Chapter 483 Railway Tendering and University Expansion
News of the Russian Civil War immediately made headlines in Europe and the United States. War is a big news at any time, especially a civil war in a powerful country. It will not only cause media reports from all over the country to rush to report, but will also be taken seriously by major countries.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Russian Civil War is closely related to the interests of many countries. First of all, Russia and Australasia have very close ties. Russia sends millions of immigrants to Australasia every year, which determines that Arthur will not sit back and watch the Russian civil war.
If the Workers' Alliance won the civil war, even if the Workers' Alliance wanted to continue to implement the immigration treaty, Arthur would never dare to accept it.
Just kidding, the brainwashed Russian people will definitely spread revolution in Australasia. This is absolutely undesirable and something Arthur must prevent and prevent.
Secondly, a republican Russia would not be in Australasia's interests. During Nicholas II's reign, he was able to ensure that Russia was a close ally of Australasia.
But if the Russian power is controlled by the workers' union, the new Russia will only be Australasia's opponent.
In addition, Britain, which has disputes with Russia in some areas, also pays close attention to Russia's development.
France, which has an alliance with Russia, also attaches great importance to the Russian civil war. Together with Russia's two allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary, there are already five great powers that are paying close attention to the development of the situation in Russia.
Theoretically, the vast majority of countries, including the United Kingdom and Australasia, still support Tsarist Russia under Nicholas II.
Unlike the previous capitalist governments, the Soviet Russia formed by the workers' alliance was a completely new political system, which would have a huge impact on traditional countries.
Historically, after the establishment of Soviet Russia, various European countries formed a coalition to destroy this new country.
But now the situation has changed, but the British Empire does have the idea of forcibly extinguishing this regime.
Shortly after the Russian Civil War, representatives of the British Empire emphasized at the World League's weekly meeting that the World League should have the responsibility to protect the world situation and world peace. Overtly and covertly, they hoped that the World League would form a coalition to jointly send troops to Russia.
But the current situation is still much better than in history. The strength of the workers' alliance is obviously weaker than that of Tsarist Russia controlled by Nicholas II. Instead of being like in history, neither the capitalist government nor Nicholas II had any influence. The power of resistance.
Although countries around the world are very concerned about the civil war in Russia, countries around the world that have just been ravaged by the flu are obviously unable to mobilize millions of troops to attack the newly formed Soviet Russia.
The major representatives must consider the interests of their respective countries, and naturally they cannot nod their heads and agree to send out troops just because of a word from the British representative.
The British representatives were helpless because it was impossible for Britain alone to send troops to Russia.
The British representatives could only change their request for troops to a request for aid, to assist Tsarist Russia controlled by Nicholas II and to free the Russian people from the misery of the civil war.
The Tsarist Russia controlled by Nicholas II was called the real Russian regime by the British representatives, while the Soviet Russia recently established in Moscow was called an evil rebel regime by the British representatives.
Although countries are reluctant to send troops to Russia, there is still no problem in providing some assistance to Russia.
Romania, which is especially close to Russia, and Serbia, which has always been holding Russia's thigh, have agreed to provide assistance to Tsarist Russia to help it fight against the evil Soviet Russian regime.
The panic in these countries is not unreasonable. If Nicholas II failed in the Russian Civil War, then it might be these neighboring countries of Russia that would be troubled by the Russian revolution.
Even defeated countries like Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot escape at all, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The contradiction between the imperial government and the government of the Kingdom of Hungary has become very obvious. Any accident may cause this ancient empire to fall apart.
The good news is that the current strength gap in Russia's civil war is still quite disparate. Although a large area of land in the southeast is occupied by the Workers' Alliance, the size of the Workers' Alliance's armed forces has not exceeded 500,000.
On the other hand, Tsarist Russia in the north successfully received the troops of the previous Russian government. Coupled with the weapons and equipment prepared by Nicholas II, the number of troops soon exceeded 500,000, and was even approaching one million.
Even without the help of other countries, Tsarist Russia could still spend some time with Soviet Russia.
After all, Britain's attitude was unequivocally in support of Tsarist Russia, which also meant that the compensation paid to Russia by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire would basically be accepted by Tsarist Russia.
The financial ratio between the new Soviet Russian regime and the tsarist regime controlled by Nicholas II was fundamentally unbalanced, and it was also the biggest factor limiting the strength of the workers' union.
In any era, huge funds are needed to purchase supplies and strengthen strength. The newly established Soviet Russia was quite poor. In addition, most countries did not have a good impression of this new regime. They even directly refused to trade with Soviet Russia under the leadership of the United Kingdom.
In fact, Nicholas II's letter for help was quickly conveyed to the World Alliance and European countries, and Australasia was naturally no exception.
