Chapter 205: Chapter 196: Journey to Europe

To Arthur’s surprise, Australia was actually involved in the German-Russian Alliance Treaty, which almost changed the world’s geopolitical landscape before World War I. What Arthur did not expect was that the negotiations for the treaty were quite smooth, and Nicholas II and William II established a rather good relationship.

Regardless, this trip to Europe was inevitable. If Australia wanted to gain more benefits in the upcoming World War I or achieve higher international status after the war, it had to frequently interact with European nations, proving the close ties between Australia and Europe.

On June 9, 1905, after receiving William II’s invitation to visit Germany, Arthur gladly accepted and embarked on a journey to Germany and the whole of Europe the next day, accompanied by a part of his entourage and escorted by the organized navy fleet.

Of course, to avoid disappointing the British and damaging the goodwill Arthur had cultivated in Britain for a long time, Arthur traveled to Europe under the pretext of visiting the continent. His itinerary included the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia, lasting at least four months.

However, excluding the more than two months spent on the trips, Arthur would not stay in any of the three countries for longer than half a month.

Although the other two countries visited were the British Empire’s main rivals, William II was related to Arthur, and their private relations were quite good. Russia, on the other hand, although not closely related, was ruled by Nicholas II, who married Queen Victoria’s favorite granddaughter and was Arthur’s cousin by marriage.

Furthermore, Russia previously established good cooperation in arms trade with Australia. As Australia’s ruler, it was normal for Arthur to visit a nation like Russia with good cooperation on the national level.

To recognize Britain publicly and satisfy the vanity of the British people, Arthur chose the British Empire as his first stop and stayed there for half a month.

From his arrival in London on July 3 to his departure on July 19, Arthur returned to stay in Buckingham Palace for a few days, visited several manor houses of Queen Victoria, and spent time at her tomb.

In any case, at least ninety percent of what Arthur had today was thanks to Queen Victoria.

To Arthur, Queen Victoria was a kind and gentle grandmother who provided warmth during his most difficult times.

Arthur’s uncalculated move once again won the favor of many British people. Although Queen Victoria had been dead for more than five years, this did not mean that the British would forget her contributions and the glory of Britain during the Victorian era.

Nowadays, Britain faces its biggest challenger, which makes many British people yearn for the glorious past when they had no rivals.

Arthur’s reappearance reminded many British people of the splendor of the Victorian era and the once-great monarch of the British royal family.

At the same time, many Britons began to pay attention to Australia’s situation. As the grandson that Queen Victoria cared deeply for before her death, Arthur gained the attention of many Britons, and both his and Australia’s names frequently appeared in major British newspapers.

The last time Arthur and Australia appeared in British newspapers was a year and a half ago.

When most Britons learned that Australia had established a federation with New Zealand, their reaction was approving and congratulatory.

After all, it was part of Queen Victoria’s will to establish such a federation. Even if it happened much earlier, the result was still the same.

British people were more satisfied with Arthur, the independent Duke who broke away from the British Royal Family, when they found out that his first stop was the British Empire.

Even though Arthur would also visit Britain’s biggest rival, Germany, and its long-time competitor, Russia, his first stop was Britain, wasn’t it?

In this half-month, Arthur also visited major shipyards and automobile factories in the British Empire.

As the world’s number one superpower and naval power, Australia sends hundreds of naval academy students and more than a dozen shipbuilding experts to Britain every year for further study and training, learning advanced shipbuilding and naval knowledge from Britain.

Australians share the same roots with the British, in addition to Queen Victoria’s will, which ensures that these Australian navy soldiers and shipbuilding experts would learn much from their British counterparts.

This preparation was for Australia to be ready for dreadnoughts. Australia not only needed the ability to produce dreadnoughts independently but also had to have enough soldiers capable of operating them after their launch.

Sending navy soldiers to study now could speed up the process of navy integration and also improve naval combat efficiency more effectively.

Arthur’s arrival was a pleasant surprise to these navy soldiers and experts. Many of them were descendants of British immigrants to Australia in the previous generation.

These people were born and raised in Australia, and their recognition of Australia was higher than that of ordinary immigrants.

Arthur gave a speech in front of the crowd, comforting and encouraging all the soldiers and experts before embarking on his journey to Germany.

Arthur’s European trip would cover three major European powers.

