The year 1912 that has just passed can be regarded as full of dangers, but there are no dangers.

In this year, the Italo-Turkish War, the Balkan War, the more intense naval arms race, etc., accompanied by a small crisis in the Straits, made the situation in Europe even more confusing.

Although people do not know when the war in Europe will come, the smell of gunpowder is already quietly spreading in Europe.

The National Day of 1913 was more common than before, but after all, there was a distribution of free food and meat, so the streets of Australasia were very lively.

Immediately after the National Day holiday, Arthur summoned Prime Minister of Kent and Minister of Defence Raul to inquire about Australasia's military preparations.

The military expansion of European countries was very rapid, not only for the army standing army, but also for the revision of various laws to increase the number of army reserves.

Although Australasia is far away in Oceania, the future war is also important for Australasia, not only as the real start of the country's rise, but also as the best chance to truly control the whole of Oceania.

In order for Australasia to gain more international discourse after World War I, it is necessary to become the victorious country of World War I.

Although strict neutrality can achieve better development, a neutral country is also destined not to have much say.

And the two major military blocs in Europe, if Arthur had to choose one to take refuge in, it would definitely be the Entente that seemed to be stronger on paper.

It stands to reason that the Entente were a better choice for Arthur.

First of all, Australasia and the British Empire have a closer blood relationship, and the two countries are of the same lineage, so naturally there is a reason to be closer.

Secondly, Arthur has experience from later generations, so he naturally understands which side of this war is the one who has the last laugh.

The Entente had a much wider colony and population, and although Russia withdrew from the war in the middle of the war, they won the war.

Theoretically, as long as Australasia participated in World War I and declared war on the Central powers from the perspective of the Entente, then it would be logical to take over German New Guinea and merge the colonies in New Guinea into one piece, or even go directly westward and merge New Guinea, which was originally divided into three worlds, and establish a larger direct colony.

Theoretically, it was also possible to send troops into the war in exchange for some concessions from the British and French colonies in Oceania.

In this way, Australasia will be able to control the whole of Oceania and become a true continental hegemon.

In a conference room at Sydney Palace, Arthur summoned Prime Minister Kent and Minister Raul to discuss military preparations in Australasia.

"Minister Raul, how are our military readiness? In the event of the outbreak of a future war in Europe, how many troops will we be able to mobilize for a war in Europe? Arthur asked solemnly.

Arthur's original plan was to be a pawn in the early stage and sell arms to both sides. Wait for the war situation to become clearer before joining the side with the advantage.

But after thinking about it, such a wall-to-wall behavior is too embarrassing. What's more, Britain and France were still the world's top powers after the end of World War I, and if the United States tried to avoid sucking the blood of Europe in World War I, then the United States would not be able to speak after World War I, and the world would still be the world of Europe.

This is also good for Australasia, because if Germany is defeated, it will be the United States that will compete directly with Britain.

And if Australasia wants to rise and gain hegemony in the Pacific, the enemy it faces is the United States.

In this way, Australasia could not only cooperate with Britain and France in World War I, but also become allies of Britain and France in World War II.

As the saying goes, no hard work is a harvest, compared with the previous posture of sitting and watching from the well, only by really contributing to the victory can Australasia gain more right to speak.

Of course, the end is the end, and Arthur was not stupid enough to shed his own blood to contribute to Britain and France.

Anyway, Australasia has a large indigenous population, and these people can form an indigenous army to die instead of Australasians.

"Your Majesty, we currently have a standing army of 220,000. Because our reserve system is not very mature, if you want more soldiers, you have to go through at least half a year of training. Judging from the enthusiasm for joining the army in our country, our total number of soldiers is about 1 million. Minister Raul pondered for a moment before replying cautiously.

"Reserves?" Arthur nodded, looked at the Prime Minister of Kent, and asked, "Do we have the conditions to make laws on the reserve and military system?" If compulsory military service were to be implemented in Australasia, how many potential soldiers would be available? ”

"Your Majesty, as a matter of convention, if we were to do compulsory military service in Australasia, we should be able to get nearly a million reserves. Judging from His Majesty's prestige among the people, I am afraid that this number can be further increased. Prime Minister Kent said with a smile.

A monarch with high prestige and popular support has the advantage that any policy will be supported by the people.

There is basically no shortage of soldiers in Australasia, and as long as Arthur raises his arms, I am afraid that millions of people are willing to sign up for the army.

Of course, although Australasia, with a population of 12 million, was able to recruit millions of troops, the cost of the country's development was too great for Arthur to bear.

"There's no need to be so exaggerated, Prime Minister Kent. But in any case, increasing the number of our reserves is already something that must be done. Although I don't know exactly when the war in Europe will start, in order for Australasia to be able to buy further, perhaps we will have to participate in a war that could have been avoided. Arthur quickly put an end to Prime Minister Kent's exaggerated statement and explained with a smile.

Although Australasia may have to take refuge in one of the two major military blocs, there is no need to fight to the death.

Just because Australasia is far from Europe, it is destined that Australasia's mainland will not be threatened.

Under such circumstances, how could Arthur exhaust the potential of Australasia for the sake of Britain and France?

"If that is the case, Your Majesty, I suggest that we only need to require some adult male citizens who have reached the age of eighteen and are under the age of thirty to participate in militarized training once a year, and they may become good reservists." "If we don't have the idea of sending a large army, then I think 220,000 regular troops and 300,000 reserve troops are enough to ensure that we can keep our home security at all times," Prime Minister Kent said. ”

Arthur nodded and said approvingly: "Let's set the scope of adult male citizens in non-important positions, and hold militarized training every six months or every year, and the training time will be at least half a month." During the training period, these people can be provided with funds equivalent to their per capita income as remuneration for their participation in militarized training. ”

If you can still get paid for participating in militarized training, then no one should refuse.

