The Rise of Australasia

Approximately three years have passed since the end of World War I, but the underlying consequences it brought upon the world have yet to fully dissipate.

The most troubling issue for countries in Europe has been the reintegration of their former soldiers. For instance, the British and French, who had conscripted millions of men for the war, found these veterans unemployed and without any pensions the moment peace was declared.

This substantially increased the unemployment rates in England and France, and posed potential threats to their political and social stability.

Even though these figures may seem relatively small, the vast number of veterans across various nations, reaching the hundreds of thousands or even millions, could easily lead to serious protests and crises if overlooked.

This is one area where Australasia has the upper hand. A majority of its soldiers are indigenous, requiring only a small severance grant after decommissioning.

Moreover, there’s no need to release the rest of the Australasian forces - they’re even considering expanding their military ranks, presenting no risk for unemployment.

Combined with a variety of domestic efforts, the unemployment rate in Australasia has become one of the lowest among the major powers, attracting many potential immigrants.

On the other hand, England and France are struggling to control their unemployment rates. Millions of forcibly decommissioned soldiers, along with a downsized workforce in the military industry, have left millions unemployed in Britain and France.

The consequent increase in the crime rate, caused by the large number of unemployed people disrupting social order and stability, has further compounded the crisis in both nations.

The United States has not been spared either, albeit from afar. Although its military participation in World War I was comparatively little, it had to decommission the service of hundreds of thousands of soldiers after the war.

Additionally, the stigma associated with the influence epidemic has significantly damaged the U.S. economy.

Under such influences, even the unemployment rate in the U.S. has begun to rise. The unemployment crisis is now a global problem.

While the economies and industries of various countries appear to be recovering on the surface, Arthur predicts that an economic crisis lies ahead, with potential global ramifications.

It seems that none of the victorious countries are fully shielded against such an impending crisis, not even Australasia.

However, with prior planning, the impact upon trade imports and exports could be mitigated and the effects on the national economy could be controlled.

Even though the economic crisis seems far off for now, the recession in various nations’ economies is all too evident.

Australia and the U.S. appear to be the only exceptions, managing to maintain an illusion of increasing world economics.

In reality, compared to its state six years ago, the European economy has receded dramatically, with at least one-third of Europeans living in poverty and hunger.

Such a condition would have been unimaginable before World War I. Europe, back then, was synonymous with prosperity and development. To those in less advanced regions, Europeans were perceivably affluent, with only the finer things at their disposal.

But in their current state, Germany and Russia, with a combined population of approximately 200 million, are in the midst of a food crisis. Similarly, other victorious countries are grappling with severe unemployment crises. Europe’s downfall is painfully apparent.

The impacts of the economic crisis are cyclical and far-reaching. In addition to affecting various industries and businesses, it also generates a large number of unemployed people, putting an extra burden on government finances.

During an economic crisis, it is crucial to have adequate food reserves. Arthur’s hope for Australasia is to maintain a self-sufficient and plentiful supply of grain at all times, thereby establishing them as a bountiful nation as opposed to a food importer.

In late April 1920, Arthur rode a private car to assess the conditions of development in Mure River basin near Saint Arthur Castle.

As mentioned before, the Mure River basin has over a million square kilometers of land, meaning there are more urban areas in this region than just Saint Arthur Castle.

Arthur’s purpose this time was not to visit Saint Arthur Castle, but to assess another nearby city, Balranald.

Balranald is located along the Mure River, about a hundred kilometers east of Saint Arthur Castle.

Balranald serves as a food reserve city for the new capital, Saint Arthur Castle. In other words, it is destined to be an agricultural city, mainly intended to develop agriculture and supply food to Saint Arthur Castle.

Why choose this location? A glance at the map reveals the plains throughout several hundred kilometers around Balranald, and its proximity to the Mure River promises it unparalleled access to land and water resources.

As the pilot city for developing the Mure River basin, Balranald has been the focus of governmental efforts in Australasia. It is deemed essential that Balranald be developed successfully and extensively.

The development of Balranald actually commenced even before Saint Arthur Castle, once its geographic position had been settled.

Once the railway construction was completed, the government deployed a large number of tractors to initiate agricultural development, already yielding several thousand acres of arable land.

