The Rise of Australasia

September 6, 1925, Amsterdam Palace, Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The setting and the characters remained familiar, but both Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch government officials wore much graver expressions this time, and the atmosphere in the meeting room was tinged with a hint of despair.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what should we do now?" Holding the telegram that had just arrived from the Dutch East Indies, Queen Wilhelmina’s face was as calm as still water as she turned her gaze toward the Prime Minister and his colleagues.

The government fell into silence, with no good strategy at hand; undoubtedly, the first to speak would be held accountable by Queen Wilhelmina.

"Mr. Prime Minister, what do you think we should do now?" Seeing that no one stepped forward to respond, Queen Wilhelmina turned her gaze to the government’s top official, the current Prime Minister.

"Your Majesty," the Dutch Prime Minister knew he could no longer remain silent upon hearing Queen Wilhelmina call his name directly, or else dismissal was not far off.

Although Queen Wilhelmina’s actual power was not significant, she could still comply with public opinion to dismiss a Prime Minister.

"Your Majesty, those indigenous people couldn’t possibly have that many weapons and equipment without reason; there must be some secret scheming we are unaware of," the Dutch Prime Minister said, steeling his nerves.

"And then? Are we to blame Australasia for everything without any evidence?" Queen Wilhelmina scoffed and said, "Regardless of whether the indigenous peoples have the support of Australasians behind them, if we have no evidence, we can do nothing about them.

Mr. Prime Minister, I need a solution to this issue, not to hear how it happened.

If the government has no good approach to resolving this matter, then be prepared to be held accountable by all Dutch people!"

Not making a decision was always Queen Wilhelmina’s smartest move at any time, as it also meant she bore no fault.

To put it in plain words, by not acting, one could not be wrong; the more one does, the more mistakes one makes, and the less one does, the fewer mistakes are made.

That’s exactly the situation at hand. The last meeting’s decision was made by the Prime Minister, and the call for veterans to reenlist also came from the Prime Minister. Queen Wilhelmina was only complying with the government’s decision and doing what she ought to do.

If responsibility was to be sought, the greatest lay with the government, and the government’s readiest scapegoat was the acting Prime Minister.

That was why Queen Wilhelmina spoke as she did; even if the situation truly became irretrievable, at least the blame would not fall upon the royal family.

As for the eventual fate of the government, that was not for Queen Wilhelmina to consider.

After all, the successive Cabinets were not chosen by Queen Wilhelmina; to her, they were but familiar strangers, expendable at any moment in the face of power and status.

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Upon hearing Queen Wilhelmina’s words, the Dutch Prime Minister’s face flushed with a mix of red and purple, but in the end, he remained helpless.

Indeed, it was just so. In theory, he was the responsible person for the Dutch government, the one with the most power.

The chief culprit for any misfortune was undoubtedly him, a blame he could not shake off even if he wanted to.

"Your Majesty, what’s most important now is to resolve the problem," the Dutch Prime Minister finally spoke after a moment of silence. "If we don’t find a good solution, I fear that the Dutch East Indies won’t be far from being lost."

Whether it was the indigenous peoples or Australasia, the greatest threat to the Netherlands was losing the Dutch East Indies.

The Native Land of the Netherlands was almost immune to such threats, a result of multiple factors.

This also represented a fact: as long as the Native Land faced no threat, Queen Wilhelmina’s throne was very stable.

The Prime Minister’s position was different. If the Dutch East Indies were lost, the government would bear significant responsibility.

Replacing a Monarch or abolishing the monarchy was very difficult, but changing a Prime Minister and the government was not difficult for any European Nations.

Queen Wilhelmina directed her gaze at the Prime Minister, waiting for his next words.

The current situation in the Dutch East Indies had become very difficult to salvage, which quickly led Queen Wilhelmina to decide: let the government make the decisions while she distanced herself as much as possible from the repercussions.

Whether or not the Dutch East Indies could be reclaimed, it had nothing to do with Queen Wilhelmina.

As for whether the government could pull things back from the brink and take back the Dutch East Indies from Australasian hands, considering the vast disparity in strength between the Netherlands and Australasia, Queen Wilhelmina discarded this impractical thought.

"Even though the indigenous people have acquired some weapons and equipment, the quantity of these supplies should not be too substantial, certainly not an unlimited supply," the Dutch Prime Minister said. "This indicates that we still have a chance, if we can quickly quell the rebellion."

"On the other hand, I believe we should also negotiate with Australasia. If the situation truly cannot be reversed, then we must minimize our losses," the Dutch Prime Minister continued to say.

