The Rise Of Australasia

As soon as the Russian Civil War broke out, Dmitry immediately sent a telegram to Arthur, inquiring whether to support Russia.

Arthur's response to Dmitry indicated that Australasia, due to major domestic construction, did not currently have much energy to focus on foreign affairs.

Arthur suggested that Dmitry should act according to circumstances, prioritizing the development of Finland and its interests.

Clearly, Dmitry took Arthur's advice to heart. Although he was the Grand Duke of Finland, Dmitry wasn't the sole decision-maker of the Finnish government.

Moreover, Finland's power was negligible in the context of the entire Russian Civil War; any help from Finland was more for show than practical use.

It was precisely this understanding, after being reminded by Arthur, that led Dmitry to focus on how Finland could emerge from the economic crisis, rather than paying attention to and supporting the Russian Civil War.

In fact, Dmitry had a certain capability in both politics and economics.

Owing to Finland's high forest coverage, Dmitry turned his attention to manufacturing, particularly the production of lumber and paper.

Finland had become Europe's third-largest exporter of paper and lumber, and the Finnish economy had improved significantly; people began to support this non-native Grand Duke.

With an industrial layout that focused primarily on the timber manufacturing industry and secondarily on mechanical processing, and with a large import of petroleum and natural gas from Norway, Finland had become one of the wealthiest countries in Northern Europe.

As a result, Dmitry's position as Grand Duke was quite secure, and he was well-liked in Finland.

This was also the foundation of confidence Dmitry had when he asked Arthur if he would support Russia. If Arthur had expressed support for Russia, Dmitry could readily call upon three divisions in Finland.

In truth, besides Dmitry, there were many others who also expressed concern over the civil war in Russia.

While the British hoped for a no-winner scenario, the Frenchmen preferred a Tsarist Russian victory with a real unification of Russia, making it a steadfast ally of theirs.

At the very least, they wished for the unification of Russia under the Soviets, as a powerful Russia could give the British a headache, unlike the current situation.

For many Central European countries, such as Germany, Poland, Italy, the Austrian Empire, and Hungary, they naturally hoped that the Russian war would last as long as possible.

Firstly, with the outbreak of the war in Russia, they could export more supplies to Russia and earn substantial profits.

Secondly, for these Central European nations, a neighbor in a constant state of civil war was certainly more reassuring than one that was unified and powerful.

It was precisely because the powers of both Tsarist Russia and Soviet Russia were formidable that Poland, recently independent but always looking for trouble, didn't think of reclaiming the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In fact, they had thought about it and even acted on it. Regrettably, Poland was clearly no match for Tsarist Russia or Soviet Russia and was soundly defeated in previous conflicts.

History had shown that there was a reason for Poland's earlier partitioning between Germany and Russia. The current state of Poland had weakened, and with three Powers on its east, west, and south sides, it left ambitious Poland extremely irritated yet helpless.

Meanwhile, in Russia, Saint Petersburg.

Time flies, and Nicholas II was no longer the confident and ambitious emperor in his prime.

Born in 1968, Nicholas II was now 62 years old—an advanced age, considered as having one foot in the grave.

This is no laughing matter. In this era, 62 years old was indeed considered elderly, and could even be seen as nearly buried.

The average life expectancy of humans started to increase only after World War II with the development of technology. Currently, anyone over 50 was considered elderly, and the average lifespan in Australasia was around 60 years.

Nicholas II sat on his imperial throne, looking somewhat frail.

His aged and weak visage, compounded by his white hair, made Nicholas II appear much older than his actual age.

If one were to look only at the first half of Nicholas II's life, it was undoubtedly splendid. He ruled one of the most powerful countries in the world, holding autocratic Tsarist power in his hands.

But now, still reigning over Russia, having gone through revolutions and civil war, he had long lost the edge he once had.

Perhaps the only good news for Nicholas II was that his son, Prince Aleksei, who suffered from hemophilia, was still alive and healthy; his wife was about to give birth to a new member of the Russian Monarchy.

However, the health condition of Prince Aleksei was very poor. Before the outbreak of the civil war, Nicholas II's most frequent activity was to pray that the unborn child would be a boy to inherit the Russian throne.

Not that the Russian crown could not be inherited by a girl. The issue was that the environment in Russia could no longer accommodate a female heir.

Only a healthy male heir could strengthen the stability of the nation and prevent rebellious outbreaks.