In order to win this civil war and return the rule of the Romanov family to all Russian territories, Nicholas II spent a lot of money this time and ordered a batch of more than 1.5 million rifles and 500 million rounds from Australasia. bullets, a huge order for 2,000 machine guns and 1,500 artillery pieces.
At the same time, Nicholas II was also very interested in Australasian tanks, as well as aircraft, which were all included in Nicholas II's military orders.
In order to distribute supplies to the domestic people, Nicholas II had spent a considerable part of Germany's compensation, and the Russian government's financial situation was not very good.
To this end, Nicholas II directly took out the gold that the Tsarist family had stored for a long time and used genuine gold to trade with Australasia.
In addition to weapons and equipment, Nicholas II also ordered large amounts of food and medical supplies from European countries to distribute to the domestic people.
After previous setbacks, Nicholas II had understood the importance of winning the hearts and minds of the people.
But it won't be a complete transformation, but Nicholas II is still clear about gaining public support on the surface.
Even if some supplies are distributed to the people for free, the cost is bound to not be too much. But such behavior can greatly gain the favor of the people, which is still very important for stabilizing one's rule.
Facing such a powerful enemy as Soviet Russia, Nicholas II did everything he could.
Arthur decisively agreed to Nicholas II's request to purchase weapons and equipment. After all, a Russia ruled by a tsar was also in Australasia's interests.
But Arthur's attention is not entirely focused on Russia. After all, the development of Australasia in the new year is also very important.
The first thing to be done is the railway construction work in the Persian Gulf territory.
Australasian construction companies are obviously unable to meet all domestic construction needs. Therefore, bidding for foreign construction companies is required to smoothly allow the construction of railways in the Persian Gulf Territory.
As you can see from the map, the Persian Gulf territory of Australasia is a long and narrow coastal area of the Persian Gulf.
Although only one coastal railway from south to north needs to be built, the distance of this railway is not short, and has even exceeded 1,000 kilometers according to estimates by the transportation department.
The need for building this railway is not only to meet the transportation requirements of the Persian Gulf Territory from south to north, but also to mobilize the troops of the Persian Gulf Territory faster.
After all, it is a land far away from the mainland of Australasia. It is difficult to guarantee that it will always be peaceful. The guarantee of transportation capacity is very important.
The estimated investment for this thousand-kilometer railway is A$25 million, with a construction period of approximately three to five years.
Mainly because there are many deserts in this area and it is relatively hot. Otherwise, the investment cost and cycle time can be reduced.
In the end, this section of the railway was taken over by the British Railway Company. After all, apart from Germany, Arthur believed most in the current industrial level in the United Kingdom.
Moreover, Britain is currently Australasia's most important ally, and there is nothing wrong with giving the British some face.
I believe that the British will not have problems with project quality. After all, project quality is clearly written in the contract, and the British government will not sit back and watch their credit collapse.
The second railway contracted to a foreign country was New Guinea's Island Ring Railway. In fact, less than half of the island-circling railway on the island of New Guinea has been completed, which was the area previously controlled by Australasia. As for the area controlled by Germany and the Netherlands, it is the area where the ring-island railway will be built, a super-long railway with a total length of nearly 4,000 kilometers.
Yes, the total length of the island-circling railway in New Guinea alone is about 4,000 kilometers.
Although this may seem unbelievable, when you consider that New Guinea is the second largest island in the world, it seems to become a bit natural.
This island is rich in water resources and mineral resources. It is the most important area in Arthur's plan besides Australia and New Zealand.
The island is an important source of water resources for Australasia and is also the core area of the north-south water diversion plan in Arthur's plan.
It is no exaggeration to say that this island can bring new hope to the Australian region, even more important than New Zealand.
This will also be the first of all the colonies and territories in Australasia to be directly governed. Once there are enough immigrants and scale, this will be the new state directly under Australasia.
Of course, as a single state, the area is too large. The best outcome would be to divide it into 2 or 3 states and join Australasia's dominant territory.
Speaking of which, we have to mention the huge administrative divisions of Australia.
It is no exaggeration to say that Australia alone has a land area larger than most countries in the world.
But Australia as a whole is divided into seven administrative divisions: Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Capital Territory.
Such administrative divisions are somewhat unreasonable. Western Australia, the largest, even occupies more than one-third of Australia, while the smaller Capital Territory and Tasmania only account for a few tenths of Western Australia.
For such an extremely large piece of land, Arthur's ideal administrative division is to divide it into at least ten administrative regions.
Among them, the three administrative regions of New South Wales, Victoria and the Capital Territory in the southeastern region must be divided into at least five administrative regions. After all, this is the most populous region in Australia and even accommodates more than half of the population of Australasia.
The New Guinea Island Ring Railway is a railway of more than 4,000 kilometers. In addition to part of the previous railways in Australian New Guinea and German New Guinea, the scale of the railway to be built is at least 2,000 kilometers.
