On an autumn day with a light rain, the whole of London is covered in mist, as if it is a hazy fantasy. The British have long been accustomed to this kind of climate www.biquge.info the streets are full of traffic and people, and Buckingham Palace, with the king's flag fluttering, is also the same solemnity.

In the gardens of the palace, King George V, who is in his fifties, walks side by side with the candidate for the throne of Ireland, who has just celebrated his 25th birthday, with a cane in one hand and a black umbrella in the other. Obviously, because of the blows and troubles brought about by the defeat in the Great War, the once high-spirited King of England has aged much in just one year, his steps are no longer as vigorous as before, and his resolute chest is not as tall as before, but the majesty that naturally exudes is still the same.

"Inviting His Highness to visit England was a unanimous decision of the Cabinet, but on the question of timing, the ministers had different views, and a very crucial factor was that many British people could not accept the status quo of Irish independence, and they felt that whether Ireland became independent or not should be through a referendum, not the means of war in which the German army was involved, and that a military victory could not represent the will of the people. Of course, since the Kingdom of Ireland has become an internationally recognized independent state, there is no need to pursue its legitimacy – respect and recognition are the best official British gifts to the Irish brothers. Now, our concern is about the security of the British homeland, the large number of German troops stationed in Ireland is unsettling our people, and the Belfast area under the control of the British army is the equivalent of a watchtower, a military buffer zone, which is very important to us. ”

"But it's an integral part of Ireland." "Whether the people who live there are Catholic or Protestant, whether they prefer Ireland or the British, they are part of Ireland, and no one has the right to divest them from Ireland." ”

George V did not retort: "You are right, Your Highness, no one has the right to do this, the laws of history determine the complete unity of Ireland, but in a particular historical period, such as now, its temporary state is not ideal, and this is also part of the laws of history." ”

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, the desire of the Irish people to reclaim Belfast is like that of a parent to find a lost child, and this sentiment is far stronger than the British people's wariness and apprehension about the German presence in Ireland." Natsuki only said the first half of what he said, and as for the hidden part, George V, who was the crown prince for 18 years and then succeeded to the throne for 5 years, will not understand.

"Your metaphor is very good, the Belfast region is the blood of Ireland, but you must not forget that Ireland is also the blood of Great Britain, and we have seen it with great grief to see it separate." George V's heavy "pain of losing a child" is certainly an exaggeration, but as a king, he sees a group of people go out on their own without any nostalgia, and he has no way to keep it, and he will feel sad if he is replaced by anyone.

Natsuki felt a little sympathy for the troubled King of England in front of him, but in fact, the conflict between Ireland and England had become increasingly fierce at the beginning of George V's accession to the throne, and George V's views were quite similar to those of the Swedish king of the same era, and he tried to avoid the threat of civil war. Shortly after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, at the suggestion of George V, representatives of the British government met at Buckingham Palace with representatives of Ireland and Northern Ireland in an unsuccessful attempt to agree on the autonomy of Ireland so that Britain would not be dragged down by the Irish question in the event of a war that could break out at any time.

"It is the free will of the four million Irish, Your Majesty, you have done nothing wrong, on the contrary, Britain has been able to coexist peacefully with Ireland, and your attitude has played a key role. It is for this reason that I thought I should say thank you on behalf of all Irish people, and sincerely hope that you will fulfil the centuries-old wish of the Irish people to make Ireland a truly complete and independent country. In that case, the Irish will always remember your kindness. ”

George V shook his head with a wry smile and said: "If all this is under my personal will, I don't mind making such a concession, but has Your Highness ever thought that it would make me Louis XVI of England?" ”

The guillotine of Louis XVI by the French people is a well-known allusion, and it happened not so long ago. To be fair, Louis XVI behaved much better and even more innocently than those heinous tyrants. In the modern history of France, there are many extravagant, extravagant, and incompetent kings, and the most fatal problem of this king is that he has a weak character but actively promotes reforms, and his reforms have not changed the situation of France's many evils, but have caused fierce conflicts between the nobility and the people, leading to the outbreak of the French Revolution, the people have brought Louis XVI to court for conspiracy to commit treason, and finally cut off the head of his empress.

In fact, from the point of view of power, the king is the one who is least likely to betray the country.

Natsuki was not in a hurry to respond, but carefully pondered the intention of George V's words—the royal power should complement the will of the people, and if the royal power strongly disobeyed the will of the people, it could cause strong dissatisfaction among the people, or even be overthrown by the people. There is also a precedent in English history for the beheading of kings, and although it stemmed from a war between the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy against the feudal absolutist monarchy, the death sentence to the king was a tyrant, a traitor, a murderer, and an enemy of the people – which seems to be more revealing than the example of Louis XVI.

