The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 730 - 548: Street Brawl and Pardon

As time entered 1921, National Day on January 10th quickly approached.

There was nothing special about this year’s National Day. Due to the ongoing construction of the three great ships at the shipyard, Arthur decided to keep a low profile for a while.

This resulted in the National Day celebrations being limited to the usual flag-raising and some simple activities, aside from the free patriotic movies.

Although the celebrations were simple, it did not hinder the patriotic sentiments of Australasians. Even though National Day started on January 10th, flags were hung all around the cities and towns of Australasia since the beginning of the month. People loved their country and would spontaneously celebrate this beautiful day of its birth.

Of course, some things would be magnified countless times on such a day.

January 11, 1921, Sydney Street, Australasia. Your journey continues with empire

Asian faces were still present, but there were obvious differences compared to those from other regions. One could see subtle differences.

"Mr. Murakami, I have to admit that Australasia’s wine is really good. When I make it big, I will definitely buy a winery in Australasia and have a glass every day," a drunken, red-faced man wobbled out of a bar, chatting with his friend.

"Mr. Ikeno, you should drink less! Our living expenses for international students aren’t much. A bottle of wine costs 2 Australian dollars, which is a whole 10 Island currency!" Murakami did not play along with his friend; instead, he put his hand in his pocket and touched the few remaining bills with a pained expression, speaking to his friend.

"What’s the big deal! If we can conquer the whole of Australasia, wouldn’t all these vineyards be ours? How much money would that be, Mr. Ikeno? Damn these Australasians; their resources should be ours!" Ikeno obviously disagreed, his words full of anger towards Australasia.

"Are you crazy?" Murakami broke out in a cold sweat, relieved that the surrounding Australasians could not understand their language. He whispered a complaint: "Luckily they can’t understand us, or you’d be deported from Australasia!"

"What’s there to be afraid of! They can’t understand us anyway. Even if we insult them, they wouldn’t know," the drunk Ikeno said nonchalantly, swaying and walking forward without a care.

It was summer in Australasia, and although there was no rain today, the wind was strong. Australasia flags on the street were swaying in the wind, sometimes stretching out and sometimes fluttering chaotically.

"What a great place this is! If we could take over, our island country would surely become a top-tier power, wouldn’t it?" A drunken Ikeno began to lament, disregarding the surrounding Australasians and other foreign tourists, speaking loudly to his friend behind him.

At that moment, a strong wind blew an Australasia flag down not far in front of Ikeno.

Feeling nauseous, Ikeno hurriedly looked for a nearby trash can to bend over and vomit.

He was feeling terrible and couldn’t care less whether he had vomited into the trash can. He’d clean up after he was done, but the nausea was unbearable right now.

Feeling relieved after vomiting, Ikeno did not think much of it; however, his friend, Murakami, in the distance suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his face rapidly changing color as he rushed forward to pull his friend away, questioning, "Are you insane, Ikeno?"

"What’s wrong?" Ikeno was taken aback by the sudden pull but then remembered that he was vomiting. He thought his friend was worried about him littering and getting fined, so he said nonchalantly, "I’ll clean up after I’m done vomiting. Sorry, Mr. Murakami."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Is this about vomiting? Look at your feet, Mr. Ikeno." Murakami reminded him irritably.

These islanders are really vindictive, and if you go up there and kick them a few times and they see you, who knows how much trouble you’ll get into?" An older person by the side said unhappily.

When the Australasians beat up these islanders, they did it on their turf, so they don’t have to worry about the islanders’ retaliation.

However, it was different for these Asian international students. Their country isn’t as strong as the island country, and drawing the islanders’ resentment could mean trouble for their nation.

Moreover, most foreigners are face-blind and can’t tell the difference between different Asian appearances.

If they went up there, they might be mistaken for islanders and get beaten as well, becoming scapegoats.

Being beaten up is one thing; being mistaken for an islander is an insult to one’s dignity, right?

Being treated as animals is the worst form of insult to a person, and they didn’t want to experience that.

The beating soon ended, and the two islanders couldn’t take it anymore.

It’s worth mentioning that during the entire beating, no one notified the police. This led to the beating ending with patrolling officers coming across the group.

All those involved in the beating didn’t panic, as they were filled with indignation. If it weren’t for the constraint of the law, they would’ve torn apart these islanders in their rage.

Seeing the police question them, the group of Australasians added fuel to the fire by stating the facts of the islanders trampling on the national flag and used the dirty flag in the trash can as evidence.

Since it involved the islander’s international students, this was a diplomatic conflict among major powers.

The police dare not make a decision on their own, so they preserved all the evidence and brought everyone involved, including the half-dead islanders, to the police station, waiting for higher authorities to handle the situation.

Since the incident happened in Sydney Street, it soon reached Arthur’s attention.

Hearing that a group of Australasians had beaten up two islanders in the street for the purpose of defending national dignity, Arthur immediately laughed and said, "Although beating people in the street is wrong, if it’s for the purpose of protecting the nation and effectively defending national dignity while punishing those who undermine national dignity, then this deserves to be praised."

Arthur’s words were not empty; he ordered the Royal Guardian to go to the police station to publicly announce the acquittal of the Australasians and awarded each of them ten Australian dollars for their courageous actions.

The direct pardon and reward from Arthur made the Australasians extremely proud, and everyone sighed that they should have hit harder since they might have received more rewards.

In addition, they were grateful for Arthur’s leniency. Despite being in the name of national dignity, they beat up international students from another major power, which could have caused a diplomatic conflict among major powers. Since it involved their nation, the situation wasn’t easy to handle.

Arthur’s swift pardon and reward showed these people that in his heart, they were far more important than the islander international students.

This is the best embodiment of loving his people as his own children. How could these cherished Australasians not adore their sovereign passionately?