When Xia Shu returned home after his visit to Spain, he happened to catch up with the Irish tanker "Dwaf" arrived at the port of Limerick. The ship was loaded with 8,500 tons of crude oil from the Middle East. The refining plant located in the Limerick Heavy Industry Zone was officially put into operation. They will continue to provide Ireland's modern industry with "new energy" with higher thermal efficiency than coal.

Since the Irish exploration team drilled oil on Bahrain a few months ago, many people took it for granted that the crude oil came from that distant colonial territory. This was not the case. The construction of large oil wells and supporting facilities cannot be completed overnight. Fortunately, the alliance agreement between Ireland and Germany includes various economic aid clauses, and obtaining crude oil at preferential prices is one of them.

The crude oil provided to Ireland comes from the Maasjede Suleiman Oilfield, which Germany took over from the British.

In the modern social system, oil is an indispensable raw material. The refined gasoline, diesel, kerosene are essential for vehicle operation, ship operation and aviation power. By-product asphalt is the basic material for roads, houses, and water conservancy projects, and has specific uses that are incomparable to concrete. Therefore, the construction of refining facilities is placed in the priority position of Irish industrial planning. The Limerick area alone plans to build two large refining factories. The initial plan was dominated by government investment. Later, because the overseas Chinese and foreign capital who returned to China to invest were very interested in this project, the Irish industrial department adjusted the plan, and government investment accounted for only one-quarter. The rapid implementation of funds and equipment and external technical support made their construction period shorter than expected, so that the refinery was built first and then purchased crude oil.

The commissioning and operation of oil refining facilities is a microcosm of the booming development of Ireland's industry at this stage. The rise of shipbuilding, aviation, automobiles and military industries has even exceeded Xiashu's expectations. Although this has the driving effect of domestic infrastructure construction, the key lies in the high expectations and firm confidence of the Irish industry of all Irish people and even the international market. Of course, this is inseparable from the Germans' conscientious implementation of the terms of the alliance. If it were not for the support of the German Mark, the rapid launch of the Irish industrial system would have been at the fantasy stage.

Since the Irish War of Independence, the German government's free aid to Ireland has reached a very amazing scale, but for the development of Ireland's industrial and social development, what really plays a sustainable role is the low-interest and interest-free loans provided by German banking and financial institutions and large consortiums. The reason why German bankers and chaebols are willing to invest tens of millions of funds in this new market is closely related to the guarantees of the central government of the German Empire and some policy interest subsidies. The rich returns of the war have greatly enhanced Germany's originally not very strong financial strength, which has enabled the German financial industry to set off a new round of wave of development of colonies and also invest "surplus grain" in this strategic allies with great potential.

However, loans, no matter low interest, are still repaid. Ireland's industrial construction has achieved remarkable results, but it is difficult to generate a large amount of capital benefits in the short term. In this case, borrowing new and old is an inevitable means to maintain the operation of credit funds. On the one hand, the Irish government seeks new loans from the outside, and on the other hand, it issues treasury bonds domestically. After nearly a year of construction period, the Irish people not only met the basic needs of family livelihoods, but also gradually increased their pockets. Attracted by the royal family, the government's call and generous interest rate returns, the newly issued treasury bonds were quickly sold out. The treasury bond funds raised by the Irish government were quickly sold out.

, part of it is used to repay maturing loans, part of it is invested in the field of social services, and the rest is invested in the construction of industrial foundations and derivative projects. With the support of the Irish government, the Limerick Vehicle Manufacturing Plant, which has received capital from the US, has quietly become the most capital automobile company in Europe. National Airlines of Ireland has also become an aviation complex integrating R&D, manufacturing and transportation, and provides the main components for the military aircraft production of Royal Ireland Arsenal. In addition, there are Royal Ireland Shipyard and National Shipping Company of Ireland that are shifting from potential stocks to high-performance stocks...

Compared with the bad card of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, Xia Shu's card is much better, but he is not as happy as carefree. The Spanish king and the central government were overwhelmed by the separatism of Catalonia. Xia Shu also has a restless hot potato, that is, the Northern Ireland region. The opposition of religious beliefs is only one aspect of the differences between the north and the south of Ireland. Historical problems and uneven real interests are the root causes of the contradiction.