Whether it was Britain, Germany, or Russia, all were considered the hegemons of Europe at the time and clearly held more advantages compared to other nations.

The only European country that could be compared to these three would be France, which had just concluded an agreement with Britain.

However, France was a republic and Australia had no interest in allying with it.

In addition, Australia had better relations with France’s archrival, Germany. Therefore, France was not an objective for Arthur’s trip, nor did he have any intentions to curry favor or cooperate with France.

France can be considered one of the most affected countries in both World Wars. From the once supreme ruler of Europe, the invincible Napoleon Empire, to a country later ridiculed for its national flag easily transformable into a symbol of surrender – the white flag, it took the French just over a hundred years.

Especially in World War I and World War II, France went from desperate resistance to rapid surrender, with a span of only two or three decades.

Although it is said in jest that you can never conquer Paris before the French surrender, it reflects how great the toll of World War I was on France.

If it could be said that after World War I the Germans generally harbored a desire for revenge, then after World War I, the French were generally fearful of war.

What’s more absurd is that in order to make up for the massive loss of population due to the war, France introduced a large number of black people from its colonies.

This led to a surge in the number of black people in future France, even tainting this once pure white ancestral nation black.

France is still the France of the French, but it is no longer the France of white people.

On July 23, Arthur arrived successfully in Berlin, the capital of the German Empire.

The last time he came to Berlin was a long time ago, so long that Arthur couldn’t even remember when it was.

However, Arthur could still feel the changes in Berlin.

With the worldwide success of the Benz One, cars have become quite common in both Europe and the Americas.

Especially in Berlin, the capital of the German Empire, cars have become very common.

With so many German states and countless local nobility, these aristocrats all share one common characteristic, which is that they are extremely wealthy.

As the popularity of cars grew worldwide, owning an even more luxurious car became one of the ways to showcase the aristocratic heritage.

Of course, the Benz Car Factory actually undertakes the customization of cars, not only limited to the interior and exterior decoration and more luxurious materials, but also capable of comprehensive upgrades to the vehicle’s configuration and protection capabilities.

Arthur’s arrival drew the attention of the German side, probably also due to the fact that the current German-Russian negotiations urgently needed the involvement of Australia.

William II, in particular, prepared a ceremonial guard and welcoming performance for Arthur, and many Germans lined the streets to greet him.

Leaving aside whether these Germans came voluntarily, from the scale of this ceremonial guard and the treatment offered, William II clearly regarded Arthur as the leader of an important country.

Upon seeing William II again, Arthur found that his mood was clearly good at the moment and he was delighted to see Arthur, greeting him with a smile.

“It’s been a long time, Arthur!” William II initiated the conversation.

“It’s been a long time, Your Majesty.” Arthur responded.

“Let’s go, I’ve prepared a welcome banquet for you at the Berlin Palace. Take a good rest first, and we’ll talk business some other day,” said William II, smiling.

Currently, the German-Russian negotiations have been progressing smoothly, and what they need is the east wind from Australia.

Arthur’s arrival in Europe made William II the happiest person. Because he saw the hope of a German-Russian alliance and the future of the German Empire becoming the new world hegemon after quickly solving the French problem by concentrating its main force on the Western Front, free from the encumbrance of the Eastern Front.

Arthur gladly accepted. Currently, the main mode of long-distance transportation across the ocean is still by ship.

However, most of the ships at present are relatively slow in speed, and even the shortest journeys require a longer time.

It takes more than a month to travel from Australia to Europe, and even a few days to travel from the United Kingdom to Germany.

Plus, in this era, there are fewer entertainment facilities, no television programs, and no new gadgets.

Arthur spent most of his time on the ship receiving private lessons from tutors to ensure that his knowledge in politics, psychology, history, military, and other fields was sufficiently rich.

Of course, military knowledge cannot be summed up on paper alone. Arthur is well aware of this, so the management of Australia’s military affairs is entrusted to trusted professionals, and Arthur rarely takes command personally.

Arthur did not want to experience the awkwardness of a layman leading a professional, and the wrong leadership would cause the soldiers to lose confidence in their rulers and commanders.

This is why Arthur frequently sends students to various European military schools. He wants to use these schools to train Australia’s military personnel to fill the gap of high-end military personnel in Australia.

At present, this action has been very successful, and Australia already has its first group of graduates from European military academies who have entered the army and taken up important positions.