Chapter 295: The Balkan Alliance and the State of Readiness
In mid-May, while Italy and Turkey were embroiled in a fierce conflict, Arthur sent a business team north to Southeast Asia to consolidate all the rubber plantations and companies that had been bottomed out.
Although all the rubber companies Arthur acquired were located in Southeast Asia, the region is one of the world's most significant rubber production areas, and in the future, it will become the most important rubber-producing region globally.
If Arthur recalled correctly, from 1914 onwards, Southeast Asia's rubber production would account for half of the world's total production, making Southeast Asia the undisputed rubber kingdom.
By consolidating these rubber companies in Southeast Asia now and creating a dedicated rubber brand, Arthur was not only benefiting the future of the Southeast Asian rubber industry, but also contributing to its development.
The first head of the Australian Rubber Company was Charles Wain, who was the former head of one of the Royal Consortium's rubber companies.
Charles Wain had over ten years of experience in the rubber industry, and his leadership in managing the Australian Rubber Company would be beneficial for the company's business development.
Charles Wain's first task was to visit and take control of the over 200 rubber companies and more than 1,000 rubber plantations that the Royal Consortium had acquired.
These rubber companies and plantations would become part of the Australian Rubber Company and its main business.
To ensure Charles Wain's safety, Arthur assigned a security team of more than ten people, all of whom were Royal Guards or experienced policemen, each armed with a Cassadin submachine gun and an AS-1898 semi-automatic pistol to ensure Charles Wain's safety.
After all, the capital behind these 200 rubber companies was mixed, and it was impossible to guarantee that they would willingly hand over control of the companies to Charles Wain.
Most of the employees of these rubber companies were indigenous Southeast Asians, and their views on Australia were not particularly positive. They could easily be influenced to take unexpected actions.
With over ten security personnel assigned, Arthur felt somewhat reassured. After all, it would take at least a thousand indigenous people to break through the defense of such a large security team.
There shouldn't be any forces in Southeast Asia that were willing to attack Australia's businessmen.
By the end of May, thanks to the British, the Italian army quickly defeated the small Turkish garrison in Tripoli and successfully occupied the city and coastal area. However, due to strong resistance from local Turkish civilians, the Italian army's advance into the interior was slow.
By early June, Italy, eager to end the war, announced the annexation of Tripoli and Cyrenaica, renaming the region to Libya.
However, Italy's harsh demands were rejected by the Turkish government, and local Turkish civilians began a wide-ranging guerrilla war against the invaders, leading to a prolonged stalemate in the Italo-Turkish War.
While the war between Italy and Turkey raged, on June 21, 1911, Tsar Nicholas II personally contacted Arthur, asking about Australia's military-industrial production capacity.
Arthur was puzzled but quickly agreed to fulfill the Russian Empire's order for 50,000 rifles and 3 million rounds of ammunition.
In July 1911, the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Bulgaria formed an alliance. Two weeks later, Montenegro and the Kingdom of Greece also joined the alliance, forming the famous Balkan League.
Arthur now understood why Tsar Nicholas II had inquired about Australia's military production capacity—his subordinate countries were preparing to make a move.
The purpose of the Balkan League was to jointly seize Turkish territory in the Balkans and expand their respective countries and territories.
With the support of the Russian Empire, Pan-Slavism had become the dominant ideology in the Balkans, and the various Balkan kingdoms were actively increasing their military strength and conducting diplomatic work.
Given that Turkey's attention was focused on the ongoing Italo-Turkish War, the planned war against Turkey would have the element of surprise.
Arthur suspected that the order for 50,000 rifles was likely for the countries within the Balkan League.
Regardless of who the order was for, Australia would still profit, and Arthur didn't mind.
In early July, another matter caught Arthur's attention.
Since departing for Southeast Asia at the end of May, Charles Wain had spent more than a month consolidating the rubber companies.
On July 3, Arthur received a progress report from Charles Wain, but the news was not as good as he had hoped.
According to the report, the main personnel of the Australian Rubber Company had arrived in Southeast Asia at the end of May and started the process of consolidating all the small rubber companies.
However, the consolidation process had not been smooth. First, the previous rubber crisis had thrown the management of the rubber companies into chaos, and not only had the senior executives disappeared, but even the employees had fled.
Furthermore, some executives of the rubber companies had been disingenuous in their dealings with Charles Wain. The more severe issue, however, was the occurrence of two indigenous attack incidents. Although these were easily dealt with by the security team armed with submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols, it was clear that there were other forces behind these indigenous attacks.
Arthur, sitting at his desk, thought for a moment before instructing his guards to summon the Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, Barty Crouch.
Upon Barty's arrival, Arthur handed him the report and, with a slight smirk, said, "Director Crouch, I'm giving you a week to find out who's behind these indigenous forces. Can you do it?"
