German Emperor William II

After hearing that Arthur had managed Australia so well, Queen Victoria nodded with satisfaction and began to eat her lunch.

Perhaps it was due to her good mood, but Queen Victoria managed to finish almost all of the mashed potatoes she normally couldn't finish, and even drank more than half of her juice.

After a simple lunch, everyone gathered around Queen Victoria again to chat with her.

Perhaps the happiest thing in life is to be with one's loved ones in one's final moments. At least now, Queen Victoria's face was full of smiles, no longer looking as sickly as before.

In the afternoon, another distinguished guest arrived on the island: Emperor William II of the German Empire.

Although Germany and Britain were currently in a state of competition, and each was involved in opposing military alliances.

In reality, William II and Queen Victoria's relationship was not very strained; it could even be described as warm.

It was Crown Prince Edward, however, whose relationship with William II had deteriorated as he gradually took over state affairs.

Arthur also met his cousin smoothly. It had to be said that the relationships among European nobles were truly complex. Arthur's network of connections could even link him to more than half of Europe.

Because there were simply too many nobles and officials visiting Queen Victoria, Arthur, after an initial long chat with her, could only wander around the Isle of Wight for the rest of the time.

Although the Isle of Wight was only about four square kilometers in size, it was a scenic island with an active volcano.

What was particularly appealing about the Isle of Wight were the hot springs and geysers found everywhere. Lying in a warm, comfortable hot spring while admiring the beautiful scenery around you made it impossible not to relax and immerse yourself in the pleasant surroundings.

However, Arthur was not in the mood to soak in the hot springs at the moment, so he just walked around the island alone.

He hadn't brought any guards because, since Queen Victoria had taken up residence, two thousand Royal Guard Army soldiers had been stationed on the island.

In addition to the heavy guard within the manor, many patrolling guards could be seen everywhere on the island, so there was no need to worry about security.

The center of the Isle of Wight was shrouded in mist because the active volcano was still accumulating energy, awaiting its next eruption.

Since Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had taken up residence on the Isle of Wight, this volcanic island had experienced dozens of eruptions. Although each eruption was not enough to cause serious harm to the island, the frequency of volcanic activity was quite high.

"Arthur, what is it? Are you interested in this volcano?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice reached Arthur's ears. Arthur turned to see William II, whom he had met for the first time that afternoon.

"What? You don't recognize me? My cousin Arthur," William II chuckled and skillfully moved to Arthur's left, leaning on the railing as well.

"Your Majesty, the German Emperor." Arthur bowed.

"Don't be so distant, Arthur. I'm your cousin; you can call me Cousin William." William II patted Arthur's shoulder with his right hand and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, we haven't had many chances to meet properly. It's only through opportunities like this that we can see each other."

Cousin? Arthur suddenly thought of a certain lady and felt a chill.

"I deeply regret what happened to Uncle Arthur before. Due to pressing domestic affairs at the time, I couldn't make it to Uncle Arthur's funeral. Please don't mind, Arthur." William II subtly shifted his body slightly, better concealing his left arm.

"It's alright, Cousin William. As a monarch, domestic matters come first." Arthur nodded.

"Arthur, what do you think of the German Empire?" William II suddenly asked.

"The German Empire? The German people are a great nation, and Germany is a great country. Although it was unified not long ago, it is now a powerful nation integrated with industry, military, and economy. The gap between present-day Germany and the old powers is almost negligible, except for colonies," Arthur replied truthfully.

It had to be admitted that the unification of the German Empire was indeed very recent, but it had truly grown into a powerful nation integrating industry, economy, and military in such a short time.

Germany's industrial strength was self-evident; its steel production ranked among the top three in the world. Although it couldn't match the most industrially advanced United States, it had slightly surpassed Britain.

In terms of its military, the German Army was the undisputed number one army in the world. The navy was also catching up to Britain, and its overall military strength was definitely among the top two in the world.

Looking at the old power, France, despite the vast colonies continuously providing it with resources, France had fallen behind both Britain and Germany in terms of economy and industry.

If all of France's colonies were transferred to Germany, Germany would have a strong chance of directly challenging for the position of the world's number one power.

This was precisely why Germany and France had erupted into direct conflict. France was in decline, yet it still occupied the vast second-largest colonial territory in the world.

Although Germany was powerful, its colonial possessions ranked very low among the great powers. The total value of its colonies was even less than that of the Netherlands' Southeast Asian colonies.

Under these circumstances, it was natural for Germans to be dissatisfied with the colonial distribution and their old neighbor, France.

"Hahaha." Hearing Arthur's sincere words, William II laughed and said, "You're right. What Germany lacks is the foundation and market that a large number of colonies provide. However, most of the world's colonies are occupied by Britain and France. Britain is doing well; as the world's leading power, it's only natural for it to occupy so many colonies. But France has declined; it no longer has the right to enjoy so many colonies alone. Why not join us in resisting the old powers, Arthur? Australia's geographical location is extremely important and can significantly impact France's colonies in Africa and Asia. If you are willing, Germany can provide you with complete sets of industrial equipment and a large number of immigrants to help you establish a complete industrial system within a few years and rapidly become an industrial power."

Arthur was secretly surprised that William II would choose this moment to win him over, to win over all of Australia.

Currently, the confrontation in Europe was intensifying, conflicts were constantly breaking out between the two major military blocs, and the arms race was exhausting all the countries in both blocs.

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