In early autumn, in the Royal Gardens of Brandenburg, Germany, the princes galloped and laughed. Kaiser Wilhelm and Empress Cecilia sat under a parasol sipping tea and juice, looking relaxed and relaxed.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Highness the Empress, Lady Barriol is here!" The attendant bowed and reported.

Little William was indifferent, but Cecilia ordered in a pleasant tone: "Please come over!" ”

This Mrs. Barrio is the wife of Barrio, the current Scottish "head of state". Speaking of which, she was still a German, and when Cecilia was still the crown princess, the relationship between the two was already very good.

It is precisely because of this relationship that the Barriols have the opportunity to spend at least once or twice a year with the Kaiser, so whether it is the oppressive rule of Scotland at home, or the international situation, and even maintain close relations with Japan, they are rarely interfered with by Germany or even the League of Nations. Moreover, without the acquiescence and connivance of the Germans, how could a mere Scotland dare to provoke the new United Kingdom, whose military strength was far superior to its own?

Led by the royal chamberlain, Madame Barriol, dressed in a long purple dress, arrived to greet the Kaiser and Empress with court court.

Little William responded politely, but Cecilia warmly placed Madame Barrio beside her and asked how she and the children were doing.

"The kids are all right." Madame Barriol smiled a little gloomy, "I just miss my father a little." ”

Cecilia casually asked, "What?" He's been too busy lately to go home? ”

"yes!" Madame Barriol glanced at Kaiser William the Younger, "I heard that the border between Ireland and England is ready to attack at any time, the cabinet ministers and generals are meeting every day, and Edinburgh is also panicking, the school has suspended normal classes, and officers have been invited to teach the children how to avoid air raids." ”

William Jr. didn't say anything, but looked at the young and vigorous figures on the polo field.

Cecilia sighed: "It's not an insoluble national feud, there is still a way to avoid war!" ”

Hearing the Queen's sigh, William Jr. finally withdrew his gaze to the table, and he glanced at Madame Barriol: "If you had not been stubborn in that northern bay, you would not have caused such a serious diplomatic conflict. Do you think that with the military support provided by the Japanese, you can confront the South British coalition army? ”

Madame Barriol replied unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, you know, I don't understand politics or military, and looking at this conflict from the perspective of an ordinary man, I feel that Scottish's appeal has its legitimacy, and the reason why it has come to this point is not entirely due to Scottish stubbornness." ”

William the Younger mused: "My fellow brother, Joachim I, King of Ireland and Wales, assures me that he will not attack Scotland unless he has to, and even if he takes military action in the end, it will only be a punitive war, and the time span will never exceed a month. In fact, I admired the lightning speed with which he and His Majesty Karl I joined forces to punish Italy, and I believe that his military dominance was unmatched in this era. From my personal standpoint, I suggest that Scotland return to the negotiating table, after all, we have helped Scotland obtain more reasonable compensation terms in the previous stage of mediation, and it will definitely not be beneficial to you if you really fight. ”

"But if we bow our heads and compromise, the rebellious Scots, their self-esteem and self-confidence will be hit harder than ever." Mrs. Barriol said.

William Jr. sneered: "A small bay entrusts the pride and self-confidence of the entire Scottish nation? Besides, you are a lease, not a cession. After all, your 'head of state' wants to establish supreme prestige! ”

Madame Barriol was dumbfounded for a moment.

But William Jr. didn't mean to reprimand, he picked up the teacup, took a leisurely sip of fragrant tea, and said: "Once the new United Kingdom and England join forces to attack Scotland, Germany will definitely remain neutral in good faith." As long as the Scottish army holds out for two weeks, we will urge the League Council to intervene, and then both sides will take a step back and negotiate a settlement of the Salom Bay dispute. ”

Madame Barriol was about to argue, but she saw Cecilia wink at her.

William Jr. frowned, there were some things he didn't say explicitly. Since Scotland was too close to Japan militarily, the German generals generally supported the new United Kingdom to start a war against Scotland, and furthermore, the rulers of the New United Kingdom and the Kingdom of England were all members of the German royal family, and as long as they had no intention of annexing Scotland and making Britain reappear as a powerful country enough to threaten Germany, it was impossible for the German top brass to favor Scotland and take a tough attitude towards the new United Kingdom and England.

It was precisely because of this relationship that Scotland sought the support of powers other than Germany, but because the United States and Soviet Russia had hit a wall, they eventually sought to get together with the Japanese Empire, which was isolated by the alliance of the great powers.

