The Rise of Australasia

After acquiring 200 tons of gold reserves from Nicholas II, Arthur was still in high spirits.

Although these gold reserves technically still belonged to the Russian government, and would only become Australasia’s if Russia failed to repay the loan within ten years, this did little to dampen Arthur’s spirits.

After all, the loan was already being transported by an Australasian ship and was to be stored in Australasia.

Could Russia really repay the 30 million Australian dollars within ten years? This question was worth pondering and bore many possibilities.

But when taken in context with Russia’s reality, there was really just one answer: it was essentially impossible.

Unless the Russian Civil War could be immediately brought to an end, and the Russians stopped wreaking havoc, entering a ten-year period of recuperation, then perhaps repaying the loan of 30 million Australian dollars within a decade could be possible.

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But the trouble was, neither of these conditions were likely to be met. Europe wouldn’t want the Russian Civil War to end so soon either, after all, many countries had not yet had their fill of their feast.

Who were they feasting on? Naturally, Russia.

In this war, Russia’s total expenditures had exceeded 2 billion pounds, the majority of which was spent on purchases from other counties.

This provided a windfall for many European countries. At a time when everyone’s economy was in the doldrums, Russia’s orders were like a lifeline, saving the economies of some European countries from deteriorating too quickly.

This is exactly why virtually no European country wanted to see the Russian Civil War end. Under these circumstances, it would be impossible to end the Civil War in Russia alone, unless all Russians lent their support.

Did Nicholas II possess such prestige? Perhaps he did before everything unravelled, but ever since he commanded the forceful dispersal of protestors, many had lost their faith in Nicholas II. The Russian people’s reverence for the Tsar was decreasing day by day.

The Russians couldn’t bring this civil war to an end quickly, and so the hope of repaying this loan within a decade was extremely remote.

This actually meant that the gold reserves were now likely to be Australasia’s, with every likelihood of it not leaving Australasia again.

With this gold, the Royal Bank could print more Australian dollars. The value created by this would be far greater than 30 million Australian dollars, which is why Arthur was willing to pledge more Australian dollars as collateral for the loan.

After all, the Australian dollar was printed by Arthur. Given sufficient gold reserves, he could print however many Australian dollars he wished, which was just a matter of saying so.

A few days passed pleasantly, then Arthur received even better news: the mass production method for the previously mentioned penicillin had been found.

Penicillin’s significance has been discussed, and its mass production is the most important matter at hand for Australasia Pharmaceutical Group.

Previously, due to the disruption of influenza, the group had to focus on the production of masks and disinfectant, as well as research on influenza, which resulted in the slowdown of penicillin mass production.

After the definitive end of the influenza epidemic, the Pharmaceutical Group could not afford to delay, and swiftly resumed research on mass production of penicillin, and soon achieved results.

Of course, speaking strictly, more than five years had been used in the research on the mass production of penicillin, it was not a swift achievement.

The discovery of penicillin and achieving mass production were not steps that could be completed simultaneously.

The penicillin discovered in the lab was a result of coincidence. The challenge was to recreate this coincidence, and effectively enable large-scale production of penicillin. This was a key focus of the Pharmaceutical Group and the Biological Research Lab.

Fortunately, both Flemington, who discovered penicillin, and his advisor, Wright, were highly competent and patient in the medical and biological research field.

The name penicillin might sound unfamiliar to some people, but it is also called Penicillin, a common antimicrobial medication and a well-known type of antibiotic.

It can effectively treat a variety of wound infections. For soldiers suffering from various gunshot and other wounds during war, this is a life-saving remedy.

The tragic part was, penicillin was not discovered during World War II, if it had been, at least hundreds of thousands, or even millions of soldiers and families could have been saved.

Upon receiving news of the possibility of penicillin mass production, Arthur did not hesitate and immediately rushed to the biological laboratory of the pharmaceutical group located on the outskirts of Sydney.

Just as they were five years ago, the Chief and Deputy Director of the Biological Research Lab, Flemington and Wright, were deeply engrossed in their research. Arthur had no intention of interrupting them.

About half an hour later, their gaze finally fell on Arthur and they quickly stood up and respectfully greeted him, saying, "Your Majesty!"

"No need for formalities, our experts. I hear that mass production of penicillin has been achieved? When can we enter the full-scale production phase?" Arthur advanced with a smile, gesturing for them to spare the formalities, asking about the progress with a smiling face.

"Your Majesty, we have indeed achieved an initial method of mass production. Based on the current construction process, the first pharmaceutical factory for the mass production of penicillin can be established and formally put into production in two months, setting the precedent for our mass production of penicillin," Wright replied with a smile.

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