The successful opening of the National Film City was not the greatest news for Arthur, and a month later, on September 1, 1923, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck the island nation, killing more than 100,000 people including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Shizuoka and Yamanashi, and leaving more than 2 million homeless.

Such a massive earthquake has naturally attracted the attention of all over the world.

In order to express its responsibility and responsibility as a great power, Australasia also provided several tons of food to the island nation, including some emergency medical supplies.

Not only Australasia, but basically all countries in the world have expressed their concern and support, after all, no matter what the relationship is, it still has to be passable on face.

But behind the scenes, the grain of the major powers has been expedited to the island nations. This is not for aid, the price of these grains will only be higher than usual, and none of the great powers are good people, so naturally they will not choose to help the island country in vain.

Take Australasia, for example, although Australasia has provided less than five tons of food for free, hundreds of thousands of tons of food have been sold several times over.

In addition to food, the price of medical supplies, tents, domestic water and other materials in the disaster area has increased several times.

Not to mention how huge the economic losses brought by this earthquake to the island countries, the national hardships of the island countries alone will be at least tens of millions of pounds.

In contrast, what is the amount of tens of millions of pounds of supplies to the island nation?

For the government of the island country, it is no longer a big deal for the great powers to double the sale of grain. Because if the food and material supply in the affected areas is not guaranteed, they will face an even more severe cholera.

This is also the experience that various earthquake and tsunami epidemics have brought to island countries, and events with high mortality rates like this often lead to the generation of plagues.

In particular, there are all kinds of constant aftershocks, and the bodies of those islanders buried under the rubble are not well disposed of at all.

At the beginning of September this year, East Asia received high temperatures, and the corpses killed in the earthquake are likely to become a source of plague for life.

In fact, this is also the case, and despite the fact that the island government has taken a lot of precautions, it has not been able to stop the cholera epidemic in the Tokyo area.

The earthquake took just over 100,000 people, but the cholera epidemic in the Tokyo area has killed tens of thousands of people and continues to spread among the more than 2 million people who are homeless.

For island countries, earthquakes are nothing, and the plague brought by earthquakes is the most terrible, and may even cause heavy losses to the island country's economy.

On September 3, 1923, the third day of the earthquake, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government of the island nation declared martial law in the earthquake area, not allowing anyone to enter or leave the city to prevent the plague from spreading to other areas.

Soon after, other cities affected by the earthquake issued such regulations in an attempt to save areas that had not been affected by the plague so far.

There is also bad news for the island nation, and that is that the Keihin Industrial Zone, a very important industrial area of the island nation, is located in the Kanto region.

In addition, on August 24, Prime Minister Yuzaburo Kato suddenly fell ill and died, and the replacement of the island country's government had not yet been completed, and it was facing this serious crisis, which made the island country's preparations somewhat inadequate.

It was not until the day after the earthquake that Gonbei Yamamoto became prime minister, urgently integrated the island's cabinet, and took full charge of the earthquake and the plague that followed it.

On an international level, the earthquake in the island nation is a good thing for Australasia.

First of all, in order to deal with this crisis quickly, it is naturally impossible for the island governments to give any support to the United States for the war in Central America.

Even in the coming period, how to restore the economy and industry after the disaster will be a key topic for the island countries, and the people of the island countries will be much less active in diplomacy.

In particular, since the earthquake, the island nation has borrowed more than 2 billion yen in foreign debt from the U.S. private sector and the government, which is a big burden on the island country's economy.

Whether the island's finances can sustain such a large army and navy is a question, not to mention the recovery of industry and economy, which is a difficult problem for the new prime minister of the island nation, Gonbei Yamamoto.

On September 7, a week later, the damage caused by the earthquake in the island nation was finally counted.

The earthquake was not an ordeal for the island nation, but a succession of earthquakes, fires, plagues and other disasters.

According to the information released by the island nation, the number of damaged houses and facilities alone is as high as 470,000.

In addition, the damage to roads and industrial areas will not be able to restore the pre-disaster situation even if the island countries spend a lot of money to repair them, and it will not take two or three years to restore them to the pre-disaster situation.

And that's not all, for a variety of reasons, the damage to the island nation is worse than it has ever been, with more than 150,000 confirmed deaths, and a significant number of areas are suffering from cholera and tsunamis, and the death toll is still increasing.

I have to admit that the island countries have been quite successful in exporting culture to the Asian region.

In the earthquake in the island country, many Asian countries have extended a helping hand and sent their own medical teams and relief teams.

As we entered mid-September, the pain of the earthquake in the island nation finally eased a lot. But how to clear the plague in the disaster area has become the most troublesome thing for the island government.

To this end, the island countries urgently asked the major powers to purchase more masks and disinfectants, and explicitly ordered the people in the disaster area not to leave the disaster area, and the people outside the disaster area not to enter the disaster area, and implemented a strict isolation system inside and outside the disaster area.

Although the relationship between Australasia and the island country is not good, Arthur will never miss such an order delivered to the door.

Under Arthur's order, major mask manufacturers have increased the price three or four times, and then gathered a large number of masks to transport to the island country.

Even part of it is Australasia's strategic reserve of masks. But there is no way, in the face of three or four times the profit, it is impossible for Arthur not to be moved.

By selling these masks, you can produce several times as many masks, whether it is sold as a strategic reserve or at the original price, Arthur will not be able to lose.

The island nation was not very popular in Europe, and the catastrophe that occurred in the island nation did not attract undue attention from the European powers.

As we entered mid-September, the European powers turned their attention to the peace talks that were taking place in London, because it would determine the fate of Russia and whether Russia would become two states.

