On February 20, 1916, in front of the newly completed National Cathedral in Limerick, the new capital of Ireland, the huge square turned into a dark sea because of the gathering of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, such a spectacular scene may not have been seen in decades. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoAt the head of this vast sea of people, stands a Catholic church with a typical baroque style, its floor plan is in the shape of a round cross, the appearance is simple and solemn, like an ancient castle that has been through the vicissitudes of life, and from its marble steps, it shows a strong effect of light and shadow, full of vitality, hinting at the special historical state of this ancient and new country.

Under the grand portico, the guards of honor dressed as cuirassiers stood upright like two rows of javelins, and a bright red carpet stretched from the passage in front of them into the depths of the majestic temple. Under the majestic dome, thousands of officers, officials and guests invited to witness this historic moment have all risen, and the focus of everyone's attention is on the shrine, which is arranged according to traditional religious ceremonies, and the archbishop asks in a strong tone:

“…… Can you solemnly swear and promise that the people of Ireland will be governed in accordance with the decrees, articles of independence, and unchanging customs passed by Parliament? Can you use your right to have law, justice, and mercy justly enforced? ”

The young Highness Joachim, dressed in a graceful robe, fell on one knee, put his hands on his breast, and replied in a loud voice: "Yes, I solemnly promise that I will do so!" ”

When the archbishop placed a heavy crown encrusted with sparkling gems on the young man's head, the grand hall was filled with a tsunami of cheers, and in an instant, the ecstasy spread to the soldiers and the people waiting in the church square, and even more surging cheers resounded through the magnificent new city......

Just a few days before the grand coronation, the last St. George's flag was lowered in Belfast Harbour and the last British soldiers boarded the ship, and the Normans landed on the shore, officially ending the long reign of the foreign race in Ireland for more than seven centuries, and Ireland returned to independence, and truly independent under a strong royal power. Generations of Irish people have endured so much for this day to come, and over the centuries they have staged one revolt, riot after another, and uprisings, all of which have been brutally suppressed without exception. Tens of thousands of Irish people, including the War of Independence of 1914-1915, have given their lives in the struggle for independence and sovereignty. Because of this, the living have every reason to celebrate the dawn of this new era.

Freed from the oppression of the British government, the Irish soon ushered in a miraculous period of rapid development. Behind this universal prosperity, a reorganization of the power structure is quietly underway. When the new king ascended the throne, Patrick Pierce and Aemon Kanter, two of the leading contributors to the Coup d'état, were granted the title of Duke, and although the salary paid by the government could only be enjoyed by them during their lifetime, their descendants were able to retain the honorary title of Duke in perpetuity, which was already the highest reward under the Irish constitution. Later, due to his personal inability to become prime minister, Eamon Kantor submitted his resignation on his own initiative at the urging of the new king, and instead took up the vacant post of privy councillor in the new cabinet. Peirce was able to retain his post as Minister of War and was promoted to the rank of General of the Irish Army, but no longer held a substantive position in the Irish Army.

With the departure of Kanter and Pearce, many Irish fears about the loss of state power seem to be becoming a reality - the new prime minister, Fritz Horders, is of Irish origin with German citizenship and served as a government official in the Kingdom of Prussia in the German Empire. With the covert support of the candidates for the throne and the support of the German-Irish, this party successively merged several small parties, and became the second largest party in the Irish Parliament in just over half a year, and Horders also became the second prime minister of the Kingdom of Ireland in the form of a coalition government.

The new Admiral was Wilhelm Grienz, a former commander of the German Expeditionary Force, who was instrumental in helping Ireland turn the tide of the War of Independence. Like Horders, Grientz renounced his position and rights in Germany, became an Irish citizen through the "back door" reserved by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Ireland, and was then awarded the rank of Admiral of Ireland, Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Navy, and received the non-hereditary title of Earl upon the accession of the new king.

In the new cabinet formed by Holders, more than half of the ministers have dual citizenship of Ireland and Germany, and the new king is from the German royal family, people do have reason to fear that the core power of the country will fall into the hands of the Germans, but from an objective and fair standpoint, these "pseudo-Irishmen" with outstanding ability, strict style and loyalty to the royal family are better able to govern this country in a special transition period than Irish officials with mediocre qualifications, inefficiency and corruption.

