Chapter 392 Testing Each Other

Although it is a sure win for Australasia, the French actually have a deeper meaning behind this deal.

Although the Kerguelen Islands are located in the southern Indian Ocean, they are in the Indian Ocean after all.

If Australasia obtains this area, it will not only be closer to South Africa, but also expand its influence in the Indian Ocean region.

For the British Empire, which regards the Indian Ocean and India as forbidden fruits, whether it can be accepted is a question.

In other words, France's behavior is suspected of provoking the relationship between Australasia and Britain.

And why France provokes the relationship between Australasia and Britain is actually very simple.

The four major powers of the Allied Powers seem to be united, but they are just to concentrate on dealing with Germany. At present, Germany has shown a decline, so dividing the post-war interests has become a more important thing, at least it needs to be planned in advance.

For France, what the French want to do most after the war is to recapture Alsace and Lorraine, and to occupy part of Germany's land, so that France can become the hegemon of Europe and even the world again.

But such behavior will naturally not be allowed by the British. You know, France is the neighbor across the British Channel.

In any case, the British will never allow the French to become bigger and become the new overlord on the European continent.

This also means that after the war, the relationship between Britain and France is worth discussing.

If the French want to achieve their own strategic goals, it becomes very important to win over their allies within the Allied Powers.

In addition to Britain and France, the remaining two members of the Allied Powers, Russia has exposed too many shortcomings in the war, and this war has also caused great harm to the Russians.

Even if the war is won in the future, it will take some time to lick the wounds and restore the domestic economy and stability, rather than competing with Britain and France for interests.

This also means that after the war, it is impossible for the Russians to clearly support France to obtain more land.

In addition to Russia, the only great power in the Allied Powers is Australasia.

Although Australasia currently looks very weak, it is at least one of the great powers, and it is destined not to be consumed too much by this war.

But with the construction of the Australasian navy, after the war, Australasia will definitely become a powerful country with a certain voice.

Even if Australasia will not support France, it is necessary to provoke the relationship between Australasia and Britain so that Australasia will not firmly support Britain. This is the plan and intention of the French.

The Kerguelen Islands are closer to Africa and can be used as an excellent naval base. It is also a breakthrough for Australasia in the Indian Ocean.

Arthur does have ideas about this, because this area is very close to Madagascar and South Africa. If the Kerguelen Islands are obtained, it is even possible to take over the French Madagascar and smoothly turn Australasia into a country across three continents, namely Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Moreover, by occupying more land and sphere of influence in the southern hemisphere, Australasia can also claim more territory in Antarctica.

Although there is no technology and method to mine Antarctica at present, it is still beneficial to claim a large area in advance for the rich resources on Antarctica.

Apart from other things, from the Kerguelen Islands to the South Pacific Islands in the easternmost part of Australasia, Australasia's sphere of influence will cover most of Antarctica.

As long as Australasia has a strong gun, then most of Antarctica will belong to Australasia.

However, although he has an idea, it is not Arthur's way to agree directly.

"Mr. Kret, I admit that what you said is indeed right. But barren land like Kerguelen is not very useful to us." Arthur shook his head and rejected the proposal of French Ambassador Kret.

"Your Majesty, if your country is willing to continue to provide combat troops, in the distribution of interests after the war, I can represent the government and agree that your country will take more industrial equipment and technology from Germany. We will not object to your country's behavior of attracting talents in Germany." Seeing that Arthur had already meant to refuse, Kret hurriedly continued.

The Allied countries have already had a preliminary draft on the distribution of post-war interests, and the proportion of each country has been fixed.

In exchange for the continuous reinforcements from Australasia, the French have spent a lot of money and are willing to get less industrial equipment and technology.

As for the issue of attracting German talents, including Britain and France, there is no idea of ​​attracting most German talents.

Apart from other things, this war was so fierce that Germany has caused hundreds of thousands of casualties in the British and French troops, and Britain and France have also caused hundreds of thousands of casualties in the German troops.

The hatred between several countries is not to say that it is a blood feud, but it is definitely a deep hatred.

Maybe some of the talents have family members who joined the army and were killed by the British and French coalition forces.

Under this premise, except for some particularly outstanding talents who can change a certain industry, Britain and France dare not attract talents in Germany.

The Russians may have ideas, but Russia can't even take care of itself now. If it absorbs such German talents after the war, it will cause greater chaos in the country.

In this way, there will be no country in the Allied Powers that competes with Australasia for German talents, and most German talents will fall into the hands of Australasia.

