Churchill's words can be described as a wake-up call to the dreamer, and all members of the British cabinet have to think about this issue.

What is the purpose of supporting island nations? Isn't it just to draw the attention of the Russians, and at the same time to guard against the massive expansion of the United States in the Pacific?

But at present, Russia is an ally against Germany, and because of the agreement with Russia, the British government has no intention of assisting the island countries in the short term.

After all, at present, the help of the island countries is far less than that of Germany, and the British government still needs Russia to hold back part of Germany's troops.

Although the British government can no longer support island countries, this does not mean that it cannot support other countries.

Churchill's words are indeed very reasonable, Britain and Australasia have the same roots, and the majority ethnic group of Australasia is also British immigrants.

This also represents one of the most important things for the British government, that is, Australasia, with a large number of British immigrants, cannot actively oppose the British government.

Even if the British choose to become immigrants, they still have a deep affection for Britain in a short period of time.

If the Australasian government were to stand directly against the British Empire, I am afraid that the angry British immigrants in the country would make the Australasian government weigh it up.

And Australasia and the British royal family also have the same roots, such a good relationship, isn't it fragrant to support Australasia?

What's more, in the hearts of white people in this era, there will always be a little bit of white supremacy in their hearts.

Instead of supporting an island nation with different nationalities and cultures, it is better to support an Australasia that has the same roots and will not become an enemy.

Although the population of Australasia is a major flaw, wasn't the island nation a stupid and backward country a few decades ago?

The British Empire has the ability to support the island nation into a country with military strength at the level of a great power in a few decades, and it is confident that the navy of Australasia will be at the level of a great power, and a new power will be born in Oceania.

What's more, Australasia's shipbuilding industry already has a scale, and it is indeed already at the level of a great power in terms of dreadnoughts.

With a little compensation for the demographic deficit and more support, Australasia could grow into a sea power at the level of a great power at any time.

Although after the rise of Australasia, the Dutch East Indies in the north were doomed.

But after all, it was a Dutch colony, and when it was time to give it up, the British government could decisively give it up.

More importantly, in the eyes of the British, the Americans were far more of a threat to Britain than Australasia, which had owned the entire Dutch East Indies.

If Australasia can have the Dutch East Indies, it may also be able to make up for some of the population problems and grow into a great power that is truly capable of confronting the United States.

Although it takes a lot of effort to do this, it is better than sitting back and watching the rise of the United States after the war in Europe!

The members of the British cabinet glanced at each other, and they all saw the approval and sudden realization in each other's eyes.

Prime Minister Asquith was the first to nod and said, "Naval expansion aside, supporting Australasia is indeed a good choice. In addition to the European disputes, we do have to guard against threats from across the ocean. In order to prevent the American naval expansion from threatening the British Empire, I believe that it is necessary to support Australasia and cultivate a country capable of confronting the United States in the Southwest Pacific. ”

"Yes, Australasia is located in Oceania, and westward expansion would have to span the entire Indian Ocean, which is thankless. To the east are our and French islands, which will not be of interest to them anytime soon, if Australasia is smart. To the south is the vast Antarctica, such a cold area, presumably Australasia is not capable of exploring. After taking control of the Dutch East Indies, if they don't want to conflict with us, it seems that their expansion direction can only expand in the direction of the Philippines, which happens to be a natural conflict with the Americans. Home Secretary McKenna also said with a look of approval.

After supporting Australasia, in the eyes of these British politicians, the Dutch East Indies had become a completely abandonable region, and there was no need for the Dutch to destroy relations with Australasia.

After all, it is the interests of other countries, and it is not at all as important as the strategic planning of one's own country.

What's more, the ownership of the Dutch colony is really just a thought of the British Empire.

If it weren't for the British Empire's acquiescence to the Netherlands' occupation of this land and the fact that other powers would not have been allowed to get involved, I'm afraid that the Dutch colonies would have been occupied by other countries, and this would be an era of the jungle!

