"The Irish have an old adage, 'A crisis in England is an opportunity for Ireland'. Pen "Fun" www.biquge.info Now that the British Navy has lost ground, the main forces of the British Army have been sent to fight in France, which is a perfect opportunity for them to wage a war of independence. If the war was over and the British Expeditionary Force was repatriated to the British Isles, it would have been much more difficult to win the War of Independence. ”

At Sanssouci Palace in Brandenburg, Kaiser Wilhelm II was strolling leisurely through the back garden while talking to Natsuki, whom he had just summoned. His tone was as confident as ever, as if he were the Creator's spokesman in the world, and everything was under his expectation and control.

Because of his physical defects and the environmental influences in his upbringing, Wilhelm II's arrogance and reckless impulsiveness have become an immutable character brand, and disobeying his will will will not lead to good results, so Natsuki has always adopted a strategy of winning by skill, deliberately showing low-key, humble and omnipotent characteristics in front of the Kaiser, but this is not enough for Wilhelm II to regard him as an indispensable thinker, at least on the Irish issue, the Kaiser and his military and political leaders did not consult him, the most vocal "authority figure" The results have been discussed before.

In the situation of war, weakening the opponent is equivalent to strengthening oneself, and the decision of the German top brass is undoubtedly correct, but hearing Wilhelm II's rhetoric about sending troops to Ireland, Natsuki reminded: "Until we occupy the northern seaports of France, the only way to transport troops to Ireland is to go far around the northern waters of the British Isles, which are too long and vulnerable to British ships." ”

Tirpitz or Müller must have explained such a reminder to Wilhelm II, so the emperor was not surprised at all, and he calmly responded: "According to the information provided to us by the Irish, there are no more than six battalions of British regular army troops deployed throughout Ireland, and there are more than 10,000 Irish volunteers armed with our guns. It also demonstrates to the world our absolute support for Irish independence. What do you think? ”

Natsuki said in a gentle tone as he walked: "I have no objection to sending fleets and marines to Ireland, but I feel that we must not be careless to underestimate the enemy, when the Germanic tribes used the Battle of the Teutonic Forest to completely change the course of history, although the significance of Irish independence is not so great, but it has irreplaceable value for us to suppress Britain in the future, and we should do everything possible to win this victory." ”

"That's right." The Kaiser nodded approvingly, "A sufficient number of troops will give us more say in the future of Ireland, and in my own opinion, independent Ireland should be a monarchy, but we all know that the Irish no longer have a hereditary royal family, and it is only fitting that a member of the German royal family should be their king." ”

To Oriental thought, this may sound incredible, but it is not uncommon in Europe. The most recent was in 1905, when the Kingdom of Norway, which became independent from Sweden, elected Prince Karl of Denmark as king. Going back a hundred years, Napoleon's right-hand man, French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, became the crown prince elected by the Swedish parliament and later ascended to the Swedish throne, and the French blood of the Swedish royal family has continued to this day. As for earlier times, it was not uncommon for the Germans to be kings of England and the French to be kings of Spain, and the right to rule a country was as transferable as its land and wealth, and the people, even if they did not love such a king, would not rise up against him because of his blood, surname, nationality, or even ethnicity.

"Has Your Majesty already decided on a candidate?" Natsuki tentatively found out.

"Naturally, it's the best person for it." Wilhelm II had a smug smile on his face.

Natsuki didn't ask more, and it was inconvenient to ask more, but he already had his own thoughts in his heart: since he couldn't challenge the position of Crown Prince Wilhelm in Germany, he should find another way out if he had the opportunity, and in line with the principle that he would rather be a chicken head than a phoenix, it was much better to be the king of Ireland than to be a German prince.

Before agreeing on a plan with the Navy Staff, Natsuki decided to talk to an emissary sent by the Irish Brotherhood of Republicans.

There were four envoys, led by "Pierce", whom he had met during his first visit to Ireland. As far as Natsuki knew, this middle-aged man with black hair, a high nose, a decent word and a quick mind, was on the fringes of the core power of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and was an important but not absolute figure.

Natsuki arranged the meeting not to take place in Brandenburg, but to invite his Irish friends to his princely domain in Bromburg, not by the usual car trains, but by Junker-IV planes that had bombed Paris.

When you arrive at Natsuki's castle, you can enjoy a relaxed and comfortable environment, enjoy red wine with cigars, and a friendly and relaxed atmosphere quickly set off.

