Once the diplomatic negotiations are under the control of one of the parties, the outcome of the negotiations is no longer in doubt. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

As the hard-fought marathon approached the finish line, the British realized that their defeat was inevitable. More than six hours before the deadline for the second ultimatum, in the presence of Crown Prince Edward, the British Foreign Secretary signed the agreement on behalf of the British Government for the peaceful settlement of the Belfast dispute.

Under the terms of the bilateral agreement, which came into force immediately, the British government would formally renounce its territorial claims to Belfast in northeastern Ireland, and all British troops stationed there would be withdrawn within four weeks. The Irish government will swear sovereignty over the Belfast region, promising a high degree of political autonomy to the nine counties of Ulster in the north of Ireland, and will declare Belfast an undefended city......

At the time of parting, the drunken Prince Edward did not want to look directly at Natsuki, as if he was very disappointed with the trip with high expectations. Sir Newgent, on the other hand, seemed to have suddenly aged several years, and his mood was particularly low.

Shaking hands with the two of them one by one, Natsuki said goodbye: "I sincerely hope that the dispute between Ireland and Britain will end here, if our two countries can abandon their previous hatred and live in harmony, in the near future, our people can live a positive, optimistic, rich and beautiful life, if either side insists on provoking contradictions, we will all become horses stuck in the quagmire, no one wants to run fast, just watch others go away." ”

Sir Newgent replied meaningfully: "Don't worry, we have already learned the power of His Highness, and we will never try again." I only hope that after His Highness becomes King of Ireland, he will be able to regard Ireland as his home and put the interests of Ireland first, so that our two countries can naturally live in peace. ”

As the victor, Natsuki was quite generous at this time: "I will take this advice to heart. Your Excellency need not be too disappointed, diplomatic efforts must be backed by national strength, and Britain's decline due to its defeat in the war is only temporary, and in time it will be able to return to the ranks of great powers. If we had sat down at the negotiating table at that time, there would have been a good fight. ”

"I am as old as the sunset, Your Highness is like the rising sun, and if there is a future, it will also belong to the world of the younger generation." Sir Newgent held Natsuki in one hand and Edward in the other, "I hope that the two Highnesses will bring prosperity and splendor to this world." ”

Xia Shu raised his eyes to look at the British Crown Prince, and the corners of his mouth twitched: "I mean so, the final decision is in the hands of His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

The British Crown Prince in front of him, His Royal Highness the Honourable Duke of Rossey, the Duke of Cornwall, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, said with some self-deprecation and some self-encouragement: "It seems that in a few hours we will be able to change the name of His Highness to Your Majesty, and I am still a long, long way from taking charge of a country." In any case, His Highness has set an example for all the young people of this era, and I should try to catch up, hoping that in a few years from now, I will be able to achieve something too. ”

The corners of Natsuki's mouth turned into a smile: "This is indeed a long and challenging road, and we are destined to be on this road for many years...... Please dear it, Your Royal Highness! ”

"Please cherish it too." Speaking of this, Prince Edward suddenly smiled at Natsuki playfully, "Don't get too deep in the emotional whirlpool that an English woman brings you. ”

It is quite interesting to say that Charlotte Hill is an English woman, and Princess Mary is also an English woman. Natsuki didn't answer, but waved them away.

As the new day dawned, the Irish government was the first to issue a proclamation: the Kingdom of Ireland would immediately exercise absolute sovereignty over the entire island of Ireland and the surrounding islands that originally belonged to Ireland. Hearing this news, all walks of life in Ireland were jubilant, from the National Cathedral in Limerick to the Three Saints Church in Dublin, every church rang the bell, and the barracks, naval bases and ships sailing in formation fired salutes one after another, with the issuance of the official British announcement, the last trace of uneasiness in people's hearts was also cleared, and the new Kingdom of Ireland could let the old empire that had been rampant in the world for hundreds of years retreat without a fight, which is something that many people would not even dare to dream of. Of course, people knew who brought them glory, and they indulged in chanting long live and extolling his merits with old songs......

On the other hand, the British people fell into unprecedented loss because of the outcome of the Belfast dispute, from the declaration of war on Germany in August 1914 to the present, in just a few months, Britain lost the Royal Fleet, which relied on the ranks of the great powers, lost hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of overseas territories, and finally even Ireland, a territory known as the "back garden of the empire", the decline of the empire has exceeded everyone's imagination, and the prestige and reputation of the royal family have fallen into an unprecedented trough. The cabinet of government could be changed as fast as that of the strange island nation of the East, but in the eyes of many far-sighted Britons, this dark page had finally come to an end, and their own country was able to avoid the devastation of this unbearable war, which paved the way for the rebuilding of the army and the recovery of the country......

