On March 27, 1913, in the presence of Arthur, Minister Gray and Prime Minister Kent signed the Entente, which officially represented the formal signing and implementation of the Anglo-Australian Entente, which had been negotiated for more than a month.

This was an entente for comprehensive cooperation in diplomatic, economic, and military matters, and Australasia officially became an ally of the British, joining the camp of the Entente.

On the day of the signing of the Anglo-Australian Agreement, it caused quite a stir in Australasia and Europe.

This also meant that Australasia would officially join the Entente, and the number of powers owned by the Entente would also come to four, ahead of the three Allied powers.

Although Australasia's status as a great power has only been recognized by European governments and media in recent years, and there are also competitors such as the island nation.

But no one can deny that Australasia is a great power, even if it is the eighth power, much stronger than the non-great powers.

If we look at the current strength on paper of the Entente and the Central Powers, the advantage of the Entente is even greater.

Italy and Australasia are both the lowest powers, and even Australasia's military strength is stronger than Italy's to a certain extent. (Mainly reflected in the army, the balance of the two navies)

And Russia was also more powerful than Austria-Hungary. Britain and France, united, will also surpass Germany in terms of overall strength.

Coupled with the superiority of land area and population, the balance of war seems to have tilted in favor of the Entente.

On the same day that Australasia announced the signing of the treaty with Great Britain, William II sent a telegram to Arthur asking about the situation.

During the reign of Edward VII, Arthur and Wilhelm II had a noticeably better relationship.

But there is no way, the relationship between the state is not maintained by Arthur's personal relationship. For Australasia, joining the Entente would allow it to gain more benefits and status, and it would make it a top five power.

But if Australasia joins the Allies, there is no hope of victory unless Australasia exhausts the last drop of blood in the country and its hole cards are exhausted.

But for the sake of the German victory, Australasia's potential and effort were exhausted, which was unacceptable for both Arthur and Australasia.

Therefore, joining the Entente was the best outcome, at least for Arthur and Australasia.

Although this is a bit immoral for the relationship between Arthur and Wilhelm II, the development of the country is like this, and it is not up to anyone.

Arthur could only explain Wilhelm II's inquiries by the idea of a large part of the English population.

However, Arthur also assured William II that Australasia would never use any illegal weapons into the war.

You know, there were a lot of illegal weapons on the battlefield of World War I. In order to win the war, various tricks came up one after another.

In addition to one of the weapons that caused the most casualties in World War I, the Maxim heavy machine gun, chemical weapons, flamethrowers, etc., were also emergency weapons that made all soldiers smell in World War I.

Needless to say, chemical weapons, all kinds of poisonous gases, blind, suffocated, infected and even killed soldiers.

It doesn't seem like a flamethrower that much damage, but it's actually brutal when it comes to causing damage.

While flamethrowers are no longer effective against a strong fortress, extremely high temperatures of flames can sneak into a fort through its observation ports and vents, inflicting painful burns on enemies at close range.

If you're unlucky, you can even be charred by a flamethrower, which is much more cruel than other ways to die.

Even if you are lucky, you will be far away from the observation port, and the high temperature will quickly consume oxygen and water, resulting in suffocation and lack of water.

Moreover, the extremely high temperature also easily ignites the ammunition and shells inside the fort, which is a close face to death for those who do not have any cover inside the fort.

Although because of Australasia's accession to the Entente, it directly became a potential enemy with Germany in terms of position.

But at least the relationship between Arthur and Wilhelm II did not change much, and the two were still able to talk happily in telegrams.

However, Wilhelm II also had the pride of being the monarch of the top powers, and William II would not keep Arthur as an act of betrayal.

In Wilhelm II's view, victory on the battlefield should be used to tell Arthur that such an Entente as Anglo-French was just an empty shell, vulnerable to the mighty German Imperial army.

It has to be said that many Germans were still quite arrogant during this period.

