Chapter 202 Engagement and Return to China
The news that Arthur finally chose Archduchess Mary quickly reached the ears of Nicholas II and Queen Alexandra.
The two were very satisfied with the result and thought it was another beautiful union between European royal families.
At least for now, the alliance between Australia and Russia has the same interests. Russia needs more support in the Far East, and Australia also needs an ally at the level of a great power. At the same time, it also needs to limit the rise of possible enemies in the future, island countries.
After marrying the Russian royal family, it can also effectively accept immigrants from Russia. After excluding some revolutionary elements and dangerous elements, the Russians who have been living under the tsarist autocracy are actually more suitable to become Australian residents, and their acceptance of autocracy will be higher than other European immigrants.
On August 15, 1905, Arthur and Archduchess Mary had a brief contact for a few days. After meeting several times, they held an engagement ceremony in St. Petersburg.
In the past few days, Arthur also sent a telegram to China to seek the advice of his mother, Princess Louise. Princess Louise naturally took matters into her own hands and even urged Arthur to get engaged quickly.
Although the engagement was only attended by members of the Russian royal family and the Australian royal family, only a few senior Russian officials were eligible to congratulate on the spot.
But this engagement still caused a certain sensation in Europe. This was another great union between the Romanov family and the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.
For the Tsarist Empire, this engagement also had a certain sense of surprise, which caused some people in the Tsarist Empire to focus on the two protagonists of the engagement, and some of the parades were even thinner.
Because of Arthur's good reputation among the people of the British Empire, many British people paid great attention to Arthur's engagement and offered their sincere blessings.
Although Russia's current relationship with Britain is not very good, in the face of Arthur's marriage, this little conflict can be temporarily forgotten.
Taking advantage of the engagement, Arthur also negotiated a lot of close cooperation with the Russian Empire on behalf of Australia, including introducing more immigrants, strengthening trade between the two sides, and the import and export of resources from both sides.
Because it established a good relationship with the Russian Empire, Australia was also able to open up part of the Far East market and establish some negligible interests.
What concerned Arthur most was the issue of immigration. As of 1905, the total population of the Tsarist Empire reached 143.98 million, making it a well-populated country.
Because of its large population, Russia does not care about the casualties in the war, which is why it has the title of European Bulldozer.
Russia's weapons and equipment are generally relatively backward, but it is precisely because of its continuous population that the Russian army maintains a fairly strong level.
Russian immigrants have many advantages. Not only can they accept the monarchy well, but they are also hardworking and hardworking.
The Russian people are relatively tough, and the army they formed is also very powerful and not afraid of death.
If the cause of domestic unrest is, in addition to the long period of oppressive rule, the excessive exploitation of the ruling class and the low status of Russian civilians are also very important factors.
This basically does not happen in Australia, and it is also a prerequisite for Australia to maintain national stability after receiving these immigrants.
In addition, Arthur is married to the Russian royal family, and his relationship with the Russians is even closer. The Russians will also become the immigrants who are more loyal to the Australian royal family in addition to the British.
Of course, this is after excluding those revolutionaries and rioters. Arthur will not accept those dangerous elements who incite revolution. The interests of Australian civilians can be protected by the royal family. What civilians have to do is work hard and maintain order.
The Russian government remains indifferent to Australia's request for immigration. Russia has a large population, and emigration can also reduce some of the burden.
Even if Australia's affordability was not limited, the Russian government would have wanted to sign an immigration treaty with Australia with an annual immigration volume of at least 500,000 people.
Russia's population growth has always remained at about one to two million per year, and sometimes the population growth will even exceed three million.
In 1800, the total population of Russia was only over 35 million. One hundred years later, in 1900, it had reached a terrifying 132 million, nearly four times the number.
This is nothing. In just sixteen years from 1900 to 1916, Russia's population growth reached about 51 million, and the annual population growth even reached more than 3.1 million.
This kind of trouble that a country with a large population faces is actually the envy of a country with a small population.
Russia's population growth in one year is equivalent to more than half of Australia. In this era where the number of people still determines the advantage in war, more people also represent more advantages and expendable manpower.
The immigration treaty signed by Arthur was not so crazy. The treaty will be officially implemented from the date of signing, and the specific number of immigrants will be determined based on Australia's transportation situation.
