While almost all of Britain was trembling and waiting for the Germans to lay more ground for a landing attack, the German expeditionary fleet quietly crossed the shortcut between the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands to join the Northern Fleet under the command of Hipper in the waters of the Faroe Islands. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 According to the German plan, "Caesar" and "Regent Louitport" were to replace "De Fllinger" and "Seydlitz" in Tórshavn, and the two intact battle cruisers accompanied the "Elector" and "Frontier Governor" to escort the troop transport regiment to Ireland. This time, more than 8,000 German marines and a large number of weapons, equipment, ammunition and materials will be transferred from the Faroe Islands to Ireland, and the German wounded who need a long time of treatment will be brought back, and the German troops on the island will reach 21,000 people, which seems insignificant in front of the Irish "million army", but without this batch of foreign aid, the Irish war of independence will be very difficult, and every Irish leader with vision and brains should know very well.

But just as the German expeditionary fleet sailed out of the waters of the Faroe Islands, an astonishing news came from Ireland: after the recapture of Cork Harbour, the Provisional Government of Free Ireland declared the establishment of a new state, called the Republic of Ireland, with a democratic republican system!

Cooked duck actually flew?

Natsuki, who was originally full of longing, was taken aback when he heard the news, but he quickly calmed down, the seductive Irish crown has always been just an idea, it is a secret agreement made by some members of the Irish Brotherhood to seek greater support from the German government, these people are not absolute power, not to mention that in addition to the Irish Brotherhood, there are more than twenty political party groups that have joined the Irish War of Independence, they have a different number of armed forces in their hands, and they have more or less large and small actual control areas.

Historical experience shows that often before the fruits of victory are ripe, greedy people have already begun to fight for power.

Although this change came very suddenly, Natsuki quickly made a decision, and the expeditionary fleet and troop carrier group sailed for Ireland as originally planned.

At the same time, the Limerick front coalition command.

"Hey, Pierce, look at this telegram, just received."

The young man with round-rimmed glasses handed his companion a telegram manuscript with pencil writing on it, and this man was wearing a thick woolen trench coat of the German Navy. He has a typical European face, with a wide frontal bone and a high nose with shiny black hair.

Seeing what was written on the telegram manuscript paper, the black-haired man, who was not up to the standard middle-aged man, suddenly widened his eyes, and he exclaimed softly in surprise: "What? Republic? ”

The bespectacled young man was probably aware of the importance of this message, saying: "The telegraph code is true, unless they make a mistake when they send it." ”

The black-haired man shook his head in denial, he thought about it, tore the newspaper to shreds in three or two clicks, and scolded in a low voice: "These fools! A sucker! Reckless man without common sense! ”

"At this point, it's too late to persuade them to change their minds, the Germans ...... We will not stop helping us! They were fighting the British, and we were fighting the British, and even if the war was over, independent Ireland would be able to help them contain the British......"

The black-haired man nodded a cigarette with a gloomy face: "They must think so, a bunch of brainless guys!" Now that Germany had defeated Britain at sea and occupied the Faroe Islands in the north, it was no longer so important whether Ireland had a response. If a member of the German royal family were to be the king of Ireland, the Germans would have fought for us at the negotiating table when Britain proposed peace, and now they would not have to do so, and they might in turn use the withdrawal of troops from Ireland as a bargaining weight, and then the British government would be able to devote all its energy to us. ”

After listening to the analysis of the black-haired man, the bespectacled young man finally realized the seriousness of the consequences, but this clear code telegram had spread all over the world, and it was too late to pull back from the precipice.

The young man didn't ask, "What to do," and the black-haired man paced back and forth with his head down while smoking. When there was only a small butt left in his hand for this ordinary-looking cigarette, he finally made up his mind, threw the cigarette butt to the ground, and stepped on it.

"I'm going to Galway." "Also, help me find a way to get a message to Kante: what has been promised must be done, and since the uninteresting people have to be tough, we don't have to reason with them." ”

The bespectacled youth nodded hurriedly.

On January 15, 1915, the German Expeditionary Fleet and troop carriers appeared in Galway Bay in northwestern Ireland. Galway was now under the control of the Irish Independence Forces, but the forces were not always under the command of the Irish Brotherhood, with only one-third of the Irish Volunteers and the rest of the armed men belonging to Irish Unity and the Irish Free Army.

