The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1135 - 853: Military Industry Production

Speaking of which, George, Arthur's youngest son, was born in 1919, so by this year, 1936, he had just turned 17.

Although not yet of age, he no longer had the face of a little child. After Arthur's long period of education, George appeared mature and steady, quite the image of a wise monarch.

After careful consideration, Arthur decided to send George back to the United Kingdom of the West Coast early, and to take advantage of the upcoming World War II to enhance his prestige in the country, and to seize some power during the crisis.

After all, the United States had been a republic, and although the situation in the United Kingdom of the West Coast was relatively stable under the influence of Australasia, this stability was ultimately the result of external forces.

To truly cement the monarchy system of the United Kingdom of the West Coast, it was necessary for George, as the king, to strive for the trust and support of the domestic people.

This was why Arthur said that the war was an opportunity for George and Peter to firmly secure their thrones.

Only by moving forward or back in unison with the royal family and people, and successfully winning this war, could they as monarchs solidify their positions and earn the heartfelt support of the people.

As George left the Royal Palace, Arthur felt even more heartache than when he saw Peter off.

This wasn't to say that Arthur favored George, but after the death of Princess Louise, the population of the royal family had indeed been diminishing.

After sending off Peter and George one after another, only Arthur and his wife, William and his wife, and their child Alexander remained in the royal family.

However, the good news was that upon Arthur's repeated urging, William and Princess Alexandrine were soon to welcome their second child.

Looking at the dates, the time was approaching, probably within a month or two.

This was a relief as it would add to the royal family's numbers, preventing it from appearing too desolate after the successive departures of Peter and George.

As with Peter's departure, almost the entire royal family mobilized, with Arthur and Queen Mary giving George their final instructions before his departure.

The Kingdom of California and the United Kingdom of the West Coast had different national conditions, and the help Arthur offered to Peter and George was not quite the same.

What they had in common was a meticulously trained elite force of fewer than a thousand men.

The families of these military personnel would accompany George to the United Kingdom of the West Coast and serve as the Guards for George's rule over the West Coast kingdom.

Apart from the military, those accompanying George to the United Kingdom of the West Coast included a group of officers specially trained for George, medical experts, and dozens of servants, including personal tailors, jewelers, chefs, and so on.

Worth mentioning is that the former Royal Affairs Minister of the Australasian Cabinet Government, Yajedin, was also following George to the United Kingdom of the West Coast.

Yajedin would become an important minister under George and take on the role of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the West Coast.

As for George's Royal Palace Butler, after careful deliberation, Arthur appointed his confidant, Colin Firth.

Colin Firth was not old, having been born in 1897, which made him only 39 years old now.

Being a native of Australasia was one of his advantages, and another was that Colin Firth was a beneficiary of Arthur's orphan relief policies.

Orphaned at a young age, Colin Firth was taken in by an orphanage built by order of Arthur. Owing to his outstanding performance, he completed his studies successfully and attracted Arthur's attention, earning a spot on the list of potential talent training programs.

In the training of talent, Arthur valued loyalty first and ability second.

In tests of loyalty and ability, Colin Firth performed exceptionally well, which was the reason Arthur ultimately appointed him as George's Royal Palace Butler.

Moreover, ever since George had been granted a Title of Nobility, Colin Firth had effectively been his butler.

To date, Colin Firth's performance had been satisfactory, at least Arthur had no reason to replace him.

Whether George would replace his butler in the future would depend on whether Colin Firth could satisfy George. The role of the Royal Palace Butler was very important to a monarch, and in this respect, Arthur afforded George a great deal of freedom.

Moreover, before appointing Colin Firth as George's butler, Arthur had sought George's opinion.

Only after receiving George's nod of approval did Arthur issue the order.

Speaking of the two countries that Australasia controlled in North America, their development could indeed be considered "rapid".

The current population of the Kingdom of California was close to 6.5 million, with over 98% residing in California State, demonstrating the vast disparity between the two states within the Kingdom of California.

The United Kingdom of the West Coast did not have such a large disparity, though. What was now called the Capital Region, formerly Washington, had a total population of only about 1.7 million.

The remaining states of Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming had populations of just 1.01 million, 520,000, 450,000, and 220,000 respectively.

Although the territory of the United Kingdom of the West Coast was almost twice that of California State, the population was only about 4 million, far less than that of the Kingdom of California.

