BXBX NOVEL Chapter 45: Conversation
The conversation with William II went smoothly, which greatly improved Arthur’s mood that had been at an all-time low due to Queen Victoria’s critical
illness.
Seeing that Queen Victoria wouldn’t last much longer, even though Arthur and Queen Victoria had deep feelings for each other, he had to consider Australia’s
future.
Once he lost Queen Victoria’s protection and support, he would essentially lose support from the United Kingdom.
Although Prince Edward appeared to have a good relationship with Arthur on the surface, he definitely would not go to great lengths to help Arthur and
Australia rise.
Arthur certainly had leverage over Prince Edward, but if such leverage were made public, not only Prince Edward’s status and reputation would be greatly impacted, but even the status of the British monarchs, nobles, and monarchs worldwide would be greatly affected as well.
As a member of the British royal family, to a certain extent, Arthur shared the fortunes and misfortunes with the British royal family.
If the British royal family’s status was dramatically impacted, Arthur’s legitimate status in Australia might also be affected.
After all, although monarchism is still the mainstream in European countries, in reality, democracy and the liberal faction have already dealt a huge blow to monarchism.
Instead of exposing this evidence and leverage, using it to gain enough benefits from Prince Edward would be the more appropriate solution.
However, by doing so, Arthur would naturally move towards opposition with Prince Edward, and although they would not break completely with the British Empire, close cooperation between Australia and the British Empire during Prince Edward’s reign would be impossible.
Both William II and Arthur felt happy after achieving their relatively satisfactory goals, making the already stunningly beautiful White Island scenery even more outstanding in their eyes.
“Arthur, what do you think of the current European situation? The European confrontation is now clear. Do you favor our Triple Alliance more or the French-Russian so-called St. Petersburg Military Pact?” On the way back to the manor house, William II suddenly asked Arthur.
“The European situation?” Arthur was taken aback but continued, “Given the current confrontation, I think the strengths of the two major military blocs are almost balanced. France and Russia have a vast land area and population, while Germania has a strong military and advanced industry. I think that if a short war breaks out, the advantage lies with Germania. But if the war lasts for a long time, the advantage will gradually shift to the French-Russian side.”
This was actually the answer from the original history. Although Germany fought bravely in the early stages of the war, the conflict quickly turned into a war of attrition. Germany was completely outmatched by Britain, France, and Russia, three countries with vast territories and populations.
Especially when their maritime transport routes were cut off, Germany, despite its enormous industry, would stagnate due to a lack of raw materials.
“Hahaha, Arthur, you underestimate one thing: the greatness of the Junker nobility and the power of the German forces. No matter how vast the territories of France and Russia are, they will not withstand the furious assault of the German forces. Once the war breaks out, all German troops are confident that, just like the last Franco-Prussian War, they will swiftly capture Paris and quickly end the war,” William II laughed, directly refuting Arthur’s point of
view.
The war William II mentioned was the establishment of the German Empire and the famous Franco-Prussian War.
The Franco-Prussian War began with France’s initiation and led to Napoleon Ill’s surrender with his army in less than two months.
Even when France experienced a revolution and continued to resist Prussia, they still met defeat in the face of the relentless onslaught of Prussian forces, resulting in the capture of Paris and the forced signing of a humiliating peace treaty by the French government of the time.
This war directly led to the collapse of the Second French Empire and the establishment of the Third French Republic as a result of the revolution in
France.
It also reclaimed the coal-rich Alsace and Lorraine regions, which had been occupied by France, forcing them to pay large reparations. This led to France’s decline during the Second Industrial Revolution, causing them to fall behind other powers and lose their dominant position in Central and Western Europe, as they were overtaken by Germania in every aspect.
This was the reason for William Il’s confidence. If the German forces had triumphantly captured Paris a few decades ago, why couldn’t they achieve this great feat again now, when they were even more powerful?
It could be said that because of his childhood physical defects, William II had developed a prideful yet insecure personality.
Furthermore, due to his single-handed ousting of Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor, from German politics, William II gained considerable influence in German political circles.
All of the Germans were fantasizing about defeating France quickly after the war broke out, and who could have imagined that the war would last for several years, ultimately bringing about the collapse of the once invincible German Empire?
“Cousin William, perhaps you’re right. But France and Russia, as individual powerful nations, each dominate their own corners, while the strength of the Allied Nations is barely matched by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I’m not very optimistic about Italy’s performance. Italy has direct regional conflicts with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and although these are overshadowed by even greater conflicts with France, who can guarantee that France won’t back down to win over Italy?” Arthur said with a smile.
Reminding William II wasn’t to show that Arthur wanted to support the Alliance, as a more intense conflict within Europe would be beneficial to Australia as well.
For the first World War’s situation to become truly clear, they would have to wait for the United States to decide to join the war. Before that point, both major military blocs would have their wins and losses, and the war would be relatively balanced.
So why couldn’t the one to stir up the situation be Australia? With ten years of development, Arthur was confident that he could build a decent industrial system and even have the power to directly influence World War I.
There’s a significant difference in post-war status between a neutral country and a victorious one. Moreover, there were many lucrative plans in place during World War I. These established powerful nations had been exploiting their colonies for hundreds of years. Why couldn’t Australia do the same for a while? “Perhaps, Arthur. But we have no extravagant expectations of Italy, either. All they need is to remain neutral during the war and not turn to the French- Russian side. Germania has the confidence to defeat France in a short time and end the war once and for all.”
As an extremely proud yet extremely confident fanatic, William II would not be easily swayed by Arthur.
Of course, Arthur didn’t intend to persuade William II either. What is more important for Arthur and Australia now is how to obtain benefits from the two major military blocs to allow Australia to develop rapidly.