The Rise of Australasia

The total tonnage of warships represents the number of warships, while the number of main ships determines the real combat power of the navy.

Currently, the British Empire holds the first place in the total tonnage of naval vessels in the world, reaching up to 2.51 million tons.

Germany ranks second, with a total naval tonnage of 1.17 million tons.

The United States occupies the third place, with a total naval tonnage of 840,000 tons.

France occupies the fourth place, with a total naval tonnage of 800,000 tons.

Russia Nation ranks fifth, with a total naval tonnage of 600,000 tons.

Island Nation ranks sixth, with a total naval fleet of 510,000 tons.

Italy ranks seventh, with a total naval tonnage of 390,000 tons.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire ranks eighth, with a total naval tonnage of 190,000 tons.

Although there is still a significant gap in total naval tonnage between Australasia and the European powers, if only the dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts are considered, the number of Australasian dreadnoughts ranks among the top five in the world.

Even in terms of the real combat power of the navy, Arthur is confident, exceeding the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.

There is no other reason; these two countries have very few dreadnoughts, and their naval combat power is definitely discounted compared to their naval tonnage.

Even the Island Nation, which currently lacks support from the British Empire, has the tonnage of old battleships from the past, but their planned dreadnoughts have not yet been put into service.

Australasia's three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers are not necessarily a match for the Island Nation's eight old battleships.

Even if one battleship's combat power is deemed equal to two old battleships, the overall combat power of the Australasian navy would still exceed that of the Island Nation's navy.

It can only be said that technological progress has brought about great improvements in the strength of the army and navy. After the birth of dreadnoughts, the role of old battleships has been infinitely reduced.

After the birth of the super dreadnought, the importance of dreadnoughts has also declined a lot.

Before calculating a country's naval combat power, the number of super dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts owned will be prioritized.

The number of dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts can basically represent the true strength level of a country's fleet.

Not all countries with dreadnoughts are necessarily top naval powers, but all top naval powers have dreadnoughts.

Dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts, which are currently the two main battleships, have become naval weapons that European powers and world naval powers can overlook but must have.

Having a certain number of dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts has become common sense for a recognized naval power.

Island Nation lost to Australasia in military power and was robbed of the title of Eighth Power, precisely because it never had a dreadnought of its own.

On the other hand, not only did Australasia equip itself with its own dreadnoughts early, but it is currently building super dreadnoughts for other countries.

The gap between the two has become enormous, making it almost a foregone conclusion that the Island Nation would lose its status as a power.

Bad news for Australasia is that by the end of the year, or more precisely, by the end of 1912, the average cultivated land per capita in Australasia has decreased from the original 2.3 acres per person to 2.1 acres.

However, this is also a natural occurrence, as the development of large cities, coupled with various industries and construction, will attract a large number of immigrants and rural people into the cities, becoming the urban population.

Among all Australasian immigrants, only about a quarter chooses to engage in agriculture, apart from the large-scale private farms that have been formed.

Despite the decline in per capita cultivated land area, the total cultivated land area in Australasia has still reached 25.43 million acres, expanding by nearly 6 million acres compared to three or four years ago.

Due to Arthur's constant emphasis on the importance of food, the food production and total cultivated land area of Australasia are also continuously growing.

Thanks to the increase in the total cultivated land area, the entire food production of Australasia in 1912 has reached more than 11.58 million tons, breaking a new record after surpassing 10 million tons in the previous year.

Australasia's strategic food reserves have also grown from 2 million tons a few years ago to 10 million tons.

Of course, such high food reserves are due to the suspension of many government plans to export food.

This has resulted in a significant reduction in government revenues, and even a considerable amount of funds were spent to purchase food from farmers.

In general, only food with a long hoarding time would be considered for export.

Other food will be hoarded for future use, waiting for the outbreak of a European war and then selling it to European countries at a higher price.

How exaggerated is the 10-million-ton food reserve? It should be noted that the total annual food consumption in Australasia will not exceed 3 million tons.

This means that the current strategic food reserves in Australasia are more than enough to feed the entire nation for three years.

During these three years, the food production in Australasia will continue to expand; to put it more affectionately, there is no way they can eat it all.

The good news is that this feels like an era where Australasians have just escaped from poverty and hunger, so food waste is rare.

Large-scale extravagance and waste basically do not exist, which to some extent also reduces people's food consumption.

In 1912, only less than 2 million tons of the food production of 11.58 million tons were exported. In addition to the domestic consumption of over 2 million tons, the government's strategic food reserves increased by nearly 7 million tons this year alone.

Of course, the reduction of food exports from Australasia has little impact on international food prices.

After all, European countries have extensive colonies, and many countries surrounding Germany also export food, so they do not have to worry about food problems.

Even if food prices rise, the increase is minimal, so European countries do not care much.

Even countries like Britain and France would prefer to see such things happen.

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After all, both Britain and France have extensive colonies, and it's just a matter of spending a little more on transportation; they won't be short of food.

However, Germany is different. If it wants enough food, it has to pay high prices to buy from neighboring countries.

Apart from the favorable food prices offered by allies like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the prices in other places will rise slightly, which means more spending.

With tens of millions of people, Germany's annual food consumption is not a small number.

While food exports from Australasia have decreased, meat exports have not decreased much.

After all, Australasia's animal husbandry is too large; there is no need to make articles on meat exports.

Given Australasia's current 200 million sheep, tens of millions of cows, and countless other domestic animals, meat will never be scarce at any time.

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