As soon as Xia Shu came back from Spain, a Belfast autonomy bill was waiting quietly on his desk.

The enjoyment of autonomy in the Belfast region was written into the formal terms of the British-Iran Agreement. The Irish government was obliged to implement it, but this agreement only listed the basic scope and time limit of autonomy, and did not stipulate the form and degree of autonomy. After the British army withdrew, the Irish government implemented military takeover of the Belfast region, and all internal affairs were temporarily responsible for the local councils established by the Protestants themselves, and then discussed the autonomy plan through consultation between the two sides and international supervision.

The documents placed on Xiashu's desk are the autonomy proposals proposed by the Belfast local council. They asked the Irish government for complete autonomy, including administrative power, legislative power, judicial power and final audit power. In addition, although local autonomous governments do not have the power to diplomatic and defense affairs, they require the Irish government to obtain their consent before making important diplomatic and military decisions. Moreover, the military deployment of the Irish army in the north must be limited to less than 30,000 people, and the deployment location is selected by them.

Anyone who looks at this proposal from the standpoint of the Irish government will probably be indignant of the various requirements of the so-called Belfast local council. Even Xia Shu, who has been practicing in character and demeanor for many years, felt that this group of people was simply unreasonable when he first read these requirements. However, after calming down and thinking carefully, it is not difficult to think that the person with ulterior motives is deliberately provoking the Irish government. Whether the Irish government is rudely suppressing or giving in, he will fall into the trap of the other party. The only way is to use wisdom to defeat the other party's conspiracy.

After repeated weighing, Xia Shu summoned his confidant ministers and told them about his ideas.

Prime Minister Fritz Holdes, Army Secretary Aymo Pereff, Navy Secretary William Grientz, Finance Minister Bend Warrant, Industry Minister Marco Trinks, These hardworking and dedicated German officials occupy a very important position in the current Irish military and political leadership. Foreign Minister Roll McLean is the only orthodox Irish in this core circle, but he spent his youth in Berlin, Germany, where he obtained a doctorate in law. Later, he traveled to European countries, worked as a university professor, lawyer, government consultant, and published two legal books. His rich experience was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

McLean took the lead and said: "The Belfast area listed in the British-Iraq Agreement includes only three counties, strictly speaking, less than three. We have taken the initiative to expand the scope of autonomy to six counties. Not to mention its actual effect, I am very worried that this move will make our people think that we are showing weakness to Protestants in the UK and the north, and the international community may have similar views."

Natsuki said confidently and humorously: "If it were someone else, our subjects and foreigners might think so, but who am I?"

The ministers showed a knowing smile at the same time. With Joachim's name and his victory in the field of military, politics and diplomacy, no one with a little memory would think that he might easily make concessions in Belfast's autonomy.

At the beginning of the founding of the Kingdom of Ireland, the British army was entrenched in the Belfast region. Nearly one million Protestants, who were originally distributed in the northern counties of Ireland, either tried every means to leave Ireland or withdrew to the three counties of Belfast. When the British-Iran Agreement was signed, the British army gradually evacuated Ireland, and many Protestants went to Britain. In the end, the Protestants who chose to stay in Ireland dropped sharply to more than 500,000. The British government actively fought for autonomy for them. Religion was only a superficial reason. The deep consideration was to use them to restrain the Irish government. This was one of the most commonly used methods by the British in hundreds of years. Many historical problems that plague various countries and nations were caused by this.

At first glance, expanding the scope of autonomy from the Belfast region to the six counties in northern Ireland is weakening the Irish government's control over the northern region, which may deepen the pattern of separation between the north and the south of Ireland and have an adverse impact on national unity. In fact, it is to use political means to resolve the political constraints generated by the British-Iran Agreement. Now there are about 800,000 residents in the six counties in northern Ireland. If a part of the people is urgently mobilized, the population of the six counties included in the scope of autonomy can be increased to more than one million, so that the proportion of Protestants is only about half. Xia Shu's idea is to allow these six autonomous counties to have completely equal autonomy and form a six-county joint council above the county council, thereby weakening the control of Protestants over the Northern Autonomous Region by non-force and reducing the opportunity for foreign forces to use religious belief issues to provoke division in the autonomous region.
Chapter completed!