The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 926: Chapter 691: Interest Moves the Heart (4/4 Update)

Although it seems that the British agreed to let France acquire six state-level administrative regions, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, the British actually had profound intentions.

First of all, these six states definitely do not compare to several of those on the United States East Coast, and the British will assuredly gain far more than France will.

Secondly, Texas and New Mexico were once part of Mexico, and the United States had fought multiple wars with Mexico over these areas.

After France takes over these areas, whether Mexicans in these two states will seek independence is an issue, as is Mexico’s attitude.

Although the French are far stronger than the Mexicans, the dissatisfaction of the Mexicans is destined to make French rule in these states much more difficult.

Being able to disrupt French rule, while apparently gaining a lot of territory for France, is a situation where the British naturally won’t say much.

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Looking at Winston Schmidt, who was full of assurances, France’s Minister of the Army Louise understood that this was almost the limit that Britain could bear.

Acquiring six states at once is indeed a significant gain, and France might not be able to digest more anyway.

After pondering for a moment, Minister Louise nodded, indicating France’s approval.

Once France, the unstable factor, was settled, the regions obtained by Australasia became much simpler.

After all, the west coast of the United States is too poor, with the exception of Los Angeles in California State, the other states and cities have nothing impressive to offer.

Even if Australasia gained several states in the USA Western Region as a whole, the British would have no objections; on the contrary, they would be pleased that Australasia attracted some of America’s animosity.

However, Australasia’s appetite was not too big, and Arthur essentially had no plans to annex the territory of America apart from Hawaii.

Hawaii, located in the center of the Pacific Ocean, is a region that Australasia must occupy and annex.

But as for the West coast of the United States, forget it; it’s too far from Australasia’s Native Land, and with a larger American population, it would be extremely difficult to govern.

Rather than adding burden to its rule, it is better to establish controllable countries that can join the governance of Australasia, just like the Philippines.

Ultimately, Britain and France unanimously agreed to Australasia’s dominion over Idaho, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, and Hawaii, and they expressed they would support Australasia in establishing new countries in these areas.

Counting up, Australasia could certainly gain seven states in the United States, which, in terms of number, actually surpassed France.

But the French delegates had no objection to this because the states gained by Australasia were even poorer than those obtained by France, except for California which was presentable, and Hawaii with its strategic importance.

What’s more important is that the Russians have always regretted selling Alaska State to America at a low price. After Australasia gains control over Alaska, a rift between it and Russia is inevitable.

And as Russia is gradually recovering, the only possible ally left would be France. In this way, it might even promote a confrontation between the British-Australian and the French-Russian, increasing France’s say in the World Alliance and reducing British influence.

The ranges that Australasia and France were to obtain had been determined; what remained was the scope of control that the British could obtain.

But indeed, the Eastern Coast of the United States is the wealthiest area, and the disputes about the regions that the British could obtain were the most intense.

Naturally, the British wanted to gain a larger dominion, and the French naturally didn’t want the British to acquire more areas.

In the midst of this squabble, even more intense conflicts broke out, almost causing the meeting to be aborted.

Fortunately, Australasia mediated in the middle, which prevented the potential cancellation of the meeting, and they also proposed a plan that was relatively satisfying to all parties.

The British originally had a big appetite; they wanted to fully swallow the original thirteen states of America, which was the scope at the start of America’s independence.

Although the area of the thirteen states combined is not much different from the six states that France could obtain, their population is several times that of the regions that France could gain.

If the British are allowed to acquire such a vast area, the French really wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

To refute the British, French representative Louise reiterated the reasons previously given to refuse France’s establishment of a new French colony, and stated that the thirteen states are the most core regions of the United States, and France will not allow Britain to gain all thirteen states.

The French proposed that they could accept Britain’s control over eight states below New York State, namely Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The French intentions are clear, which is to avoid Britain controlling the most important states of the United States, such as Rhode Island where Boston is located and New York where New York City resides.

