One night in the late autumn of 1926, the quiet capital of the Portuguese Republic, Lisbon, suddenly rang out gunshots, the city's electricity supply was cut off, flares of white light pierced the night sky from time to time, the streets were full of chaotic footsteps and unintended shouts, the doors and windows of the city's residents were closed, the ships moored in the port put away their gangways, and the noise continued all night, many people could not help but think of the night 16 years ago, when revolutionaries stormed the palace of King Manuel II and deposed the man who had been on the throne for only two years, a monarch who severely suppressed revolutionary activity, and Portugal entered the republican era. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although the chaos in the city did not affect the security of the British Embassy, the atmosphere here was strangely serious. The faint candlelight reflected the battered face of the British ambassador Warbor, who had been ordered to sail from Gibraltar 16 years ago when the Portuguese Revolution broke out, but when the British fleet arrived in Lisbon, the Kingdom of Portugal was already history, and thanks to the joint efforts of officials from both countries, the Anglo-Portuguese alliance with a history of more than 500 years was continued. During the war, Portugal did not enter the war, but it facilitated Britain in many ways, and in the post-war crisis of Portugal, the longest alliance in history was once again put to the test, and the interests of the two countries were interdependent. However, in the following decade, especially after entering the 20s, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France successively joined the economic and trade alliance established by Austria-Hungary, Spain, and Ireland, opened their markets to each other, reduced tariffs, and gradually controlled the financial and trade markets of the entire Europe, and countries outside the economic and trade alliance were inevitably affected and impacted. As a result, Portugal's foreign trade has been declining year after year, the domestic market is sluggish, and unemployment is high, which has triggered popular dissatisfaction with the government.

During the same period, Britain's economic revival also showed a weak momentum, because during the centuries-long period of colonial expansion, the British found that the way to obtain raw materials from the colonies, process them in the mainland, and then ship them back to the colonies for sale was not as easy as transferring funds and equipment to the colonies to process products and sell goods locally. Without the support of the real economy, no matter how prosperous the world is, it is just a castle in the air, and now it has lost a large number of colonies and high-quality resources, and Britain can only achieve temporary prosperity driven by capital, and it is difficult to compete with the emerging industrial countries for a long time.

Warbol had not been British ambassador to Portugal for a short time, but he had an in-depth knowledge of the situation in the country. The diligent efforts of Portuguese officials could not withstand the negative effects of the economic depression and trade deficit, the most-favored-nation trade status of Britain and Portugal did not bring effective promotion to each other, and economic aid from the United States did not extricate Portugal from its predicament, but made it increasingly dependent on American capital. As a result, the Americans are getting closer and closer to the Azores, and the Germans, fearing that the most important strategic transit point in the Atlantic Ocean will fall under the control of their number one rival, are constantly coercing and enticing the Portuguese government, and have turned the calm Lisbon into a front-line battlefield in the struggle between great powers.

Intuition told Warbol that tonight's farce had a lot to do with the Germans. The thought of two German cruisers temporarily staying in the port of Lisbon for supplies sent a chill to him felt a chill in his heart, and if Portugal suddenly threw itself into the German camp, the post-war peace might be over.

The Embassy's telephone lines to the outside world were all cut off, and Warbol had radioed Lisbon's unusual situation to London, but the British Foreign Office's reply was of no practical significance, and he had to wait for a new day in agony. It was easy to wait until dawn, and he set off in a car with two military attachés to the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find out, but the car was stopped by a team of armed Portuguese soldiers not far from the embassy.

The officers at the head maintained due courtesy, but the vigilance in the eyes of the soldiers could not hide from Warbor.

"What happened last night? There was gunfire everywhere. Warbol asked.

"Probably catching dangerous criminals...... For example, separatists. The officer replied unhurriedly, "I don't know the specifics, we are just acting according to orders, we have received martial law orders, no vehicles and pedestrians are allowed to pass through until martial law is lifted, I advise you to wait in peace at the embassy, if there is a problem with the supply of food and water, I can report it to my superiors on my behalf, I believe it will be solved soon." ”

The second lieutenant's tone was more stringent than Warbol had expected, and he seemed to be a knowledgeable fellow, and Warbol said: "It is an international practice that embassy vehicles should enjoy the right of way in all circumstances. ”

But the Portuguese officer in front of him replied indifferently: "I'm sorry, this is an order from our superiors, and we must obey it unconditionally." As soon as martial law is lifted, we will receive new directives as soon as possible. ”

Wallor gave up his useless attempt and asked if the road to the docks was clear.

The officer quickly replied: "All the roads in the city are blocked, and you may not be able to go anywhere at this time." ”

At this point, Warbol was almost certain that the last thing he wanted to see happened in Lisbon was because, according to normal logic, British diplomats would only be treated in such a military coup and if the new regime was determined to deviate from its original political and diplomatic direction.

