On 31 July 1907, the Kingdom of Portugal officially responded by deciding not to hand over any Portuguese fishermen, insisting that the Portuguese fishermen were not responsible for the conflict.

This decision of the Portuguese government has also caused an uproar among the people in Europe.

Europeans could not believe that the Portuguese, in the presence of human and material evidence, still refused to admit the responsibility of the Portuguese fishermen in the conflict, and even arrogantly shielded the criminals.

Even Arthur did not expect that the Portuguese would be so tough, and resolutely insisted on his position under the premise that European public opinion was obviously unfavorable to him.

Still, it's all a good thing for Australasia. If the Portuguese government compromises quickly, then Australasia will have no excuse to reach into Portuguese Timor.

Now the Portuguese government's stubbornness has given Australasia an excuse to intervene in Portuguese Timor, which may also be an opportunity for Australasia to expand again.

Arthur originally thought that the opportunity for Australasian expansion would be in the Dutch East Indies, but he didn't expect the Portuguese to sit still first.

On August 1, 1907, Arthur expressed his shock at the attitude of the Portuguese government in a public interview, and at the same time firmly declared that the Australasian army would bring justice to the citizens of Australasia, and that no country or force could be above the Australasian people.

On 3 August 1907, the Australasian Government gave the Kingdom of Portugal an ultimatum demanding that the Kingdom of Portugal immediately accept Australasia's demand for compensation and apologize to the Australasian fishermen who had been attacked.

The Australasian government has also declared that if Portugal is adamant that their fishermen are doing the right thing, then they should show the evidence they deserve, rather than making false statements in the newspapers.

This demand of Australasia once again won the approval of the European people.

Even Australasia, after the initial request was rejected, still demanded that the Portuguese government apologize to the fishermen who were attacked, and at the same time compensate all those affected.

In the eyes of the majority of Europeans, this is a very reasonable demand and condition.

Referring to the very different attitudes of Australasia and the Kingdom of Portugal after this conflict, many Europeans even believed that such conditions would be at the expense of Australasia.

To the surprise of the European population, the Portuguese government, or rather the absolutist monarch Carlos I, once again rejected Australasia's request.

In fact, Carlos I soon felt the great prestige that a tough protection of the populace brought to the royal family and to himself.

Although in Europe, Portugal's prestige and reputation have repeatedly diminished. However, in Portugal, the prestige of Carlos I has increased, and many media and individuals have spontaneously expressed their support for King Carlos I's decision.

You know, since Carlos I's repressive policies, many opposition parties and the media have not had a good evaluation.

The fact that he was able to openly support Carlos I this time is enough to see how great the repercussions of Carlos I's decision this time have caused in Portugal.

At this stage, even if the purpose was only to maintain his rule, Carlos I had to stick to his decision, which was to be tough and protect his people at all costs.

The conflict also attracted the attention of many European countries, including Germany and Russia, which have close ties with Australasia.

The British attitude is very ambiguous, and although it expresses concern about the situation, it does not explicitly support one side or the other.

After the Kingdom of Portugal once again rejected the request of the Australasian government, William II was surprised to speak out in public, expressing his dissatisfaction with the arrogance of the Portuguese government and his support for Australasia.

The Russians acted even more decisively, not only criticizing the Kingdom of Portugal directly, but also ridiculing Carlos I as a coward who did not dare to admit that he had done wrong.

The discontent of the two major European powers also made Carlos I a little frightened.

Fortunately, the British Empire soon contacted Carlos I to express its concern about the matter, and declared that the British Empire would work with France to resolve the conflict peacefully.

In this way, Carlos I gradually became relieved. As long as there was the protection of Britain and France, Australasia would not have much impact on the Kingdom of Portugal.

On the contrary, he himself was able to use this conflict to accumulate a lot of prestige in Portugal.

When the time is almost ripe, it is a big deal to push out the fishermen of the time as scapegoats, and to package himself as a king who has been deceived by the fishermen and has no love for the people, so that he can get out of this incident perfectly, and still retain the great prestige he has accumulated.

But is it really that simple? Or that Carlos I underestimated the ambitions of the Australasian people, and also underestimated the ambitions of Arthur.

On August 5, 1907, after the last 48 hours of the Australasian Government's notice to the Government of the Kingdom of Portugal, the Australasian Government held a public meeting, at which the then Prime Minister Walter lamented and announced: "The Government of the Kingdom of Portugal has shown no mercy for the injured Australasian fishermen, and has spread rumors in an attempt to discredit the injured fishermen and the Australasian Government." After the Australasian government decided to sever diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Portugal and declared the whole of Australasia in a state of war readiness. ”

Although Prime Minister Walter did not officially declare war on the Kingdom of Portugal, Australasia's entry into combat readiness speaks for itself, and the Australasian people are ready for war.

