On an early summer night, at the Spanish Royal Palace in Barcelona, an extravagant dinner and dance party is underway. The www.biquge.info banquet was hosted by the owner of the palace, the young King Alfonso XIII of Spain, and among the invited guests, His Majesty King Joachim of Ireland was undoubtedly the most eye-catching.

After the military and political officials from Madrid, as well as the Catalan local officials and local celebrities who had been invited to the airport, had already warmed up, Alfonso XIII gave Natsuki a look, which meant to ask him if he was ready.

Back then, Xia Shu was a science student, and he was the least good at reciting Marxist-Leninist political history, and the manuscript prepared by the Spanish official for him was only more than 100 words, and it was definitely no problem to spend an hour or two rote memorization, the key is that the quality of this manuscript was too poor, the sentences were stiff, like a notice, emotionless, and difficult to resonate, even if Xia Shu read it in an emotional tone, it would not achieve the effect envisaged by the Spanish royal family and government.

The dinner was presided over by the Catalan Governor, who moderated the audience and listened to the two kings.

Alfonso XIII was the first to welcome the visit of the King of Ireland on behalf of the royal family and the people. Don't look at him always a silent and introverted posture, he speaks very neatly, and the wording is quite appropriate, and the tone of the tone can firmly grab people's attention, the only thing that makes people feel that the lack is his aura, this widow cannot find the domineering majesty that Kaiser Wilhelm II or King George V of England showed in public.

When the King of Spain had finished his opening speech, under the gaze of hundreds of pairs of eyes, Natsuki steadily reached the center of the banquet hall, followed by a quiet and timid man wearing round-rimmed glasses, who knew at a glance that he was the interpreter accompanying him.

"His Majesty the King of Spain, Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and honour for me to be here in the historic region of Catalonia. The air here is filled with the fragrance of freedom, and I see people living in a calm and peaceful atmosphere, as if they have found the feeling of home in their dreams. ”

Natsuki's opening is almost a standard template for foreign affairs occasions, except for a few words that tend to evoke reverie, but after the interpreter speaks, the crowd is not calm, for reasons that have nothing to do with the content of his words, but because the translator uses Catalan instead of orthodox Spanish - the difference between the two is like an official language and a remote dialect, and it is very difficult for people who know only one and have little contact with the other.

The introduction of the Catalan language was a way for the Catalans to uphold and promote separatism, which was not officially recognized by Spain.

In the presence of the King of Spain and a large number of government officials, the visiting King of Ireland should have chosen a Spanish interpreter. Alfonso XIII's face changed suddenly, and the officials from Madrid were caught off guard, and the local officials and celebrities invited to the visit were either deeply surprised and some smiled. It's a pity that the translator himself seems quite nervous, and there is no rhythm and aura at all when translating, and people can only comprehend the meaning of what he wants to express by combining the rich and varied expressions and subdued tones of His Majesty the King of Ireland.

The effect was to be compromised, but then the content of the King of Ireland's speech began to have a greater impact on the audience, and the translation quickly became a secondary issue.

Ignoring the garbage provided by the Spanish authorities, Natsuki talked about democratic constitutionalism according to his own ideas, and many of the views and ideas mentioned were published by the current mainstream newspapers, and there were no shocking innovations, but many of the audience at the scene nodded frequently.

He bluntly said that the number of nationalities is not necessarily related to the strength of the country, and he cited the current situation of multi-ethnic countries in today's great powers, and came to the conclusion that ethnic integration and ethnic coexistence are the general trend. In Germany, the Franks, Saxons, Schwabians, and Bavarians formed a united German nation that got along well with the Slavs and Gauls in the country; In England, the Scots, the English, and the Welsh are called Anglo-Saxons, and although there are historical entanglements between them, they are now loyal to a royal family and a monarch; The Austro-Hungarian Empire under the Habsburg dynasty consisted of 11 major ethnic groups, including Germanic, Hungarian, Czech, Pole, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croat, Slovak, Serb, Slovenian and Italians who were impressed by the noble personality of Emperor Franz of Austria.

At this point, the audience burst into warm applause, but not everyone applauded, and a few local officials and a considerable number of local celebrities frowned and stiffened their faces, as if they were still digesting the deep meaning of these words.

