On December 23, 1902, after a week-long preparation and voyage, Australian Foreign Minister Andrew set sail from the port of Hamburg in Germany to the port of the Russian Empire, where he was received by the Russian Empire.

Of course, in fact, it was not Minister Andrew and his party that made the Tsarist Empire receive it ceremoniously, but the relationship from the German Empire.

Australia did not deserve to be taken too seriously by the Russian Empire, but the German Empire was different. Although the Entente organization, to which the Tsarist Empire belongs, and the Allied organization to which the German Empire belongs, are currently engaged in a very fierce arms competition in Europe, there are also frictions between them from time to time.

But this does not change the fact that the German Empire is currently the first in the army and the second in overall strength.

In the absence of war between the two major military blocs in Europe, anyone with ties to the German Empire would be taken seriously wherever he went.

Although the Russians were not very convinced of the fact that the island nation had already begun to carry out some operations against them, it was acceptable to take out a German loan worth up to five million pounds.

Although these loans had to be used to purchase military weapons and equipment from Australia, after all, the money was not paid by itself, and the Tsarist Empire did not have to worry about financial burdens.

As for the question of repayment in the future, isn't there still a French guarantee? Besides, in the event of a war between the two major military blocs on the European continent, perhaps the Tsarist Empire would not have to repay the loans of the German Empire.

It is precisely because of this psychology that the intention of the Russians to purchase weapons and equipment became more obvious and strong after obtaining military loans from the German Empire.

Of course, it cannot be denied that it was after Minister Andrew admitted that Australia had a complete set of German light weapons production technology that the Russians became interested in Australia's military industry.

But no matter what, as long as the final result is good, no one cares how tortuous the process is.

On December 26, 1902, three days after arriving in the Russian Empire, Minister Andrew reached a preliminary arms purchase treaty with the officials of the Russian Empire.

Of course, the funds for this treaty were within the loan of the German Empire, and the Russians would not have paid for additional weapons themselves, even to maintain the hegemony and superiority of the Russian Empire in the Far East.

The detailed treaty included 10,000 German Gew 98 rifles, 1 million rounds of ammunition, hundreds of heavy machine guns, and more than 10 105-mm howitzers.

The Russian Empire had no plans for the expansion of the Far Eastern Fleet for the time being, so the arms purchase treaty only covered all kinds of weapons for the army.

However, such a number of weapons can already slightly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Far East army of the Tsarist Russian Empire, and even deal a heavy blow to the island army's army when it is not prepared.

In order to ensure that Australia was not on the cusp of the storm, and at the same time, the German Empire's co-optation plan was carried out secretly, after friendly consultations with the Tsarist Russian Empire, the arms trade between the two countries and German aid were carried out privately and not publicly.

Even in countries with a certain amount of intelligence capabilities in the Tsarist Empire, it is not necessarily clear what the treaty between Australia and the Tsarist Empire is.

Not to mention Asian countries such as island countries, which do not even know anything about it, and are still immersed in their so-called beautiful dream of secretly developing, defeating Tsarist Russia, and seizing hegemony in East Asia.

While Minister Andrew is carrying out the painstaking diplomatic operation in Europe with his diplomatic visit team, Australia is also preparing a big plan.

It's not a private thing. As Australia's National Day approaches, and the five new warships of the Australian Navy's expansion have been launched, a grand military parade will be held on National Day under the discussion between Arthur and the government.

Of course, unlike the last army parade, this parade is more inclined to the navy.

Not only will all the five warships that Australia spent half a year building be unveiled, but the previous naval warships will also appear one by one.

Of course, this is also fortunate that the Australian Navy is not very large.

If it is an extremely large fleet like the Royal Navy of the British Empire, it may take more than half a day or even more to review one after another.

Because of the different units and branches of the military involved in the parade, the parade venue has also changed places and has become the port of Sydney, Australia.

In order to better prepare for the Navy's military parade, the Australian government has been preparing near the port two months in advance.

Not only has the road connecting the city and the port been widened to ensure that more people can get to the port smoothly, but a solid site has been created near the port, which will be the best viewing platform for all those who visit the naval parade.

In order to ensure that more people can watch the naval parade, there will be special personnel patrolling the venue throughout the National Day, and even the first two days, to ensure that there will be no occupation of the venue for sale.

In order to increase Australians' enthusiasm for participating in the parade and even for the country, hundreds of lucky spectators will be randomly selected to take a ride on the Australian Navy's new warship and watch the Australian Navy shoot at strategic targets off the coast.

Although the current size of the Australian Navy is not large, it is completely enough to bring complete shock to an ordinary person.

Of course, such a link is actually a review of the combat capabilities of the Australian Navy. If the timing of the strategic goal is misaligned in full view, it will undoubtedly greatly reduce the Australians' goodwill towards the navy, and even reduce the trust in the government and the royal family in disguise.

After all, the navy that the country has spent a lot of money to build can't even hit the target accurately, so can it effectively protect all citizens?

For an island nation in particular, the importance of the Navy is unique. People can accept that the army is not very strong, but they absolutely cannot accept that the navy has always been weak and even decaying.

As with previous National Day holidays, Australian flags are already being sold in equal proportions on nearby streets, albeit just as it is approaching.

These flags are not the official handiwork, but come from many small and medium-sized private workshops in Australia.

Australians still have a high level of recognition of the country, which also leads to a skyrocketing sales of Australian flags at this time of year, and it is also a good opportunity for these small and medium-sized private workshops and craftsmen to make money.

The first is to ask for support!

(End of chapter)