What it means is that as many immigrants as Australia can transport, it can obtain as many immigrants from Russia every year. Of course, immigration matters cannot be rushed. According to Arthur's estimation, starting from 1905 this year, the number of Russian immigrants to Australia each year within three years will not exceed 100,000, and the average number of Russian immigrants to Australia will only be about 40,000 to 50,000 each year.
This is because Russian immigrants need to be carefully screened, and any factors that may join revolution and chaos and affect Australia's stability need to be eliminated in advance.
Of course, these tasks need to be done by Barty Crouch's Royal Security Intelligence Service.
It has been more than three years since the establishment of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, and the people selected from the army have become very skilled in intelligence work.
Of course, the manpower expansion in the past three years has not stopped, but intelligence personnel need to undergo more rigorous background checks and loyalty tests before they can successfully enter the Royal Security Intelligence Service.
So far, the number of personnel in the Royal Security Intelligence Service has exceeded 500, but the most elite backbone is still the more than 100 people selected from the army.
Currently, the Royal Security Intelligence Service has dispatched more than one hundred intelligence officers to major regions around the world. They live in other countries in various capacities and provide intelligence work for the Royal Security Intelligence Service.
Of course, the current main scope of the work of the Royal Security Intelligence Service is still in Australia and New Zealand. There are more than two hundred intelligence personnel stationed in these two areas, collecting all intelligence from Australia and New Zealand for the Royal Security Intelligence Service and Arthur, and also being able to monitor All officials and political parties in the two regions are aware of some unstable factors in advance.
Compared with the sensation caused in Europe, this engagement caused a greater sensation in Australia.
After all, one of the protagonists of the engagement is their beloved Duke Arthur, and the other protagonist is also a princess of a powerful country, the Grand Duchess of Tsarist Russia.
This powerful alliance makes Australians very satisfied and they send their blessings one after another.
Even if it were not for the persuasion of Australian government officials, the people would even spontaneously organize a parade to celebrate and offer greater blessings and cheers to Arthur.
It can only be said that parades, an action used to express one's thoughts, have been deeply engraved in the minds of Europeans.
Whether it is to express dissatisfaction or excitement, the parade has become the top event that Europeans can think of.
Because of Arthur's good reputation in Australia and New Zealand, a large number of residents throughout the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand were very concerned about this engagement, and even used their own imagination to create many versions of this engagement.
It is said that Arthur and Archduchess Mary fell in love at first sight and decided to stay together for life. There are also various other versions and they are widely circulated.
The Australian government even sent a telegram asking Arthur whether there should be certain restrictions on domestic gossip about the engagement.
After all, this is related to the monarch's own prestige, and entertainment gossip may go astray.
Although Arthur did not agree to suppress these news, he still instructed the Victoria Newspaper and the Australian Daily Newspaper to publicly report the engagement to eliminate some of the increasingly outrageous rumors that were developing.
But the good news is that Arthur has a good reputation, and all kinds of entertainment gossip are limited to this engagement, and most of them are with blessings, without any slander or negative emotions.
On August 29, 1905, after spending more than half a month in Russia, Arthur finally embarked on a journey back to Australia.
This trip to Europe has taken more than two months. Including the time spent on the return journey, it almost fits the original planned four-month itinerary.
This trip was somewhat beyond Arthur's expectations at the time. Not only did the negotiations with Germany and Russia go very smoothly, but a further immigration treaty was also signed.
It can be expected that Australia will see a greater explosion in the number of immigrants in the next few years, and Russian immigrants will also become the main force among Australian immigrants.
In addition to immigration and engagement, Arthur is looking forward to the basic industrial technology discussed with Germany.
At present, Australia's industrial situation is relatively scientific. The steel industry and some manufacturing industries that can be used in Australia are relatively developed, and this aspect has begun to take shape.
However, basic industries involving all aspects and industries currently not used by Australia are still in a relatively weak state. If the development of these industries does not have strong boost, it may take a long time to make up for it.
Compared with Australia, Germany's basic industry is very strong and has basically no shortcomings. Germany’s basic industry assistance will also allow Australia’s basic industries to usher in growth.
If it can be matched with certain incentive policies, it is hoped that the shortcomings of weak basic industries can be made up within a few years.
First update, please support!
(End of chapter)