“…… Today, we are here to witness the birth of a milestone. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Under our feet is the first-class dockyard built by the great Irish people with hard work, which is an important cornerstone of the Kingdom of Ireland's march towards industrial civilization, from which our shipbuilding industry will set sail......"

At the Royal Irish Shipyard in Newport Limerick, Natsuki stood on the viewing platform in a light green military dress and addressed the tens of thousands of Irish soldiers and civilians who came to watch the ceremony through a loudspeaker. Under the bright sunshine, the rusticly dressed Irish people held their heads high, full of anticipation for the slowly unfolding vision. Independence, for them, the greatest meaning is freedom, in the development of the country according to their own wishes, they no longer have to endure the ruthless oppression of the British rulers, they are using their own hands to build the long-awaited modern industry, so as to get rid of the over-dependence on traditional agricultural and pastoral industries - even the illiterate peasants know that industry is like the skeleton of the human body, can make a country healthy and healthy without bullying, but from the first industrial revolution to more than a hundred years before the independence of Ireland, Only Belfast in the north-east of the island of Ireland has developed a limited number of industries, and the Irish there have lived a superior life than the people of the central and southern regions, so they are inclined to the British in terms of religious ideology and feelings.

"Our first shipbuilding project, a warship conversion project to be exact, was of a very high technical standard, which is something to be proud of. The wisdom of the Irish is not inferior to that of any people, and the diligence of the Irish is not inferior to that of any other...... Let's shout Long Live Ireland! ”

The tsunami-like cheers of the Irish people are the heartfelt cry of the Irish people and the worship of the uncrowned king in front of them. In just a few months, he has changed Ireland far beyond anyone expected, even better than they ever dreamed of.

The new port of Limerick, where they were located at this time, was originally a large area of farmland adjacent to the riverbank, and was chosen as a cargo handling port and integrated shipbuilding area for the new capital of Ireland because of the ideal hydrological conditions of the nearby river. Officials in the Irish government have limited experience but are diligent and efficient, much more efficient than the outside world might think. The first interest-free loans aided by Germany, with the exception of a small part for armaments, were mostly spent on infrastructure development. In just four months, two deep-water terminals and a 10,000-ton dry dock have been built in Newport, located on the lower reaches of the Shannon River, 17 kilometres from Limerick's Old Town, more shipping and shipbuilding facilities are being built, and the rail and road connecting Newport to the capital city have initial capacity.

Natsuki arrived as a candidate for the throne both to see the Royal Shipyard of Ireland officially put into operation and to cut the ribbon for the first project it undertook. At this moment, the "Celtic", the former German Navy's "Scharnhorst" armored cruiser, has entered the brand-new dock No. 1, and what awaits it will be a modern modification that will greatly increase its strength.

The design of this generation of the Scharnhorst class was completed in 1904, when Natsuki participated in the later revision of the design plan as a member of the Navy's technical commission, and it was under his influence that the Scharnhorst class showed a rare forward-looking character, and even after the appearance of the battle cruisers, it did not fall to the point of embarrassment. During the Great War, they sailed thousands of miles under the command of Count Spee, demonstrating good seaworthiness and mechanical reliability. In one of the few head-to-head battles with British ships, both Scharnhorst-class ships achieved an overwhelming advantage.

In the Allied camp, the Scharnhorst class was known as the "strongest armored cruiser", but unfortunately they could not compete with the British armored cruisers of the same class on the battlefield, and in the wargames of the German naval staff, they were on a par with the last British Warrior and Minotaur armored cruisers to be built and served, but if they were in the waters far from the German mainland, they should try to avoid hard-to-head battles, and the reason is obvious.

By 1915, it was clear that there was no point in declaring whether the Scharnhorst class was the strongest equipped cruiser, and the strong appearance of the battlecruisers had taken a back seat to the once-popular armored cruisers. The two Scharnhorst-class ships transferred to service in the Royal Irish Navy were too weak in terms of their 210 mm guns and 200 mm thick main armor in addition to their speed of 25 knots.

When it was learned that the Irish government had earmarked funds for the modernization of the two Scharnhorst-class ships, one wondered how much room for improvement would be with their meagre 13,000-ton hulls.

Under the watchful eyes of thousands of Irish soldiers and civilians, as well as German military advisers, the Celtic slowly moved into dock No. 1 at the Royal Shipyard in Limerick, the gates were closed, the site was cleared, all the steel and mechanical parts of the renovation were brought in by water, and one could only see the cranes in the dockyard busy from afar, sometimes working at night.

Some well-informed sources dug up inside information from the Germans that Krupp had assembled an array of twin 11-inch naval guns from stock artillery parts, and that they used the 45-diameter barrels of the older models - the standard main guns of the last two pre-dreadnoughts of the German Navy, while in the Nassau and Helgoland classes, the Germans had already used more powerful and accurate 50-diameter barrels, and the main guns were also used in a powerful triple configuration.

