The Rise of Australasia

If Arthur remembers correctly, the United Kingdom's first real aircraft carrier was built around 1917 to 1918, in the later stages of history's World War I.

At that time, British aircraft carriers were still converted from cruisers, with the front main guns being replaced by a downward-tilted wooden runway.

Such a design had too many flaws, which is why during World War II, aircraft carriers gradually became the top choice for various countries' warships.

However, the second design of the aircraft carrier developed by the Sydney Royal Shipyard effectively addressed the flaws of carriers converted from cruisers or battleships.

With Arthur's approval, Australasia began construction of not only two new Hope-class super dreadnoughts but also two Giant-class aircraft carriers.

The Giant-class aircraft carrier was an entirely new warship design and not a carrier converted from battleships and cruisers like those made by the British.

According to the preliminary design of the Giant-class aircraft carrier, the standard displacement of this new warship would be around 11,500 tons, and the full load displacement would exceed 13,000 tons, significantly lower than the current displacement of battleships.

It is worth noting that mainstream super dreadnoughts had full load displacements approaching or even exceeding 20,000 tons.

This made the Giant-class aircraft carrier smaller compared to the Hope-class battleships, and it even lacked the numerous main guns of previous warships.

The Sydney Royal Shipyard designed a full-pass flight deck for the Giant-class aircraft carrier, allowing aircraft to take off and land more efficiently.

At the same time, this aircraft carrier had a closed bow, enabling better resistance to wind and waves and strengthening the strength of the full-pass deck.

As a result, the length and width of the Giant-class aircraft carrier were 180 meters and 21.5 meters, respectively, with a draft of 5.7 meters, able to carry up to 20 airplanes.

Since it abandoned all main guns and was only equipped with a few anti-aircraft weapons, the Giant-class aircraft carrier lost considerable weight compared to the super dreadnoughts while utilizing the same power system, resulting in an increased speed.

The Giant-class aircraft carrier was expected to reach a speed of 25.5 knots, making it relatively fast among large warships.

Of course, despite the decision to build two Giant-class aircraft carriers, Arthur and the Australasian Government had no intention of revealing the news about the aircraft carriers until other countries unveiled their carriers.

Arthur would not do such a foolish thing as to strengthen other countries, as Australasia had already achieved significant progress in aviation.

It should be noted that the combat capability of an aircraft carrier mainly depends on the number and performance of its carrier-based aircraft. the aircraft in Australasia was the most advanced in the world, far surpassing the research progress of other countries.

It also meant that even if the research progress of Australasia's aircraft carriers was the same as that of other countries, the actual combat capability would far exceed that of other countries.

With the official start of the construction of the aircraft carriers, Arthur began a three-month inspection tour of the various states and regions of Australasia.

This inspection tour aimed to check whether the states and colonies had been affected by the war and the current standard of living of the people.

Another purpose was to urge the state governments to improve their strategic material, medical supplies, and other reserves. If Arthur remembers correctly, the infamous Spanish Flu would arrive in just a few years. ꭆÄＮＯ₿Ës

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Arthur had particularly vivid memories of this pandemic because of its dramatic resurgence and the exaggerated number of infections and deaths it caused.

Arthur still remembered clearly that the Spanish Flu resulted in a tragic outcome of at least 500 million infections and at least 20 million deaths.

At that time, the total world population was only around 1.7 billion, which means that one in three people got infected with the Spanish Flu, and one in 100 people died from it.

What was even more terrifying was that the death toll of the Spanish Flu was not certain but certainly higher than the number reported and counted by various countries.

If Arthur remembers correctly, the Spanish Flu spread just as World War I ended, and soldiers from various countries returned home.

Due to the long and exhausting war, each country was spreading the good news of victory in the war, without disclosing any news about the Spanish Flu that could cause panic among the people.

Spain, as the first country to honestly report the outbreak of the flu, naturally became the scapegoat for other countries, which led to the disease being named the Spanish Influenza, the infamous Spanish Flu.

However, in reality, the earliest recorded cases of the Spanish Flu occurred in military camps in Kansas, United States, followed by cases in France and Britain.

Spain simply became the scapegoat, as otherwise, the disease would have been known as the American Flu or the European Flu.

