The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1077 - 805: The Empire Prepares

Compared to the Philippines, which only has an army of 150,000, the army of the United Kalimantan Great Sultanate was even larger.

But given that Kalimantan is a pure Colony compared to the Philippines, the combat effectiveness of Kalimantan's army naturally came into question.

Arthur did this to balance the power disparities between the various Sultanates, and apart from the difference in land area, the disparity in population was minimal.

This also represented a very alarming situation, as any one of the Sultanates within the United Great Sultanate had at least a population of four million.

Particularly the existing Kutai Sultanate, which occupied the second-largest land area in Kalimantan and was close to the Coastline, was considered wealthier than the other smaller Sultanates.

If it weren't for Sultan Mohammed gaining control over the ruling area of the Great Sultanate, which is a long and narrow stretch leading to the coast, the Kutai Sultanate might have become the most strategically advantaged nation in the whole Kalimantan Great Sultanate.

The benefit of a larger population was that the armed forces of the Sultanates, the so-called military, actually had no shortage of numbers.

According to the regulations set by Mohammed, a small Sultanate could have an army of 80,000 to 100,000, and it was up to each small Sultanate to bear the military expenses.

The army of the Great Sultanate was jointly funded by all the small Sultanates, whether it was military expenses or the weapons and supplies needed by the army, all had to be evenly distributed among each small Sultanate.

The advantage of doing so was that it allowed other small Sultanates to support their own armies for themselves.

Moammed's military currently totalled 300,000, with 100,000 belonging to his own Sultanate, which he had to fully finance, while the remaining 200,000 belonging to the Great Sultanate were financially supported and equipped by all the small Sultanates.

However, this army of the Great Sultanate was naturally managed and commanded by Sultan Mohammed himself, amounting to being his own private army.

This was also a rule established by Mohammed to ensure his own dominion because it was conducive to controlling the entire Great Sultanate, Arthur and Australasian authorities turned a blind eye.

Such a rule was easy to maintain as long as there was support from Australasia; even if the other small Sultanates wanted to rebel, it wouldn't be so simple.

However, it was also easy to overthrow this rule. As soon as support from Australasia was lost, the dissatisfied small Sultanates would inevitably form an alliance to conduct a Punitive Expedition against the Great Sultan.

Moammed's approach made himself the common enemy of all other small Sultanates, thus ensuring that Arthur felt secure.

After all, with the support of the Australasian side, Mohammed's throne as the Great Sultan became very secure.

The dissatisfaction of some small Sultanates was not so important; as long as they posed no threat to Mohammed's position, they had to grit their teeth and endure.

Because all eight small Sultanates had their own armed forces, the United Kalimantan Great Sultanate could mobilize a very large number of troops, nearly reaching a million.

Most small Sultanates had a military configuration of four reinforced infantry divisions, one Cavalry division, and one Artillery division.

This military setup kept the number of soldiers at around 100,000, which was the maximum allowed by Sultan Mohammed for the military of the small Sultanates.

The 200,000 troops of the Great Sultanate, on the other side, were arranged into eight infantry divisions, three cavalry divisions, and two artillery divisions, which slightly exceeded 200,000 in number.

Regarding the military expansion of the Kalimantan Great Sultanate, Arthur had not yet considered the various small Sultanates.

Looking at the current situation of each small Sultanate, supporting an army of 100,000 was already quite a burden for them.

Moreover, the more troops a small Sultanate had, the more difficult it would be to manage Mohammed's rule.

Considering that Mohammed had been very sensible and loyal up to this point, Arthur had no plans to create difficulties in his rule.

As a result, if Kalimantan wanted to expand its army, it could only enhance the troops belonging to the Great Sultanate.

After all, the military expenses were the joint responsibility of all the small Sultanates; spread out, the burden on each was not too great.

Currently, the army of the Great Sultanate only had 200,000, which was still far from enough. Since one could not predict when the war would break out, it became essential to prepare early.

Under Arthur's orders, Mohammed also wisely expanded the army, increasing the military of Kalimantan Great Sultanate from 200,000 to 500,000.

To provide sufficient motivation for these Indigenous Peoples to expand their army, Arthur also made promises both openly and covertly, indicating that he would negotiate with the British to try to purchase the North Kalimantan Colony from them, in order to allow the Kalimantan Great Sultanate to occupy the entire Kalimantan Island.

This was equivalent to drawing a Pie in the sky. Arthur had not promised a timeframe for the land purchase, nor was it likely that the land would be given to these Indigenous Peoples for free.