The German naval guns were almost exclusively made by Krupp, and the choice of power equipment was much greater, but people with ulterior motives managed to find clues, and the Shuoxiao shipyard in Danzig exported a number of new oil-fired boilers and enhanced steam turbines, which were suitable for medium-sized ships. If the original Schultz-Sannikrovt naval coal-fired boiler and four-cylinder, three-expansion reciprocating steam engine of the Scharnhorst-class armored ships were replaced with effective boiler turbines, the power output could be increased by 35%.

Based on the normal amount of work for the major refit, the "Celtic" will stay in the dockyard for at least half a year, and in the next few months, it seems that the Irish Navy will only have the "Long Live Freedom", that is, the original "Gneisenau", the main battleship, available, but the rumors that the Ottoman Turkey transferred the battlecruiser "Von de Tann" to the Irish Navy together with the light cruiser "Breslau" have attracted a lot of attention around the world, and the British government is particularly nervous about this. Because until their Queen Elizabeth class was commissioned with the British Royal Navy no power to contain the "von der Tann".

News of the secret deal "Von der Tann" is hot, and the Irish government has announced that at the invitation of the British government, the candidate for the Irish throne, Joachim, will make an official state visit to the United Kingdom.

Public opinion in Ireland and Britain reacted in a similar way, hoping that high-level exchanges would lead to reconciliation while the sovereignty dispute in Belfast was unresolved, and that the prospects for reconciliation were bleak, and that sooner or later the two countries would eventually go to war.

On his visits to other European countries, Natsuki brought officials and advisers covering various fields such as diplomacy, economy, industry, trade, finance, and military affairs, and the entire delegation was huge, but this visit to the UK was accompanied by only a few officials, but a large group of officers, attendants, and guards.

On their previous visits, Natsuki and his entourage took the "Long Live Freedom" cruise ship, but now when they visit the United Kingdom, the "Long Live Freedom" they are on is the majestic Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser!

On November 27, 1915, accompanied by the German-made Irish torpedo boat "Free Army", the "Long Live Freedom" sailed through the English Channel to the mouth of the Thames. The British Navy's battleship "Jupiter" came to greet with traditional etiquette, it belongs to the late 19th century designed and built the Majesty-class battleship, is the largest ship allowed the British Navy to keep in the London Armistice, the standard displacement of 14,900 tons, nearly 2,000 tons more than the unmodified Scharnhorst-class armored cruisers, using 45 times the diameter of the 305 mm twin main gun, although the Scharnhorst class is fast enough to throw the Majesty class out of a few streets, but unless close to firing torpedoes, otherwise, With the gunpower of the Scharnhorst-class, it is difficult to pose a mortal threat to the Majesty-class, and in a one-on-one situation, the battle between the two warships is likely to turn into a confrontation in which neither can help the other.

Seeing the scene of the "Long Live Freedom" and the "Jupiter" sailing together, people will feel that it is necessary for the Irish Navy to equip the "Celtic" with battleship-class main guns, and if it encounters an old battleship such as the Majesty class on the battlefield in the future, it will be able to use its speed and firepower to solve the opponent.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of British people, Xia Shu walked down the gangway, full of pride at the moment, but also frightened - the sun was shining at the moment, the glass of the window, the telescope of the audience and even the ordinary spectacle lenses were shining, which made it impossible for the guards present to rule out the existence of snipers. Even if the British royal family, the government and the vast majority of the British people have no intention of doing it, as long as a small number of radicals move to kill and carry it out, it is possible to make the Irish candidate for the throne die, which is also the primary reason why many Irish people oppose the candidate's visit to the United Kingdom.

Until he walked on the red carpet on the pier and shook hands with British Crown Prince Edward and British Prime Minister Bona Law, who came to greet him, the attack on Natsuki's guard did not happen. In order to fulfill the friendship of the landlord, Prince Edward followed close to Natsuki and introduced the government officials and army generals who had come to greet him, and Natsuki deliberately stood close to Prince Edward, and if there was a television broadcast, the British people might be impressed by the closeness and friendliness shown by the two young heirs to the throne.

The British royal honor guard was the closest to the visitors in addition to the officials and generals, and they did not squint at Joachim, dressed in a light green military dress, and Edward, dressed in a crisp white military uniform. The age difference between the two is only four years, the height difference is almost the same, but the temperament is very different - the candidates for the throne of Ireland have the steady and calm of a king, the handsome appearance conditions and the fortitude tempered by the war experience, naturally exude admirable charm, although the British prince is dignified, but he looks young and immature, low-key and introverted, even the smile on his face gives people a sense of crampedness, it seems that his short military career has not allowed him to obtain the military temperament of George V.

(End of chapter)