I just came back from my hometown in the morning, and the update was late. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

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In the early morning, the sea is full of surging waves, cold winds, and scattered snowflakes and splashing water droplets are in perfect color.

Walking out of the warm but cramped cabin, Natsuki's mood suddenly brightened. Looking around, there are only ships flying the Irish tricolor flag on the vast sea. Including the battlecruiser at his feet, there were seven combat ships and three auxiliary ships, which were nothing in comparison with the fleet he had commanded during his time in the German Navy, except that he had ownership, control and command of the ships before him, because according to the constitution duly promulgated by the Kingdom of Ireland, naval vessels built or purchased by the Crown were the private property of the Crown - since it was impossible for the Crown to dispose of these ships as they would be in the same way as real private goods, This private ownership seems to be a formality, but the situation is probably not as simple as the constitutional deputies think.

When the constitution was first written, the Irish government was largely kept afloat by British assets confiscated during the War of Independence and a small number of private donations, and it was the candidates for the throne who brought in large sums of money and quality assets from Germany, which helped the Irish government quickly stabilize the domestic situation, solve the most pressing problems of people's livelihoods, and paint a breathtaking blueprint for the development of the Kingdom of Ireland. In return, they accepted the candidates' proposals for the throne, delineating the powers and responsibilities of the royal family and the government in a common-sense and precedent model. In a few years' time, when these government officials and their successors reflect on the meaning of these constitutional provisions, they should understand how far-sighted the former candidates for the throne were, and that as long as the constitution remains unchanged, the supremacy of the crown will not be weakened or shaken.

The Irish fleet, commanded by Natsuki, has 1 battle cruiser, 1 armored cruiser, 1 light cruiser, 4 large torpedo boats, and 3 supply ships and maintenance ships, which can be called the core and main force of the Irish Navy. They are located in the North Atlantic Sea southwest of Ireland at the moment, more than 120 nautical miles away from the North Channel where Belfast is located, and when the situation requires it, the battle formation can only approach Belfast in about 5 hours, but unless the situation is completely out of control due to some unexpected factors, Natsuki and this fleet may really enter the battle, and in Natsuki's plan, the probability of such a situation is an almost impossible event.

When he was just elected as a candidate for the Irish throne, Natsuki was bent on recovering the Belfast area occupied by the British army by force, not only to raise the prestige of the new Kingdom of Ireland, but also to cast a historical monument for himself to ascend the throne and become a king, but with the changes in the international situation, Natsuki has more and more in-depth and long-term considerations for the future of the Kingdom of IrelandIts development is largely dependent on foreign trade, and if it can surrender without a fight, especially if it can bend the waist of an old hegemonic country like Britain, it will be very beneficial for the Kingdom of Ireland to improve its international standing. So, among the various potential ways to resolve the Belfast dispute, Natsuki finally chose the one with the most difficulty but the least side effects.

From visiting European countries to going to Britain to strive for a peaceful settlement of the Belfast dispute, Natsuki has successfully established a wise, generous, and pragmatic leader image in a very short period of time, before the Irish government issued an ultimatum to Britain, international public opinion has tended to support Ireland, and Ireland and Britain suddenly fell out on the brink of war, as a candidate for the Irish throne, Natsuki actually became the shopkeeper, this farce is rare in the world, and even makes people confused. But there are also those who find the key information from all sorts of clues and make accurate judgments - all in order to deal with the conspiracy that the British have come up with!

As Kitchener and others speculated, Natsuki did not lose contact at all, but hid out of public view and commanded remotely. Not long ago, in Brest, France, the German Navy's number one military base on the Atlantic coast, the "von der Tann," which had been renamed the "Belfast," completed a technical modification, changing from a simple main combat ship into a naval flagship, and on the premise of not weakening the original combat effectiveness, it added communication and command facilities, and increased the number of crew members by 50 on the original basis to meet the needs of operational command. During the Belfast crisis, the vast majority of Irish government officials only knew that their candidate for the throne was supposed to be on the new flagship of the navy, but they did not know exactly where the warship was located, even the Secretary of State for Defence, Pierce. So when facing British diplomats, they could raise their hands and swear, which annoyed and helpless the British.

At the time of the crisis, the Irish officials who accompanied Natsuki on his visit to Britain were also in a state of disappearance, the most senior of whom were the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and it was in their absence that the Irish government had every reason to play Tai Chi with the British, and was indifferent to the British government's rebuttal of the ultimatum......

