Chapter 479

  With the help of Britain and Australasia, Wilhelm II was able to retain the throne of Prussia and was eligible to run for Emperor of Germany.

  It's just that in order to retain his throne, Wilhelm II also paid too much.

  First of all, the power of the German states increased considerably. At the insistence of the French, the new German Empire would be a federal state, with full rights, including full economic and military rights.

  In addition to administrative and diplomatic needs that were determined by the imperial government, these small states were independent states with their own governments and parliaments, as well as armies.

  Like the more powerful kingdom of Bavaria in South Germany, King Ludwig III also had the right to run for election as a German emperor.

  The power of the German emperor himself had been weakened, and not only was he subject to the supervision of all the state monarchs, and in addition to being impeached by the state monarchs, he was also subject to restrictions from the government, and his power had been greatly reduced.

  What's more, the German throne is no longer hereditary, but elective. The monarchs of the states and the nominees of the German Emperor ran together, and the one with the most votes became the Emperor.

  It is equivalent to permanently separating these states from the German emperor, after all, the dukes and kings of these states have the right to become emperors, and who will resign themselves to obeying the emperor's rule?

  Coupled with the checks and balances from the military government, it can be expected that the future German political arena is not destined to be calm, and perhaps even more chaotic than the Russian political arena.

  The financial and military powers conferred on the states alone doomed Germany to not be too strong in the short term.

  You know, the number of German troops was strictly limited to 150,000, and the number of troops in these states was also counted among the 150,000.

  This also means that the German Imperial Government has to compete with all the state governments for the quota of 150,000 troops, which is a big flashpoint of contradictions.

  After all, the total German army during the war was in the millions, and the armies provided by the states were also in the millions.

  In order to reduce these people to 150,000 men, the German government and the armies of the states had to be drastically reduced. As for the exact proportion of the reduction, it may depend on the prestige of the new Kaiser.

  Under the premise that each country had its own actions, the end of 1918 passed quickly, and the time finally came to 1919.

  Perhaps the most concerning issue was the fiscal situation of 1918.

  The economy in the middle of the year had just seen the light of day after the end of the war, and the flu quickly extinguished hopes.

  It is no exaggeration to say that in 1918 the economies of the vast majority of countries were in regression, even greater than during the war.

  Australasia's influenza has not been affected much, but the economy has also been affected as a result. If it weren't for the precautions and the large number of masks and disinfectants prepared in advance, I am afraid that the economy of Australasia would have to follow Europe's backwards.

  It is worth mentioning that despite the impact of the flu, there are still more than one million immigrants in Australasia, and even when the flu has subsided slightly, the number of immigrants has increased wildly.

  This is also the benefit that the flu has brought to Australasia. After the Americans became the world's enemies, the United States seems to have lost its position as the most popular choice for immigrants, and the number of immigrants has been greatly reduced.

  The most beneficiary is naturally Australasia, after all, Australasia is the only immigration country that can compete with the United States.

  In 1918, Australasia received a total of 1.3 million immigrants, which was the result of the impact of Australasia's six-month closure after the onset of the epidemic.

  Coupled with the country's new population of 442,000, the total population of Australasia officially exceeded 20 million, reaching 20.203 million.

  The population officially exceeded 20 million, which also brought Australasia to a new level. When this wave of influenza really ends, and Australasia's population begins to grow massively, it will be the time for Australasia's development to reap.

  In terms of industry, by the beginning of 1919, Australasia's steel production was 3 million tons and 4.55 million tons respectively, and the total steel production had exceeded 7.5 million tons, which is not an exaggeration to say that it was an industrial power.

  After the end of the war, the previous huge military industry was also split, and a large number of military industry employees were absorbed into civilian industrial employees, alleviating the crisis caused by the substantial expansion of the military industry.

  But there is also a new problem, that is, the Leonora industrial base is basically in full condition after absorbing these skilled workers.

  If Australasia's industry wants to usher in greater development, in addition to expanding the existing Leonora industrial base, it may be necessary to build a new industrial base.

  Admittedly, the existing Leonora industrial base has become the heart of Australasian industry, with up to 550,000 on-the-job workers, 1,200 large factories, 5,000 small and medium-sized factories and hundreds of large storage areas.

  But for the imminent mass migration in Australasia, the size and number of existing industrial bases are still insufficient.

