The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 894: Chapter 665: Assassination of Roosevelt_3

The American Government was now a bit embarrassed. Domestic public opinion forced the American Government to take the assassination of Roosevelt seriously, but the British’s tough stance made the Americans hesitate.

If there really were others behind this incident, then the conflict between the UK and US seemed somewhat unnecessary.

What’s more important is that, up to now, it’s the Americans who have been bearing the brunt of the conflict losses, as the British Empire controlled the World Alliance and could easily marshal some resources.

However, being in North America, the United States found it exceedingly difficult to obtain some raw materials after European countries successively raised tariffs.

If those influenza compensations were added on, it would make the American finances even worse, and would bankrupt the infrastructure projects that President Coolidge had just begun planning, modeled after those in Australasia.

Arthur, quietly observing the UK-US conflict, was in a very good mood at this time. The operation by the Royal Security Intelligence Agency not only succeeded in assassinating the famous President Roosevelt but also managed to pin the blame on Britain successfully.

...

Although an excellent agent was lost in the process, it was a worthwhile operation for the country.

As for the family of the intelligence agent Ike, they would receive Arthur’s kindness.

As soon as the news of Ike’s sacrifice made its way home, Arthur had Director Barty secretly issue rewards, including a house worth 400 Australasian Dollars, a car worth 200 Australasian Dollars, and a check for 10,000 Australasian Dollars.

Arthur also had Director Barty promise that Ike’s siblings would have the opportunity to attend University for free, and their properties and wealth would be tax-free for ten years.

Because the nature of Ike’s duties could not be disclosed, medals obviously couldn’t be openly awarded to Ike’s family.

This led Arthur to make an exception and increase Ike’s pension. 10,000 Australasian Dollars in assets were more than enough to ensure Ike’s family lived well.

If we calculate based on the per capita annual income of Australasians, which was a little more than 60 Euros, 10,000 Australasian Dollars would be enough to cover the wages for an adult Australasian for over 160 years, an undoubtedly massive amount of money in that era.

Even if it were merely converted to gold prices, 10,000 Australasian Dollars would be equivalent to 36 kilograms of gold, which would be at least 15 million in later eras. @@novelbin@@

Such high pensions definitely were quite costly, and this led to Ike’s family not asking any further questions, even after Director Barty simply explained that Ike had sacrificed himself on a mission; they expressed their gratitude to both Arthur and Director Barty.

This was relatively normal in Australasia. Although people all feared death and didn’t wish to witness the death of their loved ones,

if it was a contribution to the country and Arthur, and if their family could receive sufficient pensions and benefits after, most Australasians were willing to sacrifice themselves for the country.

This willingness also contributed to the high fighting spirit of the personnel in the Australasia Army and Intelligence Department, who generally had no fear of death during missions and battles.

Because they clearly understood that even if they didn’t accomplish anything on the battlefield, as long as they died in the name of the country, Arthur would not mistreat their families.

It was precisely because of this trust in Arthur that the Australasia Army’s combat strength was formidable.

If we disregard Germany’s elite troops, which had been downsized to 150,000 men, the fighting strength of the Australasia Army was undoubtedly the first in the world.

Combining excellent equipment with a fearless spirit greatly strengthened the fighting capability and discipline of an army.

Although the size of Australasia’s Army had always been modest, Arthur was confident that in full combat, the Army could crush all other countries except Germany.

Currently, the only thing the Australasia Army seemed to fear besides human-wave tactics was nothing at all.

Once the population increased in the future and the Army’s size could easily break through one million or even several million, Arthur would be confident in competing for an even higher status.