Chapter 587: The Grand Duke of Finland

Both Arthur and Britain and France were very willing to see Nicholas II's compromise.

As for the request for strong support mentioned by Nicholas II, Britain, France and Arthur would naturally not refuse.

After all, a relatively strong Russia is good for Britain, France and Australasia, especially when Russia's strength is limited, Britain and France will naturally have no concerns.

Under the witness of many countries, on October 11, 1923, many countries jointly signed the "London Peace Declaration", which also represented that the Russian Civil War that lasted for more than four years finally ended, and Eastern Europe finally ushered in the long-awaited peace.

This civil war has brought huge changes to the world situation, and new countries including Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have been born.

However, the Ukrainian region was still retained, and with the Belarusian region and Galicia region, the new Russia is still very large, even if it is divided into two halves.

If the dominant Tsarist Russia can properly restore its economy and industry, it can at least rank as the sixth power after Britain, the United States, France and Australia.

As for the other country, although it does not occupy much land, it also has a population of tens of millions, so it is no problem to try hard to compete for the status of a great power.

This is also the inherent advantage brought by Russia's huge population and land. Even if Russia splits into many countries, the two largest countries can still compete for the status of a great power.

Many powerful countries cannot do this at present. Except for Britain and the United States, no country can be promoted to a great power after the split.

After the signing of the peace treaty, representatives of various countries did not leave. Because there is still an extremely important meeting to be held, which is about the distribution of these new countries.

Lithuania is a puppet republic under the control of Poland. Poland's occupation of Lithuania is tacitly agreed by Britain and France, and the independence of Lithuania naturally does not need to be discussed.

But in addition to this, the independence of Finland, Estonia and Latvia has become the top priority for discussion among various countries.

Although the Grand Duchy of Finland was established by Russian Emperor Alexander I in 1809, the Russian Tsar has been the Grand Duke of Finland since then, and Finland has no independent government and monarch.

After the real recognition of independence, the new Grand Duke of Finland has become a concern of the European royal families.

In addition, the newly established Latvia and Estonia are all independent kingdoms.

The selection of monarchs of these three countries is not only a topic of concern for the European royal families, but also a topic of concern for other powerful countries.

In addition, the major powers want to occupy more interests in these new countries. After all, the major powers agree to the independence of these countries for a purpose, to put it bluntly, it is to divide the interests of these small countries.

The Grand Duchy of Finland, the Kingdom of Latvia and the Kingdom of Estonia are three countries, which are just divided by the three countries of Britain, France and Australia.

This also means that Arthur can mention a candidate at will to become the monarch of one of these three countries.

Of course, the mention of this candidate cannot be too casual. At least he must be a member of the royal family recognized by the European royal family, with pure blood and good reputation, in order to be recognized by the people of these countries.

Otherwise, even if the three major powers put him on the throne, he is destined to be overthrown by dissatisfied people one day.

After careful consideration, Arthur used a certain amount of German compensation in exchange for the right to decide on the Grand Duke of Finland.

Compared with Latvia and Estonia, the Grand Duchy of Finland has a larger land area and a population several times that of these two small countries.

Although a considerable part of the land is located in the Arctic Circle, as long as there is no great ambition, stable development can still keep his throne.

Originally, Arthur wanted to give the title of Grand Duke of Finland to one of his sons, but the oldest William is only 14 years old.

In addition, Finland is just a small country after all, and it is easy to be dominated by Russia in the east and the European powers. When the Grand Duke of Finland suffered for decades, Arthur gave up his idea.

However, there is still one person who came into Arthur's sight, that is, Arthur's brother-in-law, Queen Mary's younger brother Dmitri.

Dmitri was born in 1891 and is currently 32 years old, which is an age that has begun to stabilize.

Moreover, because he lost his biological mother at a young age and was fostered under the name of his uncle, the relationship between the siblings is relatively good, and they can be said to be dependent on each other.

After Grand Duke Sergei and his wife passed away, Dmitry lived in Australasia. He admired his brother-in-law Arthur very much and learned a lot of knowledge in Australasia.

However, from the perspective of blood relationship or favorability, both are reasons for Arthur to support Dmitry.

