The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1083 - 809: Lavish Rewards

If early January's highlight was the establishment of the Australasian Empire and Arthur's coronation, then the latter part of the month was marked by Arthur's conferment of titles on all the contributors who had served the Empire prior to its formation.

Due to the large number of individuals involved, and because some were not able to make appearances for various reasons, only a small group of representatives participated in the ceremony.

Nevertheless, the event remained grand, bestowing several new Earls and dozens of Barons to the Australasian ranks.

Following the honors ceremony, the number of nobles in Australasia officially surpassed 500, reaching a total of 558.

The majority of these, and the lowest order of nobility, comprising 438 individuals, were known as honorary nobility with the title of Sir.

This abundance of Knighthoods highlights the difficulty nobles face in attempting to ascend further within the aristocratic hierarchy.

Apart from those who have truly made significant contributions to the nation, most of those seeking to accumulate merit through experience could at best achieve the lowest rank of Knighthood.

As Knighthoods are not hereditary, they inherently represent the lowest tier, with each title only associated with the individual holder for their lifetime.

It's precisely this reason why the majority aspire to climb higher, at a minimum to achieve the status of a Baron.

Only by becoming a respected Baron does one truly enter the formal aristocracy system and ensure their family becomes part of the honored nobility of the Australasian Empire.

To be more precise, as long as those of Baron and above don't break the law and live honest lives, their titles can last as long as the Empire itself.

In such circumstances, these nobles would go to great lengths to extend the lifespan of the Empire, thereby prolonging the existence of their noble titles.

This is precisely why Arthur stated that the new nobility would exist in dependence on the Monarch. As long as the Monarch of Australasia is present, the new nobility would be recognized.

But should the Monarchy of Australasia cease to exist, these nobles would naturally lose their status and not be acknowledged by anyone.

Above the rank of Sir, the count of Barons also saw an increase, barely approaching 100 with an exact number of 98.

Above the Barons, the number of Viscounts took a steep decline to only 17 individuals.

Further up, the Earls are even fewer in number, totaling only 4.

The last is Crown Prince William, the Prince of New Zealand, who is also counted within the aristocracy system and is the uniquely prestigious Prince.

It's worth mentioning that to date, the rank of Duke within the aristocracy system remains an empty category without a single appointment.

No one's achievements have yet warranted the creation of the first Duke of Australasia (considering only the highest title attained), not even the renowned wartime Prime Minister Kent, who currently holds only an Earldom.

However, with The Upcoming World War II, it is likely that someone will accumulate enough merit to become a Duke. This also suggests that following WWII, the nobility system of Australasia will experience vigorous growth, and high-ranking nobles like Earls and Dukes will become less rare.

Apart from the highly meritorious and trusted Earl Kent, the four Earls of Australasia include the similarly long-serving Roger, who acted as Deputy Prime Minister during World War I and led the country out of an economic crisis as Prime Minister.

The remaining two selections are Evan, the first Prime Minister in Australian history, who assisted Arthur in establishing the Australian Principality, and the loyal Raul, who served as Minister of Defence during World War I and contributed significantly to the military construction of Australasia and is the current Prime Minister.

It could be said that except for the third Prime Minister, Walter Black, all other Prime Ministers have now been granted the title of Earl.

Prime Minister Walter Black was the second Prime Minister in the history of Australasia and led the third Cabinet.

However, the mediocre and conservative Prime Minister Walter, who lacked Arthur's trust, had only served one term before retiring from his political career.

Regardless, since Prime Minister Walter did not commit any significant errors, he was still bestowed with the title of Viscount, becoming one of the few high-ranking nobles of Australasia.

Apart from lavishing titles upon these former senior politicians, Arthur also conferred titles on leading figures among the scientists, such as Albert Einstein, Disel, and Ziolkowski.

A considerable number of the conferred Knights and Barons were scientists who had exerted notable effort and contributions to the nation.

Arthur's honors conveyed his appreciation for these scientists, leaving them extremely satisfied and more diligently engaged in their research.

Meanwhile, the public's enthusiasm for becoming scientists grew. At present, there are three fast tracks to obtaining a noble title: one is to become a politician and achieve political accomplishments; another is to join the military and shed blood and sweat for the nation; and the last is to become a scientist, dedicating one's talent to the country.

Political life is not so easily attained; for most people, the preferred choices and aspirations are still to join the military or become scientists.

According to surveys by numerous media outlets, the favorite professions among Australasian youths, around ten years old and older, are scientist and soldier.

Arthur, too, had heard such reports and was quite pleased with the attitude.

