Whether Ireland will be a key battleground in the next war remains to be seen, and shortly after the Hohenzollern royal family talks to each other, a different kind of European war will be decided in Ireland: the second European Champions Cup. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At this time, it was Natsuki's idea to hold club-like international football tournaments, not so much to promote the development of European football, but to keep the Irish economy alive, and the Irish royal family allocated a huge amount of money to sponsor the event, so that all matches after the quarter-finals were held in Ireland.

In 1916, the first European Champions Cup was held, with a total prize fund of 10 million marks, and 16 teams from Ireland, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Sweden and France made it to the finals. Germany's capital club, Real Berlin, which has long been lost in history in another time and space, won the inaugural Gold Cup, while Hamburg, who dominated the North German football scene, finished second and Ireland's Real Limerick came in third.

The teams participating in the first European Champions Cup came from only five countries, far from reaching the scope of the European title, but the high prize money, brilliant confrontation and unsparing publicity of the public opinion made the tournament famous, and in 1917, when the second edition was held, nearly 100 teams from 14 European countries signed up for the competition. In order to harmonize the format, representatives of national football associations met in Ireland and unanimously decided to form the Union of European Football Associations, which made the birth of this international football organization more than 30 years earlier than the historical process. After consultation with representatives of national football associations, the number of participating teams is determined according to the different levels of development of football in each country, and then the best players are selected according to the ranking of their national leagues or cups. Germany, Great Britain and France are the most developed countries with two teams each, while Austria-Hungary, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark each have one place, and the host country, Ireland, has the privilege of sending two teams to participate.

After more than four months of head-to-head fighting, the two teams that finally entered the final were Real Berlin from Germany and Blackburn Rovers from England, and this situation was dubbed the "European War" gimmick by the do-gooders. Although the two countries have already split their rivalry in the big war, their recent resurgence of rivalry in areas such as military and political fields has attracted additional attention to direct dialogue on the football field. With just a week to go, the 35,000-seat Limerick National Stadium is already sold out, and the confirmed attendance is no less than the previous Irish Day celebrations!

The Irish team that occupies the home advantage still failed to enter the final, for this, the Irish people are somewhat disappointed, but Natsuki does not have such a mentality, as the final date approaches, many hotels and restaurants in Limerick are showing a hot scene, and the gambling industry as a legal existence in Ireland is also a source of money, and the bonus investment of tens of millions of marks has brought more than ten times the return to the Irish economy, which is a pretty good deal.

As for who will win the final victory between Royal Berlin in Germany and Blackburn in England, under the widespread attention of the outside world, it has gone beyond the boundary of pure competition and has become a major event closely related to the country's prestige. Due to Ireland's alliance with Germany, it is widely believed that the subjective factor in the final is in favor of the Germans, and the British government, which has considerable experience in the field of politics and diplomacy, did not sit idly by, and Prime Minister Bonner Law and **** Edward both came to Ireland before the game. They did not want the Irish to turn against each other, but only to be neutral in good faith in this final, and the Irish Government gave a pledge not to interfere in sporting activities, and announced this position through the press.

However, contrary to the official attitude of Ireland, many Irish people did not welcome the arrival of the English team. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, they caused Blackburn Rovers and another English powerhouse, Everton, to cause problems, from the rocks and rotten eggs outside the stadium to the boos inside the stadium, the British really felt the resentment of ordinary Irishmen against them. In the quarter-finals, Madrid from Spain defeated Everton, and the Spanish team was treated like heroes in the collapse.

Because of this, the upcoming Anglo-German duel has a faint atmosphere of battlefield fighting.

Out of the importance of this game, the German royal family made a big move, Crown Prince Willem will kick off the final as the honorary president of the first UEFA Federation, Prince Eiter, Prince Oscar, Princess Louise came to the scene to cheer for the German team, and many princes and nobles and dignitaries who are keen on football come by plane or boat.

Two days before the final, led by the eldest British princess Mary, a British cheering group composed of dignitaries and high-class celebrities set off from London.

