Under the warm sun, a striking gray aircraft flew over the square Limerick with a loud roar, its pair of double-decker wings were painted with a distinctive ring logo at the end, and at the wing root, two powerful engines drove the huge four-bladed propellers to rotate rapidly, the long nose and the front end of the fuselage were equipped with an open cockpit, three pilots wearing leather hats and leather jackets were distributed in the position of "Pin", and there was a row of small square portholes in the middle of the fuselage. Behind the glass are curious faces. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

After a year and a half of large-scale construction, Limerick's old town has become a corner of the city, the original empty fields seem to have been magical, a new street, a piece of neat urban area has appeared, although there are still a large number of buildings in the construction stage, the whole city has shown the temperament and heritage of an international metropolis, the success of the 3rd Global Aviation Expo has made it the object of attention and praise from the world......

In the enclosed cabin of the Royal Air Force's Handley Peggy O-car, a handful of well-dressed middle-aged and elderly people marvel at Ireland's economic miracle as they look out the window of the aircraft to see the vibrant city.

In the cabin, there are two seats that look like they were added to the rear, and their cushions, backrests, and armrests are all made of leather, which looks much more spacious and comfortable than the other seats. The special treatment here is enjoyed by a personable young man and an elegant and dignified young lady, who, like their companions, are very curious about the view of the city from the air, but they deliberately hide their curiosity, they do not say a word, and there is a sense of thoughtfulness in the calm.

Flying over an area of nearly 100 square kilometers of the city, a large winding river appeared under the plane, it extended westward into the sea, there were many ships coming and going on the sparkling river, and the location adjacent to the city can be seen a lot of mechanical facilities, convenient land transportation docks and a large number of dry docks, from the distribution of dry docks, the scale of the shipbuilding industry here can be roughly inferred - almost comparable to London in its heyday!

At this moment, two officers in British naval uniforms in the engine room, a lieutenant general in his fifties and a major in his early thirties, each holding a pair of small binoculars, were trying to search through the window of the plane. Suddenly, the major seemed to notice and softly beckoned the lieutenant general to come, and the two huddled together for a moment, each frowning.

The handsome young man sitting in the leather seat turned his attention and saw the appearance of the two naval officers, so he said, "See? ”

The lieutenant general turned his head and replied, "Yes, Your Highness, I think we saw it, it is still in dry dock, the flight deck has been laid, and it is estimated that it is not far from completion." ”

The young man's face was deep, as if there were complicated emotions such as sadness, regret, and helplessness rolled together, and he did not speak again, but turned his head back and closed his eyes.

The lieutenant general sighed, and the plane began to turn, and he sat back in his place, while the major walked briskly to the other window, and looked reluctantly towards the harbor, but from his unfocused gaze, he saw no more targets.

A few minutes later, the plane landed on the main runway of Limerick One Airport, and with the exception of the German Junkers-VIII four-engine bomber that flew in during the air expo, none of the planes that visited the area had such a wide wing and fuselage. Against its backdrop, the planes parked nearby are as small as toys.

Although the performance of the British aviation industry in wartime was far inferior to that of its opponents, their industrial technology and creative ability were not inferior to those of the Germans who were proficient in machinery, and they also had unique advantages in the fields of power and materials.

Ireland's aviation industry focuses on lightweight, flexible, and versatile single-engine aircraft, and its design and manufacture of ********, combat reconnaissance aircraft, and seaplanes have opened up the situation in the international aviation market, and medium-sized dive bombers and torpedo bombers are installed in the Allied armies, while transports, bombers, and seaplanes with more than two engines are mainly designed and produced by Germany. Therefore, the Irish officials who came to greet the Handley Petti O-plane, which was rarely seen in public, were very surprised, and most of the officers showed a grim look on their faces.

Only the young man with the same grace as the handsome young man on the plane waited for the plane to stop with a calm and calm demeanor.

The marching band, lined up, began with Schubert's "March of the Army", and when the cabin doors opened and the distinguished guests walked the red carpet, it was replaced by the national anthem of the Kingdom of Britain, "God Save the King", and then the national anthem of Ireland, "Song of Freedom".

On the other side of the red carpet, Natsuki, who was dressed in military uniform, shook hands with the British **** Edward again. A year and two months after his official visit to the United Kingdom, the British **** came to fulfill the agreement, and this is also the first time that members of the British royal family have set foot on the island of Ireland after the independence of the Kingdom of Ireland, which has extraordinary political and diplomatic significance. What makes the Irish high-level people feel more gratified and excited is that after prior communication, the British side accepted the premise of the Irish government, and this time Edward **** and his party will go to the ****** Memorial Hall for the victims to pay respects, as for the repentance, the British government believes that the government decision-makers at that time have all passed away, and the current British royal family members and government officials should not accept any form of punishment for the mistakes of their predecessors. After several negotiations, the two sides agreed that the British government would reimburse Ireland for a sum of money to improve the living conditions of the poor in Ireland.

