Although it is a safe profit for Australasia, the French actually have a deep meaning behind this deal.

Although the Kerguelen Islands are located in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, they are also in the Indian Ocean after all.

If Australasia acquires this area, it will not only be closer to South Africa, but will also expand its influence in the Indian Ocean region.

For the British Empire, which saw the Indian Ocean and India as a forbidden territory, it was a question of acceptance.

In other words, France's actions are suspected of sowing discord between Australasia and Britain.

And why France provoked relations between Australasia and Britain is actually very simple.

The four great powers of the Entente seemed to be united as one, but they were only trying to concentrate on dealing with Germany. Now that Germany has shown its decline, it has become more important to divide up the post-war interests, and at least it needs to be planned in advance.

For France, what the French wanted to do most after the war was to retake Alsace and Lorraine, and to occupy part of Germany, when France became a European hegemon or even a world hegemon again.

But such an act will naturally not be allowed by the British. You know, France is a neighbor across the Channel from the United Kingdom.

In any case, the British would never allow the French to grow big and become the new hegemon on the European continent.

This also means that after the end of the war, the relationship between Britain and France is debatable.

If the French wanted to achieve their own strategic objectives, it was important to co-opt their allies within the Entente.

In addition to Britain and France, the remaining two members of the Entente countries, Russia exposed too many shortcomings in the war, and the damage caused to the Russians by this war was also very great.

Even if the war is won in the future, it will take some time to lick the wounds and restore the economy and stability at home, rather than competing with Britain and France for interests.

This also meant that after the end of the war, it would be impossible to get the Russians to unequivocally support France for more land.

Apart from Russia, the only Entente power was Australasia.

Australasia, though it seems to be weak at the moment, is one of the great powers, and is not destined to be consumed much by this war.

But with the construction of the Australasian Navy, after the end of this war, Australasia will definitely become a great power with a certain right to speak.

Even if Australasia will not support France, it is the plan and intention of the French to sow discord between Australasia and Great Britain so that Australasia will not firmly support Britain.

The Kerguelen Islands, closer to Africa, could serve as an excellent naval base and a breakthrough point for Australasia in the Indian Ocean.

Arthur did have an idea about this, because the region was very close to Madagascar and South Africa, and if the Kerguelen Islands were obtained, it would even be possible to take over Madagascar from the French, and smoothly turn Australasia into a country that spanned three continents, namely Africa, Asia and Oceania.

And, by occupying more land and spheres of influence in the southern hemisphere, Australasia could also claim more territory on Antarctica.

Although there is currently no technology or method to exploit Antarctica, given the abundance of resources in Antarctica, it is still beneficial to claim a large area in advance.

Among other things, from the Kerguelen Islands to the easternmost South Pacific islands of Australasia, Australasia's sphere of influence will envelop most of Antarctica.

As long as the gun in Australasia is hard, then most of this Antarctica is Australasia.

However, although he already had an idea, directly agreeing was not Arthur's way of doing things.

"I admit that what you said is indeed good, Mr. Kret. But barren land like Kerguelen is not very useful to us. Arthur shook his head and rejected the French ambassador Cret's proposal.

"Your Majesty, if your country is willing to continue to provide combat troops, in the distribution of benefits after the war, I can agree on behalf of the government that your country will take more industrial equipment and technology from Germany, and we will not object to your country's behavior of attracting talents in Germany." Seeing that Arthur already had the intention of refusing, Kreit hurriedly continued.

There was already a preliminary annex within the Entente on the distribution of post-war benefits, and the proportion of distribution for each country was fixed.

In exchange for a steady stream of Australasian reinforcements, the French were willing to get less industrial equipment and technology.

As for the question of attracting German talent, including Britain and France, there is no idea of winning over most German talent.

Not to mention, this war was fought so fiercely that Germany had already caused hundreds of thousands of casualties among British and French troops, and Britain and France had also caused hundreds of thousands of casualties among German troops.

The hatred between several countries is not a blood feud, but it is definitely a deep hatred.

Maybe some of them have family members who joined the army and were then killed by the Anglo-French forces.

Under such a premise, except for some particularly outstanding talents who can change a certain industry, Britain and France do not dare to attract talents in Germany on a large scale.

The Russians may have an idea, but Russia is now unable to even control itself, and to say that the absorption of such German talents after the war would cause even greater chaos at home.

In this way, there will be no countries within the Entente that compete with Australasia for German talent, and most of the German talent will also fall into the hands of Australasia.