But such a promise was still very attractive to Mohammed and the other small indigenous Sultanates.

After all, their territory was confined to Kalimantan, and aside from internal war, the only way for them to expand their land was to figure out how to do so from the British-held North Kalimantan Colony.

Following the army buildup in the Philippines and Kalimantan, Arthur's concern about the future war had largely dissipated.

Even without counting the Australasian Army, the estimated military strength of the Philippines and Kalimantan at this time was nearly 1.6 million.

Leaving 300,000 troops to defend Kalimantan and the Philippines, Australasia could mobilize at least 1.3 million soldiers.

Although the combat effectiveness of these troops was worrisome, they still qualified as adequate cannon fodder in war.

With this 1.3 million-strong army, at least several hundred thousand casualties could be spared for Australasia.

Moreover, once the war broke out, the expansion of the Indigenous army would be ceaseless. The Philippines alone could raise at least a million troops, not to mention Kalimantan with its tens of millions of inhabitants.

With the supply of various weapons from Australasia, it was believed that even the poorer fighting strength of these Indigenous Peoples would yield a battle casualty ratio of about 5:1 or even 10:1 once the war erupted.

Even if it took ten Indigenous people to kill one enemy, Arthur would not feel a pinch, and might even feel he had made a gain.

Particularly for the population of Kalimantan, it was better to weaken them if possible. After World War II, Australasia's influence was supposed to spread across the globe, and the importance of small markets such as the Philippines and Kalimantan would not be as significant.

In comparison to the income generated from dumping goods in these two regions, Arthur valued more the burden brought to the country after a crisis broke out and the subsequent efforts to quell rebellions.

With Nicholas II's arrival in London, the news of Princess Anna Miller's renunciation of the Russian imperial throne also became a major news story broadcasted globally.

The public naturally discussed the vast Russian Empire's destruction and the fate of the Russian crown.

In a corner unnoticed by many, a report about the establishment of the Australasian Empire slowly spread around the world.

Yes, the Empire was to be established.

But before the establishment of the Empire, Arthur still wished to gauge the domestic and international public's attitude towards its inception.

Although it was highly likely that others would not object, Arthur did not want the empire he had worked so hard to create to be seen as a sham in the eyes of others.

The good news was that the Australasian public warmly welcomed the establishment of the empire, even spontaneously organizing parades to celebrate the occasion.

Indeed, in addition to openly demonstrating against the government and other powers, processions actually served a celebratory purpose as well.

The people, carrying banners with slogans such as "Long Live the Empire!" and "Long Live His Majesty Arthur!" marched proudly through the streets of Saint Arthur Castle, cheering jubilantly—it was as fervent as the enthusiastic followers rushing about for their idol.

Although the domestic public had different attitudes, they basically acknowledged Arthur's contribution to Australasia as a monarch.

Arthur was born in 1888 and was just 45 years old at the time, the golden age for a politician.

At this age, the public generally felt one matured and could rule a region with more mature thoughts and concepts.

But for Arthur, this year marked his 32nd year of ruling Australasia. To be precise, it was his 32nd year ruling the Australian Region.

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In the long river of human history, 32 years flashed by, often not enough to leave any punctuation mark.

But for an ordinary life, 32 years is lengthy and constitutes an important part of a person's life.

For those in Australasia born after 1900, the oldest among them were now 32 years old, an age akin to a pillar of a nation's population.

For these people, Arthur had been their monarch since birth, and they had greatly benefited from his largesse.

Especially for those from families not originally affluent, their ability to have enough food, wear warm clothing, and graduate from free schools, hinged largely on Arthur, their monarch.

Moreover, Arthur often presented a benevolent image to others, traveled without much pomp, and had almost no negative publicity.

The loving royal family was practically a model for all Australasians, further elevating Arthur's image in people's hearts and, through media portrayal, even hyped as the savior of Australia.

Naturally, there was no need to question the loyalty of these people towards Arthur, and the establishment of the empire was something they were eager to see.

Whether it was the territory's expansion since Arthur's accession or the legendary tale of Australia's rise from a colony to a superpower, the country had enough qualifications to become an empire.

And Arthur, the architect of all this, also naturally had enough merit to become the first Emperor of Australasia.

Asher, having already prepared for foreign relations, also decided not to wait any longer and put the establishment of the empire on the agenda.

This move would not only enhance the nation's cohesion but also expedite the creation of the Australasian ethnicity.

As for whether other countries would oppose it, that was no longer of great concern to Arthur. Given Australasia's current strength, aside from those who were already sworn enemies, who else would directly stand against it?