Chapter 255: Visitors from East Asia
As May arrived, Australasia entered the late autumn season.
With the election date approaching, public speeches became commonplace across Australasia. Even in the more sparsely populated colonies, one could frequently see politicians giving speeches.
This was not surprising, as even small colonies, with populations as low as 9,000, such as the Timor colony, had a seat in the House of Representatives, and Papua New Guinea, with a population of fewer than 40,000, had two seats. This was why politicians visited these regions—although the seats were few, the competition in these colonies was also relatively low.
The city with the most competitive election would likely be the capital, Sydney, or rather, the capital territory. The capital territory has a population of nearly one million, but there are only 40 seats in the House of Representatives.
The competition in Sydney was not as simple as just the number of seats. As the capital and political center of the kingdom, the seat of the royal family and government, during election times, many politicians would choose to come to Sydney to give speeches.
To explain it simply, it's akin to giving a speech at the "emperor's feet."
As the capital and the royal family's residence, Sydney's importance was self-evident. If a political party could win the majority of the seats in Sydney, it would be advantageous in the competition for the House of Representatives.
Thanks to the supervision of the election committee, even if some members of parliament had already attained high ministerial positions, they were prohibited from using illegal means to assist their parties.
Additionally, Australasia's public opinion was controlled by Arthur and the Publicity Department, so political parties had to rely on their ideologies and speeches to win over the public and secure seats in the House of Representatives.
However, Arthur's attention at this moment was not focused on the public speeches outside, but on a group of visitors from afar.
To be specific, these visitors were from East Asia, specifically from the Qing Dynasty, and they had come with the purpose of learning from Australasia's systems and ideas.
Arthur was somewhat surprised that a country would come to learn from Australasia's system.
Although Australasia had always been portrayed externally as a constitutional monarchy, in reality, the upper echelons of foreign nations were well aware that Australasia was an outright monarchical autocracy.
The degree of autocracy in Australasia even surpassed that of the Tsar in Russia. When the Tsar implemented policies or reforms, there were entrenched interest groups who would oppose him, but Australasia, being composed of scattered colonies before unification, provided a solid foundation for Arthur's autocratic rule.
In short, Australasia's autocracy had not yet encountered any significant opposition or powerful factions—this was the "plus" version of monarchical autocracy.
The Qing Dynasty, in theory, was also an autocratic monarchy. If they were looking to reform, they would most likely aim for top-tier powers like Britain or Germany. Why would they set their sights on Australasia?
After the explanation from Foreign Minister Andrew, Arthur finally began to understand the reason.
Simply put, it was about power. Although the Qing Dynasty had ideas for reform, that didn't necessarily mean they were ready to transition into a constitutional monarchy.
On the other hand, Australasia had superficially achieved a constitutional monarchy, gaining widespread public recognition and affection, while still maintaining complete monarchical autocracy. This appealed to some people in the Qing Dynasty.
They could maintain their power without major limitations and still achieve reforms—why not?
This was the reason why this diplomatic mission had come to Australasia. Essentially, the top leaders were still after more power.
But there were other factors as well. Australasia had only recently, a few years ago, been a British colony. While its economy was relatively more developed than East Asia's, it wasn't that impressive by global standards—at least in the eyes of the Qing leadership.
However, Australasia now possessed the most advanced army and navy equipment, as well as shipbuilding technology, with its industrial scale already reaching world-class standards. This made some high-ranking officials in the Qing Dynasty see the possibility of emulating Australasia's success.
If they could follow Australasia's path, they might also achieve their own revival.
If they could learn the technology to build advanced ironclad warships from Australasia and hire experts to train their military, this could be a new way to restore their country's former glory.
Though Arthur was not optimistic about this view, he still agreed to meet the delegation.
There was a simple reason for this: if Australasia could participate in this reform, they could also position themselves within the Qing Dynasty's political structures, ensuring their influence.
Australasia could also rightfully divide the benefits while creating a potential rival for themselves in the future.
No need to make the rival too strong—just keep them contained in East Asia, and when Australasia expanded further into Oceania, the Qing Dynasty would no longer be a challenge.
In the banquet hall of Sydney Palace, Arthur successfully met with the distant delegation.
He didn't recognize any of the members, but that didn't hinder him from seeking more benefits for Australasia.
"Your Majesty, we represent our Emperor and the 400 million people of our country, and we extend our sincerest greetings to you," the leader of the delegation respectfully addressed Arthur upon meeting him.
After a round of unnecessary pleasantries, the conversation finally turned to the main topic.
"Your Majesty, as we walked from the port, we saw how your country has changed in recent years. It is now comparable to the major European powers. We are very interested in your advanced technology and system, and we would like to know if we can have an opportunity to discuss them in depth?" the envoy asked.
Arthur was not curious about the envoy's relatively fluent English, as the British Empire's influence was global.
However, Arthur would not easily agree to any request without sufficient benefit.
"Exchanging ideas is of course possible. However, Sir, most of the technologies and systems in Australasia are derived from Europe. We have paid a considerable price for them. Even if I personally wish to engage in dialogue with your country, I fear the government officials and the public would not approve," Arthur replied with a faint smile.
The envoy, not foolish, quickly responded, "That is understood, Your Majesty. If your country could send experts to assist us in reforming our system, we are willing to pay a salary of 10,000 taels of silver per expert per year."
Arthur calculated in his mind: 10,000 taels of silver was roughly equivalent to 1,400 pounds or about 2,850 Australian dollars.
This amount was rather paltry. Arthur immediately responded, "Australasia can assist your country in reforms regarding systems, industry, economy, and military. However, 10,000 taels of silver per person per year is too little. It would not even cover the salaries of the experts. Let's make it 50,000 taels per person per year, and then Australasia will send experts to your country until the reforms are complete."
Since the other party was asking for help, Arthur wasn't being overly polite, but he didn't make an outrageous demand either.
After all, the number of experts Australasia could send would be at most a few dozen, and the cost would be in the millions of silver.
The envoy was a little hesitant, but in order to secure future help, he nodded in agreement.
"Your Majesty, may I inquire about the price of your ironclad warships? Our country wishes to purchase several to fill the gap in our naval strength," the envoy continued.
Purchasing battleships? Arthur was immediately intrigued.
The profit from a single battleship was at least several hundred thousand pounds, which was far more than sending experts.
Although sending experts was aimed at gaining political influence, selling warships was pure financial gain.
"What type of warships are you referring to, Sir? We currently have the Monarch-class battleships, the Unity-class battlecruisers, the Nassau-class battleships, the Brunswick-class battleships, and the Duke-class armored cruisers, among others. What kind of ships are you interested in?" Arthur inquired with a smile.
No matter what the envoy's intentions were regarding the warships, Arthur was eager to have them order more, which would provide even more funding for Australasia's expanding navy.
Given the construction costs of these ships, just selling two battleships would generate enough profit to build another one.
"Ah..." The envoy seemed a bit troubled. He wasn't an expert in naval matters and had limited knowledge of warships.
This diplomatic mission did include naval officials, but they were not qualified to meet with Arthur personally.
Seeing that the envoy didn't speak, Arthur continued to promote his ships: "What you may not know is that we currently have one of the most advanced and powerful battleships in the world—the Monarch-class battleship. We also have the powerful Nassau-class battleship, developed by the German Empire. The Brunswick-class battleship is also one of Germany's most powerful warships. Surely, Sir, you've heard of Germany's reputation? The performance and equipment of these warships will meet your expectations."
(End of Chapter)
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