The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 228: Chapter 213: The Wedding Begins

Besides aviation, various industries in Australasia witnessed a few significant changes.

Firstly, regarding the tractor Arthur mentioned earlier, Benz Car Factory has produced a sample, which is running very stably at the moment.

Looking solely at the agricultural field, it can speed up the growth of Australasian agriculture and substantially reduce human labor investments in agriculture in Australasia.

Of course, to Arthur, the most critical aspect of this tractor lies in its military performance.

Arthur specially transferred a portion of personnel from the Benz Car Factory, added experts from the military industry, and formed yet another essential research lab in Australasia, the Australasia Mechanical Research Lab.

Yes, Arthur’s aim is clear, that is to start researching military machinery, which is akin to armored vehicles like tanks and war chariots.

Of course, to prevent attracting attention and scrutiny from the powerful nations, the Australasia Mechanical Research Lab remains a civilian research lab studying tractors on the surface.

Of course, since the tractor has gone through the experimental phase, it definitely cannot be left idle.

Arthur ordered the Mechanical Research Lab to start producing a few tractors, firstly to carry out pilot experiments, ensuring its positive impact on the agricultural field.

Secondly, to enhance the capabilities of the personnel in the Mechanical Research Lab, training them to produce this type of machinery proficiently, laying a strong foundation for the birth of future tanks and war chariots.

There is another event worth mentioning; after several years of research by German experts and the military factory, the M1897 model 75mm cannon has also been improved and upgraded to a 105mm semi-automatic cannon.

This cannon absorbs all the hard work of German and Australasian military factory experts and is also one of the semi-automatic cannons with the largest caliber to date.

This cannon is named GA1906 Model 105mm Semi-Automatic Cannon, capable of firing twelve shells per minute.

The previous French 75 Miss also received a decent upgrade, with an increased firing speed from 15 rounds to 20 rounds per minute.

With the birth of the GA-1906 model 105mm semi-automatic cannon technology, Australasia currently owns three kinds of semi-automatic cannons of different calibers, specifically 37mm, 75mm, and 105mm.

These three cannons can basically adapt to various situations faced by the Australian Army, and they are also the most equipped cannons in the Australian Army.

Ever since the number of land forces exceeded sixty thousand, Australasia’s yearly military expenditure has seen a substantial increase.

Just the salary for these sixty thousand soldiers is close to 2.4 million Australian dollars. Adding the various expenses required for soldiers’ training, along with the cost of maintaining the navy, Australasia’s current yearly military expenditure is around 3 million Australian dollars.

Of course, all the expenses of the Guards are paid by the royal family, which is the real reason why Australia’s military expenditure has not exceeded 3 million Australian dollars.

In fact, the growth of per capita annual income brings not only the increase of military expenditure but also the increase of the Kingdom Government’s fiscal revenue.

Before New Zealand joined Australia, the yearly fiscal revenue of Australia and New Zealand was approximately 10 million Australian dollars and 4 million Australian dollars respectively.

After the establishment of the Australian and New Zealand Federation, the Federation’s total fiscal income per year was approximately 18 million Australian dollars.

And now, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Australasia, despite having only eleven months to date, the Kingdom of Australasia’s total fiscal revenue has exceeded 19 million Australian dollars, and the estimated fiscal revenue for the whole of 1906 may exceed about 21 million Australian dollars.

These figures summarize the economic growth rate of Australasia. It should be noted that after New Zealand joined Australia, like Australia, all complicated taxes were waived, keeping only simple taxes.

Despite having fewer taxes, the two regions still acquired much more fiscal revenue than the heavily taxed period before, showing how rapid the economic development of Australasia has been in the past few years.

If the fiscal deficit was quite massive previously, the government’s income and expenditure are now within an acceptable range.

Considering Australasia’s current economic development speed, exceeding total expenditure with total revenue will only be a matter of time.

If the extensive domestic construction were not taken into account, that target would have been achieved earlier.

However, Australasian Government is presently not in a hurry as the loans come from the Royal Family and the German government respectively, and the repayment deadlines are lenient, providing sufficient preparation time for the government.

Although Arthur loaned 100 million pounds of funds and equipment worth 50 million pounds to the government, the capital and assets that Arthur currently owns have surpassed these, hence there is no reason to urge the government to repay.

The German loan does not need to be elaborated; the repayment deadline signed then was twenty years, by which World War I would have been over.