The most horrific aspect of the Spanish Flu was its death toll of over 20 million.

Even World War I, which lasted several years, resulted in a historic death toll of only over 10 million people.

When such a devastating disease caused more casualties than a global world war, it truly demonstrated how terrifying this influenza pandemic was.

Arthur could not guarantee complete protection against this disease. All he could do was urge the government to prepare enough medical supplies in advance and be ready to close the borders during an outbreak, trying to weather this catastrophe as much as possible.

As for the life and death of other countries, it was beyond Arthur's control for now.

As Arthur's nationwide inspection was in full swing, the war in Europe became increasingly tense and fierce once again.

As time slowly reached October 1916, Germany, Britain, and France engaged in fierce battles once again in Verdun and the Somme region. Casualties continued to rise, even increasing by leaps and bounds daily.

But Russia, which had already entered its cold season, was perhaps the most miserable of all.

Although it was only October, most of the Russian Empire's territory had already become cold. The northern cities of Saint Petersburg and Moscow had turned into ice and snow kingdoms, covering these ancient cities in a layer of white.

Ordinarily, the Russians would have been accustomed to this cold. But now, due to the consumption of war, the lower classes lacked coal, food, and daily necessities, making life extremely difficult.

It was not that the Russians lacked money. Their salaries had actually increased compared to pre-war levels, and per capita income had even increased by several percentage points.

The problem was that the increase in the cost of goods in Russia far outpaced the increase in their salaries.

Due to the scarcity of supplies, the vast majority of goods transported from Britain, France, and Australasia were sent to the front lines.

Some items that were not in short supply on the front lines saw their prices skyrocket at home—capitalists hoarded them, and it was impossible to buy them without spending a fortune.

Even the coal resources, which were desperately needed by the Russian people for heating, had increased more than fivefold in just two years.

Ordinary Russians faced a difficult choice: either buy coal for heating or buy food to fill their stomachs.

They could only choose one, as their salaries could only afford one of these options.

Out of desperation, many Russians huddled together for warmth, relying on each other to resist the coming winter.

Even entire families chipped in to buy coal and dozens of people crowded into small rooms of about ten square meters. The red light from the stove illuminated everyone's faces, but it could not hide the worries etched on them.

Not to mention heating—several families even shared one stove for cooking, all to save on the extravagant cost of coal.

After all, this was only October. Who knew how many people would freeze to death in Russia when the real winter came in January and February?

Perhaps those who would freeze to death were these very Russians with worried faces.

What's worse, the prices of all kinds of daily necessities, industrial products, food, medical supplies, and even salt and condiments were all rising.

Food prices had more than tripled, and industrial products had increased fivefold. Even the purchase of ordinary daily necessities required a Russian to spend a month's salary.

There were many reasons behind Russia's current situation: inflation, rebellions and strikes in various factories, the massive consumption on the front lines, and profiteering by capitalists during national crises, among others.

Any one of these issues would give a country a headache, but Russia had experienced them all.

If this had happened in another European country, public protests would have drawn government attention, opposition parties would have taken the opportunity to attack the government, and the media would have followed suit in reporting.

But in the autocratic Russian Empire, no one cared about the fate of these ordinary people. After all, Russia had a population of over one hundred million.

In other European countries, the loss of millions of people might cause heartache. But in Russia, a population loss of less than ten million wouldn't cause any distress to the upper echelons.

However, Russia's situation didn't end there. In St. Petersburg, the common people fared better as it was the capital of the empire, and the government wouldn't allow the situation to be too embarrassing.

But in remote rural areas and cities, the surge in prices was extremely exaggerated. Rumor had it, for every 10% increase in wages, food prices doubled.

If it could be said that some Russians were hungry before the war, now only a small number of them didn't go hungry.

If one overlooked the powerful facade of the Russian Empire and looked only with the eyes of a bystander, one would be amazed to discover that the living environment in these remote rural areas and cities was no different from that of a colony of powerful nations, and the government's exploitation of the people was even more severe.

When a country cannot guarantee even the most basic needs of its people, it's time for that country to be overthrown.

In the dark corners of seemingly peaceful Russia, a stormy upheaval was being plotted.

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