Chapter 221: Chapter 208: The Focus of the Banquet


    Arthur’s words came as a surprise to many nobles and officials from various countries and further fueled the enthusiasm of the cheering Austrsian crowd.


    Is a fleet consisting of two battleships, fiverge main warships, ten medium cruisers, and dozens of small warships considered powerful?


    This level is only about half of the current Ind Nation’s fleet size and could only rank in the world’s top 15 at best.


    But what if these two battleships are thetest dreadnought-ss vessels? Currently, only the British Empire truly possesses dreadnought-ss battleships, and only a handful of countries have nned budgets, designs, and production for dreadnoughts.


    If the warships Austrsia is nning to build are dreadnought ss, then the strength of this fleet could reach the world’s top ten.


    Especially in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, the strength of this Austrsian fleet is not to be underestimated.


    For the people of Austrsia, nothing is more exciting than their country truly possessing main battleships.


    Only after truly possessing battleships can the Austrsian navy step into the limelight and be recognized by other countries in the world.


    Amid the astonishment of foreign officials and the cheers of the audience, Arthur’s coronation ceremony officially came to an end.


    At the final moment of the coronation ceremony, the g on the square was also reced with the already selected g of the Kingdom of Austrsia.<div>


    More than one country is interested in Austrsia’s naval ns, particrly those with interests on the western coast of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.


    If the two battleships Austrsia is nning to build are of the dreadnought ss, they should consider adjusting their foreign policies towards Austrsia.


    However, after the coronation, Arthur went straight back to Sydney Pce. Even with many questions, these nobles and officials had no choice but to wait until the evening banquet to ask privately.


    After the announcement of Austrsia’s naval construction n, the German Empire and the Tsardom of Russia were the happiest.


    Germany’s interests in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific are not extensive, and the closest to Austrsia is the German New Guinea Colony.


    But thisnd is not that important; William II even sees it as a means to win over Austrsia.


    The Tsardom of Russia is the same. After Arthur and Grand Duchess Mary’s engagement, the Tsardom of Russia and Austrsia evolved into de facto allies.


    Also, as Russia’s interest areas are in the Far East, far away from Austrsia, conflicts between the two countries would hardly arise.


    Under such circumstances, Austrsia’s possession of a stronger naval force is actually good news for the Tsardom of Russia.


    Of course, Arthur returned directly to Sydney Pce not for any special reason. Princess Louise was in charge of organizing the evening banquet, and Arthur only needed to appear as the protagonist of the evening.


    Actually, Arthur saw Grand Duchess Mary. Yes, because the children of Tsar Nichs II were too young, the Russian representative sent was Duke Sergei.


    When she heard about the trip to Austrsia, Grand Duchess Mary wanted toe as well. Nichs II wanted to foster a rtionship between the two, so he added Grand Duchess Mary’s name to the delegation’s list.


    Seeing Grand Duchess Mary again after more than a year, Arthur’s mood was quite good.


    After choosing Grand Duchess Mary, Arthur straightened his attitude, treated her as the future Queen of Austrsia – his wife – and made efforts to cultivate their feelings for one another.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    One yearter, Grand Duchess Mary was 18, the perfect age.


    In fact, Duke Sergei brought Grand Duchess Mary to Austrsia this time to aplish an important task, which was to finalize the wedding date of Arthur and Grand Duchess Mary.


    Now that Arthur was 23 years old and Grand Duchess Mary was 18, it was time to advance the close union between Russia and Austrsia!


    Of course, the specific wedding date and various procedures were left to Princess Louise and Hunter to negotiate and organize. Arthur had no time to direct the wedding process.


    Naturally, Princess Louise would not let Arthur interfere, as he did not know much about the traditional Western nobility weddings.<div>


    However, since the establishment of the Kingdom of Austrsia, the king’s wedding would certainly be much morevish than expected.


    For this, Arthur had prepared arge amount of funds and materials, and the Guards could also make an appearance during the wedding to showcase the luxury and power of the Austrsian royal family.


    Of course, Arthur’s current mission was to get along well with Grand Duchess Mary, adding some romance to their marriage rather than just a simple political alliance.


    With this in mind, Arthur took Grand Duchess Mary on a tour of almost the entire Sydney Pce, visited the garden andke in front of the pce, and saw the monument Arthur prepared for the future heroes of Austrsia, as well as the statues at the front gate of the pce.<div>


    The statues of Queen Victoria and Arthur have beenpleted.


    Next to Arthur’s statue, there was already a prepared tform to begin carving the statue of Grand Duchess Mary.


    Of course, the actual carving would have to wait until after the wedding when Grand Duchess Mary truly bes the Queen of the Kingdom of Austrsia. Then, she would leave her statue as the queen.