In the early morning, in the southern waters of the Ireland Sea, mist was filled with the sea, and sailboats appeared and disappeared. The people on the boat kept casting nets and then pulled up heavy fishing nets. From this, fishing here should be a great harvest, but the expressions of these fishermen seemed quite serious, and they looked into the distance from time to time, and their eyes showed a cautious and nervous expression, as if they were stealing vegetables in other people's vegetable gardens.

Among these relatively scattered fishing boats, a slightly larger ship seemed to wander aimlessly. Its artillery weapons were wrapped in cannon suits, and sailors on the deck were smoking or chatting, but there was no slack leisure for routine cruises.

On the flagpole of this light gunboat, an Irish naval flag with a three-color bottom and crown shield was fluttered.

As the sun came out, the fog gradually dissipated. Many fishing boats closed their last net and began to turn west, that is, the Irish coast. At this moment, a fishing boat at the far end suddenly hung a red flag on the top of the sail pole. Under the warm sun, the color of the flag seemed strangely dazzling. Hearing this signal, the fishing boats still fishing stopped working one after another, but their bottom cabins carried a large number of fishing catches and became very slow. After a moment, a trace of lead gray flashed in the distance. The ship did not have a huge shape and mighty momentum, but it was also an unyielding armed ship. It was very fast, like a hunting shark that smelled the smell of blood, and rushed to his eyes in just a few seconds.

Removed the cannon suit and increased the speed, and the armed ships on the fishing boat immediately greeted them. The two ships sent signals to each other in flag words several thousand meters. In the eyes of those who are unknown, this silent communication may be just understanding, but for everyone who can understand internationally common signals, it is like a silent competition.

The armed ship protecting the fishing boat is smaller than the other side, but it is like a shepherd dog protecting the flock, fighting against the ferocious wolf without showing any weakness. The lead-gray ship changed its course several times, trying to get rid of the entanglement of the Irish gunboat to impact the fishing boats flying the Irish flag. During this period, the distance between the two ships was once shortened to twenty or thirty meters, and they were both facing each other, tense, but they did not load live ammunition. Instead, some sailors in non-combat positions were accompanied by their respective national curses and threw potatoes at each other, and in the end, some people were injured by the potatoes.

These two lightweight gunboats, which belong to Britain and Ireland, did not fight because of the blood caused by potatoes, but the waves spread from them, using radio waves as medium, which immediately triggered a larger confrontation. The seaplane that took off from Dublin was the first to reinforce and help its gunboats cover the fishing boats to retreat slowly. A few hours later, the 750-ton British destroyer "Arab Antelope" and the 3400-ton old cruiser "Saver" arrived one after another, blocking the return of the Irish fishing boats. Two 900-ton German-made large torpedo boats of the Irish Navy, the Cronmere and the Thorres, came in formation, forming a siege to control the British ships.

Limerick, the Irish Palace, and the imperial cabinet meeting was held in a solemn atmosphere.

"Although the overall strength of the British Navy is superior, their deployment on the West Coast is not strong. This time we must give them a profound lesson, otherwise our fishing boats will only be able to fish secretly at night in the future."

William Grientz, who served as the Irish Navy Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was one of the German generals that Xia Shu relied most. He fought with the British army many times in northern France and won a decisive victory in Dublin. It is unknown whether the British were afraid of Grientz's reputation, but it is certain that against the British team, this powerful general with outstanding military achievements would never be afraid.

Prime Minister Fritz Holdes, Army Secretary Aymo Pereff, Finance Minister Bend Worrant, Industry Minister Marco Trinks, German officials in the Irish cabinet supported the Navy to put pressure on the other side without exception because they knew that the Allies led by Germany would not allow the British to do whatever they wanted, especially in Ireland, which has a strategic role in Britain. However, Irish officials rarely have this confidence. Foreign Minister Roll McLean said cautiously: "It would be fine if it was just a military confrontation, but it would be a fear of a firefight, turning the fishery dispute into a military conflict. With the current situation of our two countries, the harm of military conflicts to us is even more serious."

Sure, Natsuki knew that the Foreign Minister’s concerns were not unreasonable. Although the naval officers and soldiers on both sides tried their best to maintain restraint, in the continuous tense atmosphere, any mistakes on either side may cause an inexhaustible situation.

Fishery disputes occur in two adjacent island countries, just as it is not surprising that lions compete for territory in African grasslands. In the past few hundred years, Ireland has been ruled by Britain, and any form of disputes has been a contradiction within the country. With Ireland's independence, various hidden and suppressed problems have gradually emerged, and the competition for fishery resources is one of them.

