The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 1019: Chapter 767: Princess Alexandrine Pregnant

Regarding such equity distribution, as long as Arthur gave the order, the government and other institutions naturally would have had no objections.

Moreover, to speak of it, Australasia also belonged to Arthur — this was stipulated by the constitution.

The Persian Gulf oil fields belonged to the Persian Gulf Territory, and if Arthur really wanted to enjoy these oil fields exclusively, he could have used many methods to possess them legally and legitimately.

But Arthur chose to share the winnings with the government, which was already showing the government the greatest respect.

If the government still didn’t know what was good for them, Arthur could only make the government’s officers understand why Australasia was a Kingdom.

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The oil price negotiated with the British was estimated by the economists of both countries based on the current situation of the people’s livelihood in the two nations, which was deemed the most suitable oil price.

It would allow both countries to earn sufficient profits while also ensuring that the people did not have to shoulder a heavy burden.

After all, petroleum was only a very small part of people’s daily necessities. If people were made to bear high oil prices, they might very well revert to using horses and horse carriages, which would have a negative impact on the country’s development and social operation.

Besides, Arthur’s expectation of raising oil prices was essentially to increase government revenue, to better facilitate development, and to drive the economy and people’s income.

If this caused the people to endure tremendous burdens, it would be like losing the watermelon while picking up sesame seeds, a counterproductive action.

At least, Arthur felt that he was different from British capitalists.

Although Arthur also hoped the Royal financial group would make more money, everything was based on ensuring the interests and daily life of common people.

Of course, this approximate range of international oil prices negotiated between Britain and Australasia actually varied in different regions.

For Australasia, domestic oil prices were certainly cheaper than those abroad. Anyway, there was bound to be profits, so there was really no need to make money off one’s own countrymen.

In addition to marginally reducing the oil prices, the government would also establish subsidies related to petroleum in the future, to make the use of petroleum more cost-effective for the people.

As for exports to foreign countries, it was a matter of following the normal international oil prices. Anyway, Europeans had already moved past the influence of the economic crisis, and to appropriately squeeze the Europeans could be beneficial.

The reorganized Persian Gulf oil company quickly entered operational status. Coupled with continuous investments from the royal family and the government, it was bound to be in a state of mad expansion in the next few years.

Arthur’s expectation for the Persian Gulf oil company was to ensure that Australasia’s petroleum industry remained solidly at the world’s second level.

You see, the petroleum industry was far from just extracting petroleum. After the extraction, what’s obtained was merely murky crude oil.

After processing the crude oil through the chemical industry, corresponding gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum-based products were produced.

This also meant that the prices of gasoline and diesel were definitely more expensive, and exporting petroleum products would certainly be more profitable than exporting crude oil.

This was akin to the export of raw ore versus industrial processed goods, with the profits earned being quite different.

With steel and other industries in a state of stagnation, if substantial progress could be achieved in the petroleum chemical sector, it would play a crucial role for Australasia’s industry.

More importantly, with the extraction of Persian Gulf oil, the Persian Gulf Territory would become increasingly vital.

The extraction of petroleum required a large number of oil workers, which also meant that in the future, there would be a constant need for immigration to the Persian Gulf Territory.

This was good news. But as more Australasians moved to the Persian Gulf Territory, it also meant that Australasia’s control over the Persian Gulf was strengthening.

Even if the British eventually encountered a problem with their rule in the Colonies, Australasia could take advantage of the situation and seize the Strait Colonies and some coastal colonies of the Persian Gulf for itself.

If it were possible to fully control the entire Persian Gulf coast’s oil, relying on the enormous profits from crude oil extraction and the export of oil-based products, sheer investment would suffice to transform Australasia into a superpower.

With the oil matter settled, Arthur felt reassured. Now the government essentially wouldn’t lack income for the next few years, allowing for larger-scale construction and development.

Once free, Arthur decided to find some things to do for himself.

It was previously Princess Louise who was urging him to have children; now, it turned into Arthur urging William to have children.

After William and Princess Alexandrina got married, he had already bid farewell to his military career and was gradually beginning to engage with the affairs of state.

After all, that wedding in the domestic scope of Australasia was very famous, and William’s appearance had become well known to the people through news reports.

In such a situation, it was impossible for William to return to the Military in a low-profile manner. Plus, with William having served in the Military for nearly three years, the experience he had gained had been enough, and there was no need to waste time in the Military any longer.

