The Rise Of Australasia

Both Arthur and the United Kingdom and France were quite willing to see Nicholas II's compromises.

As for the substantial support requested by Nicholas II, the United Kingdom and France, along with Arthur, naturally would not refuse it either.

After all, a relatively strong Russia Nation was beneficial to both the United Kingdom, France, and Australasia, especially when the power of Russia Nation was restricted; the British and French naturally had no reservations.

In the presence of many countries, on October 11th, 1923, various countries jointly signed the "London Peace Declaration," marking the end of the over four-year-long Russian Civil War and finally bringing long-awaited peace to Eastern Europe.

This civil war brought huge changes to the world's situation, and also gave birth to new countries including Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

However, the Ukraine region was still retained, and, along with the Belarus and Galicia regions, the new Russia Nation remained vast, even if it was divided in half.

If the dominant Tsarist Russia could properly recover its economy and industry, it could at least rank as the sixth power, just behind the UK, US, Germany, and France.

As for the other country, despite not occupying much territory, it also had a population of tens of millions; striving for the position of a powerful nation was also feasible.

This, too, was the inherent advantage brought by the vast population and land of Russia Nation. Even though many countries seceded from Russia Nation, the two largest nations could still compete for the status of powerful nations.

Currently, many powerful nations cannot achieve this, except for the United Kingdom and the United States; no other country could still ascend to the rank of powerful nations after being divided.

Following the signing of the treaty, the representatives of each country did not depart immediately, as an extremely important meeting was about to be convened concerning the allocation of these new independent countries.

Lithuania was a puppet republic under the control of Poland, whose occupation of Lithuania was acknowledged by the British and French, so there was naturally no need to discuss the issue of Lithuania's independence.

Beyond that, the independence of Finland, Estonia, and Latvia became the major issue of negotiation among the countries.

Although the Grand Duchy of Finland was established by Tsar Alexander I in 1809, it had since been the case that the Tsar of Russia Nation also served as Grand Duke of Finland, and Finland did not have an independent government or monarch.

Now that it was truly recognized as independent, the selection of the new Grand Duke of Finland became an issue of concern for the European royal family.

In addition, the newly established Kingdoms of Latvia and Estonia both became independent monarchies.

The choice of monarch for these three countries was a topic of interest not only to the European royal families but also to other powerful nations.

Besides, all the powerful nations wanted to occupy more interests in these new countries. Ultimately, the consent of the powerful nations to the independence of these countries was not without purpose; frankly, it was still about dividing up the interests of these small countries.

The Grand Duchy of Finland, the Kingdom of Latvia, and the Kingdom of Estonia, these three countries, were conveniently divided among the three nations of Britain, France, and Australia.

This also meant that Arthur could freely suggest a candidate to become the monarch of one of these three countries.

Of course, the suggestion of this candidate could not be too arbitrary. At the very least, it had to be a royal family member who was highly recognized by the European royal families, with pure bloodlines and a good reputation, to be accepted by the people of these countries.

Otherwise, even if the three powerful nations promoted him to the throne, he was doomed to be overthrown by dissatisfied people one day.

After careful consideration, Arthur used a certain amount of Germany's compensation to exchange for the decision-making rights over the Grand Duke of Finland.

Compared to Latvia and Estonia, the Grand Duchy of Finland had a larger land area and a population several times that of these two smaller countries.

Although a significant part of the land was within the Arctic Circle, if one did not have too great ambitions, stable development could still secure their own throne.

Originally, Arthur was considering passing the title of Nobility of Grand Duke of Finland to one of his own sons, but the eldest, William, was only 14 years old.

Furthermore, Finland, after all, was a small country, easily dominated by Russia to the east and the powerful nations of Europe, so Arthur reconsidered, dismissing the idea that being the Grand Duke of Finland would be a hardship for many years.

However, there was one person who entered Arthur's sight, that being his brother-in-law, Queen Mary's younger brother, Dmitry.

Born in 1891, Dmitry was now precisely 32 years old, an age when he was starting to be stable.

Moreover, because he had lost his biological mother at a young age and was fostered under the name of his uncle, his relationship with his sister was particularly strong, one could say they were reliant on each other.

After Grand Duke and Duchess Sergei passed away, Dmitry lived in Australasia, greatly admiring his brother-in-law Arthur and having learned much knowledge there.

However, both blood relations and favorability are reasons for Arthur to support Dmitry.