Regarding the construction of this section of railway, Arthur's most hopeful thing is that the private railway companies in Australasia will be responsible for it.
As early as when Australia was a colony, there were many private railway companies in Australia, but they were not large in scale.
After more than ten years of development, some medium-sized railway companies have indeed emerged, but without exception, they are not qualified to independently contract this stretch of railway.
In the end, the 2,000-kilometer-long railway was contracted in sections by more than a dozen railway companies, and the average length of railway built by each railway company did not exceed 200 kilometers.
Although there are many railway companies building them, Australasia's transportation department has clear specifications for New Guinea's ring-island railway, and there is no need to worry about the railway specifications built by these railway companies being different.
This can be regarded as supporting the private railway companies in Australasia and helping these small private railway companies to develop better, provided that the railways they build must meet the specifications and quality requirements.
Compared with other foreign countries, the development prospects of private enterprises in Australasia are relatively good.
For various reasons, Australasia was neither affected by World War I nor the influenza, and its economic development was relatively more stable.
During the flu, at least tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises went bankrupt in the United States. This number and scale are quite exaggerated.
Although many small and medium-sized enterprises have gone bankrupt in Australasia, the measures introduced by the government have been timely, reducing the number of bankrupt enterprises to within three digits.
In the final analysis, it was because of Arthur's preventive measures in advance that the epidemic did not affect the important cities in Australasia, and they were basically isolated from the ports.
Even in relatively bloated big cities like Sydney and Melbourne, more than half a year has passed since the flu was discovered, and the total number of people infected with the flu in the two cities has not exceeded 1,000.
Except for the new railways that need to be built in these two areas, the scale of railways built in other areas is not large, and the railway companies affiliated to the royal consortium can be responsible for it.
The royal consortium has developed into a very huge behemoth. It is no exaggeration to say that it is as rich as the country.
But there is also a good thing, that is, the royal family's financial revenue to the government every year is even more than that of Victoria and New South Wales, which have large populations.
The royal consortium is very strict about the payment of taxes. Even some taxes that could have been avoided will be paid in full under Arthur's order.
In fact, this is equivalent to the left hand reversing the right hand. The large amount of taxes paid by the royal consortium to the government is basically used for the development of the country.
The strength of the royal consortium is a good thing for Arthur, and the strength of Australasia is an even better thing for Arthur.
Moreover, a considerable number of enterprises of the royal consortium are jointly operated with the government, including the newly established Royal Petroleum Company, which is the result of joint investment and establishment by the royal consortium and the government.
This also brings more taxes and revenue to the government, and government officials will naturally not be dissatisfied with the huge royal consortium.
The public's attitude towards the royal consortium is basically supportive. After all, the employee treatment and benefits of all companies in the royal family consortium are the best in Australia. Not only do they strictly implement the eight-hour work system and double wages on holidays, but they also give out free gifts and supplies during holidays.
In addition, Arthur will use a considerable portion of the Wang Family Foundation's income every year to transfer it to the Royal Relief Committee to help all low-income people, orphans, widowed elderly and other groups in Australasia.
Most of the nursing homes and orphanages in Australasia were funded and established by the Royal Relief Committee and take in Australasian orphans and widowed elderly people free of charge.
Although life in these nursing homes and orphanages is not destined to be very good, it can be regarded as having food, food, clothing, housing and transportation, and no worries about food and clothing.
It is precisely because of the large sums of money Arthur spends on the people every year that the people will not have any dissatisfaction with the royal financial group that makes money every day.
After all, a considerable part of the income of the royal consortium is directly returned to the people, which is much better than those greedy capitalists.
In fact, if you think about it, Australasia's pensions, free distribution of materials, orphanages, nursing homes, educational subsidies and scholarships, medical subsidies and exemptions, relief for low-income people and other policies are completely inseparable from the efforts of the royal consortium.
With the royal family consortium giving back tens of millions of Australian dollars to the public every year, the royal family consortium's reputation among the public will definitely not be low.
In addition to large-scale construction in the country, Arthur also plans to carry out further upgrades in education and medical care in the country.
The first is the Australasian education system. After more than ten years of development, education in Australasia is actually quite successful.
The average academic level per capita has been raised to junior high school or above, and the number of college students is no longer the pitiful number it was in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
What needs further improvement in education is the number of universities and technical schools in Australasia.
As the population increases, it is also necessary to increase the number of universities. Especially after the re-division of administrative regions in Australasia, each new administrative region must have a university, which is also the most basic guarantee.
In addition to increasing the number of universities, it is also very necessary to improve the international status of universities.
The best solution at present is to increase investment in universities, hire more professors and experts from Europe, and build more high-precision laboratories.
Large investment in education is inevitable. After all, education is the foundation of a strong country.
Just one update today, 5,000 words, just lazy, please support me!
(End of chapter)