"We have 8,000 qualified fighters, while the British have only 3,500 in Ireland, and it is certain that after the uprising, more than half of the Irish will respond positively, and we will occupy more than two-thirds of Ireland within a week, annihilate most of the British troops, and then concentrate our forces on the north. As long as you can blockade Belfast and a few other major ports, and prevent the British army from rapidly reinforcing Ireland, in less than three weeks we will be able to take control of all of Ireland and declare Ireland's glorious independence. ”

"Pierce" spoke confidently, but the source of this confidence was very different from that of Wilhelm II, and it was not based on a strong national and military power, but on a strong national will.

Natsuki thought for a moment and said to him gently: "Although we have defeated the British Navy one after another, their sea power has not been completely crushed, with the current strength of the German Navy, it is unrealistic to continue to blockade the Irish Sea, even if we drive the main fleet to Belfast, the British still have many ways to transport the Marine Forces across the Irish Sea." ”

"Pierce" stared at Natsuki very seriously, and his head was obviously pondering the deep meaning of these words.

Natsuki added unhurriedly: "In three naval battles, we crippled the main British fleet, but the British Navy still has a large number of torpedo boats and submarines, and if we sail the fleet to the Irish Sea, it won't take a few nights for the German Navy to return to the last century!" ”

At this time, the youngest but most nimble-eyed young man of the three Irishmen other than "Pierce" complimented: "Dear Prince Joachim, we all know that you are a peerless genius of the German Navy, and there will certainly be a way to stop the British from sending troops to Ireland - at least not to let them ship troops and artillery on a large scale. ”

Natsuki smiled indifferently: "Of course there is a way, but as I said just now, we definitely can't completely stop the British army from transporting troops." One more point...... Not so long ago, our Marines fought the British Expeditionary Force in northern France, and in my personal opinion, the British regular army was very strong, not inferior to the best German troops on equal terms. ”

Another bearded Irish envoy immediately asked, "Your Highness is worried that our volunteers will not be able to defeat the British troops stationed in Ireland?" ”

Before the outbreak of the war, Germany not only provided a large amount of financial and weapons assistance to the Irish Republican Brotherhood through secret channels, but also sent military instructors to help them train their soldiers, and according to the German instructors' assessments, most of the Irish Volunteer soldiers were only as good as the German reservists - after all, they had only received relatively short military training, and the quality and ability of the officers could not be compared with that of professional officers.

It is precisely because of the sensitive self-esteem of these Irish people that Natsuki did not speak up directly, and his answer was still intended to take care of the other party, especially "Pierce", who did not react on the surface but was very active inside.

"There was a very important trick to why the German fleet was able to defeat the more powerful British fleet in succession - when drawing up the battle plan, we would take the most pessimistic scenario into account, so that the actual battle would always be better than we expected."

The bearded Irish emissary was pleased with the answer, which meant that he didn't understand what Natsuki really meant. Between words, it is actually easy to distinguish who is a smart person and who is an ordinary person.

"Pierce" spoke: "I understand what Your Highness means, in the Irish War of Independence, it is necessary for the German army to take a direct part of the war, and in fact we have discussed the same opinion - we are desperate to have a regiment of German regular troops land in Ireland and help us to achieve the independence that we have dreamed of for a hundred years. ”

Natsuki was silent for a moment in thought: "To transport and secure an infantry regiment to fight in Ireland, it shouldn't be a problem in my opinion. When Ireland gains its independence and is able to defend it, we will withdraw all our troops without undermining Ireland's independence and sovereignty. ”

The three companions of "Pierce" were very satisfied with this, but Pierce smiled awkwardly.

"Allies should trust each other."

"Well, well said, allies should indeed trust each other, the decline of Britain, France and Russia is a foregone conclusion, and there are vast lands beyond Europe waiting for us to conquer. By the way, out of my personal curiosity...... I would venture to ask, what kind of national polity will Ireland adopt after independence? ”

Today's political system can be roughly divided into two categories: monarchy and republic, and then subdivided into absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, parliamentary republic, and presidential republic. This topic is said lightly, but it is actually very sensitive, and with the sophistication of "Pierce", it will not be unaware. He hesitated, then replied, "For the moment our whole focus is on how to expel the British army and achieve the independence of Ireland, and everything else is secondary." After gaining independence, we will certainly choose a state system that is most suitable for Ireland. ”

Natsuki smiled slightly, and said meaningfully: "I believe that you will choose a government that is both suitable for Ireland and adapts to the times, and you, as the vanguard banner of the Irish War of Independence, will definitely become a hero respected and admired by the Irish people, and fulfill a more sacred mission in the stable development stage of Ireland's independence." ”

(End of chapter)