17 September 1923, London, England.

At this peace talks, the British Foreign Secretary formally submitted a "Three Proposals on the Handling of the Situation in the Russian Civil War," which also represents the climax of Russia's peace talks.

The first of the three proposals is to recognize the independent nature of many countries, including Lithuania, which were independent from Russia.

Second, it was made clear that Tsarist Russia was the legitimacy of Russia, and that the two countries ruled peacefully along the current borders.

Finally, Soviet Russia was recognized as an independent state, but it had to sign a neutrality pact with the European powers, not to wage war against its own neighbors, and so on.

Although this disposition was generally biased in favor of Tsarist Russia, the British also had selfish motives and did not condone the emergence of a united Russia.

Although Tsarist Russia was still the orthodox part of Russia, the independence of Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and other countries was a fact, and even Finland was recognized as an independent state, and the territory of Tsarist Russia was already facing a huge reduction.

Nicholas II, naturally, would not agree to such a proposal, but the problem is that those small independent states would certainly agree to such a proposal.

Although Australasia maintained its role as a soy sauce in this meeting, the British still had a big say in this peace talks.

The French were ambivalent in their desire to see a stronger Russia share the pressure on them, but they feared that a Russia too strong would become their rival.

After all, the previous Franco-Russian alliance was sweet because both sides had a strong rival, Germany.

But Germany is already suffering from major constraints, and the two most powerful countries on the continent are France and Russia.

Perhaps it was with this in mind that the French agreed with the British, but at the same time demanded that the Russians be preserved as much as possible, to ensure that the partitioned Russia would remain a great power.

The British naturally agreed with the French, because, judging by the present world situation, if Russia could be at peace, the two countries that carved up Russia might even become great powers.

After all, judging by Russia's high population, neither side can become a mediocre country.

In order to quickly cut through the mess and prompt Nicholas II to agree, the World Alliance directly approved the independence of Finland, Poland and the Baltic states, drastically reducing the territory of the current Russia.

This decision made Nicholas II angry, but there was nothing he could do.

Dissatisfied, Nicholas II set his sights on Arthur and sent a telegram to Arthur, asking for Arthur's consent to change the minds of the British and refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the other side.

Arthur naturally could not directly agree to Nicholas II's request, and after thinking about it for a long time, he sent a reply to Nicholas II.

St. Petersburg, Russia, September 22, 1923.

"Prime Minister, what do Australasian people say?" Nicholas II sat on the throne, and his restless movements had already revealed his inner thoughts.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty Arthur has promised to give us assistance at the meeting, but it is uncertain whether the British will agree or not. At the same time, the Australasian government is willing to give us more assistance and support, but it will not stand firmly behind us. The prime minister stood up and said helplessly.

"I knew it!" Knowing the result, Nicholas II was not so angry, sighed, and then said dejectedly: "Whether it is France or Australasia, no one will stand firmly behind us. ”

Truth be told, Nicholas II was grateful for Arthur's support in the civil war. Although Nicholas II also knew that Arthur did not do his best, it was not easy compared to Britain and France, who were still supporting Soviet Russia behind their backs.

The fact that the Russian Civil War has lasted until now is entirely due to the European powers, which also made Nicholas II find the Franco-Russian alliance extremely ridiculous, and even regret that he failed to promote the emergence of the German-Russian alliance.

"Your Majesty, the current situation is not too bad, we still have a chance to reverse." The Prime Minister took a deep breath and spoke boldly to Nicholas II.

"What chance?" Nicholas II looked at the prime minister as if he had grasped a life-saving straw and asked.

"The British will not see the French grow on their own on the continent, and the French also need an ally to help them resist the British. This is an opportunity for us, at least we are the orthodox of Russia, and we still want to reunite Russia. Seeing that Nicholas II was very interested in his statement, the Prime Minister breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"With our maneuvering between Britain and France, we should be able to get more aid from Britain and France to help us quickly restore the post-war economy and industry. Together with the support of Australasia, we will grow far faster than the enemy, and we will remain the most powerful country in Russia. The Prime Minister said with a smile.

"When we regain our strength, the small countries that have gone independent will still follow our rule. As for the Poles, it would be a big deal if we divided them with Germany, and who would be able to stop Russia, which had restored its industry and economy? What we lack most at the moment is time, and with the support of Britain, France and Australasia, we are still the country with the most hope of uniting Russia, and it is nothing more than a little time. After saying his whole proposal, the prime minister also breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Nicholas II, and waited for Nicholas II's decision.

"That's right." Nicholas II nodded in agreement and expressed his support for the Prime Minister's statement.

After all, he was the tsar of the once huge Russia, and although Nicholas II was not capable in military command, he still had no problem in being qualified in terms of politics and diplomacy.

Diplomacy between major powers is inherently a constant search for opportunities, and diplomacy without a state is eternal, because the relations and interests between countries are constantly changing.

Compared with Russia, which has been miserable because of the civil war, the fear between Britain and France is the greatest.

The British needed a strong Russia as an opponent to the French, and the Russians also needed a strong France as their helper, and this was also an opportunity that the Russians could find.

"Tell Australasia that I want to get more supplies and technical support after the peace talks, like the planes and tanks they got in World War I. Also, tell Britain and France that we can accept their peace talks, but only if they support our economic and industrial recovery. Nicholas II, who was comforted, was in a good mood, and his whole body regained his spirits and gave his own orders.

4000 words for the first update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

Today, on the last day of the 10,000 consecutive days, it has been more than 4000/10000, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)