Chapter 63: Head of State Negotiations in the Office
December 18, 1900, the day after Arthur and others came to the German Empire.
After yesterday's sumptuous banquet, William II arranged for Arthur and others to live in the Berlin City Palace, and prepared fine guest rooms and servants.
It is precisely because of this that after a night and a morning of rest, Arthur finally regained his energy and began to plan negotiations with Germany.
Unlike the negotiations with the United Kingdom, Arthur had already roughly determined the support plan with Germany with William II.
All it takes is for the diplomatic mission and German officials to determine the details of the support and how Australia and Germany will cooperate, and the negotiations will come to a successful conclusion.
Lunch was delivered by the guards and carefully prepared by the chefs of the German royal family. It included various German and British snacks and staple foods.
After a brief lunch, Arthur went to find William II, trying to advance the date of the negotiation.
Fortunately, the Berlin City Palace is not only the palace of the German royal family, but also the core office space of Wilhelm II.
In Wilhelm II's office, Arthur successfully met him and Bernhard von Bülow, the Prime Minister of the German Empire who was trusted by Wilhelm II.
Bernhard is a famous German politician and the current Prime Minister of the German Empire and Prussia.
Bernhard's most famous deeds are his famous sayings that revealed Germany's new foreign expansion policy: "Let other peoples divide continents and oceans, and the time when we, Germany, are content with blue skies has passed. , we also demand territory under the sun."
After Prince Hohenlohe abdicated two months ago, Bernhard successfully took over the position of prime minister and became the second prime minister of Germany in the early twentieth century.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Bernhard, how about noon." Arthur greeted.
Before going to Germany, Arthur had done his homework with the officials of the diplomatic mission, and naturally knew about important German officials and Germany's new and popular Prime Minister.
"Hahaha, have you rested? Arthur. I originally planned to wait until the afternoon to find you, but I didn't expect you to come here first." William II nodded and said to Arthur with a smile.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness the Duke." Prime Minister Bernhard responded.
"Have a rest, Your Majesty. I think we can start preparing for negotiations. It would be best to complete our agreement before Christmas." Arthur explained with a smile.
The end of the year and the beginning of the year are important moments for any country, and Australia is certainly no exception.
The Principality of Australia was actually established on the day Arthur changed territories, which was January 10, 1900.
Although Arthur cannot make it back in time for the anniversary of the founding of the country, he has already prepared. There will be some small celebrations and gift distributions, in order to increase Australians' sense of national identity.
More important is the government's annual meeting. Although the government has not been established for a full year, there must still be annual meetings and summaries.
Whether it's a cabinet meeting or the government's annual report, Arthur needs to be there.
This also means that there is not much time left for the diplomatic delegation. At least the negotiations with Germany must be completed before Christmas. After a simple Christmas in Germany, they must set off to return to Australia.
"I was talking about this with Prime Minister Bernhard just now, Arthur. You came just in time, let's sit down and talk together." William II smiled understandingly and said. One similarity between the German Empire and Australia was that the monarchs on both sides had considerable power.
Especially in the presence of Prime Minister Bernhard, the decision of the three people can fully represent Germany and Australia.
The three of them came to the conference hall next to the office and sat down one after another.
"Arthur, we are very optimistic about our relationship with Australia. Germany also sincerely wants to help Australia develop." After the three of them sat down, William II started the topic.
"Australia also attaches great importance to its relationship with Germany, Your Majesty." Arthur responded.
"In this case, I think we can discuss the general assistance. As for the detailed needs and the areas where we need assistance in the future, we can leave it to the officials to discuss." William II nodded and looked towards Arthur, proposed.
"With great pleasure, Your Majesty." Arthur smiled and nodded, agreeing to William II's proposal.
If you let those officials negotiate, it will inevitably delay the negotiation time due to various details.
For William II and Arthur, since they are essentially inclined to cooperate, there is no need to waste more time.
Since William II and Arthur can basically decide the affairs of the German Empire and the Principality of Australia, it is better to finalize the treaty directly and leave the specific matters to those officials to decide.
"First of all, it is the sponsorship of 500 million marks and the low-interest loan of 1 billion marks as agreed before. I have already told the major German banks about this matter. This fund can be raised as early as the beginning of the year and then handed over to you. William II said with a smile.
The sponsorship of 500 million marks was funded by the German government, while the loan of 1 billion marks was raised by major German banks.
This can reduce the financial burden on the German government and at the same time create income for major German banks. William II will not lose anything and can get the results he wants.
"No problem, Your Majesty." Arthur nodded.
The share of funds had been discussed before, and it would take time to raise funds, so Arthur naturally had no objections.
"Then there is the issue of resources and industrial equipment assistance. I know your mineral resources. For your industrial development, there should be no need to import any mineral resources. Equipment issues will have to wait until our industrial experts arrive in Australia. Only then can we be clear about it, so it is not within the scope of our consideration for the time being.” William II continued.
Seeing Arthur continue to nod, William II said: "Then it's about the dispatch of industrial experts. I have dispatched experts from major factories and military industries in Germany, a total of more than one hundred people. They will be stationed in Australia for at least five years. time, and provide Australia with the help it can during this period." "
However, Australia must be responsible for all the expenses of this group of experts. Arthur, do you have any questions?" William II asked with a smile.
"No, Your Majesty. The expenses incurred by these experts are reasonable, including their travel expenses and various expenses. Australia is willing to bear it." Arthur shook his head and said.
The industrial experts sent by William II were at least of a higher level than those attracted by Australia from Germany.
Using a little bit of money to attract talent, even if it's just for five years, is totally worth it for Arthur and Australia.
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(end of this chapter)