"Absolutely, Your Majesty. You can expect good news soon!" Barty Crouch decisively accepted the command and, with Arthur's signal, left to make his arrangements.
The Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, which had been developing for nearly a decade, had already grown into a formidable organization.
Currently, the Bureau had thousands of intelligence agents, nearly a thousand of whom were elite operatives, stationed not only within Australia but also spread across Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia.
In addition to the thousand elite agents, many part-time informants provided information, sometimes working under different identities but still providing valuable intelligence.
These informants were spread out even more, and aside from the Bureau's management system, even regular agents did not know their whereabouts.
Many of these informants could appear as ordinary pedestrians, shopkeepers, or renowned businessmen and capitalists from other countries.
Director Crouch was swift in his actions. Within just four days, he had already identified the forces behind the indigenous attacks on Charles Wain.
It turned out that the forces behind the indigenous attacks were connected to a rubber company acquired during the crisis.
The original owner of this rubber company was a noble from a Dutch East Indies province who had taken advantage of the high rubber prices to sell his stock during the crisis.
Now that the crisis was over, he sought to repurchase his company at a low price but found that it had been fully acquired by Charles Wain, who had delisted it months earlier.
This angered the original owner, as the company was his creation and provided substantial profits annually.
Although he had made a considerable profit by selling his stock at a high price, losing the company that had been his heart and soul caused him to plot a way to regain control.
Once he learned that Charles Wain was from Australia, the original owner didn't act impulsively. Instead, using a network of contacts, he quietly gathered dozens of indigenous people to create a disturbance and cause an accident where Charles Wain could be killed in a native uprising.
As long as Wain was dead, he could easily reclaim his company. It seemed like the perfect plan.
What he didn't expect was that, just days later, a group of indigenous people tried to assassinate Charles Wain, turning what seemed like a random uprising into something highly suspicious. This prompted Wain to personally report to Arthur.
Upon realizing that something was amiss, the forces behind the two indigenous groups went into hiding and severed all ties with them.
Arthur sneered and shook his head, turning his gaze to the two forces that Barty Crouch had uncovered.
The first force was the wealthy Dutch East Indies family, the Hotmanns. Their history in the region dated back to the late 17th century, when a Dutch colonist changed his name to Hotmann to honor the first Dutchman to arrive in the East Indies.
The Hotmann family had been a dominant force in the Dutch East Indies for over a hundred years, with substantial power and influence.
The second force was the Catholic Kingdom of Larantuka, located within Dutch East Indies territory. The Larantuka people were descendants of Portuguese settlers and were known as the "black Portuguese."
Within the kingdom, two powerful families, the Da Costa and De Hoen families, were embroiled in a bitter power struggle, adding to the instability caused by a small Muslim faction and the Sultan.
Arthur examined the information on these two factions, then looked at a map of Southeast Asia. He realized that the Kingdom of Larantuka was very close to Australia's Timor, separated only by the sea.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Arthur spoke firmly, "The Royal Security Intelligence Bureau is to go to Larantuka and gather more information. Also, monitor the Dutch East Indies colonial government's response. Guards, assemble the cabinet—I need to hold an emergency meeting."
Director Crouch nodded and, understanding Arthur's directive, quickly exited to begin his work.
Soon, the cabinet ministers arrived at the Sydney Palace, awaiting Arthur's instructions.
"Gentlemen, since the establishment of the Australian military, its primary mission has been to protect the country and its people. After the recent Fisherman Crisis, I believe our military has done an excellent job. No country dares to challenge Australia and its people's dignity," Arthur began, addressing the ministers.
"But I have received word that some of our merchants' legitimate businesses in Southeast Asia have not only been severely obstructed by local forces but that they have also used a large number of indigenous people to threaten our merchants' lives. I expect the government to investigate this matter immediately and ensure that the relevant parties provide a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, they will face the full suppression of the Australian military. The Australian military will fight for the dignity of our nation and our people."
Arthur's words made the cabinet ministers immediately understand several things.
First, certain forces in Southeast Asia had angered Arthur. Second, Arthur had already decided to take action against these forces.
As for the other things Arthur said, the ministers knew they were merely a prelude to the real action.
Arthur wasn't calling an emergency meeting just to hold those forces accountable.
"The most likely culprits in this incident are the Kingdom of Larantuka in Southeast Asia. If this is confirmed, I suggest we deploy troops to Larantuka to bring a fair resolution for all our citizens," Arthur said, directing his gaze at Defense Minister Raul.
"Understood, Your Majesty," Minister Raul quickly replied.
Although Arthur's words were framed as a suggestion, Minister Raul knew that as the actual commander of the military, Arthur's words were commands, not mere advice.
"Alright, this meeting is adjourned. The government will immediately initiate contact with the Dutch East Indies. The military is to be on standby, and within three days, I want a definitive response from the Dutch East Indies," Arthur concluded, issuing his final order without waiting for any further responses from the cabinet ministers.
(End of Chapter)
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