The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Chapter 181: Intense Battle

Why did absolute authoritarian countries almost disappear after World War II, with the majority of monarchies becoming constitutional monarchies?

This is a question worth pondering. Perhaps it is because the foundation of monarchism, the Divine Right of Kings, is not stable, as people are not as ignorant as they were in ancient times.

It may also be because most countries in Europe and America have adopted democratic republican systems after the two world wars. Under the strong cultural export and influence from these two regions, many former colonies followed Europe and the United States after gaining independence and adopted democratic systems. Republics emerged like spring bamboo shoots at this time.

But we cannot deny one reason: the deep impression of the oppression of the people by the old aristocracy, such as the Russian Empire, which directly erupted in revolution during the war, overthrowing the royal family and even executing monarchs, is a typical representative of the aristocracy oppressing the people.

Furthermore, Tsar Nicholas II disregarded the feelings of the Russian people and resolutely participated in World War I. Early losses in the war led to heavy losses for the Russian Empire and naturally added to the already volatile situation in the Russian Empire.

The monarch and the landowner class he represented, along with various Western nobilities, oppressed the lower classes, leading to the decline and disappearance of monarchism after the war.

Moreover, the newly risen bourgeoisie effectively shifted the hatred of workers and common people towards capitalists’ exploitation to monarchism itself, leading to an emerging class of workers who harbored an extreme hatred towards monarchs and monarchism. This too was a major reason for the decline of monarchism.

However, this is not often seen in Australia. Although Australia is also considered an authoritarian monarchy, including the current Australian and New Zealand Federation, the federal royal family does not oppress the people. Instead, various welfare policies have been introduced.

The income of workers throughout the federation is higher than the average per capita income of the federation. Would these workers still harbor hatred towards the royal family?

At least in Australia, those who are most grateful for Arthur are the poor people who have been rescued by the royal family and these workers.

The royal family gave hope to the poor to survive, and also to the emerging working class to achieve a better life.

Although these people may not understand profound truths, they can make simple comparisons. After comparison, it is clear who is good and who is bad for them.

This is how Arthur consolidates his ruling position by winning the hearts of the people: as long as the benefits the royal family brings to the people are higher than those of other domestic figures, people will be clear that the royal family will not oppress them.

Without the hatred of being oppressed and exploited, the emerging class would not be hostile to the royal family and the monarch, and Australia’s monarchy would not be shaken as a result.

This is also an advantage of a new country: if a country undergoes reforms like the Russian Empire, it not only faces the hostility and distrust of a large number of emerging classes but also the opposition of the aristocratic class it represents.

Would the aristocrats agree to give up their privileges for the common people if the Tsar wanted to change and resolve the internal contradictions of Russia?

The aristocrats would not give up their privileges for those commoners. After centuries of accumulation, the aristocratic class is a huge group that can influence the Tsar.

This is also the reason why many historical reforms in various countries ultimately failed: they failed to solve the massive vested interest groups that have formed, so the reforms were just superficial.

As various reforms and measures are underway in the Australian and New Zealand Federation, the war in the Far East, far north of Australia, is gradually heating up.

The Russian Empire’s actions were still swift, at least in terms of accountability.

One month after the outbreak of the war, the Russian Empire quickly dismissed General Tasker, who had revealed his incompetence in this attack, and replaced him with the last famous General Makarov of the Tsardom of Russia.

The reason for the commander’s replacement only happening a month later is because it would take at least a month for Major General Makarov to travel to the Far East.

Major General Makarov’s full name is Stepan Osipovich Markov, a famous naval general, military theorist, and scientist of the Russian Empire.

Major General Makarov’s original position was the Commander of the Karlangstad Harbor Navy in Saint Petersburg.

On the eve of the outbreak of this war, General Makarov wrote a letter to the Naval Department of the Tsardom of Russia warning that the war between the Russian Empire and the Island Nation was imminent. He suggested that the Pacific Squadron stationed outside Port Arthur Harbor should gather in one place and be on guard against possible attacks at all times.

However, General Makarov’s straightforward character offended most of the officers in the Naval Department.

This led to the Naval Department ignoring Makarov’s suggestions, and they even threw the letter into the trash bin after receiving it.

Unexpectedly, the very next day, the Pacific Squadron of the Russian Empire was attacked, and two battleships suffered heavy damage.

Originally, the Pacific Squadron had a slight advantage over the Islander’s warships, but after this attack, the Islander’s United Fleet had gained the upper hand instead.

The failure angered the imperial government of the Russian Empire, and they immediately ordered Major General Makarov in Saint Petersburg to go to the Far East and replace the original Commander of the Pacific Squadron, Stark.

By the time Makarov arrived in the Far East, it was already the 7th of March 1904, one month later.

After taking office in an emergency situation, Makarov immediately took a series of measures to prevent possible second attacks from the Island Nation. He also deployed a large-scale fleet and laid a large minefield along the coast of Liaodong to prevent possible landings and attacks from behind the Port Arthur Fortress.

In order to cope with possible battles, Makarov also strengthened the defenses of Port Arthur Harbor and accelerated the repair of some lightly damaged warships, while also intensifying the naval combat readiness training.

In Makarov’s command, the Vladivostok Fleet also made several attempts to disrupt the Island Nation’s maritime traffic and supply lines, to some extent reducing the pressure on Port Arthur Harbor.

These policies effectively rallied the morale of the naval soldiers of the Russian Empire, and several personal outings by Makarov also made the naval soldiers more appreciative of their new commander.

The most troublesome thing for the Islanders was that their new Russian commander, after a long night of contemplation, finally came up with a very treacherous plan.

Why did the Pacific Squadron become troublesome in such a short period of time? Wasn’t it because of their new commander, Makarov?

Since they couldn’t resolve the Pacific Squadron in a short time, why not deal with Makarov directly? Wouldn’t this indirectly be equivalent to resolving the Pacific Squadron?

With this in mind, the Island Nation secretly dispatched warships to lay a large minefield at the entrance of Port Arthur Harbor, preparing to lure the Russian Empire into battle at the right opportunity and use this minefield to get rid of the indeed capable General Makarov.