Chapter 6 : Departure

Rather than saying it was a belated birthday gift, it was more of a symbolic compensation to Arthur under the threat of Queen Victoria and satisfaction of his own goal.

Arthur's 17th birthday was on January 7th. Because of Duke Arthur death, this birthday was quietly celebrated by himself and his family, and there were no celebrations or parties.

But this does not mean that the British Royal family headed by Queen Victoria and Crown Prince Edward are unaware.

On the contrary, as the Crown Prince was named the Prince of Wales at a young age, Crown Prince Edward has cultivated a large amount of follower of his own for a long time. Although it is not worth comparing to Queen Victoria, it is definitely more than enough to know about everything that happening in Landon.

But no matter what, the 60 millions pound given by Crown Prince Edward was real, and Arthur would naturally not refuse free money.

  Although 30 millions pounds came from a loan from the Bank of London, and most of the shares in the Bank of London are in the hands of Crown Prince Edward, so the 30 millions pounds is equivalent to a gift.

In this way, the funds in Arthur's hands will soon reach 150 millions pounds. In terms of personal wealth, Arthur is confident that he can enter the top 5 in the world.

Without paying attention to Arthur's reaction, Crown Prince Edward finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Queen Victoria's satisfied expression.

Crown Prince Edward understands that although he seems to be the stable first heir to the throne, as long as Queen Victoria announces the abolition of his status as Crown Prince, most of the British people and the political circle will definitely approve of this matter.

Don't underestimate the status of Queen Victoria in the hearts of British citizen. The United Kingdom can be integrated into a powerful Empire was because of Queen Victoria's lofty status in the hearts of various kingdoms is indispensable condition.

"Arthur, you have become the Duke of the British Empire, and I will not stop you from going to the remote Australia, as your grandmother, I also have a gift for you. I will give you 50 millions pounds and industrial equipment worth 50 million pounds." Queen Victoria touched Arthur's head and said.

"Australia is a remote area after all, let alone education and medical condition, the infrastructure is very backward and very unstable." Queen Victoria said slowly "The money I gave you is not for you to play around, but to let you use this money and these industrial equipment to develop Australia's infrastructure, medical care, education, and industry, not only for yourself, but also for all Australians, understand?"

"I understand, grandma. Now that I have become the Duke of Australia, I will take the development of the whole of Australia as my lifelong goal." Arthur nodded and said solemnly.

"That's good. Although we are traveling together this time, you are going to Australia, and I am going to New Zealand. Grandma can't watch you and protect you all the time. You have to learn to fend on your own in the future." Queen Victoria continued.

"On behalf of the British Royal family, I present you with 2000-strong Royal Guard. Their families will follow you to Australia, Arthur, if you can't stand living in Australia, go to New Zealand to find your grandma, don't hold back." 

  Queen Victoria's seemingly nagging words warm Arthur's heart like the warm sun in spring.

It has been more than five months since I came to this world, and Queen Victoria is one of the few people who treats him with sincerely.

15, March 1900

The fleet, which had been prepared for more than half a month, set off, but this time the size of the fleet was enlarged again, with the accompanying guards were as high as 4000, half of which belong to Arthur personal guard.

Speaking of the Royal Guard, it is a private army belongs only to the British Royal family. It has been existed for hundreds of years.

Every guard of the Royal guard is carefully selected elite from the British army. In terms of training and discipline, they are far better than the regular British army.

Although the Royal Navy of the British Empire is famous all over the world, but don't underestimate the British Army.

The combat effectiveness of the regular British army can also be ranks among the top 3 in Europe. In addition to being slightly inferior to the German army and French Army, it is ahead of the armies of other European countries in terms of soldier quality and weaponry.

The Royal Guards Division, which was carefully selected among these British armies, has already comparable with the elite German army in terms of combat effectiveness.

The Royal Guard Division, which consists of five infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments and a reserve regiment, is an important means for the British Royal family to maintain it rule.

The departure of the fleet was greeted by a large number of London citizens, and even until the entire fleet left, the enthusiastic crowd stayed in the port for a long time, unwilling to leave.

On March 25th, after a ten-day voyage, the fleet arrived at the Suez Canal, which is the busiest waterway in the world both now and in the future.

The Suez Canal connects eastern Africa, India, Southeast Asia and other regions, and is regarded by the British Empire as an important means of controlling India.

It is also because of this that since the British Empire took control of the Suez Canal, it has stationed heavy troops on the Suez Canal to protect this very important waterway.

The soldier on the canal had learned the news that Queen Victoria was about to arrive very early, and had already lined up on the canal in advance to greet her.

Arthur also felt the admiration and respect of the British people of this era for Queen Victoria. This is not only the pride of all the British people for the achievements of the British Empire, but also the recognition of the Queen, who has been in charge of the Empire for decades.

After inspecting the canal defenders with Queen Victoria, the fleet set off again, this time to India.

Queen Victoria's journey this time may not be a simple vacation at all. Although the purpose of the journey is very clear, it still has to stop at the Suez Canal, India and Australia, and then arrive at the White Island in New Zealand.

The three docking place chosen by Queen Victoria all have special meaning. Needless to say, Australia is the territory of Arthur, Queen Victoria's choice of docking in Australia is intent to deterring the local forces to behave.

The Suez Canal and India are strategic areas that cannot be lost for the British Empire.

Half of British's rise is due to technological leadership brought about by the industrial revolution, and half is due to the large land population and cheap resource brought by colonization.

India, in particular, not only has an inexhaustible labor force and a large number of excellent port, but also has abundant crop output, India is known as the jewel of the British Crown.

For the British Empire, the importance of British India is far greater than all the other colonies combine.