After October passed, the wedding date that Princess Louise and Grand Duke Sergei had previously discussed for Arthur is nearing.

The Australasian Government also began a flurry of preparations for this day that is so important to all Australasians.

The government was generous in its expenditures. Aside from the current financial solvency of the government, the fact that Arthur is an autocratic monarch also played a significant part.

Of course, Arthur did not get involved in the specific cost of the wedding, nor did he voice any opinions.

The detailed processes and procedures were all hashed out by the Cabinet Government, with full support from both the Royal Parliament and the House of Representatives.

Australasia will allocate at least two million Australian dollars for this wedding, to host a truly grand wedding of the century.

The value of the various jewels and precious clothes tailored for Queen Mary alone has exceeded 400,000 Australian dollars.

For this royal engagement, most of the Australian fleet will be dispatched, picking up Grand Duchess Mary from Russia’s capital Saint Petersburg, traveling all the way south, passing through the Suez Canal, crossing the Indian Ocean, and finally reaching the capital of Australasia, Sydney.

Arthur did not need to concern himself with the wedding preparations. Government officials and Princess Louise will take care of everything. All Arthur had to do was to officially participate as the protagonist on the day.

In fact, Tsar Nicholas II also made extensive preparations. Although the Tsardom of Russia was not financially prosperous, it was nevertheless the wedding of a member of the great Romanov family lineage, and the fiancé was a king from a noble European family.

Because the government and Princess Louise placed such importance on this wedding, Arthur found himself without much to do during this period of preparation.

However, to demonstrate his perspective on the wedding, Arthur decided to deploy the Guards, and the First Guards Infantry Division would be responsible for escorting Grand Duchess Mary from the Tsardom of Russia to Sydney Harbor.

The Cavalry Corps, on the other hand, were entrusted with the task of welcoming the party from Sydney Harbour to Sydney Palace.

Upon hearing this, Tsar Nicholas II decided to further elevate the scale of this wedding. For this purpose, Nicholas II planned to dispatch nearly half of his fleet, the escort for Grand Duchess Mary would consist of at least two battleships, accompanied by about ten medium and small warships.

Australia’s preparations were far beyond this.

With Benz and Disel’s expedited research, a more lavish car was finally created for Arthur and Grand Duchess Mary to ride in on the wedding day.

The cost of this luxury car exceeded 3,000 Australian dollars, not only significantly reducing the rumbling sound of the engine, but also giving its look and design an upgrade.

Another goal of Nicholas II to augment the wedding scale was to take this opportunity to exhibit the remnants of Russia’s power to the world.

After the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, some countries started to cast doubt on Russia’s might, treating it like an old man on the turn of the day, far from its glorious days as the overpowering force in Europe.

Such speculation was unacceptable to Nicholas II, hence he decided to use this wedding as an opportunity to show the world the current prowess of Russia.

The preparation for this wedding lasted for more than a month. Under the elaborate arrangements during this period, Sydney Palace also donned a new look, instilling a more festive color everywhere.

To embody the spirit of a nationwide celebration, Arthur announced via the Royal Assistance Committee that on his wedding day, all Australasian citizens can receive a bag of flour, 5kg of mutton, a liter of milk, and other supplies from their local government.

Of course, the specific regulations vary from place to place, but they are largely similar, hence there won’t be a great disparity.

The Australasians are most enthusiastic about such welfare policies. No amount of talk can match tangible benefits. Although the value of these goods is not high, they are available to every Australasian, highlighting fairness and justice.

On December 27, 1906, after more than a month of urgent preparation, Australasia finally welcomed Arthur’s wedding.

This wedding was also a focal point of attention among the common Europeans over the preceding month.

The expenditure on this wedding could be regarded as one of the most costly in royal weddings, with the unusual protagonists being Arthur of the British Royal Family and Mary of the Russian Royal House.

Furthermore, considering the amicable ties between Arthur and Germany, the nations monitoring this wedding even included top powers like the British Empire and the German Empire.

In this span of more than a month, Mary has become the object of envy for the high-born ladies of Europe.

This is, after all, a lavish wedding costing millions of Australian dollars, which translates into over a million pounds.

Added to that the sundry other expenses, the total cost can almost amount to a dreadnought.

Moreover, given the heat and attention this wedding stirred up worldwide, even some well-engaged ladies regretted that they were not the ones marrying Arthur.