Currently, Balranald has over a thousand residents. Large-scale automated production will be fully implemented here in an effort to produce more grains with fewer workers, and even cater to nearly half the famine-stricken country in the future.

The production of food is entirely dependent on water resources. Fortunately, because of the Mure River, the farming area near Balranald essentially has a sufficient water supply.

However, to be on the safe side, water reservoirs need to be constructed nearby to ensure there is always enough water for agriculture at any given time.

Looking at the thriving agricultural development in Balranald, Arthur is quite satisfied.

The flat plains allow for tractors to be utilized to their full potential, enabling better automation in farming practices.

Australasia, like the United States and Europe, naturally has a high level of urbanization due to its extensive land area.

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Especially in immigrant countries, with such vast per capita land area, it’s only natural for expansive farms and the rapid spread of automated farming to exist.

Automated agricultural production isn’t a new concept in Europe and the United States. As early as the 1830s, Americans invented the first primitive reaping machines, which greatly assisted in the development of agriculture.

After nearly a century of development, machinery has become integral to agricultural production in Europe and the United States. The mechanization of agriculture far outweighs manpower, which has freed a significant amount of human resources in these countries.

Agricultural production in Australasia has always advocated for mechanization, which is to say, producing more food with less human labor.

Whether it’s tractors or harvesting machines, as long as they can be utilized, they are naturally much better than relying heavily on human labor for planting and harvesting.

When the Mure River Basin was being developed, it was decided that farming in this region must be mechanized and ultimately fully automated.

What these millions of square kilometers of plains will bring to Australasia is still unknown. Perhaps it will become Australasia’s major grain basket, supplying most of the nation’s food consumption.

Speaking of Balranald’s development, it is impossible to ignore the influence of the Royal Consortium.

Certainly, today’s agricultural and pastoral sectors are managed by the Joint Group, responsible for the development of Australasia’s agriculture, owning numerous farms and ranches and currently being the largest agricultural and pastoral giant in Australasia.

With the technical and personnel support of the Joint Group, the agricultural development of Balranald has been very successful.

To attract more immigrants to reside in Balranald, the Australasian government has also introduced relevant policies, providing residents free agricultural techniques and leasing tractors and harvesters at low costs.

It is estimated that the formal relocation to Saint Arthur Castle will take another five years, during which time there is plenty of time for Balranald’s development.

By the time of the relocation to Saint Arthur Castle, at least the grain output of Balranald should be sufficient for the castle’s consumption.

Aside from Balranald, there is another city named Berry downstream of the Mure River.

While Balranald primarily develops agriculture, Berry mainly focus on industry.

Departing from Berry and following the Mure River several tens of kilometers downstream will lead to the coastline. In addition, its proximity to Adelaide leads to well-developed railways and roads.

With such natural advantages, Berry is highly suited for industrial development, with the relevant Berry industrial zone also under construction.

Although it doesn’t rival the Leonora Industrial Base in terms of overall scale, a fully-fledged Berry industrial zone could still provide hundreds of thousands of job positions and accommodate thousands of factories of various sizes.

While the Leonora Industrial Base focuses mainly on heavy and chemical industries, the Berry Industrial Zone targets light industries, supplementing some of Australasia’s deficiencies in this sector.

The Leonora Industrial Base in the west and the Berry Industrial Zone in the east, one focusing on heavy industry, the other on light industry, can together shore up half of Australasia’s industrial sector.

With the experience from Leonora Industrial Base’s construction, building the smaller-scale Berry Industrial Zone is fairly straightforward.

These constructions will also provide more job opportunities for Australasia, paving the way for the upcoming economic crisis.

In any case, there is still plenty of infrastructure to be built in Australasia. Even if an economic crisis breaks out, it can still rely on a significant amount of infrastructure projects to provide work for unemployed groups, enabling them to make a living.

For Australasia’s ecological environment, Arthur does propose some requirements in the construction of these industrial zones.

Firstly, regarding industrial emissions, the wastewater produced from industrial production must be purified before being discharged into rivers. This is a must.

Pollution handling equipment must be considered in the construction of industrial zones, at least to avoid causing severe impact on the ecological environment.

Simultaneously, air emissions are also of crucial importance. Arthur does not wish for the new capital city to have infamously smoggy air like that of London. It’s harmful not only for physical health but also for its reputation.

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