On the day of the horse racing, King George V of England came from London. His Majesty the King's arrival made Hill Manor shine. This family, which was plagued by the elopement of his daughter, had a new turn. The marriage was once unpopular, quickly became a hot topic. Some even speculated that George V might have come to witness an important moment, such as engagement.

However, when princes and nobles who are good at observing words and expressions find that George V is solemn and in a bad mood, this possibility is immediately excluded. The candidate for the Irish throne visits to Britain twice in a short period of time, which is seen by the public as a signal that the relationship between the two countries has been improved. Senior officials who are well versed in political mystery can see the current situation more thoroughly. They know that the Irish are just making the best efforts for the Belfast dispute. Once diplomatic means lose hope, these arrogant barefoot men are not afraid of fighting with well-dressed gentlemen.

The dinner that day was held under an outdoor picnic tent. The air was filled with the fragrance of grass, and the gentle autumn wind blew the white long tablecloths. The environment was very wonderful. The beautiful and virtuous Queen Mary followed George V step by step, and also came to this "country place" with their eldest daughter Princess Mary.

What surprised Natsuki was that the 18-year-old Princess Mary seemed particularly friendly to Charlotte Hill, who was 5 years older than her, and she regarded her as her elder sister. It can be seen that Charlotte met her, but was flattered by the enthusiasm she showed tonight. Perhaps based on the intuition of a woman, she would know why the eldest princess of the British Empire would have such a performance. Although Charlotte was very strong and brave, Natsuki was still worried about this if she was forced to make a choice between family interests and personal feelings, Charlotte would likely choose to sacrifice herself.

At the dining table, Xia Shu was a little restless by Princess Mary, but after leaving the table, he quickly put all his energy back on business. The reason why the British King came to Thetford today was not to give Xia Shu a little bit of a thin face, but because he provided important information to the British government through a double-faced spy who worked for Ireland: a ship technology research and development organization led by the candidate for the throne of Ireland made a technical assessment based on the information provided by the Allied Supervisor on the status of the "Queen Elizabeth" and "War-weary", which resulted in a very unfavorable to the UK.

The two warships are the first ship and the second ship of the Queen Elizabeth-class super-dreadnought. Due to the war, the original construction period was greatly delayed. During the initial armistice negotiations, the German representative insisted on demolishing all the five Queen Elizabeth-class ships under construction. Due to the comprehensive military defeat, the British government made diplomatic efforts. They conducted various activities to win the understanding and support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy and Ottoman Turkey. They also completely abandoned the rights to oil extraction in the Middle East to induce Germany to make concessions and assured the Germans that the first Queen Elizabeth-class ship would be put into service until January 1916, and at most two ships would be put into service in 1916, and two more ships would be put into service in 1917.

The latter ship was about to be put into service in 1918, when the Bavarian class of the German Navy had already formed combat effectiveness. It was precisely because the British swore that Germany's pattern in the North Sea and even the North Atlantic waters would not change with the slow service of the Queen Elizabeth-class, and Britain's efforts were only to preserve the dignity of the old-fashioned power, and to use force to deter the Commonwealth countries and the remaining colonial territories with force when necessary, the German talents relaxed on this key issue, but they did not relax. After the armistice, the Allies sent military supervisors in the UK to urge the UK to implement the provisions of the armistice agreement. The German Navy used this to closely monitor the construction progress of the five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships.

Against this background, the "Queen Elizabeth" built by the Portsmouth Shipyard and the "War-weary" built by the Devonport Naval Shipyard were successively launched. In the eyes of outsiders, these two huge steel giants were rusted before they were in service, and various debris were piled up on the deck at will, and management seemed very chaotic. This was actually the British's trick. The two super-dreadnoughts had already been equipped with officers and crew members, and secretly conducted tactical exercises during several trial voyages. Although they still did not meet the complete combat standards, even if they only exerted 60% to 70% of the combat power, it was a very terrible existence.

Exercising painstakingly conceals can hide from ordinary naval officers, but the data will not lie. Based on the military strategic cooperation between Germany and Ireland, the ship technology research and development department in Limerick has the best ship engineers in Europe. They calculate the raw materials and parts consumed by the Portsmouth Shipyard and the Devonport Naval Shipyard, and combine the construction status of the two warships, it is not difficult to draw speculations that meet the actual situation. If this report is reached by Emperor William II, with his ambitions for maritime hegemony, he will definitely ask for a thorough investigation of the matter. As long as it is confirmed that the UK is blatantly violating the London Armistice Agreement, it can initiate severe sanctions in accordance with the terms of the armistice. Although the UK is actively trying to win over the United States, with their current situation, they may not even be qualified to challenge the Germans.