Because the founding history of the German Empire was established by stepping on France, the hegemon of Western Europe at the time, and now facing France and Britain again, this feeling of facing the defeat of his subordinates made the German military and many high-level officials gradually self-confident and did not take the French army in their eyes.

The news of Australasia's accession to the Entente also caused quite a stir at home.

Supporting the population. Naturally, immigrants from England and Russia. Because of the base proportion of British immigrants and the high growth of Russian immigrants in recent years, the total number of British immigrants and Russian immigrants together accounts for more than 85% of the total population of Australasia.

Therefore, Australasia's act of joining the Entente is, in the eyes of the Australasian people, actually the will of the people.

As for the German population, which accounts for less than ten percent, they naturally do not want to see this.

However, the proportion of German immigrants was not high, and Arthur's prescient scattering among the many British immigrants and Russian immigrants was destined to make waves.

Moreover, most of the people who can immigrate are unable to live in their original country or have a bad life.

If you live well in your home country, who wants to travel thousands of miles to a foreign country just to make a living?

These German immigrants thought they were living well in Australasia, and it would be a bit of a stretch to ask them to stand up and oppose the government's decision-making, regardless of their current security.

Unless there was a premeditated gathering of these Germans and inciting them, it was unlikely that German immigrants in Australasia would have had an impact on the situation in Australasia.

Moreover, with the monitoring of the situation at home by the Royal Security Intelligence Service, it is difficult to bring together these scattered German immigrants, even with the support of other countries.

For maintaining order in Australasia, Arthur spared no effort.

For the expansion of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, Arthur also strongly supports and attaches great importance to it.

To date, the Royal Security Intelligence Service has more than 10,000 total intelligence officers.

If you count the lurking in other countries and some eyeliner, this number may have multiplied several times.

In Australasia alone, there are more than 5,000 Royal Security Intelligence Service (HSI) intelligence officers buried in Australasia's cities and villages.

This also allows Arthur to grasp the first-line intelligence in Australasia at any time, and Arthur can also keep abreast of the movements of his officials and subordinates.

The layout of the Royal Security Intelligence Service for foreign intelligence is mainly concentrated in Europe, the United States, East Asia and other places.

The largest number of intelligence officers were dispatched to Europe, with more than 4,000 people. Coupled with the eyeliner hired and recruited locally, there are more than 10,000 intelligence officers in Europe.

The number of intelligence officers in the United States is slightly smaller, but with the addition of various eyeliners, the total number is more than 4,000.

There are about 3,000 intelligence officers in East and Southeast Asia, about 1,000 in South America, and about 1,000 in Africa and other regions.

The first advantage of joining the Entente was that it was directly ally with the three major powers of Britain, France, and Russia.

Because Australasia had already promised to send a sizable combat army in future wars in Europe, Arthur could also be cheeky and ask Britain, France, and Russia for more benefits and assistance.

Of course, the Allied aid came mainly from Britain and France, and Russia was also a recipient.

On the day that the government publicly announced its accession to the Entente, Arthur signaled the government to contact the French government and establish good diplomatic relations first.

The French also welcomed the addition of Australasia, because the combat troops sent by Australasia would relieve some of the pressure on the French army.

Taking advantage of the contact with the French, Arthur also put forward his own request, that is, he wanted to buy French submarine technology.

Although Australasia already has Germany's mature submarine technology, the development of German submarine technology is still one step behind Britain and France.

Of course, even if Germany's submarine technology is on par with Britain and France, it is beneficial to know more about additional submarine technology for the development of submarines in Australasia.

In addition, Arthur instructed the Australasian government to obtain a large number of low-interest and interest-free loans from the British and French governments and the private sector.

The excuse is that in order to reserve enough military power, Australasia needs to invest more in the military.

After the First World War, all currencies depreciated, and whether it was an interest-free loan or a low-interest loan, it was a sure thing for Australasia.

These loans could be easily repaid with the large amount of mineral resources and food supplies sold to Britain and France during the war.

Perhaps because of the importance of their new allies, the French readily agreed to Australasia's request to purchase submarine technology.