Sooner or later, the worries and doubts from all walks of life in Ireland will be diluted by time, and Natsuki is fully confident about this. Putting on the Irish crown, he turned to face the entire hall and sat firmly on his throne. As part of traditional religious ceremonies, cabinet ministers and army generals step forward one by one to swear allegiance to their new supreme king. Whether or not they swore allegiance to the King of England or the Emperor of Germany, from this moment on, they served only one country and one monarch.

After the coronation, Natsuki walked along the central axis of the church towards the door, passed through the guard of honor with his sword drawn and pointed diagonally to the sky, and strode to the front of the church. At this time, the sunlight shines through the giant sculpture on the top of the church, reflecting a spot of light in the shape of a round lobe in front of the church.

Natsuki stands alone in the middle, as if he is listening to the cheers of the people under the protection of the gods.

In front of the stand microphone, Natsuki made a short and powerful declaration of his enthronement to all the Irish: "I, Joachim Franz Hubert, King of Ireland, hereby solemnly swear to you that my personal will has become one with the holy Kingdom of Ireland, and that I will guard this country with my flesh and soul and my soul, and I will love every one of my people, protect every inch of our territory, and defend all the rights conferred upon us by the constitution of the Kingdom of Ireland." For this reason I ask each and every one of you to pledge allegiance to me and the Kingdom of Ireland which I represent, to abide by the laws of the country, to fulfil the duties due to it, and to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country with your blood and lives if necessary......"

At this time, in Port 1 of Limerick, the officers and men of the Irish Navy assembled on standby, although they could not hear the shouts of the king outside the National Cathedral, could hear the declaration of the new king on cable radio. Like the vast majority of the Irish people, the Admirals were both relieved and moved by the arrival of this moment. Just over a year ago, when more than 10,000 warriors of the Irish Volunteer Army resolutely raised the banner of armed independence, they used humble light weapons and flesh and blood to fight against the British army with machine guns and artillery warships, and the process of winning the victory was full of hardships and blood and tears. Even years from now, one will surely remember the night of Cork and the British pouring cold water on the heads of the aspiring Irish independents with modern weapons and tactics. That night, a group of young Irish men sailed their only ultralight torpedo boats to attack the British fleet, but they survived and were even mercilessly ridiculed by the British press. If the Irish had such a formidable fleet at that time, even if the British army had launched a desperate landing operation at Cork Harbour, the tide of war would not have been one-sided if the supply lines at sea had not been secured by frequent attacks.

As a typical island nation, Ireland's naval construction should naturally be placed in a more strategic position than the development of the army, so the first military review after the new king ascended the throne was for the naval fleet. The major harbours surrounding Limerick are inland waterways, but most of them have the convenience of wide rivers and water depths, and the hydrological conditions are better than many ordinary bays. The berth in Port 1 is anchored by the main fleet of Ireland, led by the flagship HMS Belfast. The "Celtic", which has just completed its technical modification, that is, the former German Navy's armored cruiser "Scharnhorst", has returned to the main fleet lineup. Unexpectedly, it was not equipped with a 45-fold diameter 11-inch gun that did not match its size and tonnage, and the previous twin 210-mm gun seemed to have been retained, but a closer look will show that its main gun barrel has become more elongated, and the structure of the turret has also undergone significant changes - this is Krupp's new twin-mounted 55-fold diameter 203-mm gun, which was originally prepared by the German Navy for the 15,000-ton heavy cruiser program. The accuracy is better than the original 40 times diameter 210 mm gun, which can be called another classic of Krupp. In the face of new challenges brought about by the cooperation between the United States and Britain, the German Navy made a large-scale adjustment of the shipbuilding program, and the multi-purpose medium combat ships were forced to make way for super-dreadnoughts and new battle cruisers.

In the early afternoon, the royal motorcade finally arrived from the city of Limerick, and the straight and wide road was lined with waving and cheering Irish people. With the arrival of the new king, the flagship Belfast raised its national royal flag for the first time, a tricolor with the crown shield as the central motif. Accompanied by the rousing sound of the national anthem, all the officers and men of the fleet saluted it in unison, and many of the Irish people watching the ceremony on the shore had tears in their eyes and even couldn't cry......

(End of chapter)