"I oppose it, I firmly oppose it, that Your Majesty must not make a rash visit to Ireland, that it is an irresponsible risk to Your Majesty's personal safety - and to the national security of Great Britain!"

"This Joachim...... Your Highness, now as a candidate for the throne of Ireland, is equivalent to our crown prince, no matter how illustrious his record, he is only a highness after all, and it is enough for us to send one for the sake of courtesy. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"Let them give that damn report to the Germans! They were in a group anyway, and I would say that even if Your Majesty had deigned to go to Ireland, the Germans would have gotten the news at all—and perhaps they had already gotten it, and now they would not attack us because of other plans. The Queen Elizabeth and the War Weary were so big that we couldn't hide them, and even after the New Year, the Germans could still seize on the problem and put pressure on us. Prepare for the worst, evacuate our crews, mothball the two ships, and put them under the joint care of the military monitors of all countries until the time specified in the agreement. ”

"Your Majesty must not go to Ireland, everyone thinks, if the Irish detain Your Majesty, we cannot impose military sanctions against them, we can only hand over Belfast, as for the international image of Ireland will be darkened because of this, I think that His Highness does not care about these things at the moment, his Ireland is completely tied to Germany, as long as he can wear the crown justifiably, even if it is boycotted by various countries, he can rely on trade with Germany to feed four million Irish, or become a cheap farm for the Germans."

At the Royal Cabinet meeting, the ministers expressed their opinions, and all were surprisingly unanimous in their opposition to George V's recent visit to Ireland.

George V, who sat on the throne, realized that he had taken this issue lightly.

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Prime Minister Boeen-Lou spoke decisively: "Okay, everyone, please be quiet!" ”

The noisy conference room immediately fell silent, but several ministers were still humming in their nostrils, and they looked like angry gorillas.

"It is indeed inappropriate for Your Majesty to make a hasty visit to Ireland, and there seems to be no doubt that His Highness should resolutely reject whatever reason he may have. I think it's time for us to think calmly about what his intentions are, what kind of actions he will take if his request is denied, and how we can respond in advance. ”

Bona Law's words were echoed by George V, who bowed his head slightly, and then turned his gaze to the crowd.

Earl Aureli, Lord of the Admiralty, immediately exclaimed: "No matter how elaborate their disguises are and how sweet their words are, they cannot hide their true intentions in trying to retake Belfast. According to me, as long as we insist on the terms of the armistice and ignore all the provocations of Ireland, they will not be able to do anything with us. If they really want to fight this battle, they can't be the winners. ”

The current Secretary of War, the only person to hold this position in three consecutive cabinets, Field Marshal Kitchener, was once considered by many of his colleagues to be a dangerous element who ignored the constitution because of his arbitrary style, but during the war, the new army he created single-handedly became the last hope for Britain to defend its homeland, and in the subsequent armistice negotiations, this considerable military force also became a key weight for British diplomats to fight for, so after the end of the war, Kitchener not only did not receive a count-down check, On the contrary, he was awarded a noble title by the British royal family, and his personal reputation was so great that he was regarded by most Britons as the pillar of the country. After the Earl of Aureli had spoken, he replied angrily: "It is right, if Ireland had the strength to take Belfast, His Highness would not have to go to such great lengths to show goodwill in front of the British. As far as I know, the Irish army has so far not had even the lowest level of combat readiness, and with less than 100,000 front-line regular troops, it is difficult to fight even Belfast's outer defences, and as long as this battle lasts for two or three months, their strategic reserves will be depleted, and the confidence of the army and the population will be shaken by the increasing casualties. ”

"But in the present situation, war will do us more harm than good, we will blockade the routes of Ireland with warships and submarines, and Ireland will attack our ships by the same means, the current economic and financial situation of Britain is not optimistic, once the trade routes in the North Atlantic are interrupted, we will certainly suffer irreparable losses......"

Before Lord Norris, Chancellor of the Exchequer, had finished speaking, Kitchener interrupted unceremoniously: "The most fearless thing about Ireland now is that a considerable part of us are afraid of war, and that the situation that has been so finally stabilized will deteriorate again. In fact, the same is true of the common population in Ireland, where Ireland, which is more economically and financially vulnerable, is more likely to collapse as a result of the war. ”

"What Your Excellency said, in theory, it is." Sir Jervis, Speaker of the House of Commons and President of the Privy Council, replied, "but the reality may not be what we think, and the Irish have high hopes for their new leader, and the trust in him is likely to support him in a battle at any cost, and that is the power of popular will." ”

Kitchener retorted dissatisfiedly: "Ridiculous, doesn't our Majesty have the absolute support of the people? ”

These words poked George V's sore spot, and Sir Jervis was so nervous that he quickly got up and explained: "I don't mean that I mean, but I think that the Irish are blinded by blind trust, like inhaling hallucinogens, and even crazy things can be done." ”

Fortunately, George V did not go angry, but snorted coldly.

