KEO.PLUS

For most countries in the world, the first step to maintaining good relations is to exchange ambassadors and establish embassies in each country.

However, for Australia, despite having successfully gained independence, it did not widely dispatch ambassadors to various nations due to Arthur’s wish to keep a low profile and his good relationship with Queen Victoria. In fact, aside from the United Kingdom and Germany, Australia had no connections with other countries.

Upon hearing Minister Herbert’s proposal to dispatch ambassadors, Arthur realised that Australia’s international presence in Europe was relatively low. It was indeed necessary to have embassies in key nations to facilitate the execution of some plans for Arthur and Australia.

With this in mind, Arthur stood up and said with a smile to Minister Herbert: “You’re absolutely right, Minister Herbert. We should dispatch ambassadors to effectively fulfill our imminent treaty and lay the foundation for our nation’s friendly relationship. I will carefully consider the ambassador candidates and notify your government accordingly. I look forward to the enduring friendship between Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”

Upon hearing Arthur’s forthright approval, Minister Herbert was somewhat surprised and delighted.

The meeting’s details had already given Minister Herbert the impression that including Prime Minister Evan, none of Australia’s officials were truly in control of the government.

The mysterious Duke before him was undeniably the true ruler of Australia.

Hearing Arthur directly affirm and agree, Minister Herbert was secretly overjoyed. With this agreement, most of the tasks that he and Governor William came to fulfill in Australia were now complete.

The remaining task would depend on Queen Mother Emma’s performance. Nevertheless, the outcome was beyond their control. Being able to accomplish their objectives left Herbert well-satisfied.

If Minister Herbert knew Arthur’s purpose for agreeing to the exchange of ambassadors was to establish spy departments and information stations within Europe, Herbert might have been furious enough to flip the table.

In the time afterwards, Minister Herbert and Governor William along with Australia’s officials held detailed discussions on the quantity and transportation of the Indigenous peoples to be purchased annually and where they would be transported to. This included a discussion of each Indigenous person’s cost and conditions.

For unknown reasons, Minister Herbert, who represented the Dutch Government, maintained a humble attitude throughout the negotiations, even choosing to step back on issues that should have been heatedly debated.

Even on the critical issue of pricing, Minister Herbert directly agreed to Prime Minister Evan’s proposal of five pounds per Indigenous person.

Considering that the Dutch Government needed to deploy military forces to capture these Indigenous peoples and utilize fleets to transport them, Arthur wondered if the Dutch were operating at a loss at this price point.

However, as Arthur was neither the ruler of the Netherlands nor had any connections with them, if the Dutch agreed to this price, he naturally had no objections.

This concession by the Dutch helped smoothen the negotiation process, taking little more than an hour.

Arthur and Prime Minister Evan originally expected the discussions to take a full day or even several days, but they were surprised when everything was completed in just over an hour.

Had it not been for the absence of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, this treaty could have been signed and executed that very day.

Although the Dutch government and Minister Herbert’s repeated compromises and concessions left Arthur and all Australian officials somewhat baffled, it was a fortunate event for Australia, leading everyone to simply conclude that the Dutchman had money to burn.

The successful execution of the Indigenous purchasing plan brought smiles to the faces of all Australian officials, including the Minister of Industry.

Once the treaty takes effect, at least fifty thousand Indigenous peoples will be shipped to Australia to become slaves each year.

This will supply powerful labor source for Australia’s industrial development and a variety of economic constructions, as well as a guarantee for Australia to carry out large-scale construction.

In the previous industrial development, more precautionary measures were taken for some potentially hazardous work.

Although this approach effectively reduced casualties, it was indeed a drag on the progress of industrial construction.

With these Indigenous peoples, all dangerous and unattractive tasks could be assigned to them.

In doing so, it will ensure the progress isn’t delayed and effectively complete all tasks. Other than a few Indigenous casualties, this situation could be seen as a Win-Win.

Of course, no one cares about the death of a few Indigenous peoples. It’s hard to guarantee that all the indigenous peoples who die annually in European colonies, which amounts to the hundreds of thousands or even millions, all died a natural death.

After their plans were agreed upon, Minister Herbert and Governor William, as guests, spent two days touring Sydney before meeting up with a rather reluctant Queen Mother Emma to board a warship headed for the Dutch East Indies in the North.

The Queen Mother Emma indeed appeared somewhat reluctant to leave. She was so engaged with her chats with Princess Louise during these two days that if it were not for the two ministers urging her to return, she might have intended to stay for a few more days.

After seeing off the Dutch diplomatic delegation, Arthur finally felt relaxed enough to return to the Manor House.

With sufficient development funding and being able to purchase industrial equipment from Britain and Germany, as well as a solution to the labor shortage, he faced no obstacles to Australia’s industrial development now.

On his return to the Manor House, Arthur was met with the gleeful faces of Princess Louise and his two younger sisters.

Since Arthur’s assassination attempt, smiles had been a rarity on Princess Louise’s face.

This was the first time in a while that Arthur has seen Princess Louise smile.

This aroused his curiosity, so he moved forward, gently stroked the foreheads of his two sisters and asked, “Mother, you seem in good spirits recently?”

Before Princess Louise could respond, the two sisters chimed in eagerly: “Yes, indeed, brother. Didn’t you know? Mother and that woman from before are going to arrange your marriage.”

The woman from before is naturally the departed Queen Mother Emma.

Arrange a marriage for me?

Arthur was surprised, his preoccupation with state affairs had caused him to overlook the fact that he had turned 18, an ideal age among Western nobility for arranging engagements.

But who was Queen Mother Emma? As the queen consort of the previous king of the Netherlands’ second marriage, Queen Mother Emma doesn’t have a good relationship with the old Dutch nobility.

Who could Queen Mother Emma introduce as Arthur’s betrothed? Surely not her own daughter, Queen Wilhelmina!