Of course, he also had to pray that this unborn child would not inherit his father's hemophilia.

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Hemophilia not only ravages a person's health but also greatly increases the likelihood of dying young.

Nicholas II certainly did not wish for the throne to pass into the little one's hands only for the child to succumb to an accident due to hemophilia.

The current Nicholas II no longer coveted the inheritance of power. He would accept it even if Russia became a constitutional monarchy, as long as the royal succession could be ensured.

However, the issue was that a previous attempt at a capitalist coup had made Nicholas II somewhat distrustful of certain political parties.

This also left the current Nicholas II quite confused. He wanted to reform Russia by delegating power, yet he feared that doing so might lead to another coup and the ultimate downfall of the monarchy.

It must be acknowledged that the prosperity of a dynasty greatly determines the stability of a kingdom.

The scantiness of the Romanov Family was one of the significant reasons for the instability in Russia.

Nicholas II had only one son, Crown Prince Aleksei, who suffered from hemophilia.

Although Nicholas II had three brothers, two had died young due to various illnesses, leaving only the youngest brother, Mikhail, alive.

This Grand Duke Mikhail was historically the person whom Nicholas II had considered to abdicate the throne to.

Even though Grand Duke Mikhail was Nicholas II's own brother, his marrying a commoner resulted in his descendants losing the right to ascend to the throne.

Simply put, Grand Duke Mikhail was listed in the line of succession to the Russian throne. But his descendants from a Morganatic marriage would have no right to inherit the Russian Empire whatsoever.

This was a tradition and regulation among European nobility, where the progeny of noble-commoner unions typically had no inheritance rights.

This regulation led to most European kingdoms intermarrying, forming rather complex familial relationships with one another.

As a result, the only ones currently eligible to inherit the Russian throne were Crown Prince Aleksei and Grand Duke Mikhail.

But both individuals had severe issues. Crown Prince Aleksei, born with hemophilia, did not have the physical health necessary to manage such a vast empire.

If the succession fell into Grand Duke Mikhail's hands, it would most likely signify the final swan song of the Romanov Dynasty.

Nicholas II had even suggested to his brother to annul his current marriage and remarry a woman of equal social status to produce heirs with the right of succession.

However, being the youngest brother, Grand Duke Mikhail was indeed rebellious and flatly refused his brother's proposal.

This effectively meant that the right to the Russian throne could only fall into the hands of Crown Prince Aleksei.

After all, Grand Duke Mikhail's marriage was not simply a Morganatic one; he had married a widow whose private life was somewhat scandalous.

This was similar to George VI's brother, Edward VIII. Although the requirements for royal family members to marry have eased up now, the selection of a queen remains a matter of great care and deliberation.

After all, the royal family represents a nation, and neither the officers nor the people would agree to let a member of the royal family who could tarnish the nation's image become the ruler of the country.

"How is the situation at the front line?" Nicholas II rubbed his forehead, blinked his sore eyes, and sighed as he inquired.

"Currently, our frontier First Army Group has engaged the enemy, and the Second Army Group is on its way to provide support. According to the latest battle reports we've received, our casualties have already exceeded 2,000, and the roads connecting us to Ukraine are very likely to be cut off," replied the Russian Prime Minister to Nicholas II. Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

"Damn it, it's clear the enemy was well-prepared—we've been too complacent," Nicholas II was well aware the enemy had been prepared. But war never concerned itself with absolute fairness.

Whether it's being well-prepared or launching a surprise attack, seizing the initiative is what's most important.

"How are our finances at the moment? Can our finances sustain this war?" After a moment of contemplation, Nicholas II turned his gaze to the Minister of Finance.

"Things are tough," the Minister of Finance said with a morose expression. "Unless we can receive the compensation from the Great Lakes region promptly or borrow some funds from France and Australasia.

Otherwise, our financial reserves can only last us two months at most, and then we'll have to declare bankruptcy."

Although Russia had been licking its wounds for several years following the civil war, the economic crisis tore the wounds open again.

The economic crisis added insult to injury to Russia's already strained finances, and the modest savings accumulated over the years were all poured into relief efforts.

Sadly, Russia's vast population meant that the money barely made a splash when it was distributed.

This left the Russian Government in an unenviable position. Despite having dispersed all its funds, most of the people could not benefit from the government's relief, causing significant dissatisfaction among the populace toward the government.

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