On a spring day, in the downtown area of ​​Madrid, the Spanish capital, thousands of people looked up and looked up. In their common sight, a giant gray-green hard airship seemed to be a god coming from auspicious clouds, landing on the towering airship tether tower with admirable majesty momentum.

In today's commercial aviation, airships and aircraft have the status of airships, from Helsinki, Finland to Sicily, the southernmost point, from St. Petersburg to the east to Lisbon to the west, Europe has established a spider-web air route. In terms of comfort and safety, airships are still slightly better, and therefore have become the first choice for the upper class, with air cargo and official flights mostly based on aircraft.

A large part of the military aircraft that retired from active service after the war was able to continue their short lives in the civilian field.

The King of Ireland led a delegation to visit, and the Spanish King Alfonso XIII, who had not appeared in the public eye for a long time, came to greet him.

Spain has relatively rich mineral resources, rich classes that support luxury consumption, and young and middle-aged laborers who urgently need a job to support their families. These are resources with great economic value. However, based on historical origins and influence structure, European powers would rather compete in the Anatolian Peninsula than spend their energy on the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, the colonial interests of Asia and Africa and the Pacific islands are waiting for the great powers to explore. Since the Spanish-American War, the Kingdom of Spain has become the most unvibrant and energetic place in Europe.

Alfonso XIII was the head of this forgotten land. He was the successor of the Bourbon dynasty and the posthumous son of the former Spanish king Alfonso XII. He wore this ancient and heavy crown as soon as he was born. Before he became an adult, his mother was from the female grand duke of Maria Christina in Austria and served as regent. During this period, Spain was defeated by the emerging powerful country, the United States, in that catastrophic war, and lost the Philippines and all American territories. When Alfonso XIII officially took over the power of the country in 1902, what he left was an uncontrollable mess. The country was corrupt and declining, class contradictions were prominent, the people's lives were difficult, and many ills led to social unrest, protests and strikes occurred frequently, revolutionary thoughts were undercurrents, but the princes and nobles were still drunk and dreaming...

After several years, Xia Shu once again stood in front of Alfonso Thirteen. The vibrant naval cadet who had experienced legends and had become the lord of a country, respected and supported by all the people, and was the most dazzling figure of this era. From that time we met, Alfonso Thirteen's identity has not changed at all, but the authority of the Spanish royal family is declining. He has made many efforts to change the predicament of the country, but except for one or two reforms that have received some results, the rest are all wasted.

"His Majesty Joachim, I haven't seen you for many years. You have grown from a green tree to a strong tree. The kingly temperament hidden in your heart has been completely released and become a hero that everyone admires. All of this happened in just a few years. Life is so wonderful, right?"

Xia Shu listened to Alfonso XIII's polite words with a calm expression, but said in a slight sigh: "I haven't seen you for many years, and Your Majesty seems to be thinner than before."

Alfonso Thirteenth generation smiled bitterly and said, "What's the solution? I'm destined to be a person who won't grow fat."

After the greetings, the two walked side by side across the red carpet and drove away from the tether tower in the same car.

On the seat of the car, Alfonso Thirteenth generation lost his reserve in front of others. He sighed and complained about how difficult it was to be a king.

Natsuki said empathically: "After becoming a king, I truly understand why the monarchs have endless worries. Governing a country is much more difficult than managing an army."

But Alfonso XIII said: "The larger the area of ​​a country, the more population, and the more diverse the races, the more headache it will be when it comes to governance. His Majesty may not be able to understand these majesties for the time being."

Xia Shu not only cannot understand the troubles mentioned by the other party now, but may not have a chance in the future, because Ireland is basically a single nation-state, and the Irish occupy the vast majority. Moreover, with Ireland's national strength and strategic geography, it is possible to expand in the future by plundering colonial territory and forcibly renting ports, and the chance of directly annexing the territory of other countries is very small.

With the direct comparison of the current situation of the two kingdoms, Spain and Ireland, Xia Shu should indeed feel grateful. However, Spain has an extremely brilliant history. They once stood at the top of the world and had the conditions to return to the ranks of powerful countries. Ireland's ultimate dream is just a European strongman who is afraid of everyone. He has world-class achievements in some fields and has some way to reproduce the glory of the Netherlands and Denmark, and that's all.

