In the early morning, in the southern waters of the Irish Sea, the mist fills the sea, and the sailboats loom in the air, and the people on the boats continue to cast their nets, and then pull up the heavy fishing nets, from this point of view, fishing here should be very fruitful, but the expressions of these fishermen are quite solemn, and from time to time they look into the distance, and their eyes show a cautious and apprehensive look, as if they are stealing vegetables from someone else's garden. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Among the relatively scattered fishing boats, a slightly larger ship seems to wander aimlessly. Its artillery armament was wrapped in armor, and the sailors on the deck smoked or chatted, but there was no leisure for routine cruises.

On the flagpole of this light gunboat, an Irish Navy flag with a tricolor background and a crown shield flutters.

As the sun rose and the fog cleared, many fishing boats put away their last nets and began to turn around and sail westward, that is, the coast of Ireland. Hearing this, the fishing boats that were still fishing stopped working, but their bottom bilges were loaded with a large amount of fish, and their movements became very slow. After a while, a touch of lead gray flashed on the sea in the distance, the ship did not have a huge shape and mighty momentum, but it was also an out-and-out armed ship, and it was very fast, like a hunting shark that smelled blood, and rushed to the front of it in three times and two times.

Unveiled the cannon suit and increased the speed, the armed ships on the side of the fishing boat immediately met it. The two ships sent a signal to each other in flags several kilometers apart, and in the eyes of those who do not know, this wordless exchange may only be understanding, but for everyone who can read the international signal, it seems to be a silent competition.

The armed ship that protects the fishing boat is slightly smaller than the other party, but it is like a sheepdog that protects the sheep, and it does not show weakness against the vicious wolf. The lead-gray ships changed course several times, trying to get rid of the entanglement of the Irish gunboat and attack the fishing boats flying the Irish flag, during which the distance between the two ships was once reduced to twenty or thirty meters, and the muzzles of each other's guns were facing each other, and the sabers were tense, but they were not loaded with live ammunition, but some sailors in non-combat positions threw potatoes at each other with their own national curses, and in the end some people were actually injured by potatoes.

The two British and Irish lightweight gunboats did not fight because of the bloodshed caused by the potatoes, but the waves swung from them, and the medium of radio waves immediately triggered a larger confrontation - seaplanes flying from Dublin were the first to reinforce their own gunboats to cover the retreat of the fishing boats, and a few hours later, the 750-ton British destroyer "Arabian Antelope" and the 3,400-ton old cruiser "Saffer" arrived one after another. In a vigorous attempt to block the return route of the Irish fishing boats, two 900-ton German-made large torpedo boats of the Irish Navy, the "Crummel" and the "Cyrus," came in formation and formed a hostage to the British ships.

Limerick, the Royal Palace of Ireland, and the Royal Cabinet meeting were held in a solemn atmosphere.

"Although the British Navy is superior in overall strength, their deployment on the west coast is not strong, and we must teach them a profound lesson this time, otherwise our fishing boats will be able to sneak in at night in the future."

William Grientz, Lord of the Irish Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was one of Natsuki's most relied on German generals, who fought the British in northern France and Ireland on several occasions and won a decisive victory in Dublin.

Prime Minister Fritz Hordes, War Secretary Aimo Perev, Chancellor of the Exchequer Bender Warrant, Secretary of State for Industry Marco Trins, and Irish cabinet officials of German origin all supported the navy's tough pressure on each other, because they knew that the Allied bloc, led by Germany, would not let the British do whatever they wanted, especially Ireland, which had a strategic hold on the British. However, Irish officials have little such confidence, and Foreign Secretary Rohr McLean is very cautious when he says: "If it is just a military confrontation, I am afraid that it will turn the fishing dispute into a military conflict, and in the current situation of our two countries, a military conflict will be even more harmful to us." ”

Natsuki certainly knew that the Foreign Secretary's fears were not unfounded, and that although the naval officers and sailors of both sides tried their best to exercise restraint at the fishing protection site in the Irish Sea, in the atmosphere of continued tension, any mistake on the part of either side could create a situation that could not be ended.

It is not surprising that two neighbouring island nations would have a fishing dispute, just as the lions of the African savannah are vying for territory. In the past few hundred years, Ireland has been under British rule, and any form of dispute is a contradiction within the country, and with the independence of Ireland, various hidden and suppressed problems have gradually emerged, and the competition for fishery resources is one of them.

