Chapter 262: Chapter 239: “London Contract”

The statement from the Portugal Republic Party caused a sensation in Portugal and quickly spread across much of Europe, becoming one of the most talked-about topics among European citizens in recent times.

Of course, this was also beneficial for Australasia, as it could quickly clear itself of suspicion for the assassination of King Carlos I of Portugal and immediately gain more goodwill from European citizens.

After all, Australasia and Portugal were at war, and the Portuguese people were already beginning to oppose Carlos I’s rule, even harboring goodwill toward the enemy nation of Australasia.

In contrast to Carlos I, Australasia and Arthur were seen as the most righteous side.

As the saying goes, without comparison, there can be no harm. Carlos I sought to maintain his autocratic rule and used the conflict with Australasian fishermen to establish a loving and fearless image for himself among his subjects.

However, he neglected the real public opinion in Portugal; continuing the war was of no benefit to Portugal, only serving to sustain the image Carlos I had built for himself.

Moreover, the Portuguese government increasingly appeared to be offending Britain, Germany, and Russia. At present, trade between the United Kingdom and Portugal has gradually decreased, causing significant financial losses for many Portuguese factories and individuals.

As a result, the Portuguese people grew even more disillusioned with Carlos I. After all, at the time, there was clear evidence and photos of the conflict involving fishermen from Australasia. These fishermen indeed suffered severe injuries, and their catch and property were also plundered.

In contrast, the Portuguese government’s statement on the fishermen conflict was vague and lacked evidence, relying solely on the fishermen’s testimonies.

If the government continues to offend Britain and Germany, Portugal may lose any standing in Europe.

Currently, Britain and Germany respectively represent the powerful groups of the Allies and the Central Powers. Britain has a close alliance with France, which in turn is allied with Russia.

Meanwhile, Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are part of the Central Powers alliance, meaning that Britain and Germany are connected to all other powerful European nations.

If Portugal offends all the great powers in Europe at once, isn’t it merely shooting itself in the foot?

Benefiting from a few decades of constitutional monarchy before Carlos I’s reign, Portugal had dozens of parties and supporters of republicanism and democracy.

The ideals supported by these people were inherently opposed to the principles of autocracy, and thus were naturally targeted by Carlos I’s oppressive regime.

Carlos I’s failed scheming presented a golden opportunity for the republicans and democrats, who risked government crackdowns to make their stand.

This newspaper’s impact on Portugal isn’t only limited to this; if there were detailed public opinion polls available now, one could draw a surprising conclusion that the Portuguese Kingdom Government’s civilian support rate has plummeted dramatically, with even less than 40% remaining.

Although this may seem exaggerated, considering that the Portuguese Kingdom historically lasted for only a little over two years before vanishing, one can gradually comprehend why this has happened.

Carlos I established a high-pressure oppressive system and autocratic rule in Portugal, but he did not bring about many benefits for the Portuguese people.

It’s no surprise that such a monarch, who only cared about his own power and status, would eventually face opposition.

Carlos I did manage to gain some support from the Portuguese common people, thanks to his seemingly unwavering dedication to protecting their fishermen.

However, after this incident, the common people started to wake up to reality, which was a reason why the Portuguese government’s support rate among the civilians dropped drastically.

Hearing reports of nationwide protests, Carlos I felt rage rising in his chest but could do nothing about it.

This wasn’t the only bad news either; after several hours of intensive rescue efforts, the hospital treating Crown Prince Louise ultimately declared their efforts unsuccessful.

This was another blow to Carlos I, making the previously vibrant king appear over a decade older in an instant.

By the time Carlos I returned to the Government Building, the high-ranking members of the Portuguese Kingdom Government were shocked to find that the king’s hair had turned white.

Portugal currently faced internal and external threats, and the combined pressures of negotiating peace with Australasia and dealing with domestic pro-democracy forces pushed the government to the brink.

In order to maintain his rule, Carlos I reluctantly decided to compromise with Australasia and focus on resolving domestic threats, securing the government’s position and his own rule.

On October 18, 1907, the London Agreement, paused by an accident for five days, resumed.

This time, Portuguese ambassador Herbert Simon was noticeably more proactive and officially acknowledged Portugal’s defeat in the war.

Seeing the Portuguese government finally taking action, the representatives from Britain, Germany, and Russia nodded in satisfaction.