Moreover, Dmitry's origin and bloodline are also quite noble. His father, Grand Duke Paul, is the legitimate son of the late Tsar Alexander II, and he is a member of the Russian royal family with noble bloodline.

In addition, Dmitry showed a very close character to Australasia in Australasia. Arthur believes that under his rule, he will certainly show a pro-Australasian side.

Of course, this is actually the helpless choice of these small countries. For small and medium-sized countries in this world, in this cruel era, they must find a strong enough country to protect themselves.

If Australasia can obtain a small military base in Finland with the help of Dmitri, it will be good for Australasia.

Moreover, Dmitri is definitely the most suitable candidate for Australasia. Before his children grow up, Arthur is reluctant to send them to these extremely cold places to rule these poor countries with small populations.

Arthur doesn't care how Britain and France allocate Latvia and Estonia. For Arthur, pushing Dmitri to be the Grand Duke of Finland is the most important thing.

On October 17, 1923, Henry Louis Whitfield, the ambassador of Australasia to Russia, visited independent Finland on behalf of Arthur and Australasia and expressed Arthur's condolences.

Henry Louis Whitfield's diplomatic visit was warmly welcomed by the government of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The welcome scene was very important, which was also a smart point for this small country.

In a meeting with the current interim prime minister of the Grand Duchy of Finland, Henry Louis Whitfield mentioned in a particularly obscure way that Arthur was very concerned about the election of the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Finland and was willing to provide some help for the construction of the Grand Duchy of Finland.

Obviously, those who can ascend to high positions are all smart people, because fools have been eliminated in the cruel competition at the bottom.

Nicholas John Fitzgerald, the interim prime minister of the Grand Duchy of Finland, understood Henry Louis Whitfield's intention of saying this, but at the same time he also put forward his own conditions, that is, to serve as the official prime minister of the new government.

Henry Louis Whitfield was a little unhappy, because Arthur's care for Dmitri was already obvious, and naturally it was impossible to allow someone in Finland to compete with Dmitri for power.

However, Henry Louis Whitfield still reported Nicholas John Fitzgerald's request to Arthur, waiting for Arthur's final decision.

"To become the first prime minister of the Finnish government?" Arthur smiled disdainfully, looked at the more reserved Dmitri on the side, and asked with a smile: "Dmitri, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

At this time, Dmitri, who had learned from Arthur that he was about to become the Grand Duke of Finland, was very nervous and excited.

Although he could enjoy a luxurious aristocratic life in Russia before and now in Australasia, who wouldn't want to be the monarch of an independent country?

After all, the status between aristocrats and monarchs is very different. Although Dmitri has no disrespect for Arthur and even admires him very much, this does not hinder Dmitri's expectation of becoming an independent monarch.

"Your Majesty, agree to his request. Finland needs stability at present, and I am confident that I can solve this competitor." Dmitri took a deep breath and said to Arthur very respectfully.

The competitor here is not a competitor for the throne, but a competitor for the power of the Finnish government.

Although a country can have both a Grand Duke and a Prime Minister, there is always only one person in control of power.

The ultimate consequence of two people sharing power is either the king's power will override the prime minister, or the prime minister will override the king's power.

After all, who would refuse the temptation brought by power? Although Finland is not big, it is also a country with a population of more than 3 million, and power and status are still quite enjoyable.

Arthur was quite satisfied with Dmitri's answer, and nodded and said: "Let this self-righteous guy jump for a few more days! Do you think that being the governor of Finland can determine the future of Finland? This is simply too ridiculous. Dmitri, I will give you five divisions of weapons and equipment, and send people to help you train the army, control the government, etc. I hope you will not let me down, and no one can challenge the majesty of our monarch."

Dmitri was still quite excited to hear Arthur's support.

If the weapons and equipment of the five divisions are based on the military organization of Australasia, the firepower alone is absolutely world-class.

Even if a division has only 60,000 people, five divisions are 80,000 troops, which is enough for Dmitri's early military deployment.

After all, Finland has only 3 million people. For a country in the far north, it is not a good thing to have too strong military strength, because its neighbors will be afraid of it.

Finland's neighbors are Sweden, Norway and Russia, none of which Finland can afford to offend at present.

Dmitri also understands that Arthur gave him so many weapons and equipment, not for him to expand abroad, but to stabilize the government's situation.

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