Although Australasia also participated in the war against Germany, and there were casualties between them and Germany.

After all, the relationship between Australasia and Germany is already good. As long as the hatred between the two sides is transferred to the indigenous people, these German talents can be perfectly absorbed.

Anyway, the vast majority of the Australasian Expeditionary Force is indeed composed of indigenous troops. Those Aboriginals who participated in the war and served Australasia may have been repatriated to Southeast Asia and other areas.

The remaining indigenous people in Australasia can only bear the hatred of the Germans on behalf of the Australasians as the scapegoats of the indigenous people who participated in the war.

Arthur nodded, agreeing with Crater's opinion.

The reason why Arthur participated in the First World War was to obtain more benefits from the distribution of interests after the First World War and to push Australasia to the status of a top power.

Of all the post-war profit distributions, the most attractive ones are naturally Germany’s many factory equipment, technical workers, and talents.

Germany has developed over the past few decades and has achieved quite outstanding results. In education, medical care, scientific research and many other aspects, Germany has cultivated a large number of talents, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or millions.

Coupled with Germany's strong industry, factories are blooming everywhere and tens of millions of workers.

To be able to absorb part of German industrial equipment, industrial technology, industrial technology and technical workers, and scientific research talents, Australasia's national heritage will take a big step forward, and it is even hoped to fully catch up with countries like Italy after the war.

If before World War I, Australasia competed with Italy and the island countries for the status of the last great powers, then after World War I, Australasia will compete with the United States. For the position of the great powers, the goal is to maintain the five and compete for the third.

The good news is that because of Australasia's support for the Allies, the United States has not gained much in the current war.

When signing the alliance, Arthur specifically pointed out that Australasia would be the main supplier of supplies to the Allied Powers.

Until Australasia is short of supplies, the Allies cannot import large quantities of supplies from non-Allied countries, which is a reward for their allies.

This has also resulted in the arms trade between the Allied Powers being almost exclusively conducted between the four major powers. From the beginning of the war to the present, the United States has not received any arms orders from Europe.

The Germans have no idea of ​​​​purchasing weapons for the time being, because the war is not long and Germany's domestic supplies are barely enough.

Under such a premise, the Germans naturally trust the weapons produced in their own factories rather than purchasing them from the distant United States.

What's more, the Atlantic Ocean has already been blocked by the Allies. It is very difficult for the Germans to purchase resources and weapons from overseas, so they might as well count on their allies to make some contributions.

"Two ambassadors, since you have made such concessions in terms of interests, Australasia will naturally not chill the hearts of its allies. Please rest assured that 200,000 reinforcements will arrive in Europe before April and be invested in the war. Germany's war. If you can ensure that Australasia can give priority to German industrial equipment and technology after the war, then I can also guarantee that at least 500,000 indigenous troops will be provided to the European battlefield every year to defeat the enemy with the strength of the whole country." Se smiled and looked at the two ambassadors.

Winster and Crete looked at each other and did not agree to Arthur's request.

However, Arthur felt that it was still possible. At present, it can be clearly seen that Britain and France are prepared for each other. Neither of them is willing for the other party to absorb Germany's achievements after the war, thereby stabilizing their respective hegemony.

The French wanted to become the European hegemon after the war, and the British wanted to stabilize their hegemony, so naturally they could not agree to the French's excessive expansion.

This will also lead to problems between Britain and France sooner or later, but because the current enemy is the Germans, and the strength of the Germans is far greater than the rift between Britain and France. As a result, Anglo-French relations remained strong.

If Britain and France compete, Australasia may indeed benefit.

After all, neither side wants the other to gain too much benefit, so it is better to give all the benefits to Australasia. Britain and France will still maintain the current situation except for some land.

If Arthur made such a request, I am afraid that the British and French representatives would directly glare at him.

Arthur's request is tantamount to the war that Britain and France won at great cost, directly making Australasia a wedding dress.

Although Britain was unwilling to see France become the European hegemon again after the war and threaten its own status.

Presumably the United Kingdom is not willing to see the rapid rise of Australasia and become a new major concern for the British Empire due to its superior geographical location.

For the British, France and Australasia were their allies. Since they are allies, they cannot be too strong.

France gained the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine, and it was enough to compensate for some colonies. As for Australasia, it is enough to obtain some German colonies and industrial equipment and have the strength to compete with the United States.

As for the biggest interests, of course they are controlled by the British themselves. If they cannot ensure that their position as world hegemon is not shaken after the war, then for the British, this war will be unnecessary.

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