"Speaking of sincerity, the two of them have traveled all the way to this point, which is in itself a sign of sincerity, and after going through difficult twists and turns, I believe that the British royal family and government should also show full sincerity to solve the Belfast problem. "Pen Fun www.biquge.info" said Natsuki as he went to the locker in the ship's cabin, opened the door, took out a bottle of wine and three glasses, poured the wine and handed it to Sir Newgent and Prince Edward, and said:

"For the sake of the precious lives of thousands of soldiers in the two countries, and for the peace and stability of Europe and the world, we have shown the greatest sincerity...... Sir Excellency, I am sorry for the reckless interruption of your statement, but now you may continue. ”

"Well, Your Highness, I hope that our efforts here will be rewarded." Sir Newgent took a sip of whiskey and breathed a sigh of relief, and his gloomy face finally regained some life.

"The first demand is for the autonomy of Northern Ireland, which is the last refuge for Protestants to the Protestants, the second is that Belfast is undefended, which is the last guarantee of British national security, and then the third and final demand is that His Highness will be able to marry our eldest princess Mary."

Natsuki was secretly surprised that Germany defeated Britain at sea and Ireland became independent from the British territory, both of which had seriously damaged the vitality of Britain, and he played a crucial role in both of them, and the British should regard him as their number one enemy, and now for the long-term interests of Britain, they actually made marriage a condition of peace. In the Middle Ages and even earlier, this situation was not uncommon, but now in the 20th century, it seems that it is a bit of a rush to seek medical treatment if you want to ease relations between the two countries in this way, right?

Natsuki took a sip of wine and said unhurriedly: "I noticed that Your Excellency used a very special wording when stating the conditions of the peace talks, 'hope', can you explain it?" ”

Sir Nugand probably also felt that this condition was not very reasonable, because these conditions were jointly negotiated and decided by the king and the government's cabinet, so he had to convey them truthfully, so he shrugged his shoulders slightly in front of Natsuki and said: "The meaning of hope, Your Highness can be understood as a plea, or it can be regarded as a strong suggestion. Although His Royal Highness was born into the German royal family, he is now the ruler of Ireland after all, and will soon officially wear the crown of Ireland, and everything should be based on the interests of Ireland as the primary starting point, and it is impossible to obey the wishes of the German emperor and the German high command as before. ”

Natsuki responded seriously: "I understand this as a kind reminder from the United Kingdom, and my response is gratitude. I don't think it's impossible for me and Princess Mary to be husband and wife, but my refusal to treat my personal affection marriage as a diplomatic clause is a great affront to my human dignity. ”

Sir Newgent turned his head to look at Prince Edward, and then said, "If Your Highness insists on this, we can abandon the third demand and reach an agreement on the basis of the first two." ”

Natsuki pretended to think about it for a moment, nodded and said, "Okay, then let's talk about the agreement!" ”

Sir Nugent and Prince Edward both seemed relieved, but only the young British crown prince tried to relieve his physical and mental exhaustion with more alcohol, and the experienced British foreign secretary still took small sips and remained somewhat wary of Natsuki's performance.

Natsuki looked at all of this silently, and he elaborated unhurriedly: "Ireland has three demands, the first is that the British government recognizes in the form of an official notice that the Kingdom of Ireland exercises sovereignty over the entire island of Ireland and the surrounding islands that originally belonged to Ireland. The second is that all British troops should be withdrawn from Ireland within the deadline, and the two sides will jointly survey the maritime boundary. The third is to pay Ireland £500 million as compensation for the British army's occupation of land in Belfast for the construction of military installations. ”

"£500 million?" Prince Edward exclaimed in astonishment, "Your Highness, I don't mean to be offended, but you must know that we have spent less than £200 million on the fortifications in Belfast. ”

Natsuki shrugged, "But it will cost us £500 million to dismantle them. ”

This answer immediately choked the British crown prince.

Sir Newgent continued: "Just as His Highness thinks that it is a great insult to tie up a personal marriage in a diplomatic agreement, all the British people will not accept a diplomatic agreement to abandon Belfast and pay reparations under any circumstances, and that such a humiliating act of disgrace will certainly bring disastrous consequences to the national reputation of Great Britain, and I am sure that Your Highness will understand." ”

Natsuki replied: "Consideration is understanding, the sovereignty of the Belfast region originally belonged to the Kingdom of Ireland. Since the official proclamation of the Kingdom of Ireland, British troops have been stationed in this area for more than half a year, and the payment of reparations is the proper attitude, and the amount is still negotiable. ”

Although the opponent's mood was calm and his attitude was relaxed at the moment, Sir Newgent was deeply afraid of the brutality at the beginning of the negotiations, and he did not dare to argue with reason as usual in negotiations, but tested the opponent's hole cards step by step for the camp: "If all His Highness and the Kingdom of Ireland want is an attitude, then in principle, a sterling indemnity can solve the problem?" ”

Natsuki didn't answer immediately, but turned his back and walked to the locker, his silence making Sir Newgent and Prince Edward a little uneasy. As a result, Natsuki only added some wine to his quilt, and then came to them with a bottle, and refilled some into the cup of the British Crown Prince, and then replied at the words of Sir Newgent:

"As I just said, it is a great expense to dismantle the military facilities left by the British army, and the British have already demolished the shipbuilding facilities in Belfast, and now it is impossible for the British army to leave all the weapons and equipment as compensation, right?"

