It's May, and Australasia is also ushering in late autumn.

As we approach election day, public speeches in Australasia are already everywhere, and politicians can be seen from time to time even in the two less populous colonies.

It is not surprising that, in order to accommodate the wishes of the colonial population, even Portuguese Timor, with a population of only 9,000, had one seat in the Chamber of Deputies, and New Guinea, with a population of less than 40,000, had two, which is why politicians went to these areas.

After all, no matter how small the mosquito is, it is still meat, and although there are only one or two seats, the politicians in these colonies are also destined to be few, and the competitiveness will be relatively low.

The most electoral contest should be the capital Sydney, or the Capital Territory.

The ACT has a population of one million, but only 40 seats in the House of Representatives.

Sydney's campaign competitiveness is more than just numbers. As the capital and political centre of the kingdom, as well as the seat of the royal family and government, a significant number of politicians will definitely choose to come to Sydney to speak during election times.

If you have to explain, it is most appropriate to use a son of heaven.

As the capital and seat of the royal family, Sydney's importance cannot be overstated. If a party can win a majority of seats in Sydney, it will also be good for the competition in the House of Representatives.

Thanks to the oversight of the Election Commission, members of political parties who have attained high ministerial positions are prohibited from using illegal means to help their own parties.

Public opinion in Australasia was controlled by Arthur and the Propaganda Department, so the only way for the major political parties to seek seats in the House of Representatives was to impress the crowd with their own ideas and speeches.

However, Arthur's attention at this time was not on the public lectures outside, but on a group of guests from afar.

To be precise, this is a guest from the Qing Kingdom of East Asia, and the purpose of their visit is to learn the philosophy and system of Australasia.

Yes, Arthur was a little surprised that there would be a country that would take the initiative to learn from the Australasian system.

Although Australasia's publicity and impression to the outside world has always been that of a parliamentary monarchy, in fact, the top leaders of various countries know that Australasia is an absolute monarchy in the truest sense of the word.

The degree of absolute monarchy in Australasia even exceeded that of the Russian Tsar. When the Tsar promulgated policies and changes, there would also be opposition from entrenched interest classes, and Australasia was a scattered colony before unification, which also created a good basis for Arthur's real power autocracy.

To sum up, on the basis of absolute monarchy, Australasia does not have a large-scale opposition and forces, which is simply the plus version of absolute monarchy.

And the Qing State is theoretically also an absolute monarchy, if they want to change, the purpose should be the world's top powers like Britain and Germany, how can they target Australasia?

After Foreign Minister Andrew's explanation, Arthur understood a little reason.

To put it bluntly, it is still the reason for power. Although the Qing had the idea of reform, this did not mean that they could accept it as a complete constitutional monarchy.

Australasia has achieved a constitutional monarchy on the surface, won the recognition and love of the people, and in fact still maintains a complete absolute monarchy, which also makes some people feel moved.

Why not not let your power be too restricted, and at the same time promote the realization of reforms?

This is also the reason why this diplomatic mission approached Australasia, to put it bluntly, the top rulers are still greedy for power.

But there are other factors. Australasia was just a British colony just a few years ago, and while its economy was relatively developed compared to East Asia, it wasn't much better, at least at the top.

However, at present, Australasia has mastered the most advanced army and navy equipment and warship manufacturing technology, and the industrial scale has also reached the world's first-class, which makes some high-level Qing officials see hope for imitation.

As long as it can follow the trajectory of Australasia, it may also be able to achieve its own revival.

If you can master the technology of building advanced ironclads from Australasia, and then hire relevant experts to train your own army, wouldn't it be a new way to achieve national rejuvenation?

Arthur was not optimistic about this view, but he still met with the mission.

For no other reason, if Australasia can participate in this reform, then it can also install a close influence in the country.

Australasia is also able to share the interests logically, and at the same time, it is shaping a rival for the island nation.

It doesn't need to be too strong, as long as it can keep the island nation in East Asia.

