Chapter 212: Chapter 201: Engagement and Returning Home

News of Arthur’s final choice for Grand Duchess Mary soon reached the ears of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra.

They were both very pleased with this result, considering it another beautiful union between European royal families.

At least for now, the alliance between Australia and Russia has the same interests, Russia needs more support in the Far East, and Australia also needs an ally of great power level, while also limiting potential future enemies and the rise of island nations.

After marrying the Russian monarchy, it will also be possible to effectively accept immigrants from Russia. After eliminating some revolutionaries and dangerous elements, Russians who have always lived under the rule of the Tsar are actually more suitable to become Australian residents, as their acceptance of authoritarianism would be higher than other European immigrants.

On August 15, 1905, after briefly meeting and seeing each other for a few days, Arthur and Grand Duchess Mary held their engagement ceremony in Saint Petersburg.

During these few days, Arthur had also sent telegrams to his mother, Princess Louise, in Australia for her opinion. Princess Louise naturally had no objections and was even urging Arthur to get engaged as soon as possible.

Although only members of the Russian and Australian royal families attended the engagement ceremony, with only a handful of high-ranking Russian officials being eligible to offer on-site congratulations,

the engagement still caused a sensation across Europe, as it represented a great union between the Romanov and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha families once again.

For the Russian Empire, the engagement also had a certain sense of celebration, as it diverted the attention of some of the Russian people to the couple and even reduced the size of some protest marches.

As Arthur had a good reputation among the British public, many Britons were also very concerned about his engagement, offering their sincere blessings.

Although relations between Russia and Britain were not so good at the moment, the small-scale conflict could be temporarily forgotten in the face of Arthur’s marriage.

With the momentum of the engagement, Arthur, on behalf of Australia, also negotiated many close collaborations with the Russian Empire, including the introduction of more immigrants, strengthening bilateral trade, and the import and export of resources between both parties.

Due to the good relationship established with the Russian Empire, Australia was also able to open up a part of the Far East market and establish some meager interests.

What Arthur was most concerned about was the immigration issue. By 1905, the total population of the Russian Empire had reached 143.98 million, making it a veritable populous country.

Due to the large population, Russia did not care about casualties during wars, hence its title as the European Bulldozer.

Russia’s weapons and equipment were generally backward, but it was the massive and incessant population numbers that kept the Russian army’s power at a formidable level.

Russian immigrants had many advantages, not only being able to accept authoritarian rule well, but also being hardworking and resilient.

The Russian people were known for their valiance, and the armies they formed were very powerful and fearless in battle.

If the reason for domestic unrest was due to long-term oppressive rule, the excessive exploitation by the ruling class and the low status of Russian commoners were also important factors.

This would not happen in Australia, which was the premise for maintaining the country’s stability after receiving these immigrants.

Additionally, with the marriage between Arthur and the Russian monarchy, the relationship with the Russian people would become closer. Russians would become loyal immigrants to the Australian royal family, second only to the British.

Of course, this was under the condition that revolutionaries and rioters were excluded. Arthur would not accept dangerous elements who incited revolution, as the interests of the Australian commoners could be guaranteed by the royal family, and the commoners’ duty was to work hard and maintain order.

The Russian government was indifferent to Australia’s proposal for immigration. With Russia’s huge population, migrating some people outward would reduce some burden.

Even if Australia’s carrying capacity was not limited, the Russian government would want to sign an immigration treaty with Australia for at least 500,000 immigrants per year.

Russia’s population growth remained at around 1 to 2 million per year, sometimes even exceeding 3 million.

In 1800, Russia’s total population was only just over 35 million. By 1900, it had reached a terrifying 130.2 million, nearly quadrupling.

That’s not all: From 1900 to 1916, a short period of sixteen years, Russia’s population growth reached about 51 million, with an annual population increase of over 3.1 million.

These troubles of populous countries are actually something that small population countries envy.

The annual population growth of Russia is equivalent to more than half of Australia’s population. In this era, when the advantage in wars is still determined by population numbers, more people also represent more advantages and expendable manpower.

The immigration treaty signed by Arthur was not so outrageous. The treaty would be officially implemented from the date of signing, with the specific number of immigrants to be determined by Australia’s transportation capacity.