In the Irish waters, where British submarines were lurking, the Germans were supposed to transport soldiers and supplies ashore as quickly as possible, but these German ships from afar were only setting up a cordon in the waterways of Galway Bay, and the large and small ships did not immediately enter Galway Harbor.

A yacht sailed out of Galway Harbour and through German steel ships before finally landing on the Elector, a hundred times larger.

A total of three people were allowed to board the ship, and the black-haired man with a high nose was impressively listed.

"Long time no see, Pierce, how are you doing?" Natsuki reached out politely, and although he didn't have an arrogant domineering or annoyed cold face, the strength of his words still made the black-haired man who had dealt with him many times feel a trace of embarrassment.

The black-haired man said with a smile: "Thanks to His Highness, after fighting against hundreds of thousands of British troops for a few months, he can still stand here with sound limbs and intact, which is something that I never dreamed of before." ”

Before the meeting, Natsuki had already received a confidential message from Pierce from the German liaison officer stationed in Galway, and the Irish Republican Brotherhood's high-level hasty announcement of the establishment of the Republic of Ireland must have been out of consideration for their own interests, but it was clear that not everyone in the Irish Independence Forces maintained the same interests as them.

"This is Mr. Taylor, the plenipotentiary of Irish Solidarity, and this is Colonel Hurston, the Supreme Commander of the Irish Free Army." Pierce introduces these two unfamiliar faces to Natsuki.

After a brief greeting, Natsuki led them from the cold and bleak deck into the warm cabin, but instead of going to the officer's conference room at the stern, they had a cup of coffee together in the officer's cafeteria.

"Although we do not hate democratic republics, you also know that the allies of the German Empire are monarchies. Once the war is over, it is customary for us to stop providing direct military assistance to countries other than our allies. ”

Natsuki's tone was tepid, but the content of his words was a naked threat.

The three people in front of them were silent.

"To tell you the truth, I had a long-term plan for Ireland's future before I came. Economically, for the first ten years we will receive 100 million marks in free aid and 500 million marks in low-interest loans from Germany every year, which will be used to repair port facilities, factories, dockyards, schools, churches, etc., damaged by the war, and to ensure that every Irish person is fed and clothed. On the military side, I will use my personal industry to exchange weapons and equipment with the German government to enrich national defense, including a number of German ships in service, Ireland will have its own fleet and aviation units, and will gradually establish a complete military industrial system. Politically, a constitutional monarchy is most conducive to the unity and unity of Ireland, with the King and Parliament jointly administering the country, and the government having a cabinet system in which the monarch appoints the leader of the party with a majority of seats in the parliamentary election as Prime Minister and forms a cabinet. Religiously, Ireland has a large Catholic population, and I myself will convert to Catholicism, but the Protestant people should not be excluded and hostile, and there should be a permanent truce and solidarity between Catholics and Protestants. ”

After speaking fluently in English, Natsuki quietly drank his coffee, waiting for the three people in front of him to digest what he had said.

"I am personally very supportive of the adoption of a traditional monarchy in Ireland, which, as His Highness has said, is at present the most advantageous option for the Irish, and His Highness's unrivalled ability and resourcefulness will certainly give Ireland an environment of rapid and stable development after independence." The Plenipotentiary of Irish Solidarity, though almost flattering, made a statement that he clearly left a half-word - his personal will did not speak for all.

The commander of the Irish Free Army, a stocky and rugged middle-aged man, exclaimed: "The establishment of a provisional government in Cork and the proclamation of the Republic of Ireland are decisions of the Republican Brotherhood on their own initiative, and no other parties involved in the Irish independence movement have been consulted, and their actions are null and void in any respect." The establishment of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Republic of Ireland is to be decided, at least by a full party vote, or by a referendum. ”

In this world of the jungle, a big voice does not mean strength, the Irish Free Army only has a resounding name, its size is less than one-tenth of the size of the Irish Volunteers, its influence is limited to the west and north-central of County Galway, and together with the Irish Volunteers control the important outlet to the sea in Galway Harbour.

With the German royal family and the German navy as his backing, Natsuki didn't care about the strength of Irish Unity and the Free Irish Army, and what he desperately needed was a fulcrum for reasonable intervention when the mainstream leaders of the Republican Brotherhood categorically declared the establishment of an Irish Republic.

It was precisely this fulcrum that Pierce brought to him to pry the situation.

(End of chapter)