Chapter 599: Thoughts on the World Situation
"It can be put into actual combat." Arthur said with a smile.
The real reason why Arthur took one of the R108 battleships with him on this trip was to show the real combat power of the Australasian Navy.
The islanders claim that their Nagato battleship is the most powerful battleship in service. I wonder what the islanders will think after the Australasian R108 battleship appears this time?
Hearing that the Australasian battleship can be put into battle, George V nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Then try to end the war in Central America and the Philippines in the middle of the year, so that the people in these two regions can usher in peace in the second half of the year."
If we only start from the perspective of controlling the Panama Canal, then there is no doubt that the sooner the better.
The Panama Canal is related to the convenience of communication between the east and west coasts of the United States. To be more serious, it will even affect the development of the US economy.
If the United Kingdom completely blocks the Panama Canal, the communication between the east and west coasts of the United States will be extended for more than half a month, and the time and manpower costs paid for this are immeasurable.
There is also a more important news. After controlling Central America, the United States actually has British forces in both the north and the south, and the United States is not so safe.
Canada in the north is not the younger brother of the United States in the future. Canada is now a member of the British Empire and still recognizes the rule of the British Empire.
Coupled with the contradictions between the United States and Mexico in the south, and the Central American countries controlled by Britain, the United States has formed a comprehensive encirclement from north to south, which is still quite deterrent.
Although it is impossible to completely eliminate a powerful country like the United States, if it is well operated, the contradictions between the states and the government of the United States, the contradictions between whites and blacks, the contradictions between the South and the North, etc., can be used to split the United States into large and small countries, and disintegrate this superpower that poses a huge threat to any country.
"I have notified the Philippine government to increase the offensive against the US military in the near future. Either the United States will take the initiative to withdraw from the Philippines and Central America, or we will force it to withdraw from these two regions." Arthur nodded and told the current deployment of Australasia.
Although the worst war plan has been prepared, Britain and Australasia will definitely not declare war on the United States directly.
If diplomatic pressure can be used to force the United States to withdraw from these two regions, this will naturally be the best result for Britain and Australasia.
After all, no matter what the outcome of the war is, the war will definitely represent a large number of casualties and economic costs, and even represent a tragic war of attrition.
Once a war breaks out, George V and Arthur have a tacit understanding that they must attack the US mainland as soon as possible and directly burn the war to the US.
If a war of attrition is fought with the giant United States, although Britain and Australasia can compete, the losses they suffer are absolutely immeasurable.
Germany once caused heavy losses to Britain and France with its limited territory. If it enters a war of attrition with the United States, the vastness and economic development of the United States are not comparable to the former Germany.
The best result is to quickly invade the US mainland, support the corresponding forces against the US government, and quickly disintegrate the unity of the United States.
Fortunately, the rule of the United States is not so stable. There are several states nearby that have been pursuing independence. The conflicts between ethnic groups under the rule of the United States are also potential factors for the disintegration of the United States.
For the current Britain and Australasia, weakening the United States as much as possible is what both sides want to see.
It has to be admitted that the threat posed by the United States to the two countries is still too great. If we only consider the industry, economy and population, the threat of the United States is not weaker than that of the former German Empire.
Fortunately, the current United States still has a fatal flaw, that is, the United States' military power is not strong, and its international reputation is not good, which has greatly limited the United States' international status and influence.
If this incident can be handled well, the United States can be completely restricted to North America, reducing the pressure brought by the United States to the two countries.
After discussing how to deal with the United States, Arthur and George V were obviously in a much better mood, and the lunch ended quickly with everyone laughing and talking.
Arthur basically left the diplomatic visit to the accompanying officials, and he took Queen Mary and a few little guys to play on the streets of London.
As the largest city in the world today, London's development and prosperity are naturally beyond doubt. The last time I came to London was more than ten years ago, which also caused some changes between the London in Arthur's memory and the current London.
For Arthur, being able to witness this era and the development of the world's largest city is actually meaningful.
Just as Arthur witnessed the merger of Australia and New Zealand, and the development of Australasia from a colony to a great power step by step, this meaning is extraordinary and memorable for a person.
Although this era has its bad side, it is also indispensable and worth remembering for the development of human history.
Arthur's requirements are not high. When future generations mention the history they have personally experienced, if their names can be mentioned frequently, that is enough.
In fact, if we start from this point alone, it is easy for Arthur, as the king of Australasia, to leave his name in this history.
Especially the legendary story of Australasia's development from a colony to a great power, for which many movies have been made, and Arthur, the king of Australasia, has been expected and paid attention to by many European people.
In a public opinion poll a few years ago, when voting for the greatest ruler of the 20th century, Arthur's vote rate was still very high.
After all, the story of Australasia's rise took place in the 20th century, and Arthur is also the most stable monarch among many monarchies.
Although London is indeed worth visiting and visiting, Arthur has to complain about British food.
In terms of food, British cuisine is not even on the list of elegant cuisines in many European countries, and the popularity of British cuisine is far behind French cuisine.
Fortunately, the chefs of Buckingham Palace come from all over the world, and you can easily taste food from all over Europe in Buckingham Palace, and even special food from Asia and America.
This is actually a tradition of the current European royal family. You can find chefs from other regions in the palaces of royal families in various countries, and the food in the palace is definitely not just the cuisine of one country.
