Chapter 214 The Wedding Begins
In addition to airplanes, various industries in Australasia are also undergoing some important changes.
The first is the tractor mentioned by Arthur before. The Mercedes-Benz Automobile Factory has produced samples and is currently running very stably.
Looking at the agricultural field alone, it can speed up Australasia's agricultural growth and greatly reduce Australasia's human investment in agriculture.
Of course, the most important thing for Arthur about this tractor is its military performance.
Arthur specially transferred some people from the Benz Automobile Factory, plus experts from the military factory, to form another important research laboratory in Australasia, the Australasian Mechanical Research Laboratory.
Yes, Arthur's purpose is very clear, which is to start developing military machinery, that is, armored vehicles similar to tanks and combat vehicles.
Of course, in order to cover up the public and avoid being discovered and taken seriously by the powerful countries, the Australasian Machinery Research Laboratory is still a civilian research laboratory that studies tractors.
Of course, now that the tractor has been tested, it cannot be left alone.
Arthur ordered the Machinery Research Laboratory to start producing several tractors so that they could conduct pilot experiments first to ensure their positive role in the agricultural field.
The second is to strengthen the capabilities of the personnel in the mechanical research laboratory, train their proficiency in producing this kind of machinery, and lay a good foundation for the birth of future combat vehicles and tanks.
Another thing worth mentioning is that after years of research by German experts and military factories, the M1897 75mm artillery at that time also received its own improvement and upgrade, a 105mm semi-automatic artillery.
This artillery has devoted the efforts of all German experts and experts from the Australasian arsenal. It is also one of the largest semi-automatic artillery guns currently available.
This artillery is named GA1906 105mm semi-automatic artillery and can fire twelve shells per minute.
The previous French Miss 75 also received relatively good improvements. The artillery firing speed increased from the previous 15 rounds per minute to 20 rounds per minute.
After the birth of the GA-1906 105 mm semi-automatic artillery technology, Australasia currently has three semi-automatic artillery calibers, namely 37 mm, 75 mm and 105 mm.
These three types of artillery can basically adapt to various situations faced by the Australian army. They are also the most equipped artillery in the Australian Army.
Since the number of troops in the army exceeded 60,000, Australia's annual military expenditure has also experienced considerable growth.
The salary of these 60,000 soldiers alone is nearly 2.4 million Australian dollars. Coupled with the various expenses required for soldier training and the cost of maintaining the navy, Australasia's current annual military expenditure is nearly 3 million Australian dollars.
Of course, all the expenses of the Guards are paid by the royal family, which is the real reason why Australia's military expenditure does not exceed 3 million Australian dollars.
In fact, the increase in per capita annual income brings not only an increase in military expenditures, but also an increase in the royal government's fiscal revenue.
Before New Zealand joined Australia, the annual fiscal revenue of Australia and New Zealand remained at about A$10 million and A$4 million.
After the formation of the Federation of Australia and New Zealand, the federation's total annual financial revenue is approximately 18 million Australian dollars.
And now with the establishment of the Kingdom of Australasia, although it has only been eleven months so far, the total financial revenue of the Kingdom of Australasia has exceeded 19 million Australian dollars, and it is expected that the whole year of 1906 The total financial revenue may exceed about 21 million Australian dollars.
From this data, we can know the economic growth rate of Australasia. You know, after New Zealand joined Australia, it was naturally exempted from various complex taxes, just like Australia before it, and only retained relatively simple single taxes.
However, the two regions still relied on less tax revenue to obtain much more fiscal revenue than during the previous period of heavy taxation, which is enough to show how rapidly Australasia's economic development has been in the past few years.
If the government's deficit was relatively huge before, then the government's revenue and expenditure are now within an acceptable range.
At the current rate of economic development in Australasia, it is only a matter of time before total fiscal revenue exceeds total expenditure.
If the domestic construction projects were not too huge, this goal would have been achieved long ago.
However, the Australasian government is not in a hurry at the moment. The government's loans come from the royal family and the German government. The repayment dates are relatively loose, and the government also has enough time to prepare.
Although Arthur loaned the government 100 million pounds of funds and 50 million pounds of equipment, Arthur currently has more funds and properties than these, and there is no reason to urge the government to repay.
Not to mention the German loan, the repayment date signed at that time was twenty years, and by that time the First World War was over. . .
