In a farmland in Belfast's western region, John Lake, a slightly chubby British Air Force lieutenant, sneaks around and sneaks into a rudimentary barn undetected like a vole out foraging. www.biquge.info During this season, there are only a few farm tools stored in the barn, and anyone who comes in will find this huge vole.

Lieutenant Lake peered out through the gap in the wooden wall, and as soon as his breath calmed down, he saw a gray-green truck coming this way, and he couldn't help but wipe his wet forehead. The British pilot's weapons consisted of a Belgian-made M1900 Browning pistol and a standard military dagger, both of which were unrealistic to use against a group of Irish soldiers, and the only way to avoid the Irish military search was to find the local pro-British forces and escape back to Britain with their help. But how can we find those pro-British elements, who are sparsely numbered and hidden deeper than rats?

The lieutenant had no ready-made answer, and could only pray that the heavens would continue to favor him. Recalling the previous scene, the warning fire of the Irish fighter did not threaten his safety, but in order to get rid of the trailing Irish fighters, lest they hinder his last reconnaissance of the Irish air base before returning home, he made a large-angle climb, ready to use the high-speed performance of medium and high altitude to disengage, but he did not expect the plane to stall the engine during the climb, he hurriedly tried the electric start button in the cockpit, but failed to restart the engine, with his efforts, Thinking that the technical secrets of Devanati's "champion" were related to Britain's national defense and security, and the threat of war was approaching, he decided to give up the forced landing and let the reconnaissance plane crash, which was a very risky move, and he would miss the opportunity to parachute and escape if he was not careful. As it turned out, Lake's flying skills were solid and reliable, and his life was guaranteed at a critical moment, and the plane crashed to the ground, and he took advantage of the wind to drift down to a place that might be more than ten kilometers away from the crash site.

Three or four kilometers away was a small village, and green cars were speeding down the road not far from the barn, and Lieutenant Lake saw thirteen or fourteen soldiers in gray-green uniforms, wearing steel helmets, rifles, and bayonets at their waists, and their faces were grim. As the car drove into the village, it stopped at a fork in the road in the middle of the village, and the villagers, young and old, walked out of their homes one after another.

Hanging under the parachute, Lake saw smoke rising from several houses in the village, and vaguely villagers walking outdoors, although the fog had cleared in the early morning, the lone white parachute and the lone survivor under the umbrella were not very noticeable, if the villagers were not aware of it, and the Irish soldiers were just a hasty search, and they might have missed the barn.

Thinking of the parachute that might leak his tracks, Lake was a little annoyed, and just now he should have been more patient and properly handled this "tail" instead of hurriedly throwing it into a ditch in the field. However, frustration was quickly replaced by nervousness, and instead of spending time searching the houses, the Irish soldiers who entered the village began to advance towards suspicious targets around the village, with a non-commissioned officer, three soldiers, and two sturdy villagers walking towards the barn.

Is this the end of the idea of escaping the enemy lair alone?

Lake's heart was dead, and the voice outside the barn was getting closer, he knew a little Irish Gaelic language, but what was the point of distinguishing what the Irish soldiers were talking about at this time? He fumbled around in the hope of finding a secret cellar here, but his hopes were soon dashed, and at the last moment he had to hide himself in the corner of the barn with a black tarpaulin.

Meanwhile, at the "Forest Palace" in Limerick, the capital of Ireland, Natsuki and Princess Louise, the Earl of Tirpitz and Prince Waldemar of Prussia, the eldest son of the late Prince Heinrich, served in the German Army, seemingly sitting comfortably in the sun and drinking morning tea.

"If, as the General Staff envisioned, the British Home Army surrendered within two months, the war would have become a showdown between Europe and North America. The Atlantic will be the main battleground, but no matter which side loses the crucial naval battle, the war will continue, so it is likely to be a protracted war that may drag on for a decade...... What do you think, dear cousin Joachim? ”

Dressed in the uniform of a German army general and wearing the epaulettes of the army lieutenant general, Waldemar reclined on a chair, crossed his legs, held the bottom of the porcelain cup in one hand and pinched the ear of the porcelain cup in the other, and chatted unrestrainedly, with no sense of urgency on his face that the war was coming.