Although almost all Ireland trade is carried out through the ocean, and 80% of the population lives in coastal areas, Ireland's marine resources can undoubtedly be considered as underdeveloped resources. The fishery economy is only one percent of the Irish economy, which is lower than most other marine countries. There are many historical reasons for this. However, it is by no means because the fishery resources in the surrounding waters of Ireland are scarce. There are nearby the Irish Sea, which is rich in herring and cod, and there are natural fisheries formed by the intersection of Atlantic warm currents and Iceland cold currents. These two fishery resources are not as rich as the North Sea fishery, which is one of the world's four largest fisheries. For Ireland, which has a population of only more than four million, in addition to meeting domestic food needs, there is also a large amount of surplus for export. Therefore, they are regarded by decision makers of the Kingdom of Ireland as a focus for enriching economic means and enhancing comprehensive national strength.

On the other side of the Irish Sea, the native land of the British Empire, there are more than 20,000 fishing boats of various types. The fishery and derivative industries are both ancient and developed. There are countless fishing ports on the east coast. On the west coast of the Irish Sea, there are also famous fishing ports such as Fleetwood.

There have always been much more British fishermen and fishing boats fishing in the Irish sea than Ireland.

After Ireland's independence, the Irish people engaged in fishing activities did not experience explosive growth. After all, fishing in the sea is different from shore fishing. It requires fishing boats, fishing gear and boat fishing skills, and capital skills and time. It was not until the New Year that more and more descendants of expatriates returned to Ireland from the European continent that the situation changed fundamentally. Among these expatriates with funds, technology and experience, some of them are engaged in fishing product processing. They invested in opening factories in the coastal areas of Ireland. The demand for fishing resources promoted the development of the local fishing industry. The Irish government provided interest-free loans and free skill training to those who were interested in transferring to the fishing industry in a timely manner. Stimulated by various favorable factors, 19

In the spring and summer of 2016, the registered fishing boats in Ireland increased from 2,502 to 4,460, almost doubled. And benefiting from the growing Irish shipbuilding industry, the number of fishing boats in Ireland is growing at a rate of about 300 per month. However, among the new fishing boats in Ireland, only one-tenth of them have a displacement of more than 100 tons, and most of them are small fishing boats operating offshore. This is mainly due to the constraints of funds. Even if the government provides unlimited loans, civilians who switch to fishing must consider whether they have the ability to repay as scheduled. The solution to this problem is very simple. As long as there are enough fishing catches and can be converted into economic benefits, Ireland's fishery development will naturally have a lot of potential.

As a result, more and more Irish fishing boats appeared in the surrounding waters, and the Irish Sea between Ireland and Britain was the most attractive fishing waters. As early as a few months ago, fishermen from the two countries who had met frequently had friction, but that was far from rising to the level of national conflict. Later, British patrol ships began to drive away Irish fishing boats that appeared in the traditional British fishing area, and even arrested Irish fishermen in order to kill chickens and warn monkeys, which caused an uproar in Ireland. With the diplomatic efforts of the Irish government, the UK released the arrested Irish fishermen, but refused to return the fishing boats, let alone the economic compensation for Irish fishermen.

The Irish people were very indignant, and public opinion criticized the British for occupying fishery resources one-sidedly. Before Ireland's independence, it was common for Irish fishermen to be bullied and driven away. At that time, there was no way to seek justice. The fishery on the east coast of Ireland was basically imprisoned in the offshore area. Irish fishermen would rather go to the Irish waters than go deep into the hinterland of the Irish Sea. Now, Ireland has become an independent kingdom, with national strength increasing and national prestige growing, so how can other countries invade wantonly. The Irish government took the lead in taking fishing protection actions. Irish fishing boats began to form formations to fishing areas without defining national borders under the protection of naval ships. They achieved good results at first, but the British government responded quickly, and there was a scene of armed confrontation between the two ships...

Grientz looked disdainful of Roll McCellin's concerns. He said: "Our Celtic and Long Live Freedom are rushing to the waters where the incident occurred. They will arrive in at most two hours. The submarine on duty has already arrived. Our flagship Belfast and the high-speed torpedo boat mothership formation are on standby in the Port of Dublin. If an armed conflict breaks out, we will take this opportunity to attack the British Navy, promote national prestige, forge national souls, and then negotiate with the British after the battle. If they dare to start a war with us, that is, they will seek death!"

"The premise is that we will definitely win?" the Foreign Minister asked in an unconfident tone, and turned his attention to the young king, hoping that he could make a decision wisely and calmly at this moment.

To some extent, the German officials in the Irish cabinet showed their strength because they understood the king's intention better than Irish officials. Xia Shu paused and said:

"We have informed the confrontation in the Irish Sea to German allies. The German response is... The German Navy has ordered the 1st Battleship Squadron of the High Sea Fleet deployed at Brest Port and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron of the Port of Tors to enter combat readiness and can set sail for reinforcements at any time."
Chapter completed!