However, with the political significance of the Belfast dispute itself, even if Britain loses one more city, it will not make George V lose the crown, but the loss of the war has shaken the prestige of the British royal family unprecedentedly, and there is also a mustard that George V does not want to say: since 1714, the ancestor of the British royal family is George I, and George I is a German, the granddaughter of King James I and the son of Sophia, the wife of the Elector of Hanover. At that time, the British Parliament, in order to prevent the British throne from falling into the hands of Catholics again, invited him, a descendant of Protestants, to come to England to inherit the throne under the Succession to the Throne Act. The German blood of the British royal family has continued since then, and it has not been broken to this day. The current British royal family is known as the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, and King George V's surname "Widding" is also a standard German surname.

After thinking about it, Natsuki chose a rather special way of expression: "Compared with Your Majesty, I may be slightly luckier in this regard. ”

There was not a hint of envy on George V's face.

"Holding a referendum in Belfast alone will undoubtedly lead to an unacceptable outcome that we will not accept, and then a war will be inevitable." Natsuki said this very heavy sentence in a calm tone.

George V turned his head to look at him, and asked rhetorically without being alarmed: "That's what you say, would you rather let Belfast become a desert than see it separate from Ireland?" ”

Natsuki avoided the serious: "That's just an exaggeration, our force is not strong enough to turn the entire region into a desert. ”

"With His Royal Highness's military talents, he must have a great deal of confidence in capturing Belfast." George V speculated calmly.

Natsuki paused and whispered, "Yes." ”

George V shuddered slightly and stopped.

"Your Highness isn't worried that after winning a tactical victory, you will lose strategically?"

"Why did Your Majesty say that?" Natsuki said she didn't understand.

George V did not explain, and he continued to walk forward.

Natsuki walked unhurriedly beside the British king, silent for a moment, and said: "Military means will be the most urgent consideration after we have used all the methods, but even if there is only a one percent chance of success, for the integrity of Ireland and for the Irish crown to be untarnished, I will devote myself to it without hesitation." ”

"Which is more important between the two?" George V asked.

Natsuki didn't hesitate: "It's both. ”

George V said coldly: "Sometimes, stubbornness can be understood as bravery. Sometimes, stubbornness is stubbornness, and it's not an unwise choice. ”

Natsuki replied with a domineering and sharp sentence: "Military victories can often make up for political defeats, but political victories do not always make up for military defeats. ”

George V stopped again, and this time when he turned his head, Natsuki was met with a pair of cold eyes.

"In the last hundred years, Britain has experienced far more wars than Prussia and Germany. We have faced all kinds of opponents, except for the heavy defeat in the war against Germany in 1914, the rest have been victories, especially against those weak and small countries, and we have never been relentless. ”

The implication of the British king's words was to remind Natsuki that his previous victories had been achieved by relying on Germany's strong military strength, and Ireland was only a small European country that did not enter the stream, and no matter how powerful the commander and how clever the strategy was, it was impossible for a herd of sheep to defeat a lion.

Natsuki replied without humility or arrogance: "Your Majesty, has you forgotten the most important battle of the British Empire to dominate the seas? ”

In 1588, the relatively weak English fleet defeated the powerful Spanish Armada, mainly relying on technology, system, strategic superiority and the non-negligible factor of luck, which is what Natsuki wants to express. Of course, at that time, Britain's light industry was very developed, and its comprehensive national strength had actually caught up with Spain.

"The inhabitants of the Belfast area have been informed of the upcoming referendum, and there is no legal problem with this, and since Your Highness is confident that you will win all military operations, why not treat this referendum as a war without gunpowder and try to win with your ingenuity?"

George V's suggestion sounded like a concession - whatever Natsuki could think of - it was actually an attempt to get him in. Unless there is cheating, the possibility of changing the result of the referendum is very small, once the referendum results are obtained and announced to the public, and Ireland wants to forcibly seize the Belfast area by military means, Britain will stand on the moral high ground, and Ireland, which is weak in national strength, will bear the infamy of being an aggressor, and even if it wins a tactical victory, it will inevitably become a strategic loser.

Natsuki had already thought about this, and he calmly replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for reminding us that no matter what, since the referendum process has begun, we will resolve this thorny issue before the referendum is over anyway." ”

At this moment, a look of surprise finally appeared on George V's face, and anger began to burn in his eyes, if this battle was fought before the referendum, Ireland would not suffer morally, and Britain could only face it head-on, and the key to victory or defeat at that time was really likely to be in the hands of this military genius in front of him.

(End of chapter)