty or thirty years later. Perhaps these weapons will already be outdated by then, and it is better to sell them early.

Compared with Russia's currency and mineral resources, what Arthur valued more was Russia's endless population.

Russian immigrants who have undergone strict screening are an excellent source of immigrants after British immigrants. Because these Russians were more adapted to peasant life and an autocratic monarchy, they were easier to manage.

It was not easy for immigrants from republican countries to accept the Australasian monarchy.

Even if they accept it on the surface, their hearts will not easily adapt to the presence of the king above their heads. New 𝟲𝟵Book Bar→𝟲𝟵𝘀𝗵𝘂𝘅.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Compared with Russian immigrants, immigrants from republican countries undoubtedly have a higher rebellion rate and are more likely to endanger the country's rule.

Therefore, for Arthur, the best immigrants are British immigrants, followed by Russian immigrants.

Next came immigrants from the European monarchies, then European immigrants, Asian immigrants, etc.

As for immigrants from Africa, there are not none, but they will all be deported as soon as possible. If they are unwilling to leave, they will basically be arranged to the colony in various ways, and then disappear without a trace in a short period of time.

Australasia's immigration policy will not exclude immigrants of any race, but Australasia does not welcome Nico. This is a tacit understanding from top to bottom of the Australasian government.

Hearing that Arthur wanted to exchange some advanced weapons for the Russian population, Archduke Paul was already happy and quickly promised: "Of course, no problem, Your Majesty. We are willing to help your country select in advance to ensure that people come to Australia There will not be any reactionary forces in the immigrants of Greater Latin America. If possible, we also want more weapons and equipment, and this will be a long-term cooperation."

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What Russia lacks most is population, and it is this huge population that is more troublesome to manage.

Before the outbreak of the war, Russia's total population was approximately 172 million, the largest native population among all major powers.

The war has not affected the growth of Russia's population at all. As of now, the population has reached nearly 181 million, and it is growing at a rate of 3 million per year.

This growth rate is still due to the impact of the war, otherwise the population growth will only become more and more exaggerated.

This is why Russia does not worry about population at all. Even if 2 to 3 million people immigrate every year, Russia's population will not decline at all.

A population of 180 million has ensured that Russia has the capital of a superpower. A larger population is also a burden for the current Russian government.

After all, the greater the population, the more resources are consumed. The reason why Russian workers and people launched armed uprisings before was precisely because Russia's domestic resources were insufficient and a large number of people were affected by hunger and war.

Arthur couldn't wait to sell all the weapons from World War I, and Archduke Paul couldn't wait to get more weapons and equipment for Russia.

The officials hit it off immediately and immediately signed a five-phase purchase contract.

The treaty stipulates that Australasia provides Russia with a large amount of weapons and equipment every year in exchange for Russia's annual immigration of approximately 2 million people.

Russia will screen these immigrants in advance to ensure that no spies and members of the Revolutionary Party will be mixed in.

Australasia is entirely responsible for the transportation and resettlement of immigrants. After ensuring that there are no problems with the immigrant population, Russia will not provide any after-sales services.

This transaction can be described as each getting what it needs. Australasia can solve its population problem, and Russia can obtain the weapons and equipment it needs.

Although Arthur did not agree to the diplomatic support of the peace conference, the weapons and equipment matter was resolved, which also made Archduke Paul breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Australasia did not open its mouth, which also made Archduke Paul grateful to Arthur.

Originally, Archduke Paul thought it would take a lot of effort, and he even wanted to start with Queen Mary to see if he could play the emotional card.

Unexpectedly, Arthur was very generous in terms of weapons and equipment. Russia could only use its useless population in exchange for a large amount of weapons and equipment to strengthen its military power.

Although the atmosphere in Australasia is very harmonious and beautiful, the Paris Peace Conference being held in Paris can be described as a chaos of demons and chaos.

In order to strive for more interests for their own countries, delegations and diplomats from various countries have resorted to frequent tactics. The relationships between various countries are very complex.

In just a few days after arriving in Paris, Prime Minister Bente met with representatives of a few Allied powers, including the British Prime Minister, the French President, the American President, the Russian Prime Minister (Bourgeois Party), the Italian Prime Minister, etc. He also met with representatives from Romania and Serbia. , visits from representatives of Italy, Montenegro and other countries.

Even Belgium, which seems to have nothing to do with Australasia, its representative, the Belgian Prime Minister, asked to see Prime Minister Kent and talked for several hours.

These talks seemed harmonious, but in fact they were incompatible with each other regarding their respective interests. Even in the peace talks, some countries quarreled angrily over the slightest benefit, and the harmonious atmosphere during the peace talks disappeared, as if they were two enemies.

During these few days, the rooms of the four Allied Powers were the most popular. Everyone knows that those who really dominate the peace talks are actually the representatives of the four major powers of the Allied Powers.

The Americans seem to be powerful, but because their military is still very weak, they are not taken seriously by major European countries.

Needless to say about Italy, the performance of the Italian army is even far inferior to that of the Balkan coalition. Their ability to become a great power is entirely due to their navy and slightly larger industry.

The person who presided over the peace talks was the French Prime Minister Clemenceau, the chairman of the Paris Peace Conference and the host.

Clemenceau put forward quite stringent requirements on the Germans from the very beginning. There were a total of 15 clauses restricting the Germans, including:

Disband all the armies of the German government, confiscate all heavy weapons of the German army, dismantle all military facilities and military industrial enterprises in Germany, make Poland and Bavaria independent, France take back Alsace and Lorraine, and establish an independent republic on the left bank of the Rhine. , Germany paid France a total of 15 billion pounds in reparations, arrested all war criminals who launched the war, and the Allied Powers established an international joint tribunal for trial

This stringent requirement has almost cut off Germany's strength and will also cause Germany to lose important areas including Poland and Bavaria.

If the French request is really agreed to, Germany will not even be able to retain its status as a great power for at least 20 years.

If you want to restore Germany's strength before the war, it is simply impossible without 50 years of starting time.

This was a disaster for Germany and the German government. The French proposal also caused the entire peace talks to explode.

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