"If we can tie Australasia to the Allied chariot by supporting Australasia, it will also be a good thing for us." Another cabinet member followed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Australasia has become one of the important trading partners of the British Empire, and they have abundant grain, meat, mineral resources, etc. Such a country is a natural ally for us and a natural enemy for the United States. I support supporting Australasia, and I even think the government should act quickly to tie Australasia to the Allied chariot as soon as possible, which is also good for the conflict in Europe, and we will have an additional wartime supply site to ease the pressure on our own supplies. ”

Churchill said unhurriedly: "Don't forget, Australasia is also a naval power with three battleships and two battlecruisers. Although the scale is not too large, it can also take on part of the defense of our Indian Ocean region and solve the naval pressure on the colonial areas for us. And it is said that they are building a super-dreadnought for Chile called the Hope-class battleship, and if they do master the technology of super-dreadnought, their importance will increase dramatically. ”

Super dreadnoughts are just as important as dreadnoughts a few years ago. As the most powerful battleship design in the world at present, the Super Dreadnought is destined to be the main force in naval battles, and it is also one of the most important plans of the Anglo-German naval competition at present.

If Australasia can master the construction technology of super dreadnoughts, it means that Australasia's naval shipbuilding capacity has come to the top four in the world, becoming the country after Britain, Germany, and the United States.

If the British Empire gave Australasia a certain amount of financial support and let Australasia expand its navy frantically, would it create a navy among the top five in the world?

It's hard to say, but it's also promising. The combat power of one dreadnought is comparable to that of two or three old battleships, and the combat power of a super dreadnought is theoretically comparable to that of two dreadnoughts.

This also means that Australasia's current naval combat capability has theoretically surpassed that of an island nation with seven battleships, and in fact it has truly possessed the strength of a great power.

If one more super-dreadnought, one dreadnought and one more battlecruiser are added, then Australasia's naval strength will surpass that of Austria-Hungary, and that of Italy.

Supporting Australasia has become a surefire deal in the conversations of several cabinet ministers of the British Empire.

The more people talked, the more excited they became, and they even had plans to immediately start supporting Australasia.

"All right, guys. While we understand the importance and necessity of supporting Australasia, according to our current conversation, it is still the necessity of naval expansion, isn't it? The plan to support Australasia will be brought up at the next meeting, and now the problem of the size of the navy will be solved, which is where the government's financial concerns lie. In the end, Prime Minister Asquith stopped the conversation with tears and laughter to avoid the Cabinet government's off-topic agenda.

Seeing that Prime Minister Asquith was not affected by his own words and still advocated reducing the naval expansion plan, Churchill, the Secretary of the Admiralty, couldn't help but shake his head, but still retorted stiffly: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I always believe that reducing the scale of naval expansion is not a good way. If the government really lacks funds, it can generate a lot of revenue in the colonies in addition to issuing bonds, right? ”

Before Prime Minister Asquith could answer, Foreign Minister Edward stepped forward and retorted directly, "I have to say that this is a stupid idea, Minister Churchill." Leaving aside how we can get more tax revenue without angering the natives of the colonies, I am afraid that as soon as our draconian taxes in the colonies are enacted, the Germans will trumpet the news of our oppression of the colonies. If they get in the way, a colonial crisis could erupt at any time. If something goes wrong in the colonies, not only will the army and navy be used to suppress it, but the financial burden will be even more serious. ”

Although European countries have tacitly oppressed their colonies in the past, and they have also disguised themselves as gentlemen and civilizations.

But at that time, after all, it was everyone's way, and all the great powers united to do so, and who country would refute it?

But now it's a different story. If the British Empire had done this alone, the Germans would have had an endless stream of means.

If the Germans had been determined to incite rebellion in the colonies, the British Empire would have been overwhelmed.

Of course, the main reason for this is that there are not many German colonies.

If Germany also had a large number of colonies, then such propaganda would also be harmful to others and itself, and its own colonies would also suffer from the crisis of rebellion.

"And, Minister Churchill. Our proposal is to reduce the size of the naval expansion, not to terminate it. The number of battleships twice that of Germany is really a bit financially powerless, so how about changing it to 1 to 1.5? With that, Foreign Minister Edward looked at Churchill again and made a more neutral proposal.

3000 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

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(End of chapter)