However, the British, relying on their formidable strength, naturally would not care about the French threats.

After all, the British had firmly believed that France would not join the opposite side. With the support of Australasia, even if France withdrew from the war, the British could accept it.

“That’s impossible, Minister Louise,” Churchill shook his head and said, “It’s obvious that the British Empire was the main force in defeating the Americans, without the Royal Navy we wouldn’t be able to land in America.

In order to compensate for the losses of the Royal Navy during the war, it is necessary for us to acquire more regions.

On top of what you mentioned, we also need to take Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

As for the other regions of America, including New York and Boston, we can manage them together, helping America to establish a better and more unified order.”

If we go by what Churchill said, the states left to America on the east coast would be almost only New York and Washington D.C.

Obviously, the British understood the difficulty of directly controlling New York and preferred joint management of these areas under the supervision of several nations.

Hearing the British say this, the French realized just how firm the British were, yet Minister Louise still insisted, “Then France also demands Florida. France can deploy its entire navy to help us win this war.”

“No problem, it’s a deal,” Churchill smiled and nodded in agreement to Minister Louise’s request.

Shortly after this spoils-sharing meeting concluded, on June 9, 1928, the British Government officially submitted a proposal to Parliament regarding whether to declare war on America, and it immediately caused an uproar.

After all, the British were targeting a world power, currently hailed as the second major power in the world, America.

Compared to the stir in Europe, the reaction in America was no less than a tidal wave.

The American Government urgently convened a meeting, and President Hoover even lashed out at the British for provoking world peace and order, provoking the entire America and all American people.

Unfortunately, President Hoover’s outburst did not elicit much reaction, after all, who would care about national affairs when people could hardly afford food?

Especially since President Hoover’s previous actions had already alienated the hearts of all the military personnel; the military no longer planned to serve under President Hoover, let alone the common people who already hated the government.

However, compared to various civilian reactions, the response of the American Government was more unified: to actively prepare for war and on the diplomatic level, try to prevent this war as much as possible.

The British were still the world’s first major power, and for the time being, the British navy size led that of America’s.

What’s more, this action was clearly not just the British participating alone. America might resist Britain alone, but if several countries joined forces, even the American people would only have to surrender.

Therefore, solving this dispute diplomatically was undoubtedly a more reliable method than preparing for war.

After all, recruiting an army and building warships all take time, and the enemy’s offensive could arrive within a short period.

However, the British would not have released this news if they had not made more thorough preparations.

Before the Americans could even initiate a media campaign, the media from the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations were continuously reporting the deeds America had carried out, and they especially highlighted the fact that America announced it would stop paying compensations.

In these media reports, a significant number of outlets particularly pointed out that the death toll caused by the influenza was even higher than the total deaths in the previous full-scale war, instantly bringing the influenza, an event from several years ago, back into the public eye.

To the great pressure felt by Americans, such news reports quickly fermented further and spread throughout Europe, reaching other regions.

Many countries expressed concern over such reports, as populations in these countries had suffered heavy casualties during the influenza outbreak.

Driven by those who harbored hatred towards America, these countries gradually began to respond to the call of the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations.

Even before the British Parliament had agreed to declare war on America, the continuously fermenting public opinion in various countries had already brought the incident to the attention of the World Alliance meetings.

This time it was not proposed by the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations, but by some radical elements among the European nations, seeking to garner public support through this approach.

After all, if a war against America were to be launched, the ones destined to be at the forefront and provide the main force would be Britain, France, and Australia.

The European Small and Medium Nations only needed to contribute a small number of troops and could enjoy the spoils of victory from behind the three major powers.

Even if they couldn’t secure a state in America, sharing even a tiny bit of the spoils could help them recover better from the economic crisis and strengthen their financial situation. @@novelbin@@

What’s more, they would gain some public support; it was no surprise that the representatives of some small and medium countries became more radical under such a situation where they could gain both fame and profit.