The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1137 - 855: The Arrangement for the United Kingdom

What caused Arthur a headache was that even though he had personally come to London, he could not find any British upper echelons with whom to discuss and formulate concrete plans.

Following previous practice, Arthur should have sought the incumbent British king.

But after the death of King George V, Prince Edward succeeded to the throne and became Edward VIII with ease. Was it really feasible to discuss with Edward VIII how to unite with France against Germany? This was just too unrealistic.

Why so? After ascending to the throne, Edward VIII had promptly arranged for the Simpsons to divorce and proposed to the Cabinet his plan to marry Mrs. Simpson.

Clearly, such a preposterous suggestion would definitely not be accepted by the British government.

This also brought the relationship between Edward VIII and the Cabinet Government to a freezing point and even triggered a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom.

If it hadn't been for King George V's funeral temporarily easing the tension between the two parties, news of the discord between the king and the Prime Minister might have spread to every corner of the world much earlier.

On March 9, 1936, after the funeral of King George V had ended.

Arthur met with the current British Prime Minister Baldwin and had a lengthy discussion about the good relations between Britain and Australasia.

In this meeting, Arthur also mentioned the current behavior of the Germans. Their performance in the war was too terrifying, and their war potential was far greater than that of France.

Both in sentiment and in reason, the current Britain and France should unite to prevent further German expansion in Europe.

Even more so, if the Germans continued expanding their military and blatantly displayed their ambitions, Arthur suggested that Britain-France-Australia should take the initiative to strike and quickly snuff out the German threat at its cradle.

As Arthur had expected, Prime Minister Baldwin responded ambiguously to his proposal.

Although Baldwin had served multiple terms as Prime Minister, his reputation was not that good in later generations. As one of the appeasement policymakers, it was precisely the policy of several British Prime Ministers, including Baldwin, towards Germany that had allowed Germany to become so strong.

If the British government had actively stopped Germany's expansion from the start, Germany would not have become such a powerful country.

But that said, the faction of moderate appeasers and pacifism were the mainstream trends in politics of various countries at that time. It wasn't entirely the British's fault to adopt the appeasement policy, as even France, which deeply loathed Germany, was also implementing it, right?

However, for the current situation in Europe, a Prime Minister from the faction of appeasers was clearly no longer suitable for Britain.

Just like the current King Edward VIII, their existence would only be a burden to the British Empire.

Disappointed, Arthur gave up on cooperating with the current British government and instead shifted his focus to the next successor, George VI.

George VI, now still known as the Duke of York, was more suitable to be king than his brother, Edward VIII.

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In the Duke of York's bedchamber, Arthur met the king who would lead the British people to win World War II.

"Your esteemed Majesty Arthur, it has been a long time," the Duke of York greeted Arthur with a smile.

"It has indeed been a while, Bertie," Arthur replied with a smile and nodded, addressing the Duke of York with a touch of humor.

"Bertie, what is your opinion on your brother's intention to marry Mrs. Simpson?" Arthur got straight to the point.

The Duke of York didn't expect Arthur to be so direct and was slightly stunned before cautiously saying, "Marrying a woman who does not qualify to be queen as a wife would be a blow to the prestige of the British royal family."

Arthur nodded and said frankly, "To be honest, I had made an agreement with your father regarding the succession to the British throne.

If your brother performed well after his accession, then naturally that would have been excellent. However, in the event of a crisis concerning the succession to the throne, for the sake of the good relations between Australasia and Britain, for the survival of monarchism, and for the British Royal Family, I believe it's necessary that Edward understands what he is doing."

If history were to take its course, even after Baldwin finished his term, the next Prime Minister would be Chamberlain, another fellow devoted to appeasement policies.

Chamberlain's tenure as Prime Minister continued until 1940. Could the war possibly be delayed until after 1940? Clearly not.

This meant that before the outbreak of the war, it was crucial to get the British government to abandon its previous moderate ideas and shift to the Faction of War Advocates.

The person most suitable for Britain's Faction of War Advocates at this time was, of course, the famous Winston Churchill. However, to make Churchill the Prime Minister of Britain, the support of the British king was essential.

After careful consideration, Arthur still decided to help George VI ascend the throne while avoiding a constitutional crisis within the British royal family as much as possible.

If the British people caused chaos and Germany took the opportunity to wage war, it would be a great disaster for all the European nations.