Seeing that Queen Wilhelmina remained silent, the Dutch Prime Minister understood that the royal family wanted to distance themselves from the matter and did not seek Her Majesty’s opinion further. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Foreign Affairs Department and demanded, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must contact Australasia as soon as possible to inquire about their specific demands.

If quelling the rebellion is hopeless, then let’s use Sumatra or Kalimantan as a bargaining chip to secure peace with Australasia!"

Such a statement was undeniably bold because it signified that a division of the Dutch Colony was inevitable.

But upon careful consideration, it was indeed a necessary act. When a medium-sized country like the Netherlands faced the threat of a superpower like Australasia, there really was no leeway for resistance without external support.

Moreover, the primary location of the conflict between the two countries was in the Dutch East Indies, which was very far from the Native Land of the Netherlands, inherently putting the Dutch at a disadvantage.

Australasia could easily gain the upper hand in negotiations with the Dutch by leveraging the support of the indigenous peoples of the Dutch East Indies.

But what could the Netherlands do? Although Australasia also had colonies, they had expelled all the indigenous peoples from there.

The only place where indigenous peoples still resided was Sulawesi Island, but this was once Dutch East Indies land, and these indigenous peoples already harbored deep resentment towards the Dutch. Australasia was also very vigilant against the Dutch, making it virtually impossible to have any contact with those indigenous peoples.

This was essentially a deadlock. Australasia could easily sanction the Netherlands, but the Dutch had no means of retaliation.

Such sanctions were the most lethal for the Netherlands, as they would easily enable Australasia to achieve their objectives.

As for the cession of Sumatra or Kalimantan Islands that the Dutch Prime Minister mentioned, this too was an act of desperation.

Compared to Java Island, Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands might be vast in area but were sparsely populated, thus diminishing their value correspondingly.

Even simply from a population standpoint, the combined populations of Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands did not surpass that of Java Island, which was also the center of administration for the Dutch East Indies.

If the current Dutch East Indies equated to more than half of the complete East Indies, then Java, combined with Sumatra or Kalimantan, would also equate to more than half of the current Dutch East Indies.

This might be the best outcome for the Dutch, at least the name Dutch East Indies would still exist, and the rage of the people would not be so intense.

Hearing the Prime Minister’s audacious speech, Queen Wilhelmina looked at him with a slight astonishment but did not express any opinion.

Colonies are also part of the national territory, and the cession of land is definitely a matter of great concern to the public.

Moreover, it involves the Dutch East Indies, a land that yields substantial income every year. One can only imagine the consequences and outcome if it were to be lost under the government’s watch.

Even if only one island, or rather a part of the territory, were to be lost, the best ending for this cabinet would probably just be a merciful one.

"Do we still need to continue conscription, Mr. Prime Minister?" the Defense Minister stood up and asked.

"Of course, we need to continue," the Prime Minister explained. "Nobody can guarantee how the current situation will develop, and we must be prepared to handle all problems.

Even if we reach a compromise with Australasia, those rebellious indigenous people still need to be dealt with by us.

In any case, strengthening our military power is beneficial; this might also be our last chance to keep the Dutch East Indies.

How is the Ministry of Defense prepared? Have the first batch of support troops been assembled?"

"The first batch of one division and one brigade, totaling 24,000 soldiers, is ready, Mr. Prime Minister," the Defense Minister said. "They should be able to embark on transport ships to Batavia within the next three days, arriving probably a month later."

Batavia was the capital city of the Dutch East Indies, a name that might sound unfamiliar.

If one were to mention Jakarta, the other name for Batavia, it would be much more recognized.

This was quite normal; what a colonized country wanted most was to rid themselves of the colonial past, and changing the name from Batavia was a matter of course.

The Dutch Prime Minister nodded, quite satisfied with the speed of the military assembly and their estimated arrival time in Batavia.

Although it still required more than a month, after all, it was a journey spanning half the globe, the speed was not slow.

"Have the soldiers prepare for battle; this conflict is likely to result in heavy casualties," the Dutch Prime Minister sighed and said. "Once they arrive in Batavia, they should immediately commence the suppression of the rebellion, to quickly quell the entire uprising in the Dutch East Indies. This is crucial for us to preserve the East Indies.

The corresponding weapons and equipment, logistical supplies, and material support will be provided by the government with full effort. The navy will also fully support the army in the attack. Gentlemen, as members of the Cabinet, we share honor and disgrace. For your and my future, for the Netherlands, for the East Indies, please exert your utmost efforts!"

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