Just like Arthur's current Sydney Palace, there are not only chefs from Europe for French, Spanish, German and Russian cuisine, but also several carefully selected Asian chefs because of its proximity to Asia.
Arthur still attaches great importance to his own life. Anyway, the property owned by the royal family is completely sufficient, and Arthur's life is not so extravagant.
Compared with the luxurious life of some royal families, the life of the Australasian royal family is just a normal enjoyment.
In addition to the large investment in personal safety, Arthur's daily life treatment is almost the same as that of ordinary European royal families. He will not be extravagant and wasteful because of the expansion of the assets of the royal consortium.
It is worth mentioning that Arthur still attaches great importance to the cultivation of his reputation.
The news of paying tribute to Queen Victoria early in the morning on the second day after arriving in the UK was also widely reported by many British media influenced by Australasia, which successfully moved many British people.
It has not been long since the Victorian era, and most British people have experienced this era.
This also led to many people still respecting Queen Victoria. Such old things brought up again can also make many British people pay more attention to Arthur.
In theory, judging from the current relationship between Britain and Australasia, it seems that there is no need to consolidate the relationship with the British people.
But in fact, Arthur's purpose in doing so is to attract more British people to Australasia.
You know, the present is different from the past. At present, all European countries are facing a serious unemployment problem. Many citizens of powerful countries find it difficult to survive, which has also led to a significant increase in immigration rates in recent times.
Even the British Empire, which is the first power, currently has more than 3 million unemployed people, affecting many industries and groups of people.
In addition to the Irish who had conflicts before, the number of British immigrants to Australasia each year is as high as more than 300,000, and it is still increasing.
These British immigrants can be roughly divided into three categories. One category is the Irish who are keen on immigration. After all, they will also be exploited by Britain in Ireland.
The second category is people who can't survive in the UK. Previously, the number of such people was relatively small, but now due to the increase in unemployment, the size of such people is no less than that of the Irish, and has even gradually evolved into the largest group of British immigrants.
The third group of people is those who have a good impression of Australasia and are willing to take the initiative to go to a new country to find more opportunities to get rich.
The number of such people is still relatively small. After all, there are not many people who are willing to go to a new country to live, unless they really can't survive.
Arthur's purpose of increasing his attention among the British is to attract the first two groups of people, that is, those who are facing unemployment and no income, and the Irish who have been oppressed for a long time.
In particular, some British workers who suddenly suffered from the unemployment storm, they went to Australasia as qualified technical workers, and basically they could get a good job, which is also a good thing for Australasia.
As for whether the arrival of these people will affect the jobs of local Australians, this question can actually be answered.
Arthur has made full preparations for the future economic depression in Australasia, and the corresponding infrastructure planning and food reserves have been completed.
Although we cannot guarantee that the impact of the Great Depression will be completely eliminated, the harm to Australasia will definitely not be too great, and it will definitely not shake the stability of Australasia.
In addition to the two markets of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, as well as Australasia's own market after the population expansion, it is still no problem to barely survive the crisis.
But it will also cause a thought, if the Panama Canal is completely controlled during the Great Depression, or even the communication between the east and west coasts of the United States is blocked, will the impact on the United States be aggravated?
If Arthur remembers correctly, the United States suffered heavy losses in the Great Depression in history, and the economic scale was damaged by at least 40%.
If this trips up the Americans, will the scale of the economic damage to the Americans reach more than 50%?
Although the proportion of 40% to 50% seems to be just a heavy loss, the impact does not seem to be so serious.
But if you understand the proportion of the US industry and economy in the world, you can actually understand the impact of the Great Depression on the US in history.
Currently, the US accounts for about 34% of the world's industry, and 40% to 50% is equivalent to 15% to 17%.
How exaggerated is this concept? You know, the current proportion of the UK's industrial scale in the world is only about 1%, which also means that the US's industrial losses during the Great Depression are equivalent to the entire UK.
Don't think that the UK's industrial scale is not huge. As the most powerful country in the world, the current industrial scale of the British is 7 times that of France, 55 times that of Australasia, and 3 times that of Italy.
What does this mean? The proportion of the US's industrial losses is equivalent to that of the three lowest powers, which is very exaggerated.
The damage to the economy is not much different. The US industry and economy are both the first in the world. The damage ratio exceeds 40% to 50%, which is equivalent to the economy of two or three powerful countries being instantly wiped out.
If the damage to the Americans is a little more, it actually means that there is a greater hope of surpassing the industrial and economic scale of the Americans.
I have to admit that the economic crisis is the best time to sanction the United States. The rule of the United States is inherently unstable. If the Americans can cause some trouble during the Great Depression, the collapse of this country is absolutely expected.
In addition, the military power of the Americans has not developed at all in this era. The navy is still okay, but the army is not good at all.
Although the Americans can mobilize millions of armies at any time, the combat effectiveness of the US army is still far behind that of many countries famous for their armies.
If the United States, a major threat, can be weakened by half before the development of the American military power before World War II, then the handling of the world situation after World War II will become much simpler.
After all, from the current world situation, it can be seen that there are only two countries that can truly be called superpowers, namely Britain and the United States.
Weaken the United States before the war, weaken Britain during the war, and Australasia can reap the benefits after the war. It is still very simple to become a world-class country.
This is the only update today, and two updates tomorrow.