Of course, the French are not opposed to Australasia's loan request, after all, it has been a big lender for decades, and it is not too much for Australasia to have one.

With diplomatic ambassadors from both sides, Australasia soon signed a loan agreement with the French government.

Under the agreement, Australasia will borrow a total of 500 million francs (£20 million, 40 million Australian dollars) from the French government and the private sector, of which 150 million francs will come from the French government and will be an interest-free loan. The 350 million francs came from the French private sector and was a low-interest loan.

The total term of the loan is 10 years, and after 10 years, the Australasian government will have to repay a total of 535 million francs with interest.

Of course, the 500 million francs were not paid in a lump sum. According to the financial situation of the French, the government's 150 million francs will be paid in two tranches, in the middle of this year and at the end of this year.

The 350 million francs from the French private sector will depend on the specific situation of the negotiations between the Australasian government and the French private banks.

France is a big country in terms of loans, and the loan procedures were completed quickly, and the loan agreement was soon signed and came into effect.

If nothing else, it will be able to receive about 150 million francs in the first half of this year and 250 million in the second half of this year. The remaining 100 million francs may not be paid until the following year.

With the support of this funding, the Australasian government can also expand its armaments in a big way.

And even when the naval orders of Russia and Chile are over, it will be the turn of the warships of Australasia to make a dumpling show.

Now that the future target and enemy is already seen as the United States, it is indispensable to quickly increase the strength of the navy.

Arthur intended to expand Australasia's naval armament from 1914 onwards.

Over a five-year period from 1914 to 1918, Australasia's five-year naval shipbuilding program was to be carried out.

In this five-year naval shipbuilding plan, Australasia will build at least one aircraft carrier, seven capital warships with more than super dreadnoughts, four battle cruisers, dozens of frigates and armored cruisers, etc., to thoroughly enrich Australasia's naval reserves.

The aircraft carrier is an experimental product of the Navy, and whether it can be built successfully or not will have no impact on the expansion of the Navy.

The real highlight is the absolute main warships above the seven Super Dreadnoughts, and at least three advanced battle cruisers.

If this new five-year naval shipbuilding plan can be completed, Australasia's naval scale will reach seven super dreadnoughts, three dreadnoughts, and six battle cruisers after the end of World War I, for a total of sixteen capital warships.

By then, if nothing else, the Allied navies should have had an accident as well.

At that time, Australasia's navy is guaranteed to be among the top five in the world, and it is even expected to be directly behind Britain and the United States, ranking third in the world.

In fact, it can be seen from the attitude of Britain and France that Britain and France actually attach great importance to Australasia, a newly joined ally of the Entente.

France not only agreed to exchange some military science and technology with Australasia, but also agreed to Australasia's request for a loan.

As for the United Kingdom, the assistance promised in the negotiations is already being prepared by the British government after the signing of the Anglo-Australian agreement.

Because the original book contains all kinds of things, and even various technologies, drawings, materials, and talents, etc., it takes a while to prepare.

But the British did not intend to wait, and after the first aid was ready, they were already on the British Empire's transports, under the protection of a fleet, heading for Australasia, thousands of miles away.

This aid included a large amount of industrial equipment and materials, as well as the various talents that Arthur requested.

Of course, the British government will not directly require these talents to immigrate to Australasia, but will change the concept and send experts to let these people and their families live in Australasia for a long time.

On the face of it, though, these experts only need to be stationed in Australasia for a few years before they can apply to return to the UK mainland.

But the problem is that when they travel to Australasia, they already take their families and most of their possessions with them.

After living in Australasia for a few years or even more than a decade, are their families really willing to travel thousands of miles to return to the UK?

If he wanted to, Arthur would only praise them for their love for his country, and then let them go back.

Ask for a commuter pass! The editor-in-chief will be strongly recommended in the early hours of tonight, and tomorrow will be two watches, asking for a monthly pass! (The old man is in good health, and after about a week of accompanying the old man, the author will go back, and the time will be 10,000!) ）

(End of chapter)