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This signified that Arthur's education had been highly successful, for becoming a scientist or a soldier was much more noble than those so-called performers indulged in entertainment to the point of death.

In such an environment, Australasia's strength became a matter of course. New scientists continuously entered the scientific community, rapidly advancing the science in all walks of life in Australasia.

The addition of fresh blood was an unstoppable force of vitality, filling the whole country with momentum, just like a wave about to overtake the one before it.

The continual expansion of the nobility also resulted in increasing yearly dividends distributed by the Nobleman United Consortium to the nobility.

Because the value of the Australian Dollar had depreciated too much compared to before, Arthur convened a nobility meeting after the grand conferment to discuss the new dividend ratio for the nobility.

Previously, a knight could receive an annual dividend of 500 Australian dollars, which was a considerable income.

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But now, although 500 Australian dollars was not insignificant, it was only a moderate income for the nobility and no longer that attractive.

Currently, the per capita annual income in Australasia had reached 175 Australian dollars, and 500 Australian dollars was roughly the annual income of three ordinary people, not matching the scarce numbers of the knightly nobility.

Considering the current number of Australasian nobility, the Nobleman United Consortium would only need to pay out less than 650,000 Australian dollars a year in dividends to every noble, including Crown Prince William.

Meanwhile, the Royal Financial Group's annual income had already exceeded 7 million AUD and was still increasing.

It was time to raise the dividend ratio for the nobility once more, since the money was coming from the Nobleman United Consortium, Arthur didn't have to bear any additional burdens.

After a meeting that lasted two days, over 500 nobles unanimously agreed to increase the new nobility dividend ratio.

The specific ratios were as follows: Knights could now receive 750 Australian dollars annually, barons 2,250 Australian dollars, viscounts 7,500 Australian dollars, earls 15,500 Australian dollars, and dukes 85,000 Australian dollars per year.

As for the sole title of Prince, namely Crown Prince William, he did not participate in the distribution of nobility dividends.

After all, Crown Prince William had a fixed annual royal allowance and naturally did not need to compete with the other nobility for benefits.

Because the government's fiscal revenue had already exceeded 400 million Australian dollars, the annual royal allowance paid to the government was as high as 4 million Australian dollars.

This money was the daily expense of the royal palace, including all royal family members holding banquets, costs for hosting foreign guests, etc.

Arthur also had certain limits and regulations on the expenses of all royal family members.

Children in the royal palace could get 125,000 Australian dollars annually. Princess Louise and Queen Mary received 155,000 Australian dollars each year, Arthur himself 225,000 Australian dollars, and the rest was left for the royal palace's expenses.

However, due to the Royal Financial Group's extreme wealth, the little ones already had their assets and were not too dependent on the royal annuities distributed each year.

Take Crown Prince William, for example. With the assets given to him by Arthur, Crown Prince William's total assets had already exceeded 15 million Australian dollars, and his annual income was also in the hundreds of thousands, making him a wealthy man in his own right.

This was also the reason Arthur let Crown Prince William forgo the nobility dividends. Forgoing dividends not only earned him favor with the other nobles, but it also was not a big loss for himself, marking the first step in William's effort to win people's hearts.

Even after adjusting the nobility dividend ratio, the amount needed for this year's dividend payout was only 738,500 Australian dollars.

In fact, it was because the number of Australasian nobles was too small, and most of them were of low rank, that they didn't require a high dividend sum.

After the lavish conferment, the Nobleman United Consortium distributed this year's nobility dividends to all nobles.

Arthur, adhering to the principle that early payment leads to early happiness, typically distributed these nobility dividends at the beginning of each year.

As Arthur expected, the new nobles who received the dividends were overjoyed, filled with gratitude towards him.

Even the lowest-level knightly nobility could get a dividend of 750 Australian dollars, equivalent to the annual income of at least four people, and that's without spending on anything else.

Even for the lowest-level knightly nobility, just relying on this dividend income could quite comfortably support their family.

Moreover, those who became knightly nobles were guaranteed at least 150 hectares of honorary land.

The income from these 150 hectares of land was significant, entirely ensuring that the family of those granted a knighthood lived a life much more affluent than ordinary people.

150 hectares is equivalent to 371 acres, 2,250 mu of land. Even based solely on this land, each knight could become a significant landowner.

Moreover, if the nobility managed agriculture and animal husbandry, they would also receive certain tax reductions. This was Arthur's aim, to have the nobility use the land reasonably and help in the development of agriculture and animal husbandry in Australasia.

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