Only half a year has passed since the attack on the king and the bloody religious conflicts, and despite the "suppression" of the grand National Day celebrations, the bloody anger still lingers in people's hearts, and the most direct impact is that the number of inbound tourists visiting Ireland has plummeted, and Ireland's booming economic, trade and tourism industry has been like a roller coaster. This time, the German and British elites arrived in droves, and as long as there were no vicious incidents, they could dispel the bloody gloom that hung over Ireland like bright sunshine.

The most surprising thing for the Irish officials who were in charge of the reception was not only the Anglo-German dignitaries who flocked to it, but they also noticed that the very sensitive name Charlotte Hill was also prominently on the list of VIPs provided by the British!

Although there has never been any official mention of the relationship between the King of Ireland and Charlotte Hill, the love affair that caused a sensation in England a few years ago has long been a household name, so Irish officials did not dare to slack off and reported the situation to His Majesty as soon as the situation was confirmed.

Natsuki was also very surprised to learn the news. Since his visit to England, he has resumed correspondence with Charlotte, writing almost every half a month, without interruption, but Charlotte never mentions coming to Ireland to watch a football match. Like most women, she wasn't interested in the sport at first, except that when she was with Natsuki, she was able to at least understand the game when she sat down.

Now Natsuki, it is not difficult to meet Charlotte, but the difficulty lies in how to turn the tortuous love into a positive result - it is not easy for Ireland to accept a queen from a British military aristocratic family, and not to let the British government seize this opportunity to make a big fuss.

Judging from the words and deeds of Princess Mary's previous visit, it seems that her move was just a good intention to promote this marriage, but the old politicians in Britain are notoriously scheming, and there is no similar one in history.

According to etiquette, the host should send a person who is equivalent to or similar to the visiting VIP to meet him at the pier, but the Irish royal family now has only such a lone seedling as Natsuki, and it seems too grand for him to go in person, but fortunately, the German royal family has arrived in advance, and Natsuki asked his sister Princess Louise to greet him.

Charlotte's good time in Germany was not long, but it was not short, she lived with Natsuki in Bromberg's princely domain most of the time, occasionally traveled to Berlin or Brandenburg to participate in royal events, and most of the members of the Hohenzollern family were only acquainted with each other, except that she had more topics in common with Princess Louise, and had correspondence from time to time earlier. For this reason, Louise is a better fit than anyone else.

The cruise ship carrying the British VIP arrived at the mouth of the Shannon River as scheduled, and it would take a few hours to dock at Limerick upstream, and from the moment he received the report, Natsuki's heart was worried, he was looking forward to seeing Charlotte, whom he had not seen for a long time, and he was deeply worried that the political intrigues of the British would push him into a dilemma, and then it would not be a question of grasping or giving up, but the endless entanglement of some people if they were not together, which was the most hateful and unsolvable problem in the world.

Princess Louise left the Irish royal palace and went to the docks, Natsuki sat alone at the desk, thinking about it, and took out a document from the drawer, which was densely printed with a list of British guests who came in groups, Princess Mary has a noble status, because she is at the top of this list, and the rest are arranged by title, although the head of the Hill family has the status of a hereditary duke, but Charlotte Hill is only a commoner, so her name is ranked very low, It is marked with a striking red line.

Before this, Natsuki had skimmed through the list and hadn't carefully looked at each name. At this time, my mind was chaotic, and I didn't have the energy to deal with other things, so I could read it carefully. Hill is a common surname, there are about seven or eight on this list, and it is unknown whether the rest of the people are related to the Hill family except Robert Hill and Charlotte Hill, and it is not clear whether the rest of them are related to the Hill family, and there is no reason for the intelligence department to spend valuable resources investigating these innocuous things.

When the setting sun shone on the large lawn in front of the palace, a convoy appeared on the road leading from the direction of the port, and it was known that it had gone to pick up the British. Xia Shu got up and walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window of the office, looking around from his angle, this Irish royal palace is not as majestic and magnificent as the royal palaces of Britain, Germany, and Austria, and many of its details are designed to reflect the advanced concept of natural environmental protection, many people who have lived here like its warmth and romance, and the German crown princess and Princess Louise have praised it as a wonderful fairy tale palace.

(End of chapter)