Heavyweight military figures such as Hugh Scott, Chief of Staff of the US Federal Army, Archibald Murray, Chief of Staff of the British Army, and Chief of Staff of the Canadian Army, Granville Kayson, all appeared at the scene of the Irish National Day military parade.

The answer to this question is that the benevolent will see the benevolent, and the wise will see the wise. When Natsuki first learned that these military giants would come to watch the National Day parade, he was very surprised and curious, and his intuition told him that the United States, Britain, and the Commonwealth countries might be brewing a military alliance on the basis of economic and political cooperation, and although isolationism in the United States prevented them from joining hands in the form of a national alliance, smart and sophisticated politicians could always find a way to circumvent it.www.biquge.info

If this group of people had met in the United States, let alone the fledgling intelligence agencies in Ireland, it would have been difficult for the Germans to obtain accurate information, and now they had given the Allies an opportunity to take advantage of Ireland. Natsuki did not hesitate to order special measures to be installed in advance at the residences of dignitaries and generals of the United States and Britain and other countries, and whether they were talking in suites, restaurants, or using telephones and telegrams, the contents of which would be truthfully recorded by the Irish intelligence services.

In an era when technical surveillance methods were scarce, people's awareness of anti-surveillance was generally weak, and after the targets arrived in Ireland one after another, Natsuki quickly obtained a crucial information: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada were discussing the so-called Ocean Convention, and were preparing to include Brazil, Cuba, Panama, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and other countries to form a defensive paramilitary alliance.

Canada is the most powerful Commonwealth country and a loyal follower of the United Kingdom, and its position is unquestionable. It is not surprising that Brazil and other American countries are deeply influenced by the economic and political influence of the United States, and it is not surprising that they are waving their flags behind the Americans' butts, but the point is that this convention has the potential to tie the United States and Britain firmly to a chariot, greatly increasing the chances of the next world war.

The Kaiser and the Crown Prince did not attend the Irish National Day event, but appointed Prime Minister Bateman and senior generals of the army and navy to watch the ceremony. In Natsuki's eyes, these people are loyal to the country, but they are not as confident as the British, and if this information is revealed, it is inevitable that they will be annoyed and leak their mouths on some occasions, so that the Americans and the British will perceive that Ireland is spying on them, and then Ireland will fall into passivity in politics and diplomacy. Therefore, Natsuki quietly asked his subordinates to continue to collect information, and as soon as the National Day passed, he went to Berlin to discuss countermeasures with the rulers of the German Empire.

In Potsdam's Sanssouci Palace, the father and son of the Hohenzollern royal family stroll through the gardens and talk as they go. When Natsuki talked about the attempt of Britain and other countries to concoct the Ocean Pact, the Kaiser sneered: "Ha, a bunch of fools who don't think about themselves! They think they can fight us together? If France is used as a battlefield, no matter how many troops the United States and Britain send, it will become our spoils of war! ”

Xia Shudun was curious: "Why does Your Majesty think that the two sides will be at war in France?" ”

Wilhelm II was not in a hurry to answer this question, but turned his head sideways and looked at Natsuki with meaningful eyes, and said slowly: "Ireland's economic development momentum is too fast, it is likely that in the eyes of the British rulers, its direct threat is more than that of Germany, and in the event of a war in the future, they will concentrate their army forces to defeat Ireland first." ”

Crown Prince Wilhelm replied to the Kaiser before Natsuki: "Ireland is not what it used to be, how can they be defeated if they are defeated." ”

This sound like a compliment, but in fact implies a sense of jealousy and irony, and Natsuki's understanding of Crown Prince William was evident at a glance, so he dissolved it with an oriental polite remark: "Without the support of His Majesty and Germany, Ireland may not be able to achieve even one-tenth of its current achievements, so no matter how fierce the enemy's offensive is, for the overall strategic goal of the Allies, the Irish army and people will desperately resist." ”

It can be seen that the Kaiser was very satisfied with this answer, and then returned to Natsuki's previous question from this topic: "With the heroic and tenacious fighting spirit of the Irish army, even if Britain mobilizes with all its might, it may not be able to fully occupy Ireland in a few months, but when the British Commonwealth army and even the American army come to reinforcements, and use warships and submarines to block the sea routes to Ireland, so that Ireland is strategically isolated, will Ireland still be able to hold on - is it necessary to defend to the end?" The answer should be very clear. Next, they will try to land in France, unite with the French to attack us, and the victory or defeat of the war will once again be decided on land. ”

This idea is quite similar to the World War II model of the old plane, and what surprised Natsuki was that these words came from the mouth of the arrogant and arrogant Kaiser Wilhelm II. Could it be that the German Navy was going to be on the defensive from the outset in the next war, so that the Allies were to be strategically put in a extreme position?

