One day in mid-June 1942, in Bristol Bay, southwest Britain, a white and blue transport boat carrying King Edward VIII of England and his entourage left the English Navy cruiser "Huntington" and sailed hundreds of meters on the sea to dock the Royal Yacht "Soul of Liberty" of the Kingdom of Ireland. www.biquge.info At this time, His Majesty Joachim I, the king of Ireland and Wales, who was also from the German royal family as Edward VIII, stood quietly on the deck of the yacht. When the King of England boarded the boat, he warmly hugged him, greeted him cordially, and then walked into the cabin shoulder to shoulder.

Britain and Ireland seem to have a deep enmity with each other, with tens of thousands of soldiers and innocent civilians killed at the hands of each other during the Irish War of Independence and World War II, but since the dissolution of Britain, the four mono-nation states of the British Isles have lived in good neighbourliness and harmony. Needless to say, the relationship between Ireland and Wales is not too much, the union of the two kingdoms has been the general trend, and England and Scotland have inherited part of the territory and resources of the British Empire, and the economic and social foundation is relatively solid, but limited by national strength, they have no intention or intention of expanding abroad. But the peace is changing with the emergence of a name that was the main issue of the two kings' meeting in Bristol Bay.

Over the fragrant tea, the two kings spoke eloquently in German.

"Judging from the general lukewarm reaction of the German media, Barrio sent troops to suppress the southern Scottish uprising, and nine times out of ten it was tacitly approved by the German high-level, that is, our Royal Highness the Crown Prince is likely to decide not to interfere in the internal affairs of Scotland at this stage."

"That's right! Thousands of people are dying every day as the war is raging in the Far East, and the deaths and wounds of a few hundred Scots have little effect on the stability of Europe. Besides, Barriol's wife has been very close to the German Crown Princess Cecilia in the past two years, and she is active in Germany for about two or three months of the year. With this in mind, it is no surprise that our Royal Highness the Crown Prince has supported Barriol out of personal affection. As long as the German government does not speak out, the whole of Europe should not see it! ”

"Let's make a fuss with the Scots! Until the situation eases, we will close the borders when we should seal them, control the ports when we need them, and resolutely refrain from wading into these troubled waters. ”

"I think so too, but I can't help but have some English people who are very sympathetic to their Scottish neighbors, not only donating money and materials, but also smuggling arms, and even forming some British volunteers! Well, the common people are making a fuss, and there are quite a few cacophony voices in my parliament, who fear that the unrest in Scotland will spread to England, and feel that we should actively intervene before the situation escalates, and by the way get some benefit from it. Mortals are often so short-sighted! ”

The Barriol referred to by these two cousins was the unsettling factor that stirred up the atmosphere in the British Isles. The man, whose full name was Alex Chaggs-Barriol, was a 49-year-old man from an old Scottish aristocratic family who graduated from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, where his family moved to Canada after the end of World War I, where he invested in a shipyard. Benefiting from the large-scale reconstruction of the British Navy, the strength of the Barriol family developed rapidly, and Barrio himself joined the British Navy as a special talent in 1929, and by the time of the armistice in 1934, he had already obtained the rank of major, and then returned to Scotland to engage in politics, relying on the family's financial resources and connections, he became the Scottish Minister of Industry in 1936, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in 1937, and the second Prime Minister of the Scottish Republic in 1939. In the early 1940s, when Scottish President James Black fell seriously ill, Barrio not only bypassed Parliament to act as president, but also used his high-ranking officials to co-opt the powerful generals in the army, thus gaining de facto control of the capital and most important areas. At the end of 1941, when the president died of illness, Barriol initiated the National Emergency Act and forcibly dissolved Parliament with the support of the army, resulting in the vacancy of the president of Scotland for half a year, and he monopolized the military and political power.

A few months ago, when Scotland held a general election, Barriol was elected president by an overwhelming vote, and the new parliament then passed a bill merging the powers of the president and the prime minister, known as the "leader of the nation", and the military and political power of the entire country was firmly in the hands of this ambitious dictator.