If you go too far into this topic, it will only make Alfonso XIII, who is deeply trapped, even more distressed. Xia Shu changed his mind and talked about the upcoming football friendly match. As one of the official initiatives to promote relations between the two countries, the Irish national team visited Madrid and would challenge the Spanish national team soon. Of course, Spain in 1916 was not the cosmic team in the early 21st century. Although the Irish national team was formed for a short time, it benefited from the semi-professional domestic league system supported by the government. It can be said that it is strong and has high morale. Not long ago, the Irish team went to Germany to participate in the Emperor's Cup, defeating Italy, which was invited to come, and only lost to the host German team in the final final, showing extraordinary strength.

Although the game has not started yet, the Spanish Kings are very pessimistic about their team's performance and said: "Football level is a reflection of a country's military strength. With Spain's current situation, even if it is against Ottoman Turkey, the outcome will probably be ravaged."

When Xia Shu first heard this, she was a little confused. She didn't know why Alfonso's thirteenth generation extended it to this point, but after listening to the words later, she felt that it was very reasonable.

"Several key elements that determine the outcome of a football match: body, spirit, skills, and wisdom. Whether a body is strong or not depends on the economic strength of a country. Playing football and joining the army are both physical labor. If the country's economic situation is poor and the people are not full all day long, nine out of ten people have pale faces and thin skin. Even if special care is given in the later stage, the essence of physical poverty and weakness is difficult to change; whether the spirit is tenacious or not is related to the social atmosphere of this country, everyone is brave and warlike, whether they are in the game or joining the army to kill the enemy, they will

With this brave will and tenacity; the quality of skills is based on the body and spirit. Only with a good physical and mental state can one have the mind to practice ball skills and cultivate good team skills; the level of wisdom lies in the judgment and decision-making of the commander, in whether every executor can understand it, in the quality cultivated through learning and training. Nowadays, each of these elements is lacking in Spain, and the Irish team seems to have no such concerns at all, so the winner is determined before the game."

"Your Majesty's football philosophy has opened my horizons. What you said does have some truth, but it is not entirely correct. There is an old saying that things are done by man. If you are pessimistic and give up yourself when encountering some difficulties, the goddess of victory will definitely not favor it. However, if you have the willpower qualities that are not afraid of difficulties, even if your body, spirit, and skills are at a disadvantage, you can still win. A very realistic example is..."

At this time, Alfonso XIII interrupted unexpectedly: "Does Your Majesty want to use the example of the Battle of Jutland to provide evidence?"

Natsuki was surprised and embarrassed by this. He suddenly realized that he was no longer the mysterious person who could hide behind the emperor, crown prince and fleet commander. The king's identity made him the public focus of every word and action. What he said and the examples he gave may become the object of people's discussion and research.

The Battle of Jutland is an example that Natsuki likes to quote because it has enough subversiveness and inspirational effects. Of course, it is also Natsuki's most proud and proud work. If Alfonso XIII just flattered him, it would be okay to listen to it a few times, but the Spanish king obviously did not intend to seek help from the Irish people in a pleading manner, but instead cooperated on the basis of mutual respect and equal status.

"That is an irrepeatable classic, and the fortune plays an important role. If you repeat it with the same objective conditions, the results may be completely different. I wonder if Your Highness agrees with my shallow view?"

Any diplomatic activity can be regarded as a confrontation. The Spanish king's counterattack came so suddenly, which caught Xia Shu off guard. Xia Shu took a deep breath and responded steadily: "I didn't expect that under His Majesty's calm and simple appearance, there was such amazing wisdom hidden. This really surprised me. Since the end of the war, military historians from various countries have made a lot of analysis of the Battle of Jutland, and people have increasingly focused on the quality of ships, the quality of officers and soldiers, the decision-making of commanders and even

It is the time of battle that is accurate to every minute, but the most critical point is the fortune. A reconnaissance aircraft deviates from its position, a torpedo deviates from the set direction, and a warship's boiler has a sudden problem. These undeterminable factors are entirely possible to change the course and final result of the naval battle. The victory of the German Navy has a great luck component. The most fortunate thing is that we bravely made an attempt and won the opportunity to separate the level of the opponent, and then the goddess of victory is favored by the goddess."
Chapter completed!