Natsuki stood on deck for a short while, and the secretary of state, O. Grady, hurried up to him and reported with a solemn face the important telegram he had just received: the official announcement by the British government of postponing the holding of a referendum in Belfast before the deadline of the ultimatum did not fully satisfy the Irish ultimatum, but it was a dazzling diplomatic victory for the once-formidable British Empire to retreat without a fight. Natsuki imagined that when the residents of the Belfast area came to the referendum polling station with mixed feelings, they were surprised to learn that the British government was under pressure from the Irish side to postpone the referendum, and they should have re-weighed the pros and cons of choosing to join the United Kingdom and remaining in the Kingdom of Ireland.

In the British government's communiqué, in addition to announcing the indefinite postponement of the referendum, it also put forward for the first time the intention of settling the Belfast dispute from the British standpoint, that is, to hold a fair referendum under the impartial supervision of the international community. After some thought, Natsuki said to O'Grady: "The British government is really sophisticated in dealing with crises, and we should learn more from them in this regard." ”

The state secretary hurriedly replied: "You are very right, we will definitely work in this direction in the future, it's just ...... What do we do now? ”

The British's response did not completely exceed Natsuki's expectations, and he calmly ordered: "Send a secret telegram to the Prime Minister asking him to issue a second ultimatum to Britain in the name of the Irish government, demanding that the British government abandon its illegal occupation of the Belfast area, and that all British troops must withdraw from the Belfast area by noon on December 24." ”

"Isn't the time limit too short?" O'Grady objected, "The British government is likely to refuse on the grounds that time is too short for 100,000 British troops to withdraw?" ”

Natsuki turned a blind eye to his fears: "Refusal means war, and tell the prime minister that this must be clearly written in the content of the ultimatum." ”

The current Irish secretary of state was personally selected by Natsuki from hundreds of candidates, he has two doctorate titles in law and philosophy, he is a typical high-IQ talent, and his identity background is also very special, his family is the Gaelic aristocracy that once ruled Ireland, these old nobles have declined after the 17th century, but in Ireland, they are obviously more orthodox than the British aristocracy. With the change of dynasty in Ireland, the old aristocracy saw an opportunity to turn around, and they couldn't wait to return to the country's ruling class, but Natsuki didn't reap the expected benefits. The nascent Kingdom of Ireland did not quickly become a conservatory for the restoration of the Gaelic aristocracy, nor did it become the world of the German aristocracy, the country was a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, and the power to govern the country was in the hands of the prime minister and parliament, and the so-called nobility was mainly a non-hereditary title of meritorious service.

Failing to entrust the Gaelic aristocracy with important responsibilities did not mean ignoring them, and drawing on Bismarck's political and diplomatic experience, Natsuki strategically maintained the balance of power between the parties. O-Grady is a person who understands, since Natsuki deliberately avoided talking about it, he didn't ask any more questions, and hurriedly carried out the order.

After O'Grady left, Natsuki looked out at the vast sea alone, and issued a second ultimatum in succession in the face of British concessions, which was both unreasonable and too arrogant, and even if the British government chose to refuse, it would in turn occupy the moral high ground and become the famous side of the division. The reason why Natsuki made such a deployment was based on the judgment of the bottom line held by the British on the one hand, and on the other hand, it was out of speculation about the intentions of the German rulers.

At the time of the Irish government's submission of the second ultimatum to the UK, the Irish troops deployed outside Belfast remained surprisingly calm, but in the rear, the Irish army was in full swing for the second round of mobilization, and after the mobilization was completed, the number of soldiers integrated into the army's combat units would reach 400,000, and the role of the second group of reservists was obviously not to put into the offensive echelon at the front, but to put military alert throughout Ireland, in the event of a war breaking out, Their presence has a very positive effect on maintaining the overall stability of the situation in Ireland.

At the same time, the reconnaissance detachment and the first battleship detachment of the German High Seas Fleet, which were originally stationed in Wilhelmshaven, pulled anchor one after another and set sail for the waters of Flanders, and the German army aviation units deployed in northern France also canceled their vacations to carry out combat readiness duty, and the southern part of Britain, especially the capital London, suddenly became a rumor, and what made the British feel even more indignant and helpless was that news came from Italy that the ambitious Italian army command was ready to take over the British colonial territories in the Mediterranean and North Africa at the right time. Achieve Italy's supremacy in the Mediterranean and recreate the ancient glory of the Roman Empire......

This time, the British government did not immediately take a position through official channels, but communicated with the Irish Prime Minister in a closed manner, and the British client said that the British government was determined to make concessions on the Belfast issue, but only in a decent way that would preserve the image of the British royal family and government as much as possible. In light of this, they hoped that His Royal Highness, the candidate for the Irish throne, would be able to meet face-to-face with the British plenipotentiary and sign a secret agreement in person that would make him feel comfortable sitting on the Irish throne.

(End of chapter)