William, now 21 years of age, it was about time he started engaging with the political affairs of Australasia.

However, before engaging with political affairs, what Arthur most wanted was for William and Princess Alexandrina to add branches and leaves to the royal family, so that the Australasian Royal Family wouldn’t be so regrettably sparse.

To achieve his purpose of encouraging childbirth, Arthur had thought of every conceivable strategy. First, Arthur directly explained to William and Princess Alexandrine.

For every child they had, Arthur would reward them with a fund of 5 million Australian dollars.

Moreover, they wouldn’t need to worry about the upbringing of the child at all, as Arthur, Queen Mary, and even Queen Mother Louise could help raise their offspring.

Under the royal family’s encouragement and William’s efforts, September 1930 finally brought the good news of Princess Alexandrine’s pregnancy to the Australasian Royal Family.

As William’s first child, whether a boy or girl, Arthur was willing to accept it.

After Princess Alexandrine’s pregnancy, Arthur made good on his promise and directly gave William a check for 5 million Australian dollars.

Feeling quite pleased, Arthur announced he would also expand and redecorate William’s private castle to ensure that William’s small family would not feel cramped living there.

To ensure the smooth delivery of Princess Alexandrine’s child, Arthur ordered the Royal Private Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology experts to be on call at all times and stationed round-the-clock inside the Royal Palace.

With William soon to hold his child in his arms, Arthur began to press Anna Miller. After all, William and Anna were the same age, and while William was about to have a child, Anna’s marital affairs had not yet been settled.

Indeed, if William was the most popular future husband among European women, then Anna was the most desired future wife among European men.

As the sole princess of the Australasian Royal Family, Princess Anna Miller received exceptional affection within the royal family.

Not to mention that Princess Anna herself had a fortune of tens of millions of Australian dollars, the annual pension she received from the royal family alone already exceeded many European nobilities’ entire wealth.

More importantly, being backed by Australasia, a superpower, this was crucial for many countries as an important ally.

Several countries with unstable claims to the throne were considering marrying Anna to forge an alliance with Australasia to stabilize their own royal status, frequently allowing their young male royals to come into contact with Princess Anna.

The joy and laughter of the royal family marked September 1930 under Arthur’s delight.

As time moved into October, an incident in Europe caused much anger among the British.

This concerned the matter of counterfeit currency. Currently, the currencies of various countries have mostly adopted paper money as the primary medium, with coins of different materials as a complement.

This was the case in Australasia as well. Most of the currency was in paper form, with coins made of different materials for one Australian Dollar and below.

Due to the high degree of binding between the Australian Dollar and the Pound, counterfeit Australian Dollars indeed existed but were not particularly prevalent.

After all, why produce less valuable counterfeit Australian Dollars when they could create counterfeit Pounds that were worth double?

Furthermore, because the Pound is currently the world’s leading currency, incidents involving counterfeit money are inevitable and happen from time to time.

Granted, the circulation of counterfeit notes within a small range wasn’t a big deal for the British.

However, starting in September, a large number of high-quality counterfeit Pounds began circulating in the markets, disrupting the normal order of the Pound.

Clearly, the counterfeit Pounds were the work of an organized group or even potentially a country.

The frequent findings of counterfeit Pounds in the market caused the public’s trust in the Pound to drop a notch, and the Pound started to devalue strangely.

The British attempted to investigate the source of the counterfeit Pounds, but the culprits were obviously well-organized, and so far, no useful information had been uncovered.

In fact, at the time when the counterfeit Pounds began circulating in the market, Australasia was also affected to some extent.

Given the tight link between the Australian Dollar and the Pound, the difference between counterfeit Pounds and Australian Dollars wasn’t significant.

However, within Australasia, the circulation of counterfeit Pounds was minimal, and the numbers dwindled even more thanks to the government’s efforts.

But in London, the largest and most prosperous city in the world today, there were countless counterfeit Pounds.

Ordinary people found it hard to tell the real Pounds from the fake ones, leading to a loss of trust in the Pound during transactions and prompting a shift to other currencies for payment.

This situation was very frustrating for the British, who, even though they had suspicions about who was producing the counterfeit currency, were unable to act without sufficient evidence.

However, for Arthur, this also presented a unique opportunity.

If other countries could produce counterfeit currency to disrupt the order of the Pound, then Australasia could use the same method to disrupt the currency of other countries.

In fact, there weren’t many options left for the target of counterfeit currency production, apart from the British; only the Franc held international influence.