Although the war broke out only four months, the attrition for all the countries involved in the war was enormous.

So far, Australasia has exported at least 5 million tons of grain, 500,000 rifles, hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition and a variety of weapons and equipment, strategic materials, etc. to Europe.

Including oil, coal, iron ore and other mineral resources, Australasia also sold many to the British Empire and France.

This trade also brought a lot of profit to Australasia and drove the Australasian economy forward, which is why Australasia was the only belligerent country with a rapid economic growth during the war.

Thanks to the rapid expansion of the military industry, Australasia's industry has also ushered in considerable growth.

It is worth mentioning that the French have realized the dangers of their maverick uniforms to the army, and are currently urgently planning to replace the existing uniforms with colors that are less likely to be noticed.

Some factories in Australasia are responsible for the production of military uniforms and helmets.

This also gives some civilian garment factories in Australasia a good opportunity for development. At least for this time, the market for military clothing was much higher than for civilian clothing, because many supplies were destroyed or intercepted by the enemy before they reached the soldiers.

Of course, the demand for military uniforms in Russia is minimal. If you have to ask why, look at the military uniforms with bullet holes and patches worn by the Russian recruits.

The Russians have real clothes, even if they are from their comrades who died in battle, as long as the damage to the military uniform is not high, it still has the value of use.

At present, there are no taboo weapons such as poison gas in the European battlefield, but Arthur understands that if the war in Europe continues to develop like this, the Germans will definitely not be able to sit still, and poison gas will definitely be used by the Germans.

In order to deal with the poison gas that the Germans might use, and also to protect the Australasian army, under Arthur's orders, Australasian researchers began to urgently research gas masks, a kind of mask that Arthur asked to use to isolate harmful gases.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Arthur also asked people to research reliable and convenient masks to protect against the possibility of a pandemic of influenza in a few years.

The big flu in a few years is not a small infectious disease, and if there is no prevention, it is likely to bring a lot of casualties and losses to the country and the people.

Masks, disinfectant and other supplies, Arthur is already in intense preparations. In order to wait for the arrival of the flu in the future, we can reduce the casualties in Australasia as much as possible, and even eliminate the casualties as much as possible.

The good news is that the outbreak of the Spanish flu is still a few years away, and Australasia's remoteness is not destined to be the hardest hit.

As long as we do a good job of protection at the national level, and at the same time prepare a large number of masks, disinfectants and other emergency supplies, it is still no problem to effectively deal with this influenza pandemic.

With regard to the integration and assimilation of all immigrants in the country, the unification of language and religion were two of Arthur's most important policies.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Archbishop Sted, a large number of non-British immigrants have been trained in English, at least so that they can communicate in English for simple purposes.

You know, the vast majority of those who set up factories in Australasia are British-Australasian people.

This also means that knowing English is also a requirement when looking for a job. Although this is not a fundamental condition, whether or not you can speak English also determines whether you can survive in the factory.

Just imagine, if you can't even understand the words of your colleagues and leaders, and you have to rely on your hands to communicate, how can you work better?

Because of this, German and Russian immigrants still have a high attitude towards learning English.

This has also made the progress of language unification in Australasia very smooth, and all language schools run by the government and churches are basically full.

In addition to unifying the language, Archbishop Stede is also trying to unify the religion of Australasia.

But religion is not the same as language, and people can accept learning another language to help them live a better life, but they often can't accept converting to religion.

Some people who don't believe in religion or anything like that are okay, but those who are more superstitious about religion even say cold words to the missionaries sent by the church, and directly refuse it.

Arthur was not too concerned about the religious unity of Australasia, after all, in this era, secular power was far more important than religion.

For a country like Australasia, it doesn't matter what religion the people believe in, as long as the fundamental power is in Arthur's hands.

As long as it can be ensured that the British and Protestants make up the majority of the total population of Australasia, the remaining minority will be able to freely believe.

Of course, religions that oppose the government and royal rule, and which run counter to the beliefs of most British immigrants, are unlikely to be taken over by the government.

The question of how to make a trade-off is left to Archbishop Steed.

In addition to serving as Archbishop of Australasia, Archbishop Sted is also the head of the Australasian Protestant Association.