Then, Natsuki told the reason for Ireland's independence in a tactful and sad tone, and he frankly said that the fundamental motivation for Ireland's independence was not the national issue, but the exploitation, oppression, and discrimination of the British ruling class. After the annexation to the British territory, Ireland's economy not only did not develop, but regressed, and the people were impoverished and deprived of even the most basic right to life. During the Great Famine of 1846 and 1856, more than a million Irish people starved to death, while the British living comfortably and comfortably on the other side of the sea are enough to show the British rulers' disregard for Ireland!

"I believe that His Majesty Alfonso XIII, benevolent, generous, intelligent and erudite, is the link that unites all the different peoples, beliefs and ideals of Spain, that great Spain should be respected by the world with its spirit of tolerance and unity, and that great Catalonia should be the jewel in Spain's crown!"

It wasn't until the last sentence was finished that Xia Shu revealed his deep meaning and discernment, and the banquet hall immediately burst into a more enthusiastic applause, and it lasted for a long time.

Even Alfonso XIII, who was always aloof, was among the applause.

The banquet continued, with the guests vying to pay their respects to Natsuki, and Alfonso XIII was surrounded by words of praise and loyalty. The King of Spain did not expect this situation, and his gloomy face flashed into a broad smile, and the sorrow that had been condensed between his brows disappeared on that night.

It wasn't until the end of the banquet that Alfonso XIII had the opportunity to talk to Natsuki alone, and he raised his glass and said, "Your Majesty is really amazingly talented, and it only took half a day to prepare such a wonderful speech. Previously, I thought that His Majesty was just an unborn genius in the military and mechanical fields, and it seemed that he was very clumsy. ”

Natsuki knew that after this incident, Alfonso XIII had a complete change in his attitude towards himself, and this was exactly the result he wanted to see, so he took advantage of the compliment and said: "A complete, stable and developing Spain has a positive significance for Europe and even the world pattern." I strongly believe that the cooperation between Ireland and Spain can be a win-win situation, and that Ireland needs such a friend. ”

Alfonso XIII happily replied: "Spain will be Ireland's eternal friend." ”

There is no such thing as an eternal relationship between countries, and Natsuki actively woos Spain, focusing first of all on interests. At the present stage, in addition to complementing each other in the fields of commerce, trade and industrial resources, there is also a great space for cooperation in the military field. More than ten years ago, in the Spanish-American War, the weakened Spanish Navy suffered a devastating blow, and this defeat also made the Spanish ruling class completely see their own catties, they learned from the pain, in the case of a weak economy and an empty treasury, they tried to raise money by all means, and finalized the construction plan of three dreadnoughts in 1908, which is the Spanish-class dreadnoughts that occupy a place in modern history.

The Spanish class is the smallest displacement dreadnought battleship, its main mission is to supplement the firepower of coastal fortresses, holding the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African colonies, but the tonnage, speed and firepower are much more than ordinary coastal defense battleships, this class of ships is equipped with eight 305 mm caliber main guns, in order to install four twin main gun turrets on the narrow hull, and in order to maintain the balance of the hull when firing guns at one side at the same time, the two turrets in the amidships of the hull are staggered in a stepped arrangement on both sides, and one main gun turret is installed in the bow and stern direction. The hull space of this class of ships is relatively small, and the defensive armor is very weak in order to save weight.

At the insistence of the Spanish government, the dreadnoughts were built in Spanish shipyards with drawings and materials provided by the United Kingdom. The first ship "Spain" was completed in 1913, the second ship "Alfonso XIII" was completed in 1915, and the third ship "Haimei I" started construction in 1913.

In addition to looking forward to signing a package of reciprocal trade agreements with Spain, Natsuki is also preparing to propose to Alfonso XIII that Ireland help the Spanish Navy complete the later construction of the "Haimei I", and only charge the cost of materials and labor, which is basically equivalent to "voluntary labor". In exchange, Ireland will ask the Spanish government to open the military area of the port of Malaga and allow Irish Navy ships to replenish, repair and station there for a limited period of time, so that the Irish Navy can add new stops on the long voyage from mainland to the Persian Gulf.

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