What does it mean? It means that the more immigrants Australia can transport, the more Russian immigrants they can get every year.

Of course, the issue of immigration should not be rushed. According to Arthur’s estimate, starting from 1905, the number of Russian immigrants going to Australia within three years will not exceed 100,000 per year, with an average of only about 40,000-50,000 people introduced per year.

This is because Russian immigrants need to be carefully screened, and any factors that might join the revolution and chaos and affect Australia’s stability need to be eliminated in advance.

Of course, this work must be done by Barty Crouch’s Royal Security Intelligence Agency.

The Royal Security Intelligence Agency has been established for over three years now, and the personnel selected from the military at the beginning have become very adept at intelligence work.

Of course, the expansion of personnel during these three years has not stopped, but intelligence personnel need to undergo a more rigorous background check and loyalty test before they can successfully enter the Royal Security Intelligence Agency.

Up to now, the number of personnel in the Royal Security Intelligence Agency has exceeded 500, although the most elite core continues to be the more than 100 people originally selected from the military.

At present, the Royal Security Intelligence Agency has deployed more than 100 intelligence personnel in various major regions around the world, where they live in other countries in various capacities, providing intelligence work for the Royal Security Intelligence Agency.

Of course, the focus of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency’s work remains in Australia and New Zealand, with over 200 intelligence personnel stationed in these two areas, gathering all intelligence in Australia and New Zealand for the Royal Security Intelligence Agency and Arthur while also monitoring all officials and political parties in the two areas, detecting unstable factors in advance.

Compared to the sensation caused in Europe, this engagement has an even greater impact in the Australian region.

After all, one of the protagonists of the engagement is their beloved Duke Arthur, and the other is the princess of a powerful nation, the Russian Grand Duchess.

Such a strong alliance satisfies the Australian people, who offer their blessings one after another.

Even if not for the persuasion of Australian government officials, the people would even spontaneously form parade groups to celebrate, offering Arthur even greater blessings and cheers.

It can only be said that the parade, as an act to express one’s ideas, has deeply ingrained itself in Europeans’ minds.

Whether expressing discontent or excitement, parades have become the first major events that Europeans can think of.

Due to Arthur’s good reputation in Australia and New Zealand, a large number of residents in Australia and the New Zealand Federation are highly concerned about this engagement, and even use their imagination to create various versions of the engagement.

Some say that Arthur and Grand Duchess Mary fell in love at first sight, and both decided to spend their lives together, while others spread various other versions far and wide.

Even the Australian Government once sent a telegram to Arthur, asking whether some restrictions should be imposed on domestic gossip about this engagement.

After all, this concerns the prestige of the monarch, and entertainment gossip can go awry.

Although Arthur did not agree to ban the news, he still instructed the Victoria Newspaper and Australia Daily to publicly report this engagement, eliminating some rumors that were getting more and more outrageous.

However, the good news is that Arthur’s reputation is good, and all kinds of entertainment gossip are limited to this engagement, mostly with blessings and without any negative emotions or smears.

On August 29, 1905, after more than half a month in Russia, Arthur finally embarked on his journey back to Australia.

This European tour has taken more than two months, and the return journey also adds up to almost exactly four months as planned.

The unexpected outcome of this trip was not only successful negotiations with Germany and Russia but also the signing of an even further-reaching immigration treaty.

It can be expected that in the next few years, the number of immigrants to Australia will see an even greater explosion, and Russian immigrants will become the main force among Australian immigrant groups.

In addition to immigration and engagement, the technology for basic industry that was negotiated with Germany is what Arthur is looking forward to.

At present, Australia’s industrial situation is biased, with the iron and steel industry and some related manufacturing industries being more developed. They are already taking shape.

However, the basic industries in various areas, as well as those currently not needed in Australia, are in a weaker state. It may take a long time to fill the gaps in these industries without strong support.

Compared to Australia, Germany’s basic industry is very strong and has no shortcomings. Germany’s assistance to Australia’s basic industry this time could also bring growth to Australia’s basic industry.

If coupled with appropriate incentive policies, it is possible to rectify the shortcomings of basic industry within a few years.