As night falls, warm and happy Christmas carols resound in every corner of the European land, and the living are grateful for the Creator's forgiveness and mercy, and pray for those who have lost their lives to war, disease, and all calamities. In the Prussian royal palace in Berlin, the members of the Hohenzollern royal family gathered as in previous years, and they praised the great achievements of His Majesty the Emperor, the growing strength of the German Empire, and the prosperity and expansion of the country brought rich practical benefits to each of them. And they can smoothly obtain the support and asylum of the authorities.

When everyone began to sit down at the table covered with white cloths, the fifth prince Oscar looked at the empty chair next to him and suddenly sighed: "This Christmas, there is one more interesting person missing from us, eh...... Some people's lives are really amazing! ”

August, the fourth prince on the side, muttered loudly, "Lucky guy! ”

Crown Prince William, who sat at the head of the princes, said solemnly: "You must have heard the saying: when luck comes, it is often only those who are prepared to catch it. With Your Majesty's ambitions and the current momentum of development in the German Empire, I believe that sooner or later, you will all be given similar opportunities. ”

After saying this, the crown prince bowed his head to the Kaiser, who was sitting opposite him, while Wilhelm II looked at his sons with generous expectations.

"Father and Emperor can rest assured that wherever I am, I will never forget that I am a member of the House of Hohenzollern, that Germany is my only homeland, and that everything I do must be based on these two premises."

The words of the second prince Aitel sounded like an oath of loyalty, but the words made the atmosphere change the flavor. The youngest prince of the family became a candidate for the throne of an independent state, and soon wore the sacred crown, and William, as the prince of the empire, was able to tolerate such a thing even if he was jealous, and praised it generously in public, but the honest and honest Aiter was not so generous, and he often spoke coldly and sour on various occasions, so he became the spokesman for the appeal of those with ulterior motives in the military.

In the eyes of these people, in order to maximize national interests, they will not hesitate to sacrifice any country. They feared that sooner or later the strategic cooperation between the United States and Britain would bring insurmountable resistance to Germany's expansion, so they actively advocated fighting a preventive war, completely defeating Britain, deploying German troops on the British island, and turning the United States into an isolated person in the true sense of the word, so that they could sit back and enjoy victory with peace of mind. Therefore, the competition between Ireland and Britain for Belfast was seen as an excellent opportunity for these people to intervene, and they could not wait to see the two countries go to war, and with the tacit approval of the Kaiser and the military leadership, they were secretly preparing to send troops. As a result, the imminent war was resolved by diplomatic negotiations, and although Ireland won a good battle at the negotiating table, the agreement signed by the two sides had nothing to do with Germany's vested interests, but only gave Germany no excuse to attack Britain.

When Prince Aitel finished speaking, there was silence at the table. Before the Kaiser and the Crown Prince spoke, no member of the royal family was willing to take a presumptuous position.

"Well said, well said."

A loud voice came from the door, and everyone followed the voice, and it turned out to be the protagonist of this controversial topic, Prince Joachim, who was wearing a German military uniform, walked briskly to the place reserved for him, saluted the Kaiser, the Empress, and the Crown Prince one by one, and then smiled playfully at the princes, and took his seat calmly.

Although Joachim has become a candidate for the throne of Ireland and will soon become king of Ireland, he is a member of the Hohenzollern family after all, and the blood ties will not be severed by the change of status. Neither William II nor Crown Prince William showed even the slightest hint of surprise, and the other members of the royal family were also calm in their surprises, but Prince Eitel tried his best to hide the embarrassment in his heart.

After taking his seat, Natsuki said unhurriedly: "The peace treaty between Ireland and Britain did not benefit Germany in any way, but made Germany miss the opportunity to suppress Britain, and there should be many people here who have such thoughts. The truth is that a war that took place in late 1915 would do more harm than good to any country, except for the United States. Do you know that the British government has made a secret plan, once foreign troops land in Britain, the British royal family, the government and the wealth accumulated over hundreds of years will be transferred to Canada, even if Britain itself falls, the power of the entire British Commonwealth will still be mobilized with the help of the United States, and soon the Allies and the United States and Britain will break out into a war that will sweep the world, considering that it will take five to ten years for Germany to convert the colonial benefits gained in the last war into national strength, The industrial power of Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey was so weak that it could not even guarantee self-sufficiency, and the core of the war between the two camps was the confrontation between Germany and the United States. Ladies and gentlemen, can Germany now compete with the United States in terms of industry, economy, finance, and resources? ”

(End of chapter)