Back at the embassy, Warbol climbed onto the roof and used his binoculars to observe the situation in the harbor, all the ships in the harbor were moored, which meant that the channel was closed, no ships were allowed to enter or leave Lisbon, and on the docks, in addition to the Portuguese soldiers on duty, there were some dark blue figures moving, and the autumn uniform of the German Navy was exactly this color!

With a 300-nautical-mile voyage from Gibraltar to Lisbon and a dozen hours for the fastest cruiser to arrive, how could the British Navy force their way into the Portuguese capital and thwart the long-planned coup d'état, even with the quickest response?

The sense of powerlessness of 1910 remained the same in 1926.

Limerick, Ireland is in the same time zone as Lisbon, Portugal, but the Irish capital receives sunrise a few minutes earlier than the Portuguese capital due to longitude. At the Irish Royal Palace, known as the "Forest Palace", Natsuki's first job of the day was to meet with German Vice Admiral Ludwig von Reuth, who was "cutting in line" with urgent matters. During the Battle of Jutland, General Reut was the commander of the 4th Reconnaissance Detachment of the High Seas Fleet, and he was awarded a precious Blue Order of Marx for his bravery, wounded, and unable to leave the line of fire. Today, he is the representative of the German Navy to the Allied Joint Military Commission, a military staff organization that has been in operation since 1922 and has played a positive role in strengthening strategic cooperation and military coordination among the Allied countries.

As a former naval colleague, Natsuki's conversation with Reut was able to dispense with many useless polite words, and the latter flew in early in the morning from Brest, France, 600 kilometers away, and it was never for the purpose of recounting old feelings.

"Portugal had a military coup last night, the army has taken control of the capital, Lisbon, and a new military dictatorship will replace the First Republic and form a military alliance with Germany."

To the outside world, Reuter's words were explosive, and Natsuki, a direct member of the Hohenzollern royal family, had already known that the Germans were plotting to overthrow the current Portuguese government. With Germany's current military strength and political influence, it would have been easy to deal with a small European country like Portugal with a sluggish economy and social turmoil, not to mention that after the previous Portuguese crisis, Germany's diplomatic and military intelligence departments began to make secret arrangements, which can be described as a ten-year wait for a sword, and now it is finally harvest season, and even professional soldiers like Reut, who disdain to get involved in politics, can't help but get excited.

If it was a mere informant, the German government would have sent diplomats to Ireland, and General Reut's words would have been his real mission—the German navy would launch military operations against the Azores as soon as authorized by the new Portuguese government. In addition to the detachments deployed in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf, the German Navy will be in full swing to ensure a foolproof capture of the Azores.

Natsuki drank tea calmly, and his heart gradually fluctuated. The Russian offensive in the North Caucasus, the nationwide uprising in Egypt, the sudden Japanese attack on Northeast China, and the wars that took place in the last six months were all greatly implicated in the forces of the United States and Britain, the former two had a direct impact on the strategic deployment of the Allies, and the latter faintly hinted at a certain agreement between the United States and Britain and Japan. Since the opponent has made continuous moves, it seems that it is not inappropriate for the allies to launch a counterattack at the right time, but the strategic significance of the Azores is extraordinary, and the coup d'état of Portugal's pro-German forces to seize power has been a great stimulus to the United States, once Germany sends troops to the Azores to deter the east coast of the United States and Latin American countries, it is difficult to guarantee that it will not trigger a fierce conflict between Germany and the United States and even between the two camps, or even a major war that has been brewing for ten years!

The independence of the Kingdom of Ireland was aided by German troops, and for more than a decade the two countries had maintained an extremely close alliance, with far more financial, economic, technological, and military cooperation than any other Allied powers.

After some thought, Natsuki said to Reuter: "If Germany sends troops to the Azores, it must act quickly and with caution by the standards of war." For strategic reasons, Ireland should not send troops directly, but wait and see how Britain reacts. ”

Whether Ireland will send troops directly, the officer at the level of Reut has no say, he only responded on military strategy: "We have considered the possibility of a direct conflict with the US Navy, so we have made full preparations, the submarine force has sailed to the waters of the Azores in advance, the landing force is secretly assembled in western Germany, and it can be transported to Brest in a day and night, the fast fleet will transport the troops to the Azores in three days, and then expand the airfield, deploy aircraft, and before the US Navy mobilizes the main force to arrive, The Azores will turn into a sufficiently strong sea fortress. ”

The content of this military plan is exactly the same as the action that Germany considered taking during the Portuguese crisis ten years ago, and over the past ten years, the German army has repeatedly deduced, constantly perfected the details of the plan, and practiced year after year, from generals to officers and men, from combatants to engineering troops, all of them have a clear understanding of the technical and tactical essentials to be mastered by the headquarters, just like the Schlieffen plan for France. Thorough preparation does not mean absolute success, but at least it can bring the determined one closer to victory.

(End of chapter)