Chapter 258: Chapter 237: Intervention by the Powers (Extra 2)

After quietly listening to Minister Kent’s report, Arthur smiled and nodded, saying: “Brigadier Fritz has done a good job this time, I believe that after this rescue force is annihilated, the Portuguese should consider whether to continue opposing Australasia.”

The combined regular Portuguese army from the previous three colonies only totaled three thousand men, not enough to make the Portuguese government realize the power of Australasia.

But now it’s different, although the specific scale of this rescue force is unknown, the number of soldiers is definitely over ten thousand.

Even excluding the African natives used as cannon fodder, the number of Portuguese soldiers is definitely around ten thousand.

You know, Portugal is not exactly a large population country. Even until now, Portugal’s population has just exceeded six million.

The loss of these ten thousand Portuguese soldiers is definitely a big blow to the Portuguese government. Even if it does not reach the point of hurting its vitality, it will at least cause a headache for the Portuguese government.

More importantly, even after the loss of these many troops, the situation of the war has not improved at all.

How many tens of thousands can Portugal afford to lose? The colonies of the African Trade Union also require a large amount of troops to guard, Portugal may not care about the death of the native soldiers, but the casualties of the Portuguese are real, which can shake the foundation of the nation.

“Even if the Portuguese government still refuses to give up, the forces they have left are probably not much.” Minister Kent laughed and said: “According to our intelligence, Portugal has a total of sixty thousand native troops and eighty thousand colony troops.”

“Although it looks like a high total of one hundred and forty thousand troops, the Portuguese among them do not exceed eighty thousand. With the losses from the previous three wars, Portugal should have lost more than ten thousand Portuguese soldiers and ten thousand native soldiers up to now. Retaining home defense and colonial garrison forces, the army that Portugal can mobilize is less than fifty thousand, and is no longer enough to pose a threat to us.” Said Minister Kent.

At this point, we have to praise the Royal Security Intelligence Agency and David Collins, the European royal affairs chief.

Although it is not possible to obtain core classified information, we know roughly the military strength of the major European countries.

Put simply, Portugal is a country with a population similar to Australasia, and it does not necessarily hold an advantage in terms of economy and industry.

Moreover, with a long distance from the battlefield in Europe, it indirectly increases Portugal’s logistical burden.

If Portugal continues to send troops in groups of twenty thousand, then they will be crushed one by one by Australasia.

But at present, Portugal does not have more transport ships and fleets, and it can’t let the soldiers march from Europe to Asia. The war might be over before the army could even reach Asia.

“But, Your Majesty, we have an unresolved concern.” Minister Kent said, looking at Arthur.

“Do you mean the Portuguese fleet?” Arthur frowned and asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Portuguese army can never beat us, but the current navy does have an advantage. If we can’t find a way to solve their navy, our troops in India may be trapped, and even run the risk of being besieged.” Minister Kent nodded and said.

India and Australasian mainland are not connected, the most important transportation method is still sea transportation at present.

But if Portuguese warships blockade the coast of Portuguese India, then the only remaining way to transport supplies to India is by airship.

However, airship freight depends on the weather, and it’s not 100% safe.

It can only be used as a special measure, and relying on airships for freight all the time is probably not safe.

“It’s not exactly realistic to rely on our strength to solve Portugal’s navy right now. Kent, do you have any good ideas?” Arthur frowned and asked.

“At present, there are two methods, both of which can solve the problem we are currently facing.” Minister Kent said: “The first method is to invite the European powers to intervene, to end this war. We have good relations with Germany and Russia, and Britain should not stand against us either. Given the current relations between Britain and France, France should not be a concern either. Plus with public opinion from Europe, as long as these powers are on our side, meeting our demands will not be difficult.”

Now we have to praise the good relations that Arthur maintains with the major powers of Europe.

Germany and Russia would support Australasia on Arthur’s face, while England, because of blood relations and Arthur’s popularity in the country, could not go against public opinion and stand on the side opposite to Australasia.

The remaining France would not risk offending the three countries for Portugal, so to put it nicely, it’s called intervention by the powers, to put it bluntly, it’s forcing Portugal to have peace talks.

Arthur nodded, did not directly conclude, but continued to ask: “What is the other method?”

Seeing Arthur’s expression, Minister Kent continued to say: “There is another method that is relatively risky, but we may also get more benefits.”

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

“Your Majesty, isn’t the first battleship we built for Russia about to be completed?” Minister Kent suddenly asked.

Arthur was stunned, then immediately understood what Minister Kent meant.

The first of the two dreadnought battleships that Australasia built for Russia, the Peter Pavlovskiy, is nearly finished and entering the stage of launching and testing.

Although the current actual performance has not been thoroughly tested, after all, this is a real dreadnought.

And the Portuguese navy does not even have a battleship, naturally, they cannot rival this dreadnought.

But the problem is, the Peter Pavlovskiy is the first dreadnought built for Russia, and Russia and Australasia have good relations.

Using this dreadnought privately would definitely damage the trust between Russia and Australasia.

Moreover, it will still take some time before the Peter Pavlovskiy is completed. Plus without any testing and navigation, and the fact that Australasia’s navy soldiers have not genuinely operated a dreadnought, the true strength that this battleship can show still remains to be seen.

Using this battleship would only be in a desperate situation, but with the war still favoring us at present, Arthur does not plan to use it.

“Using the Peter Pavlovskiy is not a good plan, let’s invite the European powers to intervene in the war! Contact Governor David and ambassadors of various countries, express our expectation for peace and our willingness to stop the war.” In the end, Arthur chose the first method. At least while meeting Arthur’s goals, it will not give birth to many accidents.