Although Australasia was also involved in the war against Germany, there were casualties with Germany.

After all, Australasia and Germany have good relations, as long as the hatred between the two sides is transferred to the natives, these German talents can be perfectly absorbed.

In any case, the vast majority of the Australasian Expeditionary Force was indeed composed of indigenous troops. Those who fought in the war were meritorious to Australasia and may be repatriated to Southeast Asia and beyond.

The remaining natives in Australasia can only bear the hatred of the Germans on behalf of the Australasian people as the backstabbers of the natives who participated in the war.

Arthur nodded, agreeing with Kret's opinion.

Arthur entered the First World War in order to gain more benefits in the distribution of interests after World War I and promote Australasia to the status of a top power.

Of course, the most attractive of all the post-war benefits were the many factory equipment and skilled workers and talents in Germany.

Germany has been developing for decades and the results have been remarkable. In education, medical care, scientific research and many other aspects, Germany has cultivated a large number of talents, even hundreds of thousands, millions.

Add to that Germany's powerful industry, its proliferating factories and tens of millions of workers.

To be able to absorb a part of German industrial equipment, industrial technology, industrial science and technology and skilled workers, scientific research talents, Australasia's national heritage will be a big step forward, and there is even hope that it will catch up with countries like Italy after the war.

If before World War I, Australasia was competing with Italy and the island nations for the position of the last power, then after World War I, Australasia will compete with the United States, and in the position of the great powers, the goal is to protect the five and fight for three.

The good news is that because of Australasia's support for the Entente, the United States has not benefited much from the current war.

At the time of the signing of the Covenant, Arthur specifically pointed out that Australasia would be the main supplier of goods to the Entente powers.

The Entente could not import large quantities of supplies from non-Entente countries until Australasia was short of supplies, which was a reward for the allies.

As a result, the arms trade between the Allied powers was almost exclusively between the four major powers, and the United States did not receive a single arms order from Europe from the beginning of the war to the present.

The Germans did not have the idea of buying weapons for the time being, because the war was not long, and the supplies in Germany were barely enough.

Under such a premise, the Germans naturally relied more on the weapons produced in their own factories than in the distant United States.

What's more, the current Atlantic has long been blocked by the Entente. It was very difficult for the Germans to buy resources and weapons from overseas, and it was better to count on the contribution of their allies.

"Mr. Ambassadors, since you have made such concessions in terms of interests, Australasia will naturally not chill the hearts of your allies. Rest assured, 200,000 reinforcements will arrive in Europe by April and be ready for the war against Germany. If you can guarantee that Australasia will give priority to German industrial equipment and technology after the war, then I can also guarantee that at least 500,000 indigenous troops will be sent to the European theater every year to defeat the enemy. Arthur smiled and looked at the two ambassadors.

Winster and Kreit looked at each other, but did not accede to Arthur's request.

However, Arthur felt that it was still possible. At present, it is clear that Britain and France are on their own defenses, and neither is willing to learn from Germany after the war in order to stabilize their supremacy.

The French wanted to become the hegemon of Europe after the war, and the British wanted to stabilize their hegemony, so naturally it was impossible to agree to the French to expand too much.

This led to the outbreak of problems between Britain and France sooner or later, but because the current enemy was the Germans, and the Germans were far more powerful than the rift between Britain and France. As a result, Anglo-French relations remained solid.

If the British and French mussels were to fight, Australasia could indeed be profitable.

After all, neither side wants the other to get too many benefits, so it is better to give all the benefits to Australasia, and Britain and France still maintain the current situation except for part of the land.

If Arthur had made such a request, I am afraid that the British and French representatives would have directly glared at him.

Arthur's request was tantamount to a war won by Britain and France at great cost, and he directly made a wedding dress for Australasia.

Although Britain did not want to see France re-emerge as the hegemon of Europe after the war, threatening its own position.

Presumably, Britain did not want to see the rapid rise of Australasia, which became a new major problem for the British Empire by virtue of its superior geographical location.

For the British, France and Australasia were their allies. Since it's an ally, it can't be too strong.

It was enough for France to gain lost territory in Alsace and Lorraine, and to compensate some of the colonies. And Australasia, with some German colonies and industrial equipment, is enough to have the strength to compete with the United States.

As for the interests of the biggest heads, of course, the British themselves are in control. If they could not ensure that their position as world hegemon would not be shaken after the war, then for the British, the war would not be necessary

3200 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)