"Our Navy ......"

Natsuki opened his mouth to refute, but was interrupted by Wilhelm II.

"I know what you're trying to say, as long as our fleet can control the waters of the East Atlantic, the armies of the American countries will not be able to land in Europe easily, and the assumption just now is only a possible scenario. We are full of confidence in the construction of the German Navy, but recently naval experts have come to a very pessimistic conclusion: in ten years, the combined size of the US and British navies will be twice that of the German Navy. In that case, rather than risk a decisive battle with our navy, it would be better to preserve our naval power in the early stages of the war, pin down and strike at the enemy through land warfare, and at the same time use raid ships and submarines to hunt down their transports, force them to disperse their ships, and wait until they are exhausted, and then wait for an opportunity to annihilate or inflict heavy damage on their main fleet. ”

Regardless of the effectiveness of the rearmament of the British, with the economic and industrial power of the United States, as long as they are given sufficient incentives, the United States alone can quickly build a fleet twice or even three times that of the German navy. Unless you win a quick victory, naval battles are extremely difficult, but the odds of a decisive victory on land are much higher.

After pondering in his heart for a while, Natsuki gradually understood the intention of the Kaiser's words. At this time, Crown Prince William sang harmoniously: "If we want this premise to stay in the hypothetical stage, we will either increase the investment in ship building recklessly, or seize the initiative strategically." Jochen, you often say that airplanes are a magical force that changes the pattern of naval warfare in the future, if we build airfields on the routes of American countries into Europe, deploy a large number of combat aircraft, and then let our fleet cooperate in operations, will the chances of winning naval battles be much greater? ”

Speaking of which, it really returned to the strategic chess piece of the Azores. Before coming here, Natsuki seriously considered that in order to counter the threat of the Ocean Convention, the occupation of the Azores can indeed occupy a large strategic initiative, but the biggest problem at the moment is the position of the United States. If the occupation of the Azores makes the Americans feel a real threat, it is very likely that the United States will be spurred to conclude a real military alliance with Great Britain and will prompt the United States to enter the war track ahead of schedule, turning its terrible industrial capacity into a terrifying armament power.

Natsuki bluntly voiced his concerns, and the Kaiser and the crown prince were not surprised, apparently these had already been discussed repeatedly in high-level internal meetings in Germany.

The three of them stopped by the fountain, and then Wilhelm II said: "We have a new plan, a war plan to be precise. The British would attack Ireland as soon as the war began, and the first target of the Americans would certainly be the Azores, and our plan was to capture the Azores before the United States and Britain, and then quickly build airfields and fortifications. If we were fast enough, we would be able to crush the American and British fleets in the Azores, so that the main German fleet stationed in French ports would not have to return to their home bases. ”

Crown Prince Wilhelm's subsequent words revealed the true intention of the father and son: "If we take the Azores, the enemy will certainly try to take it away, so we need the most elite troops to garrison the islands." It is well known that the German army is suitable for fighting on flat land, and in this respect the Irish army is more reliable than the troops of any of the allied countries. If we fail to preemptively capture the Azores, either the Irish army, armed with short rifles and submachine guns, with the support of the fleet, will take the islands or, as Your Majesty said earlier, adopt a full-fledged defensive strategy at sea. ”

This is clearly intended to be cannon fodder for the Irish army!

From the point of view of the German royalty, there is nothing wrong with this move, but from the point of view of the King of Ireland, such a plan is simply cold-blooded and heartless!

After hesitating for a moment on a different position, Natsuki said: "If other factors are not considered, this plan itself is feasible, but I don't think that the cunning British will give us the opportunity to seize the Azores." Frankly speaking, if they had garrisoned the Azores a few months before the outbreak of the war or even earlier, and built their airfields and fortifications, even if Ireland had sent 100,000 troops and Germany had sent its main fleet, the chances of capturing the Azores would have been less than 20%! ”

Wilhelm II's eyes narrowed, and Crown Prince Wilhelm suddenly changed his address to Natsuki and asked in a cold and hard honorific, "Then what does Your Majesty mean?" ”

Natsuki curled the corners of his mouth slightly: "It is undeniable that the Azores will be a strategic location for the next war, but in my opinion, it is not the only key to grasping the initiative." ”

Although this confident expression made Crown Prince William a little unhappy, he still speculated along the line: "Except for the Azores...... Is it British? ”

Natsuki shook his head and looked at Wilhelm II, who was both expecting and apprehensive about the next war: "No, it's Ireland. ”

(End of chapter)