Saturday, September 7, 1946, was an extraordinary day for 10.73 million Irish citizens and 1.89 million Welsh citizens. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 On this day, under the wide attention of the international community and the on-site supervision of the League of Nations officials, Ireland and Wales respectively held referendums on the merger of the two countries to form the United Kingdom, if the participation rate of the referendums in these two countries reaches the legal requirement and the turnout rate exceeds 50%, then the countdown to the birth of the new United Kingdom will officially begin.

In fact, the union of Ireland with Wales has been in the making for twelve years since 1934, when Wales seceded from the Kingdom of Great Britain and elected Joachim I as monarch. During these long twelve years, the King of the two countries conquered the stubborn Welsh and persuaded the swarking Irish with his skillful statecraft. From 1934 to 1946, the industrial scale of Ireland and Wales increased by 178% and 246% respectively, and the per capita national income increased by 93% and 155%, especially after 1939, Ireland and Wales as economic associations exempted each other from various taxes, so that the trade ties between the two countries were further strengthened, and by the 40s, this economic association was second only to Germany in the international heavy industry market, and the scale of the aviation industry firmly occupied the second place. The shipbuilding industry surpassed Japan to become the third largest in the world, giving people a glimpse of the glory of Britain's heyday......

Whether Ireland and Wales merge or not may make no difference to countries on the other side of the world, but in Europe, it has replaced Japan's return to the League of Nations and the signing of international conventions as the focus of discussion in various countries. Of course, the combined population of the two countries is less than one-third of the former Kingdom of Great Britain, and no amount of tossing can set off a storm that is enough to impact the European continent, and most Europeans just have the mentality of eating melons and watching from the crowd, after all, the European hegemon has spoken out in the official name, praising the fruitful results of the rule of Ireland and Wales by His Majesty Joachim I, a member of the Hohenzollern family, and thanking him for his tireless efforts in maintaining peace and order in the British Isles. and to show respect for the will of the people of Ireland and Wales to unite, which means that they are fraternal allies of the Germans, whether united or not.

Germany's statement basically represents the acceptance of the integration of Ireland and Wales by European countries, and of course not every country has a good-faith attitude, and the Scottish daily newspaper, which has the largest circulation in Scotland, has published a prominent opinion piece suggesting that the formation of the United Kingdom by Ireland and Wales is another form of annexation. The newspaper believes that Wales, with a population of less than two million, will certainly not be able to compare its influence and voice in the new United Kingdom with Ireland, which has a population of 10 million, and that Wales will only retain nominal autonomy in this union, and in fact it will become a special province of the Great Kingdom of Ireland, and its status is even inferior to that of the Kingdom of Britain!

If the Scottish Daily's influence was confined to Scotland, the rhetoric of some diplomats outside the League of Nations venue spread the narrative to the international scene. Not only did they call the Irish-led union a conspiracy to annex, but they also speculated that Ireland's next target would be England, also a constitutional monarchy, and that if this big goal was achieved, the weak Scotland would not be able to survive on its own, and the birth of the New Kingdom of Britain would be a matter of time.

Some of the diplomats of various countries scoffed at this theory of the new British kingdom, and some disdained it, but there were also many people who were worried, such as the English, who were worried about the safety of the country, and the German military and political officials who did not want to see any signs of "British revival"; after all, the establishment of a hegemonic order in Germany depended half on land power and half on sea power, and the stability of sea power depended on the control of important sea routes. In recent years, with the political stability of France and the settlement of war reparations, the Germans are gradually withdrawing their troops from France, although they will retain the right to use the ports of the Bay of Biscay, such as Brest and Saint-Nazaire, for a long time, once France changes, these ports will become isolated fortresses, so the German navy must ensure that the North Sea and the Northern Sea are unimpeded, and the united Britain, regardless of its political position, will not be tolerated by Germany.

Fortunately, the German authorities did not believe that the Irish could annex England, nor that Joachim I, a member of the Hohenzollern royal family, would give up the lucrative benefits of German-Irish cooperation in order to contain Germany. Until Ireland has shown its ambitions for England, they will not make any gestures of sanctions, and on September 7, no branch or division of the German army has been raised to alert, not even long-range reconnaissance and routine patrols in the North Sea have been postponed.

On September 7th, most parts of Ireland had sunny weather. On this important day, all security services were ordered to activate the third level of alert, with the police stationed at the post patrol, the A-level reservists joining the patrols and policing of the polling places in an unarmed state, and the troops stationed in the northern areas on the second level of alert to prevent malicious sabotage by hostile forces. In Wales, where it rained almost all day, all Irish garrisons were put on maximum wartime alert, Welsh soldiers were sent to major cities and transport hubs to be on increased alert, all police officers were on gun-loading duty, and EOD personnel were deployed at all stations and polling places.

In Ireland, the towns in the south are as peaceful as expected, with people going to the polling stations as if they were attending a Sunday service, and then going to their homes or pubs in groups after the polls; Outside of the slightly tense atmosphere in the northern towns, where shouts of "Long live Britain" near several polling places and claims that Ireland was encroaching on Britain's traditional territory after the seizure of Northern Ireland and demands that people vote against the merger, feared bombings did not happen. More than 7 million of the more than 8 million people who had the right to vote took part in the vote, and an on-site survey showed that more than four-fifths voted in favor of the merger of the two countries.

In Wales, there have been no incidents of vicious violence, but long-term government propaganda has not been able to get the Welsh people to vote. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., just over half the time of the polls, fewer than half a million people voted, compared with 1.49 million Welsh citizens with the legal right to vote. Under Welsh law, if the number of voters is less than 50% of the number of people with the right to vote, the result of the referendum will be invalid, and the merger of the two countries to form the United Kingdom will have to be postponed until the next referendum, regardless of the vote on the Irish side.

Despite the seemingly unsatisfactory situation in Wales, Natsuki remained firmly in the Diaoyutai and spent the day in the "Forest Palace" in Limerick with Franz von Papen, the vice president of the League of Nations Council and a German diplomat, fishing and talking about various international affairs, especially the troubles caused by the "unstable" Scottish people. By 6pm, the good news came from Wales, with more than 890,000 people voting that day, with a turnout of 59 per cent, which is not a good number, but it is enough to legally guarantee the validity of the referendum.

Von Papen, a prominent figure who briefly served as German Chancellor in Weimar in the old time, pressed his top hat to his chest and bowed to Natsuki: "In my personal name, I would like to congratulate you on another great undertaking, Your Majesty the King!" ”

Natsuki smiled and quipped, "Turning two crowns into one can also be called 'great'?" ”

"Hah!" The vice president of the League of Nations, who is nearly seventy years old, said with a smile, "Combining two simple golden crowns into one and inlaying them with luxurious gemstones, it is well deserved to be described as 'great'!" I am confident that this new country will be stronger and more prosperous under your leadership! ”

Natsuki smiled: "Okay! I'll accept your congratulations for the time being, and when the voting results are announced in three days' time, everything will be as we wish, and we will have another drink! ”

"That's a must!" "Two countries have become one, and the seats, titles, and signage on the Council of the League of Nations have to be changed, but it's enough for our people to be busy for a while," Papen said. Having said that, the United States and Japan have returned to the League of Nations one after another, Hindustan has replaced the Union of India, and the Federation of Australia has changed its name to the Federal Republic of Australia, and they are already familiar with these things. In a little while, maybe ......"

Speaking of this, Xia Shu immediately changed his serious face: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency Deputy Secretary-General, I just want to say one word about that incident: no way!" ”

Papen shrugged: "As a permanent member, it is your right to vote a veto, I respect your choice, but I wonder about it, as the monarch of a European country, why do you want to maintain the dignity of that lost country so much?" In fact, the Japanese diplomats have told me privately that they respect you very, very much, but if Ireland continues to vote against the expulsion of the representatives of the old Nationalist Government on the basis of the simultaneous existence of two Nationalist Governments, they will not hesitate to use extreme force to completely destroy the old regime that has been defeated, and even consider holding Ireland accountable for harboring the rebels in that country and undermining international peace. ”

Natsuki was not angry, but said word by word: "Then they have violated the provisions of international conventions on non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, as well as the promise made by the emperor himself during the meeting in the Maldives. As for what they call 'Chinese brigades', they have legal asylum status in Ireland, and they only need my signature, and they can become Irish citizens at any time, and they can leave Ireland at any time and go to Russia or wherever they want to go. ”

Seeing that the other party was so resolute, Papen hurriedly said: "Yes, I also think those guys are bluffing, and the Japanese government will not risk being sanctioned to fight for a seat in the League of Nations that will be won sooner or later." ”

"Sooner or later? I don't think so! Let's see, sooner or later, the Japanese will reap the consequences! ”

Natsuki said with a frown. He has known Papen for more than ten years, and knows that the other party is not targeting him, in fact, in this matter, even some Irish cabinet ministers feel that they are too stubborn, so that they ignore those visible interests, but in Xia Shu's heart, this is the final bottom line, as long as he persists for one more day, their hope will be a little more, and the time is slowly ripe, and when that day comes, the fire of the Oriental land will definitely ignite!

(End of chapter)