When Australasia gradually begins to expand from Oceania, the island nation will naturally no longer be Australasia's opponent.

In the ballroom of Sydney Palace, Arthur managed to get close to the mission from afar.

Arthur, the owner of the mission, did not know him, but this did not prevent Arthur from seeking more benefits for Australasia.

"Dear King of Australasia, on behalf of my Emperor and 40,000 people, I extend my sincere greetings to His Majesty the King." When the head of the mission saw Arthur, he greeted him with respect. (The name of the country or something is still less written, after all, everyone understands, so write it casually here)

After a seemingly unnecessary exchange of pleasantries from Arthur, the conversation finally got to the point.

"Your Majesty, we have traveled all the way from the port to find that your country is changing rapidly, and it is now comparable to the major powers of Europe. We are very interested in your country's advanced science and technology and system, and I wonder if we will have the opportunity to have in-depth exchanges with your country? The messenger asked.

Arthur was not curious about the emissary's fluent English, after all, the British Empire's sphere of influence was also spread all over the world.

However, Arthur will not easily agree to other people's requests until he has enough benefits.

"Naturally, there is no problem communicating with each other. But Mr. Envoy, basically all the technology and institutions in Australasia come from Europe, and we have paid a considerable price for this. Even if I personally want to communicate with your country, I am afraid that the government officials and people will not agree. Arthur replied with a faint smile.

The envoy was not a fool either, and hurriedly replied: "This is nature, Your Majesty. If your country can send experts to assist us in carrying out institutional reforms, we are willing to pay each expert a salary of 10,000 taels of silver per year. ”

Arthur calculated in his heart that 10,000 taels of silver was almost more than 1,400 pounds, that is, less than 2,850 Australian dollars.

This amount of money is inevitably too small, Arthur immediately responded: "Australasia can help your country carry out reforms in terms of system, industry, economy, military, etc., but the salary of 10,000 taels of silver per person per year is too little, and it is not enough for us to pay these experts." So if your country can rise to fifty thousand taels of silver per person per year, then Australasia will send experts to your country until the reform is completed. ”

At the moment, since the other party has a request, Arthur is naturally not polite, but he does not open his mouth widely.

After all, Australasia can send a maximum of dozens of experts, and it is only a matter of a few million silver.

The messenger was a little painful, but nodded in agreement for the sake of the request later.

"Your Majesty, I wonder how much your country's ironclad ships cost? Our country also wants to buy a few ships to fill the gap in maritime power. The messenger continued.

Want to buy a battleship? Arthur was suddenly interested.

A battleship can make a profit of at least a few hundred thousand pounds, is that much better than sending specialists?

Although the dispatch of experts seeks political benefits, who doesn't like this kind of real financial benefit from the sale of warships?

"I don't know what warship you are talking about? Our country currently has Monarch-class battleships, United Battlecruisers, Nassau-class battleships, Braunschweig-class battleships, Duke-class armored cruisers, etc., what are the intentions of your country? Arthur asked with a smile.

Whatever their intentions were to order warships, Arthur wished they could order more warships and give away more money for naval expansion back and forth in Australasia.

According to the cost of building warships, only two battleships need to be exported to the outside world, and the profits obtained can be used to build one battleship.

"This..." The envoy was suddenly a little troubled, he was not an official in the navy, and his knowledge of the navy was very limited.

This time, there were naval officials who came, but they were not qualified to be received by Arthur himself.

Seeing that the envoy did not speak, Arthur continued to sell: "The envoy may not know that we currently have one of the most advanced and powerful battleships in the world, the monarch-class battleship. It also has at its disposal the Nassau-class battleship, a powerful warship developed by the German Empire. In addition, the Braunschweig-class battleship is also one of the powerful battleships developed by the German Empire, and Mr. Germany's Messenger of Fame should have heard of it, right? Needless to say, the strength of the German warships is needless to say, and the performance and equipment of the warships can be assured. ”

The second watch, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)