After October passed, the date of Arthur's wedding that Princess Louise and Grand Duke Sergei had discussed at that time was getting closer and closer.
The Australasian government has also begun intensive preparations to welcome this important day for all Australasians. The government is very generous. In addition to the fact that the government is currently not short of money, Arthur is an out-and-out powerful monarch, which is also a very important reason.
Of course, Arthur was not involved in the specific cost of the wedding, or even expressed any opinion.
The specific processes and procedures were all negotiated by the Cabinet Government, and were also strongly supported by the Royal House of Representatives and the House of Representatives.
Australasia will use at least two million Australian dollars for this wedding to host a truly wedding of the century.
The various jewelry and expensive clothes made for Queen Mary alone are worth more than 400,000 Australian dollars.
This time, most of the Australian fleet will be dispatched to pick up Archduchess Mary from the Russian capital, St. Petersburg, and go all the way south, passing through the Suez Canal, crossing the Indian Ocean, and arriving in Sydney, the capital of Australasia.
The specific wedding preparations do not require Arthur's attention. Government officials and Princess Louise will prepare everything. Arthur only needs to officially participate as the protagonist on the day.
In fact, Tsar Nicholas II had a lot of preparations. Although Russia's finances are not that rich, after all, it is a wedding for a direct member of the great Romanov family, and the marriage partner is still a king from a distinguished European family.
Because the government and Princess Louise attached great importance to this wedding, Arthur had nothing to do during this preparation period.
However, in order to express his importance to this wedding, Arthur decided to dispatch the Guards. The 1st Infantry Regiment of the Guards Division will be responsible for escorting Archduchess Mary from Tsarist Russia to Sydney Port.
The Cavalry Regiment is responsible for the reception from Sydney Harbor to Sydney Palace.
After hearing about it, Tsar Nicholas II once again decided to increase the scale of the wedding. Nicholas II will dispatch a small fleet for this purpose. The fleet escorting Archduchess Mary will include at least two battleships and more than a dozen small and medium-sized warships.
Australia is far more prepared than that.
Benz and Diesel expedited their research and finally produced a more luxurious car that would be used by Arthur and Archduchess Mary on their wedding day.
The cost of this luxury car directly exceeded 3,000 Australian dollars. It not only greatly reduced the roar of the engine, but also upgraded the appearance and design.
Another purpose of Nicholas II's decision to increase the size of the wedding was actually to use this opportunity to demonstrate Russia's remaining power to the outside world.
After the failure of the last Russo-Japanese War, some countries have expressed doubts about Russia's strength, believing that Russia is like an old man in the sunset. Russia's military strength has long been greatly reduced, and it is far less brilliant than the European bulldozers of the past.
Nicholas II could not accept such doubts, so he decided to use the opportunity of this wedding to let the world take a good look at the power Russia currently possesses.
The preparation for this wedding took more than a month. During this period of careful decoration, the original Sydney Palace also took on a new look, with more festive colors everywhere.
In order to reflect the celebration of the whole people, Arthur specially announced something through the Royal Rescue Committee, that is, on the day of Arthur's wedding, all citizens of Australasia can receive a bag of flour and ten pounds of mutton from the local government. , a liter of milk and other supplies.
Of course, the specific regulations vary from place to place, but they are basically the same, not too different.
This kind of welfare policy is actually what Australasians want to see most. No matter how much you say, it is not as good as the real thing. Although these things are not of high value, fortunately, everyone in Australasia has a share, and it definitely highlights fairness and justice.
On December 27, 1906, after more than a month of urgent preparations, Australasia finally welcomed Arthur's wedding.
This wedding has also been preheated in Europe for more than a month, and has successfully become one of the focuses of European civilians.
The cost of this wedding can be said to be one of the most expensive royal weddings, and its protagonists are Arthur, who was born in the British royal family, and Mary, who was born in the Russian royal family.
Coupled with the friendly relations between Arthur and Germany, the countries paying attention to this wedding even include top powers such as the British Empire and the German Empire.
During this period of more than a month, Mary also became the envy of European aristocratic ladies.
You know, this is a grand wedding that costs millions of Australian dollars, which is more than one million dollars in pounds.
Coupled with all the other expenses, it is almost worth a dreadnought.
Coupled with the heat and attention this wedding has attracted around the world, even some ladies who are already engaged are regretting why Arthur is not marrying them.
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(End of chapter)