Although almost all of Ireland's trade is carried out by the sea, and 80% of the population lives in coastal areas, Ireland's marine resources can undoubtedly be considered underexploited. There are many historical reasons for the fact that the fishing economy accounts for only one percent of Ireland's economy, which is lower than that of most other maritime nations, but by no means because of the scarcity of fishery resources in the waters around Ireland - the Irish Sea, which is rich in herring and cod, and the natural fishing grounds formed by the confluence of the warm Atlantic Current and the cold current in Iceland, which are certainly not as rich as the North Sea fisheries, which are among the four largest fisheries in the world, and for Ireland, which has a population of just over four million, except to meet domestic food needs, There is also a large surplus that can be exported, so it is regarded by the decision-makers of the Kingdom of Ireland as a focus for enriching the economic means and improving the overall national strength.

On the other side of the Irish Sea, the mainland of the British Empire, there are more than 20,000 fishing boats of all kinds, and the fishing and derivative industries are both ancient and developed, with countless fishing ports on the east coast, and famous fishing ports such as Fleetwood on the west coast of the Irish Sea.

Historically, there have been far more British fishermen and vessels fishing in the Irish Sea than in Ireland.

After the independence of Ireland, there was no explosive growth of Irish people engaged in fishing activities, after all, fishing at sea is different from shore fishing, which requires fishing gear and boat fishing skills, capital, technology and time. It was not until after the New Year, when more and more descendants of the diaspora returned to Ireland from the European continent that the situation changed radically. Some of these expatriates with capital, skills and experience are engaged in the processing of fishery products, and they have invested in factories along the coast of Ireland, where the demand for fishery resources has led to the development of the local fishing industry, and the Irish government has provided interest-free loans and free skills training to those interested in the fishing industry. Spurred on by a variety of favourable factors, the number of registered fishing vessels in Ireland almost doubled from 2,502 to 4,460 in the spring and summer of 1916, and the number of fishing vessels in Ireland was growing at a rate of around 300 per month, benefiting from the growing Irish shipbuilding industry. However, only one-tenth of Ireland's new fishing vessels have a displacement of more than 100 tons, and most of them are small fishing vessels operating inshore, mainly due to financial constraints - even if the government provides unlimited loans, civilians who switch to fishing have to weigh whether they can repay on time, and the solution to this problem is simple: as long as there is enough catch and can be converted into economic benefits, Ireland's fishing industry will naturally have a lot of momentum.

As a result, more and more Irish fishing boats are appearing in the surrounding waters, and the Irish Sea between Ireland and Britain is the most attractive fishing area. There had been friction between fishermen from the two countries a few months earlier, but that was far from escalating to the level of national conflict. Later, British patrol ships began to drive Irish fishing boats that appeared in Britain's traditional fishing areas, and even arrested Irish fishermen and detained Irish fishing boats in order to make an example of them, which caused an uproar in Ireland. After diplomatic efforts by the Irish government, the British released the captured Irish fishermen, but refused to return the fishing boats, let alone pay financial compensation to the Irish fishermen.

The Irish people were very indignant, and public opinion overwhelmingly criticized Britain's occupation of fishery resources. Before Irish independence, it was common for Irish fishermen to be bullied and driven away, and at that time there was no redress, and the fishing industry on the east coast of Ireland was largely confined to the offshore area, and Irish fishermen preferred to go as far as Icelandic waters than deep into the heart of the Irish Sea. Today, Ireland has become an independent kingdom, growing in power and prestige, and it is not allowed to be invaded by other countries. The Irish government took the lead in protecting the fishing industry, and Irish fishing boats began to go to fishing areas without demarcated borders under the protection of naval vessels, which was initially successful, but the British government quickly responded, and there was an armed confrontation between the two ships......

Grienz was dismissive of Raul-McLean's concerns, saying: "Our 'Celtic' and 'Long Live Liberty' are on their way to the area where the incident occurred, and will be there in two hours at most, the submarine on duty has already arrived, and our flagship 'Belfast' and the high-speed torpedo boat carrier formation are on standby in Dublin Harbour." If an armed conflict breaks out, we will take this opportunity to attack the British Navy, raise the prestige of the country, forge the soul of the country, and negotiate with the British after the war. If they dare to go to war with us, they will be killing themselves! ”

"If we win?" The Foreign Secretary asked in an unconfident tone, and turned his eyes to the young king for help, hoping that he would be able to make a wise and calm decision at this moment.

In a way, the German officials in the Irish cabinet showed their strength because they understood the king's intentions better than the Irish counterparts. Natsuki paused and said:

"We have informed our German allies of the confrontation in the Irish Sea, and the German side has replied that it is ...... The German Navy had ordered the 1st Battleship Squadron of the High Seas Fleet deployed in the port of Brest and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron deployed in Tórshavn, to be put in a state of combat readiness ready to set sail for reinforcements. ”

As soon as these words came out, the decision was made.

(End of chapter)