Hearing a cheer coming from the polo field, the three people at the tea table all looked over there. After a few moments, Madame Barriol whispered to Cecilia, "Why didn't you see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" On weekdays, he likes polo the most. ”

"You don't know?" Cecilia blinked.

Madame Barriol shook her head, then realized.

Cecilia smiled lightly: "Apart from his father, he admires his Uncle Joachim the most." ”

Madame Barriol smiled in response, but her eyes were full of melancholy. William Jr. is now in his sixties, both physically and mentally declining, and if, like his father Wilhelm II, he hands over the military and political power to the prince in advance, or in a few years, Crown Prince Louis will be the regent. Relations between Germany and the new United Kingdom will not be closer than they are now, but they will certainly not deteriorate easily.

During the polo match, at the Berlin military airport, which was less than 100 kilometers away, Crown Prince Louis had already boarded a special military plane that was about to fly to London, and on the same plane was General Max, chief of operations of the General Staff, General Rehhagel, technical director of fighter aircraft, and General Ellers, technical director of the armored forces. During the war between New Austria and Italy, many new weapons and new tactics appeared, such as the Welsh exercise held in the early stage, the deployment and transfer of the mechanized corps of the new United Kingdom army, and the reports sent back by German military observers. This time, knowing that the outbreak of war in Britain was a high probability event, they felt that they could not miss the opportunity to watch the war in person no matter what, so after obtaining the consent of Kaiser Wilhelm the Younger and the chief of the general staff, Duke Dolotia, they hurriedly packed their bags and set off for Britain.

With a rumbling roar, the huge military plane flew off the ground. At speeds of over 550 kilometers per hour, it takes only an hour and a half to fly from Berlin to London. During this period, the special observation group headed by Crown Prince Louis did not cut off contact with the German General Staff and its subordinate intelligence agencies. In fact, the plane is equipped with a special radio communicator and large communications equipment, and can be used as a mobile command center if necessary.

Shortly after the plane took off, the correspondent sent a secret telegram to General Max. When the general saw it, his eyebrows fluttered.

"It's interesting!" He sent the telegram to Crown Prince Louis, "They have set their sights on a Japanese convoy near the Strait of Gibraltar, which, according to credible information, is carrying at least 7,000 Japanese soldiers who will join the Scottish army as volunteers." ”

After reading the contents of the telegram, Crown Prince Louis said: "The escort force is three cruisers and six destroyers, and most of them are Japanese naval ships. ”

"Even if they maintain 100 percent combat effectiveness, there is still a 3,000-kilometre voyage from Gibraltar to the Scottish port, which is enough for the new United Kingdom to mobilize its capital ships to intercept it. Come to think of it, with the performance of the new United Kingdom fleet in the Italian war, it would not have been easy to take out this convoy? "The problem is that the new United Kingdom will have to find a clever enough excuse to prevent this fleet from sailing into Scottish ports." ”

"Do you need an excuse to beat up the Japanese?" Crown Prince Louis said this sentence without thinking.

Max said: "Having said that, three years ago, His Majesty Joachim I accompanied His Majesty the Emperor to conclude a peace treaty with Emperor Xuanhito of Japan. If force is used rashly, it will be a tearing up of the treaty, and it will cause irreparable damage to the credibility and prestige of His Majesty the Emperor and even the allies. ”

"General Max is right." General Ehlers continued, "Peace between the East and the West is guaranteed by the Emperor's Agreement, and if Japan directly provokes a war with the Western countries, it will be severely punished by Germany, but if the Western countries take the initiative to provoke a war with Japan, they will also be punished by Germany." Therefore, the new United Kingdom cannot afford to take the liberty of using force against Japan. ”

Crown Prince Louis reluctantly asked: "So, they can only watch the Japanese volunteers land in Scotland and fight side by side with the Scots?" ”

"I just said it's interesting because of this contradiction," Max explains. One of the ways for the new United Kingdom to prevent the fleet from reaching Scotland was to go to war on Scotland before it sailed into Scottish waters, to designate Scottish waters as a war zone, and then to seize the Japanese fleet for the transport of contraband. The thousands of Japanese soldiers on board the flotilla were also detained. ”

"The situation described in the last sentence is really interesting to think about!" General Hagel quipped, "The whole fleet was detained in a certain port, and no one on board was allowed to disembark, and all the food and drink were settled on the ship, and although the detaining side would provide sufficient food, hundreds or thousands of Japanese soldiers living in the cabin for several months was definitely an experience they did not want to remember in their lives." ”

There was a burst of laughter in the cabin.

(End of chapter)