Even the combined population of the two kingdoms barely exceeded ten million, which was still less than New York State had eight years ago. This was also why Australasia, despite holding such vast lands, had not faced much opposition from Britain and France.

To fully develop these lands, each kingdom would need a population of at least 20 million. However, Australasia's population at the time was less than 40 million, so dreaming of developing these lands in a short period was virtually a pipe dream.

In contrast, the lands controlled by Britain and France were economically prosperous, like New York, or had advanced petroleum and cotton industries, like Texas. In short, each had its advantages.

However, barren areas also had their own benefits.

At the very least, relative to other regions, Peter and George's rule would be more stable, without the fear that local powers would pose too many threats to their sovereignty.

In large states like New York and Texas, a web of capitalists and other local forces intertwined, and governing these areas would require a great deal of time and effort.

Before bidding farewell to George, Arthur gave him a mission, which was to make the most of the United Kingdom of the West Coast's vast area and fertile land to vigorously develop agriculture and animal husbandry.

With the low population density of the West Coast United Kingdom, it was an opportune time to start large-scale farming. Each farmer was allocated a significant amount of land, which would be beneficial to mechanical farming if consolidated.

Widespread mechanization in agriculture would not only effectively increase yields but also save on labor invested in agriculture.

With war looming, growing more grain could do no harm. Besides domestic consumption, a portion could be exported to earn some foreign exchange.

This grain might be exported to the more populous Eastern Coast of the United States, which had less arable land.

It could even attract more immigrants during the war, but managing all this would depend on George.

After George left, Australasia officially entered a state of military readiness.

As for reservists, Arthur expanded the numbers. These reservists could quickly form a regiment and possess combat capability as soon as the war broke out or when the country called for mobilization.

Currently, the total number of Australasian military personnel was approximately 626,000. Accompanied by 1.352 million reservists and nearly 2 million recruit-able soldiers.

This meant that, in an extreme state, Australasia could assemble an army of over 4 million.

Naturally, if absolutely necessary, this number could increase indefinitely.

However, under Arthur's plan, Australasia would commit a maximum of 4 million troops. Exceeding this number would mean, even if the war were won, a significant blow to all sectors of Australasian life.

The casualties from the war would also drastically reduce the population. At that point, Australasia would completely lose its competitive edge for world supremacy and would only watch as Russia or other countries emerged.

Fortunately, with vassal states like the Philippines and Kalimantan, there was no lack of population reserves.

In an extreme situation, the Philippines could provide up to 2 million troops. As for Kalimantan, the potential was even greater; if completely unreserved, its population could provide an army of 5 to 7 million.

By this account, in an ideal state, Australasia could command an army of over 13 million.

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Such a scale of military might could rival the forces of the two major military blocs in World War I. If that couldn't win World War II, it could only mean the allies were not keen to win the war.

In the preparations for war, what Arthur valued most was the strategic reserve of various weapons.

After a year had passed, Australasia's light weapon numbers had increased to: 2.74 million rifles, 24,000 machine guns, 27,000 artillery pieces of various calibers, 15.5 billion bullets, 47 million shells, 2.2 million sets of infantry equipment, and 22 million hand grenades.

As for heavy weaponry, warehouses stored more than 2,250 Cromwell I light tanks, 1,255 T-31 medium tanks, and 827 T-31A heavy main battle tanks.

This was the rate of production before the tank factories went into full throttle. If they switched to round-the-clock production, the first year's output of tanks could exceed 6,500 units annually.

With the continuous expansion of the tank factories, Australasia could easily replicate the industrial boom of the UK and US in World War II, producing over 10,000 tanks annually.

Last were the aircraft. After a period of testing, the sixth-generation military aircraft were finally declared fit for service and started production.

The production rate of aircraft was not fast last year, with an annual output of about 1,200 units.

But considering it was the first year of production for sixth-generation military aircraft, this rate was understandable.

With 1936 approaching, Arthur had only one requirement for the Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Factory: triple the production speed of aircraft to at least an annual output of 3,600 units.

If that was not feasible, once the war broke out, the Boeing Company and Douglas Aircraft Company could also start producing sixth-generation military aircraft.

These two companies had mastered jet engine technology and could make emergency modifications to production lines. Hence, they could quickly start the production of sixth-generation military aircraft.

After all, the Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Factory held all the necessary technology for the sixth-generation military aircraft. By disclosing this technology to Boeing and Douglas, they could start manufacturing.

Then, with all three companies running at full capacity and without holding back, the annual aircraft production would not fall short of any country.