Under the monarchy, the king is the dictator, but the degree of dictatorship is high and low, so whether it is the "double crown" of Ireland and Wales, or Edward VIII of England, will not envy or even envy the power of Barriol, the current problem is that the Scottish people are not all willing to support Barriol, radicals accused him of secretly manipulating the election, implementing dictatorship in the name of democracy, at first it was just a demonstration, after being suppressed by the ruling authorities, The radicals turned to a more radical approach, armed insurrection, against the Barriol regime, and the "Aberdo Massacre" in southern Scotland took place. The rioters were ruthlessly suppressed by the military and police, and hundreds of people were strewn through the streets.

The blood of their compatriots did not frighten the notoriously fierce Scots, who began to hatch a larger revolt, and the "southerners", who were more closely connected to England, sent emissaries to Edward VIII for help, hoping for the support of the King of England - a similar episode that has occurred more than once in Britain's long and tortuous history.

Edward VIII from the German Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha did not have much interest in the barren land of Scotland and the "uneducated" Scots, and he understood like Natsuki that after Germany dominated Europe and dominated the world, he would never want Britain to have a powerful country that could threaten Germany's strategic interests or even recast Germany's cage. Ireland and Wales together have a population of less than 10 million, and once England and Scotland are combined in some form, it will be 30 million.

Moreover, after the brutal baptism of two wars, the kingdom of England under the rule of Edward VIII was basically rebuilt in ruins, and although the assistance given by Germany after the war was no less than that of the Irish, it was only enough to restore order and solve the problem of food and clothing based on the average population base of England. After eight years, England's economy and military were still at the level of the third or fourth rate in Europe, and the wounds of the previous economic crisis were still there, and even if Edward VIII had the heart, the Kingdom of England was not capable of carrying out even a small armed intervention with the outside world.

"Speaking of which, this Barrio is really a man of courage and brains, and his rise reminds me of a legendary figure in a novel who finally led a mighty army across Europe, but was defeated like Napoleon in the cold Russian winter." Natsuki Road.

"Oh? And such novels? What is the title of the book? ”

Natsuki didn't give an answer, but smiled: "It's just a boring novel to pass the time!" When did Your Majesty really become interested in reading, ask me again for the title! ”

Edward VIII shrugged his shoulders, his interests were horseback riding, hunting, hiking, and he was a good hand at commanding marches and battles, but he was allergic to literary things, and biographies of famous people and philosophical works were as far away to him as cooking utensils in the kitchen.

Taking a sip of tea, Natsuki said in a calm tone: "Although the current turmoil in Scotland is not very harmful to us, in the long run, I have two worries: one is that once a powerful person like Barriol purge dissidents and consolidate his rule, he is likely to increase his prestige by expanding externally. Since the end of the war, the Scottish army has been stable at 100,000 people, and in the last six months, the size of the Scottish army has expanded to about 150,000 people, which is a phenomenon worth alarming! Although the absence of external expansion is not necessarily a pure use of force, and it may also take advantage of the old British plot in the feelings of the British people, it is military power that plays a decisive role. ”

The second is Barriol's mysterious background, having served in the old British Navy and probably having more than ordinary ties to the military and political hierarchy of the old Britain. When the old British army retreated, Scotland was their last bridgehead, and once they returned, would it be their first bridgehead back to Britain? ”

Hearing Natsuki say this, Edward VIII fell into deep thought, and when he looked up again, his face was full of solemnity.

During the war, Scottish industry was generally less damaged than England, and its post-war economic recovery was more desirable than England's, which gave the Scots more financial and material resources to build a small but elite modern army. Before Barriol came to power, Scotland was the only country on the British island capable of independently producing aircraft and combat vehicles, and the only country with mechanized troops and long-range bomber units. Although the population of Scotland is less than one-eighth that of England, the Scottish standing army has the strength to defeat the English standing army in one fell swoop. As for Wales, which has less than half the population of Scotland, although its own military capability is close to zero, its defense is in charge of the battle-tested Irish army, which is not something that the Scots dare to provoke easily.

At this time, Natsuki said again: "Of course, what I just said is just my personal worry, and there is neither conclusive evidence nor logically rigorous inference. In the present situation, it is not advisable to rashly interfere in the internal affairs of Scotland, and it is better to wait and see what happens with a sense of vigilance. When the conditions are right, we might as well go and meet for a while with this well-informed national leader. ”

"Okay!" Edward VIII nodded, "As you said, let's wait and see what way Barrio will take Scotland with a vigilant mind." ”

(End of chapter)