In the spring of 1919, the Irish Navy training ship "Ku-Chulin" entered the Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf, and then sailed north, to the familiar but unfamiliar Oriental world of Natsuki. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Southeast Asia is the traditional sphere of influence of Britain and the Netherlands, and the kingdom of Ah San has not yet been opened everywhere in this era, and there is a lack of books in both economy and military; the rich oil resources of the East Indies and the Malay Peninsula have been recognized by the world, and the popularity of industrial exploitation is not inferior to that of the Allied camp in the Persian Gulf and the North Caucasus.

The political strategy of the Kingdom of Ireland was never intended to spread to the East, but this did not prevent the Irish merchant and merchant fleets from making the voyage there, and the ****** forced the Irish to flee their homes and live in various places, and now the special state of affairs caused by this special historical event has created unique conditions for Irish overseas trade. Whether in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Brunei, or Manila, there are Irish chambers of commerce in every famous port, large or small, and everywhere they go, the Natsuki couple are warmly welcomed by expatriates and businessmen, a kind of treatment that not every European monarch can enjoy.

Leaving Manila, the "Ku-Churin" quickly entered Chinese waters. Just as the Irish expatriates around the world miss their homeland, Natsuki is also in his dreams again and again in his distant hometown, but the place that haunts him is not the country where the country is prosperous and powerful, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, where warlords are divided, years of fighting, foreign forces are rampant, although many port cities along the coast also have the Irish Chamber of Commerce to stand, but Natsuki did not bring his beloved wife after all - he knows what those places are like, But he has no ability to help it get rid of the shackles of history, rather than sighing in the face of this cruel and helpless reality, it is better to wait for it to be reborn in Nirvana, and then come to worship with reverence.

After a brief stay in Hong Kong under the German flag, Natsuki and his entourage set off again, heading north to the waters of Japan.

Japan, also known as neon and mud bombardment, is a country with multiple personalities, brave, hardworking, fierce and paranoid, which is an extremely hateful term in Natsuki's consciousness. In this era, although Japan's economic scale and industrial strength rank among the top ten in the world, there is a huge gap with the United States and Germany, which are at the top of the rankings, and even the economic indicators of Austria-Hungary are multiples of it, but such an "inferior student" in the industrial economy has a formidable military strength, and its army and navy have shown strong muscles in the war against Russia, and maintain an expansion rate equal to or exceeding that of the great powers. By 1919, the Japanese Navy was second only to Germany and the United States in terms of total tonnage of active ships, and they had six first-class capital ships—four Kongo-class battlecruisers and two Fuso-class superdreadnoughts—as well as an entire fleet in good combat readiness. If it were to take a position on the high seas, it would be able to defeat the Austro-Hungarian or Italian navies.

Such a highly centralized military empire naturally eyed its poor neighbors, its eyes were so greedy, and its fangs were so sharp that even the top American leaders on the other side of the Pacific Ocean were wary of it, but with the victory of the Allied camp in the Great War, the world pattern changed dramatically, and the real threat from the Atlantic direction became a major problem for the American rulers. After the signing of the Armistice in London, they quickly joined forces with the weakened British Empire, and the Portuguese crisis was their first major victory against Germany. As an ally of Britain, Japan declared war on Germany early after the outbreak of the war, and seized Jiaozhou Bay and the colonial islands in the South Pacific from the Germans. As a result of this, although the United States and Japan have not concluded any association agreements, their relations have changed directionally. At this time, there was a general view in international public opinion that if the United States, Britain, and Japan were catalyzed by a specific international situation, it was entirely possible for the United States, Britain, and Japan to form a new entente camp.

Despite receiving invitations from the Japanese royal family and government, Natsuki did not land on Japanese soil as a visitor. The "Ku-Chulin" sailed into Tokyo Bay, and Natsuki received on board the ship a group of Japanese military and political officials headed by Field Marshal Prince Fushimi Miya, Prince Sada'o, and the Japanese side complained about this strange arrangement, but some people threatened to take the lives of the Irish king and his wife, and they could not agree to the harsh demands of the Irish side -- the Irish king and his wife were under full martial law wherever they went, and there were no idle people in the presence of even the busiest streets, so they reluctantly chose to compromise.