Arthur's conversation with the Duke of York lasted several hours, yet the content of their talk remained unknown to others.

After this talk, Arthur met with the renowned Winston Churchill to perfect his plans in Britain.

"Mr. Churchill, what is your view on the current European situation?" Arthur asked with a smile, as if engaging in casual conversation, seemingly indifferent as he inquired of Churchill.

Churchill was taken aback, uncertain whether Arthur was merely making small talk or probing on a deeper level. He could only respond truthfully, "Very bad, Your Majesty."

"Oh? Could you elaborate on your opinion?" Arthur asked with a smile, seemingly very interested.

"I've criticized the government's weakness before. I believe only a firm stance against Germany and Italy can stop their expansion in Europe and other regions.

Otherwise, when a stronger Germany emerges, Britain might have to pay a much higher price to defeat it." As Churchill spoke, his dissatisfaction with the government and his regret about the situation became apparent.

Arthur nodded his head, feeling quite satisfied.

Churchill was still Churchill, and having him become the Prime Minister would benefit both the United Kingdom and Australasia.

"Mr. Churchill, would you like to become the British Prime Minister?" Arthur asked bluntly.

"Why me, Your Majesty?" Churchill inquired, looking towards Arthur with calmness instead of overwhelming excitement.

"As you said, what Britain needs now is a ruler who can see the situation clearly and face Germany and Italy with a tough stance. I think you are such a man. This would be beneficial not just for Britain but also for Australasia," Arthur said with a smile.

Churchill nodded, his reaction showing he was not surprised by Arthur's remarks.

The choice of British Prime Minister was also very important for Australasia.

The two countries are close allies; the British Prime Minister's attitude determines the British Government's stance, which in turn affects the situation in Europe.

Germany and the Island Nation have an alliance, and Australasia certainly doesn't want to see the Germans become stronger.

This also means that, in their view of Germany, Churchill and Arthur are in agreement, which is why Arthur wanted Churchill to become the British Prime Minister.

"What should I do, Your Majesty?" Churchill asked seriously.

He stopped pretending; he indeed wanted to be the British Prime Minister. His reason was not a longing for the office but his love for Britain and his wariness of Germany.

Churchill was confident that, if he became Prime Minister, he could curb the development of Germany to the greatest extent possible, even if it meant risking war.

The British Empire still had a substantial gap in strength compared to Germany. With the help of France, the Austrian Empire, and the Australasian Empire, the British Empire could win the war as it did the previous European war, and thoroughly resolve the troubling issue of Germany.

"Try to be active in politics and promote your political ideas," advised Arthur with a smile. "Britain's skies are about to change, and your ideas will soon be realized."

Even if Edward VIII had not abdicated, Arthur had ways of placing Churchill on the throne of the British Prime Minister.

Arthur controlled a considerable portion of the British newspapers and media. The onslaught of public opinion was enough to change the minds of the British people.

Moreover, Germany was indeed blatantly exposing its ambitions.

In theory, the Germans should have disbanded their mobilized forces after the end of the Bo-German war.

But on the contrary, more than a month after the war ended, not only did the Germans not disband their forces, but they had also expanded their military to around 1.2 million.

What were the Germans up to?

All signs already indicated that they still intended to wage war, to launch a super war.

If Britain, France, and Australia did not unite now, it would be too late to join forces once Germany initiated the great war.

Arthur was not willing to commit millions of troops just to defeat Germany. The wars in Europe should be resolved by the Europeans, whereas Australasia only needed to focus on dealing with the Island Nation as an enemy.

Of course, it was necessary to provide cannon fodder to help stabilize the situation for the Britain-France-Australia coalition.

The best outcome would be for Britain and France to wear down Germany, with all European nations suffering heavy losses, leaving Australasia as the only benefactor.

To achieve such a favorable outcome, the first step was to turn the current British Government into a Faction of War Advocates, and then influence the French stance.

After ending his conversation with Churchill, Arthur had indirectly accomplished his objective in Britain.

Accompanied by Prince Albert, Arthur boarded the plane leaving London, beginning his return journey to Australasia.

En route to his return, Arthur decided to visit the Persian Gulf Territory for inspection and review the forces stationed there, as well as the oil fields and their extraction equipment. After a brief rest in the Persian Gulf, he would take the flight back to Saint Arthur Castle.