The Rise Of Australasia

The aid from the French to the current Austrian Empire is not only a timely relief but also like sending charcoal in snowy weather. @@novelbin@@

Especially the grains and medical supplies provided by the French can effectively stabilize commodity prices in the Austrian Empire, ensuring that Austrians can have enough to eat, which is the most important thing right now.

After all, only when the people are well-fed will they cease to cause trouble. If the people don’t cause trouble, the government’s rule will be stable, and Karl I’s position will likewise be secure.

The French even went so far as to waive a large part of the Austrian Empire’s reparations to France, significantly easing the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s pressure of compensation.

After all, the principal reparations countries for the defeated nation were the four Allied Powers of Britain-France-Russia-Australia. Particularly after the Influenza incident, the United States had all its reparations offset, indicating that the French share of compensation was actually much larger.

By foregoing the Austrian Empire’s reparations, the French gave a huge sigh of relief to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, at least easing the tension regarding compensation.

It is under this so-called reciprocal benefit that France and the Austrian Empire have been drawing closer, with frequent rumors of a treaty being signed between them.

The British aren’t surprised by this, after all, the French aren’t fence posts—they are certain to take action.

To tell the truth, the fact that the French didn’t trip up the British in the recent Central America or the ongoing Persian wars was a surprise, and it’s quite normal for them to seek allies in Europe.

For Britain, even if France and the Austrian Empire truly form an alliance, the threat to Britain isn’t that significant.

After all, the Austrian Empire is still a defeated nation and is still subject to considerable restrictions.

Moreover, the Balkan Nations, which once fought against the Austrian Empire, have expanded their strength compared to before World War I.

Serbia, which holds a grudge against the Austrian Empire, in particular, remains a significant threat to Austria.

Austria has Germany to the north, Hungary to the east, Italy to the south, and Serbia and other Balkan Nations to the southeast.

To the far west, it borders the neutral country of Switzerland, leaving the Austrian Empire hemmed in on several fronts, with drastically reduced room for expansion.

To pose a threat, Austria would have to regain control over Hungary and then dominate the Balkans.

But neither Hungary nor the Balkan Nations would easily fall under the control of the Austrian Empire.

Indeed, not to overstate it, but based on the current limited strength of the Austrian Empire, it’s not certain they could defeat the Balkan Nations.

As for Hungary, the uproar for independence was well-known, and Hungarians would certainly not join Austria willingly.

From the current situation, the alliance between the French and the Austrian Empire is rather good news for the British.

Since the French have given up on reparations, the Austrians will have more funds to compensate Britain and Australasia.

Combined with France’s aid to the Austrian Empire, doesn’t this indirectly equate to France compensating Britain and Australasia? Enjoy more content from NovelBin.Côm

Gaining an ally is certainly good, but it’s not necessarily favorable if it requires a hefty price, especially to fund an enemy.

Perhaps the French truly felt pressure from the British. Whatever the case, the treaty between France and the Austrian Empire was signed swiftly, and the hypothesized Franco-Australian alliance became a reality.

Arthur was surprised by the alliance between France and Austria because it meant that the world situation was completely different from history and was developing in another direction.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Australasia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire turned into Austria plus Hungary still holds a certain weight and power.

This means that even if Germany were to become the Third Reich in the future, absorbing Austria would not be so easy.

It might even directly trigger World War II, making the future conflict enigmatic, with no clarity on what form it would take.

Arthur couldn’t even be sure if the man with the small mustache would successfully rise to power, nor whether World War II would play out as it did in history—it remained a puzzle.

Regardless of how world events unfold, Australasia can remain relatively unconcerned thanks to its geographical advantages.

Moreover, with Australasia’s lead in tanks and airplanes, and the development of rockets, missiles, and nuclear weapons—which Arthur values highly—World War II will not stray from his control.

Compared to the Franco-Austrian alliance, Arthur is more concerned with a major development policy for Australasia, the frequently discussed policy of localizing the colony’s native land.

As the first location to truly achieve colonial localization, Timor State has flourished in its development over these four years.

Five years ago, Timor had a population of only 110,000 people, but now, Timor State’s population has exceeded 250,000, with infrastructure and urban scale that do not fall behind Tasmania State, becoming thoroughly part of Australasia.

After the successful localization of Timor, the government immediately shifted its focus to most of the colonies, including the vast New Guinea Colony.

If Timor was the pilot area for localizing colonies, then the first batch of areas to officially enter the process of localization would be New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji, and other regions.