Among the high-ranking people of the Second German Reich, Natsuki respected two people the most, one was the founder of the German Navy, Tirpitz, who was sitting in front of him at the moment, and the other was the younger brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Prince Heinrich of Prussia. Prince Heinrich, who enjoyed an international reputation, died three years ago at the age of 67, leaving behind a widow and two sons. The 44-year-old Waldemar is the heir to the title of prince, and his words and deeds have traces of deliberately imitating his father, but he cannot be compared with him in terms of personality and style, so he is far from having the bearing and fame of Prince Heinrich. During the last war, Waldemar served as an adjutant of staff under the famous General von Kluk, and later served for a long time in the German Army's quartermaster logistics department, and this time he came to Ireland as the First Quartermaster General and Deputy Chief of Staff of the German Task Force - perhaps in his eyes, following his cousin, who was hailed as a Hohenzollern genius and who spoke to Ireland well, should be able to ensure the safety of his life to the greatest extent, and it would also be convenient to accumulate military merits and gain prestige. As everyone knows, Ireland has the potential to become the most dangerous front.

Before the war broke out, Natsuki was reluctant to talk about it in front of Louise, and he responded: "Based on the information we have, the British Home Army has built three lines of defense in the British Isles, the first is the Channel Line along the English Channel, the second is the defense line of the capital to defend London, and the third is the Hadrian Line in central Scotland. If the coalition forces are going well, they should be able to break through the first two lines of defense in two months, but the third line of defense makes full use of the difficult terrain in northern Britain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and if the front battle does not annihilate the main British army, then the British may rely on this line to hold out for a longer time. Personally, however, I do not think that the war will last that long for the simple reason that the two warring parties are neither on opposite sides of the faith nor in their insoluble hatred, and there is no need to fight to the death in the form of war, and the war will end when either side is unable to sustain the war or is threatened by revolution. ”

Tirpitz followed: "Maybe three years, maybe five years, but it will never drag on for ten years." ”

Princess Louise silently took a cup of tea.

Waldemar said with a fluttering eyebrow: "Well, I think so too, but there are people in the General Staff who are deeply jealous of the industrial and economic capabilities of the United States, and they are afraid that once our navy is defeated in the Atlantic theater and the Russians who are waiting for the opportunity to attack again, the two sides may fall into a terrible war of attrition, when the new American warships will continue to slide off the slipway, and we will be forced to turn the tide again until we win a crucial battle and force Russia to withdraw from the war. Step by step, it is approaching the US mainland, and then destroying the coastal economy of the United States and landing on the shores of the United States. ”

"Oh?" Natsuki looked curiously at the new generation of Prussian princes, "There are some people in the German General Staff who think so?" ”

"yes, I know several!" Waldemar replied without thinking.

"Do I know anyone?" Natsuki asked.

Waldemar didn't know why, but when he saw Natsuki's calm face, he said without hesitation: "Of course, General von Zeckert, the Second Quartermaster General, you must know it, as well as General von Bromberg and General von Rundstedt in the Operations Department, as for the other young colonels, you may not have heard their names, but they are already hot figures in the General Staff, such as Colonel Halder, Colonel Glenner, and Colonel Manstein. ”

Some of these names are still very unfamiliar in the eyes of the outside world, but they are thunderous to Natsuki: Zeckert is the founder of the "100,000 German Army" in the old time and space, Bromberg and Lundstedt are both professional soldiers with outstanding military ability, Halder and Manstein later became a generation of famous generals with outstanding achievements, the latter is generally regarded as one of the most talented commanders, and in 1933, Zeckert has not yet retired, Bromberg and Lundstedt are in their prime, and Halder is full of vitality, During this period, the German General Staff could be said to be a crouching tiger, a hidden dragon, and a wealth of talents, as long as Crown Prince Wilhelm, as the supreme commander, did not repeatedly make low-level mistakes, the prospects for the war were still relatively optimistic.

As Natsuki fell into reverie, the scene was a little cold. Tirpitz put down his teacup: "I clearly remember that in the summer of 1914, before the war against Britain, Your Majesty said that we were preparing for 80 points against 90 points of difficulty, and victory or defeat was only a thought, what about this time?" ”

Natsuki came back to his senses and looked at Tirpitz intently: "This time...... Ninety points of preparation, eighty points of difficulty, but the outcome is not determined by us. ”

"Oh?"

"Because we are neither the makers of the strategy nor the significant influencers of the strategy, if the big picture is decided, no matter how hard we try, it will not be enough to turn things around." Natsuki explained.

Tirpitz nodded approvingly.

"So, let's pray together devoutly!" Natsuki proposed, "May the flames of war leave us sooner, so that killing will not come to the world again, and everyone will bask in the sunshine of peace!" ”

The people folded their hands and prayed silently.

(End of chapter)