When Nicholas II visited Japan as the crown prince of Russia, he was assassinated by extreme Russophobic figures and almost lost his life, which can be traced back to the fierce conflict between Japan and Russia in the process of competing for the interests of Korea and Northeast China. The reason why Japan signed the Treaty of Berlin with Germany and suffered the humiliation of being undefeated was because Germany was able to defeat Britain and France, and the reason why Germany was able to defeat Britain and France was that the overwhelming victory of the High Seas Fleet over the British Grand Fleet was a very crucial factor, and a key figure in this key factor is the current King of Ireland. These cautious and tenacious Japanese angry youths are unconditioned to go to Germany to assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm II, and it is not bad to catch a member of the German imperial family who is regarded as a genius hero by the Germans to relieve their hatred - it is impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood in the news circulating in the market, and there was a case of Nicholas II earlier, how can the Japanese government pat its chest and make absolute guarantees?

Unable to see the "divine face" of His Majesty the Emperor himself, Natsuki didn't feel anything to regret, after all, Prince Fushiminomiya has been in the Japanese political and military circles for decades, and he is also a quite remarkable figure, not to mention that he is accompanied by a fossil-level figure - Togo Heihachi, who is regarded as the "god of war" by the Japanese.

The combined age of these two people is more than 150 years old, and they have experienced the process of Japan from being **** by the great powers to becoming angry and becoming stronger. In the course of their conversation, Natsuki was amazed not only by the many new things and ideas that kept pace with the times in their old heads, but also by their terrible will to conquer everything by force.

Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has undergone profound economic and social changes, and through a series of foreign wars, it has acquired various resources and colonies urgently needed for industrialization, and war reparations have further cultivated Japan's military strength. Rapid change means the emergence of a large number of new things, what history can learn from is no longer enough to meet the needs of the present, the development and progress of the country in many aspects make it difficult for some people in charge of state affairs to keep a clear head, and Japan's constitutional system has congenital defects, in the situation of the nation's fanatical militaristic upsurge rising wave after wave, it becomes natural for military personnel to usurp the powers of civilian officials, and when a country is swayed by fanatical soldiers, it will inevitably go further and further on the road of military expansion until it is lost......

While they are ambitious, the two veterans with deep military qualifications have a sober and humble understanding of the current situation of the Japanese army. The Japanese Army has first-class combat effectiveness in Asia, and it is not inferior even to the armies of most European countries, but Germany's performance in overthrowing France and abusing Tsarist Russia during the Great War made them see the gap with the world's first-class level, and the German army's field heavy artillery made them envious, and the combat vehicles and aviation units that appeared on the battlefield for the first time made them even more dumbfounded. Although the war lasted only a little more than a year, the German army's adaptation and field in the field of new weapons and tactics was a valuable asset that could not be bought by any amount of money, and it was difficult for the Japanese military observers sent to Britain, France, and even Russia to learn even the epidermis. Prince Fushiminomiya knew that the person sitting in front of him was a genius-level expert in this field, so he lowered his body from the beginning and humbly asked for advice, hoping that the other party would be able to teach him a few tricks.

Togo Heihachi was a god in the Russo-Japanese War, from the raid on Lushun, the fierce battle in the Yellow Sea to the battle of the Tsushima Strait that shocked the world, his tactical talent was vividly displayed, and its brilliance was really no less than the later naval battles of Jutland and Flanders, it is said that he could not ask the younger generation for tactical advice, but he obviously noticed the active role played by the aircraft carrier as a new type of ship during the war, although the Japanese Navy converted an old ship into an aircraft carrier, and formed a naval aviation in a decent manner, Deck take-off and landing training was launched, but they were not much more effective than the British. Marshal Togo tried to discuss with Natsuki whether aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft units could replace battleships as the core of the fleet in the future, made bold ideas about the combination of submarines and aircraft carriers, and even made euphemistic suggestions for the standard warships that Natsuki admired.

Natsuki saw that he would not lose his manners and avoid revealing really valuable information to the other party, so their meeting was always carried out in a lukewarm atmosphere, and finally ended the conversation painlessly.

As the ship sailed away from Tokyo Bay, Natsuki stood on the aft deck of the ship, looking at the fading coastline with very mixed feelings. In today's era, the United States and Germany are based on geographical positions and are gradually becoming two poles of the world, even if the hand of God is difficult for Ireland to replicate the glory of the Netherlands and Portugal in the Age of Discovery, but this does not mean that the Irish fleet does not have a chance to appear in Tokyo Bay as a victor. The Japanese Navy's "88th Fleet" plan is not designed to bluff people, the Nagato-class battleships that have already begun construction are designed to be equipped with 410 mm guns and have a terrifying monster with a speed of 27 knots, and the Kaga-class battleships that have completed their design and have been approved by the budget are even stronger than the new generation of sea giants of Britain, the United States, and Germany.

(End of chapter)