When the state of war began, there was outrage in Australasia, all temporary recruitment offices were full, and large numbers of Australasian people were looking for ways to donate money to the government.

The whole country is united, and at this moment there is only one enemy of all Australasian people, and that is the Kingdom of Portugal, which has hurt the feelings of Australasia.

After being cut off from diplomatic relations by the Australasian government, Carlos I was a little flustered.

But Carlos I's solution was not to compromise with Australasia, but to seek the support of the British Empire and France, which had promised assistance.

The British did provide assistance, to be precise, assistance in the resolution of the events of this conflict.

To be precise, after the British made their decision in Australasia, they made it clear that they exhorted both sides to remain calm in this conflict, and were willing to provide a professional team to find the truth of the conflict for both sides.

In fact, this is normal, and judging from the character of the British-stirring stick, it is understandable to make such a decision.

What's more, Arthur has a good level of support and favorability in the UK, which, combined with the special relationship between Australasia and the UK, has led to the British being closer to Australasia.

What's more, how do you look at the victim of this conflict incident is Australasia, whether it is a helper or a helper, isn't it clear that they want to support Australasia?

Under such an attitude of the British people, if the British government makes a decision that is contrary to the British, the turmoil caused by the British people can be imagined.

Even Edward VII, who was extremely dissatisfied with Arthur, would not stand up and be a leader at such a time, let alone a British politician who had no grudge against Arthur.

To be able to express neutrality is already risking offending the British people, and if it were not for the subtlety of Edward VII, I am afraid that British politicians would have declared their support for Australasia.

After all, their official career also depends on the support of parliamentarians and the public, and a government that offends the British people is destined to not go far.

The attitude of the French is not much different from that of the British, and they only say that they hope that the two sides will remain calm and restrained, and are willing to participate as neutrals in investigating the causes and processes of this conflict and resolving this dispute peacefully.

If such words can solve regional crises, there will be far fewer wars in world history.

Unfortunately, such words are only a show after all, and it will not avoid war and will not save any losses.

On 8 August 1907, Prime Minister Walter appeared in public again and announced the final decision of the Australasian government and Arthur's directive: the Australasian government declared an immediate state of war with the Kingdom of Portugal and sent troops to compel Australasia's demands.

Prime Minister Walter smiled and said that the Australasian government's aim was only to meet the previous demand, which was to hand over the culprits of the conflict, and that the Kingdom of Portugal apologised to the injured fishermen and compensated all Australasian fishermen affected by the conflict.

Given the length of the conflict and the number of fishermen affected, the Kingdom of Portugal should pay at least $1 million in compensation to tens of thousands of fishermen in Australasia, and at least $1 million in compensation to injured fishermen.

Although the total amount of reparations was only $2 million, Carlos I was well aware that the national mood in Portugal had been fully mobilized at this stage.

If the government agrees to this compensation at this time, even if it is only 10,000 Australian dollars, it will make the Portuguese people very disappointed with the government.

The most severely affected is naturally Carlos I, who successfully established his image of loving the people and not afraid of power in this conflict.

Surrender before a fight, fearing that the wrath of the Portuguese will be transferred to Carlos I.

Therefore, after the declaration of war in Australasia, the Portuguese government responded very decisively: Portugal and Australasia were in a state of declaration of war.

The Kingdom of Portugal was separated from Australasia by 108,000 miles, and the most vulnerable area of the war was Portugal's Asian colonies.

In order to express his attitude, Carlos I decisively announced that 40,000 troops would be transferred from Portugal's European mainland to East Asia, and these soldiers would arrive in batches and arrive in the colonies of East Asia within three months.

And on one side, Australasia.

Australasia has been preparing for war since the beginning of the conflict.

Although there was not enough time to prepare, fortunately, there were not many troops in Australasia, so there was enough time to assemble.

On the day the government declared war, more than 10,000 troops had already assembled in the port of Sydney, ready to board transport ships and go to Portuguese Timor under the protection of the fleet to capture an important Portuguese stronghold in Asia.

3,200 words for the second update, ask for support! Brothers, ask for a monthly pass, there are still a few monthly passes left to be on the classification list, kneel and beg for support!

(End of chapter)