Anyway, becoming a reserve only needs to train once or twice a year, and basically it will not delay normal work and life.

"Did the British promise that our experts had arrived? If I remember correctly, their diplomatic team is almost there, right? After deciding on the reserves, Arthur smiled and looked at Prime Minister Kent and asked.

When the airship technology was sold to the United Kingdom, the two sides made an appointment to send experts.

In addition, the British government has also reached an agreement with Australasia to send a diplomatic mission to visit Australasia and reach further cooperation between the two countries.

In fact, this also represents Australasia's step towards the United Kingdom again. If Australasia's German aid was far greater than that of Britain, then since the accession of George V, Australasia has been closer to Britain, and Britain's aid to Australasia has gradually exceeded the scale of German aid.

Even now, British aid is much larger than German aid. Australasia and the United Kingdom have good exchanges in terms of warships, military industry, industry, chemical industry, education, medical care, talents, food, etc.

It is no exaggeration to say that Australasia was an important strategic partner of the British Empire, providing the British Empire with various mineral resources, grain, meat and other materials.

In fact, it can be seen from the map that the geographical location of Australasia was very important to the British Empire.

Australasia is located in Oceania, and to the north can effectively protect the Strait of Malacca under the control of the British Empire, which is the main route of communication between East Asia and Central Asia, West Asia and even Europe.

Australasia and India are separated by an Indian Ocean, and India is the core of the British Empire's colonies, and it is also the area that the British Empire cannot afford to lose.

India's security alone was enough to make the British take Australasia seriously.

Even across the Indian Ocean, Australasia poses a threat to eastern and southern Africa.

This also greatly increased the importance of Australasia, a geographical location that could threaten the core of the British Empire's colonies.

In addition, since the last meeting, the British government has established the core policy of abandoning the island country and supporting Australasia, and hopes to get closer to Australasia and jointly fight against the United States, a secret enemy.

In such circumstances, it is not surprising that the UK sent a diplomatic visit team.

"Your Majesty, the experts promised to us by the British have basically arrived, and the last group of experts left should arrive with the British diplomatic visiting team. Thanks to these British experts, the expansion of our two major shipyards is going well, and even the Melbourne shipyard is hopeful to start production by the middle of next year. Prime Minister Kent nodded and said with a smile.

The British made a big contribution to the expansion of the two shipyards in Australasia.

From the design of the expansion of the shipyard, to the various equipment and machinery of the shipyard, as well as the various technical experts of the shipyard, there are British.

Under the guidance of these British experts, the expansion of the Melbourne Shipyard was also well underway, with the Melbourne Shipyard expected to be completed by mid-1914 and the Auckland Shipyard by the end of 1914 to early 1915.

This also meant that around 1915, Australasia would have one shipyard capable of building 30,000 tons of warships and two shipyards capable of building 20,000 tons of warships.

Coupled with the help of British experts, even the most advanced Hope-class battleships in Australasia could be built at the Melbourne and Auckland shipyards.

Of course, there are still at least two years to go before that period, which means that in two years, the Australasian Navy will not expand much.

Arthur was actually waiting, waiting for military factories and shipyards to work out a 381 mm caliber gun.

With the technology of 343 mm caliber guns, coupled with the help of many British military experts, I believe that 381 mm guns will be born sooner or later.

"The specifications of the team to welcome the British must be taken seriously, the British are our most important partners, and we have the closest relationship with the British people." Arthur commanded.

To continue expanding on the islands of Southeast Asia and Oceania, it was necessary to have the support of the British.

Moreover, if Australasia wanted to take over the German colonies in Oceania, it had to get the consent of Britain and France.

"I understand, Your Majesty. I will host the British Mission to the highest standard, and the most luxurious hotel in Sydney has packed up the best rooms and is waiting for our guests to settle in. Prime Minister Kent nodded.

The British are still the world's most powerful country in the end, and their diplomatic corps receives the highest reception wherever they go.

What's more, Australasia is also rooted in the same origin as the British, even if Arthur does not command, the Prime Minister of Kent will prepare the highest reception etiquette for the British mission.

"Minister Raul, I hope that the Ministry of Defense will soon come up with a report on the plan to expand the number of colonial divisions. I hope that by 1915 we will be able to have at least 15 colonial divisions and give them some combat capability. After instructing the Prime Minister of Kent, Arthur looked at Minister Raul again and said.

The number of soldiers in one colonial division is nearly 20,000, and the number of soldiers in 15 colonial divisions represents nearly 300,000 soldiers.

But this is not much, after all, Australasia is currently home to millions of Aborigines, and it is no problem to draw 300,000 adult Aborigines to form 15 colonial divisions.

The 300,000 troops of these 15 colonial divisions, if nothing else, will become the Australasian expeditionary force, replacing the regular Australasian troops into the war.

Of course, regular troops are also to be sent, but there are not so many. For Arthur, it is not distressing for the indigenous division to die, but once the regular division faces serious casualties, Arthur will really feel pain.

I'll do it today.

To tell me the unfortunate news, the old man is not in good health and can't breathe. The author buys a ticket the day after tomorrow, and from the day after tomorrow there may only be one or two changes (strive for 5,000 words, at least 4,000 words). When you're done with this, I'll compensate everyone!

(End of chapter)