Chapter 998: Chapter 749: Pacific Alliance (Combined Mega Chapter)
It must be said, the production of Vitamin C is far simpler than that of penicillin.
After close to a year of exploration and research, the Medical Group had already implemented a plan for mass production of Vitamin C supplements and launched the world’s first Vitamin C-rich product—the Vitamin C lozenge.
It is a “medicine” that can be taken orally or dissolved in water to give it a fruity flavor.
To popularize this medicine, the Medical Group heavily publicized the dangers of Vitamin C deficiency, citing scurvy, which frequently occurred among sailors during long voyages centuries ago.
As expected, historical events that truly transpired are unequivocally more credible than some experiments.
People began to learn about Vitamin C and the hazards of its deficiency, and took the initiative to supplement it for themselves.
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And it was precisely for this reason that the lozenges, capable of massively supplementing Vitamin C, fetched sky-high prices through various sales channels.
At present, a box of common Vitamin C supplements is only second in price to penicillin, with a profit margin as high as 1000%.
This is the benefit that comes with an exclusive monopoly. Before other pharmaceutical enterprises could develop their own Vitamin C products, whatever exorbitant price set by the Medical Group would be accepted by others.
Arthur understood that sooner or later, other pharmaceutical enterprises and organic chemists would discover Vitamin C, and he had no intention of monopolizing the production and sales of Vitamin C supplements.
Taking advantage of the current market gap, he planned to seize as much profit as possible.
Of course, all this was the idea of the Medical Group, and had nothing to do with Arthur.
On the surface, there were no ties between the Medical Group and Arthur, except for the 1% of taxes paid to the government as the royal family’s annuity.
Speaking of the special 1% royal annuity regulation of Australasia, who knows how many European royal families are envious at this moment.
In the beginning, the 1% royal annuity wasn’t much, with the smallest amount being just tens of thousands of Australian Dollars.
But as the finances of Australasia kept rising, the royal annuity has now approached 4 million Australian Dollars.
This level has already surpassed the income of most European royal families, not to mention that it’s only a fraction of what the Australasian Royal Family receives from the government.
In Australasia, nobody disputes the 1% royal annuity; in fact, the vast majority of the people consider it too little.
After all, Arthur’s status in the hearts of the people of Australasia is irreplaceable, having begun his reign since the time of the Australian Principality.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Australia’s growth to its current level is largely attributed to Arthur’s merits.
Not to mention a 1% royal annuity—even if it were 5%, most citizens would likely find no fault with it.
This does not even take into account Arthur’s relief efforts for the common people. The Royal Relief Committee continues to operate to this day, and over this length of time, the funds Arthur has distributed for relief through the Royal Relief Committee have reached nearly 75 million Australian Dollars.
With so much money spent, the people are bound to be grateful. Even the funds the royal family has received over the years are almost within this range, meaning most of the royal income has been used to aid the people.
And because of such generous acts by the royal family, the people harbor no jealousy towards the prosperity of the Royal financial group; rather, they deem it a matter of course.
The wealthier the Royal financial group’s assets get, the happier the people are. After all, the people of Australasia understand that although the royal family has extensive assets, they are by no means cruel capitalists.
A significant portion of the money earned by the Royal financial group is used for the relief of common folks, and it is far preferable for the royal family to earn this money than for greedy and unscrupulous capitalists.
Arthur didn’t concern himself with how the Medical Group went about selling Vitamin C supplements, but he did command that drug prices within Australasia must be lower than those abroad. As for how much lower, he left that control to the Medical Group.
A patriotic enterprise should focus on how to make money from foreigners, not on scheming to exploit its own people.
On February 17, 1930, Arthur convened representatives from the Philippines, the Unified Sultanate of Kalimantan, the Kingdom of California, the United Kingdom of the West Coast, and El Salvador at Saint Arthur Castle. The meeting also included key officers from Australasia.
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After the representatives paid their respects to Arthur, the meeting officially began.
From the number of countries participating and their geographic location, it was clear that these were several countries under the control of Australasia within the Pacific region.
Now regarded as the leading superpower in the Pacific region, Australasia held considerable sway over these countries.
Of course, these nations were also quite obedient. Faced with real power, they lacked the capacity to resist.
For the more populous and slightly stronger Philippines and Kalimantan, Arthur had already implemented measures to maintain a balance of power.
Neither President Manuel of the Republic of the Philippines nor Sultan Mohammed of Kalimantan fully wielded control over their countries, which created significant domestic resistance whenever they contemplated defying Arthur’s rule.
The purpose of this meeting, besides strengthening the ties between these countries, was for Arthur to establish a defense alliance concerning the Pacific among those nations.