It is rare for the British to show such great sincerity, and the voice of boycotting the visit of the British **** Edward and his party has almost disappeared at the top level of Ireland, and when they heard that the British are preparing to go to the ****** Memorial Hall to pay respects and mourn, the disgust of the Irish people has basically calmed down, but the British prince and his entourage still cannot enjoy the warm welcome when the heads of state of Denmark and Sweden visited before. From the airport to the palace, there were many onlookers along the way, few people waving flowers and small flags, but they received a lot of boos - as far as the scene is concerned, the Irish are far less tolerant than the British people, or Edward's **** personality charm is far from being comparable to the strong man who abused the British navy.

Due to seat limitations, Natsuki and Edward **** took the same car, and the accompanying British eldest princess Mary took another car. The previous time, the private relationship between the two was a little stiff, but the so-called "those who become big things" are not informal, and the principle of the supremacy of national interests is naturally well known to the two discerning people, so not only did they not face each other coldly, but they quickly chatted familiarly.

In the absence of the parties, Natsuki had less scruples and asked about the purpose of Princess Mary's trip, and Edward finally stopped "selling" his sister as before, but mysteriously told Natsuki that she would give Natsuki an extremely precious gift.

With oriental thinking, chastity can be called the most precious gift a woman gives to a man, and Natsuki has lived in Europe for more than 20 years, and has a thorough understanding of the customs and traditional concepts of the Western world, knowing that this gift should have nothing to do with dedication, seeing that Edward is unwilling to reveal it in advance, he will not ask again.

"When I flew over the port just now, I seemed to see the 'Tiger' being refitted." Edward **** asked.

Since Natsuki allowed the British to fly over the port, he would not be secretive about this issue, and he shrugged: "It is no longer the battlecruiser 'Tiger' of the British Royal Navy. ”

For this answer, Edward **** did not show any dissatisfaction, but provoked a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"How sad it would be to be so wounded and structurally damaged in the Faroe Islands that we thought it would be sunk as a target ship and find a home somewhere on the icy seabed, or dismantled into steel, or repaired, and one day turned its guns on the British coast!"

The other party hid words in his words, obviously deliberately clichéd, but unfortunately he faced Europe's premier ship-building master, and after becoming the king of Ireland, he did not abandon his old profession, and even became the highest-ranking naval adviser in history.

"I personally surveyed the structure of this battleship, which was indeed left with irreparable damage in the battle, and was no longer suitable for high-intensity combat operations, and could be in trouble in the event of a hurricane, so we decided to convert it into an aircraft carrier. It is believed that for a long time to come, it will remain the largest aircraft carrier. ”

Edward's **** rolled his eyes: "Aircraft carrier? We call this an aircraft carrier. ”

Since the other party avoided the important and light, Natsuki closed his mouth at the right time and waited for the other party to speak first.

Sure enough, Edward **** couldn't bear the strange atmosphere of silence, and took the initiative to say: "Britain is currently building its own aircraft carrier, which is what you call an aircraft carrier. ”

Natsuki did not reveal how much he knew about the British Navy's confidential information, but said lightly: "Well, I heard about it, but the tonnage and size should be much smaller than the one that the German Navy commissioned us to rebuild!" ”

Edward **** took the opportunity to ask rhetorically: "How can you see it?" ”

"Whether building military ships or civilian ships, we should build first-class ships from small to large, from easy to difficult, through success and failure, and gradually accumulate technical experience. If you want to be in position in one step, even if you have a full set of technical data, what is the difference between just learning to ride a horse and going into battle against the enemy? Natsuki said slowly.

Edward **** immediately gave a thumbs up to Natsuki: "Your Majesty's analysis is really incisive!" ”

Natsuki was not induced by this compliment, he said meaningfully: "There are no absolutes in everything, we have converted ordinary warships into aircraft carriers, and we have crossed from more than 10,000 tons to more than 30,000 tons, and the British aviation industry has also completed the leap from ******** to heavy aircraft in a fairly short period of time, and I would not be surprised if the first aircraft carrier that the British Navy started to build has an astonishing tonnage." ”

"It's not very big, but it's bigger than most people expect." Edward said as he flexed his thumb and extended his index and middle fingers at the same time, a slight smug look on his face.

The first aircraft carrier ordered by the British Navy on the mainland was designed with a standard displacement of 20,000 tons, and Natsuki already knew this, and he was not happy to see Edward honestly stretch out two fingers, but felt that the British must have taken this action with the intention of driving a wedge between Germany and Ireland, and they were well prepared, full of confidence, and determined to win.

(End of chapter)