Chapter 286: Chapter 254: Visitors from East Asia

As time moved into May, Australasia welcomed the deep autumn.

Due to the approaching Election Day, public speeches in Australasia had become ubiquitous. Even in the two smaller colonies, politicians’ speeches could be frequently seen.

This was not surprising. To take into account the wishes of the colony’s population, even Portuguese Timor, with a population of only 9,000, held a seat in the House of Representatives, while New Guinea, with less than 40,000 people, had two seats. That was why politicians traveled to these regions.

After all, even if it was just one or two seats, there were destined to be fewer politicians in these colonies, and the competition would be relatively lower.

The most competitive city for election should be the Capital Sydney or the Capital Territory.

The Capital Territory had a population of up to a million, but only 40 seats in the House of Representatives.

Sydney’s election competition was not as simple as the overt numbers. As the capital and political center of the kingdom, as well as the location of the royal family and government, during the election period, a considerable number of politicians would choose to give speeches in Sydney.

If an explanation was necessary, the most appropriate analogy would be the feet of the Emperor.

As the capital and the location of the royal family, Sydney’s importance was self-evident. If a certain political party could win most of the seats in Sydney, it would also benefit the competition in the House of Representatives.

Thanks to the supervision of the Election Commission, even if some political party members had already obtained high positions as ministers, they were prohibited from using illegal means to help their own parties.

As Australasian public opinion was controlled by Arthur and the Propaganda Department, if the major political parties wanted a seat in the House of Representatives, they would have to rely on their own ideas and speeches to move the crowd.

However, Arthur’s attention at this moment was not on the public speeches outside but on a group of visitors from afar.

To be precise, these were visitors from the East Asian Qing Empire, and the purpose of their visit was to learn about the concepts and system of Australasia.

Yes, Arthur was quite surprised that there would be a country willing to actively learn about the Australasian system.

Although the outward propaganda and image of Australasia had always been a constitutional monarchy, in reality, the upper echelons of various countries knew that Australasia was an undisguised authoritarian country.

Australasia’s monarchical rule even surpassed the autocracy of the Russian Tsar. While the tsar faced entrenched opposing interest groups when implementing policies and reforms, Australasia had been scattered colonies before the unification, which laid a good foundation for Arthur’s authoritative rule.

In summary, with the foundation of monarchism, in Australia, there were no large-scale opposition forces. This was simply monarchical-plus version.

Qing Empire, theoretically an authoritarian nation itself, should aim at top world powers like Britain and Germany if seeking reform. Why would they target Australasia?

After the explanation by Foreign Minister Andrew, Arthur finally understood the reason.

In plain words, it was still a matter of power. Although the Qing Empire already had the idea of reform, it didn’t mean they could accept becoming a completely constitutional monarchy.

Australasia, on the surface, achieved constitutional monarchy and gained the recognition and love of the majority of its people, while in reality, it remained fully authoritarian, which tempted some policymakers.

Why not, if they could keep their power relatively unrestricted and promote the realization of reform?

That was why the Qing Empire’s diplomatic mission approached Australasia, in plain words, the top rulers were still greedy for power.

Other factors were also at play. Australasia was a British colony just a few years ago, with a relatively developed economy compared to East Asia. However, it didn’t look particularly remarkable to the top authorities.

However, currently, Australasia possessed the most advanced equipment and shipbuilding technology for the army and navy, and its industrial scale had reached world-class levels. This gave some officials of the Qing Empire hope for emulation.

If they could follow the path of Australasia, they might be able to achieve their own revival.

If they could learn advanced armored ship manufacturing technology from Australasia, then hire relevant experts to train their own soldiers. Wouldn’t this be a new way to revive the country?

Although Arthur did not have high hopes for this view, he still received the diplomatic mission.

The reason is simple: if Australasia can participate in this reform, it can also instill forces close to Australasia in this country.

Australasia can naturally divide the benefits and, at the same time, create an opponent for the Island Nation.

It doesn’t have to be too strong, just enough to keep the Island Nation confined to East Asia.

When Australasia gradually begins to expand from Oceania, the Island Nation will naturally no longer be Australasia’s rival.

Arthur successfully approached this delegation from afar in the banquet hall of Sydney Palace.

Although Arthur didn’t know anyone in the delegation, it didn’t prevent him from seeking more benefits for Australasia.

“Your Majesty the King of Australasia, I represent my Emperor and four thousand million citizens to offer sincere greetings to His Majesty the King,” the head of the delegation greeted respectfully when he met Arthur. (I’m just writing the names of the countries casually here, since we all understand)

After some unnecessary small talk in Arthur’s view, the conversation finally got to the main point.

“Your Majesty, as we have traveled from the port, we found that your country is changing rapidly and is already on par with the major powers of Europe. We are very interested in your country’s advanced technology and system, and we wonder if there is an opportunity to have a deeper exchange with your country?” the envoy inquired.

Arthur was not surprised by the envoy’s fluent English, as the British Empire’s influence was spread all over the world.

However, before gaining enough benefits, Arthur would not easily agree to others’ requests.

“Mutual exchange is of course no problem. But sir, all of Australasia’s technology and systems basically come from Europe, and we have paid a huge price for them. Even if I personally want to exchange with your country, I am afraid that government officials and the public would not agree,” Arthur responded with a faint smile.

The envoy was no fool, and quickly replied, “That is natural, Your Majesty. If your country could send experts to help us reform our system, we are willing to pay a salary of ten thousand taels of silver to each expert per year.”

Arthur calculated in his heart that ten thousand taels of silver was about 1,400 pounds, or a little less than 2,850 Australian dollars.

That was too insignificant an amount, and Arthur immediately replied, “Australasia can help your country reform its system, industry, economy, military, and other aspects. But ten thousand taels of silver per person per year is too little as salary, and not even enough for us to pay these experts. How about this: if your country can raise the salary to fifty thousand taels of silver per person per year, then Australasia will send experts to your country until the reform is completed.”

Since it was the other party seeking assistance, Arthur naturally did not hesitate to ask for more, but he did not overplay it.

After all, the most experts Australasia could send were in the tens of people, which only amounted to a few million taels of silver.

The envoy was somewhat pained, but agreed for the sake of future requests.

“Your Majesty, may I ask how much your ironclad ships cost? Our country would like to purchase a few to fill the gaps in our naval power,” the envoy continued to ask.

To buy battleships? Arthur was immediately interested.

A battleship’s profit was at least several hundred thousand pounds, which was much better than sending experts, right?

Although deploying experts sought political interests, who wouldn’t like the solid financial interests of selling warships?

“What kind of warships does your country refer to? We currently have Monarch-class battleships, Unified Battlecruisers, Nassau-class battleships, Brunswick-class battleships, Duke-class armored cruisers, etc. What is your country’s intention?” Arthur asked with a smile.

No matter what the purpose of the order was, Arthur wished they would order more warships so that the expansion of Australasia’s navy would be granted more funds.

According to the manufacturing costs of warships, they only need to export two battleships, and the profits obtained can build a battleship.

“That…”, the envoy hesitated. He was not a naval officer, so his understanding of the navy was limited.

There were naval officers in the delegation this time, but they weren’t qualified to be received personally by Arthur.

Seeing the envoy hesitate, Arthur continued his sales pitch, “Sir, you may not know that we currently have one of the most advanced and powerful battleships in the world, the Monarch-class battleship. We also have the powerful Nassau-class battleship developed by the German Empire. In addition, the Brunswick-class battleship is also one of the powerful battleships developed by the German Empire. You have heard of Germany’s reputation, haven’t you, sir? Germany’s warships are naturally powerful, and you can trust their performance and equipment.”