After several days of negotiation and with the witnesses of the representatives of Britain, Germany, and Russia, Chief David of Australasia and Herbert Simon, the representative of the Kingdom of Portugal, signed the “Australasian and Portuguese Agreement on Fishermen’s Conflict and War Incident Resolution and Compensation” with a smile in London. Due to the signing in London, this treaty is also known as the “London Agreement” between Australia and Portugal.

According to the provisions of the London Agreement, Portuguese Timor will be ceded to Australasia as Portugal’s compensation and recognizes Australasia’s sovereignty over it.

In addition, Australasia has the right to berth at ports in Portugal’s East Asian colonies, whether its warships or civilian ships can freely enter and exit the ports of the East Asian colonies.

Furthermore, there is the compensation for the fishermen and the war funds. All Australasian fishermen affected by the conflict and war are to be compensated by Portugal. Finally, the compensation amount is set at 15 Australian dollars per person.

As for the Australasian fisherman involved in the conflict, the Portuguese government must pay him 100,000 Australian dollars and publicly apologize to him.

Regarding war reparations, the Portuguese government must compensate the Australasian government with five million pounds, which must be paid within three years. After three years, any unpaid amount will have an annual interest rate of one-fifth.

What does this mean? If the Portuguese government does not pay any funds within three years, the annual interest after three years will be as high as one million pounds, which is no small sum.

As long as two years’ worth of interest amounts to the value of a dreadnought, Arthur is happy to see Portugal repay the debt late.

Anyway, with the witnesses of Britain, Germany, and Russia, Arthur isn’t worried about the Portuguese government defaulting. There are not many countries that dare to ignore the three veteran powers in Europe.

Of course, the main reason why the representatives of Britain, Germany, and Russia agreed to mediate the negotiations was because of Arthur’s face.

Such favors need to be repaid. After all, to put it bluntly, there is a family relationship between Australasia and Britain, Germany, and Russia, and it is very necessary to maintain good relations with these countries without any interest conflicts with them since Australasia is far away from Europe.

If it weren’t for the support of these three rogue countries, it would take some time for Australasia to sign a real contract with Portugal.

Although Australasia is not afraid of Portugal’s military, Portugal’s navy is indeed troublesome.

Of course, the main focus is on improving relations with Germany and Russia. Although Australia’s main development target in the future is the navy, the British navy is currently the strongest in the world, and its shipbuilding industry and technology are naturally top-notch.

However, as long as Edward is the King of Britain, Australasia cannot establish too close a relationship with the British Empire.

Not to mention other things, even if Arthur personally said that he didn’t care about the previous matters, would King Edward believe it?

However, thanks to Arthur’s good relationship with the previous Queen Victoria and his popularity in England, there is no need to worry about malice from England, unless Arthur repeatedly stands on the opposite side of England.

In response to Europe’s enthusiasm for researching airships, Arthur generously donated an AU-2 airship to both Britain and Germany.

With the technology of Britain and Germany, it wouldn’t be a difficult task to quickly master the AU-2 airship.

Especially for Germany, the AU-2 airship is an improved and enhanced version of the AU-1, and the AU-1 is a replica of Zeppelin LZ-1’s rigid airship.

With such a connection, Germany’s research on the AU-2 airship would be even faster, and it may even be able to manufacture it on its own soon.

The gift to Russia is different from those of Britain and Germany. This is not to say that there is a difference in closeness, but Russia’s research capabilities may not even be able to successfully grasp its technology by the time Britain and Germany have developed the next-generation airship.

Therefore, Arthur catered to their preferences and gave Russia a batch of weapons and ammunition produced by military factories, which were originally prepared for this war.

Australasia was well-prepared for this war, with many weapons and equipment produced.

Although many weapons and ammunition were consumed under the powerful firepower of Australasia, there were still a large number of leftovers.

These remaining weapons and ammunition did not matter much to Australasia, but they were like sending charcoal in the snow to Russia’s Far East Army.

Although the current situation in Russia is much more stable than in history, it is still the Far East Army that suffers as Russia invests in dreadnoughts.

Receiving this batch of weapons and ammunition reserves, the Far East Army of Russia finally had a bit of foundation and was able to prepare for possible wars in the future.

The Russians appreciated this gesture greatly, and even Nicholas II himself sent a telegram to Arthur, thanking Arthur for the gift and praising the friendship between Russia and Australasia.