Although the accuracy of both types of rockets was not ideal, they were indeed the weapons with the longest range available at the time, and it was necessary to equip a certain number of missiles.
After careful consideration, Arthur decided to equip 1200 ground-launched missiles and an additional 500 small missiles that could be transported by transport planes.
The total cost of these missiles was close to 18 million Australian dollars, which was a significant investment.
It was unrealistic for the government to bear all the costs, as it still had an extensive eight-year development plan, which was the real budget drainer.
The Ministry of Defense had to cut back on a part of its budget, and the government had to scrape together 13 million Australian dollars from other sources to fund the construction of the missiles.
Though an immediate investment of 18 million Australian dollars in missiles would strain the government’s finances slightly, Arthur believed that if war truly broke out, the missiles worth 18 million Australian dollars would yield a strategic strike worth several, even tens of times more.
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However, he believed that in the short term, no country would dare to wage war against Australasia.
Although the world situation was still chaotic, the overall tone of peace was unlikely to change unless a country was at the point where war was unavoidable.
While ordering the missiles, Arthur also made several suggestions to the missile project team.
First was about the missile’s speed, range, and maximum flight altitude. These three factors were crucial to the probability of the missiles being intercepted and needed to be considered in the development of missiles.
However, no country currently had the capability to intercept missiles, as missiles were still an unknown concept to other nations.
But it had to be admitted that other powerful nations had impressive military imitation skills. Once the information and data about the missiles leaked, other countries would soon be able to replicate and develop their own missiles.
If they did not prepare well in advance, they might not be able to compete with the rich technological foundations of other powers when rushed improvements became necessary in the future.
Besides the three elements related to the propulsion, Arthur also had high expectations for the accuracy of the missiles.
At present, there was no doubt that the missiles had great room for improvement. If the hit rate could be increased to 30 to 40 percent, their effectiveness would be significantly enhanced, which was the next direction for the missile project team’s research and development.
Once the missile orders were confirmed, Arthur received a message from Queen Mary, which appeared to pertain to some progress in William’s lifelong matter.
Although it had been only half a month since Queen Mary and her party set out, they had traveled by airplane, which was quite fast.
Half a month was enough time to circle the Earth twice, and Queen Mary and her party had already reached Europe, even making a brief visit to the United Kingdom and then proceeding to Denmark, one of the Nordic Five Nations.
In theory, Australasia and Denmark didn’t have much of a relationship. Queen Mary and her party should have headed north to Finland or Sweden or directly to Saint Petersburg, their ancestral home.
Nevertheless, for William and Anna’s sake, Queen Mary quickly found an excuse to stay in Denmark for a layover and resupply of their airplane.
After prior coordination with Denmark, the plane carrying Queen Mary and her party landed smoothly in Denmark.
Since Denmark had no dedicated airport, the segment they landed on was an exceptionally wide highway.
This highway had been cleared in advance, and the landing was very smooth; the pilots were carefully selected.
Queen Mary and her party were warmly welcomed by the Danish royal family.
This was a quite usual affair, after all, Australasia was one of the powers, and even recognized as the world’s third superpower.
And Denmark was just a small European country whose influence of the royal family was continually decreasing.
The once-mighty Kingdom of Denmark that ruled over Finland, Norway, and Iceland only had Denmark and Iceland left.
Moreover, Iceland had recently gained autonomy, and Denmark’s influence there was not as strong as it used to be.
The Danish royal family had their speculations about the purpose of Queen Mary’s visit but did not dare to bring it up actively.
Of course, on the second day after Queen Mary and her party arrived in Denmark, the Danish royal family hosted a grand welcome banquet, attended by numerous local nobility.
The news Queen Mary mentioned originated precisely from this banquet, more accurately from the daughter of King Christian X of Denmark, Alexandrine Fredrik August.
Princess Alexandrine was born in 1909, the same age as William, and was 19 years old that year.
Being the only daughter and the youngest child of Christian X, she was the most cherished.
At one of the banquets, William and Alexandrine seemed to fall in love at first sight, quickly exchanging glances; naturally, Queen Mary and Christian X observed their interactions.
Christian X was naturally delighted. In fact, before hosting the banquet, Christian X had specifically ordered Princess Alexandrine to dress carefully because there would be an important guest at the event.