Moreover, Dmitry's background and lineage are quite noble. His father, Grand Duke Paul, was the legitimate son of the late Tsar Alexander II and a member of the Russian Monarchy of noble descent.

In addition, Dmitry has shown a very Australasia-friendly character in Australasia, and Arthur believes that under his rule, he would naturally show a friendly side to Australasia.

Of course, this is actually a helpless choice for small countries. For the small and medium-sized countries of the world, in this cruel era, it is necessary to find a strong country to protect oneself.

If Australasia can gain a small military base in Finland through Dmitry's connection, it would also be beneficial for Australasia.

What's more, Dmitry is definitely the most suitable candidate for Australasia. Before his own children have grown up, Arthur is not willing to send them to these icy lands to rule over these sparsely populated and poor countries.

Arthur doesn't care how Britain and France divide up Latvia and Estonia, for him, pushing Dmitry to become the Grand Duke of Finland is now the most important matter. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

On October 17th, 1923, the Australasian ambassador to Russia, Henry Louis Whitfield, represented Arthur and Australasia in visiting the independent Finland, conveying Arthur's condolences.

The diplomatic visit of Henry Louis Whitfield received a warm reception from the government of the Grand Duchy of Finland, with a welcome that was given great importance, a smart move for the small country.

In his meeting with the current interim Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Finland, Henry Louis Whitfield subtly mentioned that Arthur was very concerned about the election of the Grand Duchy of Finland and was willing to offer some assistance to the construction of the Grand Duchy of Finland.

It's obvious that the ones who can ascend to high positions are intelligent, as fools have already been eliminated in the harsh competition at the bottom.

The interim Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Finland, Nicholas John Fitzgerald, clearly understood the purpose of Henry Louis Whitfield's words but also put forward his own condition—that he wanted to become the formal Prime Minister of the new government.

Henry Louis Whitfield was somewhat displeased because Arthur's care for Dmitry was already very clear, and naturally, he couldn't allow someone in Finland to compete with Dmitry for power.

However, Henry Louis Whitfield still reported the request of Nicholas John Fitzgerald to Arthur, waiting for Arthur's final decision.

"To become the first Prime Minister of Finland's government?" Arthur laughed disdainfully and turned his gaze to Dmitry, who was more restrained by his side, smiling and asking, "Dmitry, what do you think should be done about this?"

By now, Dmitry, who had learned from Arthur that he was about to become the Grand Duke of Finland, was feeling very nervous and excited.

Although he enjoys a luxurious life as a nobleman both in Russia and Australasia, who wouldn't want to become a monarch of an independent country?

After all, the status difference between a noble and a monarch is enormous. Although Dmitry holds no disrespect for Arthur—quite the contrary, he admires him greatly—this in no way impedes Dmitry's desire to become an independent Monarch.

"Your Majesty, agree to his request. Finland currently needs stability, and I am confident I can handle this competitor," Dmitry said with a deep breath and spoke very respectfully to Arthur.

The competitor here is not a rival for the throne but a rival for the power in the Finnish government.

Although a country can have both a Grand Duke and a Prime Minister, there will always be only one real powerholder.

The eventual outcome of a split in power is either the assertion of the Monarch over the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister over the Monarch.

After all, who would reject the temptations of power? Even though Finland is small, it is still a country with a population of over 3 million, and the power and status are quite addicting.

Arthur was very pleased with Dmitry's response and nodded in agreement, "Let this conceited guy jump around for a few more days! Thinking that by becoming the Governor of Finland, he can decide Finland's future? That's simply too ridiculous. Dmitry, I am sending you weapons and equipment for five divisions and will dispatch personnel to help you train the military, control the government, and so on.

I hope you won't disappoint me; no one can challenge the dignity of our Monarch."

Hearing the support offered by Arthur, Dmitry was quite excited.

The weapons and equipment for five divisions would be absolutely world-class in firepower if seen from Australasia's military standards.

Even if a division had only 16,000 people, five divisions would mean an army of 80,000, certainly enough for Dmitry's initial military deployment.

After all, Finland only has a population of 3 million, and for a country located in the far north with icy and snowy terrain, too strong a military is not necessarily a good thing, as neighbors would be wary.

Finland's neighbors are Sweden, Norway, and Russia, none of which Finland can afford to provoke at the moment.

Dmitry also understood that Arthur was not giving him so much weaponry to expand outwardly but to stabilize the situation of the government.