The problem of religion is left to the religion itself, and if Archbishop Stede is able to convert the vast majority of Australasian people to Protestantism, Arthur will definitely welcome and support it.

After a brief cabinet meeting, Arthur waited patiently for the arrival of the new year's national day.

But unexpectedly, before the National Day, Arthur took the lead in waiting for guests from Europe.

They were British Ambassador to Australasia, Henry Winston, and French Ambassador to Australasia, Topin Krette.

The two men were not small in their respective countries, as they were responsible for the connection with the allies of the Allied Powers, and also served as a bridge between Australasia and the Allied Powers.

Although Arthur had already guessed the purpose of the two's visit, he still received the two in the banquet room with a smile.

The purpose of Britain and France is actually very simple, it is definitely related to the current war in Europe. Britain and France had to bear a large number of casualties every day in the European theater, and the Australasian army was only in the early 300,000s at full strength, and now it is only more than 200,000.

Moreover, the Australasian Expeditionary Force was composed of the vast majority of natives, so Britain and France naturally wanted Australasia to send more reinforcements to relieve the pressure on Britain and France.

After each of them sat down, Arthur got straight to the point and asked directly: "Mr. Ambassador, I don't know what you are here for today?" ”

Henry Winston and Topping Clayter glanced at each other, and Winston was the first to speak, and replied very respectfully: "Your Majesty, I won't tell you that the European battlefield is very anxious now. In order to defeat the Germans as quickly as possible, we hope that your country will be able to send at least 200,000 more reinforcements to help us launch a greater offensive to regain the lost territories of France in one fell swoop, or even to attack Germany directly. ”

So far, France and Germany have won and lost the war, and the offensive of both sides has been stalemate, turning into a protracted and brutal war of attrition.

Wars of attrition naturally require human lives to fill them. It can be seen from the daily casualties on the battlefield on the Western Front that the casualties of the British, French, and Australian coalition forces in the war of attrition are as high as nearly 20,000 every day, and more than 3,000 people are killed.

At this time, whichever side has more manpower means that it has more advantages to consume.

Needless to say, Britain and France naturally said that France was the main target of the German attack, and the casualties were already very heavy at present.

The British Empire has so far sent more than 500,000 expeditionary troops to France, including 400,000 colonial troops and 100,000 regular troops.

Australasia alone not only sent more than 300,000 troops, but also only one division of the regular army.

Although the Australasian 4th Division performed very well in the war, the combat effectiveness of individual divisions was in no way weaker than that of German divisions.

Such a thing is completely unable to change the battlefield on the Western Front, and Australasia needs to contribute at least another 200,000 troops, which can have a certain impact on the battlefield on the Western Front.

"If I remember correctly, our covenant at that time should have been 300,000 colonial troops and a regular division! As early as just two months after the outbreak of the war, Australasia had already completed its mission in full, and it was also frequently transporting supplies to its allies, and absolutely nothing was carried. Arthur glanced at the two ambassadors and said with a chuckle: "And judging from the size of our army, in a short period of time, we simply cannot organize another 200,000 troops." You may have a way to get supplies, but when it comes to the army, we are really powerless. ”

Winston and Krett glanced at each other, and Kreit was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that we are definitely here with sincerity. Mr. President, we are also aware of the difficulties of your country, and if your country is willing to support 200,000 troops in three months, we are willing to pay half of the cost of building this army, and bear half of the cost of fighting in Europe. In addition to this, we are willing to transfer the Kerguelen Islands to your country and to provide you with an interest-free loan of 500 million francs. ”

The Kerguelen Islands are located in the southern Indian Ocean, between the French colony of Madagascar and Australasia.

If Australasia were able to acquire the colony, its sphere of influence would also expand into the Indian Ocean.

After hearing the Frenchman's conditions, Arthur couldn't help but squint his eyes and looked at Ambassador Crett with deep meaning.

It must be said that the conditions of the French are indeed lucrative. Australasia only needed 200,000 indigenous troops to obtain an interest-free loan of 500 million francs, a colony that could expand its sphere of influence.

Even half of the cost of building an army of 200,000 and fighting was borne by France, and from the perspective of interests alone, this deal Australasia was absolutely not a loss.

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

(End of chapter)