Time passed and soon came to June 1901.

After months of waiting, Arthur thought that there was no hope for the Dutch side to buy immigrants.

But unexpectedly, the fleet from the Netherlands quietly arrived in Australian waters from the Dutch East Indies.

If it weren't for the Dutch fleet's early use of the flag to indicate its intentions, the Australian Navy would have really thought it was an intruder.

The head of the Dutch fleet was the Dutch Foreign Minister Helbert von and the Dutch East India Governor-General William Rasband. He was accompanied by an even more distinguished guest, Emma, the mother of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and the queen of the late King William III.

The reason why Queen Emma's status as the Queen Mother is noble is that, in addition to being the mother of the current Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, she is also the regent of the former Dutch Kingdom.

Arthur was surprised to hear the news, and immediately ordered Prime Minister Evan to go to meet him immediately.

At the same time, a welcome banquet was prepared, and the mother Lord Louis was invited to attend, and the Queen Mother Emma was entertained in the same capacity.

Soon, Prime Minister Evan invited Queen Emma and Minister Helbert, as well as Governor William, to the estate.

As the first official residence of Arthur and the royal family, this small estate also replaced almost all the functions of the royal palace, not only for temporary cabinet meetings, but also for banquets and entertaining guests.

At the banquet, Arthur finally met Queen Emma, as well as Foreign Minister Helbert and Governor Wilhelm of the Netherlands.

It is clear that the long sea journey has brought a lot of fatigue to several people. Governor William is fine, Queen Emma is still Minister Helbert, and neither of them is in a very good mental state.

The banquet was divided into two main bodies, with Queen Emma and Lord Louis staying on the side, followed by two mischievous ghosts, Margaery and Patricia.

On the other side of the banquet, Minister Helbert and Governor William were talking with Prime Minister Evan about international affairs in a serious manner, and they had not forgotten their identity.

This also caused Arthur to sit in the middle with some embarrassment. His identity is a little inappropriate to join in the conversation on both sides, so he can only find a suitable time to leave.

This also led to the conversation between the two sides that Arthur was not clear, Prime Minister Evan was fine, and all important matters to be negotiated needed to be reported to Arthur.

But the Lord Louis is different. The topic of conversation between women is not something that Arthur can participate in, and it is definitely not something that Arthur can know.

However, it can be seen from the expressions of the two after talking that the two are still very happy to talk to each other, and the two people with somewhat similar identities and circumstances have some words, and they feel a little confidant.

After the banquet, Queen Emma was arranged to live in the estate, while the Chancellor Helbert and Governor William stayed in one of Australia's best hotels.

Although it is only a hotel converted from a few independent apartments to entertain important guests, the hotel is also luxuriously decorated because it is almost exclusively for princes and nobles, and it also has hot springs, fountains, gardens, private meeting rooms, and offices.

After a full day's rest, Arthur invited Chancellor Helbert and Governor William to the meeting in the afternoon of the next day.

After all, the fact that the Netherlands was able to send such a grand diplomatic mission meant that there must be something important to discuss.

Although Prime Minister Evan and Chancellor Helbert and Governor William seemed to have a good time at last night's banquet, these old political foxes don't reveal their true purpose at a small banquet.

In the meeting room of the Government Building, Arthur met again with Chancellor Helbert and Governor William.

After a long rest, the mental state of the two improved significantly. Governor William, in particular, had swept away his previous exhaustion and was in excellent spirits.

"Your Royal Highness, the Duke of Australia!" As soon as the two saw Arthur, they immediately saluted respectfully.

Arthur was stunned, he didn't expect the two high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to respect him so much. But he reacted quickly, and nodded at the two with a smile.

"Chancellor Helbert, Governor William. I wonder why your government has sent you here? If it is for the purchase of the immigration program that we proposed before, we only need to send us a transatlantic telegram, and there is no need to go through such a big effort. At the conference table, Prime Minister Evan smiled and probed Chancellor Helbert and Governor William.

A diplomatic visit team consisting of a cabinet minister and a feudal official, coupled with the blessing of the queen mother, is equivalent to a formal diplomatic visit to any country.

But here's the surprise. Although there is no hatred or dispute between the Netherlands and Australia, the Netherlands and Australia do not have any common interests and good relations.

Even Australia has a certain competitive relationship with the Netherlands in Southeast Asia, and although the relationship between the two countries is not bad, it is definitely not very friendly.

On this basis, the Netherlands quietly sent a very formal diplomatic visit team, and the purpose of this was to confuse everyone.

"Your Highness, Prime Minister Evan, and your Excellency. Rest assured, Governor William and I aim only to have a good relationship with Australia. Once the Government and Her Majesty learned of Australia's plans, they quickly agreed to your country's plan to purchase immigrants. We are happy to assist Australia in bringing in immigrants and are happy to conclude a treaty to that effect. Minister Helbert stood up and said very sincerely.

Seeing that Minister Helbert was very sincere, Arthur was silent.

Although it was strange that the Kingdom of the Netherlands was stirring up a crowd for such a small matter, it did no harm to Australia after all, so the meeting continued.

"In that case, Minister Helbert. I wonder how many immigrants your government is willing to sell to us every year? And how much does it cost to sell for each immigrant? What about the arrest, transportation, and handling of international affairs of immigrants? Prime Minister Evan nodded and continued.

Buying immigration is not as simple as it seems. Transporting migrants from the Dutch East Indies to Australia requires not only painstaking arrests, but also as low-key and successful transportation as possible.

The manpower and material resources spent on this are not, for Australia, where the number of soldiers and warships is very scarce, there is no extra force to capture those natives and then transport them to Australia.

"We are willing to take on the capture and transport of indigenous people." Minister Helbert smiled and said, "We can deliver it to any port in Australia, and you only need to be responsible for receiving it." ”

The third is to ask for support!

(End of chapter)