It was gratifying that two young individuals of similar age felt an attraction to each other, which pleased Christian X greatly – the Danish royal family might now have a reliable ally.
Queen Mary was not opposed to this development. Australasia had a fair amount of intelligence on members of European royal families, and the Danish royal family was certainly included.
Although the Danish state is not strong and the royal power is not great, it is still one of the ancient kingdoms of Europe, and its geographical location is considered advantageous.
Although the importance of Denmark declined a lot after the construction of the Kiel Canal by Germany, looking at the whole of Europe, an alliance with Denmark definitely has more benefits than drawbacks.
More importantly, Denmark itself still has a certain influence over the original countries of the Kalmar Union.
Additionally, with Finland, Australasia’s influence along the Baltic coast would also increase, which would be beneficial for Australasia, Finland, and Denmark.
Given this, Queen Mary naturally would not prevent the contact between William and Princess Alexandrine.
While allowing the two to interact, Queen Mary also sent a message to Arthur, inquiring about his opinion.
What opinion could Arthur have?
Of course, he agreed.
Actually, from a long-term perspective, Denmark is one of the Nordic Five Nations (Iceland has not yet become independent), rich in resources, and overall has fewer issues.
The only flaw is that in future wars, it is very likely to be breached by Germany, placing the Danish royal family at a certain risk.
However, as long as Australasia is there, there is no need to worry that the Danish royal family will be abolished. After all, Germany is also a monarchy now, and William II must consider his own interests as well.
If he allowed the Danish royal family to be abolished, his own throne would also be at great risk.
The best outcome is to ensure the security of each other’s thrones. As long as the interests of the royal families are not lost, monarchism can always make a comeback.
Arthur soon sent a reply to Queen Mary, indicating that he agreed to the contact between William and Princess Alexandrine.
Even if both parties are interested, Queen Mary could, under suitable circumstances, propose on behalf of the Australasian Royal Family to the Danish royal family.
After all, both William and Princess Alexandrine had already turned 19, and their 20th birthdays were not far off. Stay tuned for updates on freewebnovel
Having the two engaged soon and married within a few years would be most in line with the interests of the royal family.
After all, for an heir to the throne of a country, the first thing to do is to bring forth a new generation for the royal family.
Only with continuous succession from generation to generation can the royal family endure and the family prosper.
Anyway, the Australasian Royal Family is wealthy in assets, and can totally afford to raise a few more little ones.
Only with an increasing number of royal family members will the rule of the royal family be stable.
Otherwise, any small accident could potentially lead to the extinction of the royal line and result in the country that Arthur painstakingly managed falling into the hands of others.
Such an outcome has occurred in history, and without exception proves the importance of having a successor.
Arthur was very confident when talking about engagement because he had never considered the possibility of Denmark refusing.
To be honest, Denmark simply has no reason to refuse. An alliance through marriage to a powerful nation looks beneficial from any perspective, and King Christian X of Denmark is definitely smart.
With Arthur’s support, Queen Mary directly asked for William’s opinion the very next day.
"William, what do you think of Princess Alexandrine?" Queen Mary suddenly asked with a smile as she saw William return in high spirits from a day out.
"Ah?" William was startled, not expecting the question to come so quickly.
"It should, perhaps, not be bad," said William, his face reddening and his previously joyous expression becoming somewhat flustered.
"There’s nothing to it, William," said Queen Mary with a smile, observing William’s nervous manner. "You know, this journey was, to begin with, to find a suitable fiancée for you. If you think Princess Alexandrine is alright, your father and I both support your engagement.
If you like her, then I will propose to the Danish royal family on behalf of our royal family, and get you two engaged as soon as possible, how does that sound?"
"To get engaged so quickly?" William asked in surprise.
"Of course, as the heir to the throne, the first thing to do is to have offspring to ensure there are successors for the future throne." Queen Mary nodded and explained smilingly to William: "I also want to see my grandchildren born sooner rather than later, William, so you have to put in the effort."
As the heir to the throne, the education William received naturally included how to produce heirs.
Of course, such education is commonplace in European royal families, aimed at preventing the heirs from being seduced and deceived by others in the future.
After William came of age, Arthur arranged for a maid to serve him closely. William had already been exposed to such matters, but the maid did not qualify to bear William’s children, and this outcome would be made clear to both the maid and William in advance.