The atmosphere changed suddenly, people's hearts seemed to be pressed on a heavy stone, and their words and deeds seemed less natural.

Although the strength of the Great War is not entirely the responsibility of the decision-makers, the incomparably glorious British Empire fell from the peak to the trough in just a few months, such a psychological gap is difficult for anyone to bear, even if public opinion is surprisingly tolerant and optimistic, the royal dignitaries and military generals will inevitably carry a heavy psychological burden, emotions become easily fluctuating, and it is difficult to maintain the peace of mind in the past.

Prime Minister Beaunar-Law, who played the role of moderator as usual, said tactfully: "Now let's go back to the original question - how to respond to His Highness's request?" ”

"From now, we should have a day and a half left, even if it's 30 hours." The words of the Admiralty, Count Aureli, immediately aroused the curiosity of the ministers present and those in power: What does this guy want to do?

Count Aureli seemed to enjoy being in the limelight, and he sold it for a moment, then said, "We may be able to restore the two ships to their pre-commissioning condition without damaging their structural performance, in which case they will have no reason to accuse us of violating the armistice." ”

"Is that okay?" George V couldn't wait to ask.

"It should work." Count Aureli replied, "Your Majesty, please give me a moment, I need to discuss it with the technical department." ”

George V hesitated: "Is two hours enough?" ”

Count Aureli's expression was a little embarrassed, on the one hand, he knew the urgency of time, but on the other hand, they were not talking about the modification of two bicycles, but about two huge machines made up of tens of thousands of parts and working together. In the past, the technical adjustment of these warships, even a small matter of detail, often required several weeks of dialectical and calculus, but now it is necessary to decide their fate in two hours, and one cannot help but feel like walking a tightrope.

Despite all the difficulties, Count Aureli still accepted it. After leaving Buckingham Palace, he hurried back to the Admiralty, and the first thing he did was not to gather the relevant personnel responsible for the design and construction of the Queen Elizabeth class, but to call Admiral Fisher, who was idle at home. He originally thought that this stubborn old man would be furious, but after hearing the whole thing, Fisher did not get angry, but took the initiative to ask to be the commander-in-chief of the emergency refit of the two warships.

Count Aureli gladly agreed.

On the other hand, Natsuki was accompanied by Prince Edward on a visit to Harwich after leaving Hill Manor. During the war, the port town was shelled and bombarded by the German navy, killing hundreds of soldiers and civilians. Here, Natsuki went to the Memorial Hall to lay flowers and addressed the British public in a sincere and reflective manner, and his open anti-war stance won him the understanding and respect of the British people – a diplomatic show with ulterior motives, as British politicians expected. During this period, Natsuki closely followed the movements of the British Navy through internal intelligence officers, so he had an accurate prediction of the decisions of the British high-level.

Although the size of Britain's shipbuilding industry shrank due to the defeat in the Great War, their shipbuilding level was still second to none in the world. In just one day, the two Queen Elizabeth-class dreadnoughts moored at the Portsmouth Shipyard and the Portsmouth Shipyard, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Warweary, had all their main gun rangefinders removed.

Naturally, a battleship without a rangefinder could not be considered complete, as even a person with a rough knowledge of naval affairs could understand.

On the day of the deadline, Natsuki returned to London, and King George V stood in front of him with his head held high, with an inviolable majestic gesture. He politely declined Natsuki's invitation and informed Natsuki that Crown Prince Edward would return to Ireland at the appropriate time.

"There is an old saying in the East called a strong man who breaks his wrist." Natsuki said to George V, "Your Majesty's decision defends the sacred dignity of England, which is commendable and admirable." Now, Your Majesty should be able to understand why Ireland is obsessed with reclaiming Belfast, also for the sake of preserving the sacred dignity of the Kingdom of Ireland, for which we do not hesitate to sacrifice even the blood and lives of 100,000 or 200,000 young and middle-aged people, which seems to us to be worth it. ”

The other party took so much pains, is it just to let himself understand this simple truth? Now the "Queen Elizabeth" and "War Weyware" have temporarily lost their combat effectiveness, and the most basic training tests have had to be suspended. George V couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

(End of chapter)