Sir Newgent argued, almost without thinking: "That is impossible, for it is only when the surrender is the surrender that the army surrenders all its weapons." ”

Natsuki was noncommittal, but smiled at him meaningfully, and his sly smile made Sir Newgent's back cool for no apparent reason.

Taking a deep sip of whiskey, Natsuki spoke in a higher tone: "Now that I have accepted the two demands of your country, and that Your Excellency, as the plenipotentiary and accompanied by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the British Empire, can you now make a decision to reach an agreement on the three demands I have just made?" ”

Sir Newgent did not say anything, but Prince Edward said: "After the discussion just now, can we understand that the third demand is that Britain should pay a pound of reparations?" ”

Natsuki glanced at him, this guy probably thought that he could speak irresponsibly without being a plenipotentiary, from the British standpoint, there was not much difference between the international impact of one pound and five hundred million pounds, and fighting to eliminate this last pound was the key.

"Yes." Natsuki's answer preempted Sir Newgent's words, and if it was a deal, it would be the final word, and it would be difficult to stand up if it was repeated again.

Sir Nugand was not slow to react, arguing: "The King and the Cabinet have given me carte blanche to sign the agreement with Ireland on behalf of the British Government, but before signing the agreement, the terms agreed upon by the two parties must be submitted to the Cabinet and the King for approval, which is a well-established practice, and His Highness will understand and cooperate with it, isn't it?" ”

"Of course." Natsuki replied affirmatively, but his next words made Sir Newgent frown: "We are now more than thirty nautical miles from Dublin, and if we return to Dublin by boat, it will take too long to go back and forth, and your cabinet needs to be discussed, and His Majesty the King needs to consider that the addition of all items may miss the established time limit, so I suggest that you contact the British government through our radio, so that the time will be more secure." ”

"Your Highness's calculations are really exquisite." Prince Edward retorted angrily.

Natsuki would never be angry with this sentence, and what made him curious was the contrasting attitude of the British crown prince. Before his first visit to the United Kingdom, the young prince who loved the country and did not love the beauty in history was kind and humble, and simply regarded him as his idol, Natsuki also thought that they could cultivate a good personal relationship, and promote the future relationship between Britain and Ireland from mutual confrontation to win-win cooperation, but this is destined to be just a simple beautiful vision, Natsuki's visit to the United Kingdom is coming to an end, Prince Edward's attitude has changed a lot, and it is not like it is caused by some unexpected changes, in an idiom to describe it is "the original form is revealed". Dealing with people, Natsuki admires people who are straightforward and hearty, and those who have always been shrewd and cunning, he also has his own way of getting along, and what he dislikes the most is hypocrisy and people with dark hearts, for this kind of people, he has always stayed away.

Seeing Xia Shu snorting coldly with an expressionless face, Sir Newgent hurriedly "filled the position": "If I remember correctly, this battlecruiser was once one of the fastest and strongest capital ships of the German Navy, as long as His Highness is willing, it will take less than an hour and a half to sail back to Dublin." With the current time, we can still afford to wait for an hour and a half. ”

Xia Shu calmly refused: "I'm sorry, I won't take this risk with a warship that can change the strategic situation, after all, it is impossible for the two of you to let the British submarine ambushed outside Dublin Harbor immediately retreat, if a crew member misses because of too much nervousness, not only me, but even the safety of the two lives cannot be guaranteed." ”

Stimulated by alcohol, Prince Edward continued to fire irresponsiblely: "If we use this battleship's non-telephone station to get in touch with the country, we will either have to show you the confidential communication code, or we can only communicate in plain code that is very easy to decipher...... According to the rules of bridge, peeking at your opponent's cards is the most shameless form of cheating. ”

Natsuki remained unmoved, but said, "If I had to choose, I would choose to use coded telegrams, because it takes a long time to completely decipher a set of codes, and it is not difficult to replace a set of non-military communication codes." ”

After hesitating for a while, Sir Newgent looked at the British Crown Prince, who not only failed to help, but made the situation more passive, and had no choice but to make a choice: "Well, since everything is under the control of His Highness, we can only do it." When I leave office, I will certainly remind my successor that he must be fully prepared to deal with His Highness again, otherwise the stimulation of the heart alone may be fatal. ”

For this kind of cynical compliment, Natsuki sneered and accepted.

(End of chapter)