  In order to meet the job needs of new immigrants, it is necessary to create more jobs.

  After research, Arthur decided to start the fourth phase of the Leonora Industrial Base, which will be built into a super industrial area capable of housing millions of workers, and will be the future industrial core of Australasia.

  In addition, new industrial bases will be established in places such as New Zealand, New South Wales and Victoria.

Although not as large as the Leonora Industrial Base, it is also a super industrial area that can accommodate at least tens of thousands or even 100,000 workers, further meeting the needs of Australasian industrial development.

  In addition to industrial development, Arthur's next step was to restore more than two acres of arable land per capita.

  Australasia currently has a total arable area of 38.77 million acres, or about 1.92 acres per capita.

  This is just the tip of the iceberg for the vast Australasian land, and when the development of the Murray River Delta begins, Australasia will not only have one more urban agglomeration, but also one more excellent area for agriculture, animal husbandry and industrial development.

  To restore arable land to more than 2 acres per capita, the total arable land must be expanded to more than 40 million acres.

  This also means that the next task of the Australasian government's agriculture department is to reclaim more land, first, to reward new immigrants, and secondly, to sell it to Australasian farmers at a low price, so as to expand the scale of Australasian agriculture.

  In previous wars, Australasia's grain exports made a lot of profit for the government.

  And it goes without saying how important it is for a country to have enough food. It is no exaggeration to say that the food crisis in the middle and late stages of the war was an important reason for the outbreak of civil strife in Russia.

  An important reason for Germany's defeat was also the lack of food supplies for the Allies.

  Especially after the surrender of Austria-Hungary, Germany was missing Austria-Hungary as an important grain exporter, and the domestic food crisis became more serious.

  In 1918, Australasia's annual grain production was about 18 million tons, while the amount of food consumed by the domestic population was only about 5 million tons.

  Of the remaining 13 million tonnes of grain, more than 8 million tonnes are exported to Europe and other regions, and the remaining 5 million tonnes are used as strategic grain reserves to replace obsolete grain in grain storage.

  The old grain that was replaced was exported to the colonies of the Great Powers.

  In terms of food production, Australasia's food production is completely sufficient, and even a year's output can meet the consumption of the entire population of the country for about three years.

  Coupled with Australasia's well-developed animal husbandry, this is also an important reason why Australasia was able to secure domestic food supplies during times of war and influenza.

  Arthur's promise of free supplies during the flu was due to Australasia's huge annual production of grain and meat.

  Although the cost of providing these supplies during Arthur's flu has already exceeded tens of millions of Australian dollars, plus the cost of free treatment for all people, the royal family and the government have spent at least about 20 million Australian dollars.

  Although this may seem like a lot of money, Arthur is able to earn it from trading with other countries.

  What's more, the reparations from the defeated countries controlled by Australasia are more than this amount every year, so naturally there is no need to worry about the government's financial problems.

  What's more, such a small amount of money can make the people in the country have a higher impression of Arthur, even if there is no reparation from the defeated country, and the royal family alone will pay for it, Arthur is absolutely willing.

  Free treatment is also a means for Australasia to attract immigrants during the flu.

  Imagine that immigrants who contract the flu in their home country not only face the current situation of rising prices of various materials, but also bear the cost of treating the flu.

  But if they only pay a ferry ticket to come to Australasia, they will be quarantined for free of charge and will be eligible for free treatment of the flu as long as they are willing to join Australasian citizenship.

  Of course, the price is not to be allowed to change nationality again for five years, but this is not a price for Europeans who want to emigrate abroad in the first place.

  Free treatment for the flu is a condition that only requires immigrants to be able to treat the flu, which is extremely attractive to most Europeans.

  Especially in the Russian region with a relatively large population, some Russian immigrants were forcibly transported to Australasia by the government before, and now a considerable number of Russians are willing to take the initiative to immigrate to Australasia, after all, there is still a fundamental difference between being a livestock in Russia and being a person in Australasia.

  Despite its inevitable shortcomings, the attitude of the Australasian royal family and government towards the people is well known.

  Living in a country like Australasia was a luxury for the people of this era, and even for the people of many countries in later generations, it was a fantasy.

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

  Kavin is serious, let's change six thousand words today, be lazy.

(End of chapter)