Of course, George V and his staff knew the key points. After dinner, he tacitly avoided everyone with the candidate for the Irish throne. After some temptation, they chose to discuss in a frank manner.

"It may be in Ireland's interest to provoke a dispute at this time shortly after the war ended. But has Your Highness ever thought about how cruel and irresponsible it would be for those who have lost their relatives and families, those who have suffered from war trauma, those who pray for peace every day during the war, and those who have finally calmed down in Europe." George V's tone was deeply sad. If he had said this in front of the common people, it might have the effect of being sad and the listener crying.

"From a fair standpoint, the British Navy's actions were only on the verge of offside, and the starting point was understandable, but Your Majesty should know that because of the large amount of manpower and material resources were invested in the repair of damaged ships, none of the new battleships of the German Navy have been completed. As the winners of the war, they cannot accept this backward situation."

Compared to Xia Shu's calm and indifferentness, George V was much more proactive. He described the British Navy as "a group of cavalry who lost their war horses" and compared the two new warships to "two first-class mounts". The combination of the two was far from enough to allow the British Navy to recreate its former glory.

"This should be easily understood with Your Highness's outstanding vision."

Xia Shu hinted: "Soldiers focus on the appearance of affairs, and what politicians see is often the extension behind things. Of course, extension is influenced by subjective thinking. The reason why human beings are great is because of the infinite divergence of thinking."

George V was silent for a moment: "If His Highness thought this was a weight that would allow Britain to make comprehensive concessions on the Belfast issue, then the British would let His Highness see the courage of this country. It can turn from a small European island country into the largest and most powerful country in history in the past three hundred years, relying on luck."

The other party's tone was already smelling of gunpowder, so Xia Shu did not speak down with his words, but asked in a frank way: "Since Your Majesty understands it as a weight, what makes me curious is what price His Majesty is willing to exchange it for?"

George V glanced at Xia Shu with a little surprise and said coldly: "Apart from the sacred dignity of the country, you can consider everything else."

The sacred dignity of a country sounds like a concept of nothingness, but it can actually be extended to various fields, territorial sovereignty, national defense and security, people's interests, etc. Therefore, this is a smart and sophisticated answer.

Xia Shu said clearly and in a gentle tone, "If Ireland had a good understanding of the situation of these two warships, will His Majesty regard this as the sincerity of Ireland's hope to avoid conflicts with Britain and live in peace, and thus make a formal state visit to Ireland before Christmas?"

George V was stunned for a few seconds and replied: "Even if I do not consider the impact of this matter, I will visit Ireland out of the most basic etiquette. After all, we have long recognized the legal status of the Kingdom of Ireland, which is also the greatest sincerity we have shown."

Xia Shu smiled and said, "So, will His Majesty visit Ireland before Christmas?"

The British king's thick eyebrows suddenly raised: "Must be before Christmas?"

"Yes." Natsuki replied, "I had promised the people of Ireland to take Belfast into the Kingdom of Ireland before this Christmas, so that the Kingdom of Ireland would spend its first Christmas in a state of complete independence."

George V deliberately interrupted: "I think it is necessary to correct it. The first Christmas in the Kingdom of Ireland should be traced back to 1541. The legally independent Kingdom of Ireland continued from that time to the beginning of the last century, and after 260 years, it spent 260 Christmases."

"In the minds of most Irish people, it is the first in the true sense." Natsuki's witty retorted silently. He thought behind his hands for a while: "The promised gift cannot be fulfilled, so His Highness thought of me, but will my visit have such a festive effect? ​​Or is His Highness and the Irish people ready to see my visit as Britain bowing to Ireland and compromise?"

"Your Majesty is thinking too much," said Natsuki. "British is the closest country to Ireland, so we hope that the king of Britain will be the first foreign head of state to officially visit Ireland, which will be a milestone commemoration."

"That's all?" George V's full of doubts was written in his eyes.

Xia Shu had a smile on her lips and deliberately provocatively said: "If your Majesty thinks it is inappropriate, of course you can consider rejecting this deal. Let's see what interesting things will happen next."

This sentence pushed George V to a dilemma, and the previous anger had dissipated between words and conversations. It was not appropriate to demonstrate with anger.

After hesitating for a while